Midweek - 20/05/2009

Libby Purves is joined by Penelope Wilton, Colm O'Gorman, Donald Reeves and Bradley and Soren Stauffer Kruse. Penelope Wilton is one of Britain's leading actresses. She is about play Gertrude in Michael Grandage's production of Hamlet. Her work is extensive and includes - for theatre - The Family Reunion, The Chalk Garden (for which she won the Evening Standard Award for Best Actress) and The House of Bernarda Alba, for television Half Broken Things, Dr Who and Ever Decreasing Circles, and for film The History Boys, Pride and Prejudice and Calendar Girls. Hamlet is part of the Donmar in the West End season at Wyndham's Theatre. Colm O'Gorman is Ireland's executive director of Amnesty International and founder of the charity One in Four, which helps victims of abuse. When he was 14 he suffered sexual abuse over several years by a local parish priest, who went on to be accused of 66 charges of sexual offences against teenage boys. In 1998 he sued the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope. Beyond Belief is published by Hodder & Stoughton. Donald Reeves is probably best known for being Rector of St James's, Piccadilly, where he created a radical church with a coffee house and street market. In his book, Memoirs of a Very Dangerous Man, he tells of life in the church as well as his several brushes with Lady Thatcher and his devotion to working for peace in the Balkans. Memoirs of a Very Dangerous Man is published by Continuum. The Sugar Dandies are made up of Soren and Bradley Stauffer Kruse. They are the same sex ballroom dance champions and the first male couple to be regular ballroom dance competitors. They will be performing in Ida Barr's Variety Parade at the Sheffield Lyceum on Sunday, 24th May.