Front Row

In a programme recorded before an audience in Sheffield, Mark Lawson interviews dramatist Sir David Hare, as Sheffield Theatres stage a season of his plays.

Sir David talks about why it took him a long time to accept that he was a writer, his ability to provoke hostility, and why is he temperamentally unsuited to a life in the theatre.

He discusses leaving Britain after his play Plenty received poor reviews, and also reveals why feminists have inspired him and antagonized him, how his love of cinema has informed his writing for the stage, and why for the first time he's destroyed a play.

Producer Ekene Akalawu.

News, reviews and interviews from the worlds of art, literature, film and music.

Samira Ahmed talks to Professor Diane Roberts about the news that 'To Kill A Mockingbird' author Harper Lee is to publish a second novel.

William Nicholson wrote 'Shadowlands', the screenplay for 'Gladiator' and the acclaimed children's book 'The Wind Singer'. His latest novel for adults, 'The Lovers of Amherst', tells the story of the brother of the great American poet Emily Dickinson and his passionate adulterous love affair with a beautiful woman half his age.

Australian writer Tim Winton's book The Turning, a series of stories set in a coastal community, has now been turned into a film in which each story has been interpreted by a different director. Australian novelist Helen Fitzgerald reviews the film whose cast includes Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving.

South African artist Marlene Dumas discusses her dark and often sexually explicit paintings as a major new retrospective of her work opens at London's Tate Modern.

Producer: Dixi Stewart.

Arts news, interviews and reviews.

News, reviews and interviews from the worlds of art, literature, film and music.

News, reviews and interviews from the worlds of art, literature, film and music.

Arts news, interviews and reviews.

Arts news, interviews and reviews.

Arts news, interviews and reviews.

News, reviews and interviews from the worlds of art, literature, film and music.

Arts news, interviews and reviews.

Arts news, interviews and reviews.

Image (L-R): Jess Glynne, Daniel Craig and Sylvie Guillem (Credit: Bill Cooper).

News, reviews and interviews from the worlds of art, literature, film and music.

Arts news, interviews and reviews.

News, reviews and interviews from the worlds of art, literature, film and music.

Arts news, interviews and reviews.

News, reviews and interviews from the worlds of art, literature, film and music.

News, reviews and interviews from the worlds of art, literature, film and music.

Arts news, interviews and reviews.

Arts news, interviews and reviews.

William Shakespeare takes centre stage 400 years after his death. As The Hollow Crown returns to BBC One with the next series of the playwright's history plays, theatre director Dominic Cooke discusses his TV directorial debut making the series. The cast of Henry VI Parts I and II and Richard III include Benedict Cumberbatch, Judi Dench and Hugh Bonneville.

Actor Kim Cattrall describes why she loves playing Cleopatra, as part of our series Shakespeare's People, in which celebrated actors choose the character they've enjoyed playing most.

Rufus Wainwright's new album Take All My Loves adapts nine of Shakespeare's sonnets into rock ballads, operatic pop songs and dramatic readings. The musician talks about his personal take on the playwright's poetic work.

Was Sir Henry Neville the real author of Shakespeare's works? A new book, Sir Henry Neville Was Shakespeare: The Evidence by John Casson and Professor William Rubinstein, provides fresh evidence supporting the claim. Professor William Leahy, Chair of the Shakespeare Authorship Trust, reviews the evidence.

Over the last two years, Ladi Emeruwa has played Hamlet in 197 different countries, travelling 180,000 miles in the process. He is one of a cast of 12 actors who have taken Shakespeare to all corners of the world from Bhutan to Belize and Cambodia to Cameroon. The tour reaches its climax this weekend when the final four performances take place at London's Globe theatre.

Presenter John Wilson

Producer Angie Nehring.

In A Hologram For The King, Tom Hanks stars as a stressed-out executive with problems at home, trying to land an IT deal with the King of Saudi Arabia. Sue Turton, a former correspondent with Al Jazeera and Channel Four, assesses whether the film captures the realities of doing business in the region.

Michael Morpurgo's book Running Wild, about a young boy's adventures lost in the Indonesian jungle, has been brought to life by Regent's Park Open Air Theatre in London. Morpurgo, the play's director Timothy Sheader, and Toby Olie - designer of many of the animal puppets - discuss the challenges of the production.

Jo Brand returns as nurse Kim Wilde in Going Forward, a brand-new three-part TV comedy series that turns the spotlight on domiciliary care. It's a spin-off series of the critically acclaimed Getting On. Dreda Say Mitchell reviews.

After winning the Lifetime Achievement Award at the International Opera Awards on Sunday, the German mezzo-soprano opera singer and director Brigitte Fassbaender discusses the difference between singing a Strauss opera and Schubert's lieder, and reveals how despite all her years of performing and directing, she still suffers from dreadful nerves.

Colonel Tim Collins reviews the new Danish feature film A War which offers a foot soldiers' view of life on the frontline. Set in the recent military conflict in Afghanistan, the company commander makes a decision that has grave consequences for him and his family back home. Tobias Lindholm's film is Denmark's entry to the Best Foreign Language Film category at this year's Oscars.

2016 sees the return of Inspector Maigret, both on screen and in print. John Simenon, son of Maigret's creator Georges Simenon, and crime writer Natasha Cooper discuss the French detective's enduring appeal.

It's the musical that brought us Luck Be A Lady and Sit Down You're Rocking the Boat. David Benedict reviews Guys and Dolls, starring Sophie Thompson and David Haig, as the acclaimed Chichester Festival production opens in the West End before embarking on a UK tour.

In Hong Kong the whereabouts of five missing booksellers remains a mystery, although they are widely suspected to have been detained by the Chinese authorities. As one major bookshop chain stops selling politically sensitive books in Chinese, Professor Gregory Lee, a specialist in Chinese cultural and literary studies, assesses the implications.

Frances Hardinge, winner of the Costa Children's Book Award with The Lie Tree, discusses her tale of murder and deception set in Victorian England.

Director Mandie Fletcher discusses the challenges of taking Joanna Lumley, Jennifer Saunders and Absolutely Fabulous from the small to the big screen.

Comedian Phill Jupitus remembers Gordon Murray, the creator and puppeteer of the Trumpton series of children's TV animations - Camberwick Green, Trumpton and Chigley - whose death was announced today.

Matthew Sweet celebrates the 100th birthday of Olivia de Havilland, one of last great stars of Hollywood's golden era, whose films include Gone with The Wind and The Heiress.

Penelope Wilton and Sophie Rundel star in a new six-part comedy-drama, Brief Encounters. Set in Sheffield in 1982 - and loosely based on the memoir of the CEO of Ann Summers, Jacqueline Gold - the story centres on the lives of four women whose lives are turned around when they start running parties selling exotic lingerie. Julia Raeside reviews.

As arts organisations around the country begin assessing how the vote to leave the EU might affect their funding and freedom of movement for artists, Darren Henley, chief executive of Arts Council England, discusses what he calls the 'dividends' of a healthy cultural scene for wider society.

Presenter Samira Ahmed

Producer Jerome Weatherald.

Adam Driver played Lena Dunham's love interest in Girls, and Han Solo and Princess Leia's evil son in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The actor discusses his latest role as a poetry-writing bus driver in Jim Jarmusch's new film Paterson.

Front Row reveals this year's Costa Book Awards shortlists. Critics Alex Clark and Toby Lichtig comment on the writers chosen in the five categories: novel, first novel, poetry, biography and children's fiction.

Nearly a decade after the finale of the popular family TV series Gilmore Girls, Netflix has revived the drama in four extended 90-minute episodes. Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life reunites the cast with the show's creator and original writer Amy Sherman-Palladino, who had been absent for its final season. Rachel Cooke of The Guardian gives her verdict.

Presenter Samira Ahmed

Producer Jerome Weatherald.

Kirsty Lang talks to Adrian Lester who stars in Undercover, the new legal thriller on BBC1 written by former barrister Peter Moffat.

As part of our Shakespeare's People series, leading scholar James Shapiro chooses one of the playwright's smallest roles, the First Servant in King Lear.

Hannah McGill reviews Victoria, the acclaimed new German film shot in one long take.

As Radio 4's Home Front hides Shakespeare quotes in its scripts, Kirsty talks to writer Sebastian Baczkiewicz and historian Sophie Duncan, who looks at how Shakespeare's 300th anniversary was marked during World War I.

Plus Eric Berlin, winner of the National Poetry Competition.

Ali Smith discusses her Brexit-era novel, Autumn, with Samira Ahmed. It's the first of a quartet which very much reflects the issues of today.

Osmo Vänskä is about to conduct the London Philharmonic Orchestra playing all the symphonies of Sibelius. He speaks about the composer and Sibelius' place in Finnish national identity.

In 1943 two African American brothers from Philadelphia performed a dance routine in the film Stormy Weather, which Fred Astaire would come to refer to as the greatest movie musical sequence he had ever seen. For Fayard and Harold Nicholas - otherwise known as The Nicholas Brothers - entering the Hollywood arena this was no small feat in the 1940's America, a time when racial prejudice was commonplace. Choreographer Stuart Thomas reflects on the achievement of the brothers who were regulars at Harlem's Cotton Club - working with the orchestras of Cab Calloway and Duke Ellington - and one of whom taught Michael Jackson to dance.

There are old saws that depicting figures is prohibited in Islam and that the religion, apart from devotion to the one God, has no truck with the supernatural. Francesca Leoni, curator of a new exhibition at the the Ashmolean Museum, and Professor Tariq Ramadan, discuss with Samira Ahmed how things are a good deal more complicated than that.

And, on the day a spacecraft lands on Mars to send messages back about the planaet, we hear part of a poem that reverses that process.

With her new film American Honey, British filmmaker Andrea Arnold has left behind the housing estates and tower blocks of her previous films Red Road and Fish Tank for a road movie set among the endless highways of America. Critic Briony Hanson reviews.

American writer Bernice McFadden discusses her latest novel The Book of Harlan, which contrasts the music scene of the Harlem Renaissance and 1930s Paris with the story of the black victims of the Holocaust whose story is rarely heard, and in many cases wasn't believed when those who survived returned to the US.

When the activist George Monbiot wrote an article about the scourge of loneliness, it had a huge impact, and publishers urged him to write a book. Instead, for the first time, he wrote some songs and got together with the musician Ewan McLennan. They talk about the resulting album, Breaking the Spell of Loneliness.

Ella Hickson's new play Oil explores the history of the product, from its discovery to its role in the economy today, through the eyes of a mother and daughter relationship. She joins Director Carrie Cracknell to discuss why it's important to drill deep into our relationship with this finite resource.

Presenter Samira Ahmed

Producer Jerome Weatherald.

American actress Amy Adams has been nominated for five Oscars and is tipped to receive a sixth for her performance in sci-film Arrival, in which she plays a linguist trying to contact extra-terrestrials. She discusses her latest role and her career which has seen her play a con artist in American Hustle, a Disney princess in Enchanted and an art gallery owner with a sinister ex in Tom Ford's film Nocturnal Animals.

As part of the BBC's Love to Read season, which celebrates the joy of books, author Tracy Chevalier, best known for Girl with a Pearl Earring, confesses to a classic book she's never read and reads it especially for Front Row. Her choice is Frances Hodgson Burnett's 1911 novel The Secret Garden.

The Achates Philanthropy Prize is a new annual award which aims to show that anyone can become a cultural philanthropist. The prize's founder Caroline McCormick talks about how philanthropic gifts to arts organisations - from the smallest to the largest - could be encouraged in the UK.

Composer and conductor John Rutter talks about his latest work Visions, which is a violin concerto unusually combined with a choir, and why he's made a new recording of his Requiem, which was memorably performed at a service for the 9/11 firefighters in St Patrick's Cathedral, New York.

Presenter: John Wilson

Producer: Rachel Simpson.

Lord Lloyd Webber discusses joining forces with Downton creator Julian Fellowes and a cast of 39 children for his new stage adaptation of the Jack Black film School of Rock. He tells Samira how he hopes the production will serve as a reminder of how important the arts are in education.

Actor Ewan McGregor talks about adapting Philip Roth's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, American Pastoral, in his directorial debut and why he's returning to the role of Renton, 20 years on from Trainspotting.

Elton John owns one of the best photography collections in the world and now he's loaned some of them to the Tate Modern in London. The Radical Eye: Modernist Photography includes Man Ray's Glass Tears, Dorothea Lange's Migrant Mother and Edward Weston's portrait of Igor Stravinsky. Newell Harbin, Sir Elton John's curator, shows us around.

The Goldsmiths Prize was established three years ago to recognise fiction that breaks the mould or opens up new possibilities for the novel. Previous winners have included Eimear McBride's A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing and Ali Smith's How to be Both. We talk to this year's winner Mike McCormack about his book Solar Bone.

Presenter: Samira Ahmed

Producer: Marilyn Rust.

Andy Hamilton is co-creator of Power Monkeys, a new Channel 4 comedy that responds to the daily events in the EU referendum campaign. He tells us about the last minute rewrites required on the day of broadcast and the challenge of re-creating the interior Donald Trump's plane.

Two Terence Rattigan's plays have opened this week: The Deep Blue Sea starring Helen McCrory at the National Theatre in London, and Ross at the Chichester Festival Theatre with Joseph Fiennes. Henry Hitchings reviews both productions and the current Rattigan revival.

Studio Ghibli, the legendary Japanese animation house behind Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle, has ceased in-house production. So is its latest film a fitting swansong? Marc Eccleston reviews When Marnie was There, an adaptation of a 1967 book by British author Joan G Robinson about a reclusive girl who discovers an otherworldly new friend.

Poet Blake Morrison and composer Gavin Bryars tell us about their celebration of the train journey between Goole and Hull that will be entertaining passengers as part of the Yorkshire Festival.

Presenter: Kirsty Lang

Producer: Rachel Simpson.

Anthony Hopkins and Ian McKellen discuss playing Sir and Norman in The Dresser, Richard Eyre's television adaptation of Ronald Harwood's 1980 play, which tells the story of the relationship between a stage actor and his devoted backstage dresser, and their struggles to get ready for Sir's next performance.

Iranian Director Jafar Panahi was previously placed under house-arrest for propaganda against the Iranian government and is currently serving a 20-year ban on directing any films. Despite the restriction, he has managed to bring out another film. Taxi sees Panahi himself as a taxi driver driving around Tehran and sharing in-car conversations with various members of the local community. Iranian-born journalist and broadcaster Kamin Mohammadi reviews.

As Guy Garvey prepares to release his first solo album Courting the Squall, the Elbow frontman discusses taking a break from his routine, his desire to increase his workload and try his hand at new ventures including acting and writing.

Presenter John Wilson

Producer Ella-mai Robey.

After his bid to write a James Bond screenplay was rebuffed, Anthony Horowitz decided to create his own secret agent and so Alex Rider - his most famous literary creation - was born. Now he's been given the chance to write a new Bond novel and Trigger Mortis is the result. He talks to Kirsty about finally getting his hands on 007.

Soprano Danielle de Niese will be performing at the Last Night of the Proms as well as the Proms in the Park on Saturday. The singer discusses what the Proms mean to her and her love of The Sound of Music which she'll be performing, and how she became part of the Glyndebourne family.

It's 10 years since Antony Gormley installed 100 cast-iron life-size figures on the beach at Crosby near Liverpool. The artist assesses how the sculptures in his project, Another Place, have fared after a decade of exposure to the tides.

This is England '90 is the final instalment of Shane Meadow's award-winning series about a group of troubled youths. Writer and broadcaster Andrew Collins reviews.

Presenter : Kirsty Lang

Producer : Dymphna Flynn.

Marguerite is a satirical comedy set in 1921 France, about a tone-deaf would-be opera diva who thinks she can sing. Music broadcaster Petroc Trelawny reviews.

Antonio Pappano discusses conducting Mussorgsky's opera Boris Godunov for the first time, in a new production at the Royal Opera House with Bryn Terfel as the troubled Russian Tsar.

The death of Anita Brookner has been announced. Front Row pays tribute to the Booker Prize winning novelist who was best known for exploring themes of social isolation through her female protagonists.

The first major retrospective of the American artist and photographer Paul Strand (1890-1976) in the UK for over 40 years opens at the V&A in London this week. Photographer Eamonn McCabe, The Guardian's former picture editor, gives his response to Paul Strand: Photography and Film for the 20th Century, which charts Strand's 60-year career and includes his abstract and documentary photography.

Presenter : Kirsty Lang

Producer : Dymphna Flynn.

Arts news, interviews and reviews.

With Mark Lawson, including architect Norman Foster on his landmark projects such as 30 St Mary Axe in London, better known as the Gherkin.

Actress Carey Mulligan was Oscar nominated for her performance in An Education. She discusses her new role in the film Never Let Me Go, based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro.

As Waterloo Road returns boasting new cast members including George Sampson and Tina O'Brien and John Nettles is replaced in Midsomer Murders by Neil Dudgeon, playing a cousin of DCI Tom Barnaby - critic Stephen Armstrong and former BBC One Controller Lorraine Heggessy discuss cast changes.

Michael Portillo, chair of the 2011 judging panel for the Art Fund Prize, announces the long-list of museums and galleries in contention for this year's £100,000 award. The purpose of the prize is to recognise and stimulate originality and excellence in museums and galleries in the UK.

Producer: Jack Soper.

We speak to the big award winners from the past year.

Paul Beatty is the first American to win the Man Booker Prize for Fiction for his satirical novel The Sellout; Denise Gough was on the point of giving up acting when she was offered the role that would win her an Olivier; Sonia Friedman, who won Best Producer at the Stage Awards, brought Harry Potter to the stage; Leonardo DiCaprio finally won an Oscar after being nominated 5 times; Helen Marten won not only the inaugural Hepworth Prize for Sculpture but the Turner Prize and split the winnings; 17 year old Sheku Kanneh-Mason won the BBC's Young Musician of the Year playing Shostakovich.

Presenter: Kirsty Lang

Producer: Hannah Robins.

Ben Kingsley discusses his role as a driving instructor in his new film Learning to Drive.

The director and choreographer Casey Nicholaw, whose credits include The Book of Mormon, on bringing Disney's Aladdin to the West End stage.

The sculptor Richard Wilson, co-ordinator of the 2016 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, discusses his selection for the world's largest open submission exhibition, and its focus this year on celebrated artistic duos.

Outcast is a new TV series based on the comics by Robert Kirkman that follows a young man plagued by demonic possession. Kim Newman reviews.

Presenter Samira Ahmed

Producer Jerome Weatherald.

Benedict Cumberbatch takes the lead role in Doctor Strange, the latest blockbuster from Marvel studios. He discusses playing one of their less well-known superheroes; the former surgeon who protects the earth with his two mystical objects - the Cloak of Levitation and Eye of Agamotto - and explains how his preparation for this physically demanding film coincided with his performing Hamlet on stage at the Barbican in London.

Elena Ferrante, the author of the Neapolitan Quartet, has always insisted that nothing should come between a reader and her books, and regards public interest in her as an unnecessary distraction. Her new book - Frantumaglia: A Writer's Journey - is a collection of her correspondence and prompted a media storm when it was used as the justification for investigating and revealing her identity. Critic Alex Clark reviews Ferrante's latest literary offering.

Violinist Tasmin Little has, for the first time, recorded Vivaldi's Four Seasons, along with a complementary contemporary piece, Four World Seasons by Roxanna Panufnik. In this new composition each season is evoked by a different country and its music, including autumn in Albania and summer in India. Musician and composer discuss their collaboration.

One glance at the UK album charts reveals that alongside the Drakes, the Two Door Cinema Clubs and the Craig Davids, there is one musical category that refuses to go away. Writer Ben Wardle tries to fathom the enduring appeal of 'Middle of the Road' music.

Presenter: Clemency Burton-Hill

Producer: Angie Nehring.

Bjork has been forced to release her new album earlier than expected due to an online leak. Musicologist Nicola Dibben, who has worked with Bjork, reviews Vulnicura, the first album from Bjork since Biophilia in 2011.

Andrew Millstein, head of the Walt Disney Animation Studios in California with its 800-strong workforce, reflects on the company's performance over the last few years, in particular the unexpected success of the animated hit Frozen, and looks ahead to its Tokyo-inspired new release Big Hero 6.

Author Samantha Shannon was touted as the next JK Rowling when she secured a six figure deal for her series of fantasy novels about a clairvoyant living in a dark dystopian future. Shannon wrote the first novel, The Bone Season, when she was still at university. She discusses whether she felt pressure to produce a thrilling sequel.

Costa Poetry Prize winner Jonathan Edwards discusses his collection, My Family and Other Superheroes, which he wrote while working as an English teacher.

Presenter: Kirsty Lang

Producer: Olivia Skinner.

Johnny Depp stars in Black Mass as James "Whitey" Bulger, the infamous Irish-American mobster turned FBI informant. Michael Carlson reviews.

Harold Pinter's great drama of familial power struggles, 'The Homecoming' was first staged half a century ago. As a new production opens, John Wilson talks to its director, Jamie Lloyd, to John Simm, who plays Lennie, and Pinter's biographer, Michael Billington, who, as well as the new one, saw the original production.

Following the Chancellor's Autumn Statement on Government spending plans, Arts Council England chair Peter Bazalgette looks at the bottom line and the future. And Front Row asks key cultural philanthropists about the part they play in funding artistic endeavour. At a time when public spending on the Arts is squeezed, can, and should, money from the private sector bridge the gap? Philanthropist Paul Ruddock on having one's name above the door.

Presenter: John Wilson

Producer: Elaine Lester.

Music legend Bob Dylan has won the Nobel Prize for Literature on the day the death of previous winner, playwright Dario Fo, was announced. We get reaction to both the singer-songwriter becoming a Nobel laureate and the legacy of the Italian who penned Accidental Death of an Anarchist.

Tutankhamun is the new Sunday evening drama on ITV, focusing on Howard Carter's discovery in 1922 of the grave of the boy pharaoh buried in Egypt 3,300 years ago. The drama's writer Guy Burt discusses his approach to his telling of the story of 'King Tut'.

Russian conductor Semyon Bychkov is embarking on a monumental Tchaikovsky project, with three concerts and the release of the 6th Symphony, the Pathétique, the first in a cycle of new recordings. He talks to Samira Ahmed about his lifelong relationship with the music of the composer he calls his 'beloved friend'.

Presenter Samira Ahmed

Producer Marilyn Rust.

With John Wilson.

Bob Geldof, pop singer-turned global humanitarian ambassador, has recently returned to his former love - making music. As he releases his new album How To Compose Popular Songs That Will Sell, 'Sir Bob' reflects on a multi-faceted career, the tragedy of losing his wife Paula Yates, and the way he is viewed by the British public.

Inside Job, Charles Ferguson's Oscar-nominated documentary, charts the background to the international financial crisis of 2008, which nearly resulted in global financial collapse. The film hears from the politicians, financial leaders and academics about the corruption, abuse of power and denial that led to the worst recession since the Great Depression.

E.O. Hoppé was the prototypical celebrity photographer in the early part of the 20th Century. His portraits of the household-names of the day - including Margot Fonteyn, Mussolini, George Bernard Shaw and King George V - are among those displayed in a new exhibition of his work. He also ventured outside his studio to document British street-life and the world of those at the other end of the social spectrum: homeless bell-ringers, night watchmen, and London's growing immigrant communities. Photography expert Anna Fox discusses Hoppé's work and his photographic legacy.

Producer Ella-mai Robey.

Brian Cox joins John Wilson to discuss his new film, The Carer.

Love and Mercy is a biopic of Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. It follows Wilson through the 60s, at the height of his fame, and the 80s, when he suffered a nervous breakdown and was in the care of controversial therapist Dr Eugene Landy. Mark Eccleston gives his verdict on the film and discusses the challenges actors' face when playing rock stars.

The play Orson's Shadow fictionalises the details of a reported clash of egos between Orson Welles and Laurence Olivier during the rehearsals of a theatrical production of Ionesco's Rhinoceros in 1960, which also starred Joan Plowright. The play was to be Orson Welles' last work as a theatre director, and coincided with the breakdown of Olivier's marriage to Vivienne Leigh. Playwright Austin Pendleton discusses how working with Orson Welles on the film Catch 22 inspired his portrayal of him.

Jean-Étienne Liotard was an artist renowned throughout Europe in the age of Mozart and Casanova for the detail and honesty of his portraits, but he is almost unknown in Britain. The Scottish National Gallery aims to put that right with the first major exhibition of his work here. Moira Jeffrey reviews.

When Natasha Solomons was writing her novel, The Song Collector, she found out all about the art of song collecting and this duly inspired her to set up The Great British Song Map, a communal project to collect songs and pin them to an online map, accessible to the public. She tells Samira about the project and the novel.

Artist Carsten Höller discusses his latest project, the world's longest and tallest tunnel slide, attached to Anish Kapoor's ArcelorMittal Orbit in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, East London. Then Kirsty gives it a go...

The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk is the latest stage production from the Cornish theatre company Kneehigh tells the story of the 20th century artist Marc Chagall and his wife and muse, Bella. Director Emma Rice and writer Daniel Jamieson join Kirsty.

Jupiter Artland in Scotland is one of five museums and galleries in the UK to make the shortlist for Museum of the Year. In the second of our reports from the shortlisted venues, the Museum's founders, husband and wife team Robert and Nicky Wilson, explain what they hope to achieve with this still relatively young gallery.

Presenter Kirsty Lang

Producer Jerome Weatherald.

Susan Sarandon stars as an interfering mother in The Meddler, with Rose Byrne as her long-suffering daughter. Critic Kate Muir reviews. The Meddler is released on 24 June, certificate 12A.

Derby Museums acquires two Joseph Wright landscapes for its collection after bidding anonymously at a New York auction house. Executive Director Tony Butler explains why he thinks bold acquisitions are the way forward amid shrinking budgets in regional museums.

Carys Bray, author of A Song for Issey Bradley, discusses her new novel The Museum of You, in which a 12-year-old girl creates a museum at home dedicated to her mother, who was killed in a road accident shortly after she was born.

Painters' Paintings: From Freud to Van Dyck is a new exhibition exploring great paintings from the point of view of the artists who owned them. Inspired by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot's Italian Woman - left to the National Gallery in London by Lucian Freud following his death in 2011 - the exhibition includes over eighty works, spanning more than five hundred years, all once owned by celebrated painters, such as Van Dyck's Titian, Reynold's Rembrandt, and Matisse's Degas. Front Row sends critic William Feaver to find out what we learn.

Painters' Paintings: From Freud to Van Dyck opens at the National Gallery in London on Thursday (23 June) and runs until 4 September.

Having played many of Shakespeare's female leads, Michelle Terry takes on the role of Henry V at Regent's Park Open Theatre, directed by Robert Hastie. Front Row talks to both about the new production.

Presenter: Kirsty Lang

Producer: Elaine Lester.

Oscar-winning actor Cate Blanchett discusses her role in Todd Haynes' new film Carol, based on a Patricia Highsmith novel about an affair between a 1950s American housewife and a shop assistant (Rooney Mara).

With 75m sales and four Grammy Awards to her name, Enya releases her new album Dark Sky Island. It's inspired by the poetry of Roma Ryan which takes islands as its theme, and specifically the Channel Island of Sark - designated the world's first dark sky island.

Katherine Soper won this year's Bruntwood Prize for playwriting, Britain's biggest competition of its kind, with her play Wish List. She discusses her play which centres on the loving relationship between a brother with OCD and a sister struggling to keep her zero-hour contract.

Presenter Kirsty Lang

Producer Rebecca Armstrong.

James MacMillan pays tribute to Peter Maxwell Davies, who has died aged 81, and John Wilson revisits an interview the composer gave him a decade ago.

Jim Powell talks about his new novel Trading Futures which begins tonight as Radio 4's Book at Bedtime. A mid-life crisis about a former city trader, this short book blends elements of King Lear and Reggie Perrin.

John Wilson talks rock and roll survivor, Iggy Pop about his latest and, the geront terrible hints, last album, Post Pop Depression. John hears about Iggy's ambition, how he worked with David Bowie and what he now describes as his baritone voice.

Producer: Julian May.

Jazz musician and saxophonist Courtney Pine talks about his new album Europa and discusses what it was like making a record with a bass clarinet. Europa takes the listener on a musical tour of the continent, from Scandinavia and Russia through to Italy and Spain.

Jim Davidson has written his debut play Stand Up and Be Counted. The drama centres around a 50-year-old 'old school' comic, played by Davidson, who is working with two modern stars of comedy and TV. The comedian discusses the background to the play, and the clash of old versus new performers, a subject he is familiar with in his own life.

The new Australian film Animal Kingdom is a thriller set within the tensions of a family of brutal Melbourne criminals. Jacki Weaver has been nominated for several awards for her role as the matriarch of the family, including the Oscar for best supporting actress. Kate Muir reviews.

The Model Agency, a new Channel 4 series, offers an insider's glimpse into the world of modelling, by showing what goes on at Premier Model Management, a company that scouts and sources models for the fashion industry. Lisa Armstrong, fashion editor of The Times, gives her verdict on the show.

Producer Jerome Weatherald.

John Wilson brings the Cultural Exchange project to a close, with Armando Iannucci, Laura Mvula, Germaine Greer, Paul Weller, Terence Stamp, the Archbishop of Canterbury and others choosing their favourite artwork.

John looks back at the 75 selections made over the past four months, and identifies trends and surprises.

Visit the Cultural Exchange website for all 75 interviews and archive clips featuring Jack Nicholson, Bette Davis, Nina Simone and more.

Also on the Cultural Exchange website: John Wilson and Mark Lawson make their choices.

Producer Timothy Prosser.

Five years on from the launch of government plans to encourage more philanthropic funding of the Arts, Kirsty Lang speaks to key cultural philanthropists about the part they play in funding artistic endeavour. Speaking to Sir Paul Ruddock, Dame Vivien Duffield, Hannah Rothschild, David Speller, Lloyd Dorfman, Michael Oglesby and cultural historian Robert Hewison, Kirsty examines whether the plan is working and asks if more needs to be done to change attitudes.

Image (Clockwise from top left): Dame Vivien Duffield, Lloyd Dorfman, David Speller, Hannah Rothschild (Credit: Harry Cory-Wright), Sir Paul Ruddock and Michael Oglesby (Credit: Joel C Fildes)

As Blur and Gorillaz front man Damon Albarn joins the Orchestra of Syrian Musicians to open the Glastonbury Festival, John talks to Damon and Lebanese-Syrian rapper Eslam Jawaad about working and performing with the orchestra.

In Inspiring Impressionism, the National Galleries of Scotland will stage the first ever large-scale exhibition to examine the important relationship between the landscape painter Charles-François Daubigny and the Impressionists, including Claude Monet and Vincent Van Gogh. Curators Lynne Ambrosini and Frances Fowle discuss.

The Bethlem Museum of the Mind in South London is one of five museums and galleries in the UK to make the shortlist for Museum of the Year. In the third of our reports from the shortlisted venues, John Wilson visits the museum which cares for an internationally-renowned collection of archives, art and historic objects relating to the history of mental healthcare and treatment.

The Jamaican guitarist and composer Ernest Ranglin is probably best known for Millie Small's 1964 ska version of My Boy Lollipop, but during his long career he has worked with the likes of Jimmy Cliff, Bob Marley, and jazz pianist Monty Alexander. At the age of 83, Ernest is embarking on his farewell tour, starting with an appearance at this year's Glastonbury Festival. Music journalist Kevin Le Gendre looks back on the career of the musician, and explains why he's still a hot ticket after thousands of gigs and recording sessions over almost seven decades.

Presenter: John Wilson

Producer: Rebecca Armstrong.

HOME is the new venue for film, theatre and the visual arts in Manchester. It brings together two former Manchester institutions - the Cornerhouse, so named because of its distinctive shape, and the Library Theatre which used to have its home in Manchester's Central library basement. Danny Boyle, filmmaker, theatre director, and now patron of Home, and Home's artistic director Dave Moutrey, discuss what this new £25 million arts centre brings to Manchester's cultural landscape.

Playwright Simon Stephens, best known for his adaption of Mark Haddon's novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, discusses his commission to write the inaugural play, The Funfair, for Manchester's newest dramatic stage - the main theatre at Home.

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night is a genre-defying mishmash of cinematic and popular culture references. This black and white Iranian vampire movie is also the debut of Iranian-American filmmaker, Ana Lily Amirpour. A big hit at last year's Sundance festival, it's just about to open in the UK. Laruska Ivan-Zadeh reviews.

'Lee Miller and Picasso' is a new exhibition at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, drawing on the thirty year friendship between the photographer and artist. The collection includes personal photographs and items from the Miller Archive. Antony Penrose - Miller's son - discusses the compelling relationship between the two revealed by his mother's photography.

It's nearly fifty years since David Gilmour was invited to join the psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd. He went on to be the co-writer, vocalist and lead guitarist on some of their most famous albums including Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You were Here and The Wall. In that time he has also made three solo albums, the last of which marked a closer collaboration with his wife, the novelist and lyricist Polly Samson. Kirsty meets up with them both at rehearsals for David's new tour.

J. B. Priestley's three-act drama An Inspector Calls was first performed in 1945 in the then Soviet Union before making it onto a UK stage the following year. Since then it has spawned many productions for both stage and screen - with performances from the likes of Ralph Richardson, Alastair Sim, and Tom Mannion as Inspector Goole. As a new adaptation is set to hit our television screens - with David Thewlis taking the lead role - the critic David Benedict takes a look at how it compares to previous productions.

The French film La Famille Bélier is a comedy-drama and tells the story of a deaf family with a hearing daughter who has a talent for singing. Filmmaker William Mager reviews.

The Old Vic's first new programme of work, with Kevin Spacey's replacement Matthew Warchus, kicks off with a new play called Future Conditional. Both he and playwright Tamsin Oglesby discuss starting the season with a play about the British schooling system.

Playwright, screenwriter and director Sir David Hare, whose plays include Plenty, Pravda, and his trilogy of Racing Demon, Murmuring Judges and The Absence of War, discusses his career in theatre, film and TV, as he publishes his new memoir The Blue Touch Paper.

Composer Max Richter's latest work, Sleep, which he describes as a personal lullaby for a frenetic world, is an exploration of how music enters the brain even when we're not awake. Richter discusses the new eight-hour piece, how the audience for the premiere will be experiencing it from a bed, and how he'll expect them to nod off during it.

New comedy-drama Ricki and the Flash sees Meryl Streep playing a rock musician who abandoned her family to pursue stardom as she returns home to counsel her divorcing daughter. Larushka Ivan-Zedah reviews.

Presenter John Wilson

Producer Jerome Weatherald.

David Hockney's new exhibition is 82 Portraits and 1 Still-life at the Royal Academy in London. The artist asked friends to sit for him in Los Angeles over the last two-and-a-half years, each portrait created within the same three-day time frame, in the same chair, with the same background, and every canvas the same size. Critic William Feaver gives his response to the brightly-coloured acrylic works. The exhibition runs from 2nd July until 2nd October.

The tenor Gregory Kunde, winner of Best Male Singer at this year's International Opera Awards and about to make his debut at the Royal Opera House in two Verdi operas, on a remarkable change of direction so late in his career.

The choreographer Sir Peter Wright reflects on his remarkable career, spanning nearly seven decades, founding the Birmingham Royal Ballet and working along greats like Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn. He joins us to look back at ballet stars behaving badly and his new memoir Wrights And Wrongs, published 18th July.

With Phil Collins updating three of his early album sleeves by replacing the cover photo of his face then with that of how he looks now, writer Ben Wardle wonders why brand updating - so common in books, DVDs and food packaging, among others - so rarely happens in the music industry.

Presenter: John Wilson

Producer: Elaine Lester.

As he publishes his first novel at the age of 82, David McCallum looks back at his career, from starring in cult TV series The Man From Uncle and Sapphire and Steel to his current role in crime drama NCIS.

Samira Ahmed talks to the American soprano Marjorie Owens, as she makes her English National Opera debut in Norma by Bellini, one of the most challenging roles in opera.

Oscar nominated Indian director Ashvin Kumar on why he is casting his new film about the conflict in Kashmir in the UK.

The author of Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell, talks about his new horror-inspired novel Slade House. Inhabiting the same universe as his last book The Bone Clocks, this new 'slim' novel covers a period starting in 1979 and ending this weekend, and began its life as a series of tweets.

The dramatic ruins of a Bristol church is the venue for Theaster Gates's Sanctum. For 24 days there will be performances around the clock - from poetry to a drum and pipe band, choirs to readings - creating 576 hours of continuous sound.

In 1625 the celebrated Baroque composer Francesca Caccini became the first woman to write an opera, La Liberazione di Ruggiero. As Brighton Early Music Festival puts on rare performances of the work, music director Deborah Roberts explains why she is important.

The musician, Sting is auctioning off part of his art collection. Andrew Male from Mojo magazine, takes a look at what a pop musician's taste in paintings can reveal.

Presenter Samira Ahmed

Producer Angie Nehring.

Kirsty Lang sees, Eddie the Eagle, the film starring Taron Egerton and Hugh Jackman, which tells the story of unlikely British ski-jumper, Michael Edwards. Does it take off, glide elegantly, go the distance and land safely or, like its subject so often, crash in a heap? Critic Tim Robey gives his verdict.

In the second in Front Row's series Shakespeare's People, in which a famous actor, director or writer reflects on the Shakespeare character of their choice, David Tennant considers the 'sweet prince', Hamlet.

Kirsty talks to the acclaimed director Jeff Nichols about his new film, Midnight Special, an intriguing paranormal road movie.

The poet Alison Brackenbury's ninth collection, Skies, deals incisively with the passing of the seasons, with ageing, love and nature and, she reveals to Kirsty, the really important things in life, such as eating honey and peeling parsnips.

Percussionist Evelyn Glennie has made a new piece for the Edinburgh International Festival called 'The Sounds of Science', before its world premier she explains how she imagines and creates the sounds of DNA and the Big Bang.

Producer: Julian May.

With Mark Lawson.

Christian Bale's performance in The Fighter has earnt him an Oscar nomination. Sports correspondent Eleanor Oldroyd reviews this film, which tells the story of the early years of boxer "Irish" Micky Ward and the brother who helped train him before he turned pro in the mid 1980s.

Dennis Lehane discusses the experience of having three films adapted from his novels Mystic River, Shutter Island and Gone, Baby, Gone. In his latest book, Moonlight Mile, he returns to characters from Gone Baby Gone.

Baroness Estelle Morris, the former Secretary of State for Education and Katharine Birbalsingh, the teacher who hit the headlines after speaking at the Conservative Party Conference, join Mark Lawson to discuss three new plays which share an education theme: The Knowledge by John Donnelly and Little Platoons by Steve Waters - which are on at the Bush in London and Mogadishu by Vivienne Franzmann which is at Manchester Royal Exchange.

Film-maker Mike Figgis directs his first opera at English National Opera. His version of Lucrezia Borgia by Donizetti includes filmed interludes. Helen Wallace reviews.

Producer: Jack Green.

Film and theatre director Stephen Daldry discusses his latest project with Clemency Burton Hill. The Crown charts Queen Elizabeth II's reign starting with her marriage to Philip Mountbatten in the post-war period in 1947. The Netflix drama series is Daldry's first foray into TV, written by Peter Morgan, which is reportedly the UK's most expensive ever.

Nocturnal Animals is the latest film from fashion designer turned director Tom Ford. The psychological thriller stars Amy Adams as a lonely art gallery owner and Jake Gyllenhaal as her ex-husband. Jason Solomons reviews.

As part of the BBC's celebration of books, Love to Read, the creator of Horrid Henry, Francesca Simon talks about the classic book she's read for Front Row: Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1850 story about guilt and sin, The Scarlet Letter.

Linda Grant talks about her new novel The Dark Circle, which set in a tuberculosis sanatorium in the early 1950s.

Producer: Julian May.

Dominic Sandbrook, Blood Orange, Brazilian artists, Robert Mapplethorpe documentary.

Dreamgirls was a hit Broadway show which became an Oscar-winning film starring Beyoncé Knowles, Jennifer Hudson, Jamie Foxx and Eddie Murphy. As the musical arrives in the UK for the first time since it opened there 31 years ago, we speak to the composer and co-creator, Henry Krieger.

Helen Martens recently shared her cheque for winning The Hepworth Prize for Sculpture with the other shortlisted artists. Now she's done the same with her Turner Prize winnings. What does this desire to share say about the artist?

41 paintings from four of the most innovative Australian Impressionist artists are on show at The National Gallery in London for the first time. As curator Chris Riopelle explains, they reveal how the artists were influenced by European Impressionism, a growing sense of national identity, and their desire to capture the great Australian landscape.

Porridge co-creator Dick Clement remembers the actor Peter Vaughan who has died aged 93. Vaughan played a devoted butler in The Remains of the Day, a villainous prisoner in Porridge, and a wise elder in Game of Thrones.

Presenter Samira Ahmed

Producer Marilyn Rust.

Earl Cameron CBE was one of the first black stars of British cinema, making his big screen debut in 1950 with the crime drama, Pool of London. He's continued acting into his 90s, taking on roles in The Queen and Inception. Now 99, with a restored version of Pool of London about to released, and taking part in Black Star - the BFI's nationwide celebration of black screen stars - he talks to John Wilson about his long career.

For his album, Release, music producer David Gledhill (aka SOULS) spent five years searching old field recordings of singers from the American south. He cleaned and edited each recording and built new songs around them. Gledhill discusses the making of the album with John Wilson, and explains how these songs were part of his grieving following the death of his wife.

Alphonse Mucha is widely viewed as the Father of Art Nouveau. The Czech painter and illustrator first attracted attention when his beautifully detailed posters of actress superstar Sarah Bernhardt appeared around Paris in 1895. By the time of his death in 1939, his illustrations were considered outmoded, but in the 1970's they became hugely popular again. Jan Patience reviews an exhibition in Glasgow of work by the artist who influenced the city's own master of Art Nouveau, Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

Just as Art History 'A' Level is axed the Royal and Derngate Theatre in Northampton announces plans to develop a bid for a free school specialising in the cultural and creative industries. John Wilson talks to CEO Martin Sutherland about their ambitions for the school and their motivations behind the bid.

David Gascoyne was born 100 years ago this week. Simon Callow remembers the man he regards as one of the greatest poets of the 20th century.

Producer: Julian May

Kirsty Lang discusses the elusive literary phenomenon Elena Ferrante, as the fourth and final book in her Neopolitan series is published. Despite huge sales and critical acclaim, Ferrante has managed to remain anonymous.

Laila Lalami discusses her new novel The Moor's Account. Longlisted for the Man Booker prize, it's about the first slave to reach America during the 1500s and his Spanish masters.

Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl tells the story of a high school student as he navigates teenage life. Jason Solomons reviews.

And as Welsh National Opera launch their new season with I Puritani by Bellini, director Annilese Miskimmon talks about the 19th Century obsession with "Mad Women" and Mad Scenes in Opera.

And as Welsh National Opera launch their new season with I Puritani by Bellini, director Annilese Miskommen talks about the 19th Century obsession with "Mad Women" and Mad Scenes in Opera.

Dame Elisabeth Frink is the subject of a new exhibition in Nottingham which seeks to show the workings of her creative mind. Kirsty Lang talks to the curator of her estate, Annette Ratuszniak, and her son, Lin Jammet. They discuss the work of the artist known for her sculptures of men, animals, and religious figures.

The police have released figures stating Music and sports fans have lost more than £1.2 million to ticket fraud in the last six months showing much more needs to be done to protect people buying tickets. Following up on Front Row's ticket resale discussion last week we are now talking to Ticketmaster Chairman Chris Edmonds about how primary ticket seller Ticketmaster combat touts, and its relationship with the ticket resale market.

Quentin Letts, who writes parliamentary sketches by day and theatre reviews by night for the Daily Mail, talks to Kirsty about his debut novel, The Speaker's Wife, a satire on the state of the Church of England and the workings of the House of Commons.

This week Front Row talks to leading arts philanthropists, today to Lloyd Dorfman, about his work with the National Theatre.

Kirsty Lang is in Paris seeking out the 21st Century French artists, writers and performers who are keeping the spirit of Zola alive in their work today.

Author Edouard Louis grew up in shocking poverty not unlike the conditions Zola observed in the 19th Century. His childhood is the subject of his first literary work Getting Rid of Eddy Bellegueule.

Zola's ability to shock is not unlike that of Michel Houellebecq - probably the most internationally famous novelist to come out of France in recent times and certainly the most controversial.

Abd al Malik is an award winning rapper and spoken word artist. He sees his work as a protest against racism and islamophobia in France.

JR - often described as the French Banksy - exhibits freely in the streets by gluing or pasting giant, blown up photographs onto buildings or entire streets in the council estates that surround Paris.

Florence Aubenas is best known for her immersive journalism. As the recession hit France, she posed as an unskilled worker and for 6 months cleaned toilets on a cross channel ferry.

Presenter: Kirsty Lang

Producer: Sarah Shebbeare.

Frances Morris became the first female Director of Tate Modern only a few months ago, but has been instrumental in developing its collections for many years. Next week she will open a new 260 million pound extension to the iconic former power station on London's Southbank; boasting four new galleries. The new space is a great opportunity to display more international works and more female artists alongside old favourites and, she says, will make us view contemporary art in a whole new way.

Sculptor Anish Kapoor on his epic set design for English National Opera's new production of Wagner's Tristan and Isolde.

Embrace of the Serpent, directed by Colombian film maker Ciro Guerro, is inspired by the true stories of two European explorers who travelled through the Amazon in parallel journeys, decades apart, hunting for a mythical plant. Hannah McGill reviews.

Francis Bacon: Invisible Rooms at Tate Liverpool is the largest exhibition of the artist's work ever staged in the north of England, featuring more than 30 paintings and a group of rarely-seen drawings and documents. Kasia Redzisz, senior curator at the gallery, shows John Wilson round the exhibition.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning Pakistani American actor, screenwriter, novelist and playwright Ayad Akhtar discusses his play The Invisible Hand. Kidnapped by an Islamic militant group in Pakistan, with no-one negotiating his release, an investment banker takes matters into his own hands.

Mum is a new BBC TV sitcom starring Lesley Manville and Peter Mullan about a mother who is trying to re-build her life following the death of her husband. David Butcher reviews.

Jason Solomons reports from the Cannes Film Festival as it reaches the end of its first week.

Presenter John Wilson

Producer Jerome Weatherald.

With Mark Lawson. The Oscar-award winning director Danny Boyle, whose new film 127 is nominated for an Academy award this weekend, has returned to his theatrical roots to direct a production of Frankenstein at the National Theatre, with Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller alternating the roles of Dr Frankenstein and The Creature.

Writer and critic Adam-Mars Jones reviews.

Award winning Composer Mark-Anthony Turnage discusses writing Anna Nicole, an opera based on the tragic life of former Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith, which premiered at London's Royal Opera House this week.

The musical comedy-drama television show Glee i currently features Gwyneth Paltrow in a guest role as a substitute teacher. The the absence of regular characters for this show was a plot device, but unexpectedly absent actors have a huge impact on the makers of continuing dramas such as Coronation Street and EastEnders. TV Executive Mal Young and scriptwriter Mariam Vossough share their experiences.

Following the announcement that John le Carre has given his entire archive to the Bodleian Library in Oxford, Professor John Sutherland discusses some of the treasures unearthed from other literary archives.

Producer Claire Bartleet.

Front Row marks 60 years of The Royal Court Theatre by discussing the value of new writing for the stage. In front of an audience John Wilson is joined by The Royal Court's Artistic Director Vicky Featherstone, The Guardian's theatre critic Michael Billington, and playwrights Simon Stephens, Stef Smith and Diana Nneka Atuona. Scenes from key plays are performed by David Tennant, Daniel Mays and Ami Metcalf, Ashley Zhangazha and Lisa Mcgrillis, Roy Williams, Kate Ashfield and Tom Hollander.

Producer: Dixi Stewart.

Special edition of the arts programme.

With the Rio Olympics just a week away, Kirsty Lang travels to the city, and to a country which is undergoing huge political turmoil. With the left wing government under impeachment, the right wing government has taken over, and austerity cuts have ensued with inevitable cuts to the arts. To find out what impact this is having on the Cultural Olympiad she speaks to its Director, and also to the Head of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies as well as artists who've been affected. She visits the Ministry of Culture which is being occupied by artists protesting against the new government, and meets a theatre director who was ostracised by the artistic community for his political views.

Presenter: Kirsty Lang

Producer: Rebecca Armstrong.

Front Row visits Rio to find out what the plans are for the Cultural Olympiad.

John Wilson is joined by cultural figures including Phil Redmond, Val McDermid, Dreda Say Mitchell, Rufus Norris, Wayne Hemingway, Samuel West, Jane and Louise Wilson, George the Poet and Anthony Anaxagorou to discuss how Britain's creative community can and should respond to the divisions in British society exposed by the EU Referendum result.

With an audience at The Royal Society of Arts in London, they explore whether Brexit presents an artistic opportunity, if it signals a retreat from European culture, how it will be reflected in the books, films, plays and music of the next few years, and what art can do to help us navigate the realities of post-Brexit Britain

Producer: Dixi Stewart.

Artists and writers respond to Brexit in a special edition of Front Row from the RSA.

Mark Lawson presents the arts show. Producer Julian May

Unknown: Mark Lawson

Mark Lawson delivers the verdict on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, newly staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company. Producer Erin Riley

Unknown: Mark Lawson

Producer: Erin Riley

Francine Stock chairs the arts show. Producer Rebecca Stratford

Unknown: Francine Stock

Producer: Rebecca Stratford

Francine Stock chairs the arts show. Producer Julian May

Unknown: Francine Stock

Mark Lawson with the arts programme. Producer Jerome Weatherald

Unknown: Mark Lawson

Producer: Jerome Weatherald

Mark Lawson with the verdict on the latest cinematic swashbuckler, The Mask of Zorro, a film which won the approval of President Clinton. Producer Mohit Bakaya

Unknown: Mark Lawson

Producer: Mohit Bakaya

Mark Lawson chairs the arts programme. In this edition, he investigates the problems of actors making the leap from television celebrity to Hollywood stardom, as X Files star David Duchovny returns to British cinemas this week in his new film Playing God.

Producer Alison Perks

Unknown: Mark Lawson

Unknown: David Duchovny

Producer: Alison Perks

Francine Stock chairs the arts show and examines why ice and snow have such a hold on the British imagination. Producer Jerome Weatherald

Unknown: Francine Stock

Producer: Jerome Weatherald

Francine Stock chairs the arts programme. Producer Mohit Bakaya

Unknown: Francine Stock

Producer: Mohit Bakaya

Mark Lawson with the arts programme. Producer Matthew Dodd

Unknown: Mark Lawson

Producer: Matthew Dodd

Mark Lawson chairs the arts show. Producer Erin Riley

Unknown: Mark Lawson

Producer: Erin Riley

Francine Stock with the arts programme, featuring an investigation into the phenomenon of the Christmas annual.

Producer Rebecca Stratford

Unknown: Francine Stock

Mark Lawson with the arts show, including the pick of the year's videos. Producer Matthew Dodd

Unknown: Mark Lawson

Producer: Matthew Dodd

Francine Stock with the arts programme. Producer Erin Riley

Unknown: Francine Stock

Producer: Erin Riley

Francine Stock with the arts programme. Producer Alison Perks

Unknown: Francine Stock

Producer: Alison Perks

Francine Stock chairs the arts programme, including the verdict on The Acid House, a new film based on the stories of Irvine Welsh . Producer Jerome Weatheraid

Unknown: Francine Stock

Stories Of: Irvine Welsh

Producer: Jerome Weatheraid

Mark Lawson with the arts programme, including a report on the box-office battles about to break out in cinemas this Christmas. Producer Stephen Hughes

Unknown: Mark Lawson

Producer: Stephen Hughes

Mark Lawson with a seasonal edition of the arts programme. Producer Alison Perks

Unknown: Mark Lawson

Producer: Alison Perks

A selection of the arts over the past year. Producer Mohit Bakaya

Producer: Mohit Bakaya

The Stephen King Interview. The world's bestselling author talks to Mark Lawson about a life of horror. Producer Jerome Weatherald Repeat

Unknown: Mark Lawson

Producer: Jerome Weatherald

Fact v Fiction. Mark Lawson looks back at a year in which the boundaries between fact and fiction have been blurred, in everything from films like The Truman Showto the novels of Tom Wolfe and Don DeLillo and the glut of TV docu-soaps. Producer Matthew Dodd

Unknown: Mark Lawson

Unknown: Tom Wolfe

Unknown: Don Delillo

Producer: Matthew Dodd

Francine Stock charts the mysterious art of nineties film-making - pitching the script, hooking a star, raising the cash and finding distribution.

Producer Erin Riley and Rebecca Stratford

Producer: Erin Riley

Old Acquaintance. What makes a pop star remain loyal to his or her home town John Wilson asks. with help from REM's Michael Stipe and Bjork. Producer Mohit Bakaya

Unknown: John Wilson

Unknown: Michael Stipe

Producer: Mohit Bakaya

George the Poet is a 24 year old rapper, poet and Cambridge graduate who has been nominated for the BBC's Sound of 2015 poll and the BRITs' Critic's Choice Award. He tells John about Search Party, his debut poetry collection and how he hopes it can help inspire other young people.

Architects Sheila O'Donnell and John Tuomey, the Dublin based husband and wife team who have been nominated for the Stirling Prize a record five times, discuss winning the Royal Gold Medal for Architecture, which is given to recognise a significant contribution to architecture. They talk about why they have chosen to focus on cultural buildings, including theatres and galleries, and what being a couple brings to their work life.

On the day two bronze sculptures are being attributed to Michelangelo, John talks to the artist's biographer Martin Gayford about the possibility of him being their creator, given the amount of work he was contracted to produce at the time the sculptures were made. And we ask who might have commissioned them - someone, clearly, with a lot of clout.

Still Life is a new low budget British film about a council case worker who looks for the relatives of those found dead and alone, and arranges their funerals. Starring Eddie Marsan and Joanne Froggatt, the film won best Director at the Venice Film Festival. Viv Groskop reviews.

Gina McKee and Christopher Hampton on French playwright Florian Zeller's The Mother, which explores a mother's depression after her son leaves home.

The award-winning Malian singer-songwriter Rokia Traoré discusses her new album Né So.

A new exhibition revealing the day-to-day routines of ancient Egyptians and a link with fashion today.

As the Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art opens with exhibitions across the city, Kirsty Lang asks if it's Glasgow's industrial legacy, its history of metal work and textiles, or the very buildings and environment of the city itself that makes it such an inspiration for artists.

Turner Prize winner Duncan Campbell, Muriel Gray, and the artist Claire Barclay, among others, share their views as Kirsty visits exhibitions at Tramway, GOMA, Kelvin Hall and the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum to see some of the many works in the festival reacting to the city. She meets the artist Tessa Lynch who is showing her Painter's Table at the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA), views the Tramway group show featuring artists Alexandra Birken, Sheila Hicks, Lawrence Lek, Mika Rottenberg and Amie Siegel, speaks to Claire Barclay who is installing Bright Bodies at Kelvin Hall, and Aaron Angell who has his installation The Death of Robin Hood at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Glasgow Botanic Gardens.

Presenter: Kirsty Lang

Producer: Angie Nehring.

Glenn Close discusses reprising her role as Norma Desmond in Andrew Lloyd Webber's hit musical Sunset Boulevard on stage at the English National Opera in London.

Rowan Atkinson is the latest actor to take on the part of Inspector Jules Maigret in ITV's new adaptation of Georges Simenon's novel Maigret Sets a Trap. Crime fiction specialist Jeff Park reviews.

As a series of cartoons drawn by the Sex Pistols' Johnny Rotten in the mid-1970s on the wall of a house in London's Denmark St are given listed status, Roger Bowdler, director of listings at Historic England, and Henry Scott-Irvine from the Save Denmark St campaign, assess the importance of the preservation.

Sunken Cities: Egypt's Lost Worlds, the British Museum's first major show on underwater archaeology, will open in May. As the first of more than 200 discoveries found beneath the sea by the French diver and archaeologist Franck Goddio are installed, John Wilson gets an early preview. Goddio and curator Aurélia Masson-Berghoff introduce him to 'Hapi', a 5.4-metre, 6-tonne red granite statue of the god of fertility.

Presenter John Wilson

Producer Jerome Weatherald.

Sacha Baron Cohen plays a football hooligan and Mark Strong his brother, a top spy, in the new action comedy film Grimsby. Quentin Cooper reviews.

Shakespeare's Globe's outgoing artistic director Dominic Dromgoole looks back over his tenure and discusses his final production, The Tempest.

After Poems That Make Grown Men Cry, Anthony Holden has now collected Poems That Make Grown Women Cry. In it, women from various walks of life select poems that move them to tears, and explain why. Holden discusses the similarities and differences between the two volumes, and is joined by Joan Bakewell and Elif Shafak who reveal their choices.

Mick Herron discusses his new novel Real Tigers, a thriller which takes place behind the scenes at Britain's Security Service.

Presenter Kirsty Lang

Producer Jerome Weatherald.

Guy Garvey talks to John Wilson about the Meltdown festival he's curating at London's Southbank Centre, featuring Femi Kuti, Laura Marling and a Refugee special.

John is joined by Lisa McInerney, the winner of this year's Bailey's Prize for Women's Fiction, live from the ceremony.

Michael Crawford returns to the West End stage in The Go-Between, a new musical based on LP Hartley's classic novel. Matt Wolf reviews.

And Mexican curator Pablo León de la Barra discusses the exciting new art coming out of Latin America.

Presenter: John Wilson

Producer: Timothy Prosser.

John Wilson talks to Guy Garvey, Elbow's lead singer, about the band's new album. Elbow's last album, The Seldom Seen Kid marked a turning point for the Manchester band long seen as the much loved nearly men of popular music. The album won the 2008 Mercury Music Prize and the following year, Elbow won the Brit award for Best British Band. Their latest album, Build A Rocket Boys! is an exploration of the excitement and the regrets of youth. Guy Garvey talks to John Wilson about creating the follow-up to a hugely successful album.

2010 was a very strong year for film documentaries, and that has been reflected in the selection of this year's five Oscar-nominated contenders: Restrepo, Gasland, Waste Land, Inside Job and Exit Through the Gift Shop. Ahead of the Academy Awards ceremony this weekend, the film-makers discuss their documentaries and the state of the art form.

In 1961 Desmond Paul Henry turned a World War Two Bombsight computer into what he described as a drawing machine and became a pioneer of computer art. His pictures straddled the art and science divide and it was this duality that led him into obscurity. The celebrated graphic designer, Peter Saville, reviews a new show that aims to bring Henry in from the cold.

Producer Ekene Akalawu.

Guy Ritchie's latest project is a reworking of the 1960s classic TV series The Man From U.N.C.L.E., and he's given it a glossy, big-budget, action-packed makeover. The director discusses the appeal of revisiting the Cold War period and the attraction of its two protagonists Napoleon Solo and his nemesis Ilya Kuryakin.

Fantasy fiction writer and academic China Miéville discusses social anthropology, superstition, and fancying the word 'vector', as he talks about his new collection of short stories, Three Moments of an Explosion.

George Cole, who played Arthur Daley in the TV series Minder, has died aged 90. The BFI's Dick Fiddy reflects on the actor's long career.

As US TV comedy The Last Man On Earth comes to UK screens, Fisun Guner discusses the appeal of post-apocalyptic films and TV shows.

Presenter Samira Ahmed

Producer Jack Soper.

George Clooney stars in the Coen brothers' latest film Hail, Caesar!, a comedic homage to Hollywood's Golden Age in the early 1950s. Larushka Ivan-Zadeh joins Kirsty Lang to review the film which also features Josh Brolin, Tilda Swinton, Scarlett Johansson and Ralph Fiennes. It's in cinemas from today, certificate 12A.

David Threlfall has left the bad-lands of Manchester in Shameless for those of La Mancha, playing the errant knight in James Fenton's adaptation of Don Quixote for the Royal Shakespeare Company. David tells Kirsty why the nutty knight is an important figure for us today, and James Fenton reveals how, in telling his story, Cervantes invented the novel, and the modern novel, all at once. Don Quixote is on at the Swan Theatre in Stratford until 21st May.

In the opening scene of BBC3's first online drama, Thirteen, Ivy Moxam escapes from the cellar, her prison for the last thirteen years. After a desperate 999 call from a phone box, she is picked up by the police and taken to be interviewed. This 5-part drama, also shown on BBC2, focuses on what happens next, how Ivy struggles to find her identity and re-establish relationships with her family and friends. Creator and writer, Marnie Dickens, joins Kirsty in the studio.

And English Touring Opera's Artistic Director James Conway on taking 3 large scale operas to 21 towns around the country, including Gluck's Iphigenie and the first UK staging of Donizetti's Pia de Tolomei. English Touring Opera's Season starts tomorrow at the Hackney Empire and finishes in Carlisle in June.

Producer: Dixi Stewart.

Novelist Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird and Go Set a Watchman, is remembered by Elaine Showalter and Christopher Bigsby.

John le Carré's novel The Night Manager has been adapted for television by Danish director Susanne Bier and writer David Farr. A spy thriller set in the shadowy world of the arms trade they describe how they changed the sex of the main character, and brought a Scandinavian flavour to this very British writer.

Poet Simon Armitage and director Paul Hunter discuss collaborating on I Am Thomas, a piece of music theatre about the last person in Britain to be executed for blasphemy.

Nintendo's Zelda franchise, one of the most successful video game series of all time, celebrates its 30th anniversary this Sunday. Naomi Alderman tells us what she admires most about the game.

Nine years after the last book was published, Harry Potter comes back to life in a brand new stage play by JK Rowling. Henry Hitchings reviews Harry Potter And The Cursed Child.

We review listeners' reaction to this morning's debate on the cultural response to Brexit with those who run and fund arts organisations. John Wilson's guests are Victoria Pomery Director of Turner Contemporary in Margate, Fergus Linehan Director of the Edinburgh International Festival, and Councillor Judith Blake Leader of Leeds City Council who are in the process of bidding for European city of culture 2023.

Plus, composers Michael Berkeley and Anthony Payne on the world premieres of their large-scale new pieces for the BBC Proms.

Presenter : John Wilson

Producer : Dymphna Flynn.

Harry Potter on stage, the cultural response to Brexit, Michael Berkeley and Anthony Payne

Harvey Keitel talks to Kirsty Lang about Youth, the new film from The Great Beauty director Paolo Sorrentino, in which he and Michael Caine play a director and composer reflecting on their lives while vacationing in the Swiss Alps.

Savages are a post-punk rock band whose first album was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. Singer and guitarist, Jehnny Beth and Gemma Thompson, talk about repetition and sexuality on their new album Adore Life.

H.G.Wells may be best known for his classics The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds but he also wrote short stories and now Graham Duff has adapted some of these for Sky Arts. Biographer Michael Sherborne joins him to discuss H.G.Wells and the four adaptations called The Nightmare World of H.G.Wells.

The Birth of a Nation premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this week and received a standing ovation. It follows the story of Nat Turner a slave and preacher who led a rebellion in the 1800's. Justin Chang, the Chief Film Critic for Variety, explains how one man, Nate Parker, wanted to make it so much that he quit acting to produce, write, direct and star in the film.

Helen Mirren talks about her role as a military intelligence officer in a new thriller about drone warfare, Eye in the Sky.

Two new plays opened at the Royal Court Theatre in London this week: Alistair McDowall's X, set on Pluto and David Ireland's Cyprus Avenue, set in Belfast. In both locations life's certainties unravel. Ian Shuttleworth, who grew up close to Cyprus Avenue, reviews.

Barrie Rutter, founder of Northern Broadsides theatre company, chooses the character of Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor, as part of our Shakespeare's People series.

Jem Lester's debut novel Shtum focuses on 10-year-old Jonah who is severely autistic and told from the perspective of his struggling, alcoholic father. Jem, who has an autistic son, explains why he put his own experience in a work of fiction.

Presenter: Kirsty Lang

Producer: Rachel Simpson.

Kirsty Lang talks to Hugh Grant about his new film Florence Foster Jenkins based on the true story of an out of tune singer and philanthropist. Hugh plays her common law husband and manager and their extraordinary relationship.

We announce the winner of the Wellcome Prize for books that engage with medicine, health or illness.

Lisa Jen from the group 9Bach, who won Best Album at last year's Radio 2 Folk Awards, discusses their new album Anian, which is rooted in the Welsh song tradition

Pablo Bronstein is the artist chosen this year by Tate Britain, in London, to respond to its collection of art. Previous works have been by Mark Wallinger and Phyllida Barlow, and many will remember Martin Creed's athlete running through the galleries every 30 seconds. This year there's a return to that element of live performance as Bronstein has incorporated a continuous live dance performance in his work; Historical Dances in an Antique Setting. He explains why.

Presenter Kirsty Lang

Producer Elaine Lester.

Samira Ahmed talks to fashion designer Hussein Chalayan about his ground-breaking dance show at Sadler's Wells. With Artistic Director Alistair Spalding.

As TV sitcom Citizen Khan returns to our screens, Samira is joined by writer and producer Anil Gupta, who also created Goodness Gracious Me.

Mafia expert John Dickie reviews Black Souls, an acclaimed Italian crime drama from director Francesco Munzi.

And Samira explores an exhibition at the British Museum about Egyptian religion after the Pharaohs, with curator Elisabeth O'Connell.

Poet Ian McMillan has described his home town Barnsley as 'the filter I see everything through' and this is clear from his new book To Fold the Evening Star which gathers work from eight key collections as well as new and previously unpublished work. He talks to John Wilson about being a Yorkshire poet, politics and poetry, and getting older.

As the first series of Undercover and Marcella end this week with questions left unanswered for a potential second series, we discuss how and when channels decide whether a TV drama should return for more series. Writer Kay Mellor and critic Boyd Hilton give us their insights.

Black Chronicles: Photographic Portraits 1862-1948 is a new exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London which presents a snapshot of black lives and experiences in 19th and 20th century Britain. Curator Renée Mussai discusses the context of the exhibition which focuses on the period before the arrival of the Empire Windrush which brought the first large group of Caribbean migrants to Great Britain.

In the final instalment of our series Shakespeare's people, Janet Suzman chooses Portia from the Merchant of Venice. You can catch up with all our Shakespeare's People on the Front Row website.

Presenter: John Wilson

Producer: Elaine Lester.

Independence Day, starring Will Smith, redefined the summer blockbuster. Now, twenty years on, writer, director and producer Roland Emmerich returns to the movie with a sequel - Independence Day: Resurgence. John Wilson talks to Roland about why he decided to make the film despite his dislike of sequels, spending huge film budgets and getting diverse actors on screen.

Chris Riddell, the Children's Laureate, has been announced as the winner of The Kate Greenaway Medal 2016 for the book The Sleeper and the Spindle. Chris is the illustrator and the story is by Neil Gaiman. Chris has won this prestigious prize for illustration in a children's book for an unprecedented third time.

Fretwork are a group of musicians who have been performing early music on the viol, a predecessor to the modern violin and cello, for 30 years. Founding member Richard Boothby and new recruit Emily Ashton join us to demonstrate why the viol isn't an outdated piece of musical technology.

The Border is the first Polish series to be shown on British terrestrial TV. Rachel Cooke reviews this timely drama about human-traffickers on the border border of the EU between Poland and Ukraine.

Author James Shapiro describes how the Gunpowder Plot and King James' desire to unite England and Scotland inspired Shakespeare's great plays King Lear and Macbeth.

In India 40 writers have returned their literary awards in protest against what they consider a 'rising intolerance of free speech' which has seen some writers attacked and murdered. Historian Zareer Masani considers the significance of their action and its political and historical context.

Giacometti: Pure Presence at the National Portrait Gallery in London is the first major exhibition to focus on his portraiture and includes his paintings, sculptures and drawings. Art critic Charlotte Mullins reviews.

Ben Folds discusses his new album So There, which sees him collaborating with New York sextet, yMusic. The resulting eight 'chamber rock' songs are followed by his first piano concerto and he reveals why he enjoys blurring the lines between classical and pop.

Presenter Samira Ahmed

Producer Angie Nehring.

Estelle Morris reviews Jamie Oliver's idea of a dream school as Channel 4 begins a 7 part series following a group of teenagers taught by teachers including David Starkey, Robert Winston and Simon Callow.

Claude-Michel Schonberg and David Nixon discuss creating a version of the story of Cleopatra for Northern Ballet.

Novelist Julie Myerson watches Joanna Hogg's film Archipelago which explores the hidden secrets and tensions within a middle class family on holiday in the Scilly Isles.

And can you photograph in museums? Maurice Davies from the Museums Association and Sarah Brown, Curator of Leeds Art Gallery, discuss the issue of copyright and the problems posed by cameras on phones.

Producer Robyn Read.

Samira Ahmed celebrates the life and work of Jane Austen, ahead of the 200th anniversary of her death.

As Jane Austen's portrait is chosen for the new £10 note, Samira Ahmed explores how money dominates her novels, visiting her home at Chawton in Hampshire.

John Mullan and Viv Groskop choose the best and worst Austen screen adaptations.

Plus, as Austen's final and unfinished novel Sanditon is being turned into a film, Samira talks to adaptor Simon Reade and Emma Clery, writer of Jane Austen - The Banker's Sister.

Presenter : Samira Ahmed

Producer : Dymphna Flynn.

Jeanette Winterson discusses her new novel, The Gap of Time, a cover version of Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale. The novel launches the Hogarth Shakespeare series in which some of today's bestselling writers reimagine Shakespeare's plays. She reveals why she picked The Winter's Tale, and how she went about writing her version.

Henning Mankell, who wrote the 'Wallander' novels and created the Scandi Noir genre, died today. Arne Dahl, the award winning Swedish writer, was inspired by Mankell to write crime fiction. His 'Intercrime' series was shown on BBC 4 and in 40 countries around the world. Dahl pays tribute to Mankell and assesses his achievement.

The National Gallery's new exhibition of Goya's portraits has already been hailed as the exhibition of the decade. John meets the curator Xavier Bray to discuss some of the paintings and the importance of the Spanish master. The Portraits runs at the National Gallery from this Wednesday 7 October until January the 10th.

Rod Stewart looks back at his career and discusses his new album Another Country.

Presenter: John Wilson

Producer: Elaine Lester.

Jessica Chastain on her new film A Most Violent Year, the lack of diversity in Hollywood, and how she feels about missing out on an Oscar nomination this time.

Ahead of his centenary celebrations this weekend, the late British folk legend Bob Copper is remembered by singer Shirley Collins, Bob's grandson Ben Copper, and Jon Boden, singer and fiddle player with multi-award-winning innovative folk big band Bellowhead.

Art critic Richard Cork reviews Self: Image and Identity - Self-portraiture from Van Dyck to Louise Bourgeois at Turner Contemporary in Margate.

Ali Smith won this year's Costa Novel Award for How to be Both, a novel in two parts which can be read in either order. She tells John about the real painting that inspired the book.

Presenter: John Wilson

Producer: Ellie Bury.

After the success of The Miniaturist, author Jessie Burton discusses her second novel, The Muse, which is set between 1930s Spain, at the beginning of the civil war, and 1960s London, and explores the idea of the artist's muse.

The painter Stanley Spencer is the subject of a new exhibition at The Hepworth Wakefield. Curator Eleanor Clayton discusses why writing about his painting was as important to Spencer as painting itself.

The York Art Gallery is one of five museums and galleries in the UK to make the shortlist for this year's Museum of the Year Award. In the fourth of our reports from the shortlisted venues, Samira visits the gallery which has recently undergone a multi-million-pound refurbishment of its Grade II listed building, creating a space for the new Centre of Ceramic Art in the Victorian roof void, which had been hidden from public view for more than 50 years.

Set in Caracas, From Afar explores the shifting relationship between an older man and the young working-class teenage boy he picks up in a tense, homophobic society. The film won a Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival last year. Briony Hanson, Director of Film at the British Council, reviews.

Presenter Samira Ahmed

Producer Ella-mai Robey.

Jim Broadbent and Patrick Barlow first worked together more than 30 years ago in The National Theatre of Brent. This year they've reunited for a production of A Christmas Carol which Patrick has adapted for the stage, and in which Jim Broadbent plays an ebullient and nasty Scrooge. They discuss the production with Samira.

Angelia Jolie Pitt's latest directorial effort is By the Sea, a drama about a failing marriage, in which she stars opposite her real life husband Brad Pitt. Jenny McCartney reviews.

Martin Roth, the director of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, reveals the latest stage of its huge renovation project. The new galleries - Europe 1600-1815 - have cost 12.5 million pounds, so how does the re-examined collection inform what we think of Europe today?

Andrew Collins joins Samira to recommend some TV box sets to buy for Christmas presents. His choices are: The Bridge trilogy, The Leftovers and Unforgotten.

Presenter: Samira Ahmed

Producer: Rebecca Armstrong.

Jimi Hendrix's former girlfriend Kathy Etchingham shows John Wilson around the central London flat they shared in the late 1960s which is about to open permanently to the public.

Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig discuss their new film Zoolander 2, directed by Ben Stiller.

Photographer Nick Danziger explains the background to Eleven Women Facing War, his new exhibition at the Imperial War Museum, for which he photographed 11 women in 2001 and 2011 who were all living in the world's major conflict zones, including Afghanistan, Bosnia, Gaza and Sierra Leone.

Presenter John Wilson

Producer Jerome Weatherald.

Frank Sinatra was born 100 years ago this month, and to mark his centenary John Wilson will be discussing the singing legend with James Kaplan, whose book Sinatra: The Chairman, the second volume of his magisterial biography of the crooner, has just been published.

Barry Purves has been animating using stop motion techniques for decades. He talks to John about his career ahead of an evening dedicated to his work at the London International Animation Festival, which opens tonight.

John visits the Sotheby's, where their biggest sales of old masters ever is being gathered. Paintings include John Constable's 'The Lock', one of only 3 Constables still in private hands, and a portrait of Henry VIII from the studio of Hans Holbein. Might these, so connected with this country, leave it? John discusses this, and whether it matters, with art critic William Feaver.

On a day when doping in sport is in the news the publisher Michael Schmidt has a modest proposal: to rid the world of performance enhancing substances - the world of poetry, that is.

Producer: Julian May.

Scholar, Courtier, Magician: the Lost Library of John Dee (1527-1609) is a new exhibition which focuses on the work of the famous mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, imperialist, alchemist and spy who was a common presence in the court of Elizabeth I. Glyn Parry gives his response to the work on display.

Marty Feldman, the British comedy writer, comedian and actor, rose to fame writing shows like radio's Round the Horne and The Frost Report and starring in films including Young Frankenstein. A new play, Jeepers Creepers directed by Monty Python's Terry Jones, charts Feldman's move to Hollywood and his struggles with his new-found fame. Mic Wright reviews.

The Whitworth in Manchester is celebrating the centenary of pioneering designer Tibor Reich with a major retrospective. Reich, a Hungarian Jew forced to flee to Britain by the Nazis, is credited with modernising British textile design with projects such as Concorde, Coventry Cathedral, the Royal Yacht Britannia and Windsor Castle. Curator Frances Pritchard discusses the exhibition.

The Many Worlds of Albie Bright by Christopher Edge deals with matters of grief, quantum physics and parallel worlds. The author explains why he chose to tackle these subjects in a children's book.

Presenter Samira Ahmed

Producer Jerome Weatherald.

Johnny Depp and Paul Bettany discuss their new film Mortdecai, a slapstick art heist caper set amongst the British aristocracy.

Sofie Gråbøl, star of The Killing, returns to the small screen in Fortitude. Gråbøl's first British drama series focuses on a small community in the Arctic Circle where a murder has been committed. Novelist Tom Harper reviews.

Pianist Imogen Cooper discusses her new album on which she performs works by the husband-and-wife team of Robert and Clara Shumann, based on the letters they exchanged during their courtship.

Costa Children's Book Award winner Kate Saunders discusses Five Children on the Western Front, her update of E Nesbit's Five Children and It stories, which transports the children to 1914 and imagines their fortunes at war.

Presenter Kirsty Lang

Producer Jerome Weatherald.

Front Row asks actors, writers and directors to give their personal take on a favourite Shakespeare character, to mark the 400th anniversary of the playwright's death. Dame Judi Dench launches Shakespeare's People with Lady Macbeth.

The theatre director, Yaël Farber, who won international acclaim for Mies Julie, discusses her latest production, Les Blanc, about an African country teetering on the edge of civil war. It was the last play written by Lorraine Hansberry.

Murdered By My Father shines a light on so-called 'honour killings' in the British Asian community. Its writer Vinay Patel joins Kirsty to discuss the issues raised in this one-off drama.

Poet Helen Mort reviews Black Mountain Poets, a new comedy about two sisters on the run who hide out in a poetry retreat on the Black Mountain.

The author and illustrator Judith Kerr, who escaped Hitler's Germany as a child and went on to write more than 30 children's books, has received a lifetime achievement award from the reading charity BookTrust. The creator of the Mog the Cat and The Tiger Who Came to Tea talks to John Wilson about what keeps her drawing and writing at the age of 93.

Hadley Freeman reviews a fascinating new fly-on-the-wall film about American politician Anthony Weiner, whose campaign to be Mayor of New York is beset with scandal.

Folk rockers Mumford and Sons travelled to South Africa earlier this year to perform a series of concerts. They came back having recorded a mini-album, Johannesburg, with Senegalese singer Baaba Maal, South African rockers Beatenberg and electronic producers The Very Best. Marcus Mumford and Ben Lovett from the group, and Baaba Maal joined John to discuss what attracted them both to the collaboration.

And tomorrow thousands of members of the public will be taking to the streets of Hull naked and painted blue. They're taking part in an installation called Sea of Hull. We speak to the artist Spencer Tunick about the practicalities of pulling off such a large scale work.

Presenter - John Wilson

Producer - Rachel Simpson.

With Mark Lawson.

The varied television career of Julie Walters is being celebrated at the BFI. She discusses her career, including her famous collaborations with Victoria Wood, Alan Bennett, Alan Bleasdale and Willy Russell.

British architect Sir David Chipperfield CBE is receiving the RIBA Royal Gold Medal for Architecture 2011 tomorrow. He talks to Mark about his approach to architecture, including two major new galleries: the Hepworth, Wakefield, and Turner Contemporary in Margate. He also reveals why he didn't entirely disagree with Prince Charles, when he spoke out against modern architecture in 1985.

Winifred Holtby's partly autobiographical novel South Riding, first published in 1936, focuses on an idealistic headmistress dealing with life, love and small town politics in a 1930s Yorkshire town. It first appeared on the small screen in 1974, starring Dorothy Tutin. Now Andrew Davies has written a new TV adaptation, with a cast including David Morrissey and Penelope Wilton. Tobias Hill reviews.

Producer: Philippa Ritchie.

With Kirsty Lang.

Two new plays, Greenland and The Heretic, both focus on climate change. Greenland is a documentary-drama created by four playwrights - Moira Buffini, Matt Charman, Penelope Skinner and Jack Thorne - and weaves together various storylines and theatrical styles. The Heretic is a black comedy by Richard Bean, starring Juliet Stevenson as an Earth Sciences academic who's at odds with the orthodoxy regarding climate change. Kirsty and critic David Benedict consider the differing ways theatre can tackle difficult currrent concerns.

It's now 40 years since Tony Christie arrived in the British charts with hits including Is This the Way to Amarillo. He discusses being rediscovered in the UK, and reconnecting with the next generation of Sheffield pop stars, including Jarvis Cocker and Richard Hawley.

American military and policy makers in Washington saw six plays about Afghanistan this week, at the invitation of the Pentagon. They came from the Tricycle Theatre in Kilburn, London, as part of their series The Great Game. The Tricycle's Artistic Director Nicholas Kent reports back on the US reaction to the plays.

Hisham Matar's first novel was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and he's now published a second, Anatomy of a Disappearance. The story follows a boy who, already coping with life after his mother's death, finds that his world is turned upside down once again when his father is kidnapped. Hisham's own father, a Libyan dissident, was kidnapped over 20 years ago and is still being held in detention somewhere in Libya.

Producer Philippa Ritchie.

Kate Winslet discusses her role as a Russian-Israeli mafia villain in new heist film Triple 9, starring Casey Affleck and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

As a new play about Nell Gwynn opens in the West End, John talks to the playwright Jessica Swale and Charles Beauclerk, Earl of Burford, who is a direct descendant of Charles II and Nell Gwynn and has written a biography of the Restoration actress.

Writer Guy Hibbert discusses his new TV series One Child, a political thriller set in China that addresses political corruption and the one-child policy.

And as new rules for the acceptance speeches by the winners of the forthcoming Oscars are announced, film critic Jason Solomons considers the likely outcome.

Presenter John Wilson

Producer Jerome Weatherald.

With Mark Lawson.

Keira Knightley and Elisabeth Moss, who plays Peggy in Mad Men, star in a new staging of Lillian Hellman's 1934 play The Children's Hour, which is set in a New England school where a pupil makes damaging allegations about two teachers. Kate Saunders reviews Ian Rickson's production.

The music of Hungarian composer Bela Bartok is celebrated throughout this year in a series of concerts by the Philharmonia Orchestra. Conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen and Bartok expert Professor Malcolm Gillies share their passion for the composer, and explain why the series is called Infernal Dance.

The Front Row Chain Story was launched by Bret Easton Ellis, and continued by leading writers including Booker winner Howard Jacobson. Tonight best-selling crime writer Peter James discusses a selection of lines suggested by listeners, and offers a conclusion of his own.

The link between Oscar nominated film The Fighter and the new cartoon Yogi Bear in 3D is that both movies have the making of a documentary at the centre of their plotlines. Documentary maker Jane Treays and film critic Mark Eccleston discuss the role of 'mock docs' in feature films, and how they portray documentary makers.

Producer Claire Bartleet.

In a rare interview, The Rolling Stones' guitarist and singer and songwriter Keith Richards discusses Crosseyed Heart, his first solo album in 23 years, half a century after The Stones had their first Number 1 hit, The Last Time.

And as his 80th birthday approaches next month and a new exhibition of his work opens, photographer Don McCullin reflects on a life behind the lens, which has taken him to the Lebanese civil war, Vietnam and Cambodia, and most recently Syria.

Presenter John Wilson

Producer Jerome Weatherald.

50 years since he made Cathy Come Home, Ken Loach discusses his latest film I, Daniel Blake, a characteristically angry indictment of Britain's welfare system.

Following the announcement of the scrapping of A and AS levels in archaeology, Sir Tony Robinson reveals why he's backing the protest against this decision.

Towards the end of his career the great French sculpture Auguste Rodin became fascinated with dance and bodies captured in extreme acrobatic poses. Now a new exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery - Rodin and Dance: The Essence of Movement - will display a series of experimental sculptures known as the Dance Movements made in 1911. John Wilson was joined there by the curator Dr Alexandra Gerstein and Royal Ballet Principal Dancer Sarah Lamb.

Madness frontman Suggs discusses the band's new album Can't Touch Us Now, which as usual features colourful London characters, including Mr Apples, Amy Winehouse and Pam the Hawk.

Before Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush were cast in the film version of the King's Speech - three actors Tim Wallers, Julia Marsen and Christopher Brand played the Duke of York, the Duchess of York and Lionel Logue at the read through of an earlier stage version (written between drafts of the screenplay). We hear from them about the read through.

Ai Wei Wei's installation in Tate Modern comprises 100 million porcelain sunflower seeds. Tonight a pile weighing 100 kilograms is up for auction. How much will this smaller artwork make?

Is the current vogue for 3D film a good thing ? Critics Chris Tookey and Ben Child discuss.

The virtuoso Australian pianist and composer Percy Grainger died 50 years ago this month. Pianist Penelope Thwaites and composer Julian Anderson discuss his complicated private life and his prolific musical range.

Producer Robyn Read.

Sonia Friedman is one of the most prolific and successful producers in the history of the West End and Broadway. This year she has been nominated for 20 Olivier Awards, one more than she has already won. They sit like chess pieces next to the half a dozen Tony Awards she has won, in her office above the shop at the Duke of York's Theatre. In her eyrie she talks to Kirsty Lang about risk and reward, the changing ecology of theatre, how she began producing - at the age of 3- and professionally in her early 20s. She has worked with a catalogue of great actors, directors and writers on, she thinks, about 140 productions, and we hear from three of them: Tom Stoppard, Mark Rylance and Richard Eyre. But has she, the editor of The Stage newspaper muses, perhaps become too dominant? And Sonia explains why she has supported the Good Chance Theatre in the Jungle camp in Calais.

Producer: Julian May

Image: Sonia Friedman

Image credit: Jason Alden.

With Kirsty Lang, including a review of US sitcom The Big C in which Laura Linney stars as an uptight high-school teacher diagnosed with advanced melanoma.

Last year comedian Harry Hill came up with an idea for an artwork. Bren O'Callaghan bought the idea for £50. They discuss the end result which goes on display as part of a new exhibition.

Opera director David Pountney champions the work of the overlooked composer Mieczylaw Weinberg, with a new production opening at Opera North.

Carol Topolski's novel Do No Harm takes the reader inside the mind of a rogue surgeon. Her debut novel Monster Love depicted a child in a cage and was long-listed for the Orange Prize. She talks about how her work as a film censor and a psychotherapist inform her writing.

Producer Jack Soper.

The pioneering artist and musician Laurie Anderson discusses her role as Guest Artistic Director for this year's Brighton Festival, which includes a futuristic sound and vision installation on the beach and a film and music project called Symphony for a City which premieres tonight.

AL Kennedy talks about her new novel Serious Sweet, which charts a day in London as two characters, each in crisis, try to meet in the hope of salvation.

Shortlisted for an Oscar in the Foreign Language Film category, Mustang follows the story of five orphaned sisters growing up in rural Turkey. After playing on the beach with some boys from their school they are imprisoned in the family home as their marriages are arranged. Hannah McGill reviews.

Presenter: Kirsty Lang

Producer: Angie Nehring.

Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin talks about the BBC sessions the band recorded from 1969-71, and reveals how tracks presumed lost have been recovered, remastered and released.

The annual BBC National Short Story Award is back and this year the chair of judges is Jenni Murray. She reveals who's on the shortlist and in the first of five interviews with the shortlisted authors, Hilary Mantel discusses her story, In A Right State, which is told in the first person, from the perspective of a homeless woman, who spends the night in A&E for want of something better to do. She also reveals when she's hoping to finish The Mirror And The Light, the third in the Wolf Hall trilogy, and gives a hint of what to expect from it.

In his first broadcast interview since announcing his departure from the V&A in London, the outgoing Director Martin Roth explains why he's swapping museums for European politics.

Presenter: John Wilson

Producer: Angie Nehring.

Thriller writers Lee Child, Megan Abbott and Lawrence Block discuss their new collection of short stories inspired by the paintings of American artist Edward Hopper. The anthology, In Sunlight or in Shadow, also includes stories by Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates and Robert Olen Butler.

English National Opera's CEO Cressida Pollock discusses the company's recent struggles, which have seen stringent funding cuts, strikes and, most recently, the postponement of a season in Blackpool.

Tim Robey reviews the film The Pass, about two young professional football players whose kiss echoes through the next ten years of both their lives.

ITV's new drama, In Plain Sight, is based on the true story of Scottish serial killer, Peter Manuel and the attempts of Lanarkshire detective William Muncie to bring him to justice in the 1950s. The writer Nick Stevens and actor Martin Compston, who plays Manuel, discuss the challenges of making a drama about real life crime.

Presenter: John Wilson

Producer: Rachel Simpson.

With news of the death of Leonard Cohen at the age of 82, we broadcast a rare interview the singer-songwriter did with Front Row in 2007, on a visit to Manchester for the opening of an exhibition of his art.

To mark Armistice Day, Michael Nunn and William Trevitt, artistic directors of the all-male dance troupe BalletBoyz, discuss Young Men, the film of their stage production which explores the soldiers' experience of the First World War, and why they felt it was important to shoot the film in the cold, rain and mud on location in northern France.

And poetry from the battlefield. When we use the term 'war poet' we immediately think of WWI but what about verse inspired by more recent conflict? How do contemporary war poets compare to the likes of Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, Rupert Brooke and Isaac Rosenberg? American Iraq War veteran and poet Kevin Powers, and Radio 4's poet-in-residence Daljit Nagra, discuss modern war poetry.

Presenter: Kirsty Lang

Producer: Ella-mai Robey.

Leonardo DiCaprio, star of The Revenant which has recently been nominated for 12 Oscars, talks to Kirsty about the film's arduous production.

TV drama The Rack Pack tells the story of Britain's obsession with snooker in the mid-1980s and the rivalry between Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins and Steve Davis. Sports writer Alyson Rudd and film critic Andrew Collins review.

Author and contributing editor of The Bookseller, Cathy Rentzenbrink, considers the value of literary festivals to authors, following Philip Pullman's resignation as patron of the Oxford literary festival over its refusal to pay the writers who appear there.

Choreographer Will Tuckett and the playwright and librettist Alasdair Middleton discuss Elizabeth - a work of dance, music and theatre, exploring the life and loves of Queen Elizabeth I, and starring Zenaida Yanowsky and Carlos Acosta.

Presented by Kirsty Lang

Produced by Ella-mai Robey.

The murder of Damilola Taylor in 2000, came to symbolise youth crime in Britain and brought knife attacks into the public consciousness. Writer Levi David Addai explains why he chose to tells the story of the schoolboy's death from the family's point of view in new drama Our Loved Boy.

Frederick, Lord Leighton's Flaming June, one of the most famous works of nineteenth-century British art, returns to the house in which it was painted. We speak to the curator at Leighton House Museum Daniel Robbins and art dealer Rupert Mass whose father briefly owned the work.

For Love to Read, the BBC season celebrating the joy of books, author Kit de Waal confesses to a classic book she hasn't read - George Orwell's caustic satire of literary life, Keep the Aspidistra Flying - and reads it especially for Front Row.

Between Diwali and Bonfire Night the writer on contemporary art Louisa Buck traces the history of fireworks, reveals why they are so attractive to artists and argues they are the most democratic of all art forms.

Presenter: John Wilson

Producer: Jack Soper.

Former ballet star and stockbroker Li Cunxin discusses growing up during Mao's Cultural Revolution in China, and bringing his Australian ballet company to the Coliseum in London to perform La Sylphide.

This week marks 70 years since the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where more than 200,000 people were killed. To consider how popular culture has responded to the atomic bomb, Front Row brings together documentary maker Simon Guerrier, science-fiction novelist Kim Newman, and journalist Jon Savage to discuss work from ranging from Stanley Kubrick's film Dr Strangelove, to Frankie Goes to Hollywood's song Two Tribes.

Plus actor and writer Gareth Somers discusses creating a new one-man show opening at the Attic Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon, in which Shakespeare re-lives his own life story.

Presenter Samira Ahmed

Producer Ella-mai Robey.

Actor Liam Neeson starts the new year with two new films. In Martin Scorsese's Silence he plays a Jesuit priest who relinquishes his faith and in A Monster Calls, the treelike monster. He talks to Samira Ahmed about both, as well as being a late blooming action hero and watching the Reverend Ian Paisley preach.

How do you write about mass murder, holocausts, war crimes and how ordinary people reach a point when they kill their neighbours, and torture their former friends? The Danish author Christian Jungersen approaches this subject by setting his novel "The Exception" in an office - The Danish Centre for Information on Genocide - and documenting the behaviour of the women who work there.

In 2014, ZooNation Dance Company performed the first full-length hip hop production at the Royal Opera House in London with their take on Lewis Caroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland where the familiar characters are recast as patients at a mental health institution. ZooNation's Artistic Director Kate Prince talks about re-staging The Mad Hatter's Tea Party for the Roundhouse in London and how she incorporated advice from the mental health charity Time to Change.

A film version of Assassin's Creed is about to go on nationwide release but can this video game favourite make the leap onto the silver screen when so many have failed?

Arts news, interviews and reviews.

One Man, Two Guvnors playwright Richard Bean, artist Spencer Tunick and film-maker Sean McAllister are some of the leading contributors to Hull UK City of Culture 2017.

John Wilson reports from the city on the banks of the Humber in the East Riding of Yorkshire on its year-long festival of arts and culture which is about to begin, and discovers that urban regeneration linked to cultural investment and its new status as UK City of Culture is already well underway.

Presenter John Wilson

Producer Jerome Weatherald.

Former Children's Laureate, Malorie Blackman takes a twist on Othello into the future and outer space in her new book for young adults, Chasing the Stars. She tells Kirsty why she chose sci-fi to explore contemporary issues such as immigration and prejudice.

Idris Elba plays a lone wolf CIA operative in the new Paris-based thriller Bastille Day, who enlists the assistance of a reluctant American played by Richard Madden from Game of Thrones. Antonia Quirke reviews the film whose release was postponed after the Paris attacks.

The Flick is a Pulitzer Prize winning play about the staff at a run-down cinema in Massachusetts. Kirsty talks to its director Sam Gold as it starts its run at the National Theatre this week.

As part of our Shakespeare's People series, Simon Russell Beale chooses Benedick from Much Ado About Nothing.

Presenter : Kirsty Lang

Producer : Dymphna Flynn.

The Man Booker shortlist is announced today, and critic Alex Clark discusses the most unpredictable list for years.

The distinguished Israeli writer, Amos Oz, discusses his latest novel, Judas, which provides an alternative reading not just of the man whose name became synonymous with the word traitor, but suggests that traitors may have more to offer than simple betrayal.

Wifredo Lam was a Cuban modernist painter, and friend of Picasso. As a major exhibition of his work opens at Tate Modern, Samira meets his son Eskil Lam and the exhibition's curator, Matthew Gale.

Seventeen years ago, low-budget horror film The Blair Witch Project told the story of three film students who vanish in the woods after filming a documentary about a local legend, leaving only their footage behind. As a third sequel is released - called Blair Witch - film critic Ryan Gilbey examines the original film's influence and the 'found footage' genre it has spawned.

Presenter : Samira Ahmed

Producer : Dymphna Flynn

Image: Bélial, Emperor of the Flies (1948) by Wifredo Lam. (c) SDO Wifredo Lam.

Margaret Atwood discusses her new novel The Heart Goes Last. Set in the near future, the plot follows a couple who sign up for a new utopian community to escape the world of toxic debt, homelessness and violence. But all is not quite what it seems in the picture perfect town of Consilience where the townsfolk take turns playing prisoners and civilians.

Actress Emily Blunt talks to Kirsty about her latest role as FBI agent Kate Macer in drug cartel film Sicario. She discusses training with FBI agents to research the role and the position of women in Hollywood action blockbusters.

Sky's new comedy drama, You, Me and the Apocalypse, imagines the world on the brink of disaster as a meteorite hurtles towards earth, threatening to wipe out the human race. The British and American cast includes Rob Lowe as a foul mouthed Priest and Pauline Quirke. Natalie Haynes reviews.

Radio 4's Reading Europe season continues with contemporary literature from Germany. Award-winning German screenwriter Sascha Arango discusses his first novel, The Truth and Other Lies, a dark thriller which has become a best-seller in Germany and has been published in twenty five countries.

Claudia Rankine has won the Forward Prize for poetry for her latest collection, she reads one of the poems from Citizen: An American Lyric.

Presenter: Kirsty Lang

Producer: Olivia Skinner.

Mark Billingham talks to Samira Ahmed about his latest novel - Die of Shame. Departing from his highly successful DI Tom Thorne novels, this book focuses on a group of recovering addicts who meet each week for their support group, that is, until one of them is murdered.

Tate Britain's director, Alex Farquharson, on the Turner Prize shortlist while Rachel Campbell Johnston reviews.

As the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra announce their 2016-17 season today, their newly appointed music director, Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla reveals what she believes is the secret behind the chemistry she and the orchestra immediately shared, and looks ahead to what she intends to programme in the future.

And out-going BBC Diplomatic Correspondent Bridget Kendall reviews Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, starring Tina Fey, Martin Freeman and Margot Robbie. The film is based on real life reporter Kim Barker's autobiography.

Presenter: Samira Ahmed

Producer: Elaine Lester.

The Chancellor today pledged £7.6million to save the stately home Wentworth Woodhouse, for the nation. Campaigner Simon Jenkins explains the significance of Britain's largest private home.

In a rare interview, the artist Anselm Kiefer discusses his new exhibition Walhalla, which features a dimly-lit, lead-lined dormitory full of lead sheets and pillows, and a series of large-scale new paintings covered in molten metal.

Chi-raq is Spike Lee's latest film set in a black suburb of Chicago, where two rival gangs are at war. A musical drama, the film is a contemporary take on the Aristophanes' Lysistrata. Ekow Eshun reviews.

Nice Fish is a comic play written by Mark Rylance based on the poems of Louis Jenkins. He describes why he set it on a frozen Minnesota lake and director Claire van Kampen talks about the challenges that presents for the stage.

Presenter: John Wilson

Producer: Edwina Pitman.

Marlon James is the first Jamaican novelist to be shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. His nominated novel, A Brief History of Seven Killings, is a portrait of Jamaica in the '70s when gang warfare and reggae reigned, and is based on the attempted assassination of Bob Marley in 1976. The winner of the 2015 Prize will be announced later this evening.

James Daunt, founder of Daunt Books and Managing Director of Waterstones, discusses how the publishing industry responds to the Booker shortlist and winner, and the impact it has upon sales.

Stephen Frears' new feature film The Program delves into the doping scandal surrounding seven-times Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong. Michael Carlson reviews the film starring Ben Foster as the disgraced cyclist.

Artist Fiona Banner discusses her new exhibition Scroll Down and Keep Scrolling, the most comprehensive exhibition of her work to date, at the Ikon Gallery in Birmingham.

Presenter John Wilson

Producer Rebecca Armstrong.

Game of Thrones meets Bake Off as Mel Giedroyc and Gemma Whelan discuss their involvement in New Songs 4 New Shows, a gala evening showcasing four new musicals currently in development, directed by West End grandee Maria Friedman.

The Booker Prize-winning author Penelope Lively discusses her latest collection of short stories, The Purple Swamp Hen and Other Stories.

After J.K. Rowling sends copies of her Harry Potter novels to a girl in Aleppo, Syria, fellow children's writer Michael Morpurgo discusses the importance of books in war zones.

Billy Bob Thornton reprises his role as the foul-mouthed, whisky-fuelled 'Father Christmas' in Bad Santa 2. Mark Eccleston reviews.

Presenter Kirsty Lang

Producer Marilyn Rust.

In his new film The Light Between Oceans, Michael Fassbender takes on the role of a man who becomes a lighthouse keeper in order to escape the atrocities he witnessed in World War One. He talks about playing a decent man struggling to overcome his past and what it was like to work on a remote location in New Zealand.

As part of the BBC's celebration of reading, Love to Read, Front Row has challenged five authors to confess to a classic book they've never read - and then read it. Today Neel Mukherjee, best known for his Booker Prize-shortlisted The Lives of Others, reads Mark Twain's tale of a rebel boy and a runaway slave, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Comedian Nish Kumar, singer Sarah McQuaid and The Pitmen Poets discuss the tricky logistics of putting together a busy touring schedule, visiting every corner of the UK in just a few weeks. How do they choose where to appear, how many miles does it involve, and what happens when it doesn't go according to plan?

The Goldfinch, the 17th-century painting of a chained bird that inspired Donna Tartt's Pulitzer prize winning novel, is on display at the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh from today. Art critic Charlotte Mullins and literary critic Alex Clark discuss how this painting and others have sparked writers' imaginations.

Presenter: Clemency Burton-Hill

Producer: Angie Nehring.

John Wilson talks to the soul musician Michael Kiwanuka, whose new album Love and Hate is inspired by the feeling of being separated from the world around him.

Film critic Tim Robey and historian Jeffrey Richards consider the depiction of war on film from The Battle of the Somme to Restrepo, reflected in a new exhibition at the Imperial War Museum.

Richard Hawley pays tribute to the pioneering rock guitarist Scotty Moore, from Elvis Presley's original band, whose death was announced today.

All The Way is a feature-length political drama starring Bryan Cranston as Lyndon B Johnson in his early days as US President. Kit Davis reviews.

Director Mira Nair and Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong'o discuss their new film Queen of Katwe, which is based on the true story of Ugandan chess prodigy Phiona Mutesi.

Newcastle Gateshead has beaten Sheffield, Blackpool and Bradford and been selected by the government to host a £5m Great Exhibition of the North in 2018. Carol Bell, Culture and Major Events Director, Newcastle Gateshead Initiative, talks about their plans for the major exhibition, which will showcase art, design and innovation from the north of England.

12 years after the last episode of Sex and the City, Sarah Jessica Parker is back on the small screen in Divorce, a comedy drama about the end of a marriage written by Catastrophe's Sharon Horgan. Stephen Armstrong reviews.

In 1974 the Gaul trawler set off from Hull never to return, disappearing off the northern coast of Norway with all hands lost. Playwright Janet Plater talks about her new drama The Gaul at Hull Truck Theatre, which charts the experience of the wives and relatives left behind.

Shahidha Bari reviews The Vulgar: Fashion Redefined, a new exhibition at the Barbican Art Gallery in London which explores the aesthetics of taste through the prism of fashion.

Presenter: Samira Ahmed

Producer: Rachel Simpson.

The artist Mona Hatoum has a major survey of her work at Tate Modern in London. It includes her early performance works, such as when she walked through Brixton after the race riots barefoot, but with heavy boots tied to her ankles. And her later large installations such as a floor of marbles; beautiful but dangerous to walk on. She describes how the political and personal has always influenced her work.

Alexander Masters' first book Stuart: A Life Backwards, a biography of a homeless man, won prizes before being adapted for television and the stage. As his latest book is published, A Life Discarded - inspired by the discovery in a skip of a 148 volumes of a personal diary - the author discusses the appeal of the overlooked.

Starring Harry Enfield as Prince Charles, The Windsors is a new six-part comedy soap opera that takes a weekly peek behind the curtains of Britain's most famous family. Its creators Bert Tyler-Moore and George Jeffrie discuss the challenges they set themselves.

Charles Dance is the latest Shakespearean to nominate his favourite dramatic character - Coriolanus.

Presenter Samira Ahmed

Producer Jerome Weatherald.

To mark the first ever Sherlock Holmes Prom, composer David Arnold and broadcaster Matthew Sweet explore the musical world of Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective.

Simon Pegg and Kate Beckinsale star in sci-fi comedy Absolutely Anything, featuring the voices of Michael Palin, Terry Jones, who also directs, Terry Gilliam, John Cleese, Eric Idle and the late Robin Williams in his final film role. Larushka Ivan Zadeh has the Front Row verdict.

As a new exhibition of work by Romanian born artist Paul Neagu opens, the sculptor Roger Clarke discusses the importance of the work and its impact on British sculptors.

Critic Stephen Armstrong rounds up the new comedy coming up at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Presenter: Samira Ahmed

Producer: Jack Soper.

The North East of England's Case for Culture is a bold plan to raise £300 million for art projects. Instead of being an adjunct to development culture is seen as the key to the region's redevelopment. But only a few years ago Newcastle cut its arts budget entirely. Organisations are exploring new ways of working. Jim Beirne of Live Theatre takes John Wilson to the pub the theatre runs, the profits of which pay for a new play every year. It also owns restaurants and prime office space, to fund its theatre and outreach projects.

The Northumbrian piper Kathryn Tickell has just launched a new organisation, Magnetic North East, to foster the identity, music and traditions of the North East. It has released an album of songs and tunes, new and old, about the River Tyne, by artists ranging from Jimmy Nail to the Unthanks. Last Friday it held a grand concert in the region's village hall - Auditorium One of The Sage, featuring famous North East artists such as Paul Smith of the band Maximo Park, young folk musicians and a host of children giving a world premiere of a work by David Almond.

Kathryn Tickell, John Mowbray - the High Sheriff of Tyne and Wear, and a prime mover in the Case for Culture, David Almond, who wrote Skellig, the Olivier Award winning playwright, Shelagh Stephenson, whose new play is set in her hometown of Tynemouth, all contribute to John Wilson's exploration, as he rambles around Newcastle, of the role of art in the regeneration of the North East of England.

Presenter: John Wilson

Producer: Julian May.

Film screenwriter and director Noah Baumbach discusses Mistress America, another New York hipster film starring his writing partner and real-life girlfriend Greta Gerwig, with whom he also wrote Frances Ha.

Playwright Helen Edmundson talks to Kirsty about her new play The Heresy of Love at Shakespeare's Globe which deals with the extraordinary 17th century nun and playwright Sister Juana Ines de la Cruz, who was one of Mexico's leading intellectuals who was silenced by the Church.

In a new Spanish thriller Marshland (La Isla Minima), two homicide detectives have to bury their differences to find a serial killer on the loose. Ryan Gilbey reviews the film.

As the University of East Anglia - home of the late Malcolm Bradbury's Creative Writing course - launches its British Archive for Contemporary Writing, its founder Chris Bigsby discusses the importance of the collection which features unseen correspondence and work by writers such as Doris Lessing, JD Salinger, Nadine Gordimer and WG Sebald.

Presenter Kirsty Lang

Producer Jerome Weatherald.

Oliver Stone's new film Snowden stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the controversial employee of the National Security Agency in the US who leaked thousands of classified documents to the press in 2013. Science journalist Angela Saini reviews.

The Christmas books market has been flooded this year with titles that poke fun at everything from Ladybird to I-Spy books. Author Bruno Vincent explains his modern take on Enid Blyton's The Famous Five series, and journalist Cathy Rentzenbrink discusses the phenomenon that is shaking up the bestseller lists this year.

Following the recent reaction from actors about inappropriate behaviour on film sets, writer Karen Krizanovich and actor Malcolm Sinclair give their take on the issue.

The artist Wynford Dewhurst, born in Manchester in 1864, was a proud Brit and a devoted Francophile. He was a conservative by nature who championed Impressionism at the time it was regarded as a radical art movement. Dewhurst was passionate about the work of Claude Monet and his mastery of Monet's technique led to him being dubbed Manchester's Monet. Curator Roger Brown discusses an artist who played an important role in opening British minds to the Impressionists.

Presenter Samira Ahmed

Producer Jerome Weatherald.

Dheepan, the winner of the Palme d'Or at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, tells the story of a former Sri Lankan Tamil fighter who flees the civil war to France with a woman and young girl he has never met. After finding work and housing in the suburbs of Pairs this fake family soon find that the violence they have run from is replaced by a new danger. Agnes Poirier reviews the film.

German soprano Diana Damrau discusses her role as Lucia di Lammermoor in a controversial and bloody new production at the Royal Opera House in London.

Noma Dumezweni, who is about to star as Hermione in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on stage, chooses Paulina from The Winter's Tale as part of our Shakespeare's People series.

US writer Garth Greenwell's debut novel What Belongs to You is the story of a American teacher who becomes obsessed with a sex worker in Bulgaria. Garth talks to Samira about the mixture of fact and fiction in the novel, and his growing up gay in Kentucky and his advocacy of 'queer culture'.

Presenter Samira Ahmed

Producer Jerome Weatherald.

Hugh Jackman stars as Blackbeard in Pan, a new adaptation of J.M. Barrie's story of the boy who never grew up. Mark Eccleston reviews the film which also features Cara Delevingne and Rooney Mara.

A new exhibition Titian to Canaletto: Drawing in Venice focuses on the overlooked element of Venetian art from 1500 to 1750 which opens today at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. Martin Kemp, Emeritus Professor of the History of Art at Oxford University, assesses the works on display.

Lisa Genova, a trained neuroscientist and author of Still Alice which explored early-onset Alzheimer's, discusses her new novel Inside The O'Briens, in which the head of the family discovers he has Huntington's Disease. The writer reveals why she believes she can achieve more in that field by writing novels than she did in the lab.

A Wolf in Snakeskin Shoes is a theatrical reworking of Moliere's satire Tartuffe, transplanted to present-day Atlanta, Georgia. It's a comedy set in a world of guns, fast-food tycoons and black churches. The dramatist Marcus Gardley, whose father was a pastor and whose uncle a founder of the Black Panthers, discusses his adaptation.

Presenter Samira Ahmed

Producer Jerome Weatherald.

Ahead of her 80th birthday, John Wilson travels to Oxfordshire to the home of Peggy Seeger, the American musician who, along with her husband Ewan MacColl, led the folk revival movement of the 1950s and '60s.

In an intimate conversation, the musician reflects on a life born in to the folk tradition, a childhood spent in the company of Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly, her relationship with MacColl, and why she is still writing songs of protest, including one she hopes will save her local swimming pool.

Producer: Craig Templeton Smith.

In 1986, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe released their first album as Pet Shop Boys.

30 years on, the most successful British pop duo of all time look back over three decades of stardom and electronic dance music as they prepare for a four-night residency at the Royal Opera House in London in July, and the release of their 13th studio album, Super, this week.

Presenter John Wilson

Producer Jerome Weatherald.

Arts news, interviews and reviews.

With Kirsty Lang.

Writer and director Peter Kosminsky discusses his new TV drama series The Promise, which moves between present-day Israel and the years just after the second world war, when 100 000 British troops were based in what was then Palestine.

James Cameron's Sanctum is a 3D action-thriller about a team of underwater cave divers on a dangerous expedition. Although Cameron enjoys title billing on this new release, in the wake of the success of his 3D blockbuster Avatar, his role is as one of the film's producers. Larushka Ivan-Zadeh reviews.

After successfully bringing Brief Encounter to the stage, director Emma Rice has now adapted the classic French musical film The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg. She discusses bringing what's billed as 'a French romance that just happens to be sung' to the British theatre.

Artist Michael Landy's work ranges from large scale installations - like a recreation of the front and back of his parents' house - to meticulous pencil drawings and portraits, some of which form a new exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. Kirsty met Michael Landy along with the subject of one of his portraits, the conceptual artist and painter Michael Craig Martin - who was also Landy's tutor when he was an art student.

Producer Rebecca Nicholson.

Playwright Peter Shaffer is remembered by theatre critic Michael Billington and director Thea Sharrock, who worked with him on the revival of Equus in 2007.

In a rare interview, American novelist Don DeLillo talks to Samira Ahmed about his new novel Zero K which explores cryogenics, immortality and death.

New Blood, is the latest series from Anthony Horowitz, creator of Foyle's War and the Alex Rider novels. In it, two junior investigators for the police and the Serious Fraud Office, Rash and Stefan, are brought together on television for the first time, linked by two seemingly unrelated cases.

Beth Orton has ditched the acoustic guitar and folk songs for her new album Kidsticks which is mostly composed from electronic loops, drum machines and keyboards. She describes the freedom of creating music without any expectations.

As Phil Collins announces his return to the stage for his first live dates in 10 years, the former Genesis frontman discusses that and his new memoir Not Dead Yet.

Two laureates, Gillian Clarke, who was the National Poet of Wales, and Carol Ann Duffy, talk about The Map and the Clock, their new anthology that moves through 14 centuries, several languages and all over these islands, to present their choice of the poetry of Britain and Ireland.

Writer Patrick Ness is best known for his Carnegie-winning novels for young adults, including Monsters of Men and A Monster Calls. He discusses his first foray into television with Class, a new BBC spin-off of Doctor Who which sees a group of students try to save their school from attack.

Presenter John Wilson

Producer Jerome Weatherald.

When pianist James Rhodes had an injunction overturned by the Supreme Court in May, he was finally able to publish his controversial autobiography, Instrumental: A Memoir of Madness, Medication and Music.

At the piano he talks to John Wilson about the horror of the severe sexual abuse he suffered at prep school, his struggle to get his memoir published, and how music provided a lifeline to help him cope with his demons, which included addiction, breakdown and mental illness.

Presenter John Wilson

Producer Jerome Weatherald.

The death of one of the 20th century's most important composers and conductors, Pierre Boulez, was announced today. Sir Nicholas Kenyon, MD of The Barbican and former Radio 3 Controller, and composer George Benjamin who worked with Boulez, discuss this hugely influential figure.

Throughout this week we’re hearing from each of the category winners in the 2015 Costa Book Awards, which were announced on Front Row on Monday. Today we hear from Andrea Wulf, winner of the Biography category for her historical book The Invention of Nature: The Adventures of Alexander von Humbolt, The Lost Hero of Science, who lived from 1769-1859.

Stand-up and writer Meryl O’Rourke reviews Tracey Ullman’s Show which brings the comedian back to British TV screens for the first time in 30 years.

A new film documentary Bolshoi Babylon gives us unprecedented access to the power struggles behind the scenes at Russia’s most famous theatre, including the widely-reported acid attack in 2013 on the Bolshoi’s former lead dancer and artistic director Sergei Filin that left him almost blind. The film’s two co-directors Nick Read and Mark Franchetti discuss the challenges of dealing with the Kremlin-sponsored elites, the political divisions and the professional jealousies among the dancers and the management.

Presenter: John Wilson

Producer: Rebecca Armstrong

Will Aidan Turner take his shirt off again? Will his character escape conviction for murder and wrecking? As Poldark returns for a second series, screenwriter Debbie Horsfield answers those questions and explains how sometimes historical accuracy has to be abandoned to keep in the bodice ripping aspect that audiences love.

150 years since his birth, cultural historian Fern Riddell and sci-fi writer Simon Guerrier discuss the contemporary appeal of H.G. Wells and his impact on social reform.

Plus activist and fashion entrepreneur Joe Corré explains why he's planning a bonfire of punk memorabilia and Front Row meets Antarctic artist in residence Lucy Carty.

Presenter: Samira Ahmed

Producer: Jack Soper.

In 1991, R.E.M. released Out of Time, the album that turned them into international superstars. 25 years on, the album is being re-released. Lead singer Michael Stipe and bassist Mike Mills look back on those classic songs, including Losing My Religion and Shiny Happy People, and reflect on their decision five years ago to disband the group.

Illuminated River is a new scheme that intends to light central London's 17 bridges along the River Thames. As the six shortlisted entries are unveiled we speak to Hannah Rothschild who leads the project.

The Achates Philanthropy Prize is a new annual award which aims to show that anyone can become a cultural philanthropist. Nigel Farnall from Essex talks about winning the inaugural prize for his support for Theatre Royal Stratford East.

Director Abel Gance's 51/2-hour silent film Napoleon flopped when it was first released in 1927. Silent film expert Pamela Hutchinson reviews a new digitally restored version of Gance's epic which is now regarded as an undisputed cinematic landmark.

Stephen Poliakoff discusses his new TV drama, Close to the Enemy. Set in 1946, this period tale examines the change in moral certainties which began to emerge in Britain in the year after World War II ended.

Presenter: John Wilson

Producer: Rachel Simpson.

Ralph Fiennes and director Rupert Goold discuss their new production of Shakespeare's Richard III at the Almeida Theatre in London.

Kevin Spacey stars as the former US president in the new film Elvis and Nixon, which focuses on the untold real-life story of the meeting between the two men. Michael Carlson reviews.

Author Marina Lewycka and playwright Hassan Abdulrazzak join Samira to discuss the art of writing fiction about the refugee experience. As refugees once themselves, both have contributed to an anthology of writing called A Country of Refuge, being published to coincide with Refugee Week.

One of Pakistan's most famous qawwali singers Amjad Sabri has been killed today in Karachi. Ziad Zafar joins us to explain Sabri's place in Pakistani culture and what may have led to his death.

Singer Mica Paris remembers Prince who was her friend and mentor, and biographer Matt Thorne and journalist Kevin Le Gendre assess his legacy.

As Opera North's Music Director Richard Farnes and General Director Richard Mantle prepare to present six complete productions of the company's much praised "austerity" Ring Cycle, they discuss the art of creating great opera on a budget. The Ring Cycle opens at Leeds Town Hall on 23 April and goes on to tour the Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham, The Lowry in Salford, the Royal Festival Hall in London, and Sage Gateshead.

Georgina Harding's latest novel, The Gunroom, opens with a description of the image of Don McCullin's Shell Shocked Soldier. It then becomes a work of fiction which explores the impact of taking that photo on the photographer as he endeavours to escape the horror of what he has seen. Georgina Harding discusses what inspired her to write this story. The Gun Room is out now.

Cornelia Parker discusses her new exhibition at the re-developed Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester. The show features some of the works which brought Parker to public attention including her blown-apart shed - Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View - and some new commissions such as Blakean Abstract, a collaboration with Nobel Prize-winning scientist, Professor Kostya Novoselov.

As part of Sheffield Theatres' Sarah Kane season, marking the 20th anniversary of the premiere of her play Blasted, the actor and director Richard Wilson directs a new production of this controversial work. The season has been programmed by Sheffield Theatres' artistic director Daniel Evans. Both talk to John Wilson about the late Sarah Kane's work, and her legacy as a playwright.

Barrie Rutter, founder and artistic director of Northern Broadsides, first played the role of King Lear in 1999 for a Northern Broadsides production. 16 years later he's playing Lear for the second time in his career. Barrie Rutter talks to John Wilson about taking on the leading role in the play that many feel is Shakespeare's greatest tragedy.

Maria Balshaw, Director of the Whitworth Art Gallery, on how the building's £15m redevelopment has stayed true to the Victorian instincts of its founders but provided a bridge to the needs of its 21st century visitors.

With Mark Lawson, who reports on a major new exhibition at Tate Britain which aims to make us reassess watercolours, with a range of images from the past 800 years.

Roger Deakins, who won the BAFTA for his work shooting the Coen brothers film True Grit, discusses the art of cinematography.

Brendan O'Carroll's stage show, in which he dresses up as a foul-mouthed aged housewife Mrs Brown, premieres as a TV sitcom on BBC One next week. Neil McCormick reviews

And painting the Secret Intelligence Service: artist James Hart Dyke spent a year with MI6 and has just opened an exhibition depicting his impressions of the day-to-day work of the Service, at home and abroad. Mark Lawson meets him and the former chief of MI6 Sir John Scarlett.

Producer Robyn Read.

Director Ron Howard discusses his new documentary The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years, which goes behind the scenes with John, Paul, George and Ringo, from The Cavern Club to the height of Beatlemania in the years 1962-66.

The American poet Sharon Olds has won the Pulitzer Prize, the T. S. Eliot Prize and most recently the $100,000 Wallace Stevens Award. She talks to Kirsty Lang about her new collection, Odes.

Tom Ellis is an artist whose work includes paintings and functionless furniture which are often displayed together. For the past four years he has drawn inspiration from the eclectic Wallace Collection in London which shows its paintings, furniture, and porcelain in the townhouse of its former owners, Sir Richard and Lady Wallace. He explains how this has complemented his work.

Ralph Fiennes reportedly spent two months living in Moscow learning Russian to prepare for his role in the costume drama Two Women. Based on Ivan Turgenev's 1854 play A Month in The Country, the film sees Fiennes act and deliver lines entirely in Russian, alongside a Russian-speaking cast. Critic and stand-up comedian Viv Groskop reviews.

Presenter Kirsty Lang

Producer Jerome Weatherald.

Rory Kinnear talks about his latest role as Josef K in The Trial, Franz Kafka's timeless tale of ordinary terror. Josef is arrested for an unknown crime and must fight against a bureaucratic system to prove his innocence. The Trial has just opened at London's Young Vic.

She's Funny That Way sees the return to the big screen of veteran director Peter Bogdanovich. The screwball comedy follows the lives of the cast and crew of a Broadway show and stars Imogen Poots, Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston and Rhys Ifans. Angie Errigo reviews.

Playwright and novelist Nell Leyshon discusses her latest book, Memoirs of a Dipper, the story of a young boy born into a life of crime against the backdrop of 1980s London.

One of BBC iPlayer's first Original Drama Shorts, My Jihad returns to iPlayer as a series from Sunday. The tender and funny love story, set in contemporary Britain, explores the unfolding relationship between a young Muslim couple across three further episodes. Shahidha Bari reviews.

Presenter: Kirsty Lang

Producer: Olivia Skinner.

Samira Ahmed talks to the comedian, actor and music hall veteran Roy Hudd, whose career spans seven decades.

Starting out as a redcoat at Butlins in the 1950s, Roy became one the UK's best-loved entertainers. His show The News Huddlines ran for 26 years on Radio 2.

As he approaches his 80th birthday, Hudd is playing a Dame for the first time in Panto, in Dick Whittington at Wilton's Music Hall.

He talks about his close relationship with Dennis Potter, who left Hudd a role in his will, and his grandmother, who raised him, and to whom he owes his passion for variety and music hall.

Producer: Timothy Prosser.

With John Wilson.

The first ever World Book Night takes place on Saturday, 5 March: one million books will be given away across the UK and Ireland by 20,000 volunteers, distributing 25 different titles. The books range from The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood to Love In The Time Of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez to Killing Floor by Lee Child. On the Radio 4 website you can find a collection of interviews with the writers and this week Front Row is adding to the collection, taking to authors whose books are being given away. Tonight British author, historian and columnist Ben Macintyre discusses his book Agent Zigzag, about the real-life double agent of Germany and England during the Second World War, Eddie Chapman.

Historian Tom Holland casts a critical eye over Afghanistan: Crossroads of the Ancient World, a new exhibition at the British Museum which highlights the trading and cultural connections and riches in Afghanistan's history.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is the first full-length ballet commissioned by The Royal Opera House for around 20 years - featuring a performance by actor Simon Russell Beale as the Duchess. Guardian dance critic Judith Mackrell reviews.

Music journalist Dorian Lynskey discusses modern protest songs with Reda El Mawy, Arabic TV and Radio presenter, who was in Tahrir Square during the protests. From Billie Holiday's Strange Fruit to a recent remix using samples from Colonel Gaddafi's speeches in Libya, the discussion looks at direct reponses to political events by musicians past and present.

Producer Rebecca Nicholson.

Samira Ahmed talks to Salman Rushdie about his new novel, Two Years Eight Months and Twenty Eight Nights, set in New York in the future.

Cyndi Lauper on writing the score for the Tony award winning musical Kinky Boots, based on the true story of the Northampton factory that began making shoes for drag queens.

Jenny McCartney reviews the film Pasolini, starring William Dafoe as the controversial Italian film-maker in his final days.

In his new film Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Sam Neill stars as a grumpy New Zealand farmer forced to go on the run with a Maori kid who thinks he's a gangster. He discusses the film, his acting mentor James Mason and starring in one of the lowest grossing feature films ever.

Frederick Forsyth has announced he's stopping writing, partly because he's now too old to travel to the settings of his thrillers. Sharon Bolton, who researched the Falkland Islands from Britain for her novel Little Black Lies, and Stephanie Merritt, who visited Paris and Prague for her historical fiction thrillers, discuss whether writers must travel to their books' settings to really capture the feel of a place.

Nicholas Marston, Professor of Music Theory and Analysis at King's College, Cambridge talks about a recently discovered musical 'doodle' by Beethoven which might tell us more about his most celebrated works, the Emperor Concerto.

Writer Michael Bird has written a book called Vincent's Starry Night which sets out to ignite young people's imagination through storytelling. Teacher Caroline Osborne believes a proper understanding of art history is a life skill which is as important as literacy and numeracy. Both join Samira to discuss how best to teach children about the history of art.

Presenter: Samira Ahmed

Producer: Rachel Simpson.

Samuel Pepys: Plague, Fire, Revolution, is the largest ever exhibition about the famous 17th-century diarist which takes a look at the time in which Pepys lived, from the execution of Charles I through the rule of Cromwell to the reinstatement of the monarchy with Charles II, all happening alongside plague, the Great Fire and war. John Wilson talks to the two curators, Robert Blyth and Kristian Martin.

Music historian Jon Savage discusses his new novel 1966: The Year The Decade Exploded. In it he argues that the events of 1966 - including the developments in the civil and women rights movements, the escalation of the Vietnam War, and the availability of LSD - resulted in an explosion of creativity which can be traced through the music charts from The Stones' 19th Nervous Breakdown to The Four Tops' Reach Out and I'll be There.

Dancer Dana Fouras on her return to the stage after almost 15 years, as her husband, the choreographer Russell Maliphant celebrates the 20th anniversary of his close artistic collaboration with lighting designer Michael Hulls.

Presenter John Wilson

Producer Jerome Weatherald.

Kirsty Lang talks to Saoirse Ronan, Oscar nominated at the age of 13 for Atonement, who plays an Irish immigrant in her new film Brooklyn, based on Colm Toibin's novel.

As Halloween approaches, unsurprisingly book publishers take advantage and countless book about ghosts have been appearing on our shelves. We take a look at three quite different examples and ask why our fascination with ghosts continues.

Susannah Clapp reviews The Old Vic's new production of The Hairy Ape, Eugene O'Neill's classic expressionist masterpiece. Yank, played by Bertie Carvel, is a labourer who revels in his status as the strongest stoker on a transatlantic ocean liner.

This week the opening of the house where Jimi Hendrix lived as a museum was announced. Kirsty hears from Benji Kirkpatrick, who will be playing at the opening, why he has made an album of the rock singer and electric guitar wizard's songs that are performed entirely acoustically and with no trace of a guitar.

Producer: Julian May.

Samira Ahmed talks to Will Sharpe about Flowers, the surreal Channel 4 sitcom he has written and directed, and in which he stars with Olivia Colman.

As part of our Shakespeare's People series, Don Warrington chooses the tragic figure of King Lear.

Tim Robey reviews Jane Got a Gun, a new Western starring Natalie Portman.

Yvvette Edwards discusses her novel The Mother, which is told from the perspective of a woman whose teenage son is stabbed. Yvvette was inspired to write when her own step son was the victim of random violence.

With Mark Lawson.

In the new film Paul, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost enjoy a close encounter with an alien during a visit to the USA. The film opens in British cinemas on Valentine's Day, as does the documentary Tantric Tourists, about a group of Americans seeking enlightenment in India. Front Row's reviewer is Ryan Gilbey.

Mike Skinner, creator, singer and producer of his one-man act The Streets, made his name with hits such as Fit But You Know It and Dry Your Eyes. He discusses his fifth and final album and life after ten years of the band.

Since her controversial first novel The Country Girls, which was banned in Ireland, author Edna O'Brien has written over 20 works of fiction. Now in her 80s, Edna O'Brien reflects on her new book Saints and Sinners, a collection of short stories which cover various aspects of life and longing both within and outside her original homeland.

Producer Jerome Weatherald.

With John Wilson.

The new sci-fi TV series Outcasts stars Hermione Norris, Ashley Walters, Liam Cunningham and Daniel Mays as settlers on the planet of Carpathia, faced with the arrival of the last known transportation of people from planet Earth. Boyd Hilton reviews.

The singer and songwriter PJ Harvey discusses her new album Let England Shake, which she recorded in a 19th century church on a Dorset cliff-top. Let England Shake is her eighth album and deals with war and conflict, from Gallipoli to Iraq and Afghanistan, and in particular the experience of civilians caught up in the fighting.

John reports on the phenomenon of crowdfunding. Jeremy Hunt, the Culture Secretary, has declared 2011 the 'year of corporate philanthropy', despite a decline in business sponsorship of the arts. So can 'crowdfunding' -the pooling of small sums given by many individuals - help plug the gaping financial holes left by cuts to state subsidy of the arts? We report on the launch of a new website which offers anyone the chance to invest in new arts projects using social networks, hear from the makers of a crowdfunded documentary film and talk to Sir Vernon Ellis, who gave £5million to the English National Opera.

Producer Nicki Paxman.

Sir James MacMillan discusses his 4th Symphony - his first for 13 years - premiering at tonight's Prom, and how it was inspired by ritual and the work of Renaissance composer Robert Carver. He also talks about his close relationship with the Scottish Symphony Orchestra and his recent knighthood.

Award-winning film-maker Penny Woolcock discusses her new installation, Utopia, created in collaboration with designers Block 9. Woolcock spent months uncovering the stories of members of the public to produce complex soundscapes that paint a portrait of contemporary London and cover issues from inequality to education, crime, housing and social media.

Dreda Say Mitchell reviews psychological thriller The Gift, in which an acquaintance from one man's past brings him mysterious gifts and a horrifying secret to light after more than 20 years.

As families across the land pack their bags and load up the car for the summer holidays, Adam Smith reflects on that cinematic staple 'the road trip', and what lessons we could learn from the big screen before setting off.

Presenter: Samira Ahmed

Producer: Rebecca Armstrong.

Arts news, interviews and reviews.

Spooks: The Greater Good brings the popular TV spy thriller series which ended in 2011 to the big screen with Kit Harington and Peter Firth. Will the move work? Antonia Quirke reviews.

Ethiopian American singer songwriter Meklit Hadero tells Kirsty about her second album We Are Alive and explains how it was influenced by a project to bring the nations of the Nile Basin together through music.

The theatre director Benji Reid, and the writer and poet Inua Ellams, discuss their new show, The Spalding Suite. Set in the world of British basketball, it uses live beatboxing, hip-hop, movement, and poetry.

The South African novelist Christopher Hope on his latest book, Jimfish, which - inspired by Voltaire's Candide - tells the story of an unusual young man's encounters with some of the most notorious tyrants of the 20th century.

And a piece of audio art will be broadcast tonight on Radio 4. The piece, The Quarryman's Daughters, was commissioned from artist Katrina Palmer by the BBC and Artangel. She discusses the differences between creating art for a gallery and for radio.

Presenter: Sarah Johnson

Producer: Kirsty Lang.

Stanley Tucci leads the cast in Peter and Wendy, ITV's adaptation of J M Barrie's classic, Peter Pan. Viv Groskop reviews the two-hour drama which also features singer Paloma Faith as Tinker Bell.

The poetry of Muriel Spark, George Orwell and Angela Carter - all important 20th century novelists - have recently been published. Front Row asks their editors what it reveals, and whether the poetry matches up to their prose.

Rosie Hood is a young folk singer who is just coming to the end of a year-long BBC Performing Arts Fellowship. She discusses the fellowship and how she has used it to research songs which were collected in her native Wiltshire a century ago.

Stephen King described Shirley Jackson' s 1959 novel, The Haunting of Hill House, as one of the finest horror stories he'd ever come across. Jackson's tale of a troubled young woman's visit to an old and abandoned house has now been adapted for the stage at Liverpool Playhouse. Novelist MJ Hyland reviews.

Presenter Kirsty Lang

Producer Jerome Weatherald.

John Wilson talks to Steven Spielberg about Bridge of Spies, his new Cold War thriller starring Tom Hanks and Mark Rylance.

A new exhibition at Tate Britain explores the art associated with the British Empire from the 16th century onwards.

This week Front Row talks to leading arts philanthropists, starting with Hannah Rothschild, recently appointed Chair of the National Gallery.

Sting discusses 57th and 9th, his first rock album in 13 years, the title being a reference to New York City, his adopted home for the last 35 years.

"Art was, seriously, the only thing I'd ever wanted to own." So said David Bowie, who gathered a huge and distinguished collection, particularly of post-war British painting. As an exhibition of the work opens at Sotheby's, ahead of its sale next month, Beth Greenacre, who was Bowie's curator, walks John Wilson around the collection and discusses what it reveals about him.

As part of the BBC's Love to Read campaign which celebrates the pleasures of reading, author Mark Haddon - best known for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - confesses to a classic book he's never read, and reads it especially for Front Row. His choice of classic book: John Bunyan's 1678 Christian allegory, The Pilgrim's Progress.

Enoch Powell's 1968 "Rivers of Blood" speech is at the heart of a new play that examines the shifting nature of identity. Playwright Chris Hannan and actor Ian McDiarmid discuss bringing Powell the man and Powell the politician to life in the premiere production of What Shadows at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre.

Presenter: John Wilson

Producer: Rebecca Armstrong.

John Wilson continues his look at those who made the headlines in the arts in 2015. From award winners Marlon James, Ali Smith and Benjamine Clementine to Glenda Jackson who returned to acting in Radio 4's Zola season. Sir Anthony Hopkins and Sir Ian McKellan worked together for the first time this year, Ai Wei Wei had a major exhibition at the Royal Academy and Amy Poehler starred in hit children's animation Inside Out. Michel Houellebecq and Claudia Rankine both wrote about issues affecting their countries, Josie Rourke and James Graham enthuse about The Vote play, Hugh Quarshie and Lucian Msamarti played Othello and Iago in the RSC's groundbreaking production, and Kazuo Ishiguro and Keith Richards reflect on careers that might have been.

Presenter: John Wilson

Producer: Rebecca Armstrong.

Sunken Cities: Egypt's Lost Worlds is the British Museum's first major show on underwater archaeology, and brings together more than 200 discoveries by the French diver and archaeologist Franck Goddio. It tells the tale of two cities, Thonis-Heracleion and Canopus, and the relationship between Greece and Egypt. Professor Edith Hall reviews.

John Carney' s film Once won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 2007. The writer and director discusses his latest film Sing Street, about a boy growing up in Dublin during the 1980s who escapes his strained family life by starting a band to impress the mysterious girl he likes.

Han Kang, winner of the 2016 Man Booker International prize, talks to John about her novel The Vegetarian. The story centres on an ordinary wife, Yeong-hye and her ordinary husband, whose lives change dramatically when Yeong-hye decides to stop eating meat.

As his Hellens Music Festival prepares to open, the concert pianist Christian Blackshaw explains why less is more when it comes to interpreting the great composers.

Presenter: John Wilson

Producer: Ella-mai Robey.

The acclaimed ballet and contemporary dancer Sylvie Guillem reflects on her career spanning almost 35 years and tells John Wilson about her final programme of work.

The acclaimed ballet and contemporary dancer Sylvie Guillem reflects on her final programme of work Life in Progress, a Sadler's Wells production at London's Coliseum. The performances include new and existing work by choreographers who have influenced her contemporary career.

The late Albert Maysels's last documentary is Iris, a portrayal of 93 year old New York fashion icon Iris Apfel. Her story is full of colour, from her design projects at the White House to her own line of bold accessories and the retrospective show at the Metropolitan Museum which brought her fame in 2005. Rachel Cooke reviews.

Nicholas Collon is the Principal Conductor of the Aurora Orchestra. A British chamber orchestra formed in 2005, they've gained a reputation for taking an unexpected approach to classical music. True to their ethos, at last year's Proms they performed Mozart's 40th Symphony from memory - this year they take on Beethoven's 6th, the Pastoral Symphony - an even greater challenge. So what are the gains in playing from memory - and what could possibly go wrong?!

As the Beatles' film Help! turns 50 this week, Kate Mossman considers why films where pop stars play versions of themselves have disappeared from screens, replaced by warts and all behind the scenes documentaries.

Presenter : John Wilson

Producer : Dymphna Flynn.

Ellen Page stars in new Netflix film Tallulah as a rootless young woman who spontaneously steals a child from an irresponsible mother. Hannah McGill reviews the film which was written and directed by Sian Heder, who also writes for the TV series Orange is the New Black.

John Cale discusses his participation in the David Bowie Prom, which also features Laura Mvula and Marc Almond, in a celebration of the music of the singer who died in January.

A production of Sean O'Casey's The Plough and the Stars has just opened at the National Theatre in London, which tells the story of the Easter Rising and the attempt to end British rule in Ireland. O'Casey's daughter Shivaun, historian Dr Heather Jones, and Sean Holmes - director of the Lyric Hammersmith - discuss whether it still has the power to challenge an audience 100 years since the Easter Rising.

Presenter John Wilson

Producer Jerome Weatherald.

Ellen Page in Tallulah, John Cale on tomorrow's David Bowie Prom.

Samira Ahmed talks to director Quentin Tarantino about his new Western, The Hateful Eight, which stars Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Tim Roth and Jennifer Jason Leigh and is scored Ennio Morricone. Tarantino explains why he sees contemporary resonances in this period piece.

And we announce the category winners for the Costa Book Awards and hear from the winner of the novelist category.

Presenter: Samira Ahmed

Producer: Elaine Lester.

Terry Gilliam discusses how an idyllic childhood in working class Minnesota led to his unique and anarchic style of cut out animation; and on to becoming a member of Monty Python, and one of the most inventive film directors of modern times.

In an extended interview he talks to John Wilson about the influences on his work and his recurring themes - of the battle against bureaucracy, surveillance and consumerist greed.

Presenter John Wilson

Producer Ella-mai Robey.

The winners of the BBC National Short Story Award and Young Writer's Award are announced.

John Wilson hosts the BBC National Short Story Award live from the BBC Radio Theatre.

This year's shortlisted authors are Hilary Mantel, K J Orr, Tahmima Anam, Claire-Louise Bennett and Lavinia Greenlaw. Four of the five join John on stage to discuss their stories and explore the art of writing a short story.

The winner of the £15000 prize will be announced by Chair of Judges, Jenni Murray.

In addition, Radio 1 DJ Alice Levine will announce the winner of the BBC Young Writer's Award.

The BBC National Short Story Award is presented in conjunction with BookTrust.

Presenter John Wilson

Producer Rebecca Armstrong.

The Assassin is the first film from Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-Hsien for 8 years and his take on 'wuxia', a martial hero genre of Chinese fiction traditionally found in literature. The plot re-imagines a Tang Dynasty legend about a female assassin, and stars Shu Qi. Mark Eccleston reviews.

Crime writer Peter May returns to the Hebrides for his latest novel, Coffin Road, in which a man washed up on a beach with no memory of who he is, searches for clues to an identity which may prove him a murderer.

Attacking the Devil: Harold Evans and the Last Nazi War Crime is a new film documentary which charts Harold Evans's tenure as editor of The Sunday Times. The film's co-directors Jacqui and David Morris discuss the film and their focus in particular on the investigation by Evans's Insight team to expose the truth behind the thalidomide scandal of the late 50s and early 60s, that left thousands of babies born with severe physical deformities.

Presenter: Kirsty Lang

Producer: Ella-mai Robey.

New film The Birth of a Nation takes the title from DW Griffith's 1915 silent film but not much else. Directed by and starring Nate Parker, it tells the true story of an 1831 slave rebellion in Virginia. Ashley Clarke reviews.

Poet Ruth Padel discusses her latest book Tidings, a narrative Christmas poem about a little girl, a homeless man and a fox. It takes the reader all around the world, from St Pancras churchyard in London to Bethlehem, Australia and New York.

Joan Eardley's painting career lasted only 15 years but, at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh, her work gets more requests than Picasso. The gallery's curator Patrick Elliott discusses a new exhibition of her work alongside composer Helen Grime, whose composition Snow is inspired by Eardley's paintings.

In the spring of 1995, actor Mark Lockyer was playing Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet for the Royal Shakespeare Company when he was overcome with anxiety, fear and paranoia. It was the start of a bipolar attack. Now he has turned that experience into a one man show called Living With The Lights On at the Young Vic in London.

Presenter: Kirsty Lang

Producer: Angie Nehring.

Tonight's Front Row tests how much you've been paying attention to cultural events this year.

With quiz master John Wilson is Boyd Hilton, the film and TV editor of Heat magazine, writer and broadcaster Ekow Eshun, Charlotte Higgins, who is the chief culture writer of the Guardian, and film critic Rhianna Dhillon. So can you beat their score?

Are artists owed a living? John Wilson hosts a public debate at the Hull Truck Theatre.

Are artists owed a living? John Wilson hosts a public debate at the Hull Truck theatre with a panel of high-profile guests and a live audience to mark the launch of the BBC's Get Creative campaign and to open a national conversation exploring the relationship between the state and the arts.

Producer: Dixi Stewart.

Front Row reveals this year's Costa Book Awards shortlist. Critic Alex Clark comments on the authors chosen in the five categories; novel, first novel, poetry, biography and children's fiction.

The Hunger Games' film franchise reaches its conclusion with Mockingjay: Part 2, with Jennifer Lawrence reprising her role as the rebellious Katniss Everdeen for the last time. Sophia McDougall reviews the film which is released in UK cinemas this week.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is best-known as the leading National Basketball Association scorer, but he is also a best-selling author. His latest book, Mycroft Holmes, is a thriller about Sherlock Holmes' older brother. So how did an American come to write about this very English character?

Andrew Collins assesses the new TV adaptation of The Man In The High Castle, based on Philip K Dick's novel about America after an Axis victory in the Second World War, and which boasts Ridley Scott as executive producer.

Presenter: Samira Ahmed

Studio Producer: Angie Nehring.

In Front Row tonight: The Last Kingdom, the BBC's epic new drama series about the Vikings' invasion of Anglo-Saxon England. Nina Ramirez reviews.

Kirsty Lang visits a huge exhibition at the British Library of literature and music from West Africa - from the great African empires of the Middle Ages to the cultural dynamism of the region today.

The director Guillermo del Toro, who has made films in many genres - fairy tale, horror, monsters - embraces the Gothic in his latest, Crimson Peak, and tells Kirsty how, for a Mexican such as he, ghosts are an every day reality.

More than 200 poems by the great 18th century haiku author and painter Yosa Buson have just been discovered in a library near Kyoto. Stephen Gill, a poet and translator who lives nearby reports on the significance of this find.

Kirsty speaks to Robert Seethaler whose A Whole Life describes the world of a man of few words in the Austrian Alps. A slim novel, it condenses the story of Andreas Egger into the episodes that shaped his life, amid the magnificent and dangerous mountains that take the lives of those he loves. His novel is part of the Radio 4 series, Reading Europe and can be heard next week every night at 22.45pm.

Kirsty Lang talks to actresses Uzo Aduba, Laura Carmichael and Zawe Ashton, who are starring in Jean Genet's play The Maids.

Tim Parks discusses his new novel Thomas and Mary - A Love Story, about a middle aged couple going through a difficult time in their relationship.

Lois Walpole is an artist who has gathered nets and ropes washed up onto the shores of Shetland and woven them into baskets and sculptures for her new exhibition at Shetland Museum in Lerwick.

With Mark Lawson, who focuses on the making of the film The King's Speech, ahead of Sunday's Academy Award ceremony, where it heads the field with 12 Oscar nominations. Mark talks to members of the cast and production team, including Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter, director Tom Hooper and Screenplay writer David Seidler.

Producer Nicki Paxman.

The Mercury Prize shortlist and playwrights Colin Spencer and Jon Brittain on gay theatre.

The Ones Below is a dark and tense thriller, focussing on the relationship between two sets of first time expectant parents. After a tragic accident, a divide develops between them and a series of sinister clues lead to an unsettling discovery. Kate Muir, film critic for The Times, joins Kirsty Lang to discuss David Farr's big screen directorial debut.

Afghan rapper and activist Sonita shares her experience of almost being sold into a forced marriage and director Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami describes her award-winning documentary telling Sonita's story, screened at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival this evening and next week.

The BBC's Arts Editor and former Media Director at the Tate, Will Gompertz, considers the impact of BP's decision to end its sponsorship of the gallery after 26 years.

As the BBC announce a season celebrating sitcoms, Boyd Hilton takes a look at its latest comedy offering Stop/Start. The pilot episode airs tonight as part of the long running series Comedy Playhouse which gave birth to TV classics Steptoe and Son and Are You Being Served.

Joey will gallop around the West End stage for the last time when War Horse ends, after 7 years, tomorrow night. The extraordinary puppetry has attracted a lot of attention, but crucial to the play's success has been the music. This draws on folk song, which melds with classical orchestration. Director Tom Morris, and song-maker John Tams explain their approach, and Tim van Eyken, who was the original Songman in the National Theatre's production, plays and sings live in the Front Row studio.

Samira Ahmed talks to director Penny Woolcock and conductor Harry Christophers about a new version of Bach's St Matthew Passion, performed by homeless people in Manchester.

Viv Groskop reviews Disney's animation, Zootropolis.

Director Max Stafford-Clark on his new production of Samuel Becket's play All That Fall, in which the audience are blindfolded.

And Bridget Kendall reviews Blue Eyes, the Swedish TV drama series about far-right extremists.

Exhibitionism: The Rolling Stones features over 500 items including backstage paraphernalia, costumes, video footage, and personal diaries. Music critic Kate Mossman takes a look.

Hans Rosenfeldt, creator of Scandinavian crime drama The Bridge, discusses writing his first UK drama Marcella, starring Anna Friel.

Arctic Monkeys singer Alex Turner has returned with his side project The Last Shadow Puppets. He joins John to talk about how his songwriting has evolved for their second album Everything You've Come To Expect.

Plus Sir Ian McKellen chooses one of Shakespeare's darkest characters, the Machiavellian Richard III, for our new series Shakespeare's People.

Presenter: John Wilson

Producer: Ella-mai Robey.

The Royals is the first scripted drama from the E! channel which launched the careers of the Kardashians. It centres on a fictional Royal Family where Elizabeth Hurley plays the Queen and Joan Collins the Queen Mother. As the programme launches in the UK, Boyd Hilton explains why American TV has such a fascination with our most famous family.

Ahead of The Flatpack Film Festival which is celebrating the work of documentary film-maker Philip Donnellan, Folk singer Peggy Seeger discusses working with Ewan MacColl on the Radio Ballad documentaries, which inspired Donnellan's work.

Abstract painter and printmaker Sean Scully uses oils to create thickly-layered panels and blocks, representing urban contemporary life. As the two-times Turner Prize nominee prepares to show his work at this year's Venice Biennale, Scully talks to John about comparisons of his art to Lego and what prompted him to start using the colour green again.

The Green Fuse, Front Row's series in which artists talk about their response to spring and choose a work which expresses spring for them, continues with the composer Anna Meredith. She discusses Wake Up by the Canadian band Arcade Fire.

Presenter: John Wilson

Producer: Ellie Bury.

The Royal Shakespeare Company's latest production of Hamlet sees Paapa Essiedu become the first black actor in the company's history to take on the title role. Theatre critic Susannah Clapp joins Samira Ahmed to review it. Hamlet runs until August 13th and will be in cinemas from June 8th.

Culture Minister Ed Vaizey discusses his new Culture White Paper, the first for 50 years.

Director Zack Snyder on his new film Batman v Superman.

Electronic group Underworld have released their ninth album, Barbara Barbara We Face A Shining Future. One half of the duo Karl Hyde tells us about synaesthesia, music as architecture and whether their biggest track, Born Slippy, is an albatross round their neck.

Producer: Dixi Stewart.

The Walk, a new film from director Robert Zemeckis, charts high wire artist Philippe Petit's tightrope walk between the twin towers of the World Trade Centre. Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Petit and Ben Kingsley as his mentor, it gives a fantastical spin to the real life event that stunned the world in 1974. Critic Sophia McDougall reviews.

Poet Simon Armitage concludes the theatrical story he began last year with a play drawn from Homer's The Iliad, by bringing The Odyssey: Missing Presumed Dead to the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool. He explains his modern retelling of Homer's classic in which Smith - a senior government minister - plunges back into ancient Greece to become Odysseus and encounters creatures such as the Cyclops and the Sirens on his long journey back to the present day.

Unforgotten is a new TV crime drama starring Nicola Walker and Sanjeev Bhaskar as detectives investigating the murder of a boy in 1976; the year of the Notting Hill Riots, the birth of Punk, and the great heat wave. Crime writer Dreda Say Mitchell reviews.

Bernard Sumner, one of the founding members of New Order, talks about the group's tenth studio album, Music Complete. He discusses the return to the classic New Order sound, his difficult relationship with bass guitarist Peter Hook and how the band's music has contributed to the urban regeneration of Manchester.

Presenter John Wilson

Producer Ella-mai Robey.

The playwright Timberlake Wertenbaker talks to Kirsty Lang about her new play, Jefferson's Garden, which looks at how the contradictions surrounding the subject of race, that lie at the heart of modern-day America, were established by the Founding Fathers.

Mila Kunis and Eddie Redmayne star in Jupiter Ascending, the latest sci-fi adventure from the Wachowskis, celebrated for The Matrix and Cloud Atlas. Author Sophia McDougall reviews.

As BBC Radio 4 launches Reading Europe, a series of dramatised modern European novels, beginning in France, Damian Barr visits Paris. He talks to critic Sylvain Bourmeau about the recent novels that throw light on contemporary France. He chooses La Petite Foule (The Small Crowd) by Christine Angot; Cendrillon (Cinderella) by Eric Reinhardt; and Vernon Subutex, 1, by Virginie Despentes. He also talks about Soumission (Submission) by Michel Houellebecq, the novel that became embroiled in the recent Charlie Hebdo tragedy.

And in the light of BFI figures showing a surge in film production in the UK last year, Adrian Wootton of the British Film Commission and Film London discusses why the industry is booming.

Presenter: Kirsty Lang

Producer: Sarah Johnson.

Timothy Spall talks to John Wilson about his return to the stage. It's at the Old Vic but is scarcely glamorous. He's playing Davies in Pinter's The Caretaker. "He's a hobo," Spall says, "a dosser." He and John discuss the attractions and challenges of playing such as character.

Catherine Tate chooses the outspoken and witty Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing, as part of our Shakespeare's People series.

Writer and critic Michael Carlson reviews the TV adaptation of Stephen King's novel 11.22.63. James Franco plays a teacher who discovers a time portal that leads to October 21st, 1960 and goes on a quest to prevent the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

As a display of twenty-two intricate paintings of Dutch Flowers goes on show at the National Gallery, curator Betsy Wieseman tells us the story of the growth of a genre, which began in the Netherlands in the early 1600s.

Presenter: John Wilson

Producer: Jack Soper.

Actor Toby Jones and screenwriter Peter Bowker on new BBC television drama Capital, based on John Lanchester's novel. The three part series is set in a gentrified south London street whose residents are targeted in a mysterious campaign.

If you've ever sat on re-dial or constantly refreshing a website, trying to get a ticket to a concert or event, you may want to contribute to the Government's consultation on the ticket touts harvesting tickets (some using computer software) in huge numbers to sell on at inflated prices. Consumer group Which? is lobbying for changes to the secondary ticket market to enable genuine fans to buy tickets at a fair price. Pete Moorey, head of campaigns at Which? and promoter Harvey Goldsmith discuss the effect ticket touts have on the market and discuss ways of combating the problem.

Saeed Jaffrey, veteran star of Bollywood and British cinema has died at the age of 86. Actor Adil Ray pays tribute to Jaffrey, and his influential roles in Gandhi, My Beautiful Laundrette as well as more recently Coronation Street.

The last couple of years have been particularly good for the 'mature' film director, with Ridley Scott, George Miller, Clint Eastwood and Martin Scorsese among those whose recent movies have been box-office gold. Adam Smith considers the winners and losers in the all-important numbers game.

Presenter: John Wilson

Producer: Elaine Lester.

Arts news, interviews and reviews.

John Wilson talks to Sir Tom Jones, as he publishes his first autobiography (Over the Top and Back) and a new album (Long Lost Suitcase).

Antonia Quirke reviews The Lobster, a new film starring Colin Farrell and Olivia Coleman.

Mexican artist Abraham Cruzvillegas turns the Turbine Hall at Tate Modern into a giant allotment.

And why are the films Spectre and Suffragette being released on a Monday?

With Mark Lawson

Sir Tom Stoppard has written Darkside, a new radio play starring Bill Nighy and Rufus Sewell, to mark the 40th anniversary of Pink Floyd's album The Dark Side of the Moon. In discussing the play Stoppard talks about thought experiments, moral philosophers, and Mamma Mia.

Elysium is a science fiction thriller set in a future where privileged elite live on the space station Elysium while the rest of the population remains on a damaged earth. Directed by Neill Blomkamp, who is best known for his politically charged 2009 film District 9, the sci-fi blockbuster stars Jodie Foster as the ruler of Elysium and Matt Damon as the man trying to break across the divide. Naomi Alderman reviews.

Charlaine Harris is best known for her Sookie Stackhouse series which inspired the True Blood TV drama. Harris discusses her distinct Southern gothic style, books which fell short of her aspirations and how fans reacted angrily to the conclusion of her famous vampire series.

Producer Claire Bartleet.

Tom Stoppard discusses the new production of his "dishevelled comedy" Travesties, Brexit and his desire to write a new play about the migrant crisis.

The Girl on The Train, Paula Hawkins' thriller about a divorced alcoholic who becomes caught up in a missing person investigation, has sold 11 million copies worldwide and been turned into a film starring Emily Blunt. But has the transition onto the silver screen and the move from London to New York worked? Mark Eccleston reviews.

We report from Shapes of Water, Sounds of Hope, a mass participatory performance artwork, led by the distinguished American artist Suzanne Lacy which took place in Pendle, Lancashire this weekend.

As a new exhibition opens exploring the Feminist Avant-Garde of the 1970s, artist Lynn Hershman Leeson and historian Professor Hilary Robinson look back at those years and ask if there's still a need for feminist art today?

And we remember the conductor and violinist Sir Neville Marriner, who has died aged 92.

Presenter: Samira Ahmed

Producer: Rachel Simpson.

The Turner Prize exhibition opens at Tramway in Glasgow - the art critic Moira Jeffrey takes us on a tour of the highlights. The Turner Prize is awarded to a British artist under 50 for an outstanding exhibition or other presentation of their work in the preceding year and the winner will be announced in December. This year's four shortlisted artists are Assemble, Bonnie Camplin, Janice Kerbel and Nicole Wermers.

To celebrate 100 years from Arthur Miller's birth, two British theatres are currently staging one of his best known plays. Written in the 1950s, at the height of the McCarthy witch hunt, The Crucible continues to be relevant today despite being set in the 17th century. Theatre director Caroline Steinbeis, from Manchester's Royal Exchange, joins Tom Morris, Artistic director at the Bristol Old Vic, to discuss their two productions and the play's continued cultural resonance.

Gabriele Finaldi, the new director of the National Gallery, discusses his role as the head of one of the UK's most high profile cultural institutions. He explains his plans for the future of the gallery and discusses the challenges ahead, at a time when funding for the arts has taken a hit. Canadian writer Patrick deWitt talks about his new novel, Undermajordomo Minor, a subversive take on the fairy tale genre. The book is his follow-up to the Man Booker shortlisted The Sisters Brothers in 2011 which became a best-seller.

Presenter: Samira Ahmed

Producer: Elaine Lester.

With Kirsty Lang.

Novelist and award-winning poet Sophie Hannah talks about her new psychological thriller, Lasting Damage.

Rachel Unthank and Adrian McNally discuss making music to mark the North East's shipbuilding past, and explain why The Unthanks' new album won't be their last.

Crime-fiction writer Natasha Cooper reviews Silk, a new TV drama starring Maxine Peake and Rupert Penry-Jones as two barristers competing to become a QC. One of Cooper's most famous heroines, Trish Maguire, is a barrister and features in titles such as Creeping Ivy and Prey to All.

David Lewis has created one of the largest private collections of Old Masters in Britain. As works from his collection go on display at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, he looks back at how it all began.

Producer Ella-mai Robey.

Italian writer and public intellectual Umberto Eco takes a savagely satirical look at the media in his new novel, Numero Zero. Set in 1992, the plot revolves around a dummy newspaper, destined for blackmail not publication, and a vast international conspiracy surrounding Mussolini, a body double, and his escape abroad. He reflects on growing up under Fascist rule, the search for truth in a world of accelerating technological change and the future for Italy.

On the eve of Armistice Day, former Pink Floyd front man Roger Waters reflects on the impact losing his father in the Second World War had on his life and his signature work - The Wall.

The film Tangerine is a tale of friendship and solidarity between two prostitutes on Santa Monica's Boulevard. But there is a pioneering aspect to Sean Baker's comedy, since his two protagonists are trans-sexual, and the film was shot on mobile phones. The trans-gender critic and writer Juliet Jacques reviews the film and discusses the wider issues of the portrayal of trans-gender people in contemporary culture.

On the day that the hotly-anticipated role-playing video game Fallout 4 is released, film writer Adam Smith considers the ramifications for a possible strike by video game voice-over artists who are keen for more recognition in a market that is estimated to be worth 45 billion dollars.

Geoff Posner, who produced Victoria Wood's first TV Show and then went on to work with her on other TV shows including Dinner Ladies, shares his memories and discusses how important she was in terms of paving the way for other female comedians.

In our continuing series Shakespeare's People, Lucian Msamati nominates Iago.

Curtis Sittenfeld, author of American Wife, talks about her new novel, Eligible. Set in Cincinnati, it's a modern-day re-telling of Pride and Prejudice, with Liz Bennet as a successful magazine journalist, and Darcy as a neurosurgeon.

Maya Sondhi is perhaps best known for her role as the long-suffering daughter in Citizen Khan, or currently as WPC Maneet Bindra in Line of Duty. Maya Sondhi discusses Sket, the first play she has written, which examines the sexualisation of teenagers, which opened last night.

Presenter Samira Ahmed

Producer Rebecca Armstrong.

We're Doomed is Private Fraser's catchphrase from Dad's Army and the title of a new BBC drama which reveals what went on behind the scenes in the making of the comedy series before the first episode was aired in 1968. Chris Dunkley reviews.

Kirsty Lang talks to Coralie Bickford-Smith about her beautiful children's book The Fox and The Star which won the Waterstones Book of the Year, 2015.

Andrew Scott, who played Moriarty in Sherlock, returns to the stage, in a disused art studio full of junk. Director Simon Evans and designer Ben Stones talk about staging The Dazzle, about two brothers who filled their elegant New York house with, altogether, 136 tons of discarded objects.

And a discussion on the impact of big musicals on tour have on original theatre being made around the country.

With John Wilson, including a review of the film West Is West, a sequel to the hit 1999 film East Is East, about a British Pakistani family living in Salford in 1971. This sequel jumps forward to 1975 and focuses on the difficult relationship between George Khan (Om Puri) and his 15 year old son Sajid. Mishal Husain reviews.

The National Gallery is staging the first solo exhibition of the Flemish painter, Jan Gossaert, for over 40 years. He travelled to Rome in 1509 and was the first northern artist to draw directly from antiquity in Italy and a founder of the Northern Renaissance. Curated by Dr Susan Foister, who feels Gossaert has been unfairly overlooked in recent times, the exhibition displays more than 80 of his works.

John Wilson visits the exhibition with Dr Susan Foister and Professor Jerry Brotton, Professor of Renaissance Studies at Queen Mary College, University of London.

Radiohead have released their 8th album, The Kings of Limbs. The band invited fans to pay what they wanted for their last album, Rainbow. The new album has been released initially as a download only and has a set price. A CD and vinyl version is being released on 28 March. Caspar Llewellyn Smith gives his verdict on Radiohead's shortest album.

Steven Berkoff is directing and starring in his own new adaptation of Oedipus. He discusses with John Wilson why Greek drama appeals to him, his dislike of "small plays" and why he relishes both the luxury of playing film roles and the pleasurable pain of playing theatre roles.

Producer: Philippa Ritchie.

We review Reese Witherspoon's new film, Wild. Adapted from Cheryl Strayed's memoir by Nick Hornby, it's the story of Cheryl's 1,100 mile solo trek on the Pacific Crest Trail, to recover from recent catastrophic events in her life.

Director Angus Jackson and playwright Tom Morton-Smith discuss their new play, Oppenheimer, about 'the father of the atom bomb', J. Robert Oppenheimer. The play is set against the backdrop of hedonistic 1930s America, and explores the tension at the heart of the Manhattan Project.

Canadian soprano Barbara Hannigan talks about the extraordinary leaps she is able to make with her voice and how she is taking on more and more conducting (often while singing).

Plus, we talk to judge Fiona Sampson about the David Harsent's collection Fire Songs which has won the TS Eliot Prize for Poetry 2014.

Simon Callow discusses Orson Welles: One Man Band, the third volume in his exploration of the life and work of one of cinema's greatest mavericks.

This week Front Row talks to leading arts philanthropists; today to Michael Oglesby, founder of the Bruntwood Group.

A survivor's account of the Bradford stadium fire, and a controversial boxing match that left one fighter dead are the subjects of two of the six books on this year's William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award. Samira hears from all the shortlisted authors at the awards ceremony, and reveals the winner of the 2015 prize.

Shortlisted books:

Speed Kings by Andy Bull

Living on the Volcano: The Secrets of Surviving as a Football Manager by Michael Calvin

Fifty-Six: The Story of the Bradford Fire by Martin Fletcher

The Game of Our Lives: The Meaning and Making of English Football by David Goldblatt

Fire in Babylon: How a West Indies Cricket Team Brought a People to its Feet by Simon Lister

A Man's World: The Double Life of Emile Griffith by Donald McRae

Presenter: Samira Ahmed

Producer: Rebecca Armstrong.

Hilary Mantel's Tudor novel-turned-stage-play Wolf Hall makes its transition to TV starring Mark Rylance and Damian Lewis. Sarah Crompton reviews the six-part adaptation.

Michael Boyd, former artistic director of the RSC, discusses directing opera for the first time, with his production of Monteverdi's Orfeo at the Roundhouse in London.

Matt Thorne reviews new film Whiplash, about a big band drummer and his difficult relationship with his controlling instructor Fletcher, played by J K Simmons who won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor this week.

Stuart Murdoch of Glaswegian band Belle and Sebastian, former winners of the Best Newcomer Brit Award, discusses the literary influences on new album Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance.

New Government figures show the UK's creative industries add £8.8 million pounds an hour to the economy - something to celebrate or a cause for concern? Jan Dalley of the Financial Times assesses the data.

Presenter Samira Ahmed

Producer Jerome Weatherald.

Yerma starring Billie Piper, Todd Solondz on Wiener Dog, Kirill Gerstein on Tchaikovsky.

The winner of this year's BBC Young Musician of the Year, 17-year-old cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, discusses Shostakovich and Britain's Got Talent.

Bryan Singer has directed his fourth instalment of the X-Men series since he began the superhero franchise 16 years ago. We talk to him about the biblical scale of new film, X-Men: Apocalypse.

As part of preparations to mark its 250th anniversary, the Royal Academy of Arts in London has commissioned the artist Yinka Shonibare to create a major new public artwork, which was unveiled today. The artist discusses his approach to creating his 71-metre-wide canvas, which features photographs from the RA's archive, as well as Shonibare's distinctive colourful textiles.

On Saturday the winner of the International Dylan Thomas Prize was announced. Awarded for the best published literary work of fiction in the English language, it was won by Max Porter for Grief is the Thing with Feathers - part novella, part polyphonic fable, part essay on grief. He talks to Samira.

Playwright Katherine Chandler discusses her new production Bird for which she won the much-coveted Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting in 2013.

Presenter: Samira Ahmed

Producer: Rebecca Armstrong.

Kirsty Lang talks to director Jonathan Kent and the rising star Olivia Vinall about Chichester Festival Theatre's Young Chekhov season. Instead of the familiar, and great, later plays - Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard - Jonathan Kent has assembled an ensemble of 23 actors to perform three of his earliest works, Ivanov, The Seagull and Platonov, in new versions by David Hare. Kent argues that Chekhov was a radical new voice, and Vinall, who is in all the plays, talks about tackling three different roles, all on the same day.

Mississippi Grind is a new gambling, road trip movie starring Ben Mendelsohn and Ryan Reynolds as two down-and-out, inveterate gamblers. The two men bring out the worst in each other but also find redemption in their friendship as they make their way round the casinos of the Southern States. Sophia McDougall reviews. Mississippi Grind opens on general release Friday 23 October cert 15.

Austrian novelist Robert Seethaler's sparse new book A Whole Life tells the story of Andreas Egger, who lives a quiet life in the mountains, touched by tragedy but at peace with his intimate knowledge of the landscape and his place in it. Robert discusses how our lives find meaning in the key moments, and how he conveys this in his writing.

Presenter: Kirsty Lang

Producer: Elaine Lester.

Arts news, interviews and reviews.

We celebrate the life and work of the award winning writer William Trevor, renowned for his short stories and novels. His editor, Tony Lacey, and poet Paul Muldoon pay tribute.

Novelist and essayist, Zadie Smith (White Teeth, On Beauty, NW) talks to Kirsty about black and white musicals, childhood friendships, and dancing, as she discusses her new novel, Swing Time.

Tim Robey reviews Robert Zemeckis' romantic thriller Allied, which stars Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard as two World War II spies who fall in love while on undercover assignment in Casablanca.

Lucy Kirkwood, who's 2013 play Chimerica launched her as a playwright to watch, returns to the stage with The Children. It focuses on three retired nuclear physicists living under the shadow of a disaster in their former workplace. Kirsty Lang speaks to Lucy about the play and about our responsibility to the generations to come.

Presenter: Kirsty Lang

Producer: Rebecca Armstrong.

Published in 2012, Zadie Smith's postcode-named novel NW was seen as a lyrical love letter to north-west London. This contemporary tale of the entwined lives of four Londoners has now been adapted for television. Critic Gaylene Gould reviews.

Roger Bowdler of Historic England reveals its mission to get 2,500 war memorials listed by November 2018. He announces 50, and another nine by the controversial sculptor Eric Gill, and discusses what a war memorial can reveal about its location and the people it's dedicated to.

Norman Ackroyd is widely considered one of Britain's great landscape artists. As a young man in the 1960s he rejected the lure of pop art and devoted his energy to capturing the coastline of Britain in black and white etchings. As his work goes on show in Norman Ackroyd: Just Be A Poet, he invites us to his studio to see how he works.

For its 90th birthday, Rambert is performing Haydn's The Creation with 100 dancers, musicians and singers. Artistic director Mark Baldwin discusses this new work as well as the state of contemporary dance in the UK.

Presenter John Wilson

Producer Jerome Weatherald.

As the death of the architect Zaha Hadid is announced, Samira talks to Sir Peter Cook, Amanda Levete and Hugh Pearman and discusses why she was such a influential, ground-breaking architect.

Jeremy Irons talks to Samira about playing Cambridge maths professor G. H. Hardy in 'The Man Who Knew Infinity' - a film based on the real life story of self-taught Indian mathematics genius Srinivasa Ramanujan.

Ronnie Corbett is remembered by Steve Punt and producer Paul Jackson.

Earlier this year celebrated architect Zaha Hadid died suddenly in Miami. Now, as the Serpentine Gallery exhibits a collection of her early drawings and a new wing of the Science Museum designed by the architect opens to the public, Front Row considers the breadth of her work.

Last month, 90-year-old British film editor Anne V Coates received an honorary Oscar - her second statuette. She won an Oscar for editing Lawrence of Arabia in 1963. Anne discusses her remarkable career which has included cutting David Lynch's The Elephant Man, Stephen Soderbergh's Out of Sight and, just last year, Sam Taylor-Johnson's 50 Shades of Grey.

In Jennifer Aniston's new film the office Christmas bash, that annual opportunity for excruciating embarrassment, assumes new significance. The office workers have to host an epic Christmas do in an effort to impress a potential client and close the sale that will save their jobs. The cast includes Kate McKinnon, of Saturday Night Live. Laroushka Ivan-Zadeh reviews Office Christmas Party, and casts her eye over the other Christmas films.

Producer: Julian May.