Listen "Simon McBurney"
Episode Synopsis
Kirsty Young's castaway is the actor, writer and director Simon McBurney. It's 30 years since he set up the ground-breaking theatre company Complicite. It brought extraordinary physical deftness to the stage and its productions won every plaudit going - from an armful of Olivier awards to the Perrier prize for comedy. His mainstream credits range from TV roles in the Vicar of Dibley and Rev, to screen credits for The Last King of Scotland and Harry Potter. On stage, he's directed Katie Holmes and Al Pacino to critical acclaim in New York. Of his unconventional directing style, he admits: "Some people have said, it's a bit like going into the jungle with some mad explorer - who everybody knows doesn't have any idea where he's going - but somehow he gives people some sort of confidence to keep on going." Producer: Leanne Buckle.
More episodes of the podcast Desert Island Discs
Kate Winslet, actor
18/01/2026
Lee Child, writer
11/01/2026
Margaret Atwood, writer
04/01/2026
Gordon Buchanan, cameraman and presenter
28/12/2025
Sir Salman Rushdie, writer
21/12/2025
Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Computer Scientist
14/12/2025
Sally Mann, photographer and writer
07/12/2025
Lorraine Kelly, broadcaster
30/11/2025
Lennie James, actor
23/11/2025
Mary Greenwell, makeup artist
16/11/2025
ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.