With Kirsty Lang. The artist Alfred Munnings is best remembered as a painter of English rural scenes and horses. An ill- judged speech to the Royal Academy in 1949, in which he attacked Picasso, Henry Moore and modern art in general, led him to be seen as a reactionary and conservative figure. But a new film about his early life, Summer in February, reveals another side to Munnings. Set in an artists' colony in Cornwall, the film explores the bohemian existence and love affairs of painters inclu...
Jun 03, 2013•29 min
John Wilson charts the progress of artist Jeremy Deller, as he creates a range of new work for the British Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. The journey begins in Jeremy's flat, and includes visits to a recording studio and a record pressing plant, before the final unveiling of the works in Venice. Producer Ekene Akalawu.
May 30, 2013•28 min
With Mark Lawson. Award-winning documentary maker Norma Percy's latest series, The Iraq War, investigates the events that led Britain and America to go to war with Iraq, with testimony from major players including Tony Blair, Jack Straw and key figures in the Iraqi government. Chris Mullin and Richard Ottaway MP discuss whether the series give us a new insight into how the war came about. To celebrate the centenary of Stravinsky's controversial ballet The Rite of Spring, dancer and choreographer...
May 29, 2013•29 min
With Mark Lawson. Gemma Arterton (Quantum of Solace) and Saoirse Ronan (Atonement) play mother and daughter in Neil Jordan's vampire film Byzantium. After setting up home in a run-down seaside guest house, schoolgirl Eleanor (Ronan) confides to a friend that she survives on human blood. Natalie Haynes reviews. Lucy Kirkwood's new play Chimerica opens in Beijing in 1989. As the tanks roll into Tiananmen Square, an American photographer captures a piece of history - which comes back to haunt him a...
May 28, 2013•28 min
With Mark Lawson. TV and film producer Tony Garnett's work includes Cathy Come Home, Kes, Cardiac Arrest and This Life. The British Film Institute is now marking his 50 year career with a retrospective season. In this conversation, he explains why he has generally refused to do interviews, and how personal tragedies have been reflected in films such as Up the Junction. Although he started his career as an actor, appearing in Dixon of Dock Green, Garnett discusses the appeal of being a producer a...
May 27, 2013•28 min
With John Wilson. Writer and critic Paul Morley discusses his new book The North: (And Almost Everything In It). The book is part memoir and part history, exploring what it means to be northern and the contribution the area has made to English cultural and political life. In Cultural Exchange, in which leading creative minds reflect on a favourite cultural experience, soprano Angela Gheorghiu nominates fellow Romanian Virginia Zeani singing Bellini's I Puritani. Critic Jason Solomons considers t...
May 24, 2013•29 min
With John Wilson. Berlin-born photographer Erwin Blumenfeld (1897-1969) was one of the most internationally sought-after portrait and fashion photographers in the 1940s and 1950s. America's leading magazines, including Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, hired him for his imaginative and highly individual shots. Erwin's grandson Remy and critic Joanna Pitman assess his legacy as a new exhibition Blumenfeld Studio: New York, 1941-1960 opens. Lydia Davis won The Man Booker International Prize last night fo...
May 23, 2013•29 min
With Mark Lawson. Khaled Hosseini's debut novel The Kite Runner was an international best-seller. As he publishes a new novel, And the Mountains Echoed, Hosseini reflects on being a writer in exile, his creative process, and censorship in his native Afghanistan. Saints Alive is the new project from the artist Michael Landy, who once destroyed all his possessions for a work called Break Down. Images of saints from the National Gallery's collection have been cast in three dimensions and assembled ...
May 22, 2013•28 min
With Mark Lawson. The Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown discusses his latest novel about code-breaking called Inferno, a Dante inspired crime thriller set in the streets, museums and ancient buildings of Florence. Richard Wagner is loved and loathed in almost equal measure. The composer of the musically ground-breaking Ring Cycle, Tristan and Isolde and Meistersingers is also known for his extreme political views, including anti-Semitism. Tomorrow is the 200th anniversary of his birth. Former Engla...
May 21, 2013•28 min
With Mark Lawson Robert De Niro and Diane Keaton star in The Big Wedding, playing an ex-married couple who must pretend to be together for their adopted son's wedding. The starry cast also includes Susan Sarandon, Amanda Seyfried and Robin Williams as the priest. Larushka Ivan-Zadeh delivers her verdict. A new series on the Tudors begins on BBC TV this week - so why is this historical period so popular with TV executives, and which other parts of British history deserve the TV treatment? Histori...
May 20, 2013•29 min
With John Wilson Mike Oldfield's album Tubular Bells was released 40 years ago this month - the first disc on Richard Branson's Virgin Records label. Since then, the album has sold millions of copies, featured in the London 2012 opening ceremony, and is now being performed by a duo in the show Tubular Bells For Two on a UK tour. Richard Branson reflects on the genesis of the album, his relationship with Mike Oldfield, and the concert that cost him a car. This year's Cannes Film Festival opened o...
May 17, 2013•28 min
With John Wilson. The photographer Rankin is known for his cutting-edge fashion and advertising images, and his celebrity portraits. His new show at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool is called ALIVE: In The Face Of Death, where he has turned his attention to death and mortality. He talks to John about his experience of photographing people as they face the prospect of death. Actor Terence Stamp chooses The Razor's Edge (1946) for Cultural Exchange. Based on Somerset Maugham's novel, it tells t...
May 16, 2013•29 min
With Mark Lawson, Andrew Lloyd Webber discusses the new restoration of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, one of London's oldest theatres. The first theatre building was opened in May 1663, an event recorded in Samuel Pepys's diary. The Grand Saloon, rotunda and main staircases have been restored by Lord Lloyd Webber in a £4 million project. He reflects on the importance of London's historical theatres, how an interview on Front Row led to his next musical, and why he doesn't want a theatre named aft...
May 15, 2013•29 min
With Mark Lawson. Baz Luhrmann's much-anticipated film version of The Great Gatsby stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan and Tobey Maguire. F Scott Fitzgerald's glittering Jazz Age world of 1922 is combined with Luhrmann's screenplay, co-written with Craig Pearce, which aims to make the story relevant to a modern audience. Sarah Crompton reviews. This year's Eurovision Song Contest comes from Malmö, Sweden. Bonnie Tyler performs the British entry, competing against a varied field of performers...
May 14, 2013•29 min
With Mark Lawson. Writer Allan Cubitt discusses his new TV drama The Fall. Set in Belfast, it stars Gillian Anderson as Detective Superintendent Stella Gibson, who has been brought in from the Metropolitan Police to review an unsolved murder. Allan Cubitt discusses creating the tense atmosphere and tangled plot lines of the new crime drama. In the latest Cultural Exchange, The Archbishop of Canterbury shares his passion for Benjamin Britten's War Requiem, and also reflects on how we should comme...
May 13, 2013•29 min
With John Wilson. Karl Hyde, of electronic duo Underworld, has worked with prominent film directors Danny Boyle and Anthony Minghella. Along with his partner Rick Smith, he was also the musical director of the London 2012 Olympics. Hyde talks about his latest project, Edgeland - a soundtrack for The Outer Edges, a film about Essex - and reveals the real inspiration behind their trance anthem Born Slippy. Harold Pinter's The Hothouse is in a rare revival on the London stage, starring John Simm an...
May 10, 2013•29 min
With John Wilson. Romanian soprano Angela Gheorghiu is one of opera's best-known performers, appearing in the world's most prestigious opera houses and concert halls. She reflects on her controversial reputation and the breakdown of her marriage to tenor Roberto Alagna. The Reluctant Fundamentalist is the film adaptation of Mohsin Hamid's novel. Directed by Mira Nair and starring Riz Ahmed and Kate Hudson, it's the story of Changez, a young Pakistani man who finds success working in Wall Street....
May 09, 2013•28 min
With Mark Lawson. Matthew McConaughey stars as a fugitive befriended by two children in Mud, a new drama from acclaimed director Jeff Nichols. The kids try to help him avoid capture and reunite him with his first love, but not everything goes to plan. Critic Ryan Gilbey delivers his verdict. M D Villiers was nominated for the Crime Writers Association's Debut Dagger award for her novel City of Blood. The book is set in Johannesburg and was inspired by a real murder which took place on the street...
May 08, 2013•29 min
With Mark Lawson. A diamond ring given by King Charles I to his young wife is one of the highlights of a new exhibition opening this week at the Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace. In Fine Style: The Art of Tudor and Stuart Fashion aims to show how much clothes, jewellery and armour told us about their wearers and their status. A N Wilson gives his verdict. In the latest episode of Cultural Exchange, in which creative minds select a favourite art-work, Germaine Greer nominates the The Getting of...
May 07, 2013•29 min
With Mark Lawson. British actor, director and playwright Kwame Kwei-Armah is now Artistic Director of the Center Stage theatre in Baltimore. Mark spent a day with Kwame, discussing his new play, race relations and the differences between UK and US theatre. Producer Penny Murphy.
May 06, 2013•29 min
With John Wilson. Agnetha Fältskog talks about her years with Abba, the painful break-up from her marriage to Björn, her solo career and her new album - the first of original material for 25 years - which is called simply A. Hannibal Lecter, the psychiatrist and cannibalistic killer created by Thomas Harris, is about to reappear - this time in a TV series starring Mads Mikkelsen, set before Red Dragon and The Silence Of The Lambs. Hannibal is employed by the FBI to help an unusually gifted crimi...
May 03, 2013•28 min
With Mark Lawson. Zoe Wanamaker, familiar to TV and cinema audiences from her roles in My Family, Poirot and the Harry Potter films, returns to the stage in a new production of Passion Play by Peter Nichols - a drama about marriage and temptation. She reflects on her approach to theatre, and remembers her father Sam, founder of Shakespeare's Globe theatre. Swedish novelist and critic Jan Arnald uses the pen-name Arne Dahl when writing crime-fiction. His novels about Paul Hjelm and his colleagues...
May 02, 2013•29 min
With Mark Lawson. Oscar-winning actor Geoffrey Rush stars alongside Charlotte Rampling and Judy Davis in The Eye of the Storm, a film based on Patrick White's novel about sharp family tensions, as a middle-aged brother and sister return to the home of their dying mother. Geoffrey Rush talks about his career on stage and in films such as Shine, Pirates of the Caribbean and The King's Speech. In the latest edition of the Cultural Exchange project, in which 75 leading creative minds share their pas...
May 01, 2013•28 min
With Mark Lawson Pedro Almodovar's film I'm So Excited features Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz, and returns to the comedic style of his early works such as Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown. When technical problems develop on board a plane, the pilots and flight attendants strive to keep morale high. Adam Mars-Jones reviews. Film and TV producer Tony Garnett's work includes Kes, Cathy Come Home and This Life, and the British Film Institute is marking his 50 year career with a retrosp...
Apr 30, 2013•28 min
With John Wilson, Nijinsky is known as one of the greatest dancers and most experimental choreographers of the 20th century, but his career was curtailed by mental illness. Lucy Moore has written the first English language biography of Nijinsky for more than 30 years, and she discusses the myths which surround him, his complex relationship with the impresario Diaghilev, and the possible reasons for his breakdown and inability to work again. More from the Cultural Exchange project, in which 75 le...
Apr 29, 2013•29 min
With John Wilson. Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Joe Walsh and Timothy B Schmit of America's biggest-selling band The Eagles discuss a new documentary, History of the Eagles, which charts the ups and downs of their career and the stories behind their classic songs. More from the Cultural Exchange project, in which 75 leading creative minds share their passion for a book, film, poem, piece of music or other work of art: tonight writer and editor Diana Athill explains why Byron's letters have had such a ...
Apr 26, 2013•28 min
With Mark Lawson. David Tennant and Emily Watson star in a new three part TV drama, The Politician's Husband. Written by Paula Milne, it centres on the family life, and career prospects of husband and wife MPs. As his fortunes wane, hers rise, with considerable repercussions. Baroness Virginia and Sir Peter Bottomley discuss whether it's a realistic depiction of a power couple. More from the Cultural Exchange project, in which 75 leading creative minds share their passion for a book, film, poem,...
Apr 25, 2013•28 min
With Mark Lawson Animator Nick Park has adapted his most famous characters Wallace & Gromit for the small screen, the big screen, the BBC Proms and now the theme park. He invites Mark to take a turn on his new ride - the Thrill-O-Matic - as it opens at Blackpool Pleasure Beach. More from the Cultural Exchange project, in which 75 leading creative minds share their passion for a book, film, poem, piece of music or other work of art. Tonight Mohsin Hamid, author of The Reluctant Fundamentalist...
Apr 24, 2013•29 min
With John Wilson In Iron Man 3, Robert Downey Jr reprises his role as super-hero of the Marvel comics. The film also stars Gwyneth Paltrow and Rebecca Hall. Naomi Alderman reviews. More from the Cultural Exchange project, in which 75 leading creative minds share their passion for a book, film, poem, piece of music or other work of art. Tonight ballerina Tamara Rojo selects the pioneering choreographer who inspired her to dance, Mats Ek. At the age of 10 in Madrid, Tamara saw the Swedish choreogr...
Apr 23, 2013•28 min
With Mark Lawson. Tonight Front Row launches Cultural Exchange, in which 75 creative minds share their passion for a book, film, poem, piece of music or other work of art. Tonight Tracey Emin reflects on her favourite painting - Vermeer's Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid. The ITV series Broadchurch reaches its climax tonight, when the murderer of Danny Latimer is revealed. It's reported that even the actor playing the killer didn't know they were the guilty party until the last moment. Broadc...
Apr 22, 2013•29 min
