Front Row

We look at rotters in fiction: do women have equal status with men when it comes to being bad in books? Rotters have populated the novel since Robert Lovelace first appeared in Samuel Richardson’s Clarissa nearly two centuries ago. But what exactly is a rotter, how do rotters differ from cads and, when women are rotters, are they given equal treatment by both their writers and their readers? John Mullan, Professor of Literature at UCL and critic Alex Clark discuss the rotter's progress.“Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun…”It is 200 years, to the very day, since John Keats wrote To Autumn, distilling the sights, sounds, even smell of the season and capturing its essence in three carefully crafted stanzas that are among the best-loved in the language. We hear a reading and Alison Brackenbury explains how the poem works and her response to it as a poet.The Science Museum and BBC Radio 4 have been collaborating on an exploration of the relationship between art and science over 250 years. The result is The Art of Innovation: From Enlightenment to Dark Matter, which is an exhibition, a book and a 20-part radio series. Dr Tilly Blyth, Principal Curator, and one of the programme presenters tells Stig about Joseph Wright’s famous painting of a scientific lecture; how Turner captured impact of the emerging age of steam and how artists tackle depicting science that can’t be seen.Presenter: Stig Abell Producer: Simon Richardson

Saxophonist Soweto Kinch has curated this year’s Koestler Arts exhibition, Another Me, featuring 150 artworks by inmates from a number of prisons and secure units across the UK. Kinch discusses the works, and performs a piece from his forthcoming album The Black Peril.As plans are unveiled for Galway’s year as 2020 European Capital of Culture, John talks to film producer Arthur Lappin and creative director Helen Marriage.Sam Fender’s album is set to be number one this week. The 25-year-old from North Shields won the BRITs Critics’ Choice Award last year, and talks to John Wilson about combining lyrics about domestic violence, male suicide and white privilege with an hypnotic electric guitar rock aesthetic drawing on his musical hero Bruce Springsteen.Presenter: John Wilson Producer: Hilary Dunn

A solid gold toilet reputedly worth £4.7 million has been stolen from Blenheim Palace. It's part of the Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan's new exhibition Victory is Not an Option which remains open and combines a retrospective of his work along with some new pieces made especially for the Palace. Art critic Jacky Klein reviews and reports on the latest from the theft.Brad Pitt stars in the film Ad Astra as an astronaut on a mission to Neptune in order to save the planet from destruction. Larushka Ivan-Zadeh reviews this epic space odyssey.It's believed that John Milton's personal, annotated copy of an early Shakespeare folio has been discovered. The folio includes sophisticated marginalia that could shed light on the development of Milton as a poet and academics say it could be one of the most important literary discoveries of modern times. Cambridge University fellow Dr Jason Scott-Warren explains his astonishing find. As the Rugby World Cup heads to Japan, we get a personal introduction to current Japanese culture from Junko Takekawa, from the Japan Foundation, and Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere, academic and curator of the recent Manga exhibition at the British Museum.Presenter: Kirsty Lang Producer: Hannah Robins

Alex Kingston, best known for her TV roles in Dr Who and ER, discusses her new role in Henrik Ibsen’s An Enemy Of The People on stage at the Nottingham Playhouse. Kingston plays Dr Stockman, who is punished by the authorities for saying the unsayable as she attempts to make a stand against corruption.Criminal is Netflix's new crime drama, with each episode focused on one suspect and all filmed in and around the interrogation room. There are four series of three episodes filmed in Britain, Germany, France and Spain, each with a local cast and filmed in their own language. The UK series stars Katherine Kelly and Lee Ingleby, with David Tennant and Hayley Atwell as guest stars. Crime writer Mark Billingham reviews.Sales of new pianos have declined significantly in the UK, down to just 16% of the amount sold in the 1980s. Jeremy Sallis visits a fourth-generation piano showroom and workshop in London to find out more.Presenter Samira Ahmed Producer Jerome Weatherald

Downton Abbey hits the big screen this week as the Crawleys host the none other than King George V himself in a new film edition of the hit television show. Critic Sarah Crompton considers if it’s a success.Comedian Alexei Sayle discusses the return of his Radio 4 comedy series Alexei Sayle’s Imaginary Sandwich Bar, a mixture of stand-up, memoir and philosophy.The 16th Istanbul Biennial, subtitled this year ‘The Seventh Continent’, is about to open its doors to the public. Critic Louisa Buck has been visiting the city and reports on some of the 220 artworks by 56 artists and artist collectives, and the importance of the subtitle – a name given by the scientific community to the massive accumulation of waste floating in our oceans. Jo Lloyd tells Stig Abell about her story, The Invisible, that has reached the National Short Story Award shortlist. It's set in rural Wales in the 18th century where Martha can see a wealthy family living in a mansion nearby. But no one else can. Presenter: Stig Abell Producer: Julian May

Lucy Prebble’s play A Very Expensive Poison opened last week at the Old Vic in London. It tells the story of the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko in 2006 with a treatment ranging from the high theatricality of song, dance and puppetry to simple direct address to the audience - and has a love story at its core. Lucy Prebble joins Front Row to talk about putting truth on stage.Mark Strong and Daniel Mays star in new Sky One drama Temple, set in a disused underground station being used as a covert hospital to treat criminals and CEOs of massive companies who need to keep their health a secret. David Butcher of the Radio Times reviews.Lynda Clarke has been shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award with Ghillie’s Mum. The writer discusses her story which is about a shape shifting mother whose animal forms delight her son but horrify the wider world . The story is broadcast on Radio 4 at 1530 on Friday 13 September and the winner of the BBC NSSA is announced on Front Row on 1 October.Lope de Vega wrote about 500 plays but there can’t be many writers with more plays to their name than years to their age. Alan Ayckbourn can claim that honour: he’s 80 and last night his 83rd play opened, like so many of his previous dramas, in Scarborough. Birthdays Past, Birthdays Present has all the deft stagecraft we expect from the playwright; it opens on the day of Micky’s 80th birthday party and works backwards to the birthdays of his wife, his son and daughter. What happens offstage is as important as what the audience sees. This is a family drama about rumour, reputation and what really happened. So, a play for our times. Nick Ahad, drama critic for the Yorkshire Post, reviews the production.Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Hilary Dunn

John Wilson presents Front Row from the BBC Proms, with the American mezzo soprano Jamie Barton, about to perform as the soloist at the Last Night of the Proms, singing Verdi, Bizet, Saint-Saens and paying tribute to Judy Garland with Over the Rainbow. Composer Daniel Kidane talks about his new piece, commissioned to open the Last Night of the Proms this Saturday, which is called Woke. How will Brexit impact Classical Music? John is joined by the Association of British Orchestras director Mark Pemberton, opera impresario Wasfi Kani from Grange Park Opera and Claire Fox, The Brexit Party MEP who is on the Culture Committee of the European Parliament. They discuss whether classical musicians will be particularly affected by Brexit, deal or no deal. Violinist Daniel Pioro performs Biber's Passacaglia in G minor live. Presenter: John Wilson Producers: Rebecca Armstrong and Tim Prosser

Ten years ago when the first British Ceramics Biennial took place, things didn't look good for pots or Stoke-on-Trent, known as 'the potteries' of the UK. The 240-year-old Spode factory had shut, ceramics had a dusty image and the pot-making artist Grayson Perry said the art world had more of a problem with his being a potter than with him wearing a frock. In Front Row this evening Kirsty will hear how things have changed. Now the old Spode works hosts artists studios and a boutique hotel and this year is at the heart of multiple exhibitions featuring the work of 300 artists - both established and emerging, from home and abroad.US author Nell Zink's new novel Doxology features two generations of an American family coming of age, one before 9/11, one after. She tells Kirsty about her decision to broaden the scope of her writing to tell a story of modern America and the stark differences between Baby Boomers and 'Generation Z'. Tamsin Grey is one of the five authors shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award. The writer discusses her story My Beautiful Millennial, which is about a lone young woman living in London and her complicated relationship with an older man. And The Jumper Factory, a prison drama developed by the Young Vic Theatre with the help of eight serving prisoners. It's performed by actors with little or no stage experience, though all of them have been affected in some way by the criminal justice system. The play was intended for performance within prisons, but has been such a hit that it is now touring for the public. Presenter Kirsty Lang Producer Olive Clancy

For Sama is a prize-winning documentary by female Syrian filmmaker Waad al-Kateab, recording life in Aleppo for her young daughter who was born shortly after the conflict began there. Film critic Hannah McGill reviews and reports on the winning films at this year's Venice Film Festival. Lucy Caldwell has been shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award with The Children. Her story is about the Victorian social reformer Caroline Norton, who successfully campaigned for women to have the automatic right to have custody of their children in divorce proceedings; and in her story Lucy Caldwell draws parallels with child migrants today who are separated from their mothers. We speak to the author.British playwright Peter Nichols - A Day In The Death Of Joe Egg, Privates On Parade, Passion Play - has died at the age of 92. Michael Billington joins us to discuss his importance The Israeli short story writer Etgar Keret discusses his new collection Fly Already, 22 stories – several featuring the surreal and the apocalyptic - which were inspired by a serious car accident he had in America.Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Oliver Jones

A celebration of the short story as chair of judges Nikki Bedi joins Front Row to reveal the 2019 BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge University and we hear from the first shortlisted author.Steve Knightley, half of the popular duo Show of Hands, has teamed up with historian Michael Wood to celebrate one of England’s great musical traditions - songs of social protest. In the year of the Peterloo anniversary, they explore songs from the Peasants' Revolt right up to the present day. Steve performs live.And do you know how to listen to jazz, to understand and enjoy it? Stig Abell doesn't - so he joins trumpeter Andy Davies at Ronnie Scott's in London for enlightenment. Presenter: Stig Abell Producer: Sarah Johnson