Transcript
Charlotte Higgins (0:00)
This week on Instant Classics, we are delighted to be welcoming a very special guest to the show. It's Grayson Perry. He's one of Britain's most celebrated artists, a national treasure known for his remarkable work in ceramics as well as in other media such as tapestry and sculpture. He's also beloved for his insightful TV documentaries examining subjects from Britishness to modern masculinity. And frankly, he's also famous for his amazing outfits in his guise as Claire, his more elaborately dressed alternative Persona.
Mary Beard (0:36)
Grayson won the Turner Prize in 2003, delivered the BBC's Reid Lectures in 2013, was knighted in 2023, and in between has made a host of remarkable exhibitions, both as artist and as curator. I particularly remember his exhibition at the British Museum in 2011, the Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman. But more recently, there's been a show at the Wallace Collection in London. Delusions of grandeur.
Charlotte Higgins (1:09)
We all suffer from those, I think, from time to time.
Grayson Perry (1:12)
Not me.
Charlotte Higgins (1:14)
Never you, Grayson. Never you. You are the exception to the rule. The reason we've invited you onto the show today, Grayson, is that recently you gave a fabulous lecture in London, the Rumble Lecture at King's College London, which had the fantastically provocative title and deeply fascinating title to us, why I Hate Classical Civilization.
Mary Beard (1:40)
And this is Instant Classics, the podcast that uncovers the ancient stories still shaping the world today. I'm Mary Bearded.
Charlotte Higgins (1:49)
And I'm Charlotte Higgins. Each week we dive into the myths, the dramas and the characters of the classical world to discover what they still mean to us. Now this episode, why Grayson Perry Hates the Classics.
Anita Anand (2:17)
To some, he is the revolutionary hero who restored China to its rightful place on the global stage.
William Duranpole (2:23)
To others, he's a brutal despot accused of presiding over more civilian deaths than either Stalin or Hitler.
Anita Anand (2:30)
Mao Zedong has one of the most recognizable faces in the world. Yet he started life in a muddy provincial village.
William Duranpole (2:37)
A rebel son who hated his father survived a 6,000 mile walk across China and and rose to become a figure of titanic proportions from Empire the Goal
