21/03/2012

Libby Purves is joined by Timothy and Shane Spall; theatre director Barrie Rutter; biologist Juliane Koepcke, who survived a plane crash in the Peruvian jungle when she was 17, and musician and writer Grant Gordon. After spending a summer on the Thames, Shane and actor husband Timothy Spall headed out to sea on their Dutch barge Matilda, with only a road atlas and a vast amount of ignorance. A decade before Timothy had been diagnosed with acute leukaemia and was given days to live. Shocked at how life can pass you by they decided that when, and if, Timothy got better, they would buy a boat. The Voyages of The Princess Matilda by Shane Spall is published by Ebury. Barrie Rutter is the founder and Artistic Director of Northern Broadsides theatre company. This year marks the 20th anniversary of their first production, Richard III. His distinctive approach to theatre is fuelled by his passion for language and his celebration of the richness and muscularity of the Northern voice. The productions are known for being unpretentious, simple and stark, making the audience focus on the language. Juliane Koepcke grew up in Lima and the rainforests of Peru where her parents founded the Panguana ecological research station. On Christmas Eve 1971, she boarded an internal flight from Lima to Pucallpa with her mother. The plane carrying 92 passengers crashed into dense Amazonian jungle killing everyone on board apart from Juliane. Landing in the jungle, she survived for ten days before being rescued. Now a biologist herself, she continues to fight to save the rainforests of Peru. Her book When I Fell from the Sky is published by Nicholas Brealey publishing. Grant Gordon is a musician, formerly with The Divine Comedy and producer of the TV series Big Brother and I'm A Celebrity. In his book 'Cobras in the Rough' he tells of how he and his father's relationship was cemented by their shared love of golf. Following the sudden death of his father in 2009, Grant goes to India in pursuit of the golf courses built by the British Raj to try and come to terms with his death. Cobras in the Rough is published by Constable and Robinson. Producer: Paula McGinley.