Radio Times

Review by:

David Butcher

Remember Sister Wendy, the art historian nun with a toothy smile and heartfelt pieces to camera? She returns to our screens in an Arena film that suffers slightly from trying to do three different things at once. But if what you need at this point are thoughtful insights on the place of silence in our lives, look no further.

Then again, if you’re intrigued by Sister Wendy’s singular back story (“I have a cold heart,” she admits), the film works as a profile. And if it’s art you want, she talks us through a selection of religious paintings as eloquently as ever.

About this programme

Sister Wendy Beckett first hit the TV screen in 1992 when she presented a series of art history documentaries for the BBC. In this film, Randall Wright visits the Carmelite monastery in Quidenham, Norfolk, where the nun talks about her life, art and faith, and and explains the significance of how the Gospel stories in a number of Old Master paintings are depicted. Wendy also talks about how she found God as a four-year-old, discusses leaving home at 16 to enter the order of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur and reveals her first teaching job led to a physical and nervous breakdown.

Cast and crew

Cast

Contributor

Sister Wendy Beckett

Crew

Director

Randall Wright

Executive Producer

Anthony Wall

Executive Producer

Wendy Robbins

Producer

Randall Wright

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