Front Row

Alistair Hudson, Director of the Whitworth in Manchester and Charles Esche, Director of the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven have been awarded a Transformative Grant to rethink their respective art institutions. They join Front Row to discuss how the concept of useful art has the power to remake museums and galleries fit for the 21st century. England has one, Scotland has one, Wales has two, but Northern Ireland has none – we’re talking National Theatres. Nóirín McKinney, Director of Arts Development at Arts Council of Northern Ireland, reflects on the desire for a National Theatre of Northern Ireland, and why it has yet to be fulfilled.The bicentenary of the birth of celebrated art critic John Ruskin is being marked by events and exhibitions across the country, but one art historian has gone further than most in bringing Ruskin’s work to life for a modern audience. Dr Paul O’Keefe has been performing Ruskin’s lectures in character for two decades. He explains why a bad wig turned out to be the perfect prop for his transformation and what he’s learnt from portraying Ruskin as he gives his lectures.After winning the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in Room, and before starring in the recent superhero adventure Captain Marvel, Brie Larson decided to make her directorial debut with the film Unicorn Store about a failed arts student who while struggling to make her way in the corporate world receives a curious invitation to a Unicorn store. Annabel Grundy, Major Programmes Manager at the Broadway Cinema in Nottingham reviews.Presenter: John Wilson Producer: Ekene Akalawu

The Norwegian artist Edvard Munch is best known for The Scream, and a rare lithograph of the picture is at the heart of a major new exhibition of Munch’s work which opens at the British Museum this week. Critic Jacky Klein gives her response to Edvard Munch: Love and Angst, which focuses on the artist’s experimental prints, almost 50 of which are on loan from Norway’s Munch Museum. There's just one week to go until the final season of Game of Thrones. It is the most expensive and most pirated TV series of all time, but what will its legacy be; artistically for long-form TV and economically for Northern Ireland where much of it was filmed? Critic Boyd Hilton and presenter Marie-Louise Muir discuss. Director Neil Jordan on his new film, Greta – a horror thriller starring Isabelle Huppert and Chloe Grace Moretz. It begins as a friendship between an older and a younger woman and then gets darker - turning to stalking, horror, and suspense, and exploring ideas of modern urban loneliness What makes a great ending to a TV series? Some are appointment TV - the final episode of Friends, Cheers, Seinfeld. Some just peter out - Lost, Desperate Housewives. And some have an annoying cliffhanger. Presenter: Kirsty Lang Producer: Oliver Jones

Carlos Acosta went from an impoverished upbringing in Havana, Cuba to a world-renowned ballet dancer and the first black Principal of The Royal Ballet. He tells John Wilson about his new film Yuli: The Carlos Acosta Story, and his plans for Birmingham Royal Ballet; he starts his role as its director in January 2020.Composer Iain Bell on the world premiere of his new opera Jack the Ripper: The Women of Whitechapel, which tells the stories of the women living in the doss houses of Victorian London’s East End and the five whose lives were tragically stolen.Plus Jordan Erica Webber with news of the BAFTA Games Awards. Presenter: John Wilson Producer: Jack Soper

Tomorrow sees the opening of an ambitious new multi-purpose arts venue, The Shed, in New York. This £360m building, featuring a vast telescoping outer shell which travels on rails, is at the heart of Hudson Yards, a major new £20bn property development in Manhattan, and sits alongside a new, copper-coloured ‘vertical park’ designed by the Thomas Heatherwick studio. Critic Sarah Crompton gives her response to the new structure. Last night saw the inaugural Premier League match at Tottenham Hotspur’s new £750m football stadium. The acoustic designer Christopher Lee, who’s designed more than 30 stadia on five different continents, discusses how he worked to create the best audio experience for the fans. American bestselling author Jonathan Lethem discusses his new novel, The Feral Detective, his first detective novel in two decades. Within it he explores the impact of Trump’s America, written from a female perspective.Music journalist Kevin LeGendre reviews Marvin Gaye’s never-released 1972 album ‘You’re The Man’, which coincides with the celebration of what would’ve been Gaye’s 80th birthday this week.Presenter: Janina Ramirez Producer: Ben Mitchell

Sir David Attenborough discusses Our Planet, his new eight-part series and Netflix debut, which explores the unique wonders of the natural world, from the Arctic wilderness to the diverse jungles of South America. In partnership with World Wildlife Fund, the series continues the conservation campaign raised by Attenborough's earlier series Blue Planet II. Lee Ridley, aka The Lost Voice Guy, is the stand-up comedian who made his name when he won Britain’s Got Talent in 2018. Diagnosed with cerebral palsy at a young age, the condition has left him unable to speak, and so he uses a machine to project his material. Last year, he co-wrote and starred in the Radio 4 sitcom Ability, playing a disabled man who moves out from his parents’ home and in with his friend. Lee discusses bringing Ability back for a second series and finding humour in his disability.The Sisters Brothers is a new Western from Jacques Audiard, his first foray into the genre and the English language, starring John C Reilly, Joaquin Phoenix, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Riz Ahmed. Briony Hanson reviews the film.Presenter Stig Abell Producer Jerome Weatherald

Toby Jones tells us about turning his hand to writing for the new six part BBC2 TV series, Don’t Forget The Driver. It's a dark and poignant comedy about Brexit Britain, set in a coach company in Bognor Regis. The latest DC comics film Shazam! flies into cinemas this week. Originally published as a comic strip in 1939, it's the story of Billy Batson, a normal 14-year-old who is given the ability to transform into an adult superhero just by uttering the magic word “Shazam!”. Film critic Larushka Ivan Zadeh will tell us whether or not it's any good.At Easter, choirs across the country prepare to perform Bach’s St John and St Matthew Passions. We explore the significance of these intense and monumental works. Kirsty is joined by director Peter Sellars, who is staging the St John Passion at London’s Royal Festival Hall conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, and music historian Hannah French. 6 April Tewkesbury Abbey – St John Passion – City of Birmingham Choir 7 April Royal Festival Hall – St Matthew Passion – Bach Choir 13 April Kings Place London - St Matthew Passion - Feinstein Ensemble 14 April Plymouth Guildhall – St Matthew Passion - Plymouth Philharmonic Choir 14 April Merton College Oxford – St Matthew Passion 14 April Durham Cathedral – St John Passion 14 April Tremeirchion Church St Asaph – St Matthew Passion 16 April St Georges Bristol – St Matthew Passion – Ex Cathedra 17 April Salisbury Cathedral – St Matthew Passion 18 April Aberdeen Music Hall – St Matthew Passion – Dunedin Consort 19 April Coventry Cathedral – St John Passion 19 April Leeds Minster – St John Passion 19 April The Queens Hall Edinburgh – St Matthew Passion – Dunedin ConsortPresenter: Kirsty Lang Producer: Oliver Jones

Suzi Quatro was the first female bass player to become a rock star in the 1970s, with hits like Devil Gate Drive and Can the Can. Fifty-five years after her first performance, Suzi talks about her new album No Control which she wrote with her son. Playwright and actor John Kani and director Janice Honeyman discuss John's new play for the RSC – Kunene and the King - which reflects on South Africa's post-apartheid history through the relationship of a dying white actor and his black nurse.Britain's museums and galleries show an increase of nearly 9% in visitor numbers in the last year, with Tate Modern leap-frogging the British Museum for the top spot. Nicholas Cullinan of the National Portrait Gallery in London, and Gordon Rintoul of National Museums Scotland debate the importance of visitor numbers as they plan their future programmes. Presenter: Stig Abell Producer: Timothy Prosser

The 1983 Scottish film Local Hero was a much-loved comedy drama about an American oil company rep who is sent to a fictional village in Scotland to purchase the town for his company. This film has now been adapted into a stage musical at the Edinburgh Lyceum with all 19 songs composed by Mark Knopfler, who wrote the film soundtrack. So does Local Hero the musical work? Novelist Ian Rankin delivers his verdict.After a two-year build-up, the UK will not be leaving European Union today after all. To reflect the mood of the nation, we investigate the anti-climax in art with film critic Hannah McGill and writer Matt Thorne. Why do writers and film-makers use it, what effect does it have, and what makes an anti-climax poignant or simply frustrating? Legendary film-maker Agnès Varda's death was announced today, at the age of 90. She was one of the key figures in the French New Wave in the 1960s, making films like Cleo from 5 to 7, Le Bonheur and The Creatures. Hannah McGill reflects on the career of the influential figure, and the first female director to receive a rare honorary Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, in 2015.In the wake of the press release issued yesterday by the National Theatre for its new season - of the seven plays presented, only one was directed by woman and none was written by a woman - Lisa Burger, the newly appointed joint Chief Executive of the National Theatre, and current Executive Director, discusses whether women playwrights and directors are still having a hard time making their presence felt at the National Theatre.Presenter John Wilson Producer Jerome Weatherald

Tash Aw, winner of the Whitbread Award and Commonwealth Book Prize, discusses his new novel We the Survivors, about a man born in a Malaysian fishing village who tries to make his way in a country and society that is transforming. He describes the book as a tribute to those battling to survive in a ruthless, rapidly changing world. As museums such as the National Portrait Gallery and Tate Modern sever ties with the philanthropic Sackler family following controversy over its alleged role in the opioid crisis, what is the wider impact on the ethics of arts sponsorship? How much scrutiny of arts sponsors should there be? Andrea is joined by Heledd Fychan, chair of the Museum Association's Ethics Committee and author and academic Tiffany Jenkins.Dear Lord and Father of Mankind is one of the nation's favourite hymn tunes, yet the tune itself comes from a much bigger work, the oratorio Judith by Hubert Parry, which is about to get its first UK performance in almost one hundred years at the Royal Festival Hall in London next week. Music historian Jeremy Summerly explores the significance of this musical revival. Presenter: Andrea Catherwood Producer: Timothy Prosser

Scottish artist Katie Paterson’s exhibition at Turner Contemporary, Margate, explores our relationship with the vastness and mysteries of the universe, as she works with scientists who have pioneered research on the cosmic spectrum. The artist discusses her fascination with the physical world.So many successful TV shows have non-celebrities at their heart, from documentaries to reality programmes like Made in Chelsea and Great British Bake Off. But how do programme-makers find the contributors who will make interesting viewing? Co-director of production company Drummer TV Rachel Drummer Hay and TV critic Emma Bullimore give their perspective on what makes a good cast. The 2018 Ted Hughes Award highlights outstanding contributions made by poets to our cultural life. Front Row talks to the winner of the £5000 prize, live from the award ceremony, minutes after the announcement is made this evening.As a member of The Beat, Ranking Roger was one of the stars of British Ska, bringing his “toasting” skills to many of the band’s big hits. To mark his death, music critic and broadcaster Kevin Le Gendre pays tribute.Presenter: Janina Ramirez Producer: Kate Bullivant