Front Row: Archive 2013

With John Wilson

The Broadway hit musical The Book Of Mormon has opened in London. The show is a satirical tale of Mormon missionaries visiting a Ugandan village threatened by a brutal warlord. Book, lyrics and music are by Trey Parker and Matt Stone - creators of the animated comedy, South Park - and Robert Lopez, composer of Avenue Q. Grace Dent reviews.

Comedian Lee Mack, writer and star of TV sitcom Not Going Out, talks about surviving the death of British sitcom, the perfect gag-rate and filming two alternative endings for the new series - depending on whether Lee and Lucy finally get together or not.

ZSL London Zoo's new "tiger territory" was designed in collaboration with the zoo keepers, and the new enclosure aims to provide the tigers with the most suitable environment. The zoo is known for its famous buildings, and the Lubetkin penguin pool and Snowdon aviary are architectural icons. Michael Kozdon, the architect who designed the new tiger enclosure, zoo keeper Teague Stubbington and architecture critic Owen Hatherley discuss how zoo buildings have changed to accommodate the animals, rather than to make an architectural statement.

Nigerian poet and novelist Ben Okri pays tribute to his celebrated countryman Chinua Achebe, who has died aged 82. A novelist, essayist and poet, Achebe is best-known for his novel, Things Fall Apart, which has become the most widely-read book in modern African literature.

Producer Rebecca Nicholson.

With John Wilson.

Maverick violin virtuoso Nigel Kennedy talks about his admiration for Fats Waller, Dave Brubeck, Ravi Shankar and Bach - all of whose music features in his new album. And he reveals an unexpected side-effect of wearing Jimi Hendrix's old bandana during a live performance.

The Village is a new TV drama series with an epic ambition: to chart the life and times of one English village across the 20th century. Starring John Simm, Maxine Peake and Juliet Stevenson, the story centres on Bert Middleton, now 112 years old but only 12 and the son of an impoverished farmer when the story begins. Author Kate Saunders gives her verdict.

The bombed-out St. Luke's church in Liverpool tonight stages the premiere of Tony Teardrop - a play that focuses on the lives of a group of homeless people. The church itself was the inspiration for playwright Esther Wilson, who also wrote the Radio 4 drama serial The Pursuits of Darleen Fyles. She discusses how she creates drama from the experiences of the homeless people she's met, and explains why drama struggles to compete with real life.

Producer Nicki Paxman.

With Mark Lawson.

Alan Bennett has been a feature of British cultural life for over 50 years, first as an actor in Beyond the Fringe and later as a dramatist, screenwriter and diarist, creating theatrical smashes such as The Madness of King George, The History Boys and most recently People.

As a double-bill of his autobiographical plays, Hymn and Cocktail Sticks, arrives in the West End of London, he reflects on how it feels to see himself being portrayed on stage, and the influence of his parents on his work. He also addresses allegations that his recent play People attacked the National Trust, and explains why he is keen to avoid the National Treasure tag.

Producer Ellie Bury.

With Mark Lawson

In the film Compliance, a police officer phones a fast food restaurant and tells the middle-aged manageress that a young employee is accused of stealing. He asks her to detain the girl until the police arrive. She complies. As the situation develops, in near real time, it becomes uncomfortable to remember that the film is based on real events. Jenny McCartney reviews.

Writer and producer Kay Mellor discusses the return of her TV drama The Syndicate, which stars Alison Steadman and Jimi Mistry. This time it's the turn of five low-paid workers at a Bradford hospital to win the Euro millions jackpot. Kay Mellor discusses writing about the experience of gaining sudden wealth against a backdrop of economic austerity.

A new version of Ibsen's Hedda Gabler tranports the play to Birmingham in the early 1960s, with the central character now called Heather Gardner. Similarly, Strindberg's Miss Julie has been reworked to become Mies Julie, set in the Karoo, South Africa. Writers Robin French and Yael Farber discuss their current productions, and Patrick Marber reflects on relocating Strindberg to Britain in 1945, in his play After Miss Julie.

Producer: Olivia Skinner.

With Mark Lawson.

Conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner discusses his fascination with Bach as he prepares to lead a nine hour marathon of the composer's work at the Royal Albert Hall. In mid-rehearsal, Gardiner explains his attempt to convey the rock and roll of Bach. He also talks about his forthcoming 70th birthday, working with apprentices and the music that saps his energy.

Jack the Giant Slayer stars Nicholas Hoult as Jack, a young farm hand who must enter the land of the giants to rescue Princess Isabelle - in an adventure merging two fairy tales, Jack and the Beanstalk and Jack the Giant Killer. Sarah Crompton discusses whether this fantasy adventure from X-Men director Bryan Singer hits the mark.

The Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford has become a licensed wedding venue - couples can now take to the stage and tie in the knot in the Swan Theatre. Professor Michael Dobson, director of the Shakespeare Institute, discusses Shakespeare's attitude to marriage and the weddings in his plays, from Beatrice and Benedick's union in Much Ado About Nothing to Kate's long wait for her groom in The Taming of the Shrew.

On the eve of Philip Roth's 80th birthday, another chance to hear part of a rare interview from 2011: the full interview is available on the Front Row website.

Producer Claire Bartleet.

With Mark Lawson.

Michael Waldman is a TV documentary maker who has gained unprecedented access to the royal family to make Our Queen. The programme follows the Queen during 2012 as she celebrates her Diamond Jubilee and observes the usually secretive meetings she hold with the Prime Minister. He explains how he gained access and what he learned about the royal family.

Beyond The Hills, an award-winning film from Romanian director Cristian Mungiu, is based on a true story about a suspected case of demonic possession in a monastery. Briony Hanson delivers her verdict.

Last year the octogenarian American poet John Ashbery was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Obama at the White House. In a rare interview from his New York home, John Ashbery discusses his latest collection Quick Question, and reflects on the challenge some readers and critics have found in the complexity of the language he uses.

Producer Ellie Bury.

With John Wilson.

Gustavo Dudamel, the young Venezuelan conductor of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, has become one of the most high-profile classical musicians in the world. He returns to the UK this week as Musical Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, to perform a series of concerts. Dudamel discusses the residency and his work advocating music as a way to enrich children's lives.

Producer Jerome Weatherald.

With John Wilson.

Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum is the British Museum's giant examination of daily life in the cities destroyed when Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD 79. John takes an advance peek at the exhibition ahead of its opening with curator Paul Roberts.

A new prize for literature in English by writers from around the world is being launched at the British Library today. John meets one of the founders of the new prize, Andrew Kidd and one of the authors supporting the award, Kamila Shamsie, and wonders whether the prize was founded in response to the 2011 Man Booker shortlist.

In the Flesh is a new BBC3 drama which imagines life after a zombie apocalypse, and how former zombies try to fit back in to the community. Writer Natalie Haynes reviews.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time transfers to the West End this week and composer Adrian Sutton's score plays a prominent role in the production. What may not be so obvious are the mathematical rules he has hidden in the score, an attempt to stay true to the protagonist's love of prime numbers. Adrian and mathematician Marcus du Sautoy, who is holding a forthcoming event about the maths in Mozart's The Magic Flute, discuss the musical appeal of prime numbers.

Producer Ellie Bury.

With Mark Lawson.

Edmund de Waal, author of the bestselling memoir The Hare with the Amber Eyes, reflects on finding novels written by his grandmother, Elisabeth. She grew up in Vienna, and escaped when Hitler's troops marched into Austria on 12 March 1938, 75 years ago today. Her novel The Exiles Return examines the stories of five exiles returning to Vienna after World War II, and is now being published for the very first time.

The Paperboy is the latest film from Lee Daniels, the director of the award-winning Precious. It caused a sensation amongst critics at last year's Cannes festival, thanks to a notorious scene involving Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron and a well-known antidote for a jellyfish sting. Larushka Ivan-Zadeh considers whether this swampy Southern melodrama has any real bite.

The first major UK retrospective of the American realist painter George Bellows opens this week. At the time of his death in 1925, at the age of just 42, Bellows was considered one of the greatest artists America had ever produced. He left 600 paintings of urban New York, boxing matches, social scenes and portraits, making him a chronicler of early 20th Century New York life. Sarah Churchwell reviews.

A leading bookshop chain is offering an exclusive edition of the new paperback by Joanne Harris, featuring an epilogue unavailable elsewhere. Philip Jones, editor of The Bookseller, considers this latest move in the fierce battle between traditional shops and online retailers.

Producer Dymphna Flynn.

With Mark Lawson

Stephenie Meyer is the author of the phenomenally successful Twilight series. The latest of her young adult books to be adapted for the screen is The Host. She reflects on how the success of the films affected her writing and why despite inspiring the 50 Shades series, she has never read it.

Steve Carrell and Jim Carrey star as rival Vegas magicians in The Incredible Burt Wonderstone. Critic Mark Eccleston assesses the film's power to amaze.

Simon Starling became one of the Turner Prize's most controversial winners when he took the 2005 title for his travelling hut, ShedboatShed. He discusses his creation for this year's Tate Britain Commission. Phantom Ride is inspired by early cinema, Blitz damage in London and ghost stories.

Almost half of the musicians playing in the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra during World War II were also members of the Nazi party, according to new research. And 13 members of the orchestra at that time were driven out for being Jewish, or married to Jews. How far should this new information shape our understanding of the orchestra and its history? The cultural commentator Norman Lebrecht considers the issue with Mark.

Producer Stephen Hughes.