106. Celebrating P.G. Wodehouse - and Women: with writer William Humble, actor Robert Daws and director Jude Kelly

Break Out Culture With Ed Vaizey by Country and Town House

On this week’s podcast, we’re celebrating International Women’s Day on the 8th March and also talking about the great P.G. Wodehouse with William Humble, who’s written a new one-man play, called ‘Wodehouse in Wonderland’, a one-man show, touring Britain until the end of April. It stars Robert Daws, also on the podcast, as Wodehouse.

In Britain Wodehouse is feted and loved for his quintessentially English comic characters Jeeves and Wooster, but he was enormously famous in America too, where the play is set, for being a talented Broadway lyricist, contributing to 25 hit musicals, including ‘Anything Goes’.

William and Robert reveal less known fascinating sides to Wodehouse’s character, shedding light on his notorious Berlin broadcasts, which were manipulated by the Nazis for their propaganda and caused him great shame.

We also talk to Jude Kelly about the WOW Festival (Women of the World Festival) now in its 13th year and taking place at London’s Southbank between 10th and 12th March. Jude set up the Festival in 2010 to celebrate the achievements of women and girls and confront global gender injustice, and it now it takes place in 30 countries. Jude gives us the highlights of the London festival including a special screening of the play ‘Prima Facie’ starring Jodie Comer, followed by a discussion, and appearances by the American writer Roxanne Gay and former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard.