The Culture Show: Season 18
Season 18 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Directly follows the overarching narrative developments of The Culture Show Season 17.
- Faction dynamics and core character alliances shift under escalating external stakes.
- Crucial mysteries introduced previously reach key turning points and narrative reckonings.
- Sets up serialized story arcs that build directly toward the climactic season finale.
Episode Guide
Season 18 Progress Shield
Episode 1: Maxine Peake - Performance, Protest and Peterloo
Jul 17, 2013
Manchester's International Festival is a collection of world class talent, theatrical premieres, ground breaking musical performances and global stars from the contemporary art sce
Episode 2: Who Are You Calling an African Artist?
Jul 24, 2013
This summer, Tate Modern has opened its doors to Africa, dedicating an entire wing to two of the most important artists working today: 82-year-old visionary modernist Ibrahim El-Sa
Episode 3: The Unstoppable Thomas Heatherwick
Jul 31, 2013
lan Yentob witnesses the birth of an idea at the hands of the designer, creator, and some call 'inventor' - Thomas Heatherwick - whose recent triumphs include the remarkable cauldr
Episode 4: Venice - A Tale of Two Cities
Aug 7, 2013
Modern art expert Alastair Sooke heads to Venice with art dealer and historian Dr Bendor Grosvenor to explore the vast cornucopia of art the city has to offer. 2013 is a Venice Bie
Episode 5: The Culture Show at Edinburgh: Leonardo da Vinci - The Anatomist
Aug 14, 2013
rt critic Alastair Sooke heads to the new Leonardo da Vinci exhibition at The Queen's Gallery in the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. The show from the Royal Collection will
Episode 6: The Culture Show at Edinburgh: Funny Women
Aug 21, 2013
Sue Perkins explores the highs and lows of being a woman in the unashamedly macho world of stand-up comedy. With unique behind-the-scenes access to the most important date in the s
Episode 7: The Culture Show at Edinburgh: Happy Birthday Traverse
Aug 28, 2013
Born in a former brothel in 1963, the Traverse Theatre is one of the most exciting venues for new writing in Britain. Now in its 50th year, its full-throttle programme of shows fro
Episode 8: YouTube - The Future of TV?
Sep 4, 2013
Investigative journalist Jacques Peretti ventures into a world he doesn't understand; a company that is revolutionising how we are entertained, a website that is changing youth cul
Episode 9: The People's Palace
Sep 10, 2013
At a time when many libraries across Britain face budget cuts and closure, Birmingham is opening the biggest public library in Europe. Is this new breed of super library the future
Episode 10: A Portrait of Jonathan Yeo
Sep 18, 2013
Alastair Sooke meets portrait artist Jonathan Yeo as he prepares for a solo show at the National Portrait Gallery. The son of a Conservative MP, his subjects range from political l
Episode 11: Northern Soul - Keep the Faith
Sep 25, 2013
Northern Soul marked the birth of late-night dance culture in Britain. Paul Mason, economics journalist and once a regular at the famous 'all-nighters' at Wigan Casino, discovers t
Episode 12: Jon Ronson meets Malcolm Gladwell - Beware the Underdog
Oct 2, 2013
Malcolm Gladwell is about to publish a book. He's done it four times before, and whenever it happens huge things occur: Millions of copies get sold, world leaders take note, catchy
Episode 13: Sylvie Guillem - Force of Nature
Oct 9, 2013
A revealing portrait of Sylvie Guillem, one of the greatest dancers of our time. Hand-picked by Rudolph Nureyev at the age of 19, she was the youngest ever 'etoile', the highest-ra
Episode 14: A Night at the London Film Festival
Oct 16, 2013
For 12 days London will be under siege from over 350 features, documentaries and short films from 57 countries. Mark Kermode explores the wealth of real life stories that have insp
Episode 15: The Art of Chinese Painting
Oct 23, 2013
The ancient art of Chinese painting is one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions in history. Kate Bryan, former Hong Kong resident and the Fine Art Society's head of contem
Episode 16: Samuel Johnson Prize 2013
Oct 30, 2013
The Culture Show reviews the six shortlisted books for Britain's most prestigious award for nonfiction and asks which book will win the coveted prize. The list has never been more
Episode 18: Wars of the Heart
Nov 6, 2013
For those who remained in London during the Second World War, the Blitz was a terrifying time of sleeplessness, fear and loss, but some of London's literary set found inspiration i
Episode 19: Gaga - The Mother Monster
Nov 13, 2013
More than 40 million people follow Lady Gaga on Twitter. Can they possibly be wrong? For her fans, the Little Monsters, Gaga is not just a star - she is a mother figure and a fello
Episode 20: Paul Smith -These Are a Few of My Favourite Things
Nov 20, 2013
Alan Yentob, in a bid to understand fashion designer Paul Smith, challenges him to choose the objects which sum up his life. Smith's Covent Garden office is an Aladdin's cave of ob
Episode 21: Vicky Featherstone - All Change at the Royal Court
Nov 27, 2013
For over 50 years, the Royal Court Theatre has been a flagship for new British writing and a bastion of provocative, ground-breaking work. And now this most revered theatrical inst
Episode 22: Derry Londonderry - A New Chapter
Dec 4, 2013
Exploring the historic walled city of Derry Londonderry, the first UK City of Culture, poet and author Nick Laird looks back at a year of dramatic spectacle and asks how art has he
Episode 23: Lego - The Building Blocks of Architecture
Feb 10, 2014
Tom Dyckhoff explores the contribution of Lego to architecture, and its continuing influence, arguing that it's changed the way we think about buildings. Lego's plastic yellow bri
Episode 24: Damon Albarn - Solo
Feb 17, 2014
irst he was the poster boy of 90s Britpop, then the music man behind electro-cartoon duo Gorillaz. More recently he's composed operas and helmed the world music juggernaut that is
Episode 25: Forget the Oscars, Here are the Kermodes
Feb 24, 2014
Now in their ninth year, the Kermode Awards are the ultimate antidote to the Oscars, a low-frills awards ceremony celebrating the very best of movie-making talent overlooked by the
Episode 26: Henri Matisse - A Cut Above the Rest
Mar 3, 2014
Matisse was one of the most celebrated painters of the 20th century. Even in his own lifetime, he enjoyed a level of popularity envied by other artists. But in 1941, after a near-f
Episode 27: Tony Parsons - The Art of Boxing
Mar 17, 2014
For author and columnist Tony Parsons, boxing matters. He spars every week. Full-contact, no-holds-barred, in a searching examination of skill, courage and fear. On a journey thro
Episode 28: Savion Glover - Happy Feet
Mar 25, 2014
Tony award-winning African-American artist Savion Glover is not your average tap dancer. From Broadway prodigy to global star, Glover's journey has been a remarkable one, fighting