Catch up TV
2023: The Factory: Made in Manchester
imagine... tells the story of Manchester’s colossal new cultural venue - Aviva Studios - the home of Factory International and the Manchester International Festival.\n\nWith multiple flexible spaces, including one large enough to house a jumbo jet, it is the UK’s largest cultural investment since Tate Modern. A destination for the arts and music, it has been described as the most important cultural development in Europe.\n\nThe possibilities offered by this vast and ambitious building have been explored to the full by its opening production, Free Your Mind – an epic, immersive dance retelling of the 1999 film The Matrix, which foretold the importance of AI.\n\nimagine... will take viewers behind the scenes of this striking production with local boy and Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle, choreographer Kenrick ‘H2O’ Sandy and composer Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante, and will also explore the creative processes of designer Es Devlin and writer Sabrina Mahfouz as they prepare to present their show, and this new building, to the world.\n\nFor Manchester, this moment is about more than launching a new venue – it is the culmination of decades of cultural regeneration, which began when Factory Records and the Hacienda put the city on the musical map. It is also a bold statement about the future of the arts in the north and the role they can play in all our lives. But at a cost of £240 million (more than twice its original budget), in a climate of cuts and a cost-of-living crisis, the pressure is on for this expensive new venture to bring jobs, training and creative opportunities to communities across the region. \n\nAlan Yentob hears from local performers, artists, city leaders and students, and watches as the Free Your Mind cast take to the stage for their world premiere with a performance that, in the words of Danny Boyle, seeks to ‘hand over the keys of the building to the people of Manchester’.
Source: BBC 4
Most recent episodes of imagine...
Imagine...
Vincent Van Gogh: Painted With Words
Drama-documentary presented by Alan Yentob, with Benedict Cumberbatch in the lead role as Van Gogh. \n\nEvery word spoken by the actors in this film is sourced from the letters ...
15-10-2024
BBC 4
Imagine...
2019: 3. Bill Viola: The Road To St Paul's
Bill Viola is renowned the world over as a pioneer of video art. As the Royal Academy in London mounts a major exhibition of his vast and immersive installations, alongside work ...
04-08-2024
BBC 4
Imagine...
2019: 4. Edna O'brien: Fearful And Fearless
Edna O’Brien is one of the greatest literary talents and rule breakers of her generation. In 1960, her revolutionary debut novel ‘The Country Girls’ broke down ...
29-07-2024
BBC 4
Imagine...
Autumn 2016: Listen To Me Marlon
Stevan Riley's award-winning documentary Listen to Me Marlon uses hundreds of hours of Marlon Brando's own archival audio tapes and home movie footage, combined with excerpts fr ...
06-07-2024
BBC 4
Imagine...
Winter 2017/18: 5. Ingrid Bergman In Her Own Words
Widely regarded as one of the greatest actresses of the 20th century, Ingrid Bergman's talent was matched only by her incandescent screen presence. From her infamous performance ...
16-06-2024
BBC 4
Imagine...
Winter 2012: 1. Ian Rankin And The Case Of The Disappearing Detective
Britain's most successful crime writer, Ian Rankin, invites imagine... to get up close and personal and follow him as he writes his next novel. \n\nMaverick cop DI John Rebus pr ...
15-06-2024
BBC 4
Imagine...
Spring 2007: 1. Gilbert And George: No Surrender
Arts series presented by Alan Yentob. Over the last 40 years, British artists Gilbert and George have fascinated, outraged, delighted and confounded the art establishment. Since ...
10-06-2024
BBC 4
Imagine...
Summer 2010 - Tom Jones - What Good Am I?
Alan Yentob examines the extraordinary story of one of Britain's most recognisable pop icons, Sir Tom Jones. In a frank and revealing interview, Sir Tom describes his rise to fame.
08-06-2024
BBC 4
Imagine...
Winter 2017/18: 2. Mel Brooks: Unwrapped
At the age of 91, Mel Brooks is unstoppable, with his musical Young Frankenstein opening to great critical acclaim in London in late 2017. Alan Yentob visits Mel at home in Holl ...
30-05-2024
BBC 4
Most popular episodes of imagine...
Imagine...
Winter 2017/18: 4. Philip Pullman: Angels And Daemons
Romantic, fearless, fantastical; this edition delves into the thrilling world of Philip Pullman and explores the author's own dark materials. \n\nPullman has been named both one ...
03-11-2019
BBC 4
Imagine...
2020: 1. Lenny Henry: Young, Gifted And Black
Alan Yentob follows one of our best loved performers as he releases his first autobiography charting his early years in show business. In this revealing and poignant film Sir Le ...
10-10-2023
BBC 4
Imagine...
Spring 2018: 2. Orhan Pamuk: A Strange Mind
Turkey's best-known writer, the Nobel Prize-winning Orhan Pamuk, glories in his city of Istanbul, which in his lifetime has grown from two to fifteen million people. Despite pol ...
12-07-2018
BBC 4
Imagine...
2022: 1. Marian Keyes: My (not So) Perfect Life
Author Marian Keyes is loved and admired the world over for her darkly comic and confessional writing. Her novels, which are often described as comedy romance or chick lit, draw ...
07-02-2022
BBC 4
Imagine...
2023: The Factory: Made In Manchester
imagine... tells the story of Manchester’s colossal new cultural venue - Aviva Studios - the home of Factory International and the Manchester International Festival.\n\nWi ...
11-12-2023
BBC 4
Imagine...
Spring 2007: 1. Gilbert And George: No Surrender
Arts series presented by Alan Yentob. Over the last 40 years, British artists Gilbert and George have fascinated, outraged, delighted and confounded the art establishment. Since ...
10-06-2024
BBC 4
Imagine...
Winter 2017/18: 2. Mel Brooks: Unwrapped
At the age of 91, Mel Brooks is unstoppable, with his musical Young Frankenstein opening to great critical acclaim in London in late 2017. Alan Yentob visits Mel at home in Holl ...
30-05-2024
BBC 4