Poet Laureate Simon Armitage is a former probation officer, DJ and poet celebrated for his witty and profound take on modern life. He writes in the shed in his garden, and in this podcast he invites guests to join him to talk about poetry, creativity, music, art, sheds, sherry and the countryside.
Poet Laureate Simon Armitage is a former probation officer, DJ and poet celebrated for his witty and profound take on modern life. He writes in the shed in his garden, and in this podcast he invites guests to join him to talk about poetry, creativity, music, art, sheds, sherry and the countryside.
John Tiffany a multi award-winning theatre director is from the same village in West Yorkshire as Simon Armitage. They both grew up watching their parents in amateur dramatic shows in the Marsden Parochial Hall, but it was a chance trip to a professional production years later that turned John's attentions away from medical school and back to the stage. He's the person behind some of the most acclaimed theatrical productions of the last two decades, including Pinocchio at The National Theatre, Road at the Royal Court, the smash hit Broadway musical Once, the National Theatre of Scotland's Black Watch and more recently, the hottest ticket in the West End, The Cursed Child. His shows regularly achieve both critical and popular acclaim, an extremely important factor in his work.
In the shed the conversation drifts from what makes a good director to what makes a good joke - and there are plenty of them! From fathers to future plans and from creativity to the classroom, where John has chosen to give something back.
Produced by Susan Roberts