Highlights from Sky Arts in June

THE GENIUS OF ROALD DAHL

Saturday 6 June, 9.20pm

Literature/Biography

Roald Dahl is the one of the most successful children’s authors of all time. His words weave magical worlds of incomparable sparkle; his characters continue to charm and terrify generations. A lifelong fan himself, superstar comedian and best-selling author David Walliams delves into Dahl’s world, meeting along the way those who knew him best. Now a hugely successful children’s writer, David has been compared to his hero, but personally believes that he will never be better than Roald Dahl.  

To try and understand the great author’s special touch, David immerses himself in the stories and characters in Dahl’s books, and traces some of the influences on his work from his dramatic, tragedy worn life. In Cardiff, Dahl’s birthplace, David finds out about the Norwegian folktales that Dahl was read as a child, and how they may have shaped his storytelling. He visits Dahl’s old sweetshop and school, where naughtiness and rebellion marked the writer out as a child. David meets Dahl’s widow at the family home, and talks to long-time illustrator Quentin Blake as he draws a Dahl villain. He absorbs himself in the atmosphere of Dahl’s legendary writing hut, where the master craftsman locked himself away, like Willy Wonka in his factory. 

David also discovers Dahl’s teenage letters and early drafts of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which reveal clues to how Dahl created his fantastical worlds. Featuring contributions from celebrities including Joanna Lumley, Michael Rosen and Tim Minchin, the film explores the magical yet largely unknown world of one of the greatest storytellers of the 20^th Century.

SHAKESPEARE UNCOVERED (Season 2)

Mondays from 8 June, 8.30pm

Theatre Documentary Series

Ep 1: A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Hugh Bonneville

Ep 2: King Lear with Christopher Plummer

Ep 3: The Taming of the Shrew with Morgan Freeman

Ep 4: Othello with David Harewood

Ep 5: Antony & Cleopatra with Kim Cattrall

Ep 6: Romeo and Juliet with Joseph Fiennes

Behind every Shakespeare play is a story. Shakespeare Uncovered portrays the Bard as an impresario who, four centuries ago, defined show business in his era – drawing on historical sources, stealing and adapting ideas, bringing back popular characters, writing prequels, and developing dramatic ideas from the politics of the day. In each episode, a major Shakespearean actor or director explores and reveals the extraordinary world and works of William Shakespeare and the still-potent impact they have today. The presenters have spent their lives with Shakespeare’s work and relate not only to the stories of the plays themselves, but also how they came to be written, how they have been performed, and how they have survived more than 400 years.

THE BRILLIANT BRONTE SISTERS 

Saturday 6 June, 8.30pm

Literature/Biography

Actress and writer Sheila Hancock (New Tricks; Miss Carter’s War) has long been fascinated by the life and works of the Brontë sisters. In this programme, she searches for an answer to a puzzling question: How did three spinsters who spent most of their lives in a remote parsonage on the edge of the moors come to write books so shocking, erotic, profoundly moving and quite wonderful? Sheila embarks on a journey that starts in the Yorkshire village of Haworth and the brutal moors that inspired Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, moves on to Brussels, where Charlotte Brontë developed the writing style that made Jane Eyre an enduring masterpiece, and ends in Scarborough, the last resting place of Anne Brontë. Over the course of the documentary, Sheila meets leading authorities on the Brontës, as well as modern artists who have been inspired by their work. Delving through priceless artefacts and manuscripts, Sheila sheds new light on these remarkable and world-famous women: has she finally found the elusive answer to her question?