Page One Mary Russell: Recent Episodes
Charles Adrian Gillott
Joining Charles Adrian in Brighton for the 102nd Second-Hand Book Factory is Mathilda Gregory and her staffie Agatha. Mathilda co-produced the first Brighton Smut Slam and is a writer and performer. They talk about a less common perspective on break-ups, fantasy as allegory and how gender can mess with our self-categorisation of our sexuality.
Apologies for the electro buzz interference, which happens between 9:06 and 9:10
Marked as explicit on iTunes because of sexual language and imagery.
Episode image is a detail from the cover of The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson, published by Graywolf Press in 2015; Cover Design by Jeenee Lee Design.
More information, including book listings, at http://www.pageonepodcast.com/
Joining Charles Adrian for the first episode of the fifth season (!), aka the 101st Second-Hand Book Factory, is writer, actor and performance maker Vera Chok. They talk food and carcinogens, unapologetic feminism, the sexy lamp theory and a young sexual awakening.
Episode is marked as explicit on iTunes because of light sexual content.
Episode image is a detail from the cover of Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang by Chelsea Handler, published in 2010 by Grand Central Publishing; cover design by Anne Twomey; cover photograph of author © Jack Guy/ Corbis Outline.
More information, including book listing at http://www.pageonepodcast.com/
The new series of Page One is still in production but Charles Adrian's other podcast Muselings returns this February with four episodes on the subject of art and life and nakedness! Here is the first of the episodes, which will give you bookish types a more direct look at the inside of Charles Adrian's head. You can find more information about Muselings, in case you want to listen to the rest of the series, at http://muselings.uk/
Marked as explicit on iTunes because of swearing.
The first voice you hear in this episode belongs to Anna Beecher. You can read about how the interview with Anna came about here: http://showmethemon3y.tumblr.com/post/151681003638/artist-window-studio-day-2-charles-adrian and listen to how it came about here: https://soundcloud.com/charldrian/artist-window-studio-day-2
Some notes on one iteration of Ponyboy Curtis: http://statesofdeliquescence.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/the-first-coming-of-ponyboy-curtis.html
Duende's website: http://duende-ensemble.com/
Anna Beecher: http://www.annabeecher.com/
Paula Varjack: http://paulavarjack.com/
Camden People's Theatre: https://www.cptheatre.co.uk/
Muselings website: http://muselings.uk/
For the 74th Second-Hand Book Factory, Charles Adrian spoke to playwright, performer and accidental sex-positivity educator, advocate and activist Cameryn Moore. They talk about sex, magic, mystery and food.
Cameryn’s Smut Slams kick off in Bristol, London, Brighton and Manchester this month! This is a night of true life storytelling around sex. More information at http://www.camerynmoore.com/smut-slam/
Cameryn’s website: http://www.camerynmoore.com/
Podcast website (for book listing and more info): http://www.pageonepodcast.com/
For the 100th Second-Hand Book Factory, Charles Adrian is joined by award-winning Librarian, Spoken Word Artist and trainee Agony Aunt Ms Samantha Mann. They talk provincial ladies, French poets and Scottish fiddlers.
If you have a dilemma that you would like Samantha to address, in her role as resident Agony Aunt at TRC3, you can find her on Twitter (https://twitter.com/MsSamanthaMann), on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/mssamanthamann/) or you can can get in touch through her own website (http://www.mssamanthamann.com/contact/).
Ms Samantha Mann forgot to mention that she is now on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtrvvtvm5Xzh_12Zme2m5pg
TRC3, the radio station that Samantha and Charles Adrian both work at, can be found at http://theradiocollective.com/three.html. You can hear Samantha answering past dilemmas here: https://soundcloud.com/mssamanthamann/sets/sammannsays
Website (for book listings etc): http://www.pageonepodcast.com/
Next week's episode will be rather special for a couple of reasons. Charles Adrian explains...
Website (for info and previous episodes): http://www.pageonepodcast.com/
For the 99th Second Hand Book Factory, Charles Adrian goes to meet theatrical educationalist and daydreamer Natalie Flynn at the Liverpool Empire Theatre. They talk about childhood, friendship, stories, the wisdom of Pooh, the importance of acceptance and the pain of becoming real.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TED Talk The Danger Of The Single Story can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg
Warning: There is a certain amount of background noise sidling in through the open window of the room this episode was recorded in.
Website (for book listings etc): http://www.pageonepodcast.com/
(Episode image is a detail from the cover of The Original Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams, published by Egmont Press 2004; original art by William Nicholson.)
For the 98th Second-Hand Book Factory, Charles Adrian is joined on the South Bank by professional book expert and compulsive creative Polis Loizou. They talk about the effect of grief on faith and credulity, eye acting, the social commentary to be found in horror fiction and a modern nod to a classic.
Polis’s company Off-Off-Off-Broadway can be found here: http://www.offoffoffbroadway.co.uk/
Website (for more info and book listings): http://www.pageonepodcast.com/
For the 97th Second-Hand Book Factory, Charles Adrian is joined, in a bedroom upstairs at the Battersea Arts Centre in London, by performer and reader Miriam Gould. They discuss books as empathy technology, dead people who never stop talking and moral pornography.
Miriam's website: https://miriamgould.com/
Page One website (for book listing and more info): http://www.pageonepodcast.com/
Episode image is a detail from the cover of The Sadeian Women by Angela Carter, published by Virago Ltd in 1979; the cover painting is itself a detail from Voyeuse by Clovis Trouille © the artist’s estate.
(Marked as explicit on iTunes because of rude language.)
For the 96th Second-Hand Book Factory, Charles Adrian is joined by writer, theatre maker and maybe musician Chris Goode. They talk about a book that killed novels, conversations between artists and one of the women airbrushed from the history of the Beats.
Chris's podcast, Thompson's Live, can be found here http://www.chrisgoodeandcompany.co.uk/podcast/
The website for this podcast is http://www.pageonepodcast.com/
Episode image is a detail from the cover of Revolutionary Letters by Diane di Prima, published in 2007 by Last Gasp of San Francisco; cover design by Tara Marlowe.
Charles Adrian says: "This is Chris Goode talking about what theatre is for him. Most of this was taken out of the final edit of the podcast episode but I think it is worth listening to. The full episode will be released on Tuesday 27th September 2016."
Website http://www.pageonepodcast.com/
Joining Charles Adrian for the 95th Second-Hand Book Factory is designer and artist Bettina John. With scales being sung in the background and both host and guest suffering the comet tail of departed illness, they discuss books as physical objects with interesting histories, art that incorporates different realities in the same frame and stories that are just complex.
Website: http://www.pageonepodcast.com/
Joining Charles Adrian for the 94th Second-Hand Book Factory is bath-taker and cat-poker (also English poet and performer) A. F. Harrold. They talk about an iconic first page, some of the sadness of growing up and a couple of dubious creation stories.
Incidentally, my first visit to Tilehurst was to interview Iszi Lawrence; you can hear our conversation here: http://www.pageonepodcast.com/home/#/page-one-112-iszi-lawrence/.
A. F. Harrold is author of The Imaginary and the Fizzelbert Stump series.
Website: http://www.pageonepodcast.com/
For the 93rd Second-Hand Book Factory, Charles Adrian is joined by inveterate dabbler, also photographer and writer, Katherine Leedale. They discuss books that keep you reading into the night, a failed Peeping Tom and an unhelpful feeling that certain things are not for us.
Photos of Ms Samantha Mann by Katherine are here: http://www.mssamanthamann.com/photos/
Website: http://www.pageonepodcast.com
For the 92nd Second-Hand Book Factory, Charles Adrian is joined by passionate, itinerant generalist and creative (on the interior) Isbel James. They talk about skewed perspectives on familiar places, fiction that feels like memoir (and vice versa) and the descriptive power of Robert Louis Stevenson’s writing.
The photograph that is discussed is, in fact, Tove Jannson’s niece Sophia sitting with her (Sophia’s) grandmother, who was Tove Jannson’s mother.
Website: http://www.pageonepodcast.com
Marked as explicit because of some gentle swearing.
For the 91st Second-Hand Book Factory, Charles Adrian is joined in London’s Russell Square by writer, actor, nerd and (whisper it) ex-gymnast Iskandar Sharazuddin. They talk about the swashbuckling founder of an independent dynastic monarchy, the shifting sands of identity and the creation of a ferocious emotional truth.
It is interesting to note, perhaps, how relentlessly noisy central London is.
Website: http://www.pageonepodcast.com/
A note about the rating: This episode is marked as explicit because there is a brief and passing reference to sexual assault.
Joining Charles Adrian for the 90th Second-Hand Book Factory is creative layabout, also actor, writer and blagger, Joseph Paterson. They talk about seeing the world through someone else’s eyes, the crossroads of people’s lives, and the pleasure that comes with being read to.
As you will hear, Joseph would like it to be known that the phrase he was looking for to describe himself is WINGING IT.
Website: http://www.pageonepodcast.com
Joining Charles Adrian for the 89th Second-Hand Book Factory is poet, writer, performer, facilitator and musician, otherwise artist Antosh Wojcik. They talk about feeling naked on the train, a decent workaday detective and a good idiosyncratic voice.
Incidentally, I love the way Antosh refers to his neighbour as 'Next Door'.
Website: pageonepodcast
Joining Charles Adrian for the 88th Second-Hand Book Factory is artist, designer, musician and all-round creative Satoshi Dāté. They talk about a kind of self-help literature, a very particular strain of Englishness and a lot of origami cranes. Satoshi reads in Japanese so there is ear porn on offer for language addicts.
Website: pageonepodcast.com
Content note: mention of suicide
Joining Charles Adrian downriver of the Thames Barrier for the 87th Second-Hand Book Factory is writer and illustrator Donna Butlin. They reminisce about Donna’s project Storytape, dark comedy done really well, the familiarity of fables and how talking about death can make you think about life.
Website: pageonepodcast.com
This episode is marked as explicit because there is some discussion of sex with trees (dendrophilia) and of sex in general.
Recorded in Tilehurst (near Reading) on Pancake Day, Charles Adrian is joined for the 86th Second-Hand Book Factory by comedian, podcaster, graphic designer and voice-over artist Iszi Lawrence. They talk dendrophilia, a woman who sits at one of the crossroads of European history and the danger of hope.
Website: pageonepodcast.com
A quick note about the rating of this episode: I’ve marked this episode as explicit because there are some sexual references. Nothing that’s going to make you choke on your cornflakes but you might want to be careful around children and anybody who doesn’t know about sex.
Joining Charles Adrian for the 85th Second-Hand Book Factory is actor, performer, theatre-maker, writer, and space and science geek Griffyn Gilligan. They talk about why the measure of love is loss, how we deal with the passing of time and dreaming either of his long neck in our teeth or his long teeth in our necks. Griffyn, incidentally, played Jaq in the recent production of Teddy Ferrara at the Donmar Warehouse in London.
Website: pageonepodcast.com
Joining Charles Adrian for the 84th Second-Hand Book Factory is actress and writer Nancy Crane. They talk about Raymond Chandler as a poet of loneliness, the brilliance of Charles Dickens and having to be on your own to see.
Incidentally, it turns out that there have been both radio and television adaptations of Martin Chuzzlewit.
Website: pageonepodcast.com
For the 83rd Second-Hand Book Factory, Charles Adrian is joined by professional podcaster and human woman Helen Zaltzman. They marvel at the sincerity of an early-seventies feminist life-swap, share the joy of making stuff and discover Mexican Menonites.
Website: pageonepodcast.com
A quick note about the rating for this episode: I’ve marked this episode explicit only in case you consider the phrase ‘getting dicked over’ to be rude.
For the 82nd Second-Hand Book Factory, Charles Adrian is joined by lecturer, podcaster and musician Martin Zaltz Austwick. They share their love of eggs, talk about a perceived need to justify a love of fantasy literature and discuss cluster memories. Incidentally, Martin’s song choice would have been No Children from the album Tallahasse by John Darnielle’s group The Mountain Goats. The podcasts that Martin is involved in making are: Answer Me This, Song By Song, Brain Train and The Global Lab.
Website: pageonepodcast.com
For the 81st Second-Hand Book Factory, Charles Adrian is joined by long-time friend and unofficial agent Vera Chok, who describes herself here as an actress, writer, performance-maker and dork. “I was so happy,” she says, “when I finally discovered that I didn’t have to dance like a cool kid.”
They talk new perspectives on writers of colour, a novel to fill you up and questions of green dye.
Info about The Good Immigrant, edited by Nikesh Shukla, which Vera has contributed to is here.
Website: pageonepodcast.com
The fourth season of Page One will kick off on the 16th of February with the 107th Page One featuring long-time collaborator Vera Chok. For more information about the podcast, please visit pageonepodcast.com.
Episodes from this season will be available via iTunes (look for Page One Podcast) and Soundcloud (look for charldrian).
Content Note: There is some racially offensive language in this episode. There are also lots of thumps and bumps so, if you have sensitive ears or if you listen through headphones, please proceed with caution.
Joining Charles Adrian for the 80th Second-Hand Book Factory is contrarian and alternative poet and performer Neil Spokes. They talk about playing with form, guitar pedals, a book that Charles Adrian doesn’t remember very well and a book that Christopher Hitchins may or may not have liked.
The previous episode, which features Neil’s wife Tina, is here
Christie Malry’s previous appearance on the podcast is here
Joining Charles Adrian for the 79th Second-Hand Book Factory is poet, performer and promoter – or artistic explorer to her friends – Tina Sederholm. With the sound of George sighing in the background, they discuss art outside the box, bad dancing, living in a cold world and goodness as a woman’s lot.
Some Links:
Nessuno video
Drake Hotline video
Page One Murder Mystery episode
Page One episode featuring Larry's Party by Carol Shields
Faeries on Bandcamp
For the 78th Second-Hand Book Factory, Charles Adrian is joined by hobbyist and perfectionist amateur playwright, comedian, pianist, juggler and French speaker Daniel Elliot, who is on the verge of becoming a professional business intelligence research analyst. Daniel also brought the leaves for the fresh mint tea that they drink. They touch on wanting to be a pound coin, the joy of staying at home and the emotions of a bee. Except that, apparently, the last book is about more than just the emotions of a bee.
This is not a Page One but it is a podcast episode. It's a preview of the first episode of a new series of podcasts called Muselings. All the episodes in this first series (at least) are going to be short, true and about podcaster Charles Adrian. This episode is about shyness and knocking on people's doors. More information about the podcast is at muselings.uk.
For the 77th Second-Hand Book Factory, Charles Adrian meets actor, wanderer and discover Rebecca Yeo at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich, London. They talk about the importance of asking questions without expecting answers, a seminal book on acting and banquet bugs in China.
With a clock ticking implacably in the background, Charles Adrian meets mother, mobile artist and edible gardener Viviana Rossi-Cafell for the 76th Second-Hand Book Factory. They talk about the transformative effect of gardening, a warm feeling of friendship and a feeling that comes just before crying. Italian is spoken in this episode, both well and badly. You can see some of Viviana’s work here.
For the 101st Page One (which, as listeners of Page One 100 will know, is actually the 102nd episode of the podcast), Charles Adrian talks about the five novels he would take with him to a desert island, if he were forced to go. And allowed to take books. These books are essential. And long.
(Here, by the way, is Charles Adrian talking about The Folding Star on Steve Wasserman’s podcast Read Me Something You Love)
For the 100th Page One (which, as Charles Adrian explains, is actually the 101st edition of the podcast), we are given a brainload of statistics. How many pages have been read in how many languages by how many people etc. If these and other questions have been exercising your attention, this episode is for you. Charles Adrian also shares something of his own (also to be found here) and he plays some funny music and some beautiful music.
“You are the music while the music lasts.” For the 75th Second-Hand Book Factory, Charles Adrian is joined by pianist and Korean-American mutt SooJin Anjou to discuss the need for contradiction and art that contains the world (no small ambition). This will be the last of these Second-Hand Book Factories for a while so, in Groucho’s words, please hug yourselves for me. [On the question of classical music on the podcast, a clarification: of course, while I was editing this, I remembered that I played some Schubert for Ted Schmitz as part of the 30th Page One, which you can find here.]
A special vintage edition of Page One this week as Charles Adrian is joined by his little sister Lissa for the 28th Second-Hand Book Factory. Between sips of tea and mouthfuls of cake at the Chiswick House Café, they discuss their suspicion of people who haven’t read Harry Potter, their shared appreciation for the playfulness of Jasper Fforde and opium. Incidentally, Harry Potter fans might want to read this.
For the 74th Second-Hand Book Factory, Charles Adrian is joined by playwright, performer and accidental sex-positivity educator, advocate and activist Cameryn Moore. They talk about the level of detail in some rich historical fantasy, some of the advantages of a really big tea cup and the realisation that people write creatively about their food experiences. [Note: apologies for the phone that buzzes at 5:50; this is the result of a schoolboy error on the part of the podcaster.]
For the 73rd Second-Hand Book Factory, Charles Adrian talks to comedian, writer, promoter and human organism Barry Ferns about the effect of parental care on infants, how to get more time at home and an intense but life-affirming account of some difficult experiences. Find out more about Barry at barryferns.com.
For the 72nd Second-Hand Book Factory, Charles Adrian is joined in Zürich by Englishman Will Ellis (and, almost inaudibly, by his wife Agnes) to talk about a couple of confident explorers and whether or not Will speaks Spanish.
Another of the vintage episodes from Page One’s London Fields Radio days, this is the very first outside recording done for Page One and, while the sound quality is poor - it’s what might be called an atmospheric recording, if you were being very generous – the books and conversation make up for any aural discomfort. Hopefully. Charles Adrian’s guest here is singer and self-confessed Gilligan avatar Ted Schmitz, who, like Charles Adrian, is a member of the Berlin-based theatre ensemble Nico And The Navigators.
For the 71st Second-Hand Book Factory, Charles Adrian is joined by anthropologist and human Karin Eli for talk about the fight to gain one’s place in the world, a little bit of undemanding murder and some of the challenges of translation.
Charles Adrian is joined for the 70th Second-Hand Book Factory by failed mathematician and failed actuary Colin Bartlett. They talk about semi-autobiography, Duke Ellington, clouds and one of the best books of the 20th century.
[The Vera mentioned is, of course, Vera Chok, whose latest Page One is here.]
For the 69th Second-Hand Book Factory, Charles Adrian is joined at the Festival Hall in London by Tom Bowtell, who describes himself as a writer, actor, director and maker of adventures (and you should look up some of the things he does with his company here). Their discussion covers bold beginnings, the riches to be found in random facts and bird jizz (entirely SFW, by the way).
For the 68th Second-Hand Book Factory, Charles Adrian is joined by radio producer, carer, stand-up comic and empath Lolie Ware. They discuss the introduction of the elbow, unsuitable jobs for women and the importance of paper maps in an age of smart phones.
(addendum: P. D. James died a week after this podcast was recorded. You can read an obituary here.)
Richard Purnell, a man who likes to take the truth for a walk, joins Charles Adrian for the 67th Second-Hand Book Factory. They talk about the comedy to be found in the detail, the morality of converts and a rare German book in translation. More about Richard here.
Opening another season of Page One, Charles Adrian is joined by long-time collaborator Vera Chok to talk about reproduction, the ‘discovery’ of the clitoris and sex as prose poetry. Incidentally, Charles Adrian talks a certain amount of rubbish about the discovery of the clitoris and the controversy surrounding female souls as well as about the history and use of syllogisms; please click links for more accurate information.
The third season of Page One is on its way! On Tuesday 6th of January, 2015, the 90th Page One will be available to download (or will drop, magically and mysteriously, into subscribers' podcast folders).
Meanwhile, for fans of 'live' radio, episodes from the second season (October, 2013 - July, 2014) will be playing two at a time on internet radio station jemmthree.com on Sunday mornings at 11am from Sunday the 4th of January, 2015.
This week’s vintage Page One, which originally went out in October 2012, sees Charles Adrian talking to comedian Tom Webb. There is a curious lack of books in this episode but Tom and host Charles Adrian have fun discussing facebook, Scott Capurro and The Dice Man by Luke Rhinehart. Incidentally – in case you are looking for connections – the last track is from the album The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars and spiders build webs. It’s embarrassing, but there it is. You can follow Charles Adrian on twitter @charldrian.
Tom and Charles Adrian both have shows to plug at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2014. Information about Tom and his shows is here. Information about Charles Adrian and his show is here.
For the 65th Second-Hand Book Factory, Charles Adrian is joined by performance artist, writer and musician Nick Field. It may have been a tactical error to sit outside, at a café not far from Victoria station in London, where the background noise from taxis, buses and other voices threatens to overwhelm the conversation at times. Oh, and you will hear the microphone summersault off its improvised mic stand at one point. It is nearly the summer holidays for Page One; everythings is falling apart. But the episode is still worth listening to. Promise.
Nick’s music, incidentally, can be found online here.
Hosting Charles Adrian for the 64th Second-Hand Book Factory in her Motel de Nowhere in Bethnal Green is artist and performer Susannah Hewlett. They talk about the effect of abuse in different ways and the push to create nicknames. Information about Motel de Nowhere is here. and you can find out more about Chris Titmas here.
For the 63rd Second-Hand Book Factory, Charles Adrian is joined by writer and sometime academic Alan Cunningham. They talk about precision in the face of horror, the creation of fear and just plain good storytelling. Oh, and get ready to sit back and chill out at the end of the episode for nearly ten minutes of gentle bliss. You can listen to Alan talking to Charles Adrian about his own book, Count From Zero To One Hundred, here.
Shorter than usual, for good reason, this week’s Page One is a skim through the first pages of some short stories. Always remember that the first page of a short story is extremely good value because what you are getting is a greater proportion of the whole.
[Warning: some bad language occurs in the middle of the podcast]
For the 62nd Second-Hand Book Factory, Charles Adrian is joined by Gary Powell, who is the manager of a real book shop, on the street in Exmouth Market in London. After a wobbly start, they talk about an unlikely liking for sport, the realisation that maybe nobody can give you what you need and the latest addition to a classic collection.
You can buy the Rachel Kann book and find out more about her here.
The podcast with Gary’s boyfriend John, which we talk about, was put out again recently. You can listen and download here.
[Warning: some bad language from beginning]
For the 61st Second-Hand Book Factory, Charles Adrian sits down to eat with performer, writer, director and 32-year-old Caroline Horton. Without the help of physical books, they manage to talk about poetry competitions, lightness of touch and beauty in graphic form. You can find out more about Caroline here.
Another of the podcasts dredged up from Page One’s London Fields Radio past, Charles Adrian is joined here by ‘maker’ Greg Wohead. They talk about writing, running and the far north east (of America). Greg is a wonderful storyteller and is frequently to be found on tour – more information about his work and his tour dates is here.
A note about the end of the podcast: Greg and I talk about the radio play The Air Gap, which Greg had starred in, and which told the story of Chelsea Manning. At the time of recording this conversation, Chelsea Manning was still known as Bradley Manning.
Joining Charles Adrian at the Farm Shop in Dalston for the 60th Second-Hand Book Factory is actress Liz Chan. They have a calm and quiet talk and exchange memories in different forms. Disclaimer: Having asked his guest to turn off her phone, Charles Adrian failed to turn off his; he apologises, therefore, for a little electronic interference towards the beginning of this recording. He also apologises for the occasional sound of chewing as he eats some rather nice lemon drizzle cake.
For the 59th Second-Hand Book Factory, Charles Adrian is joined by Dave Pickering, who is a freelance storyteller, podcaster and, on the day we met, author of an article about the disappearance of his previous job that was published in the Guardian’s Comment Is Free section; you can read the article here and the blog post that it is based on is here. Also, if you think you might be interested, check out Miranda July’s Learning To Love You More project here. And here is a link to Dave’s Getting Better Acquainted podcast.
[Warning: some bad language during the first music track]
Sitting outside the Money Museum in Athens, Charles Adrian is joined by musician, performer and teacher Vicky Sachpazi for the 58th Second-Hand Book Factory. They talk about the science of religiosity, the right way to behave in a room and Lawrence Durrell’s ‘poet of the city’. (Incidentally, if you haven’t already, check out the 55th Page One, in which Charles Adrian talks about Lawrence Durrell’s Alexandria Quartet!) More information about Trio Tzane is here.
On top of Mount Parnitha just outside Athens, with a storm and a dog and some people in the background, Charles Adrian talks to performer Erifili Stefanidou (not to be confused with the other actress of the same name) for the 57th Second-Hand Book Factory. They talk about the most famous book in modern Greek, something splenetic by a famous Russian and something sweet by a relatively famous Frenchman. When Charles Adrian says ‘pilote’ he means, of course, ‘Pilate’.
Alison Windsor describes herself as a teaching artist with an interest in theatre and language, which is a neat shorthand for some of the kinds of things that she does. For the 56th Second-Hand Book Factory, she has flown from Sydney, Australia, to Athens, Greece, to talk to Charles Adrian about Kundera’s lightness of touch, the first play performed in (colonial) Australia and to swap stories about Paris. In the background you will occasionally hear the sound of next week’s guest… More information about Alison is here.
This week Charles Adrian puts on his poetry voice to read from some poetry pamphlets that he has found beneath Waterloo Bridge. That’s it. He encourages his listeners to embrace poetry.
Get ready for one of the classic key-changes of modern times kicking off this vintage Page One, in which artist and provocateur John Walter joins Charles Adrian in the Wilton Way Café in Hackney at a time when this podcast was still being made for London Fields Radio. John is currently raising money for Alien Sex Club, which is planned for July and August 2015 and aims to raise awareness of rising HIV infection rates among gay people. You can find out more and donate via his sponsume page here. His own website is here.
For the 55th Second-Hand Book Factory, Charles Adrian is joined by Bernadette Russell, an artist who makes theatre pieces, books, objects, installations, radio plays and more or less whatever strikes her fancy. We talk about reactions to art, whether we should settle for reality as it presents itself and beds in bookshops. Find out more about Are You Sitting Comfortably and the 366 Days Of Kindness project here. You can read about the wonderful Wigtown Book Festival here. [Warning: edited for language]
Joining Charles Adrian for the 54th Second-Hand Book Factory is Ben Walters whose work life takes him to, between and around film, moving image, cabaret, performance and queer culture. They usher in the purple epoch of Hollywood, the fight against the patriarchy and a peculiarly loveable psychopath. Follow Ben on Twitter as @not_television. Oh, and there's a video of Justin Vivian Bond singing The Golden Age Of Hustlers here. [Warning: two instances of possibly offensive language]
Joining Charles Adrian in the Candid Arts Café near the Angel, Islington, for the 53rd Second-Hand Book Factory is writer, performer and clown doctor Anna Tobert. Live on air, they sign the form that puts an end to their dormant theatre company, The Same Person Ltd, and they talk about some things they know a lot about and some things they don’t. The first piece music is Anna’s choice but made after the podcast was recorded, which is why it is unannounced. Here is a link to the Mandela podcast Charles Adrian talks about. [Warning: there some offensive language during the CocoRosie track]
Charles Adrian is joined for the 52nd Second-Hand Book Factory at a noisy Royal Festival Hall in London by avid reader and mega-commuter Katrina Crear. They talk about art and value and Australia. Bill Bryson is mentioned. Charles Adrian wants to say Royal Opera House towards the middle of the episode and, instead, says Royal Festival Hall twice; he also seems to say E flat instead of B flat when describing the Corelli track. Of such mistakes are blushes made.
Charles Adrian shares his love for Fantasy literature this week and reads from some properly brilliant books. He also uses this as an excuse to pontificate on the function of art.
Gloriously named actress, performance artist and poet warrior Isabelle Schoelcher joins Charles Adrian for the 51st Second-Hand Book Factory. They talk about the yellow sun gang, about sex and about the sea. They get off topic for a while in order to talk about the kittens but, knowing Isabelle, this seems appropriate. [Warning: French speakers may spot some objectionable language] Here is a youtube clip of Jacques Brel performing Vesoul
Poet, performer and former child Francesca Beard joins Charles Adrian for the 50th Second-Hand Book Factory. They talk about two books that transcend their subject matter and one book that is a call to consciousness. Links to Francesca's work mentioned here include: this, this and this.
Get ready for the beautiful sound of some German language: an unwell Julian Meding starts this 49th Second-Hand Book Factory by introducing Charles Adrian to the science of strolling (Spaziergangswissenschaft). They also talk about the politics of threesomes and Julian brings both great music and deathless critical thinking. Apologies for the electronic intrusions - Julian wasn't asked to turn off his phone, which is Charles Adrian's fault. [Warning: some swearing]
For the 48th Second-Hand Book Factory, Charles Adrian talks to category-hopper Jaya Hartlein about life being not like it is in the movies, questions of scale and suitable topics for Applied Theatre. Jaya, as is somehow not mentioned, has just finished a Masters in Applied Theatre.
Incidentally, if anybody else is unaware of the Pina Colada song, it turns out to be very easy to find on youtube. Of course.
For this week's Page One, Charles Adrian looks into the future and the past and alternative reality and other planets. It's a whistle stop tour of science fiction and should satisfy the soul of anybody who has ever wondered what things might be like if they were different. Incidentally, Charles Adrian writes: "I can only apologise for the offensively bad Scottish accent used at around the 13-minute mark." [Warning: some explicit sexual content.]
Promised links: more info about Friends Of Friends can be found at https://soundcloud.com/foftheband
and more info about the Anti-Valentine Festival can be found at http://beautifulbitchmonsteridiot.com/2014/01/09/anti-valentine-big-on-love/
Repackaged for iTunes, here, from January 2013, is the 10th Second-Hand Book Factory. Charles Adrian is joined by Gloria Sanders, who describes herself as an actress and an explorer and whose beautiful poetry can be found at http://poetryzoo.com/author/glorsanders. Incidentally: the word 'Over-Soul', later much misused by Charles Adrian, makes its first appearance on the podcast during this recording. As explained, this episode has been shortened; the original, full length interview can still be found in the archives at pageonepodcast.com.
For the 47th Second-Hand Book Factory, Charles Adrian is joined by journalist (among other things) Oscar Rickett. After a rocky start, they talk about a particular kind of American comic writing, a melancholy penguin and Fitzgerald's elegant command of emotion. You can listen to Fairewell's music here: https://soundcloud.com/fairewell. [Warning: some swearing]
Battling background noise in the foyer of the Almeida in London's Islington, Charles Adrian takes screenwriter and playwright Erik Patterson through his first ever (broadcast) podcast. They talk about the world as a playground for imperial Brits and the surprisingly immediate appeal of a Russian classic. For anybody who is interested, the Frug is demonstrated here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SsnwALj6G0
[Warning: there is some bad language in this episode.]
After a slightly unfocused start to this 45th Second-Hand Book Factory, Charles Adrian gets down to asking his old schoolfriend Christine Goldsmith (née Morris) about the books and music that she likes. They talk about things that cannot be put right, the correct names for rooms and furniture, and the notion that some books might secretly have better beginnings. [Episode edited for language.] More information at www.pageonepodcast.com.
Natalie 'shouty' Clarke joins Charles Adrian for a fractionally longer-than-normal and marginally explicit 44th Second-Hand Book Factory in the café at the front of the Royal Festival Hall in London. They talk about the potential downsides of time-travel, identification with plotlines and Jesuits in space. Pedants' corner: for "secret society" towards the end of the episode, please substitute "secretive society"; Charles Adrian also realises that the phrase "explicit edit" would be a more colloquial expression to describe the Wretch 32 track than "explicit edition".
For the last Page One of 2013, Charles Adrian serves up a dish of murder. Expect classic writers alongside a couple of relative whippersnappers. Happy holidays!
Allan Taylor, artist, academic and writer joins Charles Adrian for the 43rd Second-Hand Book Factory. Beginning with a modern classic and navigating onward between banks of paradox and proto-trash, the episode finishes with the soundtrack to Allan's own, internal, bad-day-to-good-day montage sequence. Allan's work can be found at allanstanleytaylor.com.