British Art

When Coraline moves with her parents to a new house she is fascinated by the fact that their 'house' is infact only half of the house! Divided in to flats years before there is a brick wall behind a door where once there was a corridor and one day it is corridor again down which the intrepid Coraline wanders. And so a nightmare-ish mystery begins that takes Coraline in to the arms of counterfeit parents and a life that isn't quite right. Can Coraline get out? Can she find her real parents? Will life ever be the same again?

This comprehensive course is designed for actors aiming to master the diverse range of accents found across the United Kingdom and Ireland, offering an extensive foundation in both technical and cultural aspects of accent work, while maintaining accessibility for the novice learner. With an emphasis on authentic performance, the program provides step-by-step guidance on dialect production, using a wide variety of oral posture guidance, pronunciation exercises, and practical lexicon that actors can apply directly to their work.

Farewell Yellow Brick Road is a celebration of Elton John's record-breaking, globe-spanning farewell tour—from Allentown to Auckland, from Sydney to San Francisco. Featured concerts include Elton’s dazzling performances at Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium in November 2022, the finale of which streamed live on Disney+. Fans will be treated to a behind-the-scenes glimpse into every aspect of these spectacular shows, including Elton’s legendary touring wardrobe by Gucci, the set design, official photography, and more.

When the leaders of the French Revolution executed Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette in 1793, they sent a chilling message to the hereditary ruling orders in Europe. Believing that monarchy anywhere presented a threat to democratic rule in France, the leaders of the revolution declared war on European aristocracies, including those of Great Britain. For more than 20 years thereafter, France and England waged a protracted war that ended in British victory.

In the first series, Armando Iannucci and his guests pull apart the news with a heady mix of topical comedy, messed-about archive, chat and outrageous fibs, recorded in front of a live studio audience. Across the complete six episodes, they start a new religion and update some Cockney rhyming slang, and as the strike by BBC workers starts to bite and the army steps in, we hear a debate on breastfeeding from 'Woman's Hour' hosted by Gunner-Sergeant Harry Donaldson of the 5th Norfolk Fusiliers.

The voice, the dressing-down, the cigarette in its holder, remain unmistakable. There is rarely a week when one of Private Lives, Hay Fever, and Blithe Spirit is not in production somewhere in the world. Phrases from Noël Coward's songs - "Mad About The Boy", "Mad Dogs and Englishman" - are forever lodged in the public consciousness. He was at one point the most highly paid author in the world. Yet some of his most striking and daring writing remains unfamiliar.

The Book-Makers is a celebration of 550 years of the printed book, told through the lives of eighteen extraordinary men and women who took the book in radical new directions: printers and binders, publishers and artists, paper-makers and library founders. This is a story of skill, craft, mess, cunning, triumph, improvisation, and error.

The complete second series of BBC Radio 4's award-winning sketch show - winner of the Chortle Radio Award of the Year. In these six episodes, which make up the complete second series, you'll hear some moth-based lunacy, an awkward celestial relationship, a heart-warming tale of the days before health and safety, and how The Archers sounds to people who don't listen to The Archers - plus many other sketches featuring acute observations and wonderful wordplay.

The architecture of Britain is an art gallery all around us. From our streets to squares, through our cities, suburbs and villages, we are surrounded by magnificent buildings of eclectic styles. A Short History of British Architecture is the gripping and untold story of why Britain looks the way it does, from prehistoric Stonehenge to the lofty towers of today.

The Beatles are the biggest band there has ever been. James Bond is the single most successful movie character of all time. They are also twins. Dr No, the first Bond film, and Love Me Do, the first Beatles record, were both released on the same day—Friday 5th October 1962. Most countries can only dream of a cultural export becoming a worldwide phenomenon on this scale. For Britain to produce two on the same windy October afternoon is unprecedented.

Spike Milligan, Harry Secombe and Peter Sellers star in 10 rare episodes of The Goon Show, plus a plethora of bonus features.

John le Carré led a life entirely constructed of secrets—not just in his first career, as a British spy and agent runner during the height of the Cold War or in his second, as a world-renowned writer of espionage fiction, but also in his personal involvements. He guarded his private life with fierce determination, fending off all would-be biographers until his ninth decade, when he finally relented and permitted his life story to be written. But there was still one element that he insisted be excluded, even then: the women.

Being British isn’t easy. Especially if you live abroad, where your countrymen aren’t exactly famous for, well, blending in. As his beloved homeland goes Brexit bananas, best-selling humourist Paul Hawkins takes on Britishness - how it looks from the outside, how to be British abroad and what you only learn about home once you leave it. In this self-deprecating audiobook, he reveals the awkward secrets, cultural blind-spots and private oddness of the people with whom he once shared an island.

In January 2014, Tom Baker celebrated his 80th birthday. In March 2014, Tom sat down with Nicholas Briggs to look back over his 80 amazing years - his youth, his early acting career, his great success with Doctor Who and beyond...and his return to his most famous role with Big Finish. This candid and intimate interview forms two fascinating hours of engaging entertainment in the unique company of Mr. Baker.

Peter Cook and Dudley Moore were two of the brightest stars ever to light up the world of comedy. They set standards that will probably never be surpassed. Cambridge graduates who met in Beyond the Fringe, their chemistry produced some of the funniest, most inventive and downright brilliant comedy ever recorded.They came to wider fame with the tv series Not Only… But Also. The writing and performances were superb....

In 1922 Agatha Christie set sail on a 10-month voyage around the British Empire with her husband as part of a trade mission to promote the forthcoming British Empire Exhibition. Leaving her two-year-old daughter behind with her sister, Agatha set sail at the end of January and did not return until December, but she kept up a detailed weekly correspondence with her mother, describing in detail the exotic places and people she encountered as the mission travelled through South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and Canada.

From an early age, Grace Dent was hungry. As a little girl growing up in Currock, Carlisle, she yearned to be something bigger, to go somewhere better. Hungry traces Grace’s story from growing up eating beige food to becoming one of the much-loved voices on the British food scene. It’s also everyone’s story—from treats with your nan, to cheese and pineapple hedgehogs, to the exquisite joy of cheaply made apple crumble with custard.

Gary Barlow is one of the most successful British musicians and songwriters of all time, but 15 years ago, as he himself admits, he hit rock bottom - he was out of shape, out of work, depressed. Food for him had become an addiction, a means not only of comfort but almost of self-medication as he grappled with the cruel twists of fate of musical stardom. In 2003, as he struggled with the disappointment of an underperforming solo career alongside the tireless media taunts; Gary turned to food.

Mock the Week regularly produces the sharpest and funniest comedy on TV. With Dara O Briain, Hugh Dennis, Frankie Boyle, and Andy Parsons, it's no surprise. Here is the material that didn't make it to our screens!

Maximum Volume offers a glimpse into the mind, the music, and the man behind the sound of the Beatles. George Martin's working-class childhood and musical influences profoundly shaped his early career in the BBC's Classical Music department and as head of the EMI Group's Parlophone Records. Out of them flowed the genius behind his seven years producing the Beatles' incredible body of work, including such albums as Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and Abbey Road.