Front Row: Archive 2011

BBC Radio 4

Magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music.

  1. 03/01/2012

    Writers including PD James and Anthony Horowitz take on classic characters

    Mark Lawson talks to novelists who have taken on another writer's characters, including P D James, who wrote a Pride and Prejudice sequel, Anthony Horowitz, creator of a new Sherlock Holmes story, Jeffery Deaver, author of the latest James Bond book, and Frank Cottrell Boyce, who took on another of Ian Fleming's creations - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. And what happens to a novel left unfinished when a writer dies? Incomplete manuscripts left by British novelist Beryl Bainbridge and American writer Michael Crichton were posthumously brought to publication this year, with the help of editor Brendan King and scientific journalist Richard Preston respectively. They discuss how they approached this poignant task, and A N Wilson, writer and friend of Beryl Bainbridge, reflects on the process. Producer Katie Langton.

    29 min

  2. 29/12/2011

    Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, Bruce Forsyth and Jack Jones

    John Wilson talks to singers Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, Jack Jones and Bruce Forsyth, whose careers began before rock and roll, and whose combined performing experience totals over 200 years. They reflect on the art of 'intimate singing', their inspirations, and the art of sustaining a career in a business which has changed radically over seven decades. Producer Jerome Weatherald.

    29 min

  3. 28/12/2011

    Writers from India and Pakistan

    Kirsty Lang examines how writers from India and Pakistan are tackling social and political shifts, with Booker-winner Aravind Adiga, Aatish Taseer, Mohammed Hanif and Moni Mohsin. All have published fiction in the past year with a focus on complex current issues in their respective countries, including terrorism in Pakistan and the huge social changes brought about by India's economic boom. They also reflect on the differences between readers in the Indian subcontinent and those who live outside it, and discuss how - as Aravind Adiga reveals - a warm critical reception in the UK is no guarantee of critical praise at home. Producer Rebecca Nicholson.

    29 min

  4. 27/12/2011

    Singers Joseph Calleja, Ian Bostridge, Mark Padmore and Iestyn Davies

    Mark Lawson talks to three tenors and a counter-tenor: Joseph Calleja (pictured), Ian Bostridge, Mark Padmore and Iestyn Davies reflect on repertoire, singing teachers and the perils of phlegm. Producer Georgia Mann.

    28 min

  5. 23/12/2011

    Dominic West; Tracey Emin; Tom Hooper; Great British Bake Off; Inbetweeners

    Mark Lawson unwraps a further selection of new interviews with arts headline makers of 2011. Stage and screen actor Dominic West discusses playing serial murderer Fred West, Shakespeare's Iago, and upper-class anchorman Hector Madden in The Hour. Tracey Emin, newly-appointed Professor of Drawing at the Royal Academy, reflects on opening the new Turner Contemporary gallery in her home town of Margate, her solo show at the Hayward Gallery, London, and her art-work for 10 Downing Street. Director Tom Hooper considers the success of his Oscar-winning film The King's Speech, and how almost a year after its release it is still winning awards. Another British film The Inbetweeners, based on the TV comedy, has taken more than £45 million at the UK box office and is the biggest-selling DVD this Christmas. Writers Iain Morris and Damon Beesley reveal how far they are prepared to push the cast. And Mark meets Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood, judges on The Great British Bake Off, one of the year's unexpected TV hits. They discuss their approach to cake-tasting, and the art of judging the perfect bake. Producer Lisa Davis.

    29 min

  6. 22/12/2011

    Julian Barnes, Andrea Arnold, Sir David Chipperfield

    Mark Lawson unwraps a selection of new interviews with arts headline makers of 2011. Booker Prize winner Julian Barnes explains why he no longer refuses to read his reviews, and poet Jo Shapcott, winner of the Costa Prize for her collection Of Mutability, discusses why the book's subject, her cancer, is never referred to explicitly. Director Nicholas Hytner and writer Richard Bean reflect on the success of their hit play One Man, Two Guvnors, which will make its way to Broadway after a sell-out UK tour and London run. Film-maker Andrea Arnold is best known for contemporary dramas such as Red Road and Fish Tank, but her 2011 version of Wuthering Heights won wide acclaim. She reveals why her next film won't be an adaptation. Architect Sir David Chipperfield received the RIBA Royal Gold Medal this year, as well as completing the Turner Contemporary in Margate and the Hepworth in Wakefield. He discusses how the current wranglings in Europe could affect his profession. Producer Ellie Bury.

    29 min

  7. 21/12/2011

    Paul Merton; Neon Artwork; Adele's producer Paul Epworth

    With John Wilson. Paul Merton reviews the new silent film The Artist, which with six Golden Globe nominations is already the surprise hit of this year's Hollywood awards season. Adele's producer Paul Epworth discusses his part in creating this year's biggest album, 21, for which he has received four Grammy nominations, and how he and Adele came up with the hit song Rolling in the Deep. It's almost a century since a Parisian barber's shop began the urban romance with neon when it put up the first commercial neon sign. Although neon has fallen out of commercial favour, artists are breathing new life into the medium. John went to the Neon Workshops in Wakefield, Yorkshire, to learn how to make his own neon artwork. The neon art is now installed at the BBC's building in Salford. The graphic designer Peter Saville, famed for his record sleeves for the likes of New Order, Joy Division, Roxy Music and Pulp - and a huge neon fan - joins John, along with the Junior Royal Northern College Brass Quintet and the BBC North Staff Choir, to switch on the first Front Row artwork. Producer Ekene Akalawu.

    30 min

  8. 20/12/2011

    Michelle Yeoh, 2011 music picks, book cover design

    With John Wilson. Michelle Yeoh, star of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Tomorrow Never Dies, on playing Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in The Lady. Luc Besson's film tells the extraordinary story of the Nobel Peace Prize winner, who sacrificed her personal life for her people, remaining under house arrest in Burma even when her Oxford-based husband Michael Aris was dying of cancer. Radio 1 DJ Scott Mills; BBC Proms presenter Suzy Klein; and writer and critic David Hepworth nominate their album of the year for 2011. And - Julian Barnes thanked his book jacket designer in his Booker acceptance speech this year and emphasised the importance of books as beautiful objects. At a time when e-readers are changing the publishing landscape, Barnes' designer Suzanne Dean and art director at Harper Collins Alice Moore reflect on how the role of the cover designer might evolve. Producer Lisa Davis.

    29 min
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