Front Row

Mark Gatiss at the RSC and novelist Margaret Drabble

Mark Gatiss takes on the role he's always wanted to play, the lead in Brecht's Hitler satire The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. As the Government considers charging tourists to visit England's national museums, we discuss these proposals with TV executive and arts advocate Sir Peter Bazalgette, who’s been an advisor to the DCMS, and Alison Cole - Director, The Cultural Policy Unit think tank. As she releases her new collection of short stories and memoir pieces, The Great Good Places, Dame Margaret Drabble speaks to us about her extraordinary life and career. Legendary playback singer Asha Bhosle has died. Her voice was heard in countless Bollywood films, often lip-synced by the most famous actresses of the day And she inspired UK band Cornershop's song Brimful of Asha. Joining us to discuss her life and glittering career is BBC presenter Nikki Bedi. Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Harry Graham

Review: Is it ok to film theatre curtain calls on your phone?

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

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?

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

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