大象传媒

The best arts and culture features of the week with Mark Coles.

Zimbabwe Theatre
A rare glimpse behind the scenes of the arts in Zimbabwe as two exiled actors, Denton Chikura and Tonderai Munyevu, discuss and perform an extract of the play that came out of their experience of returning home - reflecting the hopes and aspirations of its people.

Jeffery Deaver
The American crime writer Jeffery Deaver has written 25 novels and sold more than 20 million copies worldwide. His first book featuring the quadriplegic forensic detective, Lincoln Rhyme, was made in to a major Hollywood blockbuster. He talks to The Strand about his latest work, Roadside Crosses, featuring the kinesics expert, Kathryn Dance, whose investigations into a roadside murder leads her into the world of online gaming, blogs and social networking sites.

Re-taking Pelham 1 2 3
The director Tony Scott talks about his new film starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta. In "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" what starts off as a normal day on the New York subway soon becomes a race against time as a packed commuter train is hijacked and a ransom is set.

Mahmoud Darwish
Almost a year after the death of the great Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, his final collection of poems and essays has just been published. The Strand reviews A River Dies of Thirst and asks if this last book is his finest.

Thirst
We review the new film from Park Chan-wook, the acclaimed South Korean director who brought us Old Boy. Thirst stars Song Kang-ho as a priest who turns into a vampire after a failed medical experiment.

Merce Cunningham
We talk to one of the UK's leading dance critics about the work and influence of the late, great choreographer Merce Cunningham.

Womad
Ruth Barnes talks to Malian singer Rokia Traore backstage at this year's Womad world music festival. And you can also hear music from Rokia Traore's stunning performance recorded at the festival.