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Katie Brayben as Carole King

Katie Brayben plays live; raising boys in the US after Ferguson; artist Unity Spencer; and Yasmin Alibhai-Brown on what it means to be English. Jenni Murray presents.

Katie Brayben currently playing Carole King in the West End performs live; Journalist Chaedria LaBouvier, whose brother died in a shooting, talks about raising boys in the USA after Ferguson; Artist, Unity Spencer - her autobiography and new exhibition; Yasmin Alibhai-Brown and her new book, 'Exotic England: The Making of a Curious Nation' on what it means to be English.

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58 minutes

Chapters

  • Katie Brayben – Carole King Musical

    Duration: 10:22

  • Raising black children after Ferguson

    Duration: 09:58

  • Unity Spencer

    Duration: 08:16

  • Yasmin Alibhai-Brown

    Duration: 08:06

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown

In her new book Exotic England The Making of a Curious Nation Yasmin Alibhai-Brown explores through five centuries of English history to find out, what  it means to be English.   She intertwines her own personal reflection on immigrant life in the UK with  numerous interviews to paint a picture of multi-cultural Britain today

Katie Brayben – Carole King Musical

Katie Brayben has received an Olivier nomination for her portrayal of Carole King in the musical Beautiful. With hits including Will You still Love Me Tomorrow and You’ve Got A Friend, Beautiful tells the story of Carole King’s journey from schoolgirl to superstar. It shows the, sometimes heart-breaking, relationship with husband and song-writing partner Gerry Goffin, and their close friendship with fellow song-writing duo Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. 

Raising black children after Ferguson

On 9 August, 2014 police officer Darren Wilson shot dead Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. What followed was anger, protests, blame and denials, then on 25 November, a grand jury decided that Officer Wilson should not face criminal charges, prompting rioting and looting. Chaedria LaBouvier is an American journalist who wrote an article for American Elle about how the events in Ferguson have affected raising black children. 


Unity Spencer

Unity Spencer is an artist, the daughter of the painters Stanley Spencer (1891–1959) and Hilda Carline (1889–1950).  Unity had an unconventional childhood and a complex relationship with her father who in 1937 left her mother for the artist Patricia Preece. In the aftermath of the marriage breakdown, Stanley painted the portrait Hilda, Unity and Dolls. Unity joins Jenni to talk about her parents, their break-up, becoming a single mother in an era when this was deemed morally unacceptable and forging her own artistic identity.  

is on now at the Fine Art Society in London 


Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Jenni Murray
Interviewed Guest Katie Brayben
Interviewed Guest Chaedria LaBouvier
Interviewed Guest Unity Spencer
Interviewed Guest Yasmin Alibhai-Brown

Broadcast

  • Wed 1 Apr 2015 10:00

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