Front Row

Difficult comedy audiences, Netflix v cinema?, Honey Boy, Romesh Gunesekera


Listen Later

Stand up comedian Nish Kumar was booed off stage at a charity gig for The Lord's Taverners. How do comedians cope when the audience disagrees with their political stance or just takes against them? Ayesha Hazarika is a much-in-demand comedian with well-known strong political views. What are her strategies for coping when facing vocal hostility from the people who've paid to see her perform?

Honey Boy is a new film written by Shia LaBeouf, a largely autobiographical story of an actor in rehab who, in an attempt to cure his PTSD, revisits memories of his abusive childhood. Jumping between present day and 1995, LaBeouf plays a version of his own father, a recovering alcoholic, sharing a motel room with son and child star 'Otis' whilst filming for children’s television nearby. Documentary filmmaker and film critic Charlie Lyne gives us his verdict.

There's a heated debate in film circles at the moment. As cinema companies and Netflix clash over the distribution of Martin Scorsese’s epic mob drama The Irishman, how vital is it that it should it be seen on the big screen vs streaming on Netflix? The streaming service has a policy of restricting the amount of time its films are shown on actual cinema screens. We ask whether going to the cinema may eventually become an elite pursuit.

Sri Lankan author Romesh Gunesekera discusses his new novel Suncatcher. It’s set in the country of his birth in 1964 when national political turbulence seems to echo the emotional turmoil experienced by the central character, Kairo, a boy on the cusp of adolescence attempting to make sense of the world around him.

Presenter: John Wilson

Producer: Oliver Jones

...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

7,913 Listeners

Ask Penguin by Penguin Books UK

Ask Penguin

143 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,067 Listeners

In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,576 Listeners

In Our Time: History by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: History

1,910 Listeners

In Our Time: Philosophy by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: Philosophy

870 Listeners

In Our Time: Culture by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: Culture

618 Listeners

In Our Time: Science by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: Science

743 Listeners

Arts & Ideas by BBC Radio 4

Arts & Ideas

303 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,729 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,018 Listeners

World Book Club by BBC World Service

World Book Club

370 Listeners

Desert Island Discs by BBC Radio 4

Desert Island Discs

1,996 Listeners

Great Lives by BBC Radio 4

Great Lives

488 Listeners

Last Word by BBC Radio 4

Last Word

49 Listeners

Backlisted by Backlisted

Backlisted

585 Listeners

Start the Week by BBC Radio 4

Start the Week

159 Listeners

Bookclub by BBC Radio 4

Bookclub

241 Listeners

Private Passions by BBC Radio 3

Private Passions

52 Listeners

The TLS Podcast by The TLS

The TLS Podcast

181 Listeners

The Waterstones Podcast by Waterstones

The Waterstones Podcast

43 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

3,245 Listeners

This Cultural Life by BBC Radio 4

This Cultural Life

100 Listeners

Take Four Books by BBC Radio 4

Take Four Books

6 Listeners

A Good Read by BBC Radio 4

A Good Read

44 Listeners