Front Row

Atlantis (2019) was the Ukrainian entry for that year's Oscars. It now seems incredibly prescient in its depiction of a Ukraine set post-war in 2025. Film critic Laruskha Ivan-Zadeh and historian Kathryn Hughes join Front Row to review it. They'll also be talking about Michael Arditti's novel The Young Pretender. It imagines the life of the real-life child star Master Betty as a young adult attempting to re-enter the flamboyant world of Georgian theatre.The Venice Biennale, one of the art world’s most prestigious events, opens to the public this weekend. Art critic Hettie Judah is currently in Venice and shares her thoughts about what’s on show at the vast international exhibition.Ivor Novello winning composer Martin Green has immersed himself in the world of brass bands to prepare a new composition premiering this weekend at the Coventry Music Biennale. He tells Tom about writing his piece, Split the Air, and the people that create the incredible music they produce.Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Sarah Johnson

Chivalry, the new Channel 4 comedy which looks at the making of a Hollywood movie in a post MeToo world, has been co-created by its co-stars – Sarah Solemani, and Steve Coogan. Sarah joins Elle Osili-Wood on Front Row to discuss why MeToo has provided new grounds for comedy.Venezuelan singer Samuel Mariño originally trained as a ballet dancer before embracing his rare vocal range as a male soprano and promoting gender and genre-fluid performance. He sings live in the studio, ahead of his debut London recital and the release of his new album, Sopranista, featuring arias recorded by a male soprano voice for the first time.Four cities are in the running to be the UK’s next City of Culture and Front Row is hearing from the places on the final shortlist. Tonight it’s the turn of Bradford as reporter Aisha Iqbal hears about what the UK’s youngest city has to offer. Presenter: Elle Osili-Wood Producer: Simon RichardsonImage: Steve Coogan and Sarah Solemani in Channel 4's Chivalry

Director Robert Eggers discusses his new film The Northman, set in Iceland at the turn of the 10th century. A Nordic prince sets out on a mission of revenge after his father is murdered. The plot, which is an old Nordic story, is allegedly the basis for the plot of Hamlet. The film stars Alexander Skarsgård, Anya Taylor-Joy, Björk, Willem Dafoe and Ethan Hawke.The Olivier Awards recently returned to The Royal Albert Hall for a glittering ceremony, following a pandemic hiatus. They’re widely regarded as honouring a who’s who of great British theatre but critic David Benedict believes they aren’t truly representative. He joins Samira to make the case for shaking up the Oliviers.Artist and writer Oliver Jeffers discusses Our Place in Space, a 10km sculpture trail representing the solar system which is part of Unboxed, a celebration of creativity, taking place across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and online from March to October.We remember Sir Harrison Birtwistle, one of the most significant British composers of the last century, whose death at the age of 87 was announced yesterday.Presenter Samira Ahmed Producer Jerome Weatherald

The Big Jubilee Read is a reading for pleasure campaign by the Reading Agency and the BBC highlighting 70 books from across the Commonwealth published during the decades of the Queen's reign. To mark the launch, Front Row comes from the Studio Theatre at the Library of Birmingham with an audience. Nobel Laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah talks to Samira about his novel Paradise from 1994 which has been chosen as a Big Jubilee Read. Emma d'Costa from the Commonwealth Foundation explains how the books were chosen. Local author Kit de Waal comments and we hear from Birmingham's Poet Laureate, Casey Bailey, whose play GrimeBoy has just opened at the Birmingham Rep. He performs poems celebrating his city. And how are libraries faring ten years on from the first austerity cuts and two years after the pandemic? Briony Birdi of the University of Sheffield explains.The full list of books is available from Monday 18 April at BBC Arts https://www.bbc.co.uk/artsPhoto credit: Tricia Yourkevich for the BBCPresenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Sarah Johnson

Our Thursday review critics, Dr. Kirsty Fairclough and poet Joelle Taylor, give their assessment of Paul Verhoeven's film Benedetta and the exhibition Let the Song Hold Us at Liverpool's Fact Gallery.Nick meets Alan Lane, Artistic Director of Slung Low Theatre Company in Leeds, to discuss his 'pandemic memoir', The Club on the Edge of Town. Presenter: Nick Ahad Producer: Ekene AkalawuPhoto: Daphne Patakia (L) and Virginie Efira (R) in the film Benedetta (Credit: MUBI)

Tom Robinson is the black man wrongly accused of raping a white girl in To Kill a Mocking Bird. In Harper Lee's novel and the film he is at the centre of the story but, defended by the white lawyer, Atticus Finch, almost voiceless. In the acclaimed new stage production now in the West End, the actor playing Tom Robinson, Jude Owusu, discusses his approach to the role and the relevance of the story today.The UK’s City of Culture 2025 will be announced next month and Front Row is hearing from the four places on the shortlist. Tonight, Emily Hughes reports on Wrexham County Borough’s bid.Simran Hans reviews the new film Operation Mincemeat, the new British war drama directed by John Madden.Presenter Tom Sutcliffe Producer Julian May

After being announced as the recipient of the Outstanding Contribution to Photography award at the Sony World Photography Awards 2022, the Canadian photographer and artist Edward Burtynsky talks to Tom about his 40-year career as a landscape photographer.This year’s Turner Prize is returning to Liverpool for the first time in 15 years. Laura Robertson, a writer, critic and editor based in the city gives us a rundown of the shortlisted artists announced today at Tate Liverpool: Heather Phillipson, Ingrid Pollard, Veronica Ryan and Sin Wai Kin.Award-winning and twice Booker shorted listed author of The Butcher Boy Patrick McCabe talks to Tom Sutcliffe about his new novel Poguemahone. Described as this century’s Ulysses, the novel takes the form of a free verse monologue set in Margate in the mind and memories of Dan Fogarty and his sister Una.Rafaella Covino, the founder and director of Applause for Thought, which offers free and low cost mental health assistance for people working in theatre, and Wabriya King, Associate Drama Therapist at the Bush Theatre, join Tom to discuss the growing need for wellbeing support across the theatre industry. Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Nicki Paxman

70 years after Sooty first appeared with Harry Corbett on the BBC’s Talent Night, presenter and current owner of The Sooty Show Richard Cadell talks to Samira about Sooty’s enduring appeal, as Sooty’s Magic Show embarks on a new tour and a theme park opens at the end of May. Annilese Miskimmon, Artistic Director of English National Opera, discusses her directorial debut at the ENO. The Handmaid’s Tale, the opera written by Poul Ruders and Paul Bentley, is based on Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel about a repressive totalitarian state where women are stripped of their identities and their rights.The winner of Best Supporting Actress at last night's Olivier Awards was Liz Carr of Silent Witness fame, for her role in the National Theatre’s revival of The Normal Heart. She tells Samira why she made a plea, after the ceremony, for more Covid-safe theatre performances for vulnerable audiences.As the season for folk festivals approaches, we consider how the times they are a-changing in the world of folk dance. Lisa Heywood, pioneer of gender-free dance calling, and Gareth Kiddier, who organises the dancing at Sidmouth Folk Festival, talk to Samira Ahmed about why gender-free calling matters, how they do it, and how it goes down on the dance floor. Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Jerome WeatheraldImage: Presenter Samira Ahmed with Richard Cadell and Sooty

American playwright Jeremy O.Harris discusses his play Daddy, at London’s Almeida Theatre, which explores the romantic relationship between Franklin, a young black artist, and Andre, a wealthy white collector.Front Row reviews works that are poles apart today; the exhibition Inspiring Walt Disney, which reveals how Disney’s fascination with France, especially Rococo design, animates films such as Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast, and the film Navalny, about the Russian opposition leader who was poisoned with Novichok, recovered in Berlin and returned – to be immediately incarcerated. It is as much a crime thriller, a whodunnit, as a documentary. Film critic Leila Latif and John Kampfner, who began his career as a Reuters Moscow correspondent, but is also Chair of the House of Illustration, discuss these with Tom Sutcliffe.To mark the BBC's Art That Made Us season, Front Row invites artists from across the nations of the UK to choose the piece of art that made them by shaping their artistic and cultural identity. Today we hear from the Welsh-Bajan musician Kizzy Crawford on Robert Williams Parry's poem The Fox.Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Harry ParkerPhoto: Terique Jarrett and Sharlene Whyte in Daddy at the Almeida Credit: Marc Brenner

Ocean Vuong is a Vietnamese-American poet whose recent works include a best-selling novel, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, and a multi-prize-winning volume of verse, Night Sky with Exit Wounds. He talks about his latest collection of poems, Time Is A Mother, exploring themes of childhood, addiction, sexuality and the death of his mother. The third film in the Fantastic Beasts series, The Secrets of Dumbledore, is reviewed by Anna Smith, film critic and host of Girls on Film podcast.Front Row explores the four places competing to be UK City of Culture 2025, starting with Southampton. BBC Radio Solent’s Emily Hudson reports on Southampton’s bid. To mark the BBC's Art That Made Us season, Front Row invites artists from across the nations of the UK to choose the piece of art that made them by shaping their artistic and cultural identity. Today we hear from the Booker Prize shortlisted author Nadifa Mohamed on the 1979 song London Calling by The Clash.Picture of Ocean Vuong credit Tom HinesPresenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Hilary Dunn