Saturday Review

The Nest is the new Sunday night drama on BBC1 that raises questions around the ethics of surrogacy as a wealthy couple invite a young woman whose past is not known to them into their lives. The Truth is a French/Japanese production directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda who won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 2018 for his film Shoplifters. It stars Catherine Deneuve and Juliette Binoche in the story of an ageing actress who publishes her memoirs and is confronted by her daughter. Evie Wyld was named as one of Granta's Best of Young British Novelists in 2013. Her new novel, The Bass Rock, tells the story of three generations of women whose fates are linked. Two exhibitions at Compton Verney that have sadly had to close because of coronavirus are kept alive by our critics: Cranach: Artist and Innovator and Fabric: Touch and Identity. And we suggest some culture that might already be on your shelves or on a screen near you to enjoy if you're stuck indoors. Tom Sutcliffe's guests this week are Charlotte Mullins, Bob and Roberta Smith and Laurence Scott. Podcast Extra recommendations Bob: Paul Klee, On Modern Art Certain Blacks, album by The Art Ensemble of Chicago The Letters of Van Gogh Charlotte: The Gallery of Lost Art - as she explains, what's left of it can be found at galleryoflostart.com and via Tate website The West Wing Laurence: Star Trek: the Next Generation, all 7 seasons Tom: Contagion and, as always, Call My Agent Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Sarah Johnson Image: Emily (SOPHIE RUNDLE) in The Nest Credit: Mark Mainz / Studio Lambert / BBC

Misbehaviour is a new film about the 1970 Miss World pageant which saw the first black Miss World and was also disrupted by the nascent Women's Liberation movement who threw flour bombs at host Bob Hope Sebastian Barry's play On Blueberry Hill is set in a prison cell where two men's stories of how they got there become intertwined. Abi Daré's novel The Girl With The Louding Voice is the tale of Adunni, a fourteen year old Nigerian girl who has to go into domestic service in Lagos but is determined to better herself A new retrospective of the work and life of Andy Warhol has just opened at Tate Modern in London, including many works never previoulsy exhibtited in the UK before Two new TV comedies with impeccable pedigrees - ITV's Kate and Koji (written by Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin - who wrote Outnumbered) and Breeders (co-produced by Chris Addison and Simon Blackwell) on Sky TV - have just started. Theyre very different.. are they very funny? Tom Sutcliffe guests are Sara Colllins, Alex Preston and Tiffany Jenkins. The producer is Oliver Jones Podcast Extra recommendations: Sara: Toni Mossion: The Pieces I Am + Fons Americanus by Kara Walker at Tate Modern Alex: The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins Tiffany: Music Clubs - Spin in OXford and House Concerts @42 in Edinburgh Tom: James Shapiro: Shakespeare In a Divided America Main image: Abi Daré © Alero Marcel

Hilary Mantel's new novel - The Mirror and The Light - is the final part of her Thomas Cromwell trilogy. The previous two parts have sold millions of copies worldwide and garned prizes from all quarters. Can this one compare? The Mikvah Project is a new play at The Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond. Two Jewish men meet every Friday for ritual cleansing and a close friendship develops. Sulphur and White is a new British film which tells the true story of a highly successful banker who suffered repeated sexual abuse as a child and how this drove him to seek justice for all abused children A new exhibition at The Hayward Gallery in London - Among The Trees - looks at the crucuial role that trees play in our lives and imaginations Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Christopher Frayling, Abigail Morris and Catherine O'Flynn. The producer is Oliver Jones Podcast Extra recommendations: Catherine - The National Telephone Kiosk Collection in Bromsgrove and the 1972 film La Cabina Christopher - Who's Afaid of Virginia Woolf at The Tobacco Factory in Bristol and Prints by Norman Ackroyd at Watts Gallery near Guildford Abigail - Carravagio in Rome and Bonus Family on Netflix Tom - English Monsters by James Scudamore Main image: Terraza Alta II, 2018 by Abel Rodríguez Acrylic and ink on paper © the artist and Instituto de Visión 2020

The newest film by French director Céline Sciamma (Tomboy, Girlhood) is Portrait Of A Lady On Fire. An 18th century painter is commissioned to paint a bride-to-be's wedding portrait and falls in love with her subject Women Beware Women is a play by Middleton just opened at The Globe Theatre in London. How do you navigate a society in which women are consciously and unconsciously commodified, coerced and controlled? Australian author Christos Tsiolkas came to international attention with his best-selling novel The Slap. His latest - Damascus - retells the story of St Paul's conversion. Leon Spilliaert was a Belgian painter in the early 20th century whose work often reflected his insomnia and seaside settings. A new exhibition at London's Royal Academy brings this lesser-known artist into the spotlight Malorie Blackman's successful Noughts and Crosses novels have been adapted for TV and they're coming to BBC1 at the beginning of March Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Sathnam Sanghera, Muriel Zhaga and Susan Jeffreys. The producer is Oliver Jones Podcast Extra recommendations: Sathnam - Jay-Z on Spotify Susan - Choirs and singing by candlelight Muriel - making Delia Smith's marmalade and rewatching Friends Tom - A.N. Wilson's The Mind of the Apostl e Main image © 2020 Curzon Artificial Eye

Mexican documentary Midnight Family follows a family-run private ambulance in Mexico City racing to the scenes of accidents in order to earn a living Masculinities:Liberation Through Photography, is a new exhibition at The Barbican in London, about how masculinity is experienced, perfomed, coded and socially constructed. Actress is the latest novel from Irish author by Anne Enright. A daughter looks back at her sometimes fractious relationship with her famous mother A revival of Caryl Churchill's 2000 play Far Away has just opened at London's Donmar Warehouse Teenage existence is never easy and having superpowers can only make it even more so. I Am Not Okay With This on Netflix is a new series with an adolescent female lead... Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Blake Morrison, Amber Butchart and Stephanie Merritt. The producer is Oliver Jones Podcast Extra recommendations: Stephanie: The Laramie Project Amber: We Will Walk at Turner Contemporary in Margate. And the sauna on Margate Beach Blake: When Time Stopped by Ariana Neumann Tom: Midsommer Main image: Taliban portrait. Kandahar, Afghanistan. 2002 © Collection T.Dworzak/Magnum Photos

Tom Stoppard has a new play - Leopoldstadt - a slightly autobiographical telling of the story of several generations of a wealthy Jewish family in Europe over 6 decades, from 1899 How many different cinematic versions of Jane Austen novels does the world need? What does The latest Emma - directed by a former photographer/ pop video director - bring that's new? A Small Revolution in Germany is the latest novel from Philip hensher. It follows the diverging paths of a group of young politically charged leftists The End is a very darkly comic TV series set in a retirement village on Australia's Gold coast where Edie - played by Harriet Walter - ends up after trying to kill herself A retrospective of the video work of British artist Steve McQueen has just opened at Tate Modern in London. 14 video installations cover his work from 1992 to today Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Ayesha Hazarika, David Benedict and Julia Raeside. The producer is Oliver Jones Podcast Extra recommendations: Juiia: Julia Jacklin - Crushing David: Tony Kushner's The Visit at The National Theatre and Tana Frech - In The Woods Ayesha: BBC This Life box set and female comedians live Tom: In Wordsworth's Footseps on Radio 4 and American Factory documentary Main image credit: Marc Brenner

Director Agnieszka Holland assembles a cast including James Norton and Vanessa Kirby to tell the story of Welsh journalist Gareth Jones who in 1933 travelled to Soviet Russia and told the truth about the famine in Ukraine. At the National Theatre, Clint Dyer directs the play he has co-written with Roy Williams, Death of England, starring Rafe Spall as a white working-class man whose father has died and who has to face up to his conflicted feelings about his country and the people who live in it. Ta-Nehisi Coates has earned a great reputation as a writer and thinker on race in America. His first novel, The Water Dancer, is the story of Hiram Walker who becomes involved in a struggle to leave slavery and save those close to him. British Baroque at Tate Britain takes a look at art from the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 until the death of Queen Anne in 1714, highlighting the jostling for power at court and beyond and illustrating the creation of the great buildings of the age. And This Life returns to BBC4, a drama of young people entering the world of work in the law, perhaps best remembered for the simmering sexual tension between Miles and Anna. Will its fans from 1996 stick with it - and can it draw a new audience? Tom Sutcliffe's guests this week are Jen Harvie, Carl Anka and Terence Blacker. Podcast Extra recommendations Carl: YouTube Channel SB Nation and Brian Phillips' obit of Kobe Bryant available here: https://www.theringer.com/nba/2020/1/30/21114600/kobe-bryant-legacy Jen: film, Parasite on general release; Tate Britain's exhibition Terence: the music of Paolo Conte Tom: Edmund de Waal's book The White Road, and Zadie Smith's essay on Kara Walker in the NY Review of Books Photo: James Norton and Vanessa Kirby, (c) Signature Entertainment

Ingmar Bergman's 1966 film Persona has been adapted into a stage play and it is the opening production at the newly revamped Riverside Studios in London The Lighthouse, starring Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson is a black and white film set in a claustrophobic remote isolated lighthouse where the two keepers begin to rub each other up the wrong way William Gibson is a sci-fi writer whose latest novel Agency imagines a dystopian future world where time travel is possible but only virtually The Art, Design and Future of Fungi is an exhibition at Somerset House in London which brings together work by artists and designers, exploring mycophilia, magic mushrooms and fungi futures Art On The BBC is a new documentary series which delves into 60 years of arts coverage on BBC TV, exploring how TV portrayal has changed. Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Meg Rosoff, Katie Puckrik and Colin Grant. The producer is Oliver Jones Podcast Extra recommendations Meg: Jo Jo Rabbit film and Beryl at The Arcola Theatre Katie: Paris In The Spring CD on Ace Records Colin: The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste Tom: Cheer documentary on Netflix Photo: Beatrix Potter, Hygrophorus puniceus, pencil and watercolour, 7.10.1894, collected at Smailholm Tower, Kelso, courtesy of the Armitt Trust

Armando Iannucci has taken on Dickens' David Copperfield with Dev Patel in the lead role A new play by Lucy Kirkwood, Welkin, has opened at London's National Theatre. The Welkin is set in Norfolk in 1759, when a jury of matrons is called to try a female murder suspect who is 'pleading the belly' in order to avoid execution Motherwell is the memoir of journalist, the late Deborah Orr recounting her childhood and growing up in Scotland and trying to break from her family Portraying Pregnancy: From Holbein to Social Media is a new exhibition at London's Foundling Museum which looks at how artists have shown pregnant women over the centuries. Admission fee charged. The Windermere Children on BBC2 is the story of 300 Polish child survivors of concentration camps who were brought to the UK after the war and billetted in The Lake District Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Helen Lewis, Catherine Yass and Mark Billingham The producer is Oliver Jones Podcast Extra recommendations: Catherine: Steve McQueen Year 3 at Tate Britain & A Girl Is A Half-Formed Thing by Eimear McBride & Yinka Shonibare's Farm in Nigeria Mark: Elvis Presley 68 Comeback Special & Long Bright River by Liz Moore Helen: House Of Glass by Hadley Freeman & In The Darkroom by Susan Faludi Tom: Daniel Finkelstein's tweet thread about his mother's escape from Germany & Miss Austen by Gill Hornby & Shook opening at the Trafalgar Studios in April.

A triple bill of Samuel Beckett plays has just started at London's Jermyn Street Theatre. Directed by Trevor Nunn, it's a chance to see Krapp's Last Tape as well as two lesser-known works - Eh Joe and The Old Tune.https://bit.ly/2Rm8AtG https://bit.ly/2uWA95b Bombshell has been Oscar nominated. It's the story of Roger Ailes' reign at Fox News and the sexual harrasment cases that were brought against him. It stars Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron and Margot Robbie Armando Iannucci has a new comedy TV series on HBO. Avenue 5 is set onboard a luxurious interplanetary cruiseship when things start to malfunction. American Dirt is a new novel from Jeanine Cummins which follows a Mexican woman and her young son who have to flee to El Norte to escape drug cartel violence. They have become migrants Tullio Crali was an Italian futurist painter who has an exhibition at London's Estorick Collection. He was a fervent futurist and you can see his paintings and sassintessi - compositions of stones and natural found objects Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Rosie Boycott, Ekow Eshun and Amanda Craig. The producer is Oliver Jones Podcast Extra recommendations Amanda: Kara Walker at Tate Modern and The Gulbenkian in Lisbon Rosie: Garden Museum at Newt Hotel in Somerset Ekow: Atlantiques on Netflix Tom: The Kinks' Days on Radio 4's Soul Music and Lucy Hughes-Hallett's The Pike Main image: Detail taken from Tricolour Wings, 1932 by Tullio Crali

Sam Mendes' film 1917 is set during the First World War and based on his Grandfather's experiences during the conflict. It's already won a Golden Globe and is touted for more awards glory. What do our reviewers make of it? This Time is a show by the group Ockham's Razor and part of The London International Mime Festival 2020. It tells an inter-generational story through circus skills with a 4 person troupe whose member range from 13 to 60 Albanian author Ismail Kadare was the inaugural winner of the Man Booker International Prize and his latest novel to be translated into English is The Doll, It's the story of his mother and her difficulties when she married his father British artist Saad Qureshi has an exhibition at The Chapel at Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Something About Paradise considers the widely differing ideas of what paradise might look like BBC1 has a new sitcom,King Gary, co-written by and starring Tom Davis as Gary King a builder and building entrepreneur. It was launched with a pilot episode last year and is now a six part series. Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Sarah Crompton, Rajan Datar and Lynn Nead. The producer is Oliver Jones Podcast Extra recommendations: Sarah: Bombshell, Little Women and Top Hat Lynn: Musicals at the BFI and her son's vegan Christmas cake Rajan: Death Of A Salesman with Wendell Pearce, and In The Viper's Shadow by Prince Fatty and Play Well at the Wellcome Collection Tom: Guys and Dolls Photo by Nik Mackey

There's a new all-star Little Women on the big screen. The cast includes Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, Emily Watson, Laura Dern, Timothee Chalamet and Meryl Streep. Louisa May Alcott's novel has been a popular text for film makers since the first silent version in 1912 - is there anything new which director Greta Gerwig can bring to this version? HG Wells' novel The War Of The Worlds is probably best known to many people as the Jeff Wayne musical version, it's the UK's 32nd best-selling studio album of all time. It's been a touring show, made into a video game and now it's become an immersive theatrical experience,complete with AI headsets. Untitled Goose Game is an award-winning game in which the player is a goose who wanders around irritating characters by honking and flapping at them. We look at a couple of graphic novels: Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me and November. Four hundred years ago, in August 1619, a ship carrying more than 20 enslaved Africans arrived in America. A podcast series “1619,” from The New York Times, hosted by Nikole Hannah-Jones, examines the long shadow of that fateful moment. You're Dead To Me is a BBC podcast series which describes itself as "a history podcast for people who don't like history". Presented by Greg Jenner, it looks at a variety of subjects from a lighthearted perspective Jordan Erica Webber's guests are Arifa Akbar, Naima Khan and Carl Anka. The producer is Oliver Jones. Podcast Extra Recommendations: Naima - Christina Craig; Mint Tea and Other Stories Carl - Super Eyepatch Wolf Arifa - Death Of England at The National Theatre Jordan Spinning by Tilley Walden

Find out what Saturday Review listeners chose as their cultural highlights of 2019. We asked what you'd enjoyed this year and you told us about things we'd missed, disagreed about some cultural events we'd reviewed, and let us know about which ones had delighted you too. We'll discuss all the regular genres: films, theatre, exhibitions, books and television. And lots of items which we didn't get a chance to review from the past 12 months. Tom Sutcliffe is joined by Tiffany Jenkins and Shahidha Bari as well as lots of listeners on the phone from around the country, telling us what particularly impressed them last year. Producer Oliver Jones

The much-anticipated film of Cats with its stellar and fur-enhanced cast including Judi Dench and Taylor Swift finally reaches the big screen. Catnip or catastrophe? Spooky offerings in the Christmas TV schedule this year include Martin's Close by Mark Gatiss on BBC 4 and Susan Hill's Ghost Story on Channel 5. How shiver-inducing are they? Nora Ephron's collection of essays on ageing and much else - I Feel Bad About My Neck - is being reissued with a new introduction by Dolly Alderton. It's a book that Alderton recommends giving as a present so Saturday Review suggests some other enduring literary choices that work as gifts. And Gypsy starring Ria Jones is on at the Royal Exchange, Manchester in a new production directed by Jo Davies. Do its songs keep our critics smiling in an age of different sexual politics? Rowan Pelling, Linda Grant and Kerry Shale join Tom Sutcliffe. The books recommended as gifts are: The Book of Jewish Food by Claudia Roden Karoo by Steve Tesich The Prince of West End Avenue by Alan Isler Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote Love Lessons by Joan Wyndham The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson This is Pleasure by Mary Gaitskill Haunts of the Black Masseur by Charles Sprawson The Compleet Molesworth by Geoffrey Willans and Ronald Searle This week's podcast choices are: Linda: podcast and Radio 4 programme Fake Heiress Kerry: album If You're Going to the City, a tribute to Mose Allison Rowan: TV series The Young Offenders, BBC3 Tom: TV series Watchmen, HBO

Aquarela is a movie about water...filmed at 96 frames per second- four times faster than normal and there are fewer than a handful of cinemas in then world with equipment to show it properly. What's them point? Swive (Elizabeth) at The Sam Wannamaker Playhouse imagines Elizabeth I from teenager to monarch and the wiles and strength ways she needed to keep on top Robert Musil's most famous book The Man Without Qualities was published in 1943 and a follow-up Agathe has just been published. Compiled by scholars it pulls together notes and drafts to make a sequel. Will the reviewers consider it worth the effort? Theaster Gates is an African American social practice installation artist who has a major new exhibition opening at Tate Liverpool Mike Bartlett wrote the wildly popular Dr Foster but hasn't quite matched its success since. Will his new ITV series Sticks and Stones (about workplace bullying) reestablish his success? Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Natalie Haynes, Abigail Morris and Bidisha. The producer is Oliver Jones Image: Nina Cassells (c) Johan Persson Podcast Extra recommendations Bidisha - Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen Abigail - Essays of E B White and Chernobyl podcast Natalie - Peaky Blinders and Lizzo Tom - Jo Jo Rabbit

Fairview is a Pulitzer Prize-winning play just opened at the Young Vic in London. It starts out like a conventional US African American dramedy and then begins to mess with the audience's expectations. How will our reviewers feel about it? Chinese film So Long My Son has won awards at international film festivals. It tells the story of a family over 30 years of turbulent Chinese history Annette Hess' prize-winning novel The German House is the story of a Polish translator at the 1963 Frankfurt Auschwitz trials. Caught between societal and familial expectations and her unique ability to speak truth to power—as she fights to expose the dark truths of her nation’s past. If everything your family told you was a lie, how far would you go to uncover the truth? A new exhibition of work by British abstract painter John Walker at Ikon in Birmingham includes new paintings A Very Scandi Scandal has just started in the Walter Presents slot on Channel 4. It's a Swedish comedy heist with two extremely unlikely bank robbers Shahidha Bari's guests are Dea Birkett, Kit Davis and Robert Hanks. The producer is Oliver Jones Main image: Rhashan Stone & Nicola Hughes in Fairview (c) Marc Brenner

The Nightingale is a film set in Tasmania in the brutal days of convict settlers and soldiers. A young wife faces violence as she tries to track down a man who has violated her family The National Theatre's adaptation of Elena Ferrante's My Brilliant Friend condenses the four wildly-successful novels into 2 three-hour plays at The Olivier. The creator of Jack Reacher - Lee Child- has written a short book about The Hero. It's the first of two publications in the new Times Literary Supplement imprint - the other reproduces Virginia Woolf's reviews from the TLS. Troy: myth and reality is the latest big exhibition at London's British Museum. trying to work out where legends end history begins in these classical tales Tim Minchin co-wrote and stars in a new roadtrip-based TV comedy series Upright which has just begun on Sky TV. In it he has to transport an old piano across Australia, accompanied by a sassy grumpy young female companion. Is it funny? Is it worth watching? Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Deborah Moggach, Tom Shakespeare and Briony Hanson. The producer is Oliver Jones. Podcast extra recommendations: Tom Sh: Independence Square by AD Miller Deborah: Netherlandish Proverbs explained video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tboRw6CPXjI Briony: Hanna Gadsby's Douglas (and Nanette) Tom S: The End of the F***ing World on All 4 and Les Indes Galantes https://youtu.be/Q4jy2wrjESQ and Jo Jo Rabbit film

Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen has been an enormous success and has now transferred to London's West End. It's the story of a socially awkward young man who accidentally becomes a hero Feast & Fast: The art of food in Europe, 1500 – 1800 is the latest exhibition at The Fitzwilliam in Cambridge Greener Grass is a peculiar take on the American suburban comedy British Nigerian author Irenosen Okojie's collection of short stories; Nudibranch American documentary series maker Ken Burns has turned his attention to Country music for his latest series now airing on BBC4 Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Deborah Bull, Susie Boyt and Louisa Uchum Egbunike. The producer is Oliver Jones Photo by Matthew Murphy Susie: Wednesday Afternoon matinees at Regent Street Cinema and the Joan Crawford film Queen Bee Deborah: Ballet Black on tour and Inspire The Mind blog Louisa: Chinua Achebe- There was a Country and Chinelo Okparanta - Under the Udala Trees Tom: The Pallisers on Channel 4 and Lil Nas X - Old Town Road

The Gangster The Cop The Devil is an award-winning Korean action thriller about an unlikely alliance between a maverick police detective and a ruthless mobster who have to work together to catch a serial killer Touching the Void began life as a book by Joe Simpson, about a climbing accident which nearly killed him. It has since been turned into a film and now a stage play. How can you show vertiginous dangers and a lot of internal thought processes in the theatre? Sri Lankan writer Romesh Gunesekera was born in Ceylon - as it was known then - and his coming of age novel "Suncatcher" is set in his native country in 1964, as the struggle for independence began. Gold Digger is a Sunday night series just started on BBC1. When their 60 year old mum meets and moves in with a much younger man, Julia's children decide they don't like it and start to try and drive them apart George IV : Art and Spectacle has just opened at The Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace. He was arguably the most magnificent of British monarchs and formed an unrivalled collection of art, much of which remains in the Royal Collection Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Charlotte Mullins, Lynn Shepherd and Jim White. The producer is Oliver Jones Podcast Extra recommendations: Lynn - Leonardo Da Vinci at London's National Gallery Charlotte - Kathe Kollwitz at British Museum and Elizabeth Peyton at London's National Portrait Gallery Jim - Bruce Springsteen, Western Stars Tom - Giri Haji on BBC2 Rembrandt van Rijn, The Shipbuilder and his Wife: Jan Rijcksen and his Wife, Griet Jans, 1633 Image credit: Royal Collection Trust / (c) Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2019

The Report is a docu-drama starring Adam Driver telling the story of Senate staffer Daniel Jones and the Senate Intelligence Committee as they investigate the CIA's use of torture following the September 11 attacks. Shook is a debut play at The Southwark Playhouse which won the Papatango New Writing Prize. How will our reviewers receive this brand new work at a fringe theatre by an unknown writer? The Topeka School by Ben Lerner is the third part of his trilogy featuring a central character who bears a decided resemblance to Lerner himself. Is this a State of America novel or self-indulgent , if brilliant, writing? A new exhibition at Somerset House: 24/7 looks at artistic responses to the always-on culture that envelopes us all nowadays Self portrait as time, 2016: https://vimeo.com/170398999 Order of Magnitude: https://vimeo.com/333795857 The Morning Show is Apple TV+'s big marquee show designed to attract voewers and subscribers to the new streaming service. Starring Jennifer Aniston and Reece Witherspoon it deals with the #metoo movement set in a TV newsroom Tom's guests are Maria Delgado, Kevin Jackson and Louise Doughty. The producer is Oliver Jones Podcast Extra Recommendations: Maria - The Chambermaid film Kevin - Susan Sontag At The Same Time Louise - Wasafiri magazine Tom - Julian Barnes' The Man In The Red Coat

Making Waves: The Art Of Cinematic Sound is a documentary looking at (and listening to) the work of sound designers in film. What do they do and how do they affect the viewer? The Antipodes the latest play by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Annie Baker. Set in a brainstorming meeting for some undisclosed creative company, the tensions of office relationships and the need to be imaginative lead to tensions Hanne Orstavik's novel Love unfolds in a village in far northern Norway. Jon is a young boy, looking forward to his birthday tomorrow, always thinking of his mother even though the attention isn't reciprocal The BBC has a brand new version of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials. It's been a book, a BBC Radio play, a film and now a TV adaptation. How does the small screen incarnation fare? Joy Labinjo is a young Nigerian/British painter who has an exhibition of her work at The Baltic in Gateshead. Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Ellah Wakatama Allfrey, Christopher Frayling and Kathryn Hughes. The producer is Oliver Jones Podcast Extra recommendations: Ellah: Media Democracy podcast Christopher: The Dublin Murders and Paolozzi exhibition at Hazlitt Holland-Hibbert in London Kathryn: The Reinvention of Humanity by Charles King Tom: Guilt on BBC2 and The CryptoQueen podcast Main image: Dafne Keen Photo credit: Bad Wolf/BBC One/HBO

Play Well is a new exhibition opening at the Wellcome Collection in London, aiming to explore how play transforms both childhood and society. On a mountaintop in Colombia, eight children with guns watch over a hostage and a conscripted milk cow, communicated with over the radio by a threatening commander. That's the basic plot of a new film Monos, which has won awards at international festivals. Vassa is the new production at London's Almeida Theatre, adapted from Maxim Gorky's play by Mike Bartlett and starring Siobhan Redmond. Elizabeth Strout's new novel Olive Again reintroduces readers to Olive Kitteridge, from her best-selling 2008 novel. Older and (maybe) wiser, she's as blunt and delightful as ever as she copes with a second marriage. The Accident is a new series beginning on Channel 4 written by Jack Thorne and starring Sarah Lancashire. Presented by Emma Woolf, the reviewers are Pat Kane, Alex Clark and Sally Gardner. The producer is Oliver Jones. Podcast Extra recommendations: Sally: Mystify Pat: The Emotional Mind by Stephen T Asma and Rami Gabriel Alex: The Reluctant Landlord on TV and the Kilkenny One Act Play festival Emma: George Gissing

Non Fiction is a very French film about writers and publishers debating the future of the book vs e-book. But the characters also all appear to be having affairs with each other: Tres Francais! But will our reviewers be seduced? Stillicide by Cynan Jones and The Diver's Game by Jesse Ball are two new dystopian novels which both authors insist are NOT dystopian. Who's right; The reader or the author? There Are No Beginnings is the play chosen to open the newly renovated Leeds Playhouse. The playwright Charley Miles has insisted it is "NOT a play about The Yorkshire Ripper" but his presence is a dark force at the centre of the play. Pre-Raphaelite Sisters is a new exhibition at London's National Portrait Gallery which aims to look at the women behind the movement most commonly associated with the Brotherhood - as models, artists, makers, partners and poets. Living With Yourself is a Netflix series starring Paul Rudd as a man who accidentally finds himself cloned and having to deal with the new version of himself Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Helen Lewis, Maev Kennedy and Laurence Scott. The producer is Oliver Jones Podcast Extra selections Helen: Mephisto at The Gate Theatre... and public loos at theatres more generally Maev: Georgette Heyer Laurence: Patricia Lockwood on John Updike in the LRB

Chris Morris's film The Day Shall Come, is a very dark comedy about a genuine FBI operation to deal with potential domestic terrorists in the USA. Man In The White Suit was one of the highly-successful Ealing Comedy films. Released in 1951, it told the story of a man who invents a revolutionary fabric. Now adapted for the stage starring Stephen Mangan in the role originally played by Alec Guinness. Zadie Smith has published a collection of short stories called Grand Union. Hogarth exhibition - Place and Progress. All of the paintings and engravings in Hogarth's series are united for the first time at the Sir John Soanes Museum in London Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Bob and Roberta Smith, Naima Khan and Stephanie Merritt. The producer is Oliver Jones. Podcast Extra recommendations: Bob and Roberta Smith - Kara Walker at Tate Modern Stephanie: Rachel Cusk - Coventry, Zadie Smith - In Defence Of Fiction, Rebecca Solnit - Whose story is this , Sinead Gleeson -Constellation, Emilie Pine - Notes to Self. Also Brooklyn 99 Naima: The Guilty on Netflix Tom: The Politician on Netflix and Jonathan Coe - Sinking Giggling Into The Sea in the LRB Main image: Marchánt Davis, The Day Shall Come Courtesy eOne / IFC Films

Joker: What was it about the new DC comic-based film which helped it to win the highest prize at this year's Venice Film Festival? Starring Joaquin Phoenix, it's a dark affair but is it deserving of the plaudits and prizes? Mary Costello's new novel "The River Capture" is set in rural Ireland where a young woman arrives and changes the life of those she meets A revival of A Day In The Death Of Joe Egg at London's Trafalgar Studios comes shortly after the death of its author Peter Nichols. Dublin Murders is an adaptation by Sarah Phelps of the Tana French novels for BBC TV A new exhibition at London's Barbican Centre - Into the Night: Cabarets and Clubs in Modern Art - spans the 1880s to the 1960s, celebrating the creativity of the spaces in which artists, performers, designers, musicians and writers congregated to push the boundaries of artistic expression. Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Alex Preston, Katy Puckrik and Amanda Vickery. The producer is Oliver Jones Podcast Extras: Katie: Twenty Thousand Hertz podcast Alex: The poetry of Mary Oliver Amanda: Unbelievable on Netflix Tom: Kara Walker at Tate Modern Main image: A Day in the Death of Joe Egg L-R Lucy Eaton, Claire Skinner, Storme Toolis, Patricia Hodge, Toby Stephens, Clarence Smith Photographer: Marc Brenner

Caryl Churchill celebrated her 80th birthday last year. She's written four new short plays for the Royal Court, the theatre with which she's most closely associated: Glass. Kill. Bluebeard. Imp. Horror and abuse flash through often very funny scenes played by a cast including Toby Jones and Deborah Findley. Shola Amoo's praised second feature The Last Tree is an account of a boy of Nigerian heritage who grows up in foster care in rural Lincolnshire and then goes to live with his mother in South London. It draws on some of his personal experience. Ann Patchett's new novel The Dutch House is a study of what money can do to a family, what motherhood means and the nature of loss - and it includes a character she claims is her first real villain. Mark Leckey's exhibition O'Magic Power of Bleakness at Tate Britain re-creates a space under a motorway bridge on the M53 where he used to hang out as a child for an audio-visual journey into memory and the world of spirits. And World on Fire is a new BBC1 drama for Sunday nights telling the story of the Second World War from both international and personal perspectives, by award-winning writer Peter Bowker. This week's reviewers are cultural commentator Gaylene Gould, author Catherine O'Flynn and Toby Lichtig, fiction editor of the TLS. Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Sarah Johnson This week's podcast extra choices are: Gaylene: Cleveland Watkiss at the EFG London Jazz Festival https://efglondonjazzfestival.org.uk/events/cleveland-watkiss-60th Catherine: Pushing Paper at the British Museum https://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/exhibitions/pushing_paper.aspx and Hikaru Davis' videos finding out about his dad, David Bowie drummer Dennis Davis: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCY2aDqSy2_g6hysuYU7uOPw/featured Toby: Brett Anderson of Suede's new memoir Afternoons with the Blinds Drawn Tom: Daniel Rachel's book Don't Look Back in Anger Main Image: Glass. Kill. Bluebeard. Imp. L-R Toby Jones, Deborah Findlay, Sule Rimi Photo credit: Johan Persson

Lulu Wang's personal film The Farewell stars rapper Awkwafina in its lead role as a granddaughter not sure whether she should collude with a lie about her grandmother's health. Shot mostly in Mandarin Chinese, it's been a huge success at the US box office. Quichotte is Salman Rushdie's latest, Booker-shortlisted novel, a satire on contemporary life and politics. Does its Don Quixote-style plot take the reader with it on its wild ride? Antony Gormley's solo exhibition at the Royal Academy has involved flooding a room in the gallery and filling another with his trademark cast iron figures hanging in different directions from the ceiling, walls and floors. Reasons to Stay Alive at the Sheffield Crucible Studio is based on Matt Haig's enormously successful book of the same name and explores the nature and impact of depression on those who have it and those around them, using choreography and creative staging. Nomad: In The Footsteps of Bruce Chatwin is a new film by Werner Herzog. His friend, the traveller and writer Bruce Chatwin, died in 1989 but left him his backpack. Taking it with him he travels the world and considers his relationship with Chatwin. This week's reviewers are Meg Rosoff, Bidisha and Patrick Gale. Presented by Tom Sutcliffe. Podcast extra recommendations: Meg suggests wandering elsewhere at the Royal Academy to see the Félix Vallotton and Helene Schjerfbeck exhibitions: https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibitions-and-events and Wilding by Isabella Tree Bidisha: Awkwafina on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqDpVfc2_sYFrdGZ8yhRk4Q Patrick: Better Than Us on Netflix Tom: Undone on Amazon Prime

Hustlers is a new crime drama film based on a 2015 article in New York magazine about a group of strippers in the USA who decided to embezzle money from the men who came to their club. A Very Expensive Poison at The Old Vic in London tells the story of the murder of Alexander Litvinenko, the former KGB man who was poisoned in 2006 in London by agents of the Russian state. A trio of autobiographical works by the late Danish novelist Tove Ditlevsen have just been published: Childhood, Youth and Dependency. There's an extensive exhibition of art by William Blake just opened at Tate Britain State Of The Union is a BBC TV series written by Nicjk Hornby and starring Chris O'Dowd and Rosamund Pike as a married couple undergoing marital therapy Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Liz Jensen, Amber Butchart and John Mullan. The producer is Oliver Jones Podcast extra recommendations: Liz: Guerrilla gardening John: Gloucester Crescent by William Miller Amber: Margate Caves and Leiden Textile Research Centre in Holland https://www.trc-leiden.nl/ Tom: The Lives of Lucian Freud by William Feaver + Evan Davis' Sharpiegate on Thursday's PM on Radio 4 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0008bb7 (listen from 41.22)

Argentinian film Rojo is set just before the 1975 military coup, looking at the simmering tensions and the complicity that made it happen and the way so many people turned a blind eye Hansard at London's National Theatre is a debut play. A junior Tory minister under Margaret Thatcher comes into deeply personal conflict with his politically-opposed wife over Clause 28 James Meek's novel 'To Calais In Ordinary Time' tells a story about 14th century Europe, written in a distinctive argot scattered with arcane language, following the lives of several characters dealing with - among other things - the approaching Black Death. A new display of items owned by The Rothschilds has opened at Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire. Items of immense value from ruby and emerald jewellery to Roman glassware and amber caskets, many of these items haven't been on public display before Defending The Guilty is a comedy series on BBC2 exploring the world of barristers Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Mark Billingham, Barb Jungr and Julia Raeside. The producer is Oliver Jones Podcast Extra recommendations Julia: The Dublin Murders by Sarah Phelps + The Portland Brothers + Box Of Delights podcast Barb: Edna O'Brien -The Little Red Chairs + Jazzmeia Horn + Bob, Brel and Me Mark: Peaky Blinders + Nick Lowe Tom: Robert Harris - The Second Sleep + Mortimer and Whitehouse go Fishing

Two Brit indie film productions arrive at once: Joanna Hogg's The Souvenir is a slightly autobiographical work about a struggling young film-maker's relationship with a charismatic drug addict. Also Bait; set in a fishing village in Cornwall and with an intentionally handmade aesthetic, it explores the tense relationship between locals and incomers. Appropriate at The Donmar Warehouse is a new play from Brandon Jacobs Jenkins. A family in the American south are dealing with the estate of their recently deceased father and unearth some unpleasant truths Mary Beth Keane's new novel - Ask Again, Yes - is set in modern upstate New York following two families whose lives intertwine A Confession on ITV is based on a realm life crime story and stars Martin Freeman as a policeman who has to push the law to achieve justice Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Lisa Appignanesi, Emma Jane Unsworth and Andrew Miller The producer is Oliver Jones Podcast Extra recommendations: Emma Jane: Succession series 2 and The New Me by Halle Butler Lisa: Benjamin Markovits - Christmas in Austin and Address Unknown by Kressman Taylor and Timberlake Wertenbaker's Proust Andrew: Chihuly at Kew Gardens and Chernobyl TV series and Eurythmics Tom: Wainwright bagging in The Lake District

Pedro Almodovar's new film Pain and Glory has been hailed as his most personal to date The Doctor at London's Almeida Theatre is Robert Icke's latest production. Freely adapted from Arthur Schnitzler's Professor Bernhardi, it's a play about ethics, morals and the repercussions of decisions both personal and professional. And how does what we say we are affect other people's perceptions of us? Peter Pomerantsev's "This is Not Propaganda: Adventures in the War Against Reality" is a book exploring the wreckage of liberal democracy and a search for the signs of its revival. Brassic is a new TV series on Sky, co-created by This Is England’s Joe Gilgun and Bafta-winning writer Danny Brocklehurst. It's about a group of working-class friends in Lancashire finding ways to win at life Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Adam Mars Jones, Dorian Lynskey and Kit Davis. The producer is Oliver Jones Podcast Extra recommendations Adam: Winter Journey by Roderick Williams and Fosse Verdon on BBCTV Kit: Stay Free podcast and There There by Tommy Orange Dorian: Succession Series 2 and This Had Oscar Buzz podcast Tom: Mrs Palfrey at The Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor

Quentin Tarantino's 9th offering to the world (he's said he'll only do 10, then retire from directing) is Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, part fable, part historical love letter to LA in the 60s. It deals with the point when The Manson Family drove a stake through the heart of the 1960s peace and love movement. Actually is a play by Annie Ziegler at London's Trafalgar Studios, dealing with the aftermath of an accusation of rape on a college campus Dora Maurer was born in Hungary in 1936 and has a retrospective exhibition at Tate Modern, looking at more than 70 years of diverse creativity Tea Obreht won a slew of the most prestigious literary prizes for her previous (debut) novel. Her latest, just published, is Inland, a story about pioneers in America and the camel corps Andrew Davies is well known for his highly-acclaimed TV adaptations of classic literary works. He has just made Sanditon for ITV, based on the barely-begun work Jane Austen was writing when she died. He has said that he said all her material in the first half of the first episode, but the series runs to 8 episodes; how Austen-esque can it be? Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Stephanie Merritt, Ryan Gilbey ad Karen Krizanovich. The producer is Oliver Jones Podcast Extra recommendations: Karen: Dearly Departed podcast Ryan: The work of Horace Ove Stephanie: Pericles at London's Globe Theatre Tom: Tom Holland's Dominion and Peter Sedgley's Colour Cycle 3

We're at the Edinburgh Festivals, including the Pet Shop Boys/Jonathan Harvey musical starring Frances Barber: Musik. Also the stage adaptation of Kate Grenville's best-selling novel about the collision between settlers and Indigenous Australians, The Secret River. As well as the Bridget Riley retrospective at The National Gallery of Scotland and Blinded By The Light - the film of Safraz Mansoor's story about growing up in Luton and his love for the music of Bruce Springsteen. Also we find out what wonders members of our audience have come across. Tom Sutcliffe's guests Denise Mina, Louise Welsh and Don Paterson. The producer is Oliver Jones Audience recommendations: Samson Young at talbot Rice Gallery, Twice Over at Greenside, Bystanders at Summerhall, Something About Simon at Assembly George Square, The Edinburgh Night Walk at The Fruitmarket Gallery , Scottish Ballet's The Crucuble PodcastExtra recommendations: Denise -My Favourite Murder podcast Don - Succession Louise - Robert McFarlane's Underland Tom -Documentary Now. And Crocodile Fever at The Traverse. And Peter Gynt at The Festival Theatre also Cora Bissett - What Girls Are Made Of at The Assembly Hall

There Is A Light That Never Goes Out, Scenes From The Luddite Rebellion has just opened at Manchester Royal Exchange. Combining verbatim recreations and imagined encounters, it looks at Manchester and England at the beginning of industrialisation Animals is a new film based on the novel by Emma Jane Unsworth. Two friends messily drift along and apart and back together in Dublin Colson Whitehead's new novel The Nickel Boys fictionalises the true story of a reform institution in Florida where cruelty, abuse and violence were the norm Olafur Eliasson: In Real Life is at Tate Modern in London - showing 27 years of the output of the Norwegian Icelandic artist This Way Up is a new sitcom on Channel 4 starring Aisling Bea and Sharon Horgan Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Henry Hitchings, Patrice Lawrence and Jen Harvie. The producer is Oliver Jones PodcastExtra recommendations: Jen: Burgerz by Travis Alabanza Shit Theatre's Drink Rum with Expats, and Fair Fringe /Cost Of The Fringe/ Fringe of Colour Henry: Jonathan Gibbs - The Large Door Patrice: Anthony Joseph - Kitch and Sam Selvon- The Lonely Londoners

Bridges of Madison County began life as a novel, then became a film and is now a musical. Opening at London's Menier Chocolate Factory, it stars Jenna Russell in the lead role. How does it work on the stage? Thai film Die Tomorrow sounds like it might be a Bond movie but is a thoughtful look at death and mortality; mixing different formats: documentary, drama, interview, but never showing any death Fosse/Verdon begins soon on BBC2. It's an American drama which tells the story of the astonishingly talented choreographer and film director Bob Fosse (played by Sam Rockwell) and his personal and creative relationship with his wife; the dancer Gwen Verdon Last Supper In Pompeii is a new exhibition at The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. It looks at the Roman city which was buried under lava in 79AD, through the prism of food and drink David Constantine's new collection of short stories is The Dressing-Up Box, full of darkness and unsettling worlds Ayesha Hazarika's guests are Deborah Moggach, Bridget Minamore and Michael Arditti. The producer is Oliver Jones Podcast Extra recommendations: Deborah - Crossbones Graveyard in Southwark Michael - Tim Parks' Destiny Bridget - The Mercury Prize nominees and Barbershop Chronicles Ayesha - Love Island

Theatre director Dominic Dromgoole has made his feature film debut with Making Noise Quietly; a triptych of stories about the effects of war. Tennessee Williams' play Night Of The Iguana is based on his 1948 novel and has just opened in a new production at London's Noel Coward Theatre, featuring Clive Own and Lia WIlliams An exhibition looking at mankind's relationship with The Moon begins at The Royal Maritime Museum in Greenwich Laura Cummings' biography of her mother's peculiar upbringing; On Chapel Sands A new ITV drama starring Vicki McClure; I Am Nicola Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Abigail Morris, Oliver Morton and Lynn Nead. The producer is Oliver Jones Podcast extra recommendations: Oliver: Herman Wouk – The Winds of War AND the Duncan Rand One Act Play Festival Lynn: The Wonder of Wimbledon on TV Abigail: a sonnet a day by Simon de Deney AND Call My Agent Tom: Black Monday on Amazon Prime

The Manchester International Festival is a biannual event, enveloping the city in a wide range of arts events across the genres. We'll be casting our critical net as wide as possible Film director David Lynch has curated a series of events at the venue Home, including an exhibition of his artwork and a series of concerts There's been controversy around the Idris ELba/ Kwame Kei Armah play Tree, but will our panel think it's any good? An exhibition by Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama; Parliament of Ghosts at The Whitworth Gallery reclaims and repurposes everyday artefacts David Nicholls' new novel Sweet Sorrow is a tale of adolescent/early adult yearnings framed by a Shakespeare production British indie film Only You follows a largely-carefree couple who get together and decide to have a baby but it's not as easy as they'd hoped And (of course) much much more from MIF Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Sarah Crompton, Katie Popperwell and Chris Thorpe. The producer is Oliver Jones Podcast Extra recommendations Sarah: Marius Petipa, The Emperor's Ballet Master by Nadine Meisner Katie: Malcolm Gladwell's Revisionist History podcast Chris: Abomination by Divide and Dissolve Tom: Spiderman -Into the Spider-verse

Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's first film The Lives Of Others won the best Foreign Language Oscar, his follow-up The Tourist was a critical disaster. How will his latest - Never Look Away - fare critically and at the box office? Jack Thorne's latest play The End Of History has just opened at London's Royal Court Theatre. It's the story - over three decades - of a left-leaning family who love each other and love to bicker. 8 Days To The Moon on BBC TV follows the progress of the three astronauts who went to the Moon half a century ago in Apollo 11. It uses previously unreleased audio recordings from within the lunar pod mixed with recreations of the journey. Fleischman Is In Trouble is the debut novel by Taffy Brodesser-Akner, previously a features writer at The New York Times and GQ. It has had glowing reviews; what will our panle make of it? An exhibition of work by Swiss-born artist Felix Vallotton at London's Royal Academy includes paintings and woodcuts in the many styles he adopted during his career. The show's subtitle is "Painter of Disquiet" Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Rebecca Stott, Robert Hanks and Susan Jeffreys. The producer is Oliver Jones Podcast extra recommendations: Rebecca - Shame On me by Tessa McWatt Robert - Ngaio Marsh (and you can see Susan as a model on a Ngaio Marsh cover here https://tinyurl.com/y2jmths4 ) Susan - Jodrell Bank Blue Dot Festival and The Night Sky 2019 Tom - Jack Reacher books and BBC World Service's 13 Minutes To The Moon

American indie film Support The Girls is set in a sports bar in America where the manager's day just keeps getting worse The Hunt stared life as a multi award winning Danish film. Its been adapted for the stage at The Almeida Theatre in London Cut and Paste; 400 Years of Collage in Edinburgh explores the sticky multi-shaped world of collage Vasily Grossman's novel Stalingrad was his successor to Life and Fate. The first translation into English is eagerly awaited. Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Viv Groskop, Briony Hanson and Cahal Dallat. The producers are Oliver Jones and Hilary Dunn podcast extra recommendations: Cahal: the poet Chen Chen Viv: Mud and Stars by Sarah Wheeler and Game of Thrones Briony: pose and Paris Is Burning Tom: What/If on Netflix

Toy Story 4 hits the cinema screens. Featuring the voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Keanu Reeves, and Annie Potts - as the kick-ass heroine Bo Peep - what does the Toy Story franchise have to offer the new generation of toy loving kids? John Malkovich returns to the stage after a 33 year absence to star in David Mamet's Bitter Wheat about a depraved Hollywood mogul . The play's protagonist Barney Fein is described "as a bloated monster – a studio head, who like his predecessor, the minotaur, devours the young he has lured into his cave." Keith Haring at Tate Liverpool is the first major exhibition in the UK of American artist Keith Haring (1958-1990). Keith Haring brings together more than 85 works exploring a broad range of the artist's practice including large-scale drawings and paintings, most of which have never been seen in the UK. TS Eliot prize winning author Ocean Vuong is the American-Vietnamese writer of Night Sky with Exit Wounds. His debut novel "On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous" continues to explore his family's experience as immigrants and shows how his life story - as much as theirs - is shaped by the devastating legacy of the Vietnam war. ITV’s new period drama Beecham House, set in India at the cusp of the 19th century tells the story of John Beecham, played by Tom Bateman, who arrives in India in 1795 as a former employee of the East India Company. Co-created, written and directed by Gurinder Chadha whose past credits include Bend It Like Beckham, Bride and Prejudice, and Viceroy’s House. Ayesha Hazarika's guests are Stella Duffy, Alex Clark and Kevin Jackson Podcast recommendations: Kevin: Jack Reacher stories Stella: Wild Rumpus art company Alex: Novels set in one day Ayesha: The Handmaid's Tale on TV

Sweat, starring Martha Plimpton was a sel-out success when it premiered at London's Donmar Warehouse last year. Now it's got a West End transfer to the Gielgud Theatre Asif Kapadia won an Oscar for his biopic about Amy Winehouse. Now he's looking at Diego Maradona's extraordinary career as the finest footballer in the world and also his unravelling life off the pitch George Clooney appears in and is a producer and director for a new TV adaptation of Joseph Heller's Catch 22 on Channel 4 In Elif Shafak's new novel 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World we look backwards from the death of a prostitute. In flashback, she remembers her life and reflects on the changing nature of Turkish society The shoe designer Manolo Blahnik has staged an exhibition of his footwear at The Wallace Collection in London, drawing inspiration form the paintings and objects on display there Rajan Datar's guests are Linda Grant, Deborah Orr and David Hepworth. The producer is Oliver Jones Podcast suggestions: Linda: the British Music Experience in Liverpool David: High Maintenance TV series Deborah: Killing Eve Rajan: Jumpa Lahiri -The Namesake, soul music and Tahnee Lonsdale at Dellasposa

Chilean director Sebastián Lelio's 2013 film Gloria has been remade for an English-speaking audience as Gloria Bell. Starring Julianne Moore it's extremely faithful to the original; what's new about it? Wife is the latest play by Samuel Adamson which has just opened at The Kiln in London. Drawing on many influences including Ibsen's A Doll's House, it explores many decades of gay history Guyana-born artist Frank Bowling OBE has lived in then UK since he was a teenager and been a painter almost as long. Now at the age of 85, Tate Britain is staging a retrospective exhibition of his abstract expressionist work. Comparisons are being drawn to Rothko, Pollock and Turner Brian Bilston has been described as the Poet Laureate of Twitter. His new comic novel Diary of a Somebody follows his attempt to write a new poem everyday for a year Wild Bill is ITV's comedy starring Rob Lowe as an American police chief constable who is transferred from Boston Massachusetts to Boston in Lincolnshire with hilarious consequences! Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Jenny McCartney, Dea Birkett and Ekow Eshun. The producer is Oliver Jones Podcast Extra recommendations: Dea: Delighted by the return of big top circuses Ekow: Faith Ringold at Serpentine Gallery. Also Get Up Stand Up and Kaleidoscope at Somerset House Jenny: Lowborn by Kerry Hudson Tom: MIke Nelson at Tate Britain

Matthew Broderick and Elizabeth McGovern in the London premiere of Kenneth Lonergan's play The Starry Messenger Thunder Road was made for $200,000 and went on to win awards at international film festivals. What was it about the film which beguiled jurists and audiences? Niven Govinden's novel This Brutal House looks at the New York drag scene of the 1980s and 90s Hauser and Wirth Somerset's latest exhibition ‘Unconscious Landscape: Works from the Ursula Hauser Collection’ is focused entirely on work by female artists There's a TV adaptation of Terry Pratchett's Good Omens, starring David Tennant and Michael Sheen - how well can it translate the peculiar magic of the books to the small screen? Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Kamila Shamsie, Natalie Haynes and David Benedict. The producer is Oliver Jones Podcast Extra recommendations: Kamila: The Cricket World Cup David: Crossroads Motel board game and Green Smoke by Rosemary Manning and Mum on BBC2 Natalie: Hay Festival and Chris Ridell and Po’ Girl Tom: Oliver Morton – The Moon and the OED

Memoir Of War,based on Marguerite Duras's book “La Douleur” is set in Occupied France. Critical opinion has varied widely from 'dreadful' and 'empty' to 'masterpiece'. What will our reviewers make of it? King Hedley II starring Lenny Henry, has opened at the Theatre Royal Stratford East Gerald Murnane's novel A Season On Earth tells the tale of a lustful teenager in Melbourne in the 1950s. It was originally published in 1976 and is now reissued as was originally intended; with two previously unseen new chapters Marking the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci, The Queen's Gallery at Buckingham palace brings together more than 200 of his drawings from the Royal Collection, forming the largest exhibition of Leonardo's work in over 65 years. When They See Us is a new series beginning on Netflix. Directed by Ava DuVernay which tells the true story of the 1989 Central Park Jogger case in which five juvenile males – four African-American and one Hispanic – were convicted of the crimes. They spent time in jail and were eventually cleared 25 years later Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Laura Freeman, Jim White and Lynn Shepherd. The producer is Oliver Jones Podcast Extra recommendations: Jim: Free Solo and Dawn Wall Laura: Barbara Hepworth/Ben Nicholson at Hazlitt Holland-Hibbert Gallery Lynn: Don Giovanni at Garsington Opera Tom: BBC podcast Shreds

Colombian film Birds of Passage explores the emergence of illegal drug trading in the 60s and 70s and it's ghastly effects and lasting legacy on family. Corporate black comedy White Pearl has opened at London's Royal Court. About 6 Asian women in an office in Singapore who try to fix a problem when their advertisement goes viral by mistake. And then things spiral out of control. New novels from Thomas Harris - Cari Mora: set in Miami, monsters lurk in the crevices between male desire and female survival. And also from Denise Mina - Conviction: about a woman whose complicated secret past begins to catch up with - and then threatens to overtake - her. A Tale of Two Empires at Birmingham's Barber Institute looks at the coins from the same period of Rome and Persia. Also we take a look at their permanent art collection. Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Tom Holland, Arifa Akbar and Danielle Thom. The producer is Oliver Jones. Podcast Extra recommendations: Tom H: Linda Grant - A Stranger City and Game of Thrones. Arifa: Rejoicing at her Wondrous Vulva, the Young Woman Applauded Herself at The Oval House and Whatever Happened to Interracial Love by Kathleen Collins. Danielle waxed lyrical about the joy of mending and making things by hand and of psychogeography. Also the imminent Secret Rivers Of London exhibition at The Museum of London. Tom S: The Longdrop by Denise Mina and Years and Years on BBC1.

The latest production at London's Young Vic Theatre is Death of a Salesman. It recasts the Lomans as an African-American family with Wendell Pierce as WIlly Rebel Wilson and Anne Hathaway play female con artists in Chris Addison's directorial debut, The Hustle. It's a gender-swap reworking of 1988 comedy film Dirty Rotten Scoundrels; but is it funny? Shane Meadows has created a new 4 part drama for Channel 4: The Virtues, starring Stephen Graham as a traumatised young man who grows up and becomes a loving dad but can't quite let go of his past Mark Haddon's new novel The Porpoise reworks Shakespeare's Pericles, weaving a contemporary story with the classic tale An exhibition of David Nash sculptures in Cardiff is a look at a long career collaborating with nature to make predominantly wooden works. Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Stephen Hough, Sarah Churchwell and Louise Doughty. The producer is Oliver Jones Podcast Extra choices Stephen: Chocolaterie Luc Van Hoorebeke in Ghent Louise: The Author's Club Best First Novel Award Sarah: Orson Welles' The Stranger

Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen star in Long Shot playing an American presidential hopeful and a lovable doofus. Take a wild guess who plays which part? Howard Brenton's new play Jude -at The Hampstead Theatre - is a re-imagining of Thomas Hardy's Jude The Obscure with a Syrian cleaner who possesses a prodigious skill set in the classics and ancient languages - as the title character Writing: Making Your Mark is the newest exhibition at The British Library. It charts 5,000 years of human innovation from hieroglyphs to emojis Sandra Newman's novel The Heavens can be seen as five works in one - a time travel story, historical fiction, political allegory, social realism and a love story. How satisfyingly do the component parts combine into a coherent whole? Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Tom Shakespeare, Helen Lewis and Katie Puckrik. The producer is Oliver Jones Podcast Extra recommendations: Tom Shakespeare - Phyllida Barlow at the Royal Academy and The Porpoise by Mark Haddon and The Bodmer Library in Geneva Helen Lewis - Ritblatt Treasures at The British Library and Patrick Melrose on NowTV Katie Puckrik -Clique on BBC3 and Tom Sutcliffe -Barry on NowTV

Youtube star/standup comedian Bo Burnham has now turned his hand to film directing and his debut work is a coming-of-age tale: Eighth Grade. It's about a 15 year old girl dealing with the trials and tribulations of high school life, discovering how the world works and why. Arthur Miller's All My Sons was his breakthrough work when it debuted on Broadway in 1947. A new production at London's Old Vic theatre stars Sally Field and Bill Pullman Lux is the latest historical novel by Elizabeth Cook, it continues her fascination with exploring classical themes; this time the story of David and Bathsheba interwoven with the life of 16th century poet Thomas Wyatt There's a new exhibition celebrating the work of film director Stanley Kubrick which has just opened at The Design Museum in London. On display are items from his personal archive directly related to his long career on groundbreaking films including 2001 A Space Odyssey, Full Metal Jacket and Spartacus Curry House Kid on Channel 4 is a documentary about Akram Khan's upbringing above a curry house and his desire to dance. it includes a new work about the world of the migrant Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Amber Butchart, Bob and Roberta Smith and Kerry Shale. The producer is Oliver Jones Podcast Extra recommendations: Bob: Sister Corita Kent at The House of Illustration Amber:Canterbury Archaeological trust the margate Caves Kerry: David Hepworth - a Fabulous Creation and Space Odyssey... by Michael Benson and After Life on Netflix Tom: documentary "Room 237"

Josie Rourke returns to the work of Cy Coleman, who wrote the music for City of Angels; with the Broadway classic Sweet Charity. With choreography from the world-renowned Wayne McGregor, Rourke reunites with Anne-Marie Duff as Charity, and Arthur Darvill makes his Donmar debut as Oscar, for her farewell production as Donmar Artistic Director. During Sweet Charity, multiple guest actors will play the role of Daddy Brubeck including Shaq Taylor, Adrian Lester, Le Gateau Chocolat, Beverley Knight and Clive Rowe. Ian McEwan’s subversive and entertaining new novel Machines Like Me poses fundamental questions: what makes us human? Our outward deeds or our inner lives? Could a machine understand the human heart? Machines Like Me occurs in an alternative 1980s London, where Britain has lost the Falklands war, Margaret Thatcher battles Tony Benn for power and Alan Turing achieves a breakthrough in artificial intelligence. The novel's narrator Charlie drifts through life making his money by playing the stock market when he becomes involved in a menage a trois with a difference - one of the three is one of the first synthetic humans. It is not long before this strange love triangle inhabiting an even stranger alternate reality have to confront some profound moral dilemmas. Smoke and Mirrors The Psychology of Magic at the Wellcome Collection in London explores how magicians have achieved astonishing feats of trickery by exploiting the gap between what we think we perceive and what we actually perceive. Recently scientists have begun to appreciate this ability as a powerful tool for the study of human psychology. This research has emerged from an extraordinary history that stretches back to the 19th century, where a fascination with the paranormal coincided with the birth of science as a profession and the flourishing of the entertainment industry. Italian writer/director Paolo Sorrentino’s new film Loro - which means "them" - focuses on the controversial life of the former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi around the time of the “bunga-bunga” parties and the earthquake in L’Aquila. Tom Sutcliffe is joined by Geoffrey Durham, Naima Khan and Stephanie Merritt. The producer is Hilary Dunn. Podcast Extra Selections: Naima recommends Banthology: Stories from Unwanted Nations Geoffrey recommends the Swedish fantasy film Border and movie Leave No Trace Stephanie recommends the following Kate Atkinson 'Jackson Brodie' novels: One Good Turn, Case Histories, Started Early Took My Dog, When Will There Be Good News, Big Sky Tom recommends the Jon Ronson podcast 'The Last Days of August'

In her new film Wild Rose, rising star Jessie Buckley plays a Glaswegian country singer with dreams of making it big in Nashville. The trouble is that she has two small kids and is just out of jail. The Mary Quant exhibition at London's V&A shows a wide selection of her vibrant daring designs, made to be worn by real women and girls in the 60s and 70s A new play by one of France's brightest new names has just opened at London's Park Theatre; Intra Muros by Alexis Michalik is set in a drama workshop in a prison The Parisian is a novel by Isabella Hammad, set in pre-Balfour Middle East. It has received a lot of extremely warm praise from other authors, what will our panel make of it? We look at a couple of TV programmes coming at the same subject from different angles Life After Lock-Up, a documentary on Channel 4 about prisoners returning to society and Back To Life, a dramedy on BBC1 with Daisy Haggard Tom Sutcliffe is joined by Patrick Gale, Ayesha Hazerika and Catherine o'Flynn. The producer is Oliver Jones Podcast Extra selections Ayesha: Fleabag and The Breakup Monologues podcast Catherine: 1970s Public Service information films, and especially "Apaches" Patrick: BP Portrait of the Year exhibition in Winchester and Kate Clanchy- Some Kids I Taught Tom: David Sedaris on Radio 4. Barry on Sky Atlantic

Award-winning Italian film Happy as Lazzaro is a tale of human unkindness in a remote Italian Village where time stands still, but not in the same way for everyone Caryl Churchill's play Top Girls is revived by The National Theatre; is it hard not to view it nowadays as a period piece? Damian Barr's debut novel: You Will Be Safe Here is set in two separate parts of South Africa's troubled history The Victim is a new 4-part drama on BBC1., following the plaintiff and the accused in a Scottish court case. Can it provide a new twist on the much-worked-over TV formula of crime and courtroom drama and police procedural? A new exhibition at York Art Gallery looks at the work of John Ruskin and the influence of JMW Turner. Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Meg Rosoff, Emma Woolf and John Mullan. The producer is Oliver Jones. Podcast Extra Recommendations Meg: The Alarming Palsy of James Orr by Tom Lee and Don McCullin's Tate Britain exhibition John: Call My Agent on Netflix Emma: 5 Live's podcast Paradise Tom: English Baroque Choir