Front Row: Archive 2014
259 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 9 years ago - ★★★ - 3 ratingsMagazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music.
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Episodes
People of the Year - Part Two
December 31, 2014 20:00 - 28 minutes - 26.1 MBIn the second programme celebrating the arts highlights from 2014, John Wilson hears from Benedict Cumberbatch, Timothy Spall, Keira Knightley and Eddie Redmayne as they discuss the challenges of playing real life figures in film. Dolly Parton, Joan Baez, Iggy Pop and Emma Thompson talk about the impact of age on their chosen careers as Daria Klimentova explains why she decided to retire from the world of ballet. Michael Sheen discusses his passion for Dylan Thomas in this anniversary year, ...
People of the Year 2014 - Part 1
December 30, 2014 20:00 - 28 minutes - 26.2 MBJohn Wilson talks to the people who have had exceptional years in the worlds of the arts, culture and entertainment in 2014, in the first of two special programmes. Carey Mulligan discusses making her west end debut in Skylight, and the thrill of taking to the stage after her many film roles. Gillian Anderson, lauded for her performances on television in The Fall and on stage in A Streetcar Named Desire, talks about playing two very different women. Two of the biggest selling musicians of ...
The rise and rise of Event Cinema
December 29, 2014 19:45 - 28 minutes - 26 MBKirsty Lang investigates the flourishing phenomenon of so-called event cinema. Plays, musicals and operas in major cities have become available throughout the country on the big - and sometimes small - screen in local cinemas. Eric Felner, the producer of Billy Elliot the Musical tells of his delight at the performance in September that topped the cinema box office, beating Denzel Washington's The Equalizer into second place. David Sabel, the Head of Digital at the National Theatre responsib...
The Art of Book Cover Design
December 29, 2014 16:36 - 28 minutes - 26.1 MBJohn Wilson explores the art of book cover design and meets artist Suzanne Dean, who has been responsible for more Booker-winning covers than any other designer. Writers Ian McEwan, Tom McCarthy and Audrey Niffenegger discuss the art that represents their words and Telegraph books editor Gaby Wood provides a reader's perspective on what makes a book stand out in a bookshop. As more of us than ever read books on e-readers, is beautiful design the key to the survival of the physical book?
Sir Alan Ayckbourn
December 25, 2014 19:45 - 28 minutes - 25.8 MBIn conversation with Kirsty Lang, Sir Alan Ayckbourn discusses his long and prolific career that has seen him, at the age of 75, premiere his 78th play - Roundelay. Sir Alan is one of this country's most celebrated playwrights. His ability to write and stage his tales of British middle-class domestic disharmony in ever more inventive ways has endeared him to a national audience. However, with his plays performed worldwide, he has a devoted international audience as well. He talks to Kirsty...
John Kander on Cabaret, The Scottsboro Boys and Chicago
December 24, 2014 19:45 - 28 minutes - 26.3 MBKirsty Lang talks to John Kander, composer of Cabaret, New York New York and Chicago and one half of Broadway partnership Kander and Ebb. 87 year old John Kander discusses The Scottsboro Boys, his final work with lyricist Fred Ebb, which is currently a hit in London's West End. How he and Ebb discovered Liza Minnelli, and why Judi Dench remains his favourite Sally Bowles (Cabaret) on stage.
Unbroken, Young Fathers, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Miranda Richardson
December 23, 2014 19:50 - 28 minutes - 26.2 MBUnbroken is Angelina Jolie's second film as director. Starring British actor Jack O'Connell it tells the story of US Olympian Louis Zamperini who was captured during WW2 and sent to a Japanese prisoner of war camp. Mark Eccleston reviews. Mercury Prize winners Young Fathers discuss the origins of the band and why they strive to avoid simple classification. Miranda Richardson discusses her role with Anna Chancellor in a new TV version of Mapp and Lucia. At an exhibition of his photographs ...
Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones; Renee Fleming; Billie Whitelaw remembered
December 22, 2014 11:27 - 28 minutes - 26.1 MBEddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones talk to John Wilson about their new film The Theory of Everything about the physicist Stephen Hawking; soprano Renée Fleming on her new album Christmas in New York; Billie Whitelaw remembered by former theatre critic Benedict Nightingale; and Adam Smith considers the dark side of Christmas films. Producer Jerome Weatherald.
Miranda Hart, John Rutter, Seamus Heaney
December 19, 2014 19:55 - 28 minutes - 26.2 MBMiranda Hart tells Razia Iqbal about the emotional filming of the final episodes of her sitcom Miranda. The latest instalment of the Night of the Museum franchise, starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson, is set in the British Museum. But how do you film riotous action sequences in one of the busiest museums in the world, full of priceless artefacts? Razia tours the museum with the film's location manager, Michael Harm. Before his death last August Seamus Heaney was working on a selection of ...
Esio Trot, Robert Olen Butler, The Thompson Family, The Interview controversy
December 18, 2014 20:00 - 28 minutes - 26 MBTwo well-loved children's books have been adapted for television - Roald Dahl's Esio Trot and The Boy in the Dress by comedian and author David Walliams. Children's book editor Julia Eccleshare discusses whether the characters in the novels come to life on the small screen. Razia Iqbal talks to Pulitzer prize-winning author Robert Olen Butler who has turned his hand from literary fiction to writing espionage thrillers. He discusses The Hot Country, his new historical novel about an American...
Christoph Waltz, Treasure Island, Mozart in the Jungle, Unread e-Books
December 17, 2014 16:39 - 28 minutes - 26 MBDouble Oscar-winner Christoph Waltz on working with Tim Burton in Big Eyes, and responds to rumours surrounding his role in the new James Bond film. Kirsty goes backstage at the National Theatre on the set that really is the star of Treasure Island - it's a ship, a pub, a cave and a strange, pulsating island. And a pirate's corpse. Radio 3's Petroc Trelawney reviews Mozart in the Jungle, a new 'webseries' about a wild young conductor who tries to rejuvenate the New York Symphony. And, nov...
Ridley Scott's Exodus, Serial, The Shoemaker's Holiday, Annie
December 16, 2014 19:55 - 28 minutes - 26.2 MBRidley Scott's Moses epic Exodus: Gods and Kings is reviewed by Adam Smith; investigative journalist John Sweeney and Baltimore-based crime novelist Laura Lippman discuss the phenomenon of the 'Serial' podcasts; The Shoemaker's Holiday director Phillip Breen tells Samira Ahmed about his RSC production of Thomas Dekker's Elizabethan comedy of class, conflict and cobblers in love; and Quvenzhané Wallis and director Will Gluck on their new film adaptation of Annie. Producer Jerome Weatherald.
Willy Russell switches on the Front Row neon artwork, Kon-Tiki review, Dementia-friendly theatre
December 15, 2014 21:35 - 28 minutes - 26.1 MBForty years after his breakthrough play - John, Paul, George, Ringo...and Bert, the celebrated playwright, musician, and novelist Willy Russell reveals the word he has chosen for the new Front Row neon artwork. He joins Kirsty Lang on the roof of the BBC's Salford home to turn it on. A review of Kon-Tiki, a new film about Thor Heyerdahl's famous journey across the Pacific ocean. Tomorrow the West Yorkshire Playhouse will be the setting for the UK's first ever 'dementia friendly' theatre pe...
Paul McCartney, The Merchant of Venice, Frames at the National Gallery
December 12, 2014 19:51 - 28 minutes - 26.2 MBSir Paul McCartney tells John Wilson about creating a song for the video game Destiny and missing the days of vinyl. Peter Schade, Head of Framing at the National Gallery, talks about the gallery's first ever campaign to raise money to buy a frame. It's one he's found for Titian's An Allegory of Prudence. Ian McDiarmid stars as Shylock in the Almeida Theatre's new production of The Merchant of Venice. He and director Rupert Goold talk about setting the play in the bright lights of Las Vega...
Andrew Lloyd Webber and Trevor Nunn on Cats; Churchill's paintings; Jeff Kinney; Dolls' houses
December 11, 2014 19:01 - 28 minutes - 26 MBAndrew Lloyd Webber and Trevor Nunn discuss bringing their musical Cats back to London's West End. Jessie Burton, award-winning author of The Miniaturist, and curator Alice Sage discuss the appeal of dolls' houses as a new exhibition Small Stories: At Home in a Dolls' House opens at The Museum of Childhood. As the late Mary Soames' collection of personal objects is auctioned, Giles Waterfield reviews rarely-seen paintings by her father Winston Churchill. Jeff Kinney, author of the Diary o...
Marco Polo; Behind the scenes at Nutcracker; Manakamana; The Christmas Truce in art
December 10, 2014 19:55 - 28 minutes - 26.1 MBHistorian Tom Holland delivers his verdict on a new TV drama series charting the life of adventurer Marco Polo. As English National Ballet prepares to stage its Christmas stalwart, Nutcracker at the London Coliseum, Samira Ahmed visits the company's warehouse in Kent to meet the team behind the scenes. With the approach of the centenary of the WWI Christmas truce on the Western Front, playwright Phil Porter, whose new play at the RSC dramatises the truce, and historian Emily Mayhew discus...
Christopher Jefferies Drama, Golden Age of Panto, Burrell Collection, Ghostwriting
December 09, 2014 20:05 - 28 minutes - 26.2 MBWith Kirsty Lang. Roger Michell talks about his new ITV drama, The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies, about the retired teacher attacked by the press after being falsely suspected of killing Joanna Yeates in 2010. As teenage 'vlogging' sensation, Zoella, becomes embroiled in a row over hiring a ghostwriter for her best-selling debut novel, Girl Online, we look at the rise of the scribes for hire. BBC diplomatic correspondent Bridget Kendall reviews new documentary film The Green Prince...
Sarah Waters; Racial Diversity in the Arts; Mike Scott of the Waterboys; Museums on Film
December 08, 2014 20:00 - 28 minutes - 26.1 MBAuthor Sarah Waters has followed her gothic novel The Little Stranger with her first play which is also a ghost story that aims to spook audiences. She discusses working with experimental theatre-maker Christopher Green to devise a play in which all is not as it seems. Mike Scott of The Waterboys discusses the band's new album Modern Blues, and explains why it was important for the band to record it in Nashville. Dawn Walton, Director of Eclipse Theatre Company and Tom Morris, Artistic Dir...
Jim Broadbent; Young Adult Fiction; Tena Stivicic; Comedy DVDs
December 05, 2014 19:55 - 28 minutes - 26.1 MBJim Broadbent talks to Kirsty Lang about playing Father Christmas for the third time in his new film Get Santa; Matt Haig and Katherine Woodfine on Young Adult Fiction; Croatian playwright Tena Stivicic discusses her play 3 Winters at the National Theatre; Stephen Armstrong brings us his pick of the year's comedy DVDs; and following the news that the British Museum has loaned one of the Elgin Marbles to the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, Peter Aspden considers the role museums and galler...
Harrison Birtwistle; The Grandmaster; Christmas boxset recommendations; Wonder Woman's historical significance
December 04, 2014 19:55 - 28 minutes - 26.1 MBThe composer Sir Harrison Birtwistle discusses his music as a season celebrating his 80th birthday begins at London's Southbank Centre. Iain Lee reviews The Grandmaster, the new film from Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai, which traces the life of the Wing Chun grandmaster Ip Man, who taught Bruce Lee. Boyd Hilton receommends the boxsets that should be making their way into stockings this Christmas. "Great Hera!" - Jill Lepore, author of The Secret History of Wonder Woman, discusses the str...
Peter Jackson; Philip Pullman on William Blake; Memoirs of the Year
December 03, 2014 19:55 - 28 minutes - 26 MBDirector Peter Jackson and co-writer Philippa Boyens talk to John Wilson about their final instalment of The Hobbit film franchise; the author Philip Pullman reflects on one of his heroes, William Blake, as a new exhibition at the Ashmolean in Oxford explores his formation as an engraver; and historian Kathryn Hughes makes her selection of biographies and memoirs of the year.
Sondheim's Assassins, Albums of the year, Jeremy Deller, Royal Photographic Society
December 02, 2014 19:53 - 28 minutes - 26 MBSuzy Klein, Kate Mossman and Greg James make their picks from pop, classical and alternative for a Christmas wishlist of albums. The artist Jeremy Deller discusses curating an exhibition of work by his artistic heroes - William Morris and Andy Warhol. David Benedict reviews the latest revival of Stephen Sondheim's Assassins; the darkly comic musical depicting the lives of the 13 people who have tried to assassinate a President of the United States. The Royal Photographic Society was fou...
St Vincent; Mark Thomas; Evening Standard Theatre Awards
December 01, 2014 19:51 - 28 minutes - 25.6 MBKirsty Lang reviews the film St Vincent, which stars Bill Murray as a reluctant babysitter. She talks to the winners at last night's Evening Standard Theatre Awards, including Tom Hiddleston and Gillian Anderson. Mark Thomas on his new stand-up show about Surveillance. And Jeff Park chooses his favourite crime books of the year.
Annie Lennox; James Franco; Philippe Sands; How to Win an Oscar
November 28, 2014 19:52 - 28 minutes - 26.1 MBAnnie Lennox talks to Kirsty Lang about her new album Nostalgia, on which she covers songs from The Great American Songbook. Hollywood actor and director James Franco shows Kirsty round his latest art venture Fat Squirrel. The international human rights lawyer Philippe Sands discusses A Song of Good and Evil, a show he developed when he realised that both a Nuremberg prosecutor and defendant shared a passion for Bach. And with the New York Film Critics Circle Awards kicking off the awards se...
PD James Remembered; William Hill Sports Book of the Year; Maggi Hambling
November 27, 2014 19:49 - 28 minutes - 26.1 MBFront Row pays tribute the writer PD James who has died aged 94. Fellow crime writer and friend Ruth Rendell reflects on James's life and work and, in a clip from our archive, James describes the four key motives for murder in a good crime story. Rugby player Gareth Thomas, footballer Bobby Moore and ice skater John Curry are among the subjects of the books shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award, the longest-running prize for sports writing. At the awards ceremony, J...
Idris Elba; Howard Hodgkin; V&A's Italian Courts
November 26, 2014 20:10 - 29 minutes - 26.6 MBWith John Wilson. Actor Idris Elba discusses his album, mi Mandela, inspired by the experience of portraying Nelson Mandela in The Long Walk to Freedom. He also explains why he won't be reprising his role as John Luther in a forthcoming US remake of the BBC drama Luther. Painter Howard Hodgkin talks to John in his studio about 30 gouaches inspired by India which he painted between 1990-91, and are on show for the first time in London. As the V&A Museum prepare to open the newly refurbishe...
Barry Manilow; Diana Souhami; War photography; Jewish comedy
November 25, 2014 19:53 - 28 minutes - 26.1 MBBarry Manilow talks to Samira Ahmed about his new album, 'My Dream Duets'. It's a collection of duets with artists beyond the grave such as John Denver, Judy Garland and Whitney Houston. Diana Souhami, whose novel Gwendolen imagines life from the point of view of Daniel Deronda's heroine, and Viv Groskop, Artistic Director of the Bath Literature Festival, discuss the trend for novels from the perspective of peripheral characters. David Baddiel and David Schneider unpick the changing nature...
Jude Law; David Guetta; Post Pop at the Saatchi Gallery
November 24, 2014 20:00 - 28 minutes - 26.5 MBSamira Ahmed with Jude Law, who discusses how playing Henry V on stage inspired his role as a desperate, out of work submarine captain searching for Nazi gold in his new film Black Sea. The French DJ and record producer David Guetta discusses his latest album Listen, featuring the vocal talents of Emeli Sandé, Sam Martin, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Nicki Minaj, and explains why he has never felt inspired by French Music. A new exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery in London, Post Pop: East M...
Peter Firmin on The Clangers; The forgotten Bronte; Winter Sleep
November 21, 2014 18:10 - 28 minutes - 26 MBKirsty Lang talks to artist and puppet-maker Peter Firmin, whose iconic children's tv characters include Bagpuss, Basil Brush and The Clangers. Robert Edric on his novel Sanctuary, which explores the final months in the turbulent life of Branwell Brontë - brother to the more famous Brontë sisters. Kate Muir reviews the new film from Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Winter Sleep, which won the Palme D'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival. And a new exhibition at the Scottish National ...
Dr John; David Hare pays tribute to Mike Nichols; Composer John Adams
November 20, 2014 20:00 - 28 minutes - 26.3 MBBlues legend Dr John talks to John Wilson about his tribute album to fellow New Orleans musician Louis Armstrong, and how the project was the result of a visit from Armstrong in a dream. The American composer John Adams talks about the world stage premiere of his opera The Gospel According to the Other Mary at English National Opera, which tells the Passion story from the perspective of Mary Magdalene. Following the news of the death of director Mike Nichols, best known for his film The Gr...
Hugh Bonneville; Mary J Blige; Remember Me
November 19, 2014 20:30 - 28 minutes - 26 MBHugh Bonneville discusses his role as Mr Brown in the new Paddington film; Mary J Blige on self doubt, soul music and making an album inspired by London; Michael Palin stars in BBC drama, Remember Me - a contemporary ghost story set in Yorkshire. Chris Dunkley joins John to review it. And two of the biggest comedy hit films of the year have been Bad Neighbours and 22 Jump St, but Adam Smith warns the films' stars not to take too much for granted, because as history shows, comedy can be cruel...
Costa Book Awards shortlist announced; Meera Syal; The Hunger Games review; Peter Bazalgette
November 18, 2014 19:51 - 28 minutes - 25.9 MBThe shortlisted authors for the 2014 Costa Book Awards are announced. Critic Stephanie Merritt comments on the authors chosen in five categories: novel, first novel, poetry, biography and children's fiction. Meera Syal discusses her latest stage role in Behind the Beautiful Forevers, based on the book by Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Katherine Boo, about life in the shadow of Mumbai's luxury hotels. The final part of Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games trilogy, Mockingjay, has been split in ...
The Homesman reviewed; Dave Grohl
November 17, 2014 19:49 - 28 minutes - 26.1 MBTonight's Front Row reviews The Homesman - a western directed by and starring Tommy Lee Jones - and Dave Grohl talks about Foo Fighters' new album, Sonic Highways. Also in the programme: director Blanche McIntyre on her revival of Emlyn Williams' 1950 play about sex, scandal and blackmail, Accolade - and Cecil Beaton's biographer Hugo Vickers considers a new exhibition of his photography.
The Drop; Jan Garbarek; Quentin Blake; Assaf Gavron
November 14, 2014 19:55 - 28 minutes - 26 MBTom Hardy and the late James Gandolfini star in the thriller The Drop, reviewed by Jenny McCartney. Saxophonist Jan Garbarek and David James discuss the Hilliard Ensemble. Quentin Blake on Paula Rego and Honoré Daumier: Scandal, Gossip and Other Stories at the House of Illustration. And Assaf Gavron on the reality of life in Israel in the 21st century in his new novel, The Hilltop. Producer Jerome Weatherald.
Richard Ford; William Orbit; Kate Hewitt; Dylan Thomas's notebook
November 13, 2014 20:05 - 28 minutes - 25.9 MBCelebrated American writer Richard Ford discusses his new novel Let Me Be Frank With You - which continues the story of his much loved character Frank Bascombe. A notebook of Dylan Thomas's poetry has been rediscovered after 70 years. It offers a unique insight into the creative workings of Dylan during one of his most creative periods. Sotheby's manuscript expert Gabriel Heaton brings the book into the Front Row studio and discusses its importance. Queen Forever is a new album out this we...
Aaron Sorkin; Leighton House; Goldsmiths Prize; Dreda Say Mitchell
November 12, 2014 20:11 - 28 minutes - 26 MBThe Oscar-winning writer and producer Aaron Sorkin, acclaimed for The Social Network and The West Wing, talks to Kirsty Lang as the final season of The Newsroom airs. Kirsty visits Leighton House in London as paintings from The Pérez Simón Collection, the largest private collection of Victorian art outside the UK, go on display there, including some significant works by Lord Frederick Leighton now returning to the house where they were painted. We speak to Ali Smith, author of How to be Bo...
Chadwick Boseman on James Brown; Allen Jones
November 11, 2014 19:55 - 28 minutes - 26.2 MBJohn Wilson talks to Chadwick Boseman, who plays soul singer James Brown in the Hollywood biopic Get on Up. Sculptor Allen Jones on his retrospective at the Royal Academy. Artist Jonathan Yeo on portraits in the age of the selfie. And Hannah Price from Theatre Uncut on generating dozens of productions of the same 5 new plays in different places around the world this month.
Bryan Ferry; The Fall; Peder Balke; Revolutionary Theatre
November 10, 2014 20:00 - 28 minutes - 26.1 MBBryan Ferry talks to Kirsty Lang about his 14th solo album, Avonmore. Professor Chris Rapley, one of the UK's leading climate scientists, has written his first play, 2071, which focuses on climate change, and Molly Davies has drawn on her years working as a teaching assistant to write God Bless the Child in which a group of eight-year-olds rebel against the school system. They discuss how they turned their professional experiences into theatre. Crime writer Stella Duffy reviews BBC crime dra...
Benedict Cumberbatch; Sumia Sukkar; The looting of Syrian Art; Pink Floyd Review
November 07, 2014 19:45 - 29 minutes - 26.9 MBBenedict Cumberbatch talks to John Wilson about his role in The Imitation Game. He plays pioneering computer scientist and Bletchley code breaker Alan Turing. 22-year-old Sumia Sukkar discusses her debut novel The Boy from Aleppo who Painted the War, the story of a teenage boy with Asperger's Syndrome, growing up in Syria which has now been dramatised for Radio 4. As concerns over the raiding of Syrian artefacts grow, Front Row hears from academics, investigators and Unesco about how objec...
Made In Dagenham; Elif Shafak; Gold at Buckingham Palace
November 06, 2014 19:49 - 28 minutes - 26.2 MBTonight's Front Row reviews the stage-musical version of the film, Made In Dagenham, starring Gemma Arterton, and Samira Ahmed is given a guided tour around Gold - a new exhibition at Buckingham Palace. Also in the programme: Elif Shafak talks about her latest novel, The Architect's Apprentice, set in 16th century Istanbul - and whether the increasingly popularity of comic books is making them less subversive.
Ben Elton, Queen Coal, Transmitting Andy Warhol, Leviathan, Birds in Literature
November 06, 2014 14:45 - 28 minutes - 26.1 MBSuccessful novelist, playwright and stand-up comic, Ben Elton, a central figure in the alternative comedy scene in the 1980s, joins Kirsty Lang to discuss his new novel, Time And Time Again. His book follows ex-soldier Hugh Stanton who is transported back to 1914 from 2025, in order to prevent the Great War and re-write history. Andy Warhol is the subject of a new show at Tate Liverpool which looks at how this quintessential 20th century artist sought to master the mass media of his day to ...
Babylon; Wendy Cope; border crossing theatre; North Korean art
November 04, 2014 16:37 - 28 minutes - 26.1 MBBabylon, a new series from the creators of Peep Show, returns for a series after appearing on Channel 4 as a pilot. Brit Marling and James Nesbitt star in this fly on the wall satire about the police. Documentary film maker Roger Graef reviews. Poet Wendy Cope discusses her new book, Life, Love and the Archers, a collection of her prose which includes reviews, essays and recollections from her childhood. We get a rare glimpse of artistic life in North Korea at an exhibition inside the coun...
Interstellar, Nick Hornby, John Harle, Bob Dylan's Basement Tapes
November 03, 2014 19:55 - 28 minutes - 26.2 MBNovelist Lionel Shriver reviews Christopher Nolan's three-hour film Interstellar, starring Matthew McConaughey. Nick Hornby talks to John Wilson about his new novel Funny Girl, set around a fictional 1960's sitcom. Saxophonist John Harle assesses the musical instrument designed by Adolphe Sax who was born 200 years ago. And Michael Carlson discusses Bob Dylan The Basement Tapes Raw: The Bootleg Series Vol. 11, containing 138 tracks, released today. Producer Jerome Weatherald.
Michael Bond on Paddington, Lloyd Newson, Edward Snowden documentary
October 31, 2014 19:49 - 28 minutes - 26.3 MBMichael Bond, the creator of the much-loved Paddington Bear, joins Kirsty Lang. He'll be talking about writing in Paddington's voice for the first time in a new collection of letters to the bear's Aunt Lucy, Love From Paddington. And he reveals his role in the new Paddington film. Documentary film maker Laura Poitras discusses Citizenfour, her film about being contacted by the mystery whistle blower who eventually revealed himself as Edward Snowden. The dance theatre company DV8 premieres ...
Elijah Wood, Angela Hewitt, Crowd-funding your novel, The Overnighters
October 30, 2014 20:00 - 28 minutes - 26.1 MBElijah Wood talks to Kirsty Lang about his role in Set Fire to the Stars, a biopic about Dylan Thomas's turbulent time in 1950s New York. Pianist Angela Hewitt discusses her new recording of Bach's The Art of Fugue. Writers Paul Kingsnorth and Julian Gough explain how important crowd-funding was to help them write their novels. And film-maker Molly Dineen reviews The Overnighters, a documentary about a pastor in North Dakota who came to the aid of the flood of men who travelled from all over...
Keira Knightley; Nick Drake; A Real Birmingham Family; Mercury Prize hopefuls
October 29, 2014 18:38 - 28 minutes - 26.1 MBJohn Wilson talks to Keira Knightley about new film Say When and her preparations for her Broadway debut in Therese Raquin. Gabrielle Drake and Joe Boyd discuss Nick Drake as they publish a book about his life and work. We hear from Emma and Roma Jones as Gillian Wearing prepares to reveal her statue, A Real Birmingham Family, tomorrow in Birmingham. Music journalist Ruth Barnes discusses the runners and riders for tonight's Mercury Music Prize. Producer: Ellie Bury Presenter: John Wilson.
Nightcrawler; Laura Mvula; Bastille
October 28, 2014 19:57 - 28 minutes - 26.1 MBSamira Ahmed discusses the film Nightcrawler, which stars Jake Gyllenhaal as an ambulance chasing cameraman. Laura Mvula and Bastille on composing a new score for the film Drive, commissioned by Radio 1's Zane Lowe. Historian Juliet Gardiner reviews BBC1's new First World War drama series, The Passing Bells. And Paul Ewen on his humorous novel, Francis Plug: How to be Public Author, about a wannabe writer who shows up at literary events starring Man Booker winners in the hope of learning ...
Daniel Radcliffe in Horns; Edwyn Collins
October 27, 2014 19:48 - 28 minutes - 26.1 MBTonight's Front Row reviews Daniel Radcliffe's latest film, Horns, and talks to singer Edwyn Collins about the documentary that's been made about his recovery after two strokes. Also in the programme: Stephen Daldry explains why his film, Trash - set in the slums of Rio de Janeiro - has won top prize at the Rome Film Festival, and composer Thomas Adès on seeing choreographers' response to his music. Presenter: John Wilson Producer: Rebecca Nicholson.
Timothy Spall, Picasso Museum, Maria João Pires, Memphis
October 24, 2014 19:01 - 28 minutes - 26.1 MBTimothy Spall has brought JMW Turner to life in Mike Leigh's new film, Mr Turner - he tells Damian Barr how he did so, learning to paint like the master and using his own love of the sea. The Picasso museum in Paris closed for renovation in 2009, and was scheduled to re-open two years later. But the work took four years longer than that, went over budget and culminated in the sacking of the museum's president. Waldemar Januszczak reviews the refurbishment. Damian talks to the legendary Po...
Boris on Churchill; Serena reviewed
October 23, 2014 18:50 - 28 minutes - 26 MBIn tonight's Front Row Boris Johnson considers Churchill's legacy on the 50th anniversary of his death, and there's a review of the film Serena - a dark tale about a troubled marriage in the Depression-era, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper. Also in the programme: this year's Art Review Power 100 List is assessed, and brothers Harry and Jack Williams discuss moving from writing comedy to a sombre subject matter in their TV drama about a missing child. Presenter: Razia Iqbal Prod...