Unprecedented: Real Time Theatre from a State of Isolation, Rubaiyat Hossain, Abigail Pogson, Martin Green

Percy Bysshe Shelley called poets “the unacknowledged legislators of the world”. A new series of short plays written as we entered the lockdown aims to make playwrights the unacknowledged reporters of the coronavirus crisis. Playwright April de Angelis and Jeremy Herrin, Artistic Director of the theatre company, Headlong, discuss Unprecedented: Real Time Theatre from a State of Isolation – one of the first artistic responses to pandemic. The latest contribution to Front Row's occasional new series of audio diaries from Britain’s cultural leaders - revealing the work they are currently doing do ensure their institution will still be able to opens its doors once the coronavirus crisis ends - comes from Abigail Pogson, Managing Director of Sage Gateshead. Bangladeshi filmmaker Rubaiyat Hossain is a rising star on the international film circuit. Her new film, Made In Bangladesh, looks at one woman’s fight to unionize her garment factory co-workers after a fatal workplace fire. It will be streamed as part of the digital return of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival after the festival’s early closure in March. Rubaiyat joins Front Row to talk about her film which shines a light on the women working in an industry which powers the Bangladesh economy. Martin Green is a composer, accordion player, electronic experimentalist, and one third of award-winning band Lau. He’s on the bill for this weekend’s Bristol Takeover Online. The event has been organised to raise money for Bristol’s music venues and the participating artists. Martin joins Front Row to provide a taster of the music he’ll be performing for the live streamed festival. Presenter: Katie Popperwell

Producer: Ekene Akalawu