Podcasts about producer nicki paxman

With Mark Lawson.Saoirse Ronan was only 13 when she was Oscar and BAFTA nominated as Best Supporting Actress for her role in Atonement. Since then, she has starred in The Lovely Bones, Byzantium and The Host. Now, at 19, she heads the cast of Kevin MacDonald's film How I Live Now, based on Meg Rosoff's book about children caught up in a third world war. She reflects on the transition from child to adult actor, dealing with death on set and the possibility of running for US President.Handbagged, a new play from Moira Buffini, explores the relationship between Margaret Thatcher and the Queen during political events of the 1980s. Stella Gonet and Fenella Woolgar play older and younger versions of the former Prime Minisiter while Marion Bailey and Claire Holman play the older and younger Queen. Novelist Justin Cartwright gives his verdict.The exhibition, Shunga: Sex and Humour in Japanese Art, at the British Museum, focuses on sexually explicit paintings, prints and illustrated books from Japan from 1600 - 1900, and examines why they became taboo in the 20th century. Writer and novelist Bidisha reviewsAs Michael Symmons Roberts wins the Forward Prize for a book of poems each with a self-imposed limit of 15 lines, Front Row reflects on size restrictions in art - with Ian Christie on film, David Hepworth on music and Cathy Rentzenbrink on literature.Producer Nicki Paxman.

With Mark Lawson. The film Sunshine on Leith follows two young soldiers struggling to re-adjust to life in Edinburgh after returning from Afghanistan. Based on a stage musical drawing on songs by The Proclaimers, it stars Jane Horrocks and Peter Mullan. Larushka Ivan-Zedah reviews. Actor Adil Ray discusses his TV sit-com Citizen Khan, as it returns for a second series. Ray, who plays self-appointed Muslim community leader Mr Khan, talks about getting into character and addresses criticisms of the show - including complaints that it was offensive. Art Under Attack: Histories Of British Iconoclasm is the first exhibition to explore the history of physical attacks on art in Britain, from state-sanctioned destruction of religious works during the Reformation, to defaced portraits in Jake and Dinos Chapman's series, One Day You Will No Longer Be Loved. Artist John Keane gives his verdict. After receiving the award for Scottish Crime Book of the Year, Malcolm Mackay talks about the inspiration for his novels. Born and still living in Stornoway, in the Outer Hebrides, Mackay explains how he came to start writing a trilogy about organised crime in Glasgow. Producer Nicki Paxman.

With Mark Lawson. David Walliams and Sheridan Smith talk about working together in a new staging of A Midsummer's Night's Dream, with Walliams in the role of Bottom and Smith as Titania/Hippolyta. They discuss the difficulties of taking on Shakespeare, the dark sensuality of the play and theatrical rituals and pranks. The Man Booker Prize for Fiction is currently open to writers from the UK, Ireland and the Commonwealth - but in changes confirmed today, any novel originally written in English and published in the UK could be a contender, opening the Prize to writers from the USA in particular. Ion Trewin, Literary Director of the Booker Prize Foundation, reveals the details. The distinguished Welsh poet Dannie Abse celebrates his 90th birthday on Sunday. Although best-known for his poetry, Dannie Abse is also a doctor, playwright and author - and he discusses his long career. Producer Nicki Paxman.

With Mark Lawson. Tamsin Greig, familiar to Radio 4 listeners as Debbie Aldridge in The Archers, is also well known from TV comedies such as Black Books and Green Wing, along with numerous acclaimed stage roles. This week she stars in the TV drama series The Guilty, as a mother who is also leading a police investigation into the death of a young boy. She reflects on the relationship between comedy and tragedy, corpsing on stage and the importance of pauses. Jonathan Coe, best known for What a Carve Up! and The Rotters Club, discusses his new novel Expo 58. It's set at the 1958 World Fair in Belgium, where a naïve young civil servant is sent to run the British pavilion against a backdrop of the Cold War. Jonathan Coe discusses spies and intrigue in his latest comic novel. A rare photograph of one of Vincent Van Gogh's sunflower paintings has been tracked down by writer Martin Bailey. The original painting, Six Sunflowers, was destroyed in Japan, during bombings in 1945. Martin Bailey explains how he found the image, and how he believes it enhances our understanding of Van Gogh's work. As Cliff Richard prepares to release his 100th album, The Fabulous Rock 'n' Roll Songbook, David Hepworth attempts to chart which band or artist has recorded the most albums. Producer Nicki Paxman.

With Mark Lawson. Helena Bonham Carter and Dominic West star as the ultimate celebrity couple, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, in a new BBC Drama written by William Ivory. Focusing on the period when they appeared together on Broadway in Noel Coward's Private Lives, Burton and Taylor imagines the complex relationship between the ex-husband and wife. Linda Grant reviews. Writer Denise Mina has received the Theakstons Old Peculier crime novel award, for the second year running. Her winning novel, For Gods and Beasts, weaves together three stories of Glasgow's criminal underworld. She explains why she had to re-write it over a weekend and reveals the flaws in her books. Director Noah Baumbach discusses Frances Ha, his acclaimed black and white drama about the misadventures of a twentysomething dancer, played by co-writer Greta Gerwig. He also reveals what his parents thought of his break-through film, The Squid And The Whale, which was inspired by the fall-out from their divorce For Cultural Exchange, dramatis Mark Ravenhill chooses Casanova, the first television series from Dennis Potter, starring Frank Finley as Casanova. Producer Nicki Paxman.

With Mark Lawson. Sir Kenneth Branagh returns to performing and directing Shakespeare, taking the title role in a new production of Macbeth at the Manchester International Festival. This follows a decade-long hiatus in his long relationship with Shakespeare - from his RSC years, through the Renaissance Theatre Company and films including Henry V, Hamlet and Love's Labours Lost. Dramatist Charlotte Keatley reviews. Monsters University is a prequel to Monsters, Inc, the 2001 film from the animation studio Pixar. The film sees Mike and Sulley (voiced by Billy Crystal and John Goodman) attend the classes of Dean Abigail Hardscrabble (Helen Mirren), to learn how to scare children. Mark Eccleston reviews. When the South London band The xx released their debut album in 2009, its quiet ambience gained critical acclaim, became the soundtrack for several TV programmes and won the Mercury Music Prize. Its follow up, Coexist, topped the UK charts. As they prepare for start of their Manchester International Festival residency, Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim of The xx discuss playing in a small secret venue. For Cultural Exchange, in which creative minds share a favourite art-work or design, Penelope Curtis, Director at Tate Britain, chooses buildings designed by Chamberlin, Powell and Bon at the University of Leeds. Created in the 1960s and 70s, and including the Grade II* listed Roger Stevens Building, the designs are seen as key examples of modernist architecture. Producer Nicki Paxman.

With Mark Lawson. Kim Cattrall plays a fading Hollywood star in a new staging of Tennessee Williams' Sweet Bird of Youth. Marianne Elliott directs the play, which is set in the late 1950s in the American South. Sarah Churchwell reviews. The artist Cornelia Parker is best known for installations involving the exploding of a garden shed, Tilda Swinton sleeping in a glass case and the wrapping of Rodin's The Kiss in a mile of string. She reflects on her latest exhibition, and a new book on her work. For Cultural Exchange, Gwyneth Lewis - the inaugural Poet Laureate of Wales - chooses a dance routine from the Laurel and Hardy film Way Out West (1937). Novelist Brian Aldiss discusses his final science fiction work Finches Of Mars, which he's published at the age of 87. He also reveals why he has been writing a short story every day for the last year and casts his mind back over a long career that included a brief stint as an erotic novelist. Producer Nicki Paxman.

With Mark Lawson. James Baldwin's play, The Amen Corner, tells the story of Margaret, the uncompromising pastor of a Harlem church, who has to face a secret from her past. Marianne Jean-Baptiste stars in a new National Theatre production, featuring a gospel choir. Writer and critic Bidisha gives her verdict. Best-selling crime writer Peter James discusses his latest book Dead Man's Time, the ninth novel in the Roy Grace Series, and reveals the high-profile real-life inspiration for his character Amis Smallbone. For Cultural Exchange, concert pianist Stephen Hough chooses a song called The Hurdy Gurdy Man by Franz Schubert, from his 1828 song cycle Die Winterreise. After directing the blockbuster Avengers Assemble, Joss Whedon now releases a very different film: a modern-day version of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, shot in his own home, in black and white, and featuring a cast of his friends - most of whom appeared in his various cult TV series. Larushka Ivan-Zadeh reviews. Producer Nicki Paxman.

With Mark Lawson. Gemma Arterton (Quantum of Solace) and Saoirse Ronan (Atonement) play mother and daughter in Neil Jordan's vampire film Byzantium. After setting up home in a run-down seaside guest house, schoolgirl Eleanor (Ronan) confides to a friend that she survives on human blood. Natalie Haynes reviews. Lucy Kirkwood's new play Chimerica opens in Beijing in 1989. As the tanks roll into Tiananmen Square, an American photographer captures a piece of history - which comes back to haunt him as he works on the U S presidential elections in New York 2012. Lucy Kirkwood and director Lyndsey Turner talk to Mark about working together on the play. Novelist Audrey Niffenegger, who wrote the best-seller The Time Traveller's Wife, has now collaborated with the Royal Ballet on Raven Girl. Based on a fairy tale written by Niffenegger, Raven Girl tells the story of a girl who wants to fly. Audrey Niffenegger reflects on how the creative partnership worked. For the Cultural Exchange, in which leading creative minds share a cultural passion, Nicholas Hytner, artistic director of the National Theatre, nominates Mozart's opera, The Marriage of Figaro. Producer Nicki Paxman.

With Mark Lawson. Oscar-winning actor Geoffrey Rush stars alongside Charlotte Rampling and Judy Davis in The Eye of the Storm, a film based on Patrick White's novel about sharp family tensions, as a middle-aged brother and sister return to the home of their dying mother. Geoffrey Rush talks about his career on stage and in films such as Shine, Pirates of the Caribbean and The King's Speech. In the latest edition of the Cultural Exchange project, in which 75 leading creative minds share their passion for a book, film, poem, piece of music or other work of art, Melvyn Bragg shares his long-standing love of a Rembrandt self-portrait from 1658. The artist Ellen Gallagher discusses her new exhibition, AxME, which opens this week at the Tate Modern. Gallagher's work includes painting, collage and film installations, and she often uses newspaper cuttings and advertisements from vintage magazines to explore race and identity. She discusses how she moved from being an aspiring writer to working as an artist via jobs as a baker and a carpenter, and the challenges of creating work using plasticine. In 1963 John Profumo, the then war minister, resigned over his affair with Christine Keeler. The scandal damaged the government and led to the suicide of Stephen Ward - the man who'd introduced Keeler to Profumo. Whilst preparing a display to mark the 50th anniversary of the Profumo Affair, the National Portrait Gallery made an incredible discovery: on the reverse of Stephen Ward's pastel drawing of Christine there's a similar drawing of an unknown young woman. Richard Davenport-Hines, author of a book about the scandal, talks to Mark about the enduring appeal of the Profumo affair, and speculates on the identity of the woman. Producer Nicki Paxman.

With Mark Lawson. Front Row reveals the Best of Young British Novelists, as selected by Granta magazine, and featuring 20 writers under 40. The prestigious list, which was first published in 1983, is released once a decade: the class of 1983 included Martin Amis, Salman Rushdie and Rose Tremain. The editor of Granta John Freeman and writer A L Kennedy, who was selected in both 1993 and 2003, unveil the new list and reflect on their judging process. The White House is the setting for the action film Olympus Has Fallen, starring Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart and Morgan Freeman. After the US president is taken hostage by terrorists, a disgraced former guard (Butler) finds himself playing a vital role. Elaine Showalter reviews. Mark reports from Derry-Londonderry, as it celebrates its 100th Day as City of Culture 2013. Throughout the year hundreds of events will take place, involving both international artists and local people. Mark speaks to the organisers of a photography project which aims to show the personal history of the city, not the news headlines from the Troubles. A record shop owner and local band Strength discuss their participation, and author Brian McGilloway talks about the City of Culture legacy. The conductor Sir Colin Davis died yesterday at the age of 85. Nicholas Kenyon, director of the Barbican Centre, London, reflects on the career of a musician who won international acclaim, most notably for his performances of works by Berlioz and Sibelius. Producer Nicki Paxman.

With Mark Lawson. The film A Late Quartet stars Philip Seymour Hoffman and Christopher Walken as members of a world renowned string ensemble, struggling to deal with illness, ego and lust on the cusp of their 25th anniversary. Composer Michael Berkeley reviews. Front Row announces the ten contenders for the £100,000 Art Fund Prize for Museum of the Year 2013. Judges Stephen Deuchar and Bettany Hughes discuss the shortlist, and how they compare large scale building projects with public outreach programmes and imaginative curatorial ideas. Greg Bellow reflects on his father, the Nobel Prize-winning novelist Saul Bellow, and the experience of finding moments of family life appearing in his father's fiction. He also considers the divisions between the public perceptions of Saul Bellow as a literary heavyweight, and his own feelings about him as a father. Tom Hanks, star of Forrest Gump, Apollo 13 and Sleepless in Seattle, is making his Broadway theatre debut in Lucky Guy, a play by Nora Ephron. Tara Gadomski reflects on how audiences are reacting to the sight of this Hollywood star on stage. Producer Nicki Paxman.

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. Novelist William Boyd has taken two short stories by Chekhov and turned them into his first stage play, called Longing. Starring Tamsin Greig, Iain Glen and John Sessions, Longing contains many Chekhovian themes, including long-buried emotions and a yearning for Moscow. Peter Kemp reviews. Hilary Mantel has added the David Cohen Prize for Literature to her recent success in the Man Booker Prize and the Costa Award. The biennial award celebrates an author's entire career rather than one work. The author of Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies considers her success, and gives her unapologetic reaction to the media storm which followed her recent thoughts about the Duchess of Cambridge. Marianne Faithfull, Soweto Kinch, Paul Heaton and conductor André de Ridder reflect on music inspired by the Seven Deadly Sins. Jazz saxophonist Soweto Kinch reveals why he became the voice of temptation on his latest album, The Legend Of Mike Smith, and Paul Heaton explains why he added an eighth sin. Producer Nicki Paxman.

With Mark Lawson. Sam Raimi's film Oz The Great and Powerful is an imagined prequel to L. Frank Baum's novel The Wizard of Oz. James Franco stars as Oscar Diggs, a circus magician from Kansas who encounters three witches, played by Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz and Mila Kunis in the land of Oz. Writer Sally Gardner reviews. Composer George Benjamin and playwright Martin Crimp reflect on their new opera, Written on Skin, receiving its UK premiere at the Royal Opera House this week. Based on a medieval folk tale of love and violence, the opera is directed by Katie Mitchell and features Canadian soprano Barbara Hannigan in the pivotal role of Agnes. Author Julia O'Faolain discusses Trespassers: A Memoir, the story of her own life and her relationship with her father, the acclaimed writer Sean O'Faolain, who was also Director of Publicity for the IRA during the Irish Civil War. Producer Nicki Paxman.

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. Harry Hill has returned to stand-up comedy after years fronting the television show he created, ITV's TV Burp. He discusses how stand up has changed since he was last on the comedy circuit, his attachment to his oversized collars, working on X Factor the Musical and launching a giant inflatable sausage on stage. The actor John C Reilly, best known for We Need to Talk about Kevin and his Oscar-nominated performance in Chicago, talks about starring in Wreck It Ralph, an animated film about an arcade game character. He explains how, unlike most animated films, the actors started with the dialogue and the animators created the characters based on their mannerisms. James McAvoy is about to take to the stage as Macbeth at the age of 33, and Simon Russell Beale will play King Lear next year at the age of 52 - but are they too young to take on these roles? And should Juliet always be played by a teenager? Front Row considers the optimum age for leading Shakespearian parts. Producer Nicki Paxman.

With Mark Lawson. Jessica Chastain is nominated for an Oscar for her role in Zero Dark Thirty, Kathryn Bigelow's film about an elite military and intelligence team hunting for Osama Bin Laden. She discusses the demands of her role in a film which has generated controversy about the role of torture in the story. The death of film-maker Michael Winner was announced today. Barry Norman, who followed Winner's movie career from the 1960s onwards, and Andrew Neil, who first employed him as a restaurant reviewer on The Sunday Times, reflect on the life of a director and writer who readily re-invented himself, and was never afraid to say what he thought. Adam Ant today releases his first album for 18 years, and David Bowie recently issued his first new track in a decade. Alex Clark, Mark Eccleston and Kate Mossman discuss the authors, film-makers and musicians who leave long gaps between one work and the next. Producer Nicki Paxman.

With Mark Lawson. Nominations for the 2013 Oscars were announced this afternoon. Steven Spielberg's Lincoln heads the field with 12 nominations, followed by Life of Pi with 11. Film reviewers Larushka Ivan-Zadeh and Chris Tookey discuss the contenders live in the studio. Cameron Mackintosh reflects on possible British success as one of the producers of the musical film Les Miserables, which has eight nominations. Animation directors Peter Lord and Sam Fell reveal stories behind their nominated films The Pirates! Band of Misfits and ParaNorman. Mark also talks to director David O Russell, whose Silver Linings Playbook has eight nominations and is the first film to be nominated in all four acting categories since 1981, and to Michael Haneke, whose Amour is shortlisted in five categories including Best Film and Best Director. Producer Nicki Paxman.

Martin McDonagh won the 2008 Best Original Screenplay Oscar for In Bruges, starring Colin Farrell as an unlucky hit-man. In McDonagh's new film, Seven Psychopaths, Farrell is a struggling screenwriter dragged into the Los Angeles crime world when his quirky friends (Sam Rockwell and Christopher Walken) kidnap a dog belonging to a gangster (Woody Harrelson). Kamila Shamsie reviews. Novelist Beryl Bainbridge, who died in 2010, won the Whitbread Prize twice and was nominated for the Booker Prize five times. But she was also an accomplished and prolific painter, whose subjects include The Titanic, Napoleon, and Captain Scott's journey - as well as Liverpool memories and portraits of her children. As The Museum Of Liverpool prepares to open the exhibition, Beryl Bainbridge: Painter, her longtime friend A.N Wilson talks about her paintings and their relationship to her writing. This week Young Voices launches its latest national arena tour in Birmingham NEC, with 7,000 UK schoolchildren. To discuss the pros and cons of different choir sizes, Mark Lawson is joined by Jeremy Summerly from the Royal Academy of Music and Suzi Digby of BBC TV's Last Choir Standing. Two of the best known faces on television are returning to our screens this week, but both will be out of their comfort zone. Richard Madeley, best-known for being one half of Richard And Judy, is investigating squatting in the UK in the documentary, Madeley Meets The Squatters - and Jamie Oliver is sharing the limelight with his good friend Jimmy Doherty in, Jamie And Jimmy's Food Fight Club. Gabriel Tate joins Mark to discuss whether the new formats have worked. Producer Nicki Paxman.

With Mark Lawson. When Matthew Bourne established the dance company Adventures in Motion Pictures in 1987, his pioneering fusion of contemporary dance, classical ballet, and theatre thrilled audiences worldwide, won prizes on both sides of the Atlantic, and divided critics. He discusses his new production of Sleeping Beauty and what he's learned from Strictly Come Dancing. It's exactly 99 years since the birth of composer Benjamin Britten, and next year's centenary celebrations include numerous concerts, operas and broadcasts. But the events of recent weeks have renewed the focus on Britten's friendships with adolescent boys, a subject covered in biographies and documentaries - although there is no evidence of criminal behaviour. Singer Ian Bostridge, Jonathan Reekie of Aldeburgh Music and writer Martin Kettle reflect on Britten's current reputation. The American actor John Lithgow takes the title role in The Magistrate, in a new National Theatre staging of Pinero's farce about a respectable man caught up in a series of scandalous events. Sarah Crompton reviews. Producer Nicki Paxman.

With Mark Lawson. Roy Hattersley, former Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, gives his verdict on James Graham's new play This House. Philip Glenister, Phil Daniels and Vincent Franklin star as Labour whips who will do anything to win the vote in the hung parliament in 1974. The best-selling Norwegian writer Jo Nesbø was a footballer, stockbroker and the singer in one of Norway's biggest rock bands, before turning his hand to crime fiction in 1997, when he started a series of books featuring Detective Harry Hole. As his debut book in the series - The Bat - is published in English for the first time, he discusses turning crime clichés into crime gold. The influential and reticent musician Prince remains something of an enigma. A new biography aims to shed light on a performer who was a chart star in the 1980s, but has steered his own idiosyncratic course ever since. Its author Matt Thorne joins Mark to discuss how Prince's life informs his music. Producer Nicki Paxman.

With Mark Lawson. Ruby Sparks is the new film from the directors of the Oscar-winning Little Miss Sunshine, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. It explores the writer's fantasy of having a character come to life. Novelist Meg Rosoff reviews. Alan Sillitoe's classic story, The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner, has been adapted for a new touring stage production by the playwright Roy Williams. He has swapped Sillitoe's 1950s Nottingham setting for London in 2012 just after the Olympics. Mark talks to Williams, director Marcus Romer and the star of the new production, Elliot Barnes-Worrell, about re-imagining the story for a contemporary audience - and the art of running on stage. The Plane Crash is a TV documentary which delivers what the title says: scientists, pilots and aviation experts deliberately crashed an airliner in a remote Mexican desert, to find out what actually happens in such situations. Writer Henry Sutton, whose novels include Flying, set on a plane, gives his verdict. The photographer and film maker William Klein, now 84, reflects on a career in which he trained as a painter before working in fashion and street photography. His work is about to go on display at Tate Modern, in an exhibition in which his images are shown alongside pictures by the Japanese photographer Daido Moriyama. Producer Nicki Paxman.

With Mark Lawson. The death of the singer Andy Williams at the age of 84 was announced today. Michael Grade pays tribute to one of the most high-profile performers of the 1960s and 1970s, and we hear the voice of Andy Williams himself, recalling his early career, from a Front Row interview in 2007. Matt Bellamy and Dom Howard from the band Muse reflect on their new album, and how it's influenced by science, and discuss the pressures of performing at the Olympic closing ceremony. And after 18 years together, they also consider tensions within the band and their gruelling tour schedules. This year - in celebration of the Olympics - the BBC's annual National Short Story Award has become the BBC International Short Story Award. Front Row is interviewing the 10 authors shortlisted for the £15,000 prize. Tonight novelists Carrie Tiffany and Julian Gough discuss their stories, to be broadcast tomorrow and on Friday. Producer Nicki Paxman.

With Mark Lawson. Jonathan Pryce tackles the title role of Shakespeare's King Lear for the first time, in Michael Attenborough's new production at the Almeida Theatre in London. Novelist Kamila Shamsie reviews. Thomas Heatherwick reflects on his design for the London 2012 Olympic Cauldron. Unveiled at the climax of the opening ceremony in July, its 204 copper petals were carried into the stadium by competing teams to join up into one flame which burned throughout the Olympics and Paralympics. As it is dismantled, each country is taking home one of the petals. The contenders for the Barclaycard Mercury Prize for album of the year are revealed today. Chair of Judges Simon Frith discusses the 12 acts in the running, which range from guitar bands to folk and rap acts. Last year's winner was P J Harvey, who is the only artist to have won twice. Producer Nicki Paxman.

With Mark Lawson Las Vegas band The Killers are in the UK ahead of the release of their new album, Battle Born, next week. In a rare interview recorded shortly before going on stage to roadtest their new material, singer Brandon Flowers and drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr discuss writing and performing their fourth album. Woody Allen's cinematic tour of Europe continues with his new film To Rome With Love. The romantic comedy takes the form of four separate stories played by an all-star cast, including Allen as an opera director, Penelope Cruz and Alec Baldwin - all of whom find themselves in Italy's capital city. Comedian Tiffany Stevenson reviews. The shortlist for the Man Booker Prize for fiction is announced today. Chair of judges Sir Peter Stothard and fellow judge actor Dan Stevens discuss the six titles competing for the £50 000 prize. Bronze sculptures from 5,000 years ago until the present day come together at the Royal Academy in London in an exhibition called Bronze. Works from Asia, Africa and Europe, ancient Greece and Rome sit alongside pieces by Rodin, Picasso, Giacometti, Henry Moore and Louise Bourgeois. Historian Tom Holland reviews. Producer Nicki Paxman.

With Kirsty Lang. Philippa Gregory discusses her latest novel on the Plantagenets. The Kingmaker's Daughter focuses on Anne Neville, daughter of 15th century power magnate the Earl Of Warwick. As a girl, Anne is used as a pawn in her father's political battles. After his death she chooses to marry the handsome and ambitious Duke of Gloucester, the future King Richard III. Rupert Penry-Jones and Shaun Evans star in The Last Weekend, a TV adaptation of Blake Morrison's novel about male jealousy. Two couples spend the weekend in a remote holiday cottage, and the tension mounts as the men return to a 20 year old bet, with horrifying consequences. Rachel Cooke reviews. Jorge Amado, one of Brazil's most successful and prolific novelists, was born in August 1912, and enjoyed a writing career spanning more than 60 years. Kirsty explores Amado's work with Louis de Bernieres, whose Latin American trilogy predated the success of Captain Corelli's Mandolin, JP Cuenca, who recently featured on Granta's list of the best young Brazilian novelists, and writer Benjamin Moser. The film Dirty Dancing premiered in New York 25 years ago today. This coming-of-age drama, set in 1963 and starring Jennifer Grey as Baby and Patrick Swayze as Johnny, became an international hit, spawning a successful soundtrack album, sequel and stage musical. Writer Zoe Williams and broadcaster Paul Gambaccini consider the film's continuing appeal. Producer Nicki Paxman.

With Mark Lawson. Writer Jeanette Winterson discusses her new novella, The Daylight Gate, which is based on real characters from the notorious Pendle witch trials from 1612. The story shows how politics, religion, magic and superstition were gruesomely intertwined following the Gunpowder Plot against James I - especially in Jeanette Winterson's home county of Lancashire. Danish TV drama The Killing was an international hit - as was the jumper worn by its main character. Its director Birger Larsen is now making his UK debut with Murder, a crime drama set in Nottingham starring Stephen Dillane. Larsen and the co-creator of Murder, Robert Jones, talk about the series - and there's a revelation about that famous knitwear. As the US presidential election grows nearer, musicians are entering the campaign. Both Ry Cooder's latest album Election Special, and new wave band Devo's new song Don't Roof Rack Me, Bro! (inspired by Mitt Romney's road trip with the family dog in a kennel strapped to the car roof) seem timed for maximum political impact. Music writer David Hepworth joins Mark to discuss what does and doesn't work in political songs, and whether they ever do more than preach to the converted. Producer Nicki Paxman.

With John Wilson. Comedian Mark Thomas discusses his latest show Bravo Figaro, which reveals how his father, a builder, cultivated a love of opera. After his father was diagnosed with a degenerative disease, Mark Thomas put together this very personal show, which has involved taking opera singers to perform in his father's bungalow. To mark the 50th anniversary of Marilyn Monroe's death, Susan Bernard discusses the images of the star taken by her father - the renowned photographer known as Bernard of Hollywood. These range from early shots of Norma Jean, through to the famous Seven Year Itch subway image. She remembers meeting Monroe, and her father's relationship with the troubled star. Andrew Lloyd Webber predicted that this summer would be a difficult one for the capital's theatres, and already some are finding it hard to fill their seats. Leading producer Nica Burns discusses the situation so far, and possible solutions. To mark the Olympics, the BBC - in partnership with The Scottish Poetry Library - has selected and recorded a poem representing every country taking part. Each is read by a native of that country who lives here in Britain. Every night during the Olympics, Front Row features one of the poems. Producer Nicki Paxman.

With Mark Lawson. Hattie Morahan and Dominic Rowan are currently starring in Ibsen's drama A Doll's House, and audiences have been booing Dominic's portrayal of the heroine's chauvinistic husband. The actors discuss handling negative audience reaction, which also happened when Dominic played an egotistical hunk in Penelope Skinner's play, The Village Bike. John Lydon, lead singer of the iconic 1970s punk band The Sex Pistols, says it would be a compliment if their song, God Save the Queen, was included in the Olympic opening ceremony. He explains why the song is not a vicious assault and, as his band PiL release a new album, he talks about his National Treasure status and why retiring is not an option. A third volume of T S Eliot's correspondence has just been published, the product of many years of scholarship - but will such collections continue in the age of email and text message? Professor Steve Connor, from Birkbeck College, London, and Megan Barnard, from the Harry Ransom Centre in Texas, consider the future of the literary letter. A mention in fiction bestseller Fifty Shades of Grey has pushed Thomas Tallis' 40 part motet Spem in Alium to the top of the classical chart. We count down other unexpected cultural hits which have followed an appearance in fiction or film. Producer Nicki Paxman.

With Kirsty Lang. Leading bass-baritone Bryn Terfel talks about the intrinsic character of Welsh music, as his four day BrynFest takes place with a 500 strong male voice choir and an open air Big Sing which anyone can join. Arabian Nights hero Sinbad the Sailor gets a modern makeover in a new TV series, from the production company behind Primeval. Critic Bidisha discusses Sinbad's contemporary appeal. As part of a major Hitchcock season, the BFI have restored his nine surviving silent films which will be given gala screenings with brand new scores. Composers Neil Brand, Nitin Sawhney and Mira Calix discuss the art of creating a signature Hitchcock sound for the 21st Century. The Shard is Western Europe's tallest building and tonight celebrates its official completion with a light show. Architect Renzo Piano's 72 level tower near London Bridge has been 12 years in development. Architecture writer Hugh Pearman reflects on the role of the skyscraper and its future. Producer Nicki Paxman.

In an extended interview, Mark Lawson talks to writer Hilary Mantel, who won the Booker Prize with her novel Wolf Hall, and has now written a sequel, Bring Up The Bodies. Producer Nicki Paxman.

With Mark Lawson. The Oscar-winning film Chariots of Fire now arrives on stage, with the Hampstead Theatre turned into the arena of the 1924 Paris Olympics. And the new cinema documentary Personal Best has followed young British sprinters over the last four years, on the road to London 2012. Sports presenter Eleanor Oldroyd compares these stories of athletic dedication. Henry Moore: Large Late Forms is a new exhibition for which a series of the artist's giant bronze sculptures have been transported from their usual place in the fields outside Moore's home in Hertfordshire to a central London gallery on the back of a vast flatbed truck. Curator Anita Feldman discusses the logistical challenge of bringing these enormous artworks indoors. Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky talks about his fascination with the environment, in the light of two new exhibitions. Burtynsky: Oil considers the mechanics, distribution and use of some of the world's most highly contested resources, while Monegros - Dryland Farming depicts the semi-arid terrain of the agricultural region in Spain, which has created a vast lattice-work of patterns which he observes from the air. After 17 years the Orange Prize for Fiction has lost its sponsor, and now needs to find new investors. Changing circumstances have also led to the re-branding of the Man Booker Prize and the Costa Book Awards. Graham Hales, from the consultancy firm Interbrand, considers the links between sponsors and arts awards. Producer Nicki Paxman.

With Mark Lawson. Edward VIII: The Plot to Topple a King is a new TV drama/documentary which tells the story of Archbishop Cosmo Gordon Lang, played by David Calder. He believed that Edward VIII's love for Wallis Simpson made a mockery of all that he stood for, and so assembled a group of grandees to oust the King. AN Wilson reviews. Trainspotting screenwriter John Hodge discusses his first play, Collaborators, which recently won the Olivier Award for Best New Play. Collaborators focuses on an imagined encounter between Joseph Stalin and playwright Mikhail Bulgakov. Hodge discusses the differences between writing for stage and screen. Klaus Heymann, the founder of the bargain classical music label Naxos, now celebrating its 25th anniversary, is joined by music critic Jessica Duchen to reflect on how his label revolutionised the music industry, whether there is a downside to affordable recordings and if the record business has a profitable future. Producer Nicki Paxman.

Enquirer is a new rapid-response, verbatim work mounted by the National Theatre of Scotland investigating the current crisis in UK newspaper journalism. Performed promenade style in a Glasgow office block, it is based on over 50 interviews with journalists. Directors John Tiffany and Vicki Featherstone explain how they came up with the idea and what they hope the project will achieve. Toni Morrison's new novel, Home, tells the story of a self-loathing African-American veteran of the Korean war who returns home to a racist America. Suffering serious trauma, he sets out to rescue his beloved sister, who is dying as a result of medical abuse, and take her back to the small Georgia town they grew up in. Professor Diane Roberts reviews. Picasso's Vollard Suite is on show at the British Museum - a series of 100 etchings named after the avant-garde Paris art dealer who commissioned them. They show Picasso's interest in sculptural forms in the 1930s, and include images of passionate sexual imagery and bullfighting - which became central to his later work. Andrew Graham-Dixon reviews. Tracie Bennett won the Best Actress Olivier Award last year for her performance as Judy Garland in End Of The Rainbow. The production recently transferred to the US, with Tracie as the only British member of the cast. After a run in Judy's home state, Minnesota, the show has now opened in Broadway - and Tracie talks to Kirsty Lang about her "coals to Newcastle" experience. Producer: Nicki Paxman.

With John Wilson. Dara O Briain's School of Hard Sums is a new TV series in which the comedian uses numbers and equations to tackle life problems, such as trying to predict football scores and how many people to date before choosing a partner. Dara discusses why maths brings out his competitive side, and how it influences his comedy. The new film Blackthorn imagines the ageing outlaw Butch Cassidy living in exile in a secluded village in Bolivia. Sam Shepard plays Cassidy, now using the name James Blackthorn, who decides to return to the USA. Antonia Quirke reviews. 'I waited so patiently for God to bring someone...and then he blessed my soul': so runs the lyric on I Found You, just one of the songs which invokes God on the much-anticipated album by the US band Alabama Shakes. Kitty Empire considers why American musicians draw on religious faith more readily than their British counterparts. Director and writer Whit Stillman won an Oscar nomination for the screenplay of his first film Metropolitan. His new film Damsels in Distress focuses on three beautiful girls who want to change life at an American university, and comes 13 years after his last release. He reflects on his career, and the long gap between films. Producer Nicki Paxman.

Julianne Moore and Ed Harris star in Game Change, HBO's television dramatisation of the 2008 Presidential Election. Moore plays Sarah Palin, the Alaskan governor plucked from relative obscurity to give Ed Harris' John McCain some much needed star power. Clare Short and Peter Hitchens review the programme. Brit Award and Mercury Music Prize-nominated musician Richard Hawley first found success as a member of the Longpigs and later, Pulp. His subsequent solo music has been strongly influenced by his childhood in Sheffield but his latest album is a change of musical direction. Standing at the Sky's Edge is a psychedelic rock album that Hawley describes less black and white than previous material. He told Mark why it was time to focus on more intricate guitar playing. As Swedish author Sven Lindqvist celebrates his 80th birthday, he explains why he thinks all his books are the same. Producer Nicki Paxman.

With Mark Lawson. A new attraction The Making of Harry Potter opens its doors this weekend. Visitors to the Leavesden film studios can look behind the scenes of the making of the most successful film series ever. Actors Rupert Grint and Warwick Davis and special effects designers take Mark on a tour which includes the Great Hall, the Knight Bus, Diagon Alley and Ron Weasley's kitchen. Award-winning American poet Adrienne Rich has died aged 82. During a career which spanned seven decades, Rich was a pioneering feminist, who tackled topics such as racism, sexuality and economic justice. Writer Jeanette Winterson pays tribute, and we hear archive of Adrienne Rich herself. Mark reports on the screenplays which were never filmed. On Saturday actor Brian Cox will perform Orson Welles' complete but unmade script for Heart of Darkness, based on the book by Joseph Conrad. His performance takes place inside a boat created by artist Fiona Banner, inspired by the vessel in Conrad's novella. Fiona Banner reveals her long interest in Welles' script, and David Hughes, author of Tales From Development Hell, considers other notable Hollywood unmade screenplays. And Mark also discusses This Is Not a Film, a new release from Iranian director Jafar Panahi, which is an account of how he's unable to make a scripted film in Iran. Producer Nicki Paxman.

With Mark Lawson. Hugh Grant leads the cast providing the voices for Aardman Animations' latest film The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists, which takes the lawless seafarers from the shores of Blood Island to the foggy streets of Victorian London. Mark Eccleston reviews. Novelist Jodi Picoult discusses her new book, which focuses on a pair of siblings trying to decide whether or not to remove life support from their father. She reflects on her approach to fiction, and the response she received from the Christian right in the USA to her last novel. Madonna's twelfth album, M.D.N.A, is a new collection of tracks aimed at the dancefloor, and released ahead of an international tour this summer. Rebecca Nicholson gives her verdict. Booker Prize-winning writer Ben Okri has published his first new collection of poetry for 13 years, with many of the poems featuring dedications. He considers the process of dedicating verse, and we hear from one of his dedicatees, musician and producer Brian Eno. Producer Nicki Paxman.

Actress Lesley Sharp talks about returning to her role as Manchester police officer DC Janet Scott in the TV drama Scott and Bailey, alongside Suranne Jones. She reflects on how the series approaches the work of the murder squad, and discusses her career which includes The Full Monty and Mike Leigh's Vera Drake. Matt Damon stars in the new film We Bought A Zoo, based on a British true story about a man who decided to take on a struggling zoo. Directed by Cameron Crowe, the film moves the action to California. Gaylene Gould reviews. Noah Stewart is a young American tenor who grew up in Harlem and has already played Don Jose in Carmen, Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly and Rodolfo in La Boheme. This week he releases a CD of songs, and opens at the Royal Opera House in Judith Weir's new opera Miss Fortune. He reflects on working with a living composer, flying with a blanket over his head to avoid germs, and the views of his mother on his career so far. Producer Nicki Paxman.

Kate Winslet and Jodie Foster star in Roman Polanski's film Carnage, an adaptation of Yasmina Reza's play about two couples who meet to discuss their sons, one of whom has knocked out the other's front teeth. Although things start out cordially, cracks soon begin to show. Novelist Julie Myerson gives her verdict. Director Sacha Mirzoeff discusses the years of negotiation behind his three part TV documentary series Protecting Our Children. Given unprecedented access to social workers and families in Bristol, Mirzoeff reveals the pressures of filming the complex dilemmas faced by child protection teams. The first-ever British production of Samuel Beckett's Waiting For Godot with a cast of black actors is about to open at the West Yorkshire Playhouse. Actors Jeffery Kissoon and Patrick Robinson and director Ian Brown reflect on how this casting changes the play. Migrations, a new exhibition at Tate Britain, explores how British art has been shaped by artists from abroad over the last five centuries. The show moves from works by the Dutch artists van Dyck and Maurice Gheeraerts to contemporary artists such as Steve McQueen and Mona Hatoum. Jackie Wullschlager reviews. Producer Nicki Paxman.

With John Wilson. Clint Eastwood's new film as a director focuses on J Edgar Hoover, the first head of the FBI. Leonardo DiCaprio takes the title role in J Edgar, which shows Hoover at various stages of his controversial career. Jonathan Freedland reviews. Lord Smith discusses his review of the British film industry, A Future for British Film, published today. It offers 56 recommendations, including a British Film week, funding from TV companies and audience testing for new film releases. Director Roger Michell, whose films include Notting Hill and Venus, offers his perspective. Front Row announces and talks to the winner of the 2012 T S Eliot Prize for Poetry, announced this evening. Now in its 19th year, the prize offers £15,000 for the best collection of poetry, as chosen by a judging panel who are themselves poets. Michael Kiwanuka has won the BBC's Sound of 2012 poll, an accolade previously awarded to Jessie J and Adele. The singer-songwriter reveals how he discovered his sound and why he grew up in a house with very little music. Producer Nicki Paxman.

The category winners of the Costa Book Awards 2011 are announced live on Front Row by the awards' director Bud McLintock. Literary editors Gaby Wood and Will Skidelsky give their response to the winners of the five categories - novel, first novel, biography, poetry and children's book. The winner in each category receives £5,000, and one of the five winning books will then selected as the Costa Book of the Year, announced on 24 January, receiving a further £30,000. Multi-award winning writer Tony Marchant discusses his new drama Public Enemies about the relationship between a convicted murderer recently released from prison, played by Daniel Mays, and his probation officer, played by Anna Friel, who is returning to work after being suspended after a shocking crime was committed by an offender under her supervision. Mark Lawson is joined by Ralph Steadman and Posy Simmonds in paying tribute to Ronald Searle, the British cartoonist best known for creating the fictional girls' school St Trinian's, who died today aged 91. This week Front Row talks to an artist, a playwright, and a film director who each face the challenge of following up on especially successful projects. First, ceramic artist Edmund de Waal talks about what comes after his memoir, The Hare With The Amber Eyes, which won several literary prizes last year, and was the biggest selling non fiction paperback . Producer Nicki Paxman.

With Mark Lawson. David Fincher's directing credits include The Social Network, Fight Club, Se7en and Alien3, and his latest film is an adaptation of Stieg Larsson's book The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, starring Daniel Craig. Fincher discusses his approach to filming a book that has already sold 65 million copies worldwide and been made into a successful trilogy of movies in Swedish. Mark Lawson and Jeff Park make their selection of crime books for Christmas including works by P D James, Umberto Eco and Anthony Horowitz. Vikram Seth is best known for his novel A Suitable Boy, but he's also written a series of opera libretti, as part of a collaboration with composer Alec Roth, and now published as The Rivered Earth. Vikram Seth discusses the working process and how a former owner of his house made a mark on the project. Producer Nicki Paxman.

With Kirsty Lang. Meryl Streep is hotly tipped for Oscar success for her performance as Margaret Thatcher in the forthcoming film The Iron Lady. She discusses how she mastered Thatcher's famous voice, why she decided to donate her fee for the film to charity and how she feels about her daughters following her into the acting profession. Director Shane Meadows continues the story of a group of young skinheads who first appeared in his film This is England, set in 1983. This is England 88 is the second in a series of television sequels, and stars Vicky McClure as Lol, now struggling to cope with life as a single mother. Dreda Say Mitchell reviews. Reviewers Georgia Coleridge and Damian Kelleher offer their pick of the year's children's books, ranging from picture books to teenage fiction. Producer Nicki Paxman.

Martin Scorsese has directed his first film in 3D. Adapted from the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, Hugo is the tale of a boy who lives in a Paris railway station in the 1930s, and features Ben Kingsley, Jude Law and Sacha Baron Cohen. Naomi Alderman reviews. The winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year 2011 is announced today. Mark interviews all seven shortlisted authors, whose books cover a range of sports including football, rugby, cycling, running and bullfighting, and the winner of the £27,500 prize responds to the judges' verdict. The death of the film-maker Ken Russell was announced today. He was 84. Critic Mark Kermode reflects on Russell's life and career, and there's another chance to hear Ken Russell himself discussing his home movies and his opinions on the film industry, from a Front Row interview recorded in 2008. Producer Nicki Paxman.

With John Wilson. Peter Gabriel's latest project was inspired by his 2010 CD Scratch My Back, in which he gave an orchestral treatment to some of his favourite artists' songs. The former Genesis frontman discusses his new album New Blood, in which he gives highlights from his own solo back-catalogue a similar makeover, including Don't Give Up and Solsbury Hill. Doctor Who's Karen Gillan makes her professional stage debut in a new production of John Osborne's Inadmissible Evidence, which stars the Olivier and Tony award-winning actor Douglas Hodge in the massive central role of a disintegrating middle-aged lawyer, clinging to the human wreckage he's left in his wake. Sarah Churchwell reviews. The first major show for over 25 years of the work of surrealist painter Edward Burra opens this weekend. Despite suffering with acute arthritis so that his hands could hardly hold the brush, Burra is one of the most original 20th century British artists, fascinated by the seedy side of life, and inspired by a mixture of old masters and the pop culture of jazz and Hollywood films. John reports from Pallant House Gallery, Chichester. Gus Van Sant, whose films include Good Will Hunting and Milk, has now directed Restless, the tale of a terminally-ill girl who befriends a funeral gate-crashing drop-out. Starring Mia Wasikowska and Henry Hopper, the film has divided critics in America. Antonia Quirke gives her verdict. Producer Nicki Paxman.

With Mark Lawson. Director Lynne Ramsay's new film We Need to Talk About Kevin won considerable acclaim at this year's Cannes festival. She discusses adapting Lionel Shriver's Orange Prize-winning novel for the cinema, where Tilda Swinton plays the tortured mother of Kevin, who goes on a horrific rampage two days before his 16th birthday. Theatre producer Cameron Mackintosh is 65 today. He discusses his four decades in the business, in which he has defied critics with international successes including The Phantom of the Opera and Les Misérables, which is now set to become a film staring Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe. He also reflects on working with Andrew Lloyd Webber and finding talent via TV audition shows. Writer Haruki Murakami is a literary superstar in his native Japan, and his books have been translated into dozens of languages. His latest title 1Q84 sold a million copies in one month in his homeland, and is published in English for the first time this week, as three books in two volumes. Novelist Toby Litt reviews. Producer Nicki Paxman.

With Mark Lawson. The acclaimed literary biographer Claire Tomalin publishes a new life of Dickens this week, ahead of the bicentenary of his birth next year. She discusses the author's contradictions and insecurities and whether they were an essential part of his genius. Rowan Atkinson returns to his role as the spy with no sense of fear but plenty of gadgets, in the film Johnny English Reborn. He talks about the similarities between Johnny English and Mr Bean, the art of pulling faces and the importance of cars in his work. Artist Grayson Perry pays homage to thousands of forgotten and anonymous craftsmen by picking 200 objects from the British Museum's collection to display in his exhibition The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman. At the centre of the show is a decorated cast iron coffin ship, made by Perry himself. Natalie Haynes reviews. Producer: Nicki Paxman.

With Mark Lawson. Stella Rimington, chair of judges for the Man Booker Prize 2011, discusses this year's shortlist of contenders: Julian Barnes, Carol Birch, Patrick deWitt, Esi Edugyan, Stephen Kelman and A D Miller. Leading British film maker Ken Loach celebrated his 75th birthday this year. His first film Kes is re-released in cinemas this week and the British Film Institute is celebrating with a season of his films, including Cathy Come Home, Land and Freedom and Looking For Eric. Ken Loach talks to Mark about film, censorship and having his children follow in his footsteps. The latest play by the award-winning debbie tucker green is inspired by the process of truth and reconciliation in countries from South Africa to Bosnia and Northern Ireland. Writer Kamila Shamsie reviews. Producer Nicki Paxman.