

Front Row
BBC Radio 4
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
Episodes
Mentioned books

Feb 25, 2026 • 43min
Arthur Sze, the poet laureate of the United States, and award-winning director Felipe Bustos Sierra
Poet Laureate of the United States, Arthur Sze is one of the most admired poets of the past five decades influencing the work of Poet Laureates and Nobel Physicists. His work focusses on imagery from nature and he will talk about his latest collection and his first UK publication, Into The Hush.The Glasgow Film Festival opening film, Everybody to Kenmure Street tells the story of the community response to a dawn raid by Immigration Officers on Kenmure Street, a diverse community in the southside of Glasgow in May 2021. Director Felipe Bustos Sierra joins Kirsty.Artist Ilana Halperin on her exhibition 'What Is Us and What is Earth' that blends sculpture, drawing and photography to explore the connection between human life and geological time. Curator Susanna Beaumont will also join the discussison to talk about the exhibition, 'Earth Matters' that marks 300 years since the birth of James Hutton, the Edinburgh born geologist whose radical ideas gave us the first sense of deep time and changed how we see the Earth

Feb 24, 2026 • 42min
Ukraine Unbroken - New Plays Responding to the War
The full scale invasion of Ukraine began four years ago today. Ukraine Unbroken is an evening of five new plays written in response to the war. David Edgar talks about his, Five Day War, which imagines the puppet government waiting to move in when Kviv falls, and the other dramas. Between the plays Ukrainian musician Mariia Petrovska sings and plays the bandura. She talks about her involvement and the bandura, the national instrument that was once banned. And Mariia plays and sings live in the studio.As Oscar-winning British cinematographer Sir Roger Deakins looks back at his career through his visual memoir Reflections: On Cinematography, he talks to Samira about his practical and inventive approach to working on many iconic films such as 1984, O Brother Where Art Thou, 1917, tackling sci fi on Bladerunner 2049 and Bond with Skyfall. The government has announced the introduction of new legisation to introduce monitoring by Ofcom of streaming services. Front Row explores the implcations of this.And we consider the novels selected for the International Booker Prize longlist, announced today with writer and head judge Natasha Brown. The books in contention are:
The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran by Shida Bazyar, translated from German by Ruth Martin
We Are Green and Trembling by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara, translated from Spanish by Robin Myers
The Remembered Soldier by Anjet Daanje, translated from Dutch by David McKay
The Deserters by Mathias Énard, translated from French by Charlotte Mandell
Small Comfort by Ia Genberg, translated from Swedish by Kira Josefsson
She Who Remains by Rene Karabash, translated from Bulgarian by Izidora Angel
The Director by Daniel Kehlmann, translated from German by Ross Benjamin
On Earth As It Is Beneath by Ana Paula Maia, translated from Portuguese by Padma Viswanathan
The Duke by Matteo Melchiorre, translated from Italian by Antonella Lettieri
The Witch by Marie NDiaye, translated from French by Jordan Stump
Women Without Men by Shahrnush Parsipur, translated from Persian by Faridoun Farrokh
The Wax Child by Olga Ravn, translated from Danish by Martin Aitken
Taiwan Travelogue by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, translated from Mandarin Chinese by Lin KingPresenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Julian May

Feb 23, 2026 • 42min
Neve Campbell on being Hollywood's Scream Queen, and BAFTAs lowdown
Fifty years on from the death of painter LS Lowry, the BBC has made a documentary featuring recently discovered recordings made in the last years of his life. Recorded by Lowry fan Angela Barratt over a period of four years, the tapes have been lip-synced for the documentary, with Ian McKellen playing Lowry and Annabel Smith as Barratt. Art historian Verity Babbs and curator of the Lowry Collection, Claire Stewart, join Samira Ahmed to discuss the painter's life and legacy. Actress Neve Campbell shot to fame playing the lead role of Sidney Prescott in Scream in 1996. She went on to appear in five of the six sequels - and now returns for another battle with the Ghostface killer in Scream 7. Francis Spufford is the award-winning author of Golden Hill and Light Perpetual. His new novel, Nonesuch, tells the story of a young woman who must thwart an occult plot by time-traveling fascists during the chaos of the London Blitz.And Guardian film critic Peter Bradshaw reacts to last night's BAFTAs, as well as the winner of the Berlin Film Festival's coveted Golden Bear Award. Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Tim Bano

Feb 19, 2026 • 42min
Review: Cynthia Erivo in Dracula, Charli XCX mockumentary, The Secret Agent
Inua Ellams, poet and playwright known for sharp cultural commentary, and Hanna Flint, film critic noted for incisive reviews, discuss Cynthia Erivo's one-woman Dracula. They explore onstage technology and staging choices. They unpack Charli XCX’s mockumentary about fame and the aftermath of Brat. They also examine Kleber Mendonça Filho’s The Secret Agent and its political storytelling.

14 snips
Feb 18, 2026 • 42min
Amanda Seyfried and Mona Fastvold on their film The Testament of Ann Lee
Mona Fastvold, director and co-writer of The Testament of Anne Lee, discusses her research-led, musical approach to telling the Shaker founder’s story. Amanda Seyfried, actor who inhabits Anne Lee, talks accent work and learning Shaker song and dance. Ayla/Ella Lapine, theologian and art historian, reflects on Joan of Arc’s trial and protest symbolism. Justine Picardie, journalist and author, explores royal dress as coded diplomacy.

Feb 17, 2026 • 42min
Playwright Jim Cartwright on his groundbreaking debut play Road
In 1986 Jim Cartwright's debut play, Road, was the theatrical sensation of the year and its reputation has only grown in the decades that have followed. As a new production to mark its 40th anniversary opens at the Royal Exchange in Manchester, Jim Cartwright joins Front Row to reflect on why the play has had such an enduring impact."How lovely yellow is! It stands for the sun.” So exclaimed Van Gogh in a letter. Now an exhibition, 'Yellow: Beyond Van Gogh's Colour', at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam explores why the artist and his contemporaries loved yellow so much. Art historians Martin Bailey and Kirsty Sinclair Dootson discuss the significance of yellow in art, and the long history of the colour.American filmmaker Geeta Gandbhir on her new Oscar-nominated documentary, The Perfect Neighbour, which looks at a 2023 shooting incident in Florida when white female, Susan Louise Lorincz, fatally shot her black female neighbour, Ajike Owens.Dr Jasmine Allen, Director of the Stained Glass Museum, on the "nation's favourite" stained glass window at Carlisle Cathedral.Presenter: Nick Ahad
Producer: Ekene Akalawu

12 snips
Feb 16, 2026 • 42min
Baz Luhrman on Elvis in concert, and 75 Years of The Archers
Baz Luhrmann, flamboyant Australian filmmaker behind kinetic musicals, talks about rediscovered Elvis concert footage and making a live-film celebration. Jeremy Howe, long-running radio drama editor, reflects on marking 75 years with a dramatic whodunit on The Archers. David Byrne, Royal Court Artistic Director, outlines bold programming and a 70th anniversary season. Peter Bradshaw reports on Berlin festival highlights and controversies.

Feb 12, 2026 • 42min
Review: Wuthering Heights film and Jack Thorne's Lord of the Flies
Anne Brontë biographer Samantha Ellis and writer Stephanie Merritt join Tom to discuss Emerald Fennell's racy adaptation of Wuthering Heights starring Margot Robbie.They also review Adolescence co-writer Jack Thorne's BBC adaptation of William Golding's Lord of the Flies.After a 35 year campaign, the South Bank Centre has secured Grade II listing. Former Artistic Director Jude Kelly and architecture historian Barnabas Calder talk about whether we're learning to love Brutalism.Finally, Samantha, Stephanie and Tom have read James Meek's book Your Life Without Me, which is concerned with the competing claims of the old and the new, in both architecture and life. Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe
Producer: Claire Bartleet

Feb 11, 2026 • 42min
Derry Girls creator Lisa McGee on her new series
LIsa McGee on her fresh spin on the murder mystery genre How To Get to Heaven from Belfast, and on the impact of the Derry Girls phenomenon. At this month's Grammy Awards, Olivia Dean, Lola Young and FKA Twigs - all alumni of The Brit School in Croydon - walked off with prizes. We speak to the school's Principal, Stuart Worden, about how the school prepares students for a career in the music industry. And as the world premiere of The Great Wave, a new opera inspired by Hokusai's iconic print, takes place, composer Dai Fujikura talks to us about the man behind the art, and writer Fi Leith discusses the cultural love affair between Scotland and Japan. Presenter: Kirsty Wark
Producer: Mark Crossan

Feb 10, 2026 • 42min
Yes Minister creator Jonathan Lynn on revisiting the characters in his new play
Simon McBurney, theatre director, reflects on Philippe Gaulier’s disruptive clown teaching. Amy Berg, documentary filmmaker, discusses her decade-long work on Jeff Buckley’s archival film. Jonathan Lynn, veteran writer and director, talks about revisiting Jim Hacker and Sir Humphrey in a play about ageing and loss of power. They also explore stop-motion craft, cancel culture and the emotional stakes of reviving beloved characters.


