Front Row

Alan Bleasdale’s Boys From The Blackstuff is widely regarded as television drama at its best with a cultural footprint that led to the phrase “Gi’s a job” being heard up and down the country. Forty years on from the first broadcast, James Graham, known for plays such as This House, about the UK’s hung parliament of the 1970s, and Dear England about the England football team, has adapted Alan’s screenplays for a stage production at the Royal Court theatre in Liverpool. He discusses why now was the right time to revisit and remodel. Chester Contemporary is a new visual arts biennial curated by artist Ryan Gander who was born and raised in Chester and has created a citywide event that features some of the visual art world’s biggest names. Front Row visited Chester on the opening weekend to talk to Turner Prize-nominated artist Fiona Banner, emerging artist William Lang, Chester native Tim Foxon whose art pops up all over the city centre, and Turner Prize-winning artist Elizabeth Price, about their creations for the cathedral city.The renowned conductor John Eliot Gardiner has cancelled all his appearances for the rest of this year after allegedly slapping and punching a singer backstage after a performance. He is far from the only conductor linked to reportedly bad behaviour. But as society puts conductors on a cultural as well as physical podium, and addresses them as ‘maestro’, perhaps such behaviour isn’t surprising. Perhaps, too, marshalling a large orchestra requires dictatorial leadership. Igor Toronyi-Lalic, music critic of The Spectator, and the conductor Ben Gernon join Nick Ahad to discuss how conductors conduct themselves, and how they should. Presenter: Nick Ahad Producer: Ekene AkalawuLorne Campbell 1:30 James Graham 6:09 Conductors 16:33 Chester Art 29:36

The announcement of the winners of the BBC National Short Story Award and the BBC Young Writers’ Award with Cambridge University, live from the Radio Theatre at Broadcasting House in London. Joining presenter Tom Sutcliffe to celebrate and interrogate the short story form are the broadcaster and NSSA chair of judges Reeta Chakrabarti, alongside fellow judges and writers Jessie Burton, Roddy Doyle and Okechukwu Nzelu. The shortlisted stories and authors in alphabetical order are: 'The Storm' by Nick Mulgrew, 'It’s Me' by K Patrick, 'Guests' by Cherise Saywell, 'Churail' by Kamila Shamsie and 'Comorbidities' by Naomi Wood. The BBC Young Writers Award, for writers aged between 14 and 18, will be announced by the BBC Radio One presenter Katie Thistleton, who’ll be joined on stage by fellow judge, the psychotherapist, writer and rugby player Alexis Caught. The shortlisted stories and authors in alphabetical order are: ‘Fridays’ by Evie Alam, 16, from South Shields, ‘Jessie’s God’ by Elissa Jones, 16, from Merseyside, ‘Creation’ by Daisy Kaye, 16, from Nottingham, ‘Skipper’ by Iona McNeish, 17, from Glasgow and ‘The Wordsmith’ by Atlas Weyland Eden, 18, from Devon. All of the stories are available to listen to on BBC Sounds.Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Nicki Paxman

As the cast of the Archers star in a new adaptation of Flora Thompson's Lark Rise to Candleford, Samira is joined by actors Louiza Patikas, who plays Helen in the Archers, and Susie Riddell, who plays Tracy, to discuss the two-part Radio 4 drama, now called Lark Rise to Ambridge. Actor and chef turned director Philip Barantini joins Samira to discuss making the sequel for BBC television to his BAFTA-nominated, one-take film, Boiling Point, set in the febrile atmosphere of a high-end restaurant kitchen.An ambitious series of spaces at the National Gallery of Scotland opens this week to display Scottish art created in the last 150 years. BBC Scotland’s arts correspondent Pauline McLean visits the new galleries and explains what the building and the works tell us about Scottish identity and how Scottish artists have been representing their country and people.The Writers Guild of America has reached a tentative deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents studios, streaming services and producers, to end the strike by writers over pay and AI. The strike has had an impact on film and television production here and Lisa Holdsworth, Chair of the Writers Guild of Great Britain, explains the significance of the settlement for the UK. Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Olivia Skinner

Front Row opens this year’s Contain’s Strong Language festival live in Leeds. Nick Ahad talks to Detectorists star Toby Jones about his stage adaptation of Italo Calvino’s If On A Winters Night A Traveller, to the festival poet and rapper Testament about 50 Years of Hip Hop and the choreographer and artist Katja Heitmann about turning the everyday gestures of Leeds citizens into art. Plus poetry from the newly appointed Yorkshire Young Laureate.

Writer Joan Smith and art historian Katy Hessel review a retrospective exhibition of the performance artist Marina Abramovic at the Royal Academy and a new ITV drama about the Yorkshire ripper, The Long Shadow.The Russian journalist, novelist and now playwright Dmitry Glukhovsky talks about his stage drama The White Factory telling the story of the ghetto in Łódź, Poland during the second world war. In it he explores the corrosive nature of compromise as the Jews are forced to choose which amongst them will be sent to the death camps and which will survive. He also talks to Tom about his exile from his homeland having spoken out against the war in Ukraine.And Front Row celebrates of the centenary the publication of Harmonium, the first collection of poetry by the American Wallace Stevens. John Lightbody reads The Emperor of Ice Cream.Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Julian MayMarina Abramovic 1:10 The White Factory 13:05 Wallace Stevens 24:42 The Long Shadow 26:31

Birmingham Royal Ballet is celebrating the city’s pioneering heavy metal band in a new production, Black Sabbath – the Ballet. Tom Sutcliffe talks to the director of BRB Carlos Acosta about how the marriage of apparently conflicting cultures came about. He also hears from the composer and arranger Christopher Austin on adapting the music for contemporary choreography and the dramaturg Richard Thomas about creating a narrative structure for an abstract dance form.Today it was announced that Michael Gove has appointed commissioners to take over Birmingham Council. To find out how this might affect arts organisations in the city, Tom speaks to the Birmingham-based journalist and broadcaster Adrien Goldberg.In our occasional series on cultural bugbears we hear from the author and Guardian journalist Tim Dowling. As London Fashion Week draws to a close, we put the business of the British fashion industry under the spotlight with the Yorkshire-based designer and Professor of Fashion Matty Bovan, the New York Times fashion journalist Elizabeth Paton and the designer, academic and curator Andrew Ibi, whose exhibition The Missing Thread: Untold Stories of Black British Fashion is about to open at Somerset House.Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Emma WallaceBlack Sabbath Ballet 1:18 Birmingham Funding 17:20 Immersive Theatre 22:18 Fashion 28:12

From the enduring legacy of Colin Firth’s wet shirt to the colourful extravagance of Bridgerton, costumes have always been central in period dramas. But how much does adaptation match up to reality when it comes to regency fashion? To discuss this - and what’s revealed by the closet of the real-life Austen - Samira is joined by Hilary Davidson, author of ‘Jane Austen’s Wardrobe’, and the award-winning costume designer Dinah Collin.Radio 4’s first poet-in-residence, Daljit Nagra, discusses his new poetry collection, indiom, set in an imaginary workshop where Indic heritage poets discuss the future of poetry and the kind of language(s) they should write in in these post-colonial times. It's a wide ranging mock heroic epic, with references ranging from Shakespeare to The Simpsons, written in Daljit Nagra's innovative, idiosyncratic and exuberant style. The South African singer songwriter Alice Phoebe Lou discusses her music, which has been described as a melding of folk, jazz, electronic and dance music. Her song ‘She’ was shortlisted for the Oscar for best original song in 2018 for the documentary film Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story. She performs live.Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Corinna JonesJane Austen Fashion 1:03 Daljit Nagra 17:28 Alice Phoebe Lou 28:39

When the artist Charlie Mackesy, best-known for his book The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, heard Paul Simon’s most recent album, the acclaimed Seven Psalms, he was inspired to create a sketch for each ‘psalm’. They both join us on Front Row. In the last of our interviews with all the authors shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award we talk to Kamila Shamsie about her story Churail. Gabrielle Chanel opens at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and Das Rheingold, the first part of Wagner’s Ring Cycle opens at the Royal Opera House in London. Head of Fashion at the Telegraph, Lisa Armstrong and writer Philip Hensher join us to review them both. Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Olivia SkinnerPaul Simon 1:10 Chanel 11:12 Kamila Shamsie 22:04 Das Rheingold 30:52

Children's fantasy book author Katherine Rundell talks about her new book 'Impossible Creatures' and the themes of mythology, darkness, and climate change. Marion Duchar and Florian Gadsby discuss the impact of social media on their crafts, addressing challenges such as plagiarism and competition. They also emphasize the value of imperfections in pottery.

Front Row looks at the impact of the Hollywood strikes. Film critic Leila Latif, Equity UK’s Secretary General Paul Fleming, and Lisa Holdsworth, screenwriter and Chair of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain explain the impact and the knock on effect on UK film and TV. The theme to the video game Halo has become one of the best known pieces of game music ever released. Earlier this year fans from around the world were invited to join a virtual choir of thousands to sing the iconic chant. The BBC's Will Chalk signed up to take part.Author K Patrick, talks about their short story, It’s Me, which has been nominated for this year’s BBC National Short Story Award.Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Julian MayHollywood Strikes 01:09 Halo Chant 19:56 K Patrick 34:16