{"id":16533,"date":"2022-06-07T01:01:15","date_gmt":"2022-06-06T23:01:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1656231"},"modified":"2022-06-07T01:18:06","modified_gmt":"2022-06-06T23:18:06","slug":"alison-oliver-and-joe-alwyn-are-the-cover-stars-of-this-weeks-radio-times","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/alison-oliver-and-joe-alwyn-are-the-cover-stars-of-this-weeks-radio-times\/","title":{"rendered":"Alison Oliver and Joe Alwyn are the cover stars of this week\u2019s Radio Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Kelly-Anne Taylor\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 07 June 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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On the front cover of this week\u2019s Radio Times<\/strong> are the stars of BBC\u2019s hit adaptation Conversations with Friends<\/a>, Alison Oliver and Joe Alwyn.<\/p>\n

As the latest steamy Sally Rooney adaptation comes to BBC One, the man behind the lens, Irish director Lenny Abrahamson, says the sex scenes aren\u2019t decorative \u2013 they\u2019re essential.<\/p>\n

The series takes a low-key observational look at relationships among a bunch of Dubliners \u2013 and focuses on the intricacies of monogamy, fidelity and sexuality. It follows two Trinity College students, Frances and Bobbi, who become entangled with an older married couple, Melissa and Nick.<\/p>\n

Abrahamson discusses why the series and Normal People will always draw comparisons to each other \u2013 they\u2019re from the \u201cRooniverse\u201d \u2013 but why that doesn\u2019t faze the Conversations with Friends cast<\/a> and crew. Plus, he reveals why he cast three non-Irish actors in three of the four leading roles.<\/p>

Both Normal People and Conversations with Friends refuse to shy away from intimacy \u2013 and so Abrahamson unpicks the responsibility he feels when working with young actors (especially following the redistribution of explicit scenes on porn websites that occurred after Normal People was released) and how the sex scenes are reflective of a cultural change in Ireland.<\/p>\n