Front Row

Emilio Estevez discusses his forthcoming film The Public which he has written, directed and stars in, along with Alec Baldwin and Christian Slater, set in Cincinnati Public Library in the middle of winter.100 Novels That Shaped Our World have just been chosen by a panel including Front Row presenter Stig Abell. The list is part of a BBC Arts season celebrating 300 years since the publication of Robinson Crusoe, often regarded as the first novel in English. The list has thrown up some controversial choices. Panellist and author Kit de Waal and literary critic Suzi Feay join Stig to discuss the premise, categories, inclusions and omissions.Brighton-based DJ Tom Burland is the recently-announced winner of the David Attenborough Songlines Remix Competition. The annual competition invited UK music creators to remix Gender Wayang, a field recording made 50 years ago by Sir David Attenborough while making programmes in Bali. Presenter Stig Abell Producer Jerome Weatherald

Emilia Clarke talks about her new film Last Christmas, inspired by the music of George Michael and destined to be one of the major movies of the season. It's written by and also stars Emma Thompson. Emilia plays a young woman who accepts a job as a department store elf during the holidays. She also discusses starring in Game of Thrones and overcoming a stroke whilst filming.Theatre critic and author Michael Coveney talks about the issues facing West End theatres following the incident at the Piccadilly Theatre during a performance of Death of A Salesman starring Wendell Pierce. A piece of plasterboard fell from the ceiling in the auditorium, injuring 5 people and stopping the performance.In a chance encounter at a Berlin soirée in 1928, three women pose for a photograph: Marlene Dietrich, who would wend her way into Hollywood as one of its lasting icons; Anna May Wong, the world's first Chinese American star and Leni Riefenstahl, whose work as a director of propaganda art films would first make her famous

Alison Balsom, Britain's leading trumpet soloist, talks about her new album Royal Fireworks, a collection of Baroque pieces by Bach, Telemann, Handel and Purcell, played on the "natural" trumpet, a baroque instrument without any valves, which means that each note is made by the shape of the lips. The inaugural Drake YolanDa British Producer and Songwriter Prize has been won by the jazz musician Fez, who had to compete against other producers to write and record a new song in front of the judges in 45 minutes! Writer Robert Macfarlane and artist Stanley Donwood talk about their new work Ness, which is part novella, part prose poem and part mystery play, about the land reclaiming a place which once threatened its very existence, an atomic weapons test centre. Presenter: Kirsty Lang Producer: Timothy Prosser

With a reported budget of $160m, Martin Scorsese returns to the familiar territory of The Mob and organised crime in America in his new Netflix film The Irishman. The three-and-a-half-hour-long drama spans 50 years and reunites Scorsese with Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci for the first time in 24 years, alongside Harvey Keitel and Al Pacino. Briony Hanson has been to see if for Front Row and can tell us whether or not it's vintage Scorsese.Abomination: A DUP Opera, which opens Belfast’s Outburst Queer Arts Festival at the Lyric Theatre this week, is an incendiary composition. For the libretto, composer Conor Mitchell uses verbatim statements about homosexuality made by DUP MPs. Front Row talks to Conor and Ben Lowry, Deputy Editor of the Belfast News Letter. The Scena Mundi Theatre Company is marking the 850th anniversary of the murder of Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral with a new production of TS Eliot’s verse drama, Murder In The Cathedral, that tells the story. They will perform it in cathedrals, st

New Amazon Original docudrama The Report sees an idealistic Washington staffer played by Adam Driver tasked by his senator boss to lead an investigation of the CIA’s Detention and Interrogation Program, which was created in the aftermath of 9/11. His relentless pursuit of the truth leads to explosive findings that uncover the lengths to which the nation’s top intelligence agency went to destroy evidence, subvert the law, and hide a brutal secret from the American public. Kirsty Lang talks to The Report’s writer and director Scott Z Burns.Anyone over 16 can enter an unperformed play to the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting, have it judged by theatre experts, with the possibility of winning part of the £40,000 prize fund and a chance of working with the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester towards its production. This year there were 2,561 entries, whittled down to a shortlist of 15. Today the winner will be announced and Kirsty Lang will talk to that lucky that playwright and one of the judges, also a previous w

Patti Smith, legendary musician and poet, looks back at a troubled year, 2016, in a new memoir, Year of the Monkey. Director Tom Harper discusses his new film The Aeronauts set in 1862, starring Eddie Redmayne as a pioneering meteorologist and Felicity Jones as a balloon pilot, who attempt to advance knowledge of the weather and fly higher than anyone in history.As a horror film The Shining is a hard act to follow but Doctor Sleep attempts to do just that. Ewan McGregor stars as Danny, the psychic little boy from the 1980 film, now grown up. Kim Newman assesses the revisit to the hotel. Presenter: John Wilson Producer: Sarah Johnson

Screenwriter Jack Thorne discusses his new HBO/BBC adaptation of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials, said to be the BBC's most expensive drama yet. Ken Loach’s new film Sorry We Missed You concerns a parcel delivery driver and his carer wife as they try to make ends meet, and the effect of that struggle on their family. Scottee reviews this portrayal of the gig economy on working lives.The 19th century British mathematician Ada Lovelace, cited as the first person to publish a computer programme, is the inspiration for a concert of world premieres this weekend. Professor Emily Howard has curated the evening and is the composer of one of the new works. She discusses why Lovelace’s belief in the creative power of mathematics makes her an important reference point for understanding how 21st century technology is shaping our world.The Colombian artist Doris Salcedo, known for her monumental sculptural installations on trauma, has just been awarded the inaugural Nomura Art Award. She receives $1m which has to go

In their new film, The Good Liar, Ian McKellen plays Roy Courtnay, a con artist who when he meets Betty McLeish, a well-to-widow played by Helen Mirren, can't believe his luck. Sir Ian talks to John Wilson about this role, which involves playing someone who is himself acting. Guilt, a new 4-part BBC Two drama set in Edinburgh, stars Mark Bonnar and Jamie Sives as two very different brothers who find themselves having to join forces when they run over and kill a man. As they cover their tracks they begin to discover they can trust no-one, including each other. Critic Hannah McGill reviews the contemporary black comedy drama.The Observer’s theatre critic Susannah Clapp said of Sarah Frankcom, artistic director of the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, that she was 'creating England’s first mainstream feminist theatre'. Now Frankcom is directing her final production there, Light Falls by Simon Stephens. She talks about this drama of a northern family, her collaborations with Stephens, who has written seve

Recorded in front of an audience at the Barbican Theatre in Plymouth, Sarah Gosling introduces and showcases the artists and performers making a name for themselves in Devon, in collaboration with BBC Music Introducing. Grace Lightman is an electropop singer whose debut album Silver Eater is about an alien stranded on earth. BBC Music Introducing artist Grace performs her lead track Repair Repair with her band. 17 year old writer Jonny Hibbs has created a comic audio drama about young farmers and a rural dating app called CattleGrid! He was commissioned by the New Creatives talent scheme run by BBC Introducing Arts and Arts Council England, which gives emerging artists aged 16-30 the chance to have their works broadcast. Kimwei McCarthy is a poet and musician who has recently been appointed the Grand Bard of Exeter. He talks about how climate activism and trans activism influences his work, and performs a poem about Devon, Because You Invited Me. Scratchworks Theatre Company are an all-female ensemble who ar

David Baddiel has had a varied career. He's been a (Wembley Arena-filling) stand-up comedian, a chart-topping performer (3 times with the same song Three Lions), a TV chat show presenter, a prize-winning children's author, creator of highly-acclaimed shows about his family, prolific twitter presence and now he's a playwright with his first production God's Dice opening at London's Soho Theatre.Apple TV+ which launches this week is the latest arrival on the UK’s streaming landscape. What will they be offering us and how will it affect the future of TV in the UK with the likes of Disney, Britbox, HBO Max and NBCUniversal waiting in the wings with their new services. Heat Magazine’s Boyd Hilton joins Kirsty to discuss what's coming our way.The Wellcome Collection and Audible are launching a new original fiction podcast with short stories from award-winning writers, each short story inspired by a curiosity, oddity or artefact on display in the Wellcome Collection’s permanent exhibit. Novelist Laura Purcell and W

Harry Hill's Clubnite is a new cabaret TV show from the comedian featuring his choice of comic entertainers. Harry talks to Stig about what he looks for in comedians, what makes him laugh and the nature of surrealism. The greatly renowned theatre director Peter Brook is 94 and has just written a book, Playing by Ear, reflecting on sound and music. He talks to Front Row about the flow of a Shakespeare play, the power of an empty space and the significance of silence.Podcaster Caroline Crampton gives her pick of the film podcasts you should be listening to, featuring a deep dive into the craft of acting, stories from Hollywood outsiders who made it big and insights into the art of writing music for film.

Multi BAFTA-winning writer Jack Thorne returns to our TV screens tonight with the latest in his trilogy exploring life in modern Britain. "The Accident" on Channel 4, starring Sarah Lancashire, is set in a small Welsh town in the aftermath of a industrial disaster. We talk to the writer about anger, blame and justice as the community faces up to some difficult truths.2020 looks to be a vintage year for child performances at The Oscars. Leslie Felperin joins us to discuss whether The Academy ought to reintroduce the Juvenile Academy Award, last given to Hayley Mills, one day shy of her 15th birthday for her performance in the 1960 film Pollyanna.Comedian and actor Jillian Bell stars in Brittany Runs a Marathon, a film about a lost young woman who takes back control of her messy, unfulfilling life by entering the New York City Marathon. The film is based on a true story and Jillian goes through a complete physical transformation as the story unfolds on screen. Kirsty talks to Jillian about body shaming and why

Bruce Springsteen is about to release a film of his latest album, Western Stars. In the hayloft of his 100-year-old barn in New Jersey, he performs the album alongside a full orchestra, featuring brass, banjo, accordion and steel guitar. Kate Mossman, features editor of The New Statesman, reviews the film which coincides with the singer's 70th birthday.The death was announced last week of the American literary critic Harold Bloom. The author of more than 40 books, which reframed the work of the romantic poets and William Shakespeare, Bloom was a controversial figure, a defender of the idea of the 'Western Canon' and an avowed literary elitist. Literary critic and cultural historian Lara Feigel, and James Marriott, Assistant Literary Editor at The Times - and a Bloom fan from a young age - explore Harold Bloom’s complicated legacy.Illuminated pages taken from a 15th century Islamic manuscript come up for sale at Christie's in London tomorrow. They come from a Persian manuscript The Paths of Paradise that depi

Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at this year's Berlin Film Festival, By the Grace of God is Francois Ozon's new feature film about sexual abuse hidden by the Catholic Church in France. Briony Hanson reviews. The young artist Joy Labinjo discusses her new exhibition Our Histories Cling to Us at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead. Her large oil paintings draw on Labinjo's personal experience of growing up in the UK with British-Nigerian heritage, using photos to explore memory and ideas of belonging, focusing on intimate scenes of contemporary family life.Art Critic Alistair Sooke talks about The Way I See It - his new landmark series for BBC Radio 3 in which 30 leading cultural figures choose their favourite work from the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York and explain what it means to them. The former EastEnders actress Katie Jarvis has been in the tabloid press this week after it revealed she was working as a shop security guard. But with most actors out of performing work most of the time is

David Attenborough's new documentary series Seven Worlds, One Planet has been four years in the making, we speak to Bertie Gregory, a wildlife cameraman who was at the heart of the show.The new retrospective of the work of the pioneering artist Bridget Riley at the Hayward Gallery in London features over 200 works spanning her 70-year career. Louisa Buck reviews the exhibition that features Riley’s famous black-and-white works of the 1960s to her more recent works as she continues to play with abstraction and perception.The Forward Prize for Best Poetry Collection 2019 has been awarded to Fiona Benson for her collection Vertigo & Ghost. She explains why Zeus and his relations with mortals and nymphs is at the heart of the poems.Drill artist Rico Racks has been banned from using drug slang in his music after being convicted for supplying class A drugs. The list of words include “trapping” meaning “dealing” and “connect” - a drugs contact. Journalist and youth worker Ciaran Thapar reports.Presenter : Sami

There is much concern about the loss of biodiversity. But what of the linguistic and cultural ecosystem? It is thought that half of the world's 7,000 languages might not survive into the next century. Stig Abell talks to Chris McCabe, editor of Poems from the Edge of Extinction, an anthology of poems from around the world in languages under threat , and to Laura Tohe, poet laureate of the Navajo Nation. What might be lost? What can be done?Scooby Doo turned 50 this autumn. To mark the half century of a show which continues to follow the mysterious adventures of the eponymous Great Dane and his teenage friends - Fred, Daphne, Velma and Shaggy – Stig is joined for a discussion on the cartoon’s longstanding appeal by Professor Kevin Sandler, who is currently writing a book on Scooby Doo, and cultural critic Gavia Baker Whitelaw.The composer Judith Weir is just coming to the end of her time as Associate Composer for the BBC Singers. Her new piece for them is blue hills beyond blue hills, a setting of poems

Gavin Hood, director of Tsotsi and Eye in the Sky, discusses his new film Official Secrets, which stars Keira Knightley as the GCHQ whistleblower who was taken to court by the British government for leaking a top secret email to the press in the lead-up to the Iraq war in 2003.Next week The Louvre Museum in Paris opens a major exhibition on Leonardo da Vinci to commemorate the 500th anniversary of his death. Nearly 120 works will be displayed, with many on loan from collections around the world. However, there is much speculation over whether the world’s most expensive painting, Salvator Mundi, sold for $450m in 2017, will be on show. The painting of Christ, attributed to da Vinci in the last decade, hasn’t been on public display since its sale. Ben Lewis, author of The Last Leonardo, joins John Wilson to discuss.Moving to Mars, the latest exhibition at the Design Museum in London, explores how sending humans to the planet is not just a new frontier for science but also for design. Architect Tara Gbolade revi

Having won several album of the year awards for his recording of works by J.S Bach, Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson performs and talks about reinventing Bach for a new generation.This year the highest accolade in British architecture, the Stirling Prize, has been awarded for the first time to a social housing development. Social housing as places of crime and deprivation have been commonplace in popular culture for decades, often at odds with the experience of people living there. Cultural commentator and film historian Matthew Sweet and architect Jo McCafferty look at how these spaces have been portrayed in a more positive light on screen.For most of the 20th century, The Iraq Museum was home to an enormous collection of artefacts from the ancient civilisations of the region. Following the US-led invasion in 2003, it’s estimated that around 15,000 objects were taken during mass looting, with many finding their way onto the black market. Hannah Khalil discusses her new play A Museum In Baghdad, which is s

Aisling Bea, writer and star of the recent hit Channel 4 comedy This Way Up, on her new Netflix drama Living with Yourself, in which she plays the wife of a man who undergoes a mysterious treatment only to discover that he has been cloned and replaced by a better version of himself.With the surprise announcement last night that the Booker Prize was being awarded to two authors – Margaret Atwood and Bernardine Evaristo – chair of the judges Peter Florence and the prize’s literary director Gaby Wood reveal what went on behind the scenes and how and why the judges came to their rule-breaking decision. And Kirsty talks to Zawe Ashton, who is currently starring on Broadway alongside Tom Hiddleston in Harold Pinter's play, Betrayal. She's also written a play which is opening on both sides of the Atlantic at once, for all the women who thought they were Mad. Presenter: Kirsty Lang Producer: Timothy Prosser

Ahead of the announcement of the 2019 Booker Prize winner tonight, it's the final Front Row Booker Prize Book Group with shortlisted author Margaret Atwood, in which she meets a group of readers to discuss The Testaments, her long awaited sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale. Last year, Los Angeles artist Mark Bradford sold a single work for $12m, the highest-ever auction price achieved by a living African-American artist. He represented the United States at the Venice Biennale two years ago, and now has a new exhibition of his large works in London. In front of his 14-metre-long canvas Cerebus, the artist discusses his art, which addresses issues of institutionalised racism, marginalised communities, police violence and inequality.A new film opening this weekend, The Peanut Butter Falcon, has been a bit of a sleeper hit in the USA. It stars Shia LeBeouf and Zack Gottsagen - an actor with Down Syndrome - and reinterprets Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn story for today.Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Oliver Jones