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Monocle on Culture

Robert Bound and his guests discuss what has piqued their interest in our one-stop shop for lively reports and in-depth interviews on the newest and finest in art, film, books and the media business.

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Theatre special: the puppets of ‘My Neighbour Totoro’ and the Beckett Biennale : We sit down with puppeteer Basil Twist, the creator of the stunning puppets at the heart of stage production ‘My Neighbour Totoro’. Then: we catch up with Séan Doran, the artistic director of Arts Over Borders. He’s leading the charge with a major new Samuel Beckett biennale and a rather extraordinary multi-decade production of one Beckett play. 

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70117 Mar 2025
30 min

Theatre special: the puppets of ‘My Neighbour Totoro’ and the Beckett Biennale  

We sit down with puppeteer Basil Twist, the creator of the stunning puppets at the heart of stage production ‘My Neighbour Totoro’. Then: we catch up with Séan Doran, the artistic director of Arts Over Borders. He’s leading the charge with a major new Samuel Beckett biennale and a rather extraordinary multi-decade production of one Beckett play. 

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70010 Mar 2025
29 min

Dispatch from Arco Madrid 2025  

We report from Spain’s biggest contemporary-art fair, Arco Madrid. Every year, exhibition space Ifema Madrid plays host to a rich variety of galleries, curatorial presentations and many beautiful works. It’s here that the art worlds of old Europe and Latin America are brought together under one roof, with the rest of the globe invited too. We hear from one of the curators behind the ‘Amazofuturism’ section, leading gallerists from around the world and Arco’s leadership. 

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6993 Mar 2025
27 min

What’s the legacy of ‘The Face’ magazine? 

We head to ‘The Face: Culture Shift’, a new exhibition at London’s National Portrait Gallery celebrating the magazine’s photography and effect on popular culture. The show is a who’s who of contemporary cool and an ode to the power of print media. We discuss the legacy of the publication with the exhibition’s curator, Sabina Jaskot-Gill; former editor of ‘The Face’ Johnny Davis; and Monocle’s editor in chief, Andrew Tuck. 

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69824 Feb 2025
32 min

An Oscars nomination special 

Robert Bound highlights select nominees for the 97th Academy Awards. We hear from ‘Sing Sing’ director Greg Kwedar; lead special make-up effects designer for ‘The Substance’, Pierre-Olivier Persin; ‘The Wild Robot’ director, Chris Sanders; and co-directors of the documentary ‘No Other Land’, Yuval Abraham and Basel Adra.

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69717 Feb 2025
27 min

Iranian New Wave cinema, London’s Sadler’s Wells East and the Château La Coste in Provence  

We find out how to design a dance venue from the inside out at Sadler’s Wells East in London. Also in the UK capital, we immerse ourselves in ‘Masterpieces of the Iranian New Wave’ at the Barbican. Plus, art and architecture at Provence’s Château La Coste. 

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69610 Feb 2025
27 min

The captivating work of Noah Davis  

We visit two new exhibitions in London by two very different US artists. First, we’ll hear from the curator of the UK’s first Noah Davis exhibition. The  glorious, sweeping show at the Barbican serves as a worthy tribute to the late, great painter. Then: we’ll hear from high-spirited octogenarian Joseph Kosuth, whose show at Sprüth Magers features works from his six decades spent as a pioneer of conceptual and installation art.

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6953 Feb 2025
29 min

Vashti Bunyan  

British singer-songwriter Vashti Bunyan is celebrating her 80th birthday with a new edition of her 2005 record ‘Lookaftering’, including added demos, live versions and sleeve notes from its producer, Max Richter. The lyric booklet features paintings by Bunyan’s daughter, which beautifully brings to life the wistful, dreamy tracks. Robert Bounds sits down with Vashti Bunyan to discuss the cult reception to her work and how a new generation breathed new life into her music.

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69427 Jan 2025
33 min

Eddie Chacon  

Eddie Chacon shot to fame as part of the duo Charles & Eddie, alongside the late Charles Pettigrew, with the release of their enduring 1992 single ‘Would I Lie to You?’ In the years after Charles & Eddie amicably split in 1997, Chacon explored another passion of his: fashion photography. But music called him back and, in 2020, he released the solo album ‘Pleasure, Joy and Happiness’, followed by ‘Sundown’ in 2023. Now he has returned with the gorgeous new record ‘Lay Low’. On today’s show, Chacon joins Robert Bound in the studio to discuss his unique, heartfelt strain of R&B and the inspiration behind the dreamy tracks on his new record. 

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69320 Jan 2025
27 min

2025 on the stage 

Nancy Durrant and Matt Wolf join Robert Bound in the studio to discuss the best theatre shows coming to the stage in 2025, including a new production of a West End classic, a play about the experiences of the Windrush generation and a critically acclaimed performance by an Olivier award-winning actress.  

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69213 Jan 2025
36 min

The best cultural releases of 2025  

We look ahead to the most exciting books, films and exhibitions in 2025, from the first international retrospective of a beloved US artist to a political thriller so potent that its director was forced to flee his home country. John Mitchinson, Francesca Gavin and Simran Hans join Robert Bound in the studio to let you know what should be on your cultural radar in the coming months. 

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6916 Jan 2025
27 min

‘Nickel Boys’ and ‘Babygirl’ 

We start the year off with a bang by celebrating the release of two fantastic new films. We hear from director RaMell Ross about ‘Nickel Boys’, a formally inventive and beautifully rendered adaptation of a Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Colson Whitehead. Then: erotic thriller ‘Babygirl’, starring Nicole Kidman, depicts a lustful affair between a CEO and an intern. Monocle’s Fernando Augusto Pacheco sits down with director Halina Reijn to find out more.

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69030 Dec 2024
30 min

The year in review 

Laura Snapes, Toby Earle and Mia Levitin join Robert Bound in the studio to round up the best of this year’s albums, TV and books.

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68923 Dec 2024
26 min

The best of 2024 

We share highlights from this year's programme, including interviews with the likes of Hans Zimmer and Maggi Hambling, and a very special session with folk duo The Staves.

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68816 Dec 2024
32 min

The best Christmas music of 2024 

Georgie Rogers and Will Hodgkinson join Robert Bound in the studio for our annual review of the season’s best festive music releases, including albums and singles from Orville Peck, Kelly Clarkson and Jimmy Fallon. 

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6879 Dec 2024
30 min

Takashi Murakami and Tate Modern’s ‘Electric Dreams’  

We visit two new London exhibitions. ‘Japanese Art History à la Takashi Murakami’ at Gagosian’s Grosvenor Hill outpost offers the contemporary artist’s interpretations of Edo-era artworks. We sit down with Murakami to discuss AI, where he finds inspiration and the atmosphere that he likes to create in his studio. Plus, we meet the curator of ‘Electric Dreams’ at London’s Tate Modern. 

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