Front Row

Front Row

https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/b006qsq5.rss
703 Followers 2.0K Episodes
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music

Episode List

Review: The Stranger and Jim Jarmusch's Father Mother Sister Brother

Apr 9th, 2026 7:50 PM

We review Francois Ozon's film: The Stranger. Based on the Albert Camus novel which has often been described as unfilmable...how well has he done? Amitav Ghosh's novel; Ghost Eye, set in India and dealing with parallel timelines, multiple global locations, environmental catastrophe and a young girl with mysterious powers. Jim Jarmusch's latest film 'Father Mother Sister Brother' won the Golden Lion award at Venice. Are our critics won over? And we discuss whether it's ever okay to take a photograph of a theatrical production. Tom Sutcliffe is joined by Muriel Zagha and Tahmima Anam

W1A creator John Morton on Twenty Twenty Six

Apr 8th, 2026 7:08 PM

Writer and director John Morton, one of the team behind 2012 and W1A, on the new comedy Twenty Twenty Six, set in the run up to this year's football World Cup.Artist Lachlan Goudie's new book The Secrets of Painting explores the creative big bangs in art over the centuries which have given us artistic movements - from Giotto and Rembrandt's use of oil paint to Berthe Morisot's use of an outdoor easel and Jackson Pollock's use of materials intended for industrial use, Goudie tells us how he has undergone a series of experiments to inform his understanding of pioneering techniques. A new gig theatre production at The Mac in Belfast honours the Women's Coalition in Northern Ireland whose activism was an important force behind the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. Writer Vittoria Cafolla joins us to tell us their story. And as we go on air, the winners of this year's Windham-Campbell Awards for writing are announced. Each recipient receives $175,000, and we'll hear from one of the winners, as well as the Director who heads up the judging panel. Presenter: Kirsty Wark Producer: Mark Crossan

Was Queen Victoria coercively controlled by Prince Albert?

Apr 7th, 2026 7:10 PM

Writer Daisy Goodwin on Victoria: A Queen Unbound. Was the marriage between Victoria and Albert as idyllic as it has been portrayed? Her new play explores the idea that Prince Albert exerted coercive control over Queen Victoria. Following the launch of the Official UK Christian & Gospel Singles Chart, we speak to the founder of the chart's partner organisation, O'Neil Dennis, and Mobo winning Christian rapper Guvna B, who's playing live in studio.Tayari Jones, Winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction, discusses on her new novel, Kin.Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer Harry Graham

The Birth of Television: A Forgotten History

Apr 6th, 2026 7:00 PM

100 years ago, inventor John Logie Baird demonstrated his new 'televisor' to the public for the first time. In this special edition of Front Row, Samira Ahmed and guests explore the origins of television in the UK, charting how those early experimental days set a template for this exciting new medium. Guests: TV producer and historian Professor John Wyver, whose new book Magic Rays of Light tells the story of the early days of TV Lisa Kerrigan, senior curator of TV at the BFI Francis Spufford, whose new novel Nonesuch is partly set in the BBC studio at Alexandra Palace in 1939 Joy Whitby, TV producer and creator of iconic programmes including Play School and JackanoryPresenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Tim Bano

Review: The Drama starring Robert Pattinson and Zendaya

Apr 2nd, 2026 10:03 PM

Tom Sutcliffe is joined by critics Tim Robey and Nancy Durrant to review:Robert Pattinson and Zendaya's new film The Drama about a young couple in the lead up to their wedding.Life of Pi author Yann Martel's novel Son of Nobody about a newly discovered classic text with the story partly told in footnotes.And from the creator of Mum and Him and Her, Stefan Golaszewski's new BBC drama series Babies which follows one couple's experience of pregnancy loss.Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Lucy Collingwood

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