Comedy performer David Mitchell, Nobel Prize for Literature - a podcast by BBC Radio 4

With Mark Lawson.

Comedy performer David Mitchell, best known for his role in Peep Show, discusses his autobiography, Back Story. The book charts events in Mitchell's life through a series of walks through London. He reflects on whether comedians need misery to be funny, his partnership with Robert Webb and his first sketch at a student comedy night.

The Nobel Prize for Literature has been awarded to Chinese writer Mo Yan, whose work has been described as combining "hallucinatory realism" with folk tales, history and contemporary life. John Freeman, the editor of Granta magazine, who recently spent time with the new Nobel laureate in China, assesses his work.

Bertie Carvel stars in a new National Theatre production of Damned by Despair, a 17th century Spanish morality tale by Tirso de Molina. Playwright Frank McGuinness has written a new version of the play, which follows the intertwining fates of two strangers. Writer Kate Saunders gives her verdict.

Recent screen roles for British actors Damian Lewis and Emma Watson have demanded American accents, and American actors including Dakota Fanning and Maggie Gyllenhall have recently used British accents for parts set in the UK. Voice coach Elspeth Morrison discusses the techniques needed for these transatlantic accent swaps.

Producer Claire Bartleet.

Further episodes of Front Row: Archive 2012

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