Front Row

Colson Whitehead, Duke Ellington's Sacred Music, Carnival Row, Sheila Steafel


Listen Later

Colson Whitehead won the Pulitzer Prize for his 2016 novel The Underground Railroad, about slaves escaping from the southern states and seeking sanctuary in the north. The author discusses his new novel The Nickel Boys, which follows the misfortunes of a young black boy, Elwood Curtis, who finds himself being sent to the brutal Nickel Academy, a segregated reform school where the threat of severe - and sometimes fatal - punishment beatings is a constant fear for all the pupils.

Prior to Thursday’s Prom featuring the sacred music of Duke Ellington, Samira talks to two of the performers in the concert, singer Carleen Anderson and conductor Peter Edwards, about Ellington’s blend of big-band, gospel and orchestral music in this evening of dance, song and jazz with a Christian theme.

Carnival Row is a new fantasy from Amazon Prime which debuts on Friday. Ekow Eshun reviews the series described "as a complex and dark world where Game of Thrones meets Ripper Street." Starring Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevingne, and directed by Jon Amiel, it features a human detective and a fairy rekindling a dangerous affair in a Victorian fantasy world; the city's uneasy peace collapses when a string of murders reveals an unimaginable monster.

We end the programme with a tribute to Sheila Steafel, whose death was announced yesterday. A much loved comic performer and versatile actress whose career spanned six decades, Steafel appeared in films including Quatermass and the Pit (1967), was a regular performer in the long-running music hall style variety programme The Good Old Days and the first woman to join the all-male cast of the Radio 4 satirical show Week Ending.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Front RowBy BBC Radio 4

  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4

4.4

118 ratings


More shows like Front Row

View all
Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,595 Listeners

Ask Penguin by Penguin Books UK

Ask Penguin

158 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,057 Listeners

In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,462 Listeners

In Our Time: History by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: History

1,878 Listeners

In Our Time: Philosophy by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: Philosophy

866 Listeners

In Our Time: Culture by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: Culture

608 Listeners

In Our Time: Science by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: Science

732 Listeners

Arts & Ideas by BBC Radio 4

Arts & Ideas

305 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,749 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,041 Listeners

World Book Club by BBC World Service

World Book Club

369 Listeners

Desert Island Discs by BBC Radio 4

Desert Island Discs

1,978 Listeners

Great Lives by BBC Radio 4

Great Lives

477 Listeners

Last Word by BBC Radio 4

Last Word

45 Listeners

Backlisted by Backlisted

Backlisted

591 Listeners

Start the Week by BBC Radio 4

Start the Week

161 Listeners

Bookclub by BBC Radio 4

Bookclub

243 Listeners

Private Passions by BBC Radio 3

Private Passions

45 Listeners

The TLS Podcast by The TLS

The TLS Podcast

183 Listeners

The Waterstones Podcast by Waterstones

The Waterstones Podcast

36 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

3,193 Listeners

This Cultural Life by BBC Radio 4

This Cultural Life

86 Listeners

Take Four Books by BBC Radio 4

Take Four Books

5 Listeners

A Good Read by BBC Radio 4

A Good Read

42 Listeners