Front Row

Rebecca Lucy Taylor also known as Self Esteem is making her stage debut in the Olivier-award winning production of Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club in London as Sally Bowles, the English nightclub singer in thirties Berlin. She tells Samira how the late Paula Yates was an inspiration.The details of a long awaited UK wide Arts Access Scheme are finally being revealed tonight on Front Row. The scheme aims to improve the experience of people with disabilities and neurodivergent people going to creative and cultural events. Andrew Miller, UK Arts Access Champion at ACE, explains how the new scheme will work.The art scene is Ghana is becoming one of the most creative globally, with international collectors showing a new interest in Ghanian artists. Stephen Smith reports from Accra, where artists are drawing on West African traditions to make exciting new work. Judi Jackson was singing from a young age in her church choir, but it was a music teacher at school who really encouraged her and put her in contact with

Coming under the Front Row spotlight today are: Kenneth Branagh’s new stage production of King Lear, in which he both stars and directs, and How to Have Sex, a new coming of age film about the trend for post-exam holidays abroad, by first time director Molly Manning Walker, and which won the Un Certain Regard award at Cannes this summer. Theatre critic Susannah Clapp and journalist and Good Bad Billionaire podcast host Zing Tsjeng review.A new track by The Beatles dubbed their “final song” has been released 45 years after it was first conceived. The track, Now and Then, uses John Lennon’s vocals and all four Beatles feature on it. We'll have a listen and review.‘He first deceased; she for a little tried To live without him, liked it not, and died.’Lady Morton’s epitaph, written in the 17th century, is the shortest verse in The Penguin Book of Elegy. The new anthology gathers hundreds of poems of memory, mourning, and consolation, by writers ranging from Virgil, born in 70 BCE, to Raymond Antrobus, born in

From 1974 to 1984 Henry Winkler played the character of Arthur Fonzarelli, “The Fonz”, in the hit American sitcom, Happy Days. The role dominated the public’s perception of him, but despite being seen as the epitome of cool, he had many of his own demons to wrestle with. Henry joins Front Row to discuss his new autobiography, Being Henry: The Fonz…and Beyond.The composer David Fennessy on his piece Conquest of the Useless which is being performed in Glasgow this weekend. It was inspired by Werner Herzog’s obsessive film Fitzcarraldo which features a large steamship being dragged over a hill in the Amazon. And with Northern Ballet planning to tour without a live orchestra from Spring 2024, executive director David Collins discusses the move with Naomi Pohl, General Secretary of the Musician's Union; and Debra Craine, chief dance critic of the Times, reflects on the difference live music makes to dance performances.

To mark Halloween, Duran Duran have released Danse Macabre, a “spooky concept” album. Samira talks to Simon Le Bon and John Taylor about working with Nile Rogers, covering The Specials’ Ghost Town and taking pop music seriously.This evening Filkin’s Drift play the last of almost 50 concerts, concluding their two month that has seen them travel 870 miles…on foot. The duo has walked from gig to gig, carrying their instruments. As they reach Chepstow they tell Samira about their approach to sustainable touring and how this connects with ancient Welsh bardic tradition.Born in 1923, the artist Dobrivoje Beljkasic found refuge in Bristol after the outbreak of the Bosnian War. His daughter Dee Smart and author Priscilla Morris celebrate his life and legacy on the centenary of his birth, marked by a new exhibition in Sarajevo. George Orwell’s seminal Nineteen Eighty-Four continues to occupy a lauded, and sometimes controversial, position in political discourse and popular culture three-quarters of a century after it

Backstairs Billy is a new play about Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon, the Queen Mother, and her loyal, camp and working class servant, William Tallon. Penelope Wilton, who plays the Queen Mother, and Luke Evans, who plays her Steward and Page, talk to Tom Sutcliffe about creating these characters.Jonathan Escoffery has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize for his novel If I Survive You. Through a series of interlinked short stories it explores issues of race, masculinity and living in the United States as a second-generation Jamaican immigrant. The decision by the Arts Council of Wales to stop funding National Theatre Wales has made headlines in and outside Wales. Executive Editor of Wales Art Review, Gary Raymond, and theatre director and producer, Yvonne Murphy, join Front Row to discuss the ramifications.Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Julian May

The Killer, starring Michael Fassbender, has been hailed as a return to tense and stylish form for the director David Fincher. Critics Rhianna Dhillon and John Mullan join Tom Sutcliffe to give their views on this new take on the assassin genre. They also venture into uncanny realms with a review of Fantasy: Realms of Imagination, a new exhibition at the British Library which charts tales of fairies, folklore and flights of fancy from Ancient Greece to the modern day. Comedian and gamer Ellie Gibson gives her round up of the cornucopia of new video games out this month, including the Playstation’s fastest ever seller Spider-Man 2 and family favourite Super Mario Bros Wonder.Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Harry Parker

Daniel Rachel’s book Too Much Too Young: The 2 Tone Records Story is a new history of the iconic record label. He’s joined by Pauline Black, lead singer of The Selecter, to discuss the cultural impact of the Ska music it released.Actor Martin Shaw remembers the late, great theatre impresario Bill Kenwright, whose productions included Willy Russell's Blood Brothers and Andrew Lloyd-Webber's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, who has died at the age of 78.The game of squash and a family overcoming grief are at the heart of Chetna Maroo’s debut novel, Western Lane, which has been shortlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize. She talks to Samira about creating the story which centres on a spirited 11-year-old protagonist, Gopi.In Lyonesse, Kristin Scott Thomas plays Elaine, a star who gave up her career and retreated to a remote house on a Cornish cliff. 30 years later she decides she must return and tell her story. Kate, played by Lily James, is a young film executive, juggling work, a toddler and a peripate

Sir Patrick Stewart's memoir Making It So looks back over his long and eclectic acting career encompassing stage, film and television and video games. He has played roles in productions as varied as I, Claudius, Shakespeare and Star Trek: the Next Generation. Samira talks to him about his journey from a poor childhood in Yorkshire to Hollywood.The history and culture of the skateboard is the subject of an exhibition at London's Design Museum. Associate curator Tory Turk and film-maker and skateboarder Winstan Whitter discuss its development from a makeshift practice device for Californian surfers in the 1950s to a high-tech worldwide sport.The great cellist, and advocate for peace, Pablo Casals died 50 years ago this week. Steven Isserlis explains his importance in redefining the role of the cello in music. In the Front Row studio Steven demonstrates on his cello the influence of Casals on cellists to this day and performs Song of the Birds one of Casals's own compositions for the instrument.

Aviva Studios, a reportedly £240 million pound arts complex, has opened in Manchester with Free Your Mind, an immersive stage version of The Matrix from Oscar winning director Danny Boyle. Joining presenter Nick Ahad to discuss the arrival of the UK’s biggest new cultural venue - and its inaugural production- are playwright and critic Charlotte Keatley and architecture writer and lecturer Paul Dobraszczyk.The Chemical Brothers- AKA Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons- reflect on their 30 year journey from a Manchester house share to superstar DJ status, as they release their book Paused in Cosmic Reflection and embark on a UK tour.The 22nd October 1963 saw the opening night of the first production by the National Theatre. Peter O’Toole played Hamlet, directed by Laurence Olivier. Front Row hears from Rufus Norris, the current artistic director, about the role of the National Theatre 60 years on.Presenter: Nick Ahad Producer: Ekene Akalawu

Film critic Ryan Gilbey and music and club culture writer Kate Hutchinson deliver their verdict on Hackney Diamonds - the first new Rolling Stones album for 18 years – and Garth Davis’ film Foe, which is based on a sci-fi novel by Iain Reid and stars Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal. Lessons in Chemistry was 2022’s hit novel about a thwarted chemist who becomes an early TV cook. It’s now been turned into a series for Apple TV, starring Brie Larson, complete with authentic 1950s food. Chef and cookbook author Courtney McBroom, who was the show’s food consultant, gives us an insight into what this involved.Doctors - the long running BBC TV drama - is ending after more than 23 years. The last episode will be broadcast in December 2024. The show follows the lives of medics and their patients in a GP surgery in the fictional town of Letherbridge. Tonight on Front Row we speak to one of the shows former writers, Joy Wilkinson, who cut her teeth in TV drama writing on the show. She says it was a friendly, creative en

Musical theatre legend Bonnie Langford performs Stephen Sondheim's I'm Still Here from the musical Follies, in tribute to the late composer and lyricist. The actress, singer and dancer reflects on her career from West End child star to appearing in Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends, the starry revue show running at London's Gielgud Theatre.Documentary filmmaker Maysoon Pachachi makes her feature film debut with Our River…Our Sky, set in Baghdad during the winter of 2006, three years after the US-led invasion. Maysoon’s film reflects on how those who remained tried to get on with their lives in a city riven by sectarian violence.“Nuns are always box office, aren’t they?” said film director Michael Powell and he was right. His 1947 classic Black Narcissus, about missionary nuns in the Himalayas, is being screened around the country; The Sound of Music ran at Chichester Festival Theatre over the summer and midwife nuns will soon return to our screens in Call the Midwife. Critic David Benedict and Samira Ahmed discu

Two adaptations of Rhinoceros by Eugène Ionesco open this month, one in Belfast and a Welsh language adaptation in Cardiff. The adaptors Patrick J O’Reilly and Manon Steffan Ros both join Kathy Clugston to discuss how this 1950s play about the rise of Fascism speaks to audiences now. Singer Cara Dillon is known globally for her interpretations of traditional Irish songs. As she performs at the Belfast International Arts Festival, she explains why she’s taking a new direction with her upcoming album, the first time she’s released an album of original songs. In the first of Front Row’s interviews with the authors shortlisted for this year’s Booker Prize, Paul Lynch talks about Prophet Song, his dystopian novel which imagines a future in which Ireland is in the grips of an oppressive regime. And as Glasgow Museums say that they are unable to locate a sculpture by the French artist Auguste Rodin, arts correspondent Jan Patience explains that it may not be the only major work of art that’s gone missing. Present

Madonna is still in the spotlight 45 years after bursting onto the pop scene in the 1980s, inspiring fashion, dance and youth culture, as well as being the world’s best-selling female artist of all time. Author of the biography Madonna: A Rebel Life, Mary Gabriel explores what’s behind her enduring influence and music critic Pete Paphides assesses last night’s Celebration tour performance, rescheduled after her recent serious health scare. The latest film from director Martin Scorcese focuses on the Osage Nation community, who back in the 1920s had become rich overnight when oil was discovered beneath their land in Oklahoma. Based on a true story, Killers of the Flower Moon sees an improbable romance develop between Leonardo DiCaprio’s Ernest and Lily Gladstone’s indigenous Mollie, as members of her Osage tribe are murdered under mysterious circumstances, killings which are investigated by what was to become the FBI. Published in 2015, Adam Sisman wrote what is considered to be the definitive biography of J

Samira Ahmed is joined by critics Anne Joseph and Nancy Durrant to review some of this week’s cultural highlights. They discuss the new series of the classic TV comedy Frasier, which is returning to our screens after nearly two decades, and a new exhibition, Fashion City: How Jewish Londoners Shaped Global Style.Martin Hayes has gone from playing the fiddle in his father’s ceilidh band in County Clare to performing for President Obama at the White House. Martin brings his band, The Common Ground Ensemble to perform in the Front Row studio. Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Corinna Jones

Actor Richard Armitage – who starred in North and South and the Hobbit - joins Nick to discuss writing his debut novel, the bio-tech thriller Geneva, which is about to be published in hardback but was originally commissioned as an audio book. Autumn 2023 has seen Opera North launching its first sustainable ‘Green Season’. This includes the world premiere of an ambitious new production, Masque of Might which repurposes the music of composer Henry Purcell in a spectacle of song and dance. We hear from its director Sir David Pountney and soprano Anna Dennis.The Leicester Indie band EasyLife is about to play its last gigs under that name - because the owners of the airline easyJet said their name was too similar to that of the budget airline. EasyGroup confirmed they'd received an agreement from the band saying they would cease using the name after playing at Leicester's 02 Academy and London's Koko. It's not yet known what their new name will be. The Turner prize winning artist Lubaina Himid was once told “bl

Nigel Kennedy remains the best selling violinist of all time with a repertoire that spans jazz, classical, rock, klezmer and more. Ahead of his four night residency at Ronnie Scott’s in London this week, Nigel Kennedy and cellist Beata Urbanek-Kalinowska join us in the Front Row studio to perform two reworkings of pieces by Ryuichi Sakamoto and the Polish film score composer, Krzysztof Komeda. Author Christine Coulson discusses her novel ‘One Woman Show’ written entirely through the medium of art gallery labels – and why we should be looking for longer at the paintings themselves. She’s joined by Dr Catherine McCormack, an independent curator and lecturer at Sotheby’s Art Institute, who reveals more about how labels have changed over the years and provide valuable context for visitors to galleries and museums. New figures compiled exclusively for Front Row reveal that 65,000 items are currently missing from museums around the world and listed on the Art Loss Register. Carolyn Atkinson goes on the trail of o

Kathryn Tickell and The Darkening’s new album, Cloud Horizons, fuses synthesizers with a bone flute, a sistrum – very old Egyptian instrument - and lyrics based on an inscription in Latin carved on a stone in Northumberland nearly 2 millennia ago. Kathryn talks to Samira about this ancient Northumbrian futurism and plays her smallpipes, live. We remember the film director Terrence Davis, perhaps best known for the film Distant Voices, who has died aged 77. Samira spoke to him for Front Row last year, about his Netflix drama Benediction, which followed the life of the war poet Siegfried Sassoon.Samira talks to Jhumpa Lahiri, the Pulitzer Prize winning novelist, essayist and editor. Her latest offering Roman Stories marks a return to shorter fiction, presenting snapshots of a city and its unnamed residents in flux. Today the Heritage Fund announces nine ‘Heritage Places’ across the UK- the first of twenty to receive a share of £200 million in National Lottery funding over the next 10 years to support local h

The winner of the 2023 Nobel Prize for Literature is Norwegian writer Jon Fosse, who is best known for his innovative plays. Playwright Simon Stephens, who has translated his work, talks about the impact of his plays which are widely performed across Europe but little known in the UK. Front Row reviews Golda, which stars Helen Mirren as Israeli prime minster Golda Meir, and an exhibition of work by the artist Philip Guston at the Tate Modern in London. Poet Aviva Dautch and art critic Ben Lukes give their verdict.Musician Tim Ridout discusses recording Elgar’s famous cello concerto on the viola, a performance for which he won the concerto category at this year’s Gramophone Award. The theme of this year’s National Poetry Day is refuge and to mark it Front Row hears a poem on the theme, A Portable Paradise by Roger Robinson.Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Harry Parker

Mike Skinner helped define an era with The Streets' album Original Pirate Material in 2002. Now he's back with not only new music but an accompanying film, The Darker the Shadow the Brighter the Light. He talks to Nick Ahad about guerrilla filming in nightclubs and the influence of Raymond Chandler. The choreographer, writer and founder of hip hop dance company ZooNation, Kate Prince, tells us about a dramaturg who has been a key influence on her. We hear about the advice and inspiration offered by Lolita Chakrabati ahead of her work inspired by the music of Sting and The Police. The British Textile Biennial 2023 is highlighting the extraordinary influence of Lancashire. From the moors to the mills, it's a region which defined the modern world's approach to the clothes we wear. That troubling and complex legacy is explored by a series of installations. Evie Manning, co-creator of Common Wealth, talks to Nick Ahad about Fast Fast Slow - a community-led catwalk experience which explores throwaway fashion and ou

The actor Patsy Ferran talks to Samira about her transformation from flower girl (with some autonomy) to duchess (with none at all) in Pygmalion at the Old Vic, and a career in which she transformed from Edith, the maid in Blithe Spirit with Angela Lansbury to Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire with Paul Mescal, via Jem in Treasure Island.“Rubenesque” has long evoked a voluptuous image of female nudity in art, but a new exhibition at the Dulwich Picture Gallery seeks to explore the complex relationship between Peter Paul Rubens and the women in his life. Co-curator Amy Orrock and critic Louisa Buck discuss how they influenced, and in many cases financially supported, the 17th century Flemish painter.And as Netflix airs the fifth and final series of ‘Top Boy’, which first appeared on Channel 4 starring Ashley Waters, Clive Nwonka, author of ‘Black Boys The Social Aesthetics of British Urban Film’ and film critic Leila Latif discuss representations of black urban culture on screen.Presenter: Samira Ahme