Front Row

As singer Janelle Monaé's video for her new single PYNK goes viral, music journalist Ruth Barnes looks back at other game-changers in the genre. The new Young People's Laureate for London was announced yesterday evening as Momtaza Mehri. We bring her together with the outgoing post holder Caleb Femi to discuss what he learnt in the role and ask Momtaza what she hopes to achieve.The soundtrack to the film "A Clockwork Orange" is as famous as Kubrick's film is notorious. What's less well known is that Anthony Burgess, as well as writing a stage version of his own novel, also wrote music to accompany it. The combined musical play is getting its first British theatrical production at the Liverpool Everyman next week. Dr Kevin Malone, reader in composition at the University of Manchester, who was the first person to re-unite the author's music and words evaluates Burgess's musical style.A bridge in Tello, Iraq, was built in the third millennium BC and is believed to be the world's oldest bridge. The British Museum

Actress Naomie Harris talks about her latest role in Brad Peyton's big-screen video game adaptation Rampage, which sees her fighting a trio of oversized genetically-modified predators alongside Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. Has it got harder for working class talent to make a career on stage and screen? This week the Anna Scher Theatre School, which is responsible for launching the careers of working class actors such as Kathy Burke, Daniel Kaluuya and Adam Deacon, celebrates 50 years, and there are calls for drama schools to remove audition fees to boost access to more formal training. To discuss how working class talent can thrive in 2018 we are joined by director Asif Kapadia, producer Rebecca O'Brien and actor Johnny Harris.The aboriginal singer Gurrumul died last year at the age of 46. Before his death, the highest-selling indigenous musician of all time had spent four years working on his album Djarimirri with his long-term friend, producer and manager Michael Hohnen. On the line from Sydney, Michael refle

Viv Albertine was the guitarist in the cult punk band The Slits and a key player in British counter culture before working as a film maker and launching a solo career. Her new memoir, To Throw Away Unopened, unpicks family secrets which shaped her childhood and her early creative influences. This book begins when she is at the launch party for her hugely successful first book Clothes, Clothes, Clothes, Music, Music, Music, Boys, Boys, Boys and her sister calls with news that their mother is dying. After a two-year £35m refurbishment, the Queen Elizabeth Hall and the Purcell Room on London's Southbank re-open this week. The architect Richard Battye and Gillian Moore, Director of Music at the Southbank, give Samira a guided tour of the Brutalist buildings, which have been updated to cater for an even wider range of music, dance and performance for the 21st century.Damian Kavanagh, the Controller of BBC Three, discusses how the platform is different online to on air, considers why it has been a success with youn

Tate Liverpool's arts handler Ken Simons has just retired after working there since its opening 30 years ago. To mark his retirement, Tate have allowed him to curate his own exhibition, Exploring the Unseen, using works from the Tate collection. He explains how he chose the 30 works - one for each of his years at the gallery.As Audible launches three new podcasts featuring original short stories written exclusively for audio, Ben Okri, Booker prize-winning writer of The Famished Road, joins bestselling author of Chocolat, Joanne Harris, to discuss the particular challenges and joys of writing to be read aloud, and to consider the impact of the increasing availability of audio content on the popularity of short-form fiction. Fortnite Battle Royale, the online game which puts 100 players onto an island to battle it out, has become one of the world's biggest games attracting over 45 million players since launching six months ago. Games journalist Louise Blain accounts for its appeal.A new compilation EP that fea

To mark 20 years of Front Row Kirsty Lang and John Wilson host a celebratory extended edition live from the Radio Theatre at Broadcasting House in London.Liz Carr, Bob Geldof, Lionel Shriver and Testament make their case for what they think is the most significant art work of the last 20 years.Neil MacGregor, the former director of the British Museum and familiar voice to Radio 4, considers cultural developments and diplomacy since 1998.There's a live performance from singer-songwriter Rae Morris. She'll join Caleb Femi, the Young People's Laureate for London, and Liv Little, founder and editor-in-chief of gal-dem - a magazine for young women of colour - to consider the scene for young emerging artists and to look ahead to what the next 20 years might bring. Kate Fox, our poet-in-residence for the day, writes a rapid-response poem.And Mary Beard pops in to tell us about the new series of Front Row Late which starts later tonight on BBC2. Presenters: Kirsty Lang and John Wilson Producers: Rebecca Armstrong an

Actor David Morrissey, well known for his roles in TV dramas like State of Play, The Deal, Red Riding, The Walking Dead and Britannia. He talks about his latest role is as Inspector Tyador in BBC Two's adaption of the China Miéville's novel The City and The City. The drama is a speculative science-fiction meets police procedural, set in two cities which share a geographical location but whose residents are trained to "unsee" the other city. Claude Monet had a fascination with buildings in his paintings throughout his life, from the bridges and streets of Paris and its suburbs in his early years to the renowned architecture of Venice and London in later life. Architect Jo McCafferty and art critic Jacky Klein discuss Monet & Architecture, a major new exhibition at the National Gallery in London.The Rapid Response Unit is an art installation in Liverpool where leading artists respond to global events and world stories as they happen. Mark Dunne, leader of the project, and graphic artist Patrick Thomas expla

Cuba Gooding Jr is taking to the stage in the new West End production of one of the world's most successful musicals - Chicago. He talks to Stig Abell about his role as the lawyer Billy Flynn and his career; starring in Boyz n the Hood, playing OJ Simpson, the impact of winning an Oscar for Jerry Maguire, and how Hollywood is changing its attitude to black actors. Bob Honey who Just Do Stuff is a new novel. Its author is Sean Penn. He's not the only film star to feel, after coming to fame reciting other people's words, the urge to write stories of their own. Tom Hanks has published a collection of short stories, James Franco, Lauren Graham and Pamela Anderson have all written novels. Ethan Hawke has three to his name. Cathy Rentzenbrink of The Bookseller discusses this phenomenon, what these books reveal and whether they, Penn's in particular, are any good. Love, Simon is a new American High School coming of movie but with a twist - Simon is struggling with coming out as gay rather than finding a date for Pro

Prize-winning author Aminatta Forna on the many different ingredients that make up her new novel, Happiness, a multi-layered story set in modern London, seen from the perspective of those passing through.The Alpha male sweeping a woman off her feet has long been a common trope in romantic fiction but can it survive in a world where the #MeToo movement has transformed the debate around gender politics?The Hollywood sign, on Mount Lee in Los Angeles, is one of the world's most famous cultural icons. The original 45-feet tall sign sat on Hollywood Hills from 1923 until 1978, before it fell into disrepair and was replaced. Sculptor and collector Bill Mack bought the original sign. He talks to Front Row about its history and explains why he is taking the H on tour around the world. And we hear about Blackpool's plans to open a museum celebrating its past as Britain's first mass seaside resort. Aided by a grant from the government's Northern Cultural Regeneration Fund, the museum will form part of the legacy of the

Ever since the legendary heroic outlaw Robin Hood first stole from the rich to give to the poor, Nottingham has had a tradition of political defiance, addressing social injustice and encouraging free expression. Sandeep Mahal, Director of Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature, assesses to what extent that still holds today in the city's rich cultural landscape, and talks to writers, poets, singers and actors about the challenges Nottingham has faced over the years. Samantha Morton discusses her time as a teenager at the city's celebrated Television Workshop, where Jack O'Connell and Vicky McClure also started their acting careers, as well as a number of young, promising hopefuls often seen in the Nottingham films of director Shane Meadows.Presenter: Sandeep Mahal Producer: Jerome Weatherald.

This year marks the centenary of Leonard Bernstein's birth and to celebrate the occasion Front Row explores his life and music. John Wilson is joined by his son, Alexander Bernstein, who remembers his father composing at home, and who attended many of his Young People's Concerts; by his friend and biographer, Humphrey Burton, who discusses Bernstein's multiple talents as a conductor, composer and educator; and by his pupil, the conductor Marin Alsop, who was inspired by Bernstein to take up the baton. Presenter: John Wilson Producer: Rebecca Armstrong.

David Mamet, the American playwright, director and novelist, talks to Stig about his new novel, Chicago, set amongst the gangster rivalry of the 1920s. He explains his fascination with that era in the city of his birth, discusses the writers who have inspired him and explains the importance of imagination, inspiration and dialogue in the storyteller's craft.Meghan Markle's final season in US drama Suits is currently being broadcast on Netflix, last year the actress revealed she was retiring from the show and from acting following her engagement to Prince Harry. TV critic Emma Bullimore gives her verdict on Markle's performance in the glossy legal drama. This year is the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement which marked a significant step forward in the peace process in Northern Ireland. To mark the anniversary a Poetry Jukebox has been placed on a street in Belfast, allowing people to listen to a selection of 20 poems which reflect on that momentous event. Stig discusses bringing poetr

Wes Anderson discusses his film Isle of Dogs, including working with stop-motion animation and drawing inspiration from Studio Ghibli director Miyazaki for the Japanese setting for the film.What makes a great sports theme tune? As the 2018 Formula 1 season kicks off with a specially composed anthem, we speak to its composer Brian Tyler and consider the essential components of an iconic sports theme tunes with former BBC sport correspondent Adrian Warner.Seven publishers were in a bidding war to secure AJ Pearce's debut novel Dear Mrs Bird. The author comes in to talk about the book in which a young woman dreams of becoming a lady war correspondent during the Blitz but instead is employed as the assistant to a formidable agony aunt at a failing women's magazine.The winner of the National Poetry Competition is announced this evening, we hear from the winning poet, who will read one of their poems.Presenter: Kirsty Lang Producer: Hannah Robins.

Steven Spielberg, director of films like The Post, The BFG and Bridge of Spies, returns to the science fiction genre with an action adventure set in a virtual-reality game world sometime in the future. Julia Hardy reviews the film and tells Samira whether it is a classic of the genre like Close Encounters of the Third Kind or Back to the Future.The York Realist is a play set in 1963 when John, up from London and working as assistant director on a production of the York Mystery Plays, falls for local farm-worker, George, who is also a gifted actor and capable of a brilliant career - if he could bring himself to leave. Robert Hastie comes in to talk about the play which, after an acclaimed run in London, he is taking to Yorkshire where he is Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres. The Church of England has just appointed a "Pioneer Minister of the Arts" who will look to use art as a way of reaching out to different communities. For centuries religion and art have had a close relationship, with many artists dra

Anna Chancellor stars in the new TV adaptation of Agatha Christie's murder mystery Ordeal By Innocence this weekend, in which she plays Rachel Argyll, heiress, philanthropist and mother of five adopted children found murdered on Christmas Eve. Samira talks to the actress, who is well-known for her roles in Four Weddings and a Funeral, The Hour, Spooks and Mapp & Lucia. Harshdeep Kaur, the popular Indian playback singer known for her Bollywood Hindi, Punjabi and Sufi songs, performs live. Popularly known as the 'Queen of Sufi', she'll be performing her soulful Sufi renditions alongside a range of more modern Bollywood classics at the Barbican in London this week.American theatre critic Hilton Als won the Pulitzer Prize last year for his theatre reviews which the judges said puts drama 'within a real-world cultural context, particularly the shifting landscape of gender, sexuality and race.' He talks about White Girls, his new collection of essays, which blurs the line between criticism and memoir, fiction a

Artist Sonia Boyce's career has been punctuated by series of firsts - the first black woman to have her work collected by the Tate, the first black woman to be elected a Royal Academician. As her first retrospective opens, Sonia discusses her art and why she removed a painting from the walls of Manchester Art Gallery.On the 100th anniversary of Debussy's death two interpreters of his music discuss his life, legacy and influences. Lucy Parham tours a show playing his piano music interspersed with readings from Debussy's own writings and letters while Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla the conductor of the city of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra has curated a season of Debussy's orchestral works. Testament is a rapper, beatboxer and theatre maker who's now based in Yorkshire. That county is the setting of Black Men Walking, a touring production that takes as its real life inspiration a group of black men - and some women - who go walking in the Peak District once a month. It uses music, poetry and the rich and largely unsung h

Macbeth is on at the National Theatre, The Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House, and there will be at least 15 more Macbeths at theatres and festivals around the country this year. Rufus Norris, director of the National's production, and Kit Monkman, who has made the latest film version, discuss why Shakespeare's play has such urgent appeal today.The British Council has been in the news because Moscow has shut down its activities in Russia. But what does the Council actually do? Alastair Niven, who was for four years Director of Literature at the British Council, explains its work, significance and why it sometimes falls foul of certain regimes.As music superstar partners Beyoncé and Jay-Z announce details of their new joint tour, Front Row decided to examine the delights and drawbacks when artists, who are couples, hit the road together. John talks to comedian Francesca Martinez and her touring partner actor Kevin Hely, and married musical duo Cara Dillon and Sam Lakeman.

Director Steven Soderbergh on his latest film, Unsane, which stars Claire Foy as a woman admitted to a mental health facility against her will. The film was shot entirely on three iphones. Is this the future of film? America's Cool Modernism: O'Keeffe to Hopper, a big exhibition at the Ashmolean in Oxford focuses on American artists in the early 20th century - including Georgia O'Keeffe and Edward Hopper - many of whom expressed their uncertainty about the rapid modernisation and urbanisation of their country. The show's curator discusses the significance of these paintings, prints and photographs made between 1915 and 1945, many of which have not been seen in the UK before. How to establish yourself as a solo artist after a successful career in a double act - Stephen Armstrong considers examples from cultural history as Ant McPartlin, one half of TV presenting powerhouse Ant and Dec, is admitted to rehab, leaving Declan Donnelly considering his options.A new RSC production of The Duchess of Malfi will involv

Bruce Springsteen, John Lennon and Patti Smith are just a few of the artists who trusted an inexperienced recording engineer, Jimmy Iovine, at the controls of their albums in the '70s. Iovine discusses a new documentary series The Defiant Ones, in which he looks back at 40 years in the record business: from those early beginnings, teaming up with hip hop artist Dr Dre, creating the Beats audio brand and running Apple Music.Award-winning Irish novelist Donal Ryan on his fifth novel, From a Low and Quiet Sea, which tells the story of three men, from war-torn Syria to small-town Ireland. Three apparently disparate stories that come together in the most unexpected of ways.An international competition for young singers, The Glyndebourne Opera Cup is being televised this week. Samira talks Maria Mot, one of the jury, about what she's looking for in such a wide range of voices and styles and its appeal to a younger audience of opera aficionados.Today is the spring equinox and through the day Radio 4 has been broadca

As Andrew Lloyd Webber turns 70, Kirsty Lang talks to the composer about how he transformed musical theatre with hits like Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.When Sunset Boulevard joined School of Rock, Cats and The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway last year, Andrew Lloyd Webber became the only person to equal the record set in 1953 by his musical heroes Rogers and Hammerstein with four Broadway shows running concurrently. He talks about the process of how he composes, the future of musical theatre - and how he landed an extremely rare interview with Vladimir Putin. Unmasked, the autobiography and Unmasked, The Platinum Collection are both available now. Presenter: Kirsty Lang Producer: Hilary Dunn.

Sir Tom Jones and Jennifer Hudson discuss mentoring the competitors in the TV talent show The Voice, how they coach their protégés and where the value of knockout singing competitions lies. Kirsty visits rehearsals at the studios of the television show and talks to the two judges. As The Square, a satire on modern art galleries hits cinemas, we consider the portrayal of the art gallery in film with Briony Hanson, Head of Film at British Council, and art critic Jacky Klein who also works at Tate.As 'embiggen', a word coined by The Simpsons, makes its way into the dictionary, lexicographer Susie Dent traces the way words hop from the screen into people's conversations and their impact on our language.Presenter Kirsty Lang Producer Jerome Weatherald.