This Cultural Life

Actor and film-maker Sir Kenneth Branagh talks to John Wilson about the key influences and inspirations that have shaped his own work. In a wide-ranging conversation, he reveals some of his formative artistic experiences and discusses his creative process. Branagh discusses his working-class upbringing in late 1960s Northern Ireland at the start of the Troubles, as explored in his most personal film to date, Belfast. He traces the beginnings of his passion for Shakespeare back to the discovery of LP recordings of Laurence Olivier and John Gielgud, and reveals his admiration for Alan Bleasdale's 1980s television series Boys from the Blackstuff. He also discusses his participation in the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics.

Booker Prize-winning author Bernardine Evaristo talks to John Wilson about the formative experiences and cultural influences that have had a profound effect on her work. Evaristo looks back on her early childhood in south London, the racism she encountered, and how she found her artistic voice attending a youth theatre group. She reveals the influence of a Catholic upbringing on her writing, discusses the influence of works by Ntozake Shange and Dylan Thomas, and explains how a personal relationship had a huge impact on her creativity.

Film director Mike Leigh talks to John Wilson about the art and experiences that have shaped his own creative life. Leigh recalls his early life in Salford and reveals how a life-drawing class at art college proved a formative influence on his later career. He discusses his discovery of world cinema in the 1960s and the particular impact of the French New Wave, and explains his unique film-making process in which actors develop roles through improvisation.

Artist Tracey Emin talks to John Wilson about the experiences that have shaped her life and career. In a deeply personal interview, Emin speaks about undergoing treatment for cancer, her two abortions and the profound impact that both of these experiences have had on her artistic output. She also discusses the extraordinary effect that a painting by Mark Rothko had on her as a young woman, her affinity with the work of Edvard Munch and her friendship with David Bowie.

Cuban ballet star Carlos Acosta talks to John Wilson about some of the key moments of his cultural life. He discusses the influence of his father, his early love of breakdancing on the streets of Havana and the devastating effects on life in Cuba of the collapse of communist regimes around the world. He also recalls his breakthrough moment – winning the prestigious Prix de Lausanne ballet competition at the age of 16 – and becoming the first Black principal dancer of the Royal Ballet in London.

Oscar winner Nicole Kidman talks to John Wilson about the influence on her career of working with great film-makers. Since her breakthrough in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm, Nicole Kidman has played a hugely diverse array of roles, in arthouse films like Lars Von Trier’s Dogville and blockbusters including Paddington. She discusses her long friendship with Jane Campion, who directed her in Portrait of a Lady, and the impact of working with Stanley Kubrick, who she became close to after she and her ex-husband, Tom Cruise, starred in Eyes Wide Shut. Kidman recalls the making of Baz Luhrmann's musical Moulin Rouge and Stephen Daldry's The Hours, the film for which she won the best actress Academy Award for playing Virginia Woolf. She also discusses the excitement and fear she experienced on the London stage in the plays The Blue Room and Photograph 51.

Playwright and artistic director of London's Young Vic theatre Kwame Kwei-Armah shares some of the influences that have had a significant impact on his work. Kwei-Armah pursued careers in music and acting, playing paramedic Finlay Newton in BBC One's Casualty, before finding success at a writer. His award-winning plays include Elmina's Kitchen and Statement of Regret, both staged at the National Theatre. He tells John Wilson about his early years at stage school, how seeing a production of Joe Turner's Come and Gone, by August Wilson, changed the way he saw what theatre could do, and how Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave set him on a different path.

The world's leading classical solo percussionist Evelyn Glennie talks to John Wilson about her career and some of the key influences on her artistic path. From growing up in rural Aberdeenshire and becoming profoundly deaf at a young age, Glennie traces her route to fulfilling the ambition of becoming the first full-time solo percussionist. She demonstrates the first drum she ever owned, discusses the profound impact of the renowned percussionist James Blades, her teacher at the Royal Academy of Music, and her electrifying 1992 BBC Proms performance of James MacMillan's specially composed percussion concerto Veni, Veni, Emmanuel.