This Cultural Life Folgen

Swedish-born Alicia Vikander won global acclaim in 2015 for playing Vera Britten in Testament Of Youth, and a humanoid robot in the thriller Ex-Machina. The following year she won an Academy Award for her supporting role with Eddie Redmayne in The Danish Girl, along with a Screen Actors Guild Award and BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations. Since then her diverse range of screen roles have included playing a spy boss in the film Jason Bourne, computer game heroine Lara Croft in Tomb Raider, and Gloria Steinem in the biopic The Glorias. The daughter of acclaimed stage actor Maria Fahl, she tells John Wilson how she first performed on stage at the age of seven in a musical written by Benny and Bjorn of ABBA. She also appeared in Swedish television dramas and films as a child actor. In 2025 Alicia Vikander makes her return to the stage in a new version of Ibsen’s The Lady From The Sea at The Bridge in London, her first theatre role since she was a child. Producer: Edwina Pitman

Classical trumpeter Alison Balsom talks to John Wilson about the most significant influences and experiences that have inspired her career. Having recorded 17 studio albums since 2002, she has been named Gramophone Artist of the Year, won three Classical Brit Awards, along with an OBE for services to music. She has performed with leading conductors and orchestras around the world, including at the Last Night of the Proms.Producer: Edwina Pitman

Comedian, writer, musician and actor Eric Idle talks to John Wilson about his creative influences. A founding member of the Monty Python comedy troupe, he wrote and performed across their four television series, and films including The Life Of Brian and The Meaning Of Life. As a songwriter, he was responsible for much of the Python’s musical comedy, including Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life and The Galaxy Song. He created the comedy series Rutland Weekend Television and the Beatles parody band The Rutles which toured and released albums. In 2005 Eric Idle created the Tony Award winning musical Spamalot, based on the film Monty Python and The Holy Grail which, for over 20 years, has run twice in London’s West End and on Broadway, and has been staged in 14 countries around the world. Producer: Edwina PitmanArchive used: Morecambe and Wise on stage, BBC archive One Leg Too Few, Beyond the Fringe, 1960 T.V.P.M., Beyond the Fringe, 1960 Sitting on the Bench, Beyond the Fringe, 1960 Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, Do Not Adjust Your Set, Thames Television, 1967 Monty Python's Flying Circus, Series 1, BBC 1, 1969 The Rutles, Rutland Weekend Television, BBC2, 1975 The Mikado, ENO, Jonathan Miller, 1987 Imagine, BBC1, 2014