Alastair Sooke
2021Pride and Prejudice: Having a Ball
Ian Denyer
Jeanice Brooks, Hilary Davidson
In Pride And Prejudice: Having A Ball, social historian Amanda Vickery leads the action as a team of experts recreate a Regency ball in honour of the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen’s popular novel. Joined by Alastair Sooke and a coterie of professionals – a food historian, a costume expert, music history academics and a choreographer who trains a team of dance students to take to the floor– cameras will follow the recreation inspired by Austen’s Netherfield ball. This intimate country house ball drives the plot of the Pride And Prejudice, and is a key turning point in the romance between Elizabeth Bennett and Mr Darcy.
Pride and Prejudice: Having a Ball
Constable: A Country Rebel
Spike Geilinger
Alastair Sooke
The Haywain by John Constable is such a comfortingly familiar image of rural Britain that it is difficult to believe it was ever regarded as a revolutionary painting, but in this film, made in conjunction with a landmark exhibition at the V&A, Alastair Sooke discovers that Constable was painting in a way that was completely new and groundbreaking at the time. Through experimentation and innovation, he managed to make a sublime art from humble things and, though he struggled in his own country during his lifetime, his genius was surprisingly widely admired in France.
Constable: A Country Rebel
Robert Rauschenberg: Pop Art Pioneer
Kate Misrahi
Alastair Sooke
Rauschenberg was the first artist to win the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 1964, creating a crucial bridge between the abstract expressionists of the 50s and the pop artists who emerged in the 60s. Famous for his 'combines' that elevated the rich junk of life to the status of high art, he continued to work right up to his death in 2008, collaborating with dancers, scientists and social activists on a startlingly broad array of projects.
Robert Rauschenberg: Pop Art Pioneer
Whaam! Roy Lichtenstein at Tate Modern
Colette Camden
Alastair Sooke
Alastair Sooke takes us on an exclusive personal tour of the Roy Lichtenstein Retrospective at Tate Modern. Offering an in-depth look at one of the year's most talked about exhibitions, Alastair and guests explore the enduring appeal of Lichtenstein's imagery, debate the controversies around his work and his influence on today's generation of artists and tackle the big question - was Lichtenstein a Pop Art genius and one of the defining image-makers of the 20th century, or a one-trick wonder whose big idea was so powerful he could never let it go?
Whaam! Roy Lichtenstein at Tate Modern
An Art Lovers' Guide: Lisbon
Ben Harding
Janina Ramirez, Alastair Sooke
Janina Ramirez and Alastair Sooke head to Lisbon, rapidly becoming one of Europe's most popular tourist destinations. Winding through the city's cobbled streets, from its steep hills to the picturesque shore line, the cultural riches they encounter reveal the city's fascinating history.
An Art Lovers' Guide: Lisbon
