Front Row

As the Oscars hove into view this weekend, the news is the women are coming - Stacey L Smith from the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative on their research showing more women leading Hollywood box office hits.Berlin ER is the new medical drama from Apple set in a run down A&E department in the German capital. Creator and former doctor Samuel Jefferson on swapping his medical scrubs for television scripts.Berlin-based arts and culture journalist Catherine Hickley on the impact of the German federal elections on the country's creative sector.Writer Santanu Bhattacharya discusses Deviants, his new novel set in India which explores three gay love stories against the backdrop of anti-homosexuality legislation introduced by the British.Presenter: Nick Ahad Producer: Ekene Akalawu

We look back at the quarter century in performing arts, exploring the changes in live stage performance and asking how the theatrical landscape has changed over those years. Samira Ahmed hears about some of the big trends that have changed the experience - such as immersive theatre and discusses the challenges the sector has faced. She is joined by playwrights Mark Ravenhill and Lolita Chakrabarti, who is also an actor, by the producer and CEO of Nimax Theatres, Nica Burns and by the critic Sarah Crompton. Plus we hear from Felix Barrett, founder of Punchdrunk Theatre and Nikolai Foster the artistic director of the Leicester Curve.Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Ruth Watts

John Mullan and Caroline Frost join Tom to review Steven Knight's new historical drama A Thousand Blows, Nicolas Hytner's production of Richard II staring Jonathan Bailey and novel Perspectives by Laurent BinetPresenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Ciaran Bermingham

Kirsty Wark and guests discuss how visual art and architecture have evolved over the last 25 years. In the latest of our special series reflecting the changing cultural landscape since the start of the millennium, Kirsty Wark discusses the significant shifts in visual art and architecture in the 21st century with Director of Exhibitions and Programmes at Tate Modern Catherine Wood; Sunday Times art critic Waldemar Januszczak; Katrina Brown of The Common Guild in Glasgow; and founder of architectural practice Studio Gil, Pedro Gil. What did the boom in museum and gallery building in the early 2000s say about the public appetite for art? How has programming of exhibitions changed to reflect greater diversity? Is the auction market for contemporary art out of control? And is AI making an impact on contemporary art? Featuring an interview with Turner Prize winning artist Jeremy Deller. Presenter: Kirsty Wark Producer: Mark Crossan

Playwright Ishy Din on his new play, Champion inspired by the 1977 visit of celebrated boxer, Muhammed Ali, to South Shields. Art historian Frances Spalding and curator Eleanor Bradley on artist Sheila Fell - the subject of a major exhibition at Tullie Museum and Art Gallery. As a new biography of concert pianist Dame Myra Hess is published, its author Jessica Duchen, and Adam Gatehouse, artistic director of the Leeds International Piano Competition, discuss Dame Myra's distinctive playing style and how it compares to playing styles of today.Presenter: Nick Ahad Producer: Ekene Akalawu

Samira Ahmed talks to Brazilian director Walter Salles about his film I'm Still Here - which has already won multiple awards including the Golden Globe for Best Actress for its star Fernanda Torres. it's based on a true story about a family Salles knew when he was growing up in Rio de Janeiro - whose father was detained and disappeared during the military dictatorship which lasted for more than 20 years. The Face magazine was launched in 1980, offering a stylish approach to music, fashion and culture. A new exhibition at London's National Portrait Gallery showcases some of the most iconic images created by photographers like Jurgen Teller and Ellen von Unwerth. The curator Sabina Jaskot-Gill and journalist and broacaster Miranda Sawyer discuss what made The Face such an important part of British culture. 80s hearthrob Matt Goss - one half of hit band Bros with his brother Luke - features in one of the images in The Face exhibition. He performs his new single and talks about his 11 year residency in Las Vegas - and why he's come back to the UK to tour. Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Paula McGrath

Robbie Collin and Louisa Buck join Tom Sutcliffe to review the fourth Bridget Jones film Mad About the Boy staring Renée Zellweger, the Oscar nominated animation Memoir of a Snail and pioneering artist Linder's Danger Came Smiling retrospective at the Hayward Gallery in London.Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Claire Bartleet

As scheduling changes are made to ITV soaps Coronation Street and Emmerdale, and as the 40th anniversary of EastEnders is celebrated with a live special on BBC One, how is the future looking for continuing drama on TV? Former Executive Producer of EastEnders John Yorke and Entertainment Journalist Emma Bullimore discuss the impact of the audience's viewing habits on commissioning. Renowned Irish novelist Joseph O'Connor talks about his latest historical book, The Ghosts of Rome, a story of heroism set in Italy during World War Two. And we hear about Vanishing Point theatre company's stage adaptation of acclaimed writer Haruki Murakami's short stories Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey, which is a co-production with the Kanagawa Arts Theatre of Japan. Presenter: Kirsty Wark Producer: Mark Crossan

Front Row continues to look at how culture has changed in the first 25 years of this century with an edition focusing on books.Tom Sutcliffe is in the Front Row studio with two writers who've helped to shape the literary landscape over those years – the novelists Zadie Smith and Andrew O'Hagan. They are joined by the presenter of Radio 4's A Good Read and World Book Club, Harriett Gilbert, who's chosen Smith's White Teeth as one of her key books so far this century. Plus Editor of The Bookseller Philip Jones joins the discussion to reflect on the changes in publishing and the impact of technology on our reading habits Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Ciaran Bermingham

Hollywood legend Robert De Niro explains why he's starring in his first ever TV series Zero Day, where he plays a former US President out to find the culprits behind a deadly cyber-attack on America. He's joined by the show's screenwriter Eric Newman. With the British Council facing financial pressures it is considering the sale of its art collection, we hear from Jenny Waldman, Director of the Art Fund about what this might mean. Mark Anthony Turnage and Lee Hall talk about their new opera Festen, based on the Danish film by Thomas Vinterberg, which explores the impact of a dark family secret revealed at a birthday party. And, curator Anna Villi and author Elodie Harper discuss the British Museum and Colchester and Ipswich Museum's Gladiators of Britain exhibition. Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Ruth Watts