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A Chorus Line: Song for Marion; new play about football pioneer Walter Tull

The classic musical A Chorus Line returns to the London stage; new film Song for Marion reviewed; a new play about the pioneering black footballer Walter Tull. With Mark Lawson.

With Mark Lawson.

A Chorus Line, the musical based on the true stories of aspiring dancers, was the longest running show in the history of New York theatre. Now a major new staging of the musical has opened in London for the first time since the 1970s. Sarah Churchwell considers whether it has stood the test of time.

Song for Marion stars Terence Stamp as a grumpy pensioner persuaded to take part in his dying wife's choir. In common with recent films The Exotic Marigold Hotel and Quartet, senior citizens are at the heart of the action. Larushka Ivan-Zadeh reviews the film, which also stars Vanessa Redgrave and Gemma Arterton.

Walter Tull, the first black outfield player to play in the top division of English football and the first black commissioned infantry officer in the British Army, has inspired a novel, and a television drama. His life is now the subject of a new play - Tull. As well as visiting the memorial to Walter Tull in Northampton, Mark talks to the play's writer Phil Vasili, director David Thacker, and to current Northampton Town player and chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association, Clarke Carlisle.

Available now

30 minutes

Chapters

  • A Chorus Line

    A review of A Chorus Line

    Duration: 06:35

  • Walter Tull

    A feature about Walter Tull

    Duration: 10:57

  • John Ammonds

    Graham McCann talks about TV director John Ammonds

    Duration: 06:03

  • Song for Marion

    A review of the film Song for Marion

    Duration: 04:24

Broadcast

  • Wed 20 Feb 2013 19:15

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