Free Thinking - Saki. Ria Sattouf. Anders Lustgarten. ‘A Thing’

Rana Mitter talks to playwright Anders Lustgarten whose latest work is set in a small village in China, Rotten Peach Village, over 60 years. Communism arrives and the villagers embrace it. Lustgarten has also written a new play partly inspired by the painter Caravaggio which opens at the RSC at the end of this year.

Also a consideration of the satirical short stories about Edwardian England published by Saki - the pen name of Scottish author Hector Hugh Munro (1870 - 1916). Rana is joined by the novelist Naomi Alderman and Saki expert Nick Freeman.

Cartoonist Riad Sattouf describes his graphic novel memoir, The Arab of the Future.

And Rana gets to grip with what we could possibly mean by a thing, with philosopher Guy Longworth

The Sugar-Coated Bullets of the Bourgeoisie by Anders Lustgarten runs at the Arcola Theatre in London 7 – 30 April before opening the 10th High Tide festival of new writing in Suffolk in September.

The Arab of the Future by Riad Sattouf is out now.

Producer: Luke Mullhall