From Monteverdi to Monty Python, cross-dressing, gross-out humour and a preoccupation with the grotesque seems to offer a release from the constrictions of moral codes and social conventions. A familiar face on the Opera North stage, tenor Daniel Norman takes a trip into transgression in the company of Alan O'Leary, Professor of Film and Cultural Studies at the University of Leeds. Drawing on the theories of philosopher and critic Mikhail Bakhtin, they discuss “the licence to misbehave” in opera, film and performance; the liberating effect of the Carnivalesque in the arts; and its unforeseen consequences. Warning: this podcast features frank discussion of bodily functions! Produced as part of the DARE partnership between Opera North and the University of Leeds