Front Row

A year ago, the poet and former Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen was admitted to hospital with Covid-19. Against all the odds, after months in hospital, including 48 days in intensive care and in an induced coma, he returned home and has written a new collection of prose poems and words about the experience. The poet discusses Many Different Kinds of Love: A Story of Life, Death and the NHS and how the trauma affected him.This week sees the release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Originally released in 2017 in an edit by Joss Whedon, the film received poor reviews. A successful fan campaign, #ReleaseTheSnyderCut, has led to the release of a new version by original director Zack Snyder. But is it an improvement? Leila Latif reviews.The Band Plays On is a new play by writer Chris Bush, taking the form of a series of monologues punctuated by live music covers of some of Sheffield’s bands and artists. Chris joins us to discuss making theatre in lockdown and her choice to mark Sheffield’s history within the play.Presenter: Elle Osili-Wood Producer: Jerome Weatherald

Director Chase Joynt joins us to talk about his film No Ordinary Man, an in-depth look at the life of musician and trans culture icon Billy Tipton. Tipton was born in Oklahoma in 1914, and with the limited resources of the 1930s, had no choice but to transition alone. Entering the heady world of jazz as a pianist and band leader, he enjoyed a long and successful career, becoming a husband and father of three adopted sons in the 1960s. He never shared his gender history with anyone and when he died in 1989, the press seized on the public outing, generating much lurid coverage and incredulity. No Ordinary Man uses a unconventional format to explore the meaning of his life and legacy from the perspective of trans artists today.Dream is a new collaborative production by the RSC which isn’t quite like their usual work. It uses actors, stop motion techniques, graphics and interactivity familiar from gaming and puts them into a pandemic-proof online show inspired by A Midsummer Night’s Dream: a live performance in a virtual forest. Could this point the way to future developments on stage and screen? Critic Naima Khan gives her verdict.Looking for an accompaniment to working from home? Search “lofi hiphop” on YouTube and among the hours of background music mixes and Anime pictures, you’ll find communities of students and workers from around the world congregating to listen and work together. Journalists Allegra Frank and Wil Jones explain the appeal of the channels, the music and the communities around them.Conductor James Levine, who led New York's Metropolitan Opera for 40 years before being fired over sexual abuse allegations, has died at the age of 77.Main image: Bandleader Billy Tipton Image credit: Courtesy BFI Flare

One year after theatres closed due to the Covid pandemic, leading figures from the industry join Front Row to look at how the past year has impacted upon theatres and the people who work in them. Sonia Friedman reflects on this time last year, when the unthinkable happened, and looks forward to when theatres might re-open. Julian Bird, CEO of SOLT and UK Theatre, reports on the results of their survey, just in, which asked questions of theatres and individuals around the UK. Actor Michael Balogun had all of his work cancelled immediately. Then in September, he appeared on stage at the National, starring in The Death of England - Delroy, but press night was also the last night as the theatre shut again. Theatre directors and writers Emma Rice (Wise Children), Lucy Askew (Creation) and Amy Ng discuss how they've adapted their working practices to cope with the difficulties of the last year, and what opportunities these new ways of working now present for their future work.Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Julian May

Inspired by the real-life story of three men in a lighthouse who mysteriously vanished, Emma Stonex’s novel The Lamplighters is part thriller, part history and part ghost story. She explains why she felt drawn to write about the sea and what we can learn from the solitary lives of lighthouse keepers.David Fincher's film Mank leads the field in today's Oscar nominations, but who else stood out in the announcement? Film critic Larushka Ivan-Zadeh reflects on the nominations in a year when most cinemas in the world have been closed.The film Rocks is leading the BAFTA nominations this year. Its director, Sarah Gavron, and writer, Theresa Ikoko join us to discuss casting with no script, working in a wholly female team and the film’s success.Presenter Kirsty Lang Producer Jerome WeatheraldMain image: Kosar Ali (Sumaya), Ruby Stokes (Agnes) and Bukky Bakray (Rocks) from the film Rocks. Image credit: Aimee Spinks/Altitude Films

The podcast ‘Aria Code’ from WQXR and the Metropolitan Opera aims to pull back the curtain on some of operas most well-known moments. Each episode “decodes” one aria, with academics and opera singers diving in to the music. But there are also a variety of unexpected guests, such as a marriage therapist talking relationships in Carmen or a former sex worker giving perspective on La Traviata. Host Rhiannon Giddens explains what’s coming up in the third series of the podcast.The 2020 film The Legend of Fire Saga told the story of Husavik - a plucky little village in Iceland - that wanted to send a local group to compete at The Eurovision Song Contest. They have a song ready to sing in English but decide at the last moment to swap to one which features their native tongue, even though they’ve been warned that it’ll mean they won’t win. It starred Will Ferrel and Rachel McAdams and the song’s real life composer was Atli Örvarsson (who’s also written for Maroon 5, Ariana Grande, Ellie Goulding and many others). Now it’s Oscar nominations time and the citizens of Husavik want the ballad to their town to be nominated in the Best Original Song category shortlist. For our Friday Review, critics Lanre Bakare and Anna Smith give their verdict on whether Sky’s The Flight Attendant takes off. Starring Kaley Cuoco of The Big Bang Theory, it tells the story of a flight attendant whose wild night out in Bangkok lands her in a very sticky situation. Michelle Gomez and Rosie Perez also star. And we’ll be asking Lanre and Anna to give their suggestions for something cultural to enjoy this weekend. The author Yaa Gyasi’s debut novel Homegoing was a breakthrough success with its account of the impact of slavery on generations of a family. Her second, Transcendent Kingdom, has just been longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction. It’s about opioid addiction, religion and the line between belief and science, with its story of Gifty, a scientist who is looking for ways to understand what has happened to her and her family.Presenter: John Wilson Producer: Julian May

The recent death of Lou Ottens - the inventor of audio cassettes who later went on to work on the development of CD technology - gives us the opportunity to look back at the glory days of cassettes, their subsequent decline and the latest unexpected return to fashion, with music journalists Laura Barton and Jude Rogers.Young British poet Luke Wright describes himself as 'a louche poet (who) loves a bit of bathos'. He has a new collection of work, The Feelgood Movie Of The Year, with poems written over the past few years and right up to Covid lockdown, which brought his full touring diary to an abrupt standstill. How has life changed, and where does a poet find inspiration when their everyday world shrinks overnight?Shaka King is the director of Judas and the Black Messiah, a new film starring Daniel Kaluuya which tells the story of the political life and assassination of Black Panther Fred Hampton at the age of 21 in 1969. King discusses the FBI's determined campaign to disrupt the powerful unifying movement and their infiltration of the Illinois chapter by a counter-intelligence operative.Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Jerome Weatherald

Netflix’s new drama, The One, set five minutes in the future, depicts a world where a DNA test can find your perfect partner. Kohinoor Sahota joins us to discuss its mix of sci-fi and romance, as well as whether this format could be the future of dating.The longlist for the Women’s Prize for Fiction is announced today. Critic Alex Clark joins Front Row to talk about the themes, highlights, whether there are any surprise inclusions and omissions, and which book might take the prize. At the weekend, actor and director Samuel West proposed a plan to ‘reboot’ regional theatre following the lockdown, which would see big-name TV and film stars doing a play at a theatre closest to where they grew up. The actor discusses the reaction to his suggestion and how it would work.In the latest of our Moments of Joy series, comedian Kieran Hodgson takes us into the world of Dvorak’s 8th Symphony, complete with its (figurative) partying elephants and comedy conclusion.Main image: Hannah Ware in the new Netflix series The One. Image credit: Steven Peskett

The Bafta Film Awards have unveiled a highly diverse nominations list, with 16 of the 24 acting nominees this year coming from ethnic minority groups. This follows criticsm in previous years about shortlists that didn’t reflect modern Britain. Film maker, poet and founder of The Caramel Film Club Be Manzini joins us to ask whether this is the beginning of greater representation. Violinist Hilary Hahn’s new CD ‘Paris’ brings together music inspired by a city that has been pivotal in her career. She explains her connection to the pieces she’s recorded, how she juggles pandemic problems with being a professional violinist, and how she hopes to make changes for the next generation of musicians.Diyora Shadijanova and Stig Abell discuss the rise of competitive reading. With more and more people setting themselves a reading target and sharing their book history online, they consider whether social media has made the act of reading more performative than personal. The academic John Mullan has been recommending re-reading Jane Austen during lockdown. In the last in the series, tonight he presents the case for Persuasion.Presenter: Elle Osili-Wood Producer: Simon Richardson

Novelist Oana Aristide discusses her debut novel Under the Blue, about a reclusive artist forced to abandon his home and follow two young sisters across a post-pandemic Europe in search of a safe place. It has been described as eco-fiction and it explores themes of environmental destruction, the melting of the polar ice, eco-terrorism, all within a suspenseful story of three survivors on a terrifying road trip.The British poet Stevie Smith, best known for her work “Not Waving, But Drowning” died 50 years ago today. We speak with her biographer Frances Spalding, the editor of her collected poems and drawings Will May and we’re joined by the actor Juliet Stevenson to look at Smith’s life and works and consider her legacy.Kings of Leon have made their new album available as a form of cryptocurrency, and last week Grimes sold a digital collection of artworks in a similar way for almost $6m. Aleks Krotoski explains the growing craze for ‘non-fungible tokens’ or NFTs.Presenter: John Wilson Producer: Oliver JonesMain image: Oana Aristide Image credit: Nikos Karanikolas

David Mamet's latest play, The Christopher Boy’s Communion is about a couple in New York whose son is facing trial charged with an appalling crime. First performed on the stage in Los Angeles last year, it’s premiers in the UK in the form of a radio play next week. He discusses the tricky issues it deals with and how he adapted a lengthier stage play it for radio (BBC Radio 4, Monday 8 March 8, 1415) In this week’s Friday Review, critics Karen Krizanovich and Jan Asante discuss two films with different perspectives on feminism: The Glorias, written and directed by Julie Taymor and starring Alicia Vikander and Julianne Moore, which focuses on the life of the American feminist, writer and activist Gloria Steinem, and the US high school drama Moxie, directed by and starring Amy Poehler. American writer Danielle Evans talks to Kirsty about her second short story collection, The Office of Historical Corrections, which offers a kaleidoscopic exploration of what it is to be African American in the modern USA and uses the short story form to meditate on themes of history and memory. Our occasional series dedicated to moments of joy returns with games writer Jordan Erica Webber, who argues that even at the end of the universe one can find peace and happiness as in the game Outer Wilds. Presenter: Kirsty Lang Producer: Jerome Weatherald