91Èȱ¬

We asked comedian Jake Yapp to tackle our theme of ‘Christmas Nonsense’, and it’s got him feeling a bit Scrooge – but he doesn’t want to be! Can we change his mind? Jake also shares his love of the forgotten nonsense classic, ‘Redcoat Captain’, by Alfred Ollivant. Jake Yapp is the host of the daily new digest podcast ‘Not Today, Thank You’.

Julia and Axel are the duo behind one of our most-loved children’s characters, The Gruffalo. They are back with a new book, ‘The Smeds and The Smoos’. Julia explains how she came up with the nonsense language that she used to create the world of the Smeds and The Smos, and the influence of Edward Lear on her writing. We hear from Axel about his instinctive approach to illustration, the freedom he has to draw aliens, and how the Gruffalo came to life.

Who else do you ask to take part in a programme about nonsense except the author of ‘Michael Rosen’s Book of Nonsense’? Michael shares some of his favourite silly verse, whilst also examining the importance of context to nonsense, how knowing more than one language helps us to access nonsense language. His new book ‘Michael Rosen's Book of Play: Why play really matters, and 101 ways to get more of it in your life’ has just been published.

‘Sequin-clad satirical weirdos’ Bourgeois & Maurice are working on their first ever musical, ‘Insane Animals’. Here they share a preview of their song ‘Welcome to Today’ – a song with the inherently nonsensical concept of trying to sum up the last 4,000 years of history. Insane Animal opens at 91Èȱ¬ in February. Tickets and info