Aisling Bea

Russell & Robert meet the ONE AND ONLY writer, actor, comedian, global icon AISLING BEA!!!

Recorded at Aisling’s home in London on Fireworks night 5th November, we speak about growing up in Kildare, Ireland and an inspiring art teacher Gill Berry who transformed the way Aisling and her sister, and highly respected costume designer, Sinéad Kidao saw the world! We discuss how art education can help to come to terms with her childhood grief and many of life’s challenges and the lasting impact of Gill’s art lessons on Aisling’s writing including her award winning TV series ‘This Way Up’.

We learn about Aisling’s passion for collecting and living with art including artworks by the late painter Bartholomew Beal who passed away in 2019, fellow comedian Joe Lycett, cartoonist Will McPhail, Charlie Mackesy, Annie McGrath, Eleanor Thom, Lynn Kennedy, Oliver Kilby and Clare Henderson. We explore the importance of playfulness, combatting writers block, happy memories of her mother, a former jockey, and their creative home environment to help Aisling to be herself and fulfil her potential.

We discuss her brother in law’s Nebbia Works' recent installation at V&A, a self-supporting pavilion from simple aluminium sheets as part of the London Design Festival to highlight the material's sustainable potential. We learn about Sound Advice is a platform exploring spatial inequality. Sound Advice is co-hosted by Pooja Agrawal and Joseph Henry, urbanists who met working at the Greater London Authority. They share their interests for fighting inequality both in the built environment and in the sector.

Follow @WeeMissBea on Instagram. Aisling's Bafta award-winning TV show 'This Way Up' Series 1 and 2 is available to stream now on All 4 https://www.channel4.com/programmes/this-way-up. Her new movie 'Home Sweet Home Alone' is also OUT NOW just in time for the holidays!

For images of all artworks discussed in this episode visit @TalkArt. Talk Art theme music by Jack Northover @JackNorthoverMusic courtesy of HowlTown.com We've just joined Twitter too @TalkArt. If you've enjoyed this episode PLEASE leave us your feedback and maybe 5 stars if we're worthy in the Apple Podcast store. For all requests, please email [email protected]

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