Night Waves - James Earl Jones/Albert Camus Legacy/French Colonialism/Nadifa Mohamed

Rana Mitter talks to actor James Earl Jones about American playwright August Wilson. Jones was in the original 1987 Broadway production of Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Fences, a new version of which has been produced for Radio 3. Rana also discusses the legacy of Albert Camus 50 years on from his death in a car crash. Andy Martin joins him to talk about Camus' writing, his relevance now and his attitude to the colonial struggles in his native Algeria. French colonialism is also the subject of a wider discussion, as 2010 marks the 50th anniversary of the great swathe of French de-colonisation in Sub-Saharan Africa when Cameroon, Togoland, Senegal and many others became independent countries. Rana discusses the historical events of the period and their legacy today. Art historian Gus Casely Hayford joins the conversation to talk about Africa pre-independence. His series of BBC FOUR programmes looking at the deep history of Africa starts with a search for the ancient kingdom of Nubia through artefacts such as bell rocks and great brick mausoleums. And to mark the beginning of a new year, Rana interviews a series of writers, playwrights and artists who have achieved breakthroughs in 2010 - whether with a first novel, exhibition or play. Here, novelist Nadifa Mohamed about her much-anticipated debut novel Black Mamba Boy.