Front Row

BBC Radio 4

Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music

  1. 16 hr ago

    Actors David Harewood and Sir Simon Russell Beale

    Sherwood and Homeland star David Harewood talks to us about his lead role in Channel 4's new legal drama Pierre, which is co-written by John Donnelly and playwright Roy Wiliams. Actor Simon Russell Beale discusses playing Liberace on stage in I'll Be Seeing You, the new play from Martin Sherman (who wrote Bent and Mrs Henderson Presents), a sparkling fantasia which follows a young writer struggling to create a play about the flamboyant superstar with a carefully constructed public image, who was awarded £8,000 in damages after an article strongly hinted he was a homosexual. The production - directed by Alan Cumming and Ben Occhipinti - is at Pitlochry Festival Theatre until 11 October. An avatar of acclaimed Chinese-American pianist Yuja Wang is performing at the Southbank Centre in London between now and January with audience members donning a VR headset and wandering around the stage to observe her at close range. The Guardian's critic Erica Jeal, who described the performance as "like Disney's Fantasia on steroids" tells us more about the experience. And we discuss the rise of the cultural logging platform - such as Letterboxd and Storygraph - which help us curate what the films we watch and the books we read and which help us share recommendations with each other. And Bill Buckley pays tribute to broadcaster and campaigner Dame Esther Rantzen, his colleague on the much-loved TV show That's Life!, who has died at the age of 86. Presenter: Kirsty Wark Producer: Mark Crossan

  2. 1 day ago

    BBC National Short Story Award and Young Writers Award 2026

    Tom Sutcliffe hosts the ceremony for BBC National Short Story Award and Young Writers Award 2026, in partnership with University of Cambridge, live from BBC Broadcasting House in London. As well as the announcements of the winners of both awards, Tom is joined by judges David Almond, Tahmima Anam and Saba Sams to discuss the key ingredients for a standout short story. They also recommend the short story writers and collections which they love to read. Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Lucy Collingwood

  3. 2 days ago

    Es Devlin retrospective, Sebastian Faulks, Turner Prize, Apple Music Hall

    The multi-award winning stage designer and artist Es Devlin talks to Samira as a retrospective of her work opens at the Design Museum in London. Devlin has created sets for theatre and opera and also for stadium concerts, fashion shows, and the Olympics opening ceremony. This is her first UK museum show and her first retrospective in Europe, and it celebrates her 30-year creative practice across stage design, art installations, sculpture and music. The music played in the exhibition and briefly on our programme was composed by Polyphonia. Sebastian Faulks, one of the country’s most acclaimed novelists, imagines the life of an ex-soldier stationed in 1946 Palestine at the end of the British Mandate in his new book Farewell to Eden. He talks to Samira about why this troubled period of history has drawn him in. The technology giant Apple has helped transform the way we listen to music through its devices and platforms, and is now opening its own 600-capacity concert venue at Battersea Power Station in London, with Elton John headlining its first show. Samira speaks to Eddy Cue, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Services and Health, about the company’s ambitions for Apple Music Hall and its role in the music industry. Jonathan Jones reviews the work of the nominees for this year’s Turner Prize. Producer: Eliane Glaser

  4. 6 days ago

    Front Row at the Contains Strong Language festival

    A special edition of Front Row from the BBC's poetry and performance festival - Contains Strong Language Since self-publishing a poetry pamphlet in 2020, Donna Ashworth has gone on to become the UK's bestselling living poet of the decade. She talks about her new book, The Art of Being Easily Pleased: Words To Unlock A Wonderful life, and shares some of her new poems. The phenomenally successful musical, Operation Mincemeat, which looks at a WW2 deception operation, began life as a 15 minute performance at The Lowry as part of the art centre's artist development programme. Natasha Hodgson and David Cumming, two of the original members of the team that created the show, discuss one of the musical's best loved songs, Dear Bill, and there'll be a special performance of it. Anthony Almeida is directing a new production of Othello, set in 1980s Britain which draws parallels between the political and military turmoil of that time with those of Shakespeare's 16th century setting in Venice and Cyprus. He talks about the play's language of leadership in challenging times. The TS Eliot Prize-winning poet Joelle Taylor set her collection, Maryville, in a butch bar to explore the lives of four butch lesbians and the underground landscape of queer culture. She discusses the new performance version of these poems that she'll be presenting at the Contains Strong Language festival. Presenter - Samira Ahmed Producer - Ekene Akalawu

  5. 23 Sept

    Review Show: Exit Party by Emily St John Mandel, South Korean alien invasion thriller Hope and an adaptation of 1984.

    In this week's Review Show, our guest critics Hannah McGill and Fergus Morgan join Kirsty Wark to discuss three dystopian thrillers: Bestselling novelist Emily St John Mandel's latest work of speculative fiction, Exit Party, chronicles how a range of characters respond to a complete collapse in society - in America, where Texas and California are now republics, and militia roam the streets, and in Paris, where a giant dome has been constructed to protect elites. An alien invasion in the heart stopping South Korean sci-fi action thriller Hope, by writer, director and producer Na Hong-jin, which received an enthusiastic ovation at the Cannes Film Festival and went on to become a smash box office hit. And a new adaptation of George Orwell's seminal 1984, in which a couple's love affair is an act of rebellion against a totalitarian regime, which is touring Scottish theatres between now and November. Producer: Mark Crossan

  6. 22 Sept

    Comedian Russell Kane on playing an older Romeo

    Comedian Russell Kane tells us about playing an older Romeo in a new take on Shakespeare’s famous tragedy. Author Samantha Ellis gives her verdict on the new film adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility starring Daisy Edgar-Jones. This week marks 100 years since the birth of John Coltrane. Saxophonist Soweto Kinch and Grammy award winning music historian Ashley Khan discuss Coltrane’s significance and legacy. And we reveal this year’s Booker Prize shortlist live on air. Literary critic and journalist Alex Clark joins Tom to discuss the six shortlisted titles. Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Claire Bartleet.

  7. 21 Sept

    Roger Taylor, drummer from the super band Queen, on his latest album

    Roger Taylor has been a driving force behind Queen, one of the most successful bands in history. The songwriter, drummer and singer talks to Tom Sutcliffe about his 7th solo album Violence Insane in a Beautiful World. Stars Wars legend George Lucas has long sought to fulfil his dream to open a museum for his vast art collection, which includes everything from the comics of R. Crumb and Moebius to the art of Frida Kahlo, Banksy and Norman Rockwell. Art critic Jocelyn Silver joins to tell us about what fans can see when the Lucas Museum of Narrative Arts opens in Los Angeles tomorrow. Imagine a scenario where Russia attacks the UK and the decisions about how the country responds are down to you. That's the task taken on by ex-politicians from across the political parties in a new TV series called The Wargame. Tom talks to ex MP Jim Murphy, who took part as the Foreign Secretary, and one of the Executive Producers Nicola Brown. As the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has announced a new committee to look into Eurovision, journalist and Eurovision expert William Lee Adams explains why we don’t have the best track record with song success and what the committee could learn from other countries. Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Andrea Kidd

  8. 17 Sept

    Review Show: Rose Tremain’s The Housekeeper, inspired by Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca

    Robbie Collin and Sarah Crompton join Samira Ahmed to review: Rose Tremain’s new book, The Housekeeper, which imagines how Daphne du Maurier’s classic novel, Rebecca, came to be written. Queen at Sea, a film starring Juliette Binoche and Tom Courtenay, which takes on the moral quandaries that occur with care in the advanced stages of dementia, when someone has lost the ability to make critical decisions. Thelma & Louise the new musical which is playing at the Young Vic in London. And we’ll have an interview with Laura Beatty, a finalist in the BBC National Short Story Awards, for her story Two Minutes to Midnight. Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Jonathan Blackwell

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About

Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music

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  • Creator
    BBC Radio 4
  • Years Active
    2006 - 2026
  • Episodes
    2k
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © (C) BBC 2026
  • Show Website
    Front Row

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