Brian Bilston, Chris Smither, Teresa Livingstone, Jolene O'Hara, Stick in the Wheel, AOIBHA
Clive kicks off in Belfast's Black Box as the Belfast International Arts Festival begins to light up venues around the city. Poet Brian Bilston is in town after putting some of his poetry to music with the help of The Catenary Wires. US folk and blues musician Chris Smither tells all about his musical journey spanning over six decades. Someone else who knows a lot about blues as of recent is opera singer Jolene O'Hara, who has taken on the role of County Down musician and 'godmother of British blues' Ottilie Patterson in the one-woman show, Ottilie. Plus, Teresa Livingstone has plenty of embarrassing stories from former jobs and her own work in stand-up, so she's channelling it all into gathering the same from other comedians in her podcast Scundered.Belfast's AOIBHA reflects on her year of her first debut EP Peace in Insignificance, and folk-duo Stick in the Wheel chat about their current tour as they bring a bit of Tudor-era satire with their track The Cramp.Presenter: Clive Anderson
Producer: Anthony McKeeA BBC Audio Northern Ireland production for BBC Radio 4.
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Dom Joly, Lauren Lyle, Lorn Macdonald, Sarah Rankin, Tide Lines, Cara Rose
Clive Anderson is joined in Glasgow by comedian Dom Joly who first introduced the world to the concept of a very loud man yelling in to a giant mobile phone 25 years ago. He’s celebrating Trigger Happy TV on a national tour. Lauren Lyle is used to an investigation in her role as Val McDermid's Karen Pirie, and in new psychological thriller The Ridge she embarks on another kind of search for the truth, this time in New Zealand. In his varied career, actor Lorn Macdonald has made us chuckle with his turn as Albion Finch in TV hit Bridgeton, taken on Trainspotting on stage and now plays the tormented young playwright Konstantin in Chekhov’s The Seagull at the Lyceum in Edinburgh. After becoming a finalist on MasterChef in 2022 Sarah Rankin has cooked up a storm in the culinary world, and her newest cookbook Feast has the perfect recipes for hosting cosy dinner parties all through the darker months. Plus – she’ll be explaining why she’s been hanging out with the world champions of porridge-making. Cara Rose shares her reflective new single, and Highlands four-piece Tide Lines look ahead to their 10th anniversary celebrations.Presenter: Clive Anderson
Producer: Caitlin Sneddon
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Joanna Lumley; James Graham; Esther Walker; Bret McKenzie; Nxdia; Clive Anderson
There's plenty of treasures, national and otherwise in this week's Loose Ends. Joanna Lumley describes selecting from a lifetime's worth of lists, poems and anecdotes to create a thoughtful, moving and often hilarious anthology that she says describes the workings of her mind perfectly. Playwright James Graham on updating his play Dear England to send it touring the country and why the story of England football manager Gareth Southgate is exactly the way to cheer us all, even if you never want or need to understand the offside rule. Journalist Esther Walker on being rejected umpteen times by "very mean" publishers before bringing out her debut novel that explores what it is children give us and what it is they take away. With music from ex-Flight of the Conchords frontman and Oscar-winning Muppets songwriter Bret McKenzie and Egyptian-British singer and TikTok star Nxdia.Presenter: Clive Anderson
Producer: Olive Clancy
Assistand Producer: Nancy Bennie
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Nigel Planer; Rowan McCabe; Bryony Kimmings; Emma-Jean Thackray; Studio Electrophonique
Loose Ends this week is full of people who aren't afraid to say or do difficult things in the name of entertainment. The actor Nigel Planer will forever be associated with the character Neil from The Young Ones, so much so that Nigel's Mum thought he was vegetarian because Neil was, though Nigel definitely isn't. At least, he says, she remembered his name. His autobiography - Young Once - reflects the fact that brilliant though Neil is, Nigel has done far, far more than that as a poet, author and performer. Life merges with art, or at least comedy in Bryony Kimmings' new show - Bog Witch - too. It's all about what happened when she moved to the country, had an eco-conversion and found out the difference between a frog and a toad. Rowan McCabe's written about being a doorstep poet, who knocks on the doors of perfect strangers and offers to write them a poem about the things that mean most to them. Find out how many ways that can go wrong.
Plus music from Mercury Music Prize nominee Emma-Jean Thackray's album Weirdo and from Studio Electrophonique aka Sheffield singer songwriter James Leesley.Hosted by Stuart Maconie
Produced in Salford by Olive Clancy
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Neil Hannon & The Divine Comedy, Mark Gatiss, Kate Fox, AA Dhand, Edith Bowman
Edith Bowman is your host for a special Loose Ends live at the BBC's Contains Strong Language Festival in Bradford. Guests include the celebrated actor - from Sherlock to Mission Impossible - and writer - from Dr Who to Bookish - Mark Gatiss. He's at the festival starring in a Radio 4 comedy drama written by his League of Gentlemen colleague Jeremy Dyson. We'll hear from Amit Dhand, who credits working in his Dad's Bradford cornershop with providing the psychological insight needed to be a best-selling thriller writer. Writing as AA Dhand, he's behind the high octane BBC drama Virdee and his latest book The Chemist, set against a raging drugs war in Leeds, is his most personal yet, based on what he learnt while working as a Bradford community pharmacist. We'll have festival poet Kate Fox, who is also a standup, a Dr Who superfan and has a phd in northern comedy.
All this and music from The Divine Comedy's brand new album Rainy Sunday Afternoon.Produced by Olive Clancy
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