Artworks

Imaginative documentaries about culture and the arts from BBC Radio 4. Explore creativity from Michelangelo to Manga, and Beethoven to Beyoncé.

Radio 4,147 episodes

Episodes

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Roleplay
Lady Bracknell
Actors on playing Oscar Wilde's lead role in The Importance of Being Earnest.
20 Oct 2026,28 mins
Roleplay
Caliban
Actors who have all played the oft-maligned character from Shakespeare's The Tempest.
13 Oct 2026,29 mins
Roleplay
Mother Courage
Stories and reflections from actors who have played Brecht's iconic character.
06 Oct 2026,28 mins
Roleplay
Blanche DuBois
Actors who have played the part of Blanche DuBois tell their stories. With Cate Blanchett.
10 Mar 2025,29 mins
Roleplay
Fagin
One big role. Actors who have played the part tell their stories. This time: Fagin.
03 Mar 2025,28 mins
Roleplay
Cleopatra
One big role. Actors who have played the part tell their stories. This time: Cleopatra
24 Feb 2025,28 mins
Roleplay
Waiting for Godot
Stories and reflections by actors from across the world who have all played the same part.
02 Mar 2023,28 mins
Roleplay
Peter Pan
Stories and reflections by actors from across the world who have all played the same part.
23 Feb 2023,28 mins
Roleplay
Lady Macbeth
Stories and reflections of actors from across the world who have all played the same part.
16 Feb 2023,28 mins
Pop Art Remixed
Gavin Turk explores British pop art and its legacy.
29 Sep 2026,29 mins
Krapp Forever
Unspooling Beckett's Krapp's Last Tape as an analogue story for the digital age.
22 Sep 2026,28 mins
Life as a Muse
Ruth Millington celebrates the muse - the people who inspire and enable creative genius.
15 Sep 2026,28 mins
Last Frames: The Story of Bill Biggart
Cambridge Jones retraces the final shoot of the only photojournalist to die on 9/11.
08 Sep 2026,28 mins
Beryl Cook: Artist or Entertainer?
A shy, self-taught, gloriously rude seaside landlady. But was she a serious artist?
01 Sep 2026,31 mins,
The Guitar Story
1. Flamenco to the Blues
John Wilson explores the story of the guitar as a driver of social and cultural change.
06 Aug 2026,28 mins
The Guitar Story
2. My Generation
John Wilson explores the story of the guitar as a driver of social and cultural change.
13 Aug 2026,28 mins
The Guitar Story
3. Gods and Monsters
John Wilson explores the story of the guitar as a driver of social and cultural change.
20 Aug 2026,29 mins
The Guitar Story
4. Not Fade Away
John Wilson explores the story of the guitar as a driver of social and cultural change.
27 Aug 2026,29 mins
An Evening with Dave Van Ronk
The story of one-time folk legend Dave Van Ronk, hero to Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell.
25 Aug 2026,28 mins
The Deadliest Book in England
Susie Dent investigates a small book that made a big impact.
18 Aug 2026,28 mins
Above and Below: The Battle to Save Britain's Prehistoric Art
Eleanor Barraclough explores the threat from climate change to our ancient creative past.
11 Aug 2026,28 mins
The Writing Life of Sylvia Plath
1. Childhood, Youth and Motherhood
A major three-part series on Sylvia Plath, presented by Mariella Frostrup.
21 Jul 2026,28 mins
The Writing Life of Sylvia Plath
2. Wifehood, Womanhood and Friendship
A major three-part series on Sylvia Plath presented by Mariella Frostrup.
28 Jul 2026,29 mins
The Writing Life of Sylvia Plath
3. Beyond Depression: What We Get Wrong About Sylvia Plath
A major three-part series on Sylvia Plath, presented by Mariella Frostrup.
04 Aug 2026,28 mins
Art That Conquered the World
Girl with a Pearl Earring
James Fox asks how Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring became so famous.
30 Jul 2026,28 mins
Art That Conquered the World
Guernica
James Fox asks how Picasso's Guernica became so famous.
23 Jul 2026,28 mins
Art That Conquered the World
David
James Fox asks how Michelangelo's David became so famous.
16 Jul 2026,28 mins
Art That Conquered the World
Ophelia
James Fox asks how John Everett Millais's Ophelia became so famous.
09 Jul 2026,28 mins
Art That Conquered the World
The Mona Lisa
James Fox asks how the Mona Lisa became the most famous painting in the world.
22 Apr 2025,28 mins
Art That Conquered the World
The Scream
James Fox asks how Munch's The Scream became one of the most famous artworks in the world.
15 Apr 2025,28 mins