Front Row

Media journalist Al Horner discusses the latest twist in Warner Bros sale. Pixar's chief creative officer Pete Docter on the inner workings of the animation giant as it marks its 40th anniversary this year. 100 years after his birth, and with a special BFI season underway, we assess the work of the Polish director Andrzej Wajda, with fellow director Agnieszka Holland and film writer Ian Christie....

Art critic Louisa Buck and writer Chris Power giving their verdicts on Tracey Emin: a second life at Tate Modern. This landmark exhibition spans 40 years and includes famous works such as My Bed to recent paintings and bronzes which are on display for the first time. They will also be reviewing the Oscar nominated film Sirât - which tells the story of a father travelling the Moroccan desert with r...

Poet Laureate of the United States, Arthur Sze is one of the most admired poets of the past five decades influencing the work of Poet Laureates and Nobel Physicists. His work focusses on imagery from nature and he will talk about his latest collection and his first UK publication, Into The Hush. The Glasgow Film Festival opening film, Everybody to Kenmure Street tells the story of the community re...

The full scale invasion of Ukraine began four years ago today. Ukraine Unbroken is an evening of five new plays written in response to the war. David Edgar talks about his, Five Day War, which imagines the puppet government waiting to move in when Kviv falls, and the other dramas. Between the plays Ukrainian musician Mariia Petrovska sings and plays the bandura. She talks about her involvement and...

Fifty years on from the death of painter LS Lowry, the BBC has made a documentary featuring recently discovered recordings made in the last years of his life. Recorded by Lowry fan Angela Barratt over a period of four years, the tapes have been lip-synced for the documentary, with Ian McKellen playing Lowry and Annabel Smith as Barratt. Art historian Verity Babbs and curator of the Lowry Collectio...

Poet, playwright and curator Inua Ellams and film critic Hanna Flint join Tom Sutcliffe for this week's reviews. Riding high after the huge success of the Wicked films, actor Cynthia Erivo returns to the London stage for a one-woman production of Bram Stoker's Dracula, in which she plays all the parts. Last summer was dubbed 'brat summer' by the press, with the word 'brat' entering the dictionary...

Director Mona Fastvold and actor Amanda Seyfried discuss their film The Testament of Ann Lee, a musical history about the life of the founder of The Shakers, a mystic who moved from Manchester to the United States in the 18th century and founded a religious community, and who advocated for celibacy, communal living, and gender equality. As a new production of George Bernard Shaw's St Joan opens, d...

In 1986 Jim Cartwright's debut play, Road, was the theatrical sensation of the year and its reputation has only grown in the decades that have followed. As a new production to mark its 40th anniversary opens at the Royal Exchange in Manchester, Jim Cartwright joins Front Row to reflect on why the play has had such an enduring impact. "How lovely yellow is! It stands for the sun.” So exclaimed Van...

Baz Luhrman's newest film is recently rediscovered footage showing Elvis Presley, live in concert at the height of his fame. We speak with Baz about his continuing love for The King. 75 years of The Archers; Emma Freud and Archer's editor Jeremy Howe discuss the world's longest running soap opera and how the programme has dealt with the attack on George Grundy. London's Royal Court Theatre is famo...

Anne Brontë biographer Samantha Ellis and writer Stephanie Merritt join Tom to discuss Emerald Fennell's racy adaptation of Wuthering Heights starring Margot Robbie. They also review Adolescence co-writer Jack Thorne's BBC adaptation of William Golding's Lord of the Flies. After a 35 year campaign, the South Bank Centre has secured Grade II listing. Former Artistic Director Jude Kelly and architec...

LIsa McGee on her fresh spin on the murder mystery genre How To Get to Heaven from Belfast, and on the impact of the Derry Girls phenomenon. At this month's Grammy Awards, Olivia Dean, Lola Young and FKA Twigs - all alumni of The Brit School in Croydon - walked off with prizes. We speak to the school's Principal, Stuart Worden, about how the school prepares students for a career in the music indus...

The creator of Yes Minister - Jonathan Lynn - on his new play I’m Sorry Prime Minister. Griff Rhys Jones plays Jim Hacker, the octogenarian former Prime Minister. Clive Francis plays civil servant Sir Humphrey in this elegiac comedy which draws the saga to a close. Inside Aardman is a new exhibition opening at the Young V&A this week to mark the 50th anniversary of the creative company who hav...

Hollywood star Kristen Stewart talks about her directorial debut, The Chronology of Water, which is a searing portrait of childhood abuse and redemption that’s based on the life story of author Lidia Yuknavitch. Seurat and the Sea is a new exhibition opening at London’s Courtauld Gallery. It features 26 paintings and sketches - many of which haven’t been seen together since they were created - tha...

Tom is joined by reviewers Tristram Fane Saunders and Natalie Jamieson to discuss... Mark (The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Night-time) Haddon's autobiography Leaving Home. The dark comedy film Twinless about two men who lost their respective twin brothers and develop a growing friendship after meeting in a support group. And Mackenzie Crook's new TV series Small Prophets, which stars Michae...

Folk musician Martin Carthy speaks about his long career and about his recent decision to retire from live performance following a diagnosis of late-onset Alzheimer's Disease; As a major retrospective of the work of Gwen John goes on display at National Museum Cardiff, the exhibition's curator Lucy Wood and historian of visual culture Becca Voelcker discuss this formidable and fascinating modernis...

Jared Bush, head of Walt Disney Animation Studios, on his record-breaking film Zootropolis 2. Alex Tadros, owner of Mars Tapes, the last cassette shop in the UK, and culture writer Sian Pattenden on the resurgence of the cassette tape. Oliver Royds, co-founder and joint CEO of Troubadour Theatres, on his company's plans to create London's biggest theatre venue in Greenwich. Debris Stevenson on her...

Author Rachel Rachel Joyce and musician Passenger discuss the new musical based on Rachel's hit book The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. Eric Schlosser’s book Fast Food Nation has been republished after 25 years as a Penguin Classic. Samira Ahmed talks to the author about the impact of the book. Emily Itami and comedian Iszi Lawrence review the British Museum's new exhibition "Samurai". Critic...

Tom Sutcliffe and guests Viv Groskop and Dorian Lynskey, review Bradley Cooper's film Is This Thing On? - about a marriage in crisis and a comedian on the rise. Guess How Much I Love You? is the new play by Luke Norris at London's Royal Court Theatre, which deals with starting a family, enduring love and impossible choices And George Saunders' new book, Vigil, set in the living world and the world...

John Carter Cash on how the lives of his famous parents - Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash - have inspired a stage musical which tells the story of the couple's long love story but also tackles addiction head on. As a long-lost portrait of poet Robert Burns by the acclaimed artist Henry Raeburn goes on display, art historian Bendor Grosvenor and art journalist Melanie Gerlis discuss how experts go...

Michael Sheen on the first production of his newly-formed Welsh National Theatre, Thornton Wilder’s 1938 play Our Town seen through a Welsh lens. Film critic Larushka Ivan-Zadeh reacts to the Bafta nominations announced today and how they compare with last week's Oscar's list. 100 years since Laurel and Hardy united for their first film, Neil Brand discusses the comedy duo with film historian Pame...

Richard Linklater speaks to Samira Ahmed about his new film Nouvelle Vague. Robbie Williams has beaten the Beatles' record for the most UK album chart number ones - we ask former Spotify exec Will Page how he's done it. Daughters of Donbas is a musical project, created by Ukrainian musicians to bring the world’s attention to the kidnapping by Russian authorities of Ukrainian children. Samira speak...

Tom Sutcliffe is joined by film critic Larushka Ivan-Zadeh and novelist Lawrence Norfolk to review: Korean auteur Park Chan-Wook's redundancy revenge thriller No Other Choice. Julian Barnes' Departure(s) which he's said will be his last book. Oliver Hermanus' film The History of Sound starring Paul Mescal and Josh O'Connor in a folk music love story. And they discuss the Oscar nominations which we...

Actor Claire Foy on her role as a grieving academic who finds solace in falconry in the film adaptation of Helen Macdonald's award-winning memoir H Is For Hawk. As it goes on display for a period of three months, Chris Cassells of the National Library of Scotland, Ashleigh Hibbins of Perth Museum and playwright and poet Liz Lochhead discuss the cultural significance of the last letter of Mary Quee...

Comedian John Bishop on how his life story inspired Bradley Cooper's new movie, Is This Thing On? starring Will Arnett and Laura Dern. Hull Truck Theatre has just won the Innovation prize at the Stage Awards for their new training scheme for GPs. Associate Director Tom Saunders and GP Dr Eman Shamsaee discuss why drama classes are helping doctors treat patients. Writer Jamila Gavin on winning the...

Artist Beryl Cook would have been 100 this year - famed for her cheeky paintings of large ladies and people having fun, there's a new exhibition opening in Plymouth. Cole Escola is the man behind the stage musical sensation, Oh Mary, which has been hailed in some circles at The Next Hamilton. Washington National Opera is leaving their base for more than half a century. They have cited a slump in t...