Southbank Centre

In this episode of Think Aloud we turn our attention to poetry, and sit down with the London poet and founder of poetry collective Out-Spoken, Anthony Anaxagorou. With him we delve into how poetry can rewrite history, the ways in which he has developed and established his own voice, and how, when this is not a poem, he is not a poet. We also hear from South Korean poet Kim Hyesoon, for whom breaking established rules has been key to her poetry, on why the language of women comes from more than just the mouth. "I mean as a kid I absolutely despised poetry...it was as dry as trigonometry… it was like looking at a traffic cone” 
 ANTHONY ANAXAGOROU Out-Spoken’s year-long residency at Southbank Centre continues on 20 June with poetry from Ilya Kaminsky, Kei Miller and Sabrina Mahfouz and live music from Gabriella Vixen and Lloyd Llewellyn. Book tickets and find out more: http://bit.ly/2MgMvgH

German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen didn't just write new music, he created music that had never before been imagined, transformed sound, influenced musicians from classical to Kraftwerk to The Beatles, all while believing he was born on a distant planet. Electronic musician Actress and Southbank Centre's Director of Music, Gillian Moore spoke to Harriet Fitch Little about his legacy. "Stockhausen was the first person to open a sort of sonic box that said to me, anything is really possible with sound." ACTRESS Southbank Centre's exploration of Stockhausen is from 14th May to the 2nd June and you can find full details and book online at southbankcentre.co.uk/stockhausen

In this episode, Harriet Fitch Little asks is this a golden age for political humour? Why do we laugh at politics and do we need to? She speaks to joke writer for Private Eye magazine Tom Jamieson, and comedians Tiff Stevenson and Kieran Hodgson about the effect of current affairs have had on comedy. “Satire sits bleary eyed & unshaven in a cheap motel room surrounded by empty vodka bottles quietly sobbing as it watches the news.” TOM JAMIESON

Invented in China over 2,500 years ago, the abstract strategy game Go is thought to be the oldest board game continuously played to the present day. In March 2016, the Go world champion Lee Sedol accepted a challenge to play against a computer program called AlphaGo. In the second game of a five game challenge series, the computer made a move no human in the game’s vast history would have considered. This move, Move 37, was not only unique and creative, it was beyond the minds of the world’s greatest Go players. In this latest episode of our Think Aloud podcast, presenter Harriet Fitch Little speaks with Southbank Centre's Performance and Dance Programmer, Rupert Thomson and actor and director Thomas Ryckewaert about their fascination with Move 37. They talk about what this moment meant for arts and society, and how ultimately it may shape our relationship with artificial intelligence. Also in this episode, we hear an interview with Patrick Tresset, an artist who has programmed robots to draw portraits for him. Working in Tresset’s own style of drawing, they act like an artist and has no idea how the drawings will turn out. Move 37 by Thomas Ryckewaert comes to Southbank Centre on 14 March, 2019. Buy tickets here: http://bit.ly/2GGlvD0

In this episode, Harriet Fitch Little is joined by paralympian, TV presenter and children’s author Ade Adepitan, and children’s book critic Imogen Russell Williams to talk about the lack of diversity in children’s literature. “I suddenly started to get a perception that certain people did certain things, that main protagonists, that strong characters, that hero characters were all white, middle class.” ADE ADEPITAN They discussed why children’s literature is so behind, why we can’t eliminate the past and who should be dealing with this - the authors, the publishers or the parents? Also, children's author and illustrator Nadine Kaadan answered the burning question: how do you create a character for children? To see all the events at Imagine Children's Festival and to buy tickets, go to https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/festivals-series/imagine-childrens-festival

How do you make something not funny, funny? How do you deal with nerves? Who is your dream comedy sidekick? Do people expect you to be funny all the time? Which of your jokes goes down the best? Harriet Fitch Little brings you a Christmas special that reveals the tricks of the trade of stand up comedy. Listen to the questions we put to our panel of comedians about the highs and lows of their career, their confessions and their secrets. And of course, they manage to make it funny... You can hear more podcasts at: www.southbankcentre.co.uk/blog/podcasts

Inspired by the forthcoming Soundstate festival, Harriet Fitch Little is joined by Southbank Centre's Music Director, Gillian Moore; Susanna Eastburn, CEO of Sound & Music; and Dai Fujikura, composer of contemporary classical music. They discuss the trouble with genres, how writing music will never be the same and why they don't use the word 'classical'.

In this episode, Harriet Fitch Little talks comedy and brings you the secrets and what do you do if nobody laughs. She talks to comedian Dave Gorman about why comedians can't lie and what the qualities are of the genre 'Gormanesque'. Her co-presenter is Ken Cheng, Chinese Comedian. She brings up his joke 'geek student' video and how it went down, they realise they went to uni together and Harriet finds out why Antigua and Barbuda have the funniest flag in the world. Along with that, comedian Holly Walsh answers the question that all stand ups fear - what do you do if nobody laughs..? You can hear more podcasts at: https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/blog/podcasts

Ahead of EFG London Jazz Festival, self-confessed jazz amateur Harriet interviews eminent musician Orphy Robinson and David Jones, a director and programmer of the festival. They talk about where jazz can be misunderstood, how it defies the limitations of the 'genre', the vibraphone, and which type of music you should be listening to on a date. Finally, they answer the question 'is it the end of jazz?' (spoiler: no) To find out more about EFG Jazz Festival at Southbank Centre, head to https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/festivals-series/efg-london-jazz-festival

For national #AskACurator day, we poached the programmers at Southbank Centre to ask what goes on behind the scenes. Harriet Fitch Little is joined by; Bengi Unsal, Southbank Centre’s Senior Contemporary Music Programmer; Debo Amon, Literature Programmer; Rupert Thomson, Senior Programmer Performance & Dance and Jessica Cerasi, art curator and author of 'Who's Afraid of Contemporary Art?'