Telling Stories

Rowan Williams is a Welsh Anglican bishop, theologian and poet – and was the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury.  He’s a member of Her Majesty’s Privy Council, a peer of the House of Lords and author of some three dozen books. The idea of change is fundamental to all narrative.  This change prompts the question ‘What did we learn?’.  Rowan is forever asking this question of others and himself.

Monica Ali is the author of four novels: Brick Lane, Alentejo Blue, In the Kitchen and Untold Story.  Her first novel, Brick Lane, was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and later adapted as a film. Monica is a master of story plot and character.

John Yorke is the former head of Channel 4 Drama and controller of BBC Drama Productions.  He’s behind many of television’s most popular and enduring shows, such as Eastenders, Shameless, Life on Mars and Spooks.  He’s also author of best-selling screenwriting book ‘Into The Woods: How Stories Work and Why We Tell Them’. John has devoted a large part of his career to understanding and interrogating the principles of story structure.

Jeany Spark has played leading roles in high-profile British drama’s such as Wallander with Kenneth Brannagh and David Hare’s Collateral for the BBC. Jeany is a master of inhabiting a character and bringing the story to life.

For 30 years, Matthew Bourne has been creating and directing some of the world’s most popular stage shows.   His productions include Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Cinderella, The Red Shoes, Romeo and Juliette, Sleeping Beauty, Carman, Play without Words and Edward Scissorhands. The unique thing about the way Matt tells stories, is that he doesn’t use any words. However, from this apparent constraint Matt has developed a unique storytelling method.

Sam Billinge talks with John Simpson, one of the world's most renowned and celebrated foreign correspondents.  In a career spanning 50 years, John has reported from 140 countries and interviewed hundreds of world leaders; telling stories from the epicentre of just about every significant world event.