Front Row: Archive 2013

With John Wilson

Damien Hirst talks about humour in art, on the day that a limited edition of 50 signed prints of his diamond encrusted skull go on sale for Red Nose Day. Entitled, For The Love Of Comic Relief, the prints show the skull wearing a glittery red nose, and each is priced at £2500. All proceeds go to Comic Relief.

To The Wonder, a new film directed by Terrence Malick and starring Ben Affleck, explores themes of love and separation. Critic Briony Hanson reviews the latest art house film from the director who made his name with Badlands and Days Of Heaven.

American-born painter R.B. Kitaj was one of The School Of London: a group of artists, which included Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud, who pioneered a new, figurative art. In 1994 a Tate exhibition of his work provoked a torrent of negative reviews, which Kitaj termed The Tate War. This, coupled with the sudden death of his wife, prompted him to leave London for Los Angeles a couple of years later. He died in 2007. Now, in the first major exhibition since then, two galleries are jointly displaying a retrospective of his paintings. Art critic Richard Cork joins John to consider Kitaj's work, and assess the rights and wrongs of The Tate War.

Director Marc Isaacs takes John down the stretch of the A5 which inspired his documentary The Road: A Story Of Life And Death. It tells the stories of immigrants who seek a better life in London - facing struggles, loneliness and sometimes tragedy. Starting at London's Marble Arch, Isaacs discusses the areas and characters he met, and how he made the film.

Producer Rebecca Nicholson.

With John Wilson.

The Jackson brothers are in the UK for a short concert tour. Jackie, Marlon and Tito talk about performing together for the first time in three decades and the early days of the Jackson five, when Michael was a little boy.

Anders Lustgarten's new play, If You Don't Let Us Dream, We Won't Let You Sleep, considers what could happen if social care and public health were to be put completely into the hands of commercial companies, and run according to market forces. In keeping with the austerity theme, this production - whose stars include Meera Syal, Damien Molony and Susan Brown - is performed on a bare, stripped-down stage, with minimal props. Author Bidisha gives the critical verdict.

Before becoming a novelist, Chris Morgan Jones worked for one of the world's largest business investigations agency, a job he has described as part detective, part spy. He has drawn on his experience of working with Russian oligarchs, Middle Eastern governments and New York banks for his new thriller The Jackal's Share. Chris Morgan Jones discusses the rich seam that corporate espionage provides for novelists and how much of the shady underworld in his thriller is based on fact.

Producer: Claire Bartleet

With Mark Lawson.

A Chorus Line, the musical based on the true stories of aspiring dancers, was the longest running show in the history of New York theatre. Now a major new staging of the musical has opened in London for the first time since the 1970s. Sarah Churchwell considers whether it has stood the test of time.

Song for Marion stars Terence Stamp as a grumpy pensioner persuaded to take part in his dying wife's choir. In common with recent films The Exotic Marigold Hotel and Quartet, senior citizens are at the heart of the action. Larushka Ivan-Zadeh reviews the film, which also stars Vanessa Redgrave and Gemma Arterton.

Walter Tull, the first black outfield player to play in the top division of English football and the first black commissioned infantry officer in the British Army, has inspired a novel, and a television drama. His life is now the subject of a new play - Tull. As well as visiting the memorial to Walter Tull in Northampton, Mark talks to the play's writer Phil Vasili, director David Thacker, and to current Northampton Town player and chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association, Clarke Carlisle.

Nicole Kidman has taken on two emotionally challenging roles in the psychological horror Stoker and the thriller The Paperboy. She talks to Mark Lawson about her decision to take risks with the roles she chooses and why she never googles herself.

David Mitchell's award-winning novel, Cloud Atlas, consists of six interweaving stories set in different times - from a slave on a 19th century ship, to a composer in 1930s England, to a clone in 22nd century Korea, to a tribe in a post-apocalyptic 24th century. It's now been turned into a film, written, produced and directed by Lana and Andy Wachowski (of Matrix fame) and Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run). The film version features a set of lead actors including Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent and Hugh Grant, who all play different roles in each of the storylines - and are sometimes almost unrecognisable under heavy make-up. Author and critic Adam Mars-Jones joins Mark to assess how successfully the film captures the spirit of the novel.

Writer Margaret Forster discusses her latest novel, The Unknown Bridesmaid, inspired by a chance discovery in a second-hand bookshop, and explains why she is content to be left behind by advances in technology.

Producer Nicki Paxman.

With Mark Lawson.

The pioneering pop artist Roy Lichtenstein found inspiration in comic books and advertisements. As a major exhibition of his work opens at Tate Modern in London, writer Lionel Shriver re-assesses the art of the painter who brought the comic-strip Whaam! into the gallery.

The writer and producer Paul Abbott reflects on the end of Shameless, his acclaimed TV drama about life on a Manchester estate, which first arrived on our screens in 2004. The final series begins next week. Abbott discusses his approach to the finale, the differences between UK and US television, and why his idea for a Doctor Who episode was turned down.

The death of the actor Richard Briers was announced today. Front Row pays tribute, with an interview from 2010, in which Richard Briers considered the success of The Good Life, and the importance of light comedies in his early career.

With Kirsty Lang.

Sixteen years ago a small British film, set in Sheffield, about a group of redundant steelworkers who decide that stripping could be a way out of their problems, became an international hit. As The Full Monty makes its stage debut, the writer Simon Beaufoy talks to Kirsty about why he wants to turn a celluloid success into theatre gold.

The first artist to be announced for this year's Glastonbury festival was singer Rokia Traore from Mali. And in an intended act of solidarity with the war-torn country, Malian bands will open the Pyramid stage each day of the festival. Kirsty talks to Rokia Traore, and to Salif Keita, one of the earliest Malian performers to become an international star, about their new albums and the role of musicians in Mali now.

The bestselling New York author John Green's latest novel The Fault In Our Stars has attracted a great deal of attention, because it deals with a young girl suffering advanced stages of cancer yet manages to be a darkly humorous read. John Green discusses the background to the novel, which came to him while working as a chaplain in a children's hospital, and how he found the voice of the protagonist, Hazel.

Producer Ellie Bury.

With Kirsty Lang.

Skyfall, the highest-grossing Bond film of all time, is about to appear on DVD. Daniel Kleinman, the designer of the dark opening title sequence with Bond underwater after being shot in the chest, discusses his vision for the classic ingredient of every Bond film, originally established by the late Maurice Binder.

Richard Crompton is a new name in crime fiction. Nairobi, where he lives, provides his location, and his first novel, The Honey Guide, introduces us to his protagonist Mollel, a former Maasai warrior-turned-police detective. He reflects on his approach to writing about crime in Kenya.

Becoming Picasso is a new exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery in London. Its focus is 1901, seen as the painter's breakthrough year, when at the age of just 19 he created the work that formed his first Paris exhibition. Becoming Picasso charts the momentous year and shows the start of many of the themes he developed later in his long career. Art critic Sarah Kent reviews.

The way we watch television is changing forever, as programmes are now being shown on-line before they reach TV screens and sales of DVDs are dwindling as downloads are on the rise. And this has an effect on how and where we watch films and programmes, as the television in the lounge is slowly being usurped by the computer in the bedroom. Naomi Alderman considers the pleasures and dangers of our new bedtime habits.

With Mark Lawson.

The artist Marcel Duchamp is the focus of a new exhibition at the Barbican, London. The Bride and the Bachelors explores his influence on four great modern masters - composer John Cage, choreographer Merce Cunningham, and visual artists Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns. Critic Jackie Wullschlager reviews the exhibition and discusses Duchamp's role in contemporary art.

Spooks star David Oyelowo returns to undercover duty in a new one-off TV drama Complicit. Oyelowo plays Edward, an MI5 officer doggedly on the trail of a suspected terrorist he believes is plotting an atrocity in the UK. On the line from Los Angeles, David Oyelowo discusses the appeal of drama based on the secret service.

While his translation of Brecht's A Life of Galileo opens at the RSC, playwright Mark Ravenhill is training for this year's London Marathon. Mark Lawson puts on his running shoes and joins Ravenhill at an early morning training session. While on the move, Ravenhill explains the parallels between acting and running, and why the Pope's surprise resignation is perfect timing for the production.

And in the week when it was announced that the TV drama The Hour would not be returning for a third series, leaving Freddie's fate undecided, ex-EastEnders supremo and TV producer Mal Young discusses the thorny subject of unresolved cliffhangers.

Producer Jerome Weatherald.

With Mark Lawson.

The resignation of Pope Benedict XVI happens to coincide with the release this week of a new cinema documentary Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God, which features the departing Pontiff. Alex Gibney's film charts the claims of sexual abuse made by individuals who were in the care of Catholic priests in the US, and how many similar claims from across the world made their way to the highest level in Rome. Kate Saunders reviews.

Writer and director Ray Cooney, who is now 80, talks about creating a film version of his most successful farce, Run for Your Wife, which ran for eight years on the London stage. The film has a host of British stars in cameo roles - including Judi Dench, Cliff Richard and Richard Briers.

Marianne Elliott's credits as a director include War Horse, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time and most recently Simon Stephens' play Port, all for the National Theatre. She reflects on the process of directing, her theatrical family and whether she wants to run the National Theatre in the future.

Business is the focus of two TV series starting this evening. The Railway: Keeping Britain on Track goes behind the scenes of the UK's rail network, while businesswoman Alex Polizzi aims to turn around the fortunes of small family-run enterprises. The FT's management columnist Lucy Kellaway reviews both series.

Producer Dymphna Flynn.

With Mark Lawson.

Ben Affleck enjoyed a triumphant night at the Baftas, winning both the best director and best film awards for Argo. He talks about how he approached making a film based on a true story of a secret mission to release hostages from Iran.

This is 40 is Judd Apatow's new film, billed as the 'sort-of sequel' to his hit Knocked Up. It returns to a couple played by Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann, now facing various mid-life crises. Natalie Haynes reviews.

As Jonathan Miller and Barrie Rutter stage a rare revival of Githa Sowerby's Rutherford and Son, opening in Halifax, they discuss why they consider the play to be an overlooked masterpiece. They also reflect on its current relevance, a century after its first performance, as the industrial Rutherford family learn that they are on the brink of financial collapse.

Ben Stephenson, the Controller of Drama commissioning for BBC TV, today announces his new season. He talks about his vision for the future, and considers the current state of TV drama on both sides of the Atlantic.

Producer Penny Murphy.