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Antony Gormley joins Samira Ahmed. The sculptor and artist is best known for landmarks such as Angel of the North or the beach figures of Another Place, in Liverpool. But Antony has also been exhibiting drawings since the 80s and with the publication of the book Drawing he tells Samira what this art means to him. After the Devil Wears Prada 2 topped the box office this week, BBC New Generation Thinker Dr. Sarah Smyth and author and critic Hanna Flint discuss how films depict women, work and roma...
As the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration prepares to open in London, we find out how illustrators are adapting to a changing world. Starting with a rare interview from Quentin Blake, we'll hear how this once undervalued side of the visual arts still creates the defining images of childhoods, whilst also now playing a central role in the visual language of the internet. Featuring voices working across illustration, including Posy Simmonds, Chris Riddell, Michael Rosen, Christoph Niemann, Lizz...
Tom Sutcliffe is joined by playwright Mark Ravenhill and academic and critic Maria Delgado to review: The first major UK exhibition of Spanish master Francisco de Zurbarán at the National Gallery. A new Spanish language series adaptation of Isabel Allende's The House of the Spirits on Amazon Prime video. Please Please Me by Tom Wright, a play about manager Brian Epstein and The Beatles at the Kiln Theatre in London. Plus Tom speaks to the winner of the prestigious Donatella Flick Conducting Comp...
From the rebellious spirit of The Jam in the 1970s to the soulful sound of The Style Council and mellow ballads as a solo artist, singer-songwriter Paul Weller is about to release Weller At The BBC Volume 2 - a series of session recordings of his classic hits and interpretations of other artists' songs. He .discusses his musical evolution and his influences. She's been rather overshadowed by fellow writers such as James Kelman and Alasdair Gray, but in her centenary year Scottish novelist Agnes ...
Children's Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce launches the Children's Booker Prize and discusses some of the themes of his forthcoming Waterstones Children's Laureate Lecture - The Kids Are Not Alright- which calls for the reading of physical books to made a central part of childhood. Soap writer and aficionado Sharon Marshall on how long-running television dramas are employing bold storytelling techniques to retain and attract audiences. Ukrainian Culture Minister Tetyana Berezhna on how her country...
The Devil Wears Prada 2 director David Frankel on why it was time to bring the old gang back together again. David Haig's new play "Magic" imagines the real life friendship between Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A new play "Stage Kiss" looks at what kissing on stage entails. Playwright Sarah Ruhl and actress Emma Fielding discuss how to do it well (and badly). And Luke Roberts, lecturer in Modern Poetry at KCL, pays tribute to J.H. Prynne, considered by many to be one of the most significan...
Critics Larushka Ivan-Zadeh and Ludovic Hunter-Tilney join Tom to review Half Man, Richard Gadd’s follow up to his hit Baby Reindeer. They also discuss Anne Hathaway as a faded pop star looking to make a comeback in supernatural thriller Mother Mary. Plus they assess Deborah Levy’s book My Year in Paris With Gertrude Stein: a fiction. To celebrate Shakespeare's birthday, author and translator Daniel Hahn reveals the challenges of translating the Bard into different languages. Presenter: Tom Sutc...
A new biopic chronicles one of the 20th century’s biggest and most controversial music icons, but appears not to paint the whole picture about his life. We discuss Antoine Fuqua's Michael, which stars the pop legend Michael Jackson's nephew Jaafar in the lead role. Stand and Deliver is a National Theatre of Scotland production which tells the story of a legendary industrial dispute. In 1981, workers at a Lee Jeans factory in Greenock, barricaded themselves inside for seven months in a protest ag...
Primavera, a new film about Vivaldi tells the story of his composing for pupils of an institution for abandoned girls. We speak to the film's director Damiano Michieletto, better known as an award-winning opera director, about his film and about Vivaldi himself. The Music is Black is the inaugural exhibition at London’s new V&A East Museum and it celebrates 125 years of Black British music. Lead curator Jacqueline Springer joins us to discuss the show and wealth of music it showcases, from t...
Director Charlotte Regan on her new BBC thriller, Mint Have heterosexual male novelists stopped writing sex scenes? We discuss with writer Luke Kennard, author of Black Bag, and editor of the Erotic Review Lucy Roeber. Poet Laureate Simon Armitage plays live in studio with his band L.Y.R. Video game writer and critic Cara Ellison joins us to run through the highlights from the recent BAFTA Games Awards. Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Harry Graham
Tom Sutcliffe is joined by reviewers Dreda Say Mitchell and Viv Groskop to consider Lena Dunham's controversial memoir - Famesick. A new adaptation of Ken Kesey's One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest - directed by Clint Dyer at London's Old Vic Theatre. And Dan "Schitts Creek" Levy has a new dark comedy series on Netflix; "Big Mistakes"
Scottish Ballet's Starstruck honours Gene Kelly's creative legacy and his passion for creating "dance for the common man". His wife Patricia Ward Kelly tells us about this fusion of ballet, jazz, tap and tango danced to the music of Chopin, Ravel and Gerswhin. As the winner of the inaugural Sherborne Prize for Travel Writing is announced as Adam Weymouth for his book Lone Wolf, about a journey from Slovenia to Italy across the Alps, Adam joins us along with veteran writer Colin Thubron to discus...
Jack Savoretti sings a song from his latest album We Will Always Be The Way We Were, which is leading the race to top the charts this week. David Szalay's Booker Prize-wnnning novel Flesh is currently at the centre of a debate around inspiration and homage, as critics point to similarities between his novel and Stanley Kubrick's film Barry Lyndon. Literary critics Aled Maclean-Jones and Alex Clark discuss. Turner Prize-winning artist Veronica Ryan on her new show at the Whitechapel Gallery which...
Mark Gatiss takes on the role he's always wanted to play, the lead in Brecht's Hitler satire The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. As the Government considers charging tourists to visit England's national museums, we discuss these proposals with TV executive and arts advocate Sir Peter Bazalgette, who’s been an advisor to the DCMS, and Alison Cole - Director, The Cultural Policy Unit think tank. As she releases her new collection of short stories and memoir pieces, The Great Good Places, Dame Margar...
On the review show this week: critics Muriel Zagha and Tahmima Anam review Francois Ozon's film The Stranger., based on the Albert Camus novel which has often been described as unfilmable. Amitav Ghosh's novel Ghost Eye, set in India and dealing with parallel timelines, multiple global locations, environmental catastrophe and a young girl with mysterious powers. Jim Jarmusch's latest film Father Mother Sister Brother won the Golden Lion award at Venice. Are our critics won over? Plus, is it ok f...
Writer and director John Morton, one of the team behind 2012 and W1A, on the new comedy Twenty Twenty Six, set in the run up to this year's football World Cup. Artist Lachlan Goudie's new book The Secrets of Painting explores the creative big bangs in art over the centuries which have given us artistic movements - from Giotto and Rembrandt's use of oil paint to Berthe Morisot's use of an outdoor easel and Jackson Pollock's use of materials intended for industrial use, Goudie tells us how he has ...
Writer Daisy Goodwin on Victoria: A Queen Unbound. Was the marriage between Victoria and Albert as idyllic as it has been portrayed? Her new play explores the idea that Prince Albert exerted coercive control over Queen Victoria. Following the launch of the Official UK Christian & Gospel Singles Chart, we speak to the founder of the chart's partner organisation, O'Neil Dennis, and Mobo winning Christian rapper Guvna B, who's playing live in studio. Tayari Jones, Winner of the Women's Prize fo...
100 years ago, inventor John Logie Baird demonstrated his new 'televisor' to the public for the first time. In this special edition of Front Row, Samira Ahmed and guests explore the origins of television in the UK, charting how those early experimental days set a template for this exciting new medium. Guests: TV producer and historian Professor John Wyver, whose new book Magic Rays of Light tells the story of the early days of TV Lisa Kerrigan, senior curator of TV at the BFI Francis Spufford, w...
Tom Sutcliffe is joined by critics Tim Robey and Nancy Durrant to review: Robert Pattinson and Zendaya's new film The Drama about a young couple in the lead up to their wedding. Life of Pi author Yann Martel's novel Son of Nobody about a newly discovered classic text with the story partly told in footnotes. And from the creator of Mum and Him and Her, Stefan Golaszewski's new BBC drama series Babies which follows one couple's experience of pregnancy loss. Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Lucy ...
In venues around the UK and here on BBC Radio 4 and on BBC Sounds, it’s Live Comedy Day today – a celebration of live comedy and grassroots clubs. We’re joined by two of the cast of the new Saturday Night Live UK, Emma Sidi and Hammed Animashaun, and by Amanda Dwyer, who won the Sir Billy Connolly Spirit of Glasgow Award at the Glasgow Comedy Festival this weekend, to discuss the stand-up landscape right now. Mink Stole is an icon of “trash cinema” and has appeared in every one of filmmaker John...
Writer Robert Macfarlane on the world underground as a new documentary, Underland, inspired by his award-winning book of the same name is released in cinemas. The film explores how mankind has often explored some of the spaces miles beneath our feet. Dancer and choreographer Meryl Tankard on creating a new work, Echoes of '78, which pairs the original dancers of a work created by German choreographer Pina Bausch with their younger selves. Singer Hak Baker and journalist Ludovic Hunter-Tilney on ...
Lesley Manville shares insights into her challenging role in "Les Liaisons Dangereuses," addressing modern interpretations and the evolving theatre landscape. The episode also delves into the political and cultural debate surrounding Russia's potential return to the Venice Biennale. Finally, astronauts Helen Sharman and Cady Coleman offer a unique perspective on how art and music enhance their experience of space travel and reshape their understanding of Earth.
This episode reviews Riz Ahmed's new comedy-drama "Bait," exploring its social commentary and humor, and delves into the V&A's Schiaparelli exhibition, highlighting the designer's avant-garde approach. It also discusses the controversy surrounding an AI-assisted novel, examining the publishing industry's challenges and the broader impact of AI on creative fields. Finally, the show reviews the bleak Ukrainian film "Two Prosecutors" and offers cultural recommendations.
Front Row delves into the world of creative collaboration and cultural evolution. Actor Forbes Masson discusses modernizing the cult 90s sitcom "The High Life" for a new stage musical. Bestselling authors V.E. Schwab and Kat Clark, writing as Evelyn Clark, reveal the secrets behind their satirical crime thriller "The Ending Rights Itself" and their unique co-writing process. The episode also examines artistic depictions of aging with art historian Richard Cork and artist Clare Shenstone, and explores the planned refurbishment of the V&A Dundee with architect Rory Olcayto.
Front Row features Noah Wyle discussing his new medical drama "The Pit," drawing parallels between its COVID-inspired themes and his "ER" legacy, and emphasizing its immersive production and moral mission. The episode also celebrates John Dowland's enduring Elizabethan music and explores the English Devolution Bill's potential to safeguard local cultural provision. Finally, it delves into the ongoing debate about opera's relevance, examining whether new, collaborative storytelling is essential to attract contemporary audiences.
This episode of Front Row delves into the debut of Saturday Night Live UK, assessing its initial reception and discussing the challenges of adapting the iconic American sketch show. It also explores the enduring appeal of boxing films, examining their historical significance and the genre's powerful themes with experts. Additionally, actor Phil Dunster discusses his new comedy "Rooster" and contrasts it with his role in Ted Lasso, while folk trio Leveret performs live and shares insights into their spontaneous musical approach.
This episode of Front Row features reviews of three major cultural works: Paolo Sorrentino's latest film 'La Grazia,' exploring a fictional Italian president's moral choices; Michael Arditti's multi-generational novel 'The Tribe,' tracing a Jewish family's journey through history; and a modern adaptation of Maxim Gorky's play 'Summerfolk.' Additionally, industry expert Will Page discusses the growing threat of AI-generated fake music on streaming services and its implications for artists and the music industry.
Front Row delves into author Helen Bain's novel "The Daffodil Days," which reframes Sylvia Plath's last year in Devon through local perspectives using a reverse chronology. The program also investigates a major theatre controversy surrounding the Royal Lyceum's decision to ban UK-wide critics from a premiere. Additionally, it features a live performance and an interview with the Scottish duo Hue and Cry about their four-decade career and new music, alongside a discussion with acclaimed photographer Catherine Opie about her retrospective, her inspirations, and her use of photography as resistance.
Front Row explores the new Gentleman Jack ballet, adapting Anne Lister's life and diaries into dance, and the global comeback of K-Pop supergroup BTS, discussing their new album "Arirang" and K-Pop trends. The episode also pays tribute to prolific spy novelist Len Deighton, examining his unique impact on literature. Finally, it delves into a new anthology, "Banshee," which reimagines Irish myths from a feminist perspective, giving voice to overlooked female figures.
Front Row explores Rebecca Lucy Taylor's starring role in David Hare's play "Teeth and Smiles," including a live performance and insights into her career. The episode also recaps the 2026 Academy Awards, featuring wins, snubs, and a historic female cinematographer win. Ryan Gosling discusses his new film "Project Hail Mary," and critics review "The Claudia Winkleman Show," delving into the challenges and evolution of late-night chat formats.
