Arena is a British television documentary series, made and broadcast by the BBC. Voted by leading TV executives in Broadcast as one of the top 50 most influential programmes of all time, it has run since 1 October 1975 with over five hundred episodes made, directed by the likes of Martin Scorsese, Alan Yentob, Roly Keating, Frederick Baker, Volker Schlondorff and Vikram Jayanti. Arena's subjects are a roll-call of the world's best known cultural figures from the 20th and 21st centuries, from singers Bob Dylan and Amy Winehouse to academics Edward Said and Eric Hobsbawm, from writers Jean Genet and V S Naipaul to artists Francis Bacon and Louise Bourgeois. The current series editor is Anthony Wall.
Showing Season 1 of 45
Season 1
1975
No overview available.
01. Theatre
1975-10-01
Premiere. Ronald Eyre reviews what's going on in the theatre, Kenneth Tynan talks to Laurence Olivier about Lilian Baylis and The Old Vic, and a film about David Hockney's sets for The Rake's Progress.
02. Art and Design
1975-10-08
George Melly looks at how they sold the 70's and a report on the opening of the Space Studios.
03. Theatre
1975-10-15
An interview with Howard Barker, author of 'Stripwell', and an extract from same; commentary by Kenneth Tynan; and an investigation of 'Birds of Paradise'.
04. Art and Design
1975-10-22
Cartoonist Mel Caiman on the New Yorker magazine and its artists, Richard Hamilton at the Serpentine Gallery, and a new documentary exhibition from Jarrow.
05. Theatre
1975-10-29
Peter Hall talks about the history and new South Band location of the National Theater, where he is artistic director.
06. Art and Design
1975-11-05
Features Observer critic William Feaver on Painting the End of the World, Bill Brandt's selection of landscape photography at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the best of science fiction illustration.
07. Theatre
1975-11-12
Extract from a contemporary play and Kenneth Tynan opines.
08. Art and Design
1975-11-19
Shirley Conran is the guest columnist; fashion photographer Barry Lategan is filmed working; and Victorian painter Edward Burne-Jones' London exhibition.
09. Theatre
1975-11-26
Deborah Norton reviews British stage events, a play extract, and Kenneth Tynan opines about the theatre.
10. Art and Design
1975-12-03
Guest columnist Terry Measham; a look into the work of painter and poet Charles Tomlinson.
11. Theatre
1975-12-10
Mikhail Baryshnikov and Natalia Makarova rehearse for a BBC New Year Gala Performance; Kenneth Tynan draws a portrait of Albert Finney.
12. Art and Design
1975-12-17
Filmmaker Roger Graef and journalist Simon Jenkins discuss the destruction of historical buildings, in light of a recent SAVE campaign report and the conclusion of the European Architectural Heritage Year.
13. Theatre
1976-01-07
Deborah Norton returns with reports, interviews and extracts from what is liveliest and best in the British theatrical scene.
14. Art and Design
1976-01-14
No overview available.
15. Theatre
1976-01-21
Jonathan Miller introduces this week's look at what is most stimulating and enjoyable on the theatrical scene.
16. Art and Design
1976-01-28
A look at American photographer Paul Strand and recent trends in British photography.
17. Theatre
1976-02-04
Arena goes to Scarborough for the British premiere of a new Alan Ayckbourn play "Just Between Ourselves".
18. Art and Design
1976-02-11
Arena looks at aspects of community art and the work of painter Keith Grant, artist-in-residence at the New Charing Cross Hospital.
19. Theatre
1976-02-18
Claire Bloom and Kenneth Tynan discuss extracts from Samuel Beckett's 'Happy Days', George Bernard Shaw's 'Too True to be Good', and Tennessee Williams' 'Sweet Bird of Youth'.
20. Art and Design
1976-02-25
Arena talks with Robert Janz and Dante Leonelli about incorporating time into sculpture.
21. Theatre
1976-03-03
Arena brings extracts from Paris' contemporary theatre season, including Frank Wedekind's 'Lulu' and Marguerite Duras' 'Days in the Tree', and an interview with Delphine Seyrig.
22. Art and Design
1976-03-10
Arena presents the work of British and American video artists.
23. Theatre
1976-03-17
Barbara Jefford, Laurence Olivier, Joan Plowright, Kenneth Tynan Billie Whitelaw and many of the people behind the scenes say goodbye to the Old Vic building.
24. Art and Design
1976-03-24
Liverpool poet and painter Adrian Henry visits 'The Face of Merseyside'; Boyd and Evans use photographs as the basis of their explorations of everyday life.
25. Theatre: Happy Birthday Royal Court
1976-03-31
Alumni of the Royal Court celebrate its 20th anniversary.
26. Art and Design: Art for Money's Sake?
1976-04-07
Barrie Penrose investigates a multi-national art empire and the artists and methods that created it.