In today's edition, there's trouble on the streets of East London and all because of a film version of the book "Brick Lane"! 

 

This award winning book, by author Monica Ali, tells the story of a young girl who comes from Bangladesh to live in Brick Lane after her arranged marriage. But a very loud 'CUT' has been called on the action in the Brick Lane area. We find out why. 

 

As you listen to the programme, try to answer the following questions. You'll hear the answers during the programme. 

 

1: Why were the people who live and work in the Brick Lane area unhappy about the movie being filmed there? 

2: What type of people did the Guardian newspaper article suggest that Monica Ali should write about? 

3: Does Monica think that it's a good idea for authors to avoid writing books that might offend people? 

 

You can download the complete programme and the script at the bottom of this page. 

 

Listen to the programme

Brick Lane

 

 

Words and expressions from the programme 

 

an author 

a person who writes books or articles 

 

an arranged marriage 

a wedding where the parents of the bride and groom have influenced the choice of partner, or perhaps made the choice themselves 

 

to pull out of something 

to suddenly stop doing something that had been planned or expected 

 

local feeling 

the general mood of the people who live in a particular area and will be particularly affected by something, in this case, the filming 

 

a protest 

a demonstration to show that you don't want something to happen 

 

a campaign 

a planned set of protests or demonstrations over a particular period of time 

 

characters 

the imagined people who are created by an author for a book, film or play 

 

a disgrace 

something that's disrespectful and an embarrassment 

 

overcrowded conditions 

usually a place where there isn't enough space for the number of people who live in it