Front Row

Mary Magdalene was Jesus Christ's most loyal friend, who stayed with him through the ordeal of his crucifixion, and was the first witness to his resurrection. But she was also denigrated by the church as a prostitute. Now her story is told in a new film with Rooney Mara as Mary and Joaquin Phoenix as Christ. Michèle Roberts, who wrote the novel The Secret Gospel of Mary Magdalene, reviews.With its population of 300,000, Iceland has more books published, and more writers per head, than anywhere else in the world. As it becomes a leader in Nordic Noir, crime writer Ragnar Jónasson and professor of Icelandic, Helga Lúthersdóttir, discuss the rich world of Icelandic fiction from the sagas which date back to the 13th century to the present day. Joseph Morpurgo's show Hammerhead strangely begins after his show has ended. It is the question-and-answer session after an - imagined - 9-hour, one-man performance of Frankenstein. He talks to Stig Abell about this conceit and where it leads him.And with news of the death of the theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, we consider his presence in popular culture, and in particular playing himself on TV.

Paddy Considine discusses Journeyman, the new film he's written, directed and stars in. The film is centred on the life of a boxer who, after a damaging championship bout, discovers that he has far bigger fights on his hands.Four British mosques have just been given listed status or been upgraded in recognition of their historic, cultural and architectural importance. Architect Shahed Saleem, who has written The British Mosque, considers the cultural landscape for the 2000 or so places of Muslim worship in the UK.As the second season of the revived Liverpool Everyman Repertory company begins, Artistic Director Gemma Bodinetz reveals the lessons learned from the first season and her plans for the future of the companyTimberlake Wertenbaker's play 'Our Country's Good', about convicts transported to Australia putting on a play, is a modern classic. Director Fiona Buffini and the actor Garry Robson talk about their latest touring production, in which the cast includes disabled, deaf and able-bodied actors.

Eleanor Bron will be 80 on Wednesday. She is still working - she will be in Scottish Opera's production of Ariadne auf Naxos this year. Talking to Samira Ahmed she looks back over her long career, from the satire boom with Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, through working with The Beatles in Help and roles in classical theatre such as in The Duchess of Malfi. The Great Wave at the National Theatre explores the abduction in the 1970s of Japanese citizens by North Korea. A look at these kidnappings through the eyes of one fictionalised family opens up questions of identity and belonging. Samira talks to the playwright Francis Turnly and the director Indhu Rubasingham about this little known aspect of far eastern politics .Following the announcement of the death of Sir Ken Dodd, Matthew Sweet discusses the role and significance of this jester who brought the comedic techniques of variety to television, and had extraordinary mass appeal. Presenter: Samira AhmedProducer: Julian May.

Sir Ian McKellen looks back at his acting life in anticipation of a film out later this year, McKellen: Playing the Part.Madeleine L'Engle's classic children's book A Wrinkle in Time has been made into a film starring Oprah Winfrey. The book itself was written in 1962 after being turned down by no less than 26 publishers. Professor Diane Roberts and Dr Vic James discuss the way in which the book reflects preoccupations in the author's own life, why it became one of America's most banned books and how its enduring appeal has resulted in numerous adaptations from film to tv, opera and graphic novel.Disability Champion for the Arts and Culture Sector is a brand new role created by the UK government. We speak to the newly appointed Andrew Miller who'll hold the post for a year. What change is he hoping to effect in terms of training, employment and access in the arts?Challenging the perceptions of her country using photography, world renowned artist Aida Muluneh gives an insight into the current arts scene in Ethiopia.Presenter: Stig Abell Producer: Sarah Johnson.

Reluctant superhero Jessica Jones is back for a second series. She despatched her nemesis at the end of season one but season two finds her looking to find the answers for her special powers. Cultural critic Gavia Baker-Whitelaw reviews.The longlist for the Women's Prize for Fiction has just been published. On International Women's Day Alex Clark looks at the surprise inclusions and exclusions and discerns the trends.This week a new production of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard opens at Bristol Old Vic. The play, in which the son of a serf takes over the estate where his father was once a slave, is a new translation from playwright Rory Mullarkey. Kirsty speaks to Rory and actor Jude Owusu about the contemporary resonances in their production.Marion Leonard, author of Gender In the Music Industry: Rock, Discourse, and Girl Power and festival promoter Melvin Benn, Managing Director of Festival Republic, discuss why men outnumber women in the public eye and behind the scenes of popular music.Presenter: Kirsty Lang Producer: Harry Parker.

David Attenborough talks about the art of his friend the painter John Craxton as a new exhibition Charmed Lives in Greece opens at the British Museum.Deborah Alma has edited #MeToo, an anthology of poetry by women, rallying against sexual assault and harassment. She is joined by poet and human rights lawyer Mona Arshi to discuss poetry as activism. Woody Allen's film Wonder Wheel is released this week. In the light of renewed allegations of sexual assault from his adopted daughter, Anna Smith reviews the film and considers Allen's reputation in Hollywood.Presenter: John Wilson Producer: Julian May.

Radio 4 celebrates the 40th anniversary of the iconic science fiction satire by Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, with a new series this week. Comedy producer and friend of the originator John Lloyd stars as the voice of the book. He and radio producer Dirk Maggs talk about the return of the ground breaking show, which fans call H2G2.Tate Modern's first solo exhibition of Pablo Picasso focuses on one year of the great artist's life, 1932. Picasso's grandson, Olivier Widmaier Picasso and curator Nancy Ireson consider this period of great creativity for the artist, when he produced some of his most famous nude paintings of his muse and lover Marie-Therese Walter.David Oyelowo is best known for his roles in the films Selma as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, and in A United Kingdom as a Botswanan prince. Now he's taking on his first comedy film in Gringo, about a man who gets caught up in the drug cartels in Mexico. David discusses playing comedy, Black Panther and colour blind casting.Presenter : Stig Abell Producer : Dymphna Flynn.

You Were Never Really Here stars Joaquin Pheonix as a contract killer who uncovers a conspiracy while trying to save a kidnapped teen from a prostitution ring. The film is directed by Lynne Ramsay who made We Need to Talk About Kevin. Larushka Ivan-Zadeh reviews.What's the key to delivering a perfect performance as an award ceremony host? TV critic Emma Bullimore and Larushka Ivan-Zadeh review Jimmy Kimmel's efforts in last night's Oscars ceremony, as well as Joanna Lumley at the BAFTAs and Jack Whitehall at the Brits, and consider what makes the perfect host.Steve Reich says the pioneering percussion Colin Currie is 'one of the greatest musicians in the world'. Today Currie returns the compliment, launching his own record label with his recording of Reich's piece 'Drumming'. He talks to John Wilson about this and the recent developments in music for percussion.Artist Charlotte Salomon died aged 26 in Auschwitz, leaving behind an impressive collection of over 700 paintings called Life? or Theatre? Ahead of events on Salomon at Jewish Book Week, Griselda Pollock and Waldemar Januszczak discuss her life and work. Presenter: John Wilson Producer: Kate Bullivant.

Jess Thom is a founding member of Touretteshero, a theatre company that celebrates the inherent creativity and humour in Tourette's. She is taking on Samuel Beckett's Not I, a rapidly delivered monologue spoken by a character called Mouth. Jess explains why the text captures her own experience of living with Tourette's and her mission to make theatre more accessible. "Gaslighting" is a term that sprang from Patrick Hamilton's play Gas Light written 80 years ago, in which a husband attempts to convince his wife she is going mad so that she is not believed by others. It's a trope that's picked up in contemporary thrillers such as Girl on A Train and The Woman in The Window. Novelist Stephanie Merritt and writer and critic Lisa Appignanesi discuss its dramatic appeal. Deep Throat are a thirty-strong all-female choir who blend their voices with percussion to produce a unique sound. The founder Luisa Gerstein and choir member Tanya Auclair discuss how they developed their style and their collaborations.Presenter: Morgan Quaintance Producer: Hannah Robins.

Half a century after Kenneth Clark's ground-breaking television series on the history of art, Civilisation, the BBC has returned to the same subject - a history of visual culture - but pluralised the name and the number of presenters in the new series. Former television critic of the Financial Times Chris Dunkley and writer and classicist Natalie Haynes review.Wendy Cope is one of the country's best-known and best-loved poets, thanks partly to the fact that her poems are easy to understand and often funny. But they're much more than that: the former poet laureate Andrew Motion said of her that "there is a skip in her step, but these are perfectly serious poems". Her latest collection is Anecdotal Evidence and it reflects on marriage, place, contentment and loss.The works of twenty-three female contemporary artists working in China today are the focus of NOW, a new series of exhibitions across the UK. Curator Tiffany Leung and British-based artist Aowen Jin consider the status of Chinese female artists inside and outside China and to what extent they feel they have artistic freedom in the current political climate .Presenter : Kirsty Lang Producer: Harry Parker.