- Radio Times
- Review by:
- Tony Peters
Actress Celia Imrie is probably best known on television for her work with Victoria Wood, while in the theatre she is currently on superb form in Michael Frayn’s peerless farce Noises Off.
She draws interesting parallels here between music and good comedy writing, emphasising how the best dialogue is almost musical, and while there often appears to be room for going off script, any dropped “note” will spoil the rhythm.
Brahms, Prokoviev and Puccini are among her musical choices, all rounded off with a glorious dollop of showbiz camp, courtesy of Shirley Bassey.
About this programme
Michael Berkeley welcomes actress Celia Imrie, whose TV rôles include Philippa Moorcroft in Dinnerladies, Diana Neal in After You've Gone, and Gloria Millington in Kingdom. Her film credits include appearances in Nanny McPhee, Calendar Girls and Bridget Jones' Diary. She learned to play the piano as a child, and her musical selection begins with Shostakovich's Second Piano Concerto, performed by Leonard Bernstein. Among her other choices are Josef Suk's Love Songs for piano, and the finale of Brahms's Violin Concerto, plus arias from Charpentier's opera Louise, sung by Montserrat Caballé, and Puccini's Tosca, sung by Maria Callas and Tito Gobbi, which she loves for its dramatic intensity. Her final selection is Shirley Bassey singing Diamonds Are Forever.
Cast and crew
Cast
- Presenter
- Michael Berkeley
Crew
- Producer
- Chris Marshall
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