Radar

The actor and director on what the Romans have done for her, a beguiling staging of a Japanese animation and a peerless podcast.

Director Robert Diament is a big part of the gallery’s success – he has an amazing podcast with Russell Tovey, [Talk Art](https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/talk-art/id1439567112). [P](https://floatingpoints.bandcamp.com/album/promises) [romises](https://floatingpoints.bandcamp.com/album/promises) [by Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & the London Symphony Orchestra](https://floatingpoints.bandcamp.com/album/promises)by Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & the London Symphony Orchestra [Pharoah Sanders died this year ](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/sep/27/pharoah-sanders-obituary)and I’ve always loved his music. [originally a Studio Ghibli animation](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/may/23/my-neighbour-totoro-review), but you don’t need to have seen the film to enjoy it. It is directed by [Phelim McDermott](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/oct/01/on-my-radar-phelim-mcdermott-cultural-choices), who is a brilliant physical theatre director, and it’s breathtaking. And there’s no advertising – he’s supported entirely by the Patreon platform, so he is free to speak about anything he wants. Then there was [To All the Kings Who Have No Crowns](https://carlfreedman.com/exhibitions/2022/3247/), which brought together performances from [neurodivergent artists](https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/dec/23/turner-prize-rise-of-neurodiverse-art-project-herbert-coventry). It’s worth making the trip for the posters alone – you can always walk away with a £10 poster that is such high quality and beautifully printed, and the exhibitions are phenomenal. She has worked extensively in theatre, film and television, including in [Spaced](https://www.theguardian.com/media/1999/sep/06/channel4.mondaymediasection), as a co-creator and star, and in The Royle Family, [Shaun of the Dead](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2004/apr/09/simonpegg), [Years and Years](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/may/14/years-and-years-review-a-glorious-near-future-drama-from-russell-t-davies) and [W1A](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/apr/24/w1a-review-satire-jeremy-clarkson), for which she won a Bafta in 2015. In 2018 she wrote and directed her first feature film, [The Fight](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/mar/14/the-fight-review-jessica-hynes-boxes-clever-in-punchy-drama). [Jessica Hynes](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2020/feb/05/jessica-hynes-interview-far-away) (née Stevenson) was born in south London in 1972 and raised in Brighton. The next comedian then had to go on and perform – that’s a tough crowd. There’s this story about Roman mercenaries watching a performance in a small town: a comedian was mocking important Romans, so they called him off stage and beat him to death.