Podcast appearances and mentions of Sarah Crompton

Sarah Crompton and Alex Wood head to the National Theatre to hear the venue's new director Indhu Rubasingham unveil her bumper season of productions, mapping out plans right the way through to 2027. With huge star names like Paul Mescal, Nicola Coughlan, Lesley Manville and Letitia Wright slated for appearances, there's plenty for audiences to get excited about. But more than that – what does Rubasingham's approach and character mean for the future of the NT? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We look back at the quarter century in performing arts, exploring the changes in live stage performance and asking how the theatrical landscape has changed over those years. Samira Ahmed hears about some of the big trends that have changed the experience - such as immersive theatre and discusses the challenges the sector has faced. She is joined by playwrights Mark Ravenhill and Lolita Chakrabarti, who is also an actor, by the producer and CEO of Nimax Theatres, Nica Burns and by the critic Sarah Crompton. Plus we hear from Felix Barrett, founder of Punchdrunk Theatre and Nikolai Foster the artistic director of the Leicester Curve.Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Ruth Watts

Joined by two famed artistic leaders, podcast hosts Sarah Crompton and Alex Wood discuss the RSC's exciting plans for the coming year - including a new stage version of The BFG, the transfer of Broadway hit Fat Ham, a football-focussed Much Ado About Nothing, Somerset Maugham's The Constant Wife (boldly reimagined by Laura Wade) and a deluge of tantalising productions. Oh, and, a large amount of chat about Chiltern Railways. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the eve of A Marvellous Party, a star-filled gala to celebrate Noël Coward, Sarah Crompton talks to producer Julian Bird and Coward's biographer Oliver Soden about Coward's importance today. They discuss the range of his talent as a playwright, songwriter, screen writer, diarist and poet and why the image of him as a comfortable man in a dressing gown couldn't be further from the truth. Did you know that he coined the word gay or that there were people storming out of his plays because he was so shocking? It's all part of realising that he is more relevant and necessary than ever. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mel Giedroyc and Sarah Crompton join Samira to review The Franchise, the new comedy series from Armando Iannucci offering a behind the scenes look at the filming of a superhero film franchise.They also review Tim Winton's epic new novel Juice, set in the future of a climate change ravaged Australia. And Francois Ozon's new comedy film The Crime is Mine, which sees an actress charged with murder finding the courtroom the perfect place to launch her career starring Isabelle Huppert. Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Corinna Jones

Author Abir Mukherjee and critic Sarah Crompton join Tom Sutcliffe for the review show. After opening 40 years ago, Starlight Express has been updated and opens in London in a specially designed auditorium. Rosarita by Anita Desai tells the story of Bonita, a young Indian woman who travels to Mexico to study and stumbles upon unknown evidence that her late mother had once been there. Monia Chokri's award winning French-Canadian rom-com The Nature of Love follows a philosophy professor navigating relationships. And, Dr Henry Gee discusses the world's oldest cave art which has been discovered in the Indonesian Island of Sulawesi.Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Claire Bartleet

For this Musicals Meets Podcast, Sarah Kirkup talks to Sarah Crompton, one of Britain's most respected writers and broadcasters, about the new production of Hadestown which has just premiered at the Lyric Theatre in the West End. Crompton is a huge fan of the show, having previously seen the UK production at the National Theatre and reviewing it favourably for WhatsOnStage. She recently wrote a fascinating feature on the new West End production for the current issue of Musicals magazine.  Blending modern American folk music with New Orleans-inspired jazz, the music for Hadestown is written by the acclaimed Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell. Mitchell originated Hadestown as an indie theatre project and acclaimed album before transforming the show into a genre-defying new musical alongside Tony Award-winning director Rachel Chavkin.  How has the show been reinvented this time around? What aspects work particularly well, and which performers stand out? The two Sarahs meet to discuss the production in detail. 

Yorgis Lanthimos' black comedy Poor Things won Best Film and Best Actress for its star Emma Stone at last night's Golden Globe awards, so this evening we're joined by critics Leila Latif and James Marriott for a review of the much hyped film ahead of its release in the UK on Friday.Warhammer 40,000 is one of the most popular games in the world. Recently the makers finalised a deal with Amazon which has the potential to bring its miniature characters and battlefield stories to the big screen. The comic book writer Kieron Gillen, who has written new stories for the Warhammer universe, reflects on the significance of the deal.Have reviewers become more blandly positive in recent years - or more attention-grabbingly negative? James Marriott who reviews for The Times and Sarah Crompton who reviews for WhatsOnStage and the Observer discuss.Author Agri Ismaïl talks about his new novel Hyper which follows the family of a Kurdish Communist fleeing persecution, and his children who eventually find themselves in the hyper-capitalist centres of Dubai, London and New York.Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Eliane Glaser

Front Row reviews the week's cultural highlights. Samira Ahmed is joined by critics Sarah Crompton and Isabel Stevens to discuss William Oldroyd's new film Eileen and a production of The House of Bernarda Alba at the National Theatre. The Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan, who is often described as one of the 20th Century's greatest song-writers, has died age 65. Irish broadcaster John Kelly remembers him.Ian Youngs reports from Bristol's new music venue Bristol Beacon, formerly Colston Hall, which is re-opening after a five year refurbishment and a name change. It's now a state of the art concert venue, but the work has proved controversial due to escalating costs. And Barbara Walker, who is shortlisted for this year's Turner Prize, talks about how her portraits capture people affected by the Windrush scandal. Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Eliane Glaser

The dancer Moira Shearer starred in the 1948 film written, directed, and produced by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger which reworks a Hans Christian Andersen story, mixed with elements of ballet history and the founding of the Ballet Russes by Diaghilev. The film, about the tangled relationships between a dancer, composer and ballet impresario, had a cast involving many professional dancers, and gained five Academy Award nominations including best score for Brian Easdale. As the BFI prepares a UK-wide season of Powell and Pressburger films running from 16th October to 31st December (including a re-release of The Red Shoes), Matthew Sweet is joined by film critics Lillian Crawford, Pamela Hutchinson, dance reviewer Sarah Crompton and New Generation Thinker and film lecturer Lisa Mullen. Producer: Torquil MacLeod You can find Matthew Sweet presenting Radio 3's regular strand devoted to film and TV music Sound of Cinema on Saturday afternoons at 3pm and available on BBC Sounds and a whole host of Free Thinking episodes devoted to classics of cinema are in a collection on the programme website labelled Landmarks including: Jean Paul Belmondo and the French New Wave, Marlene Dietrich, Dirk Bogarde and the Servant, Bette Davis, Sidney Poitier, Asta Nielsen.

Front Row plays tribute to Oscar winning actor Glenda Jackson, who has died aged 87. Theatre critic Sarah Crompton remembers the power of her stage performances, and Aisling Walsh discusses directing her in her TV drama Elizabeth is Missing. Choreographer Wayne McGregor talks about his new ballet, Untitled 2023, which was inspired by the works of Cuban-American artist Carmen Herrera. And Tom Sutcliffe is joined by critics Erica Wagner and Isabel Stevens to review some of the week's cultural highlights, including the new series of dystopian TV drama Black Mirror and the new novel from Lorrie Moore, I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home. Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Sarah Johnson

The conclusion of the Oscars marks the end of the film awards season, so Front Row took the opportunity to look at the progress made on representation in film and at awards. Tom is joined by the film critic Amon Warmann, Katherine Pieper of LA's Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, which looks at equalities at the Oscars, and Marcus Ryder of the Lenny Henry Centre For Media Diversity. Plus, with a host of new productions exploring the cost of living crisis, we look at how playwrights are tackling this. Writer Emily White talks about her new play, Joseph K and the Cost of Living, being staged as part of a three-part project at the Swansea Grand Theatre, and the writer and critic Sarah Crompton discusses theatre's response to social and political issues on stage. Bex Lindsay, presenter on Fun Kids Radio and children's books expert, joins us for a round-up of some of the most interesting and engaging new releases for young independent readers. Books discussed: Like A Curse by Elle McNicoll Montgomery Bonbon: Murder at the Museum by Alasdair Beckett-King Skandar and the Unicorn Thief/The Phantom Rider by AF Steadman Jamie by L D Lapinski Onyeka and the Rise of the Rebels by Tola Okogwu I Spy, A Bletchley Park Mystery by Rhian Tracey Saving Neverland, by Abi Elphinstone Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Emma Wallace Main Image: Michelle Yeoh

What's it really like wielding the little notebook of doom or glory? Sarah Crompton, theatre critic for What's On Stage and dance critic for The Observer, tells all to broadcaster Luke Jones, who once dipped his toe into that world himself. They talk warm white wine, the imagined audience, vomiting and the most unforgiveable critical gaffe of all. Producer: Beth Sagar-Fenton

Arts Council England have announced the most dramatic shift in funding for decades, diverting investment from London towards other parts of the country. The Chair of Arts Council England, Sir Nicholas Serota, Stuart Murphy of English National Opera, which is set to relocate out of London, and arts journalist Sarah Crompton discuss the details. Director Tas Brooker discusses her new film When We Speak, a documentary about female whistleblowers, including Rose McGowan and Katherine Gun, whose evidence lifted the lid on abuse and corruption. To mark the start of the COP 27 climate conference in Egypt, Samira explores the art of the infographic and the appeal of data visualisation with Professor Ed Hawkins, creator of the viral Show Your Stripes temperature change graphic and information designer Stefanie Posavec. Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Ellie Bury Image: Show Your Stripes infographic representing the global average temperature for each year since 1850 to 2021 (data source: UK Met Office) Credit: Creator: Professor Ed Hawkins, National Centre for Atmospheric Science, University of Reading Licensor: University of Reading Licence: Creative Commons

Critics Boyd Hilton and Sarah Crompton review Blonde, Andrew Dominik's film adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates' novel about Marilyn Monroe. They also discuss Inside Man, a new drama from Sherlock creator Steven Moffat, starring David Tennant and Stanley Tucci. Anna Bailey is the last of the authors shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award. They'll be talking about their story Long Way to Come for a Sip of Water, about a man's road journey across the vast expanses of Texas, which will be broadcast on Radio 4 tomorrow at 1530. Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Ellie Bury

Triptych, May–June 1973 is a triptych completed in 1973 by the Irish-born artist Francis Bacon (1909–1992). The oil-on-canvas was painted in memory of Bacon's lover George Dyer, who committed suicide on the eve of the artist's retrospective at Paris's Grand Palais on 24 October 1971. The triptych is a portrait of the moments before Dyer's death from an overdose of pills in their hotel room. Bacon was haunted and preoccupied by Dyer's loss for the remaining years of his life and painted many works based on both the actual suicide and the events of its aftermath. He admitted to friends that he never fully recovered, describing the 1973 triptych as an exorcism of his feelings of loss and guilt.The work is stylistically more static and monumental than Bacon's earlier triptychs of Greek figures and friends' heads. It has been described as one of his "supreme achievements" and is generally viewed as his most intense and tragic canvas. Of the three Black Triptychs Bacon painted when confronting Dyer's death, Triptych, May–June 1973 is generally regarded as the most accomplished. In 2006, The Daily Telegraph's art critic Sarah Crompton wrote that "emotion seeps into each panel of this giant canvas ... the sheer power and control of Bacon's brushwork take the breath away". Triptych, May–June 1973 was purchased at auction in 1989 by Esther Grether for $6.3 million, then a record for a Bacon painting. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triptych,_May%E2%80%93June_1973 License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0;

Nancy Carroll and Sarah Crompton begin by discussing how critics write about actors on stage - and the difficulties of intensely personal descriptions. But then the conversation ranges far and wide to nudity, positive images of bodies, the effect of language on society - and a surprising amount about dogs. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Nancy Carroll and Sarah Crompton discuss the value of the Ian Charleson Awards - invented by a critic to honour a great actor - and their remarkable success rate in identifying the stars of tomorrow See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Nancy Carroll and Sarah Crompton talk about what it's like to play a real person - Nancy has - and about Bertie Carvel as Donald Trump at the Old Vic. Plus other theatrical incarnations of living people. And a bit about Jerusalem. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Actress Nancy Carroll and critic Sarah Crompton discuss what plays should be revived- and what it's like to work at the National Theatre. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this week's episode: Is it time to rip up the idea of vaccine passports?  In The Spectator's cover story this week, our economics editor Kate Andrews writes about her disdain for the idea of vaccine passports after being exposed to their flaws first hand. She joins the podcast along with Professor Julian Savulescu from the University of Oxford. (01:01) Also this week: Is Covid putting a spotlight on understudies? In this week's Spectator, Sarah Crompton champions the understudy as one of the heroes of the pandemic. These are the community of stand-in actors who have kept productions alive during Covid. She is joined on the podcast by Chris Howell, understudy to Michael Ball in Hairspray last year and currently stand-in for Julian Clary at the Palladium, to discuss. (18:06)    And finally: Is being cancelled a badge of honour? The comedian Stewart Lee announced his pedal bin list for the new year. Essentially people he wants to put in the bin. In The Spectator this week Julie Burchill who is on the list writes about her excitement to be featured. Joining the podcast are two others who made the list: journalist Martha Gill and Winston Marshall formally of the band Mumford and Sons, but who this year is joining The Spectator family with his new show, Marshall Matters. (28:59) Hosted by Lara Prendergast and William Moore Produced by Sam Holmes Subscribe to The Spectator today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher: www.spectator.co.uk/voucher  Listen to Lara's food podcast Table Talk: https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/table-talk 

In this week's episode: Is it time to rip up the idea of vaccine passports?  In The Spectator's cover story this week, our economics editor Kate Andrews writes about her disdain for the idea of vaccine passports after being exposed to their flaws first hand. She joins the podcast along with Professor Julian Savulescu from the University of Oxford. (01:01) Also this week: Is Covid putting a spotlight on understudies? In this week's Spectator, Sarah Crompton champions the understudy as one of the heroes of the pandemic. These are the community of stand-in actors who have kept productions alive during Covid. She is joined on the podcast by Chris Howell, understudy to Michael Ball in Hairspray last year and currently stand-in for Julian Clary at the Palladium, to discuss. (18:06)    And finally: Is being cancelled a badge of honour? The comedian Stewart Lee announced his pedal bin list for the new year. Essentially people he wants to put in the bin. In The Spectator this week Julie Burchill who is on the list writes about her excitement to be featured. Joining the podcast are two others who made the list: journalist Martha Gill and Winston Marshall formally of the band Munford and Sons, but who this year is joining The Spectator family with his new show, Marshall Matters. (28:59) Hosted by Lara Prendergast and William Moore Produced by Sam Holmes Subscribe to The Spectator today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher: www.spectator.co.uk/voucher  Listen to Lara's food podcast Table Talk: https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/table-talk 

Colm Tóibín on winning the David Cohen prize, the sudden rise in Covid-19 related theatre closures and a seasonal dance round-up with Sarah Crompton.

Australian ballerina Leanne Benjamin is a self-declared perfectionist - difficult in ballet, where the perfect performance is a tantalising impossibility. Her career took her from rural Queensland to the heights of The Royal Ballet in London. She conquered the great 19th-century ballets, created challenging new work, and revelled in the complex stories of Kenneth MacMillan. Leanne revisits her career in a new memoir, Built for Ballet (written with Sarah Crompton) and discusses her love of coaching, including of young dancers in the RAD's Margot Fonteyn International Ballet Competition.About Leanne BenjaminLeanne Benjamin was born in Rockhampton in Queensland, Australia, and began dancing at the age of three. At 16, she followed her older sister to the Royal Ballet School, then won the RAD's Genée Gold Medal and the Prix de Lausanne. She graduated into Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet (later Birmingham Royal Ballet) in 1983, then danced with London Festival and Deutsche Oper Ballets. She joined The Royal Ballet in 1992, retiring in 2013 after 20 years as a Principal. She was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia and received an OBE for services to dance.Find out more about the RAD's Fonteyn Competition: https://bit.ly/2RV9Qb7 Follow the RAD on social media, and join the conversation with David Jays.Instagram @royalacademyofdanceFacebook @RoyalAcademyofDanceTwitter @RADheadquartersYouTube / royalacademydanceDavid Jays @mrdavidjaysSign up to our mailing list: https://bit.ly/3frWPh9RAD is an independent educational charity and does not receive regular government funding. Every penny we make goes back into the work we do. You can support us by either naming a seat as part of our Name A Seat Campaign: https://bit.ly/3fnxEwm or make a donation: https://bit.ly/3bxA6z5Leanne Benjamin: Built for Ballet by Leanne Benjamin and Sarah Crompton is published by Melbourne Books. https://bit.ly/3vRhpiM See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Cush Jumbo's long-awaited performance as Hamlet and debbie tucker green's film ear for eye come under the critical gaze of Ekow Eshun, Vanessa Kisuule and Sarah Crompton. Tanzanian novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah has won this year's Nobel Prize for Literature. He joins Front Row to discuss his work and how he feels about winning. The Poet Laureate Simon Armitage on his fresh and contemporary new translation of the classic poem The Owl and the Nightingale. Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Sarah Johnson Photo Credit: Helen Murray

At last, Cinderella has made it to the ball. After postponement, rearrangement, and postponement again because of, first the lockdown, then social distancing requirements, Andrew Lloyd Webber's new musical, Cinderella, opened last night. Emerald Fennell takes a radical approach to the fairytale: in her version Prince Charming is missing, presumed dead; the beauty industry is satirised and the banality of surface allure exposed. Still, there is pazzazz aplenty: big numbers, big frocks and big hair; a leather-clad chorus of dancing hunks; some close-hauled corsetry. What does it add up to? Has it been worth the wait? John Wilson was there, as was critic Sarah Crompton, and they discuss the show and Sarah gives her verdict on the most important live showbiz event of the year. Award-winning guitarist Sean Shibe has recorded a new album of music that has comforted him over the Pandemic, and puts his own spin on Spanish music that is so often associated with the classical guitar. He explains what he put this selection of music together, and performs Satie live in the studio. Prano Bailey-Bond's debut film 'Censor' had its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. It references and celebrates 'video-nasties' from the 1980s. She explains where the idea came from and why the time period was one she wanted to explore. We discover more about another finalist for The £100,000 Art Fund MOTY 2021 award. Firstsite in Colchester reached out to help the local community during Covid and created a whole new audience for what it has to offer. We speak with director Sally Shaw. Presenter: John Wilson Producer: Simon Richardson

From next Monday theatres in England will legally be allowed to reopen with social distancing and strict capacity restrictions. We find out what it will be like for audiences and staff as they return to venues. We also hear from one theatre director in Scotland who's not reopening and ask why. The Cultural Recovery Fund has provided a lifeline for some arts organisations who would have gone under as well as some individuals but how are the millions of pounds of public money being spent? We speak to Louise Chantal CEO and Director of the Oxford Playhouse, and Nica Burns, CEO of Nimax Theatres which operates several commercial theatres in London. And we talk to Amanda Parker, Founder and Director of Inc Arts about those who didn't get any money from the Culture Recovery Fund. Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap will be the first play to reopen in the London's West End, with its first performance on Monday night. What else can we look forward to in the coming months, and how will the theatrical experience change? Theatre critic Sarah Crompton tells us what to expect. A brothel in Pompeii is at the centre of Elodie Harper’s new novel, The Wolf Den. She talks to Kirsty about telling a story of women’s lives in the Roman Empire, and how she wanted to show that there was more to everyday life for ancient people than togas and baths. Presenter: Kirsty Lang Producer: Julian May

The actress and writer Emily Mortimer discusses her directorial debut The Pursuit of Love, her 3-part adaptation of Nancy Mitford's novel starring Lily James, Emily Beecham and Andrew Scott, which centres on two women born into privilege, trying to seize life and love with both hands but constrained by societal expectations. Today sees the release of Rag ‘n’ Bone Man’s second album Life by Misadventure, the follow-up to 2017's Human, which was the decade's fastest-selling album by a male artist. The singer/songwriter, whose real name is Rory Graham, discusses the changes in his life, his new musical approach, and why he went to Nashville to record it. Sarah Crompton discusses the government's new fast track visa system for the winners of elite arts prizes such as Oscars, Tonys and the Nobel Prize for Literature. Jupiter’s Legacy drops on Netflix tonight. Based on Mark Millar’s original comics, this domestic drama looks at the family dynamic as one generation of superheroes attempts to hand over to the next, following the characters over a century, from the Wall Street Crash to today. Film critic Amon Warmann and geek culture expert Claire Lim review. Presenter: Kirsty Lang Producer: Timothy Prosser

Today’s date marks the birthday of Andrew Lloyd Webber, the British composer of block- buster musicals such as “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Cats,” and “The Phantom of the Opera.” In addition to winning Grammy and Tony Awards in our country, he’s racked up Olivier Awards in his own. He was knighted in 1992, and in 1997 was created a life peer as Baron Lloyd-Webber, of Sydmonton in the County of Hampshire. Estimates of his net worth suggest a figure well over 900 million dollars. Despite all that, Lloyd Webber has always had detractors, including those who accuse him of plagiarizing everyone from Mendelssohn to Puccini to Pink Floyd. His musicals are criticized for their supposed glitz and superficiality, and adversely compared to those of his American contemporary, Stephen Sondheim. Sarah Crompton, writing for The Telegraph, offered a more nuanced comparison between the two, referencing The Beatles, no less: “Lloyd Webber is McCartney to Stephen Sondheim's Lennon. He suffers from just the same under-valuing as an innovator because his essential impulse to go for the big, thumping number with the catchy tune will always obscure the subtlety and bravery he is capable of.”

Today’s date marks the birthday of Andrew Lloyd Webber, the British composer of block- buster musicals such as “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Cats,” and “The Phantom of the Opera.” In addition to winning Grammy and Tony Awards in our country, he’s racked up Olivier Awards in his own. He was knighted in 1992, and in 1997 was created a life peer as Baron Lloyd-Webber, of Sydmonton in the County of Hampshire. Estimates of his net worth suggest a figure well over 900 million dollars. Despite all that, Lloyd Webber has always had detractors, including those who accuse him of plagiarizing everyone from Mendelssohn to Puccini to Pink Floyd. His musicals are criticized for their supposed glitz and superficiality, and adversely compared to those of his American contemporary, Stephen Sondheim. Sarah Crompton, writing for The Telegraph, offered a more nuanced comparison between the two, referencing The Beatles, no less: “Lloyd Webber is McCartney to Stephen Sondheim's Lennon. He suffers from just the same under-valuing as an innovator because his essential impulse to go for the big, thumping number with the catchy tune will always obscure the subtlety and bravery he is capable of.”

About Sarah: Writer and creative on this planet, researcher on the home planet. Always searching for the comedy in every situation. Follow largemeatpie and the Pie Hole Podcast: @largemeatpie @pieholepodcast Follow Us: @mackieroot @juliet_root --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thewoocast/message

Viggo Mortensen joins us live to talk about his new film, Falling, his debut as a director, which he also wrote. It's the story of a conservative father moving from his rural farm to live with his gay son's family in Los Angeles. We’ve been hearing from figures from the creative industries about their Lockdown Discovery, something that has given them great pleasure or solace during the two lockdowns. Today, the novelist Alex Wheatle, aka the Brixton Bard, who has been working with Steve McQueen on his Small Axe series of dramas and who is the subject of this week’s film, reveals his Lockdown Discovery. Would it be Christmas without A Christmas Carol? Even in 2020, there are still many live productions going on. A new film version by siblings Jacqui and David Morris combines voices of Simon Russell Beale, Daniel Kaluuya and Carey Mulligan with dance performances of Russell Maliphant and others. Sarah Crompton and Tobi Kyeremateng review the film and the phenomenon of Dickens’ story – is it particularly resonant this year? And they’ll consider the new National Theatre at Home subscription service as well as making their own cultural picks of the week. The winner of this year’s William Hill Sports Book of the Year is The Rodchenkov Affair: How I Brought Down Putin’s Secret Doping Empire. Grigory Rodchenkov was the head of Russian sport’s doping programme, and this is his detailed account of how he blew the whistle on what's been described by the World Anti-Doping Agency as the biggest sporting scandal in world history. Rodchenkov had to flee Russia and is still in hiding in the US. His editor Drummond Moir discusses the story and the challenges this presented. Presenter: John Wilson Producer: Timothy Prosser Studio Manaher: Emma Harth

We talk about the fascinating exhibition ‘Michael Clark: Cosmic Dancer’ at the Barbican Art Gallery, London. See links below. Michael Clark: Cosmic Dancer, Barbican Art Gallery, London (7 October 2020-3 January 2021): https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2020/event/michael-clark-cosmic-dancer Sarah Crompton, Cosmic Dancer (2020): https://sites.barbican.org.uk/introducingmichaelclark/ Charles Atlas (director), Hail the New Puritan (1986): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0410057/ and http://www.eai.org/titles/hail-the-new-puritan Isabella Burley, Cult VIP: Rachel Auburn, Dazed Digital (5 February 2013): https://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/15548/1/cult-vip-rachel-auburn Leigh Bowery on The Clothes Show (1988): https://youtu.be/om0MrCOXPcE Al Mulhall, Fashion Archive: Bodymap, Dazed (16 December 2009): https://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/6120/1/fashion-archive-bodymap Kar-Wai Wong (director), William Chang (costume design), In the Mood for Love (2020): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118694/ Noël Coward: Art & Style, Guildhall Art Gallery (2020-2021): https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/attractions-museums-entertainment/guildhall-galleries/guildhall-art-gallery/noel-coward Adam & The Ants, Prince Charming (1981): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p__WmyAE3g Diaghilev and the Golden Age of the Ballets Russes, Victoria & Albert Museum, London (25 September 2010 – 9 January 2011): https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/diaghilev-and-the-ballets-russes Designing Dreams: A Celebration of Leon Bakst, Villa Sauber, Monaco (23 October 2016 – 15 January 2017): https://tinyurl.com/hudos65

Bestselling author John Grisham on his new novel Camino Winds, a sequel to Camino Island, in which a coterie of crime authors discover one of their colleagues has been murdered during a hurricane. There are currently over 300 million John Grisham books in print worldwide, including A Time To Kill, The Firm, The Pelican Brief and The Client. With museums and galleries in Europe announcing their preparations for re-opening on a limited scale, how do things look in the UK? Ros Kerslake, CEO of the Heritage Fund, discusses the challenges being faced by institutions across the country and their financial situation with Dr Kathy Talbot, Trustee of the Tenby Museum and Art Gallery in Wales. While the Covid 19 crisis has led to physical theatres going dark, many theatre companies have released work online for anyone to watch in the comfort of their own homes, often for free. What makes some plays, monologues and adaptations successful? Sarah Crompton joins Tom to discuss the best of what's available online. Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Simon Richardson

Joel and Toast profile CATS star Francesca Hayward who plays Victoria, giving you an overview of her ballet career, her experience dancing and singing for the movie, and how she feels about the notorious VFX.If you're looking for new film podcasts, check out The B-Side and The Mixed Reviews! Joel recently guested on an episode of The B-Side discussing Keira Knightley movies and last year appeared on The Mixed Reviews discussing the cinema of Chris Hemsworth.Referenced in this episode: the "Beautiful Ghosts" making-of featurette, Sarah Crompton's review of Coppélia, and Hayward's interviews with The Telegraph, ClassicFM, W Magazine, and The Stage. Francesca Hayward audio from the CATS EPK.This episode's Joellicle Choice is Rick! You can see more of this genius cat by following Mike Cygan and Beth Radloff.  Twitter: @IneffableCatsInstagram: @IneffableCatsEmail: IneffableCatsPod@gmail.comOriginal music by Jeremy Nasato.Cover art by Tyler Donnelly.

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

Writer Juno Dawson, critic Sarah Crompton, comedian Ayesha Hazarika and folk musician Matthew Crampton battle it out to see who'll be crowned champion in our cultural quiz of the year. Plus, as it's wassailing season, Matthew discusses the history of drinking songs and plays some examples. Presenter: Stig Abell Producer: Simon Richardson

JJ Abrams on overcoming his initial qualms about directing The Rise of Skywalker, the epic conclusion of the 42 year Star Wars saga. A huge juggling act, the film must satisfy fans, financiers and critics while tying up the many themes and plotlines of its eight predecessors. How did he do it? The long awaited film of Cats starring national treasures Dame Judi Dench and Sir Ian McKellen has been slammed by the critics, even getting zero stars in The Telegraph. Cats is a musical that has strayed from stage to screen; others wander off in the opposite direction. The critics Matt Wolff and Sarah Crompton tease out what works in the theatre but not on screen, and on film but not live on stage. Writer, poet and podcaster Derek Owusu talks about his coming of age debut novel That Reminds Me, one of the first books to be published by Merky Books, the publishing house launched by Stormzy in partnership with Penguin Random House. Presenter: John Wilson Producer: Hilary Dunn

The dancer and choreographer Dada Masilo grew up dancing to Michael Jackson songs on the streets of Soweto. She later trained as a ballerina and contemporary dancer. Now she creates very modern takes on classical ballets. Her reworking of Swan Lake tackled homophobia and AIDS in South Africa. Her Giselle, traditionally the tragic story of a girl who dies after being betrayed by a man, has been seen as a feminist tale of revenge for the #MeToo generation. As she begins a UK tour, Dada Masilo tells Front Row about street dance, growing up in Soweto and shaking up classical dance. Extinction Rebellion protestors - described by the Prime Minister as ‘Crusties’ living in ‘hemp-smelling bivouacs’ – have included different types of performance as they blockade areas of central London, from dancing and chanting to yoga sessions, drumming and mime. Is this ‘open-air theatre’ as Charles Moore describes it in The Telegraph, providing an easy target for its critics? Musician Sam Lee, who led a folk dance on London Bridge yesterday, gives his view. A new film from Netflix - The King - combines Shakespeare's plays Henry IV, Parts 1 & 2 and Henry V into a single storyline, starring Timothee Chalamet. Some film reviewers have been extremely scathing about the project. Historian Sarah Gristwood gives us her opinion . Theatre critic Michael Billington recently ruffled feathers when he said that the standard of Shakespeare productions was in decline... Creative and novel approaches to Shakespeare abound: are we living through a golden age of innovation or have directors and producers become too fearful of trusting Shakespeare’s text? Michael Billington and critic Sarah Crompton discuss. Presenter: Stig Abell Producer: Oliver Jones

In 2017, Sacha Dench, founder of Conservation Without Borders, flew the 4,000 mile migration route of Bewick swans from Arctic Russia to the UK in a paraglider. Drawing on her experience, the ‘Human Swan’ talks about the birds that have become symbolic of love, beauty, and mystery. Dance critic Sarah Crompton talks about the numerous productions of Swan Lake that she has seen and why the ballet has become such a staple of the repertoire.. Presenter Hetta Howes. Producer: Torquil MacLeod

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

Celebrated author, poet and broadcaster, Michael Rosen joins writer and broadcaster Sarah Crompton at the RA’s Festival of Ideas, to discuss the limitations of testing and the suppression of an individual’s interpretation in schools today.

Actor, director, writer, producer, and recently appointed Artistic Director of London’s Young Vic theatre, Kwame Kwei-Armah joins broadcaster Sarah Crompton to discuss mistakes, family, loneliness, getting death threats, serving the next generation of artists, the fun of theatre, and the enduring difficulties of getting your play on stage.

As France vows to restore Notre-Dame de Paris after last night's devastating fire, we discuss the artistic, musical and cultural significance of this great Cathedral. With music historian Mark Everist, art critic Waldemar Januszczak and French literature academic Eve Morisi. Roger McGough, one of Britain’s most widely read poets, talks about his latest anthology, joinedupwriting, in which he explores themes of childhood, ageing and politics. He reflects on the appeal of different forms of verse and how the critical reaction to his work sits with its popular appeal. Lucy Kirkwood's hit 2013 play Chimerica comes to Channel 4 as a new TV drama series, updated to the Trump era. Sarah Crompton reviews. Presenter: Stig Abell Producer: Timothy Prosser

9 to 5 is Dolly Parton's stage musical based on the 1980 film, in which she starred, about three female office workers getting revenge on their misogynist boss. The songs were written by Dolly Parton and she narrates the story via television screens across the stage. Sarah Crompton reviews. Performance artist, comedian, musician and activist Bryony Kimmings talks about her new autobiographical show I'm a Phoenix, Bitch and explains why she chooses to create pieces about taboo and difficult subject matter including STIs, sex clinics, and cancer.Is there more sex than ever on TV, in books and on stage now? Has #MeToo, access to pornography online and a desire to appeal to younger audiences changed how, and how much, sex is represented in culture? Katy Guest considers books, Louis Wise looks at screen and Bryony Kimmings reports on the performing arts.Presenter: Stig Abell Producer: Edwina Pitman

How much were you paying attention to arts and culture in 2018? Critics Boyd Hilton, Katie Puckrik and Sarah Crompton, Raifa Rafiq from the Mostly Lit podcast, and actress Maureen Lipman battle it out to see who'll be crowned champion in our cultural quiz of the year. Plus what is your favourite cultural depiction of New Year's Eve? Presenter: Stig Abell Producer: Hannah Robins

Rupert Goold, Artistic Director of the Almeida Theatre, and playwright James Graham discuss the importance of the theatre in the current cultural climate. Chaired by journalist and broadcaster Sarah Crompton at the RA's Festival of Ideas, the speakers emphasise the value of creating communities through live theatre. Look out for details of the next Festival of Ideas line-up, coming soon: https://roy.ac/FOI2019

One of the most respected dance artists working in the UK today, Akram Khan joins writer and broadcaster Sarah Crompton at the RA’s Festival of Ideas, opening up on his influences, his work with the “godfather of visual art”, the challenges of creative collaboration, and the process of ageing as a dancer. Come to the next Festival of Ideas live in the RA's Benjamin West Lecture Theatre – line-up coming soon: https://roy.ac/FOI2019

Jake Gyllenhaal and Carey Mulligan in Paul Dano's directorial debut Wildlife; a story of familial unravelling in 1960s America Middle England is Jonathan Coe's latest novel; the third part of his trilogy which began in 2001 with The Rotters Club. It follows the same characters and their offspring dealing with life from 2010 to today Jane Austen began - but never finished - a book which became known as The Watsons. In Laura Wade's new play opening at Chichester's Festival Theatre she picks up the story to interrogate what happens to characters when the author abandons them....? Home Futures is a new exhibition at London's Design Museum comparing 20th century prototypes with the latest domestic innovations, and it asks "Are we living in yesterday's tomorrow?" Grand Designs is a long established Channel 4 TV show whose format allows viewers to follow the trials tribulations and triumphs of daring innovative home building projects. There's also a 'spinoff' Home of the Year edition Tom Sutcliffe is joined by Rebecca Stott, Maev Kennedy and Sarah Crompton. The producer is Oliver Jones Podcast Extra: Maev is delighted by the Twickenham Cinema Club Rebecca recommends Emma Rice's production of Wise Children at The Old Vic Sarah recommends Robert Icke's production of The Wild Duck at The Almeida Theatre

Incredibles 2 is writer / director Brad Bird's long awaited sequel to the Oscar winning Incredibles (2005). Produced by Pixar Animation Studios the film follows the Parr family as they balance regaining the public's trust of superheroes with their civilian family life, only to face a new foe who seeks to turn the populace against them. The voice cast includes Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell and Samuel L. Jackson. Sam Mendes (Skyfall, King Lear, The Ferryman) returns to the National's Lyttelton Theatre to direct Ben Power's English version of Italian writer Stefano Massini's The Lehman Trilogy, inspired by the events following the economic crisis of 2008. The Lehman Trilogy stars Simon Russell Beale, Adam Godley and Ben Miles as the Lehman brothers and is an epic story of making it and breaking it, charting one family's fortunes over 163 years and tracing the financial sector from boom to bust. Tim Parks is the author of fourteen novels including Europa (shortlisted for the Booker prize), Destiny, Cleaver, Sex is Forbidden and, most recently, In Extremis. He has also written several books of non fiction, the latest of which "Out of My Head" tells the highly personal and often surprisingly funny story of Parks's quest to discover more about consciousness. It seems not a day goes by without a discussion on whether computers can be conscious, whether our universe is some kind of simulation, whether the mind is unique to humans or spread out across the universe. Out of My Head aims to explore these ideas via metaphysical considerations and laboratory experiments in terms we can all understand and invites us to see space, time, colour and smell, sounds and sensations in a new way. Tate Modern joins forces with 14-18 NOW, the UK's arts programme for the First World War centenary, to commemorate the significant contribution of African men and women in this conflict. William Kentridge's "The Head and the Load" is performed against the dramatic backdrop of Tate Modern's Turbine Hall and tells the untold story of the hundreds of thousands of African porters and carriers who served in British, French and German forces during the First World War. It combines music, dance, film projections, mechanised sculptures and shadow play to create an imaginative landscape on an epic scale. Netflix's new 8 part drama series Sacred Games was announced as one of seven Netflix Indian Originals. Based on Vikram Chandra's 2006 thriller novel of the same name it stars Saif Ali Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, and Radhika Apte, and tells the story of a righteous police officer who attempts to thwart a terrorist attack in Mumbai after being warned by a notorious criminal and burrows deep into India's dark underworld. Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Michael Arditti, Shahidha Bari and Sarah Crompton.

Black comedy thriller film Thoroughbreds is about 2 American teenage girls who hatch a plot to kill one of their step-fathers. Is it easier to hire an assassin or do it themselves? And will emotions get in the way of such a potentially messy business? Congreve's The Way Of The World at London's Donmar Warehouse is a restoration comedy. But how funny can one make a wildly convoluted 300 year old plot about inheritance funny for today's theatre goers? Richard Powers' latest novel is The Overstory - about mankind's relationship with the arboreal world. Eight stories set around the USA over several centuries come together to make readers rethink their relationship with trees BBC TV is broadcasting a 4 part adaptation of China Mieville's novel The City & The City. It's a complicated speculative fiction work involving two cities which occupy exactly the same space and time but are invisible to each other. Well sort of... See if our reviewers have made sense of the idea The Arts Council Collection tours the UK bringing major works by established and emerging British artists to venues which might not otherwise have access to important contemporary art. The exhibition In My Shoes at Yorkshire Sculpture Park is the opening venue for a chance to see the newest collection additions. Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Jessica Burton, John Mullan and Sarah Crompton. The producer is Oliver Jones.

A new Modigliani exhibition at Tate Modern shows the most extensive display of the Italian Jewish painter and sculptor's work yet seen in the UK, including 12 of his famous nudes. Sarah Crompton reviews.Front Row reveals this year's Costa Book Awards shortlists. Critics Alex Clark and Toby Lichtig comment on the writers chosen in the five categories: novel, first novel, poetry, biography and children's fiction. The overall prize-winner will be announced on Front Row on 30 January 2018. Actor John Lithgow discusses his latest film Daddy's Home 2, and talks more broadly about his wide-ranging career and why he's as happy playing an alien as he is a serial killer or Winston Churchill.Presenter Samira Ahmed Producer Jerome Weatherald.

Sally Potter's new film The Party is her funniest to date with an all-star cast telling a neat little tale of a disastrous dinner party Heisenberg:The Uncertainty Principle is a new play by Simon Stephens. relating physics with relationship advice The Sparsholt Affair is Alan Hollinghurst's new novel about a love affair set in Oxford during the Second World War Degas: A Passion for Perfection is at Cambridge's Fitzwilliam Museum, with works by Degas himself and also looking at those who influenced him and those he influenced A new 3 part series, The Gamble, on BBC Radio 4 looks at the connection between risk and creativity, narrated by the actor Noma Dumezweni Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Sarah Crompton, Kevin Jackson and Graham Farmelo. The producer is Oliver Jones.

Welsh mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins has had seven Number One albums and sung around the world to huge audiences, but is a self-described 'newbie' to acting. Making her stage debut in the English National Opera's Carousel, she talks to John about her love of Rodgers and Hammerstein, learning an American accent and her dressing-room nerves.Netflix has replaced its users' star ratings with a simple thumbs up or down because, they say, the five-star system had begun to feel antiquated. Caroline Frost, Huffington Post UK's Entertainment Editor, and Sarah Crompton, Chief Theatre critic for WhatOnStage and former Arts editor of The Telegraph, discuss the pros and cons of star ratings. In April 2015, an underground safe deposit facility in London's Hatton Garden was burgled. Estimates for the amount stolen range from £25m to £200m, but the heist became as notorious for the gang of ex-criminals in their 60s and 70s who carried it off, as it did for the theft itself. John Wilson visits the vault where the burglary took place to talk to the stars of a new film about the story - Larry Lamb, who plays the group's ringleader, and Phil Daniels who plays the youngest criminal of the group. As Colson Whitehead's novel The Underground Railroad wins the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction we talk to literary critic Alex Clark about the win.Presenter: John Wilson Producer: Ella-mai Robey.

Following the casting of Tilda Swinton as a character originally identified as Tibetan in the recent film Dr Strange, and the furore surrounding the casting of a new production of Howard Barker's play, In The Depths of Dead Love - Kumiko Mendl, Artistic Director of Yellow Earth Theatre, and Deborah Williams, Executive Director of Creative Diversity Network join Samira to discuss the issue of 'Yellowface' - the practice of non-Asian actors playing Asian roles. Sarah Crompton reviews the film Jackie, directed by Pablo Lorrain and starring Natalie Portman as Jackie Kennedy, which focuses on the immediate aftermath of JFK's assassination in 1963. The Transports is a ballad opera telling the true story of two convicts who fell in love in prison as they were waiting to be sent on the First Fleet to Australia. They had a child, were cruelly separated, but thanks to a kind gaoler, were eventually united. It was recorded in 1977 by giants of the folk world - June Tabor, Nic Jones, Martin Carthy, Norma Waterson. 40 years on a new generation of folk stars - Nancy Kerr, Faustus, the Young'Uns - are touring their new production. Samira meets them as they rehearse and finds The Transports has plenty to say about exile and migration today.Britain's most prestigious award for poetry, the TS Eliot Award, is announced this evening. The prize is for the best collection of poems published in 2016, and Front Row will have the first interview with the winner. Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Rebecca Armstrong.

A look at the highlights of 2016 according to our panel and our listeners. And there are some delightful surprises. Tom Sutcliffe is joined by Kerry Shale, Sarah Crompton, Sarfraz Mansoor and listeners from around the UK with their suggestions. Saturday Review's Picks of The Year Films The Revenant Alejandro Inarritu Spotlight Tom McCarthy I Daniel Blake Ken Loach Queen of Katwe Mira Nair Nocturnal Animals Tom Ford Deadpool starring Ryan Reynolds Snowden starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt Sausage Party Hell or High Water David Mackenzie Arrival Denis Villeneuve Fire At Sea Gianfranco Rosi A United Kingdom Amma Asante Anomalisa Charlie Kaufman Julieta Pedro Almodovar Finding Dory A Bigger Splash Luca Guadagnino Theatre A Streetcar Named Desire Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester King Lear Talawa co-production Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester King Lear starring Glenda Jackson at Old Vic, London Harriet Martineau Dreams of Dancing Live Theatre Newcastle This Restless House Glasgow Citizens Theatre Any Means Necessary Nottingham Playhouse Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour National Theatre, London Midsummer's Night Dream The Globe Theatre, London Imogen The Globe Theatre, London Shakespeare Trilogy, Donmar Warehouse, London No Man's Land, National Theatre, London (NT live performance) Backstage in Biscuit Land, Soho Theatre, London Groundhog Day (musical) Old Vic, London Flowers for Mrs Harris, Sheffield Crucible Richard III, Almeida Theatre, London Faith Healer, Donmar Warehouse, London Travesties, Menier Chocolate Factory, London Television Stranger Things - Netflix Westworld - HBO The Young Pope - Sky The Crown - Netflix War and Peace - BBC The Night Of - HBO Black Mirror - Netflix Planet Earth II - BBC Happy Valley - BBC Transparent - Amazon Fleabag - BBC The Missing - BBC Flowers - Channel 4 National Treasure - Channel 4 Angie Tribeca - E4 Motherland - BBC Exhibitions Georgia O'Keeffe, Tate Modern, London Picasso Portraits, National Portrait Gallery, London Abstract Expressionism, Royal Academy, London Hieronymus Bosch, Het Noordbrabants Museum, Holland Towards Night, The Towner Gallery, Eastbourne In Reading Prison, Artangle Winifred Knights, Dulwich Picture Gallery Inside: Artist and Writers in Reading Prison - Artangel The Infinite Mix, The Store in the Strand, London Stan Douglas, The Secret Agent, Victoria Miro Gallery, London Victor Pasmore, Towards A New Reality, Nottingham Lakeside Gallery Russia and The Arts, National Portrait Gallery, London The Shchukin Collection, Icons of Modern Art, Louis Vuitton Foundation, Paris Books Mothering Sunday by Graham Swift Golden Hill by Francis Spufford Swing Time by Zadie Smith Hotels of North America by Rick Moody The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry The Sellout by Paul Beatty The Glorious Heresies by Lisa McInerney Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen The Good Immigrant ed. Nikesh Shukla 1971 - Never a Dull Moment: Rock's Golden Year by David Hepworth Missing Presumed by Susie Steiner Days Without End by Sebastian Barry Also mentioned: Lemonade (album/film) Beyonce We're Here Because We're Here Jeremy Deller Bob Dylan, winner of Nobel Prize for Literature Horace and Pete Louis C.K David Bowie's Art Collection Blackstar David Bowie You Want It Darker Leonard Cohen The producer is Hilary Dunn.

Riz Ahmed is currently in our cinemas as part of a rebel crew in Star Wars spin-off Rogue One. But his acting roles have ranged from appearing in low-budget indie films like The Road to Guantanamo to HBO prison drama The Night Of, for which he's just been nominated for a Golden Globe. As a rapper, he's part of the group Swet Shop Boys and has released three albums. He discusses how he got started and his varied career. Delicious, a new four-part TV drama series, stars Iain Glen as a chef and hotel owner in Cornwall, and Dawn French as his ex-wife who taught him all he knows about food. Love, sex, lies and betrayal feature significantly when things start to unravel. Sarah Crompton reviews.As a stage adaptation of Khaled Hosseini's 2003 bestseller The Kite Runner opens in London's West End, its adapter, the American playwright Matthew Spangler, explains the challenges of turning an epic novel, spanning 30 years of Afghan history and politics, into a piece of theatre.Novelist Angela Carter is famous for the vivid imagery she evoked in her feminist takes on folk tales and fairy stories. Strange Worlds, an exhibition at the RWA (Royal West of England Academy of Art) in Bristol explores which paintings may have been the inspiration behind books like The Bloody Chamber and Nights At The Circus. Curator Marie Mulvey-Roberts talks through her choices.Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Rachel Simpson.

The RSC's production latest Tempest features Simon Russell Beale as Prospero and has a holographic Ariel. Does cutting edge technology sit comfortably inside Shakespeare's play which is so full of magic? Philip Roth's novel Indignation, set in 1950's America is now a film. Dealing with social mores, the desire to rebel and how it affects the rebel Zadie Smith's latest novel Swing Time is a story of the long and complicated friendship between two girls whose lives diverge. Divines is a Cannes Award winning French film set in the banlieue where crime seems the only way out of the social structure The Design Museum has reopened at a new site in Kensington in London - formerly The Commonwealth Institute, it has cost £38m to adapt - does it impress? Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Tom Holland, Sarah Crompton and Louise Jury. The producer is Oliver Jones.

Todd Solondz's latest film Wiener Dog has been described as uniquely misanthropic; will our panellists agree? The National Theatre of Scotland's production: Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour , written by Lee "Billy Elliot" Hall, arrives in London after a national tour and before it heads to Australia. There's plenty of profanity but is there any profundity? Tiffany McDaniel's The Summer That Melted Everything is a first novel about the time The Devil came to visit a small southern US town. The Hunterian Collection at London's Royal College of Surgeons is an unrivalled collections of human and non-human anatomical and pathological specimens, models, instruments, painting and sculptures that reveal the art and science of surgery from the 17th century to the present day. Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words is a new look at the actress whose life scandalised old Hollywood. What does it tell us about fame today. Sarah Crompton's guests are Natalie Haynes, Amanda Craig and Jake Arnott. The producer is Oliver Jones. (Main image: Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour. L-R Caroline Deyga (Chell), Kirsty MacLaren (Manda), Melissa Allan (Orla), Frances Mayli McCann (Kylah), Dawn Sievewright (Fionnula), Karen Fishwick (Kay). Photo by Manuel Harlan).

The remaking of Ghostbusters in 2016 has 4 women taking the leading roles and it has caused consternation among devotees of the original film. What on earth is all the fuss about? Is it just a bunch of sexist fanboys determined not to enjoy it because girls are involved? Matt Smith plays a perfectionist film director in Unreachable, a new play at London's Royal Court Theatre. Kei Miller's novel Augustown is set in a lightly-fictionalised version of the real Jamaican town of the same name, involving flying prophets and civil unrest This year's Liverpool Biennial has a typically eclectic selection of artists and venues; what caught the eye of our reviewers? BBC TV has a new adaptation of Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent, starring Toby Jones and Vicky McClure. Sarah Crompton's guests are Naomi Alderman, Kathryn Hughes and Giles Fraser. The producer is Oliver Jones.

Laurie Anderson's film Heart of a Dog explores death and longing through the story of her terrier Don DeLillo's novel new Zero K explores death and longing and cryogenic suspension The revival at London's Young Vic of Joe Penhall's 2000 play Blue/Orange manages to deal in a darkly comic way with paranoid schizophrenia. Jo Brand returns to TV as Kim Wilde - a community nurse coping with financial cuts and family crises in Going Forward. It's dark but is it comic? Seeing Round Corners is a new exhibition at Turner Contemporary in Margate which celebrates the centrality of the circle in art. Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Sarah Crompton, Alex Clark and Robert Hanks. The producer is Oliver Jones.

A O Scott's book Better Living through Criticism looks at the very stuff of Saturday Review - who needs critics nowadays? Ben Wheatley's film High-Rise is an adaptation ofthe 1972 novel by JG Ballard - an urban dystopia set in a brutalist tower block. Jane Horrocks' newest production is a genre hybrid; "a theatrical experience with music" . If You Kiss Me, Kiss Me at London's Young Vic is her tribute to the music she loved as a teenager Charlotte Bronte came to London from Yorkshire five times in her life. A small exhibition at The John Soane's Museum commemorates her visits. London's National Portrait Gallery has an unprecedented exhibition of Russian works normally displayed at The State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. It's part of a cultural exchange between the two museums, both founded 160 years ago. Sarah Crompton's guests are Tiffany Jenkins, Francis Spufford and Louise Doughty. The producer is Oliver Jones.

Author Sarah Waters has followed her gothic novel The Little Stranger with her first play which is also a ghost story that aims to spook audiences. She discusses working with experimental theatre-maker Christopher Green to devise a play in which all is not as it seems. Mike Scott of The Waterboys discusses the band's new album Modern Blues, and explains why it was important for the band to record it in Nashville. Dawn Walton, Director of Eclipse Theatre Company and Tom Morris, Artistic Director of the Bristol Old Vic, give their response to today's speech by Peter Bazalgette, Chair of Arts Council England, in which he urges racial diversity and inclusion across the board in arts institutions. Two new documentaries lift the lid on the action behind the scenes at two of the world's most well-known art museums - the National Gallery in London and the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. Sarah Crompton asks whether museums and galleries make good subjects for films. Presenter: John Wilson Producer: Olivia Skinner.

Damian Barr talks to Dolly Parton about how she writes her songs, her poor childhood in Tennessee, and her passion for reading; Sarah Crompton reviews a new stage production of Turgenev's Fathers and Sons; and an interview with Turner prize winning photographer Wolfgang Tillmans.

With John Wilson, An enormous Viking longboat - the biggest ever discovered - is the central piece in the British Museum's new exhibition about the Viking era. Taking pride of place in the museum's newly-constructed Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery, the longboat is surrounded by other artefacts of warfare, as well as many treasures that the Vikings created - or looted. A year ago, British Museum director Neil MacGregor took John round the work-in-progress when the gallery was still a building-site; now he explains how the new space will aid future displays, and curator Gareth Williams gives John a tour of the ferocious Viking weaponry and stunning jewellery. As part of a BBC series marking the centenary of World War One, Ian McDiarmid (Star Wars) and Tim Pigott-Smith (Spooks) star in political thriller 37 Days. Set in Whitehall and Berlin during 1914, the factual drama chronicles the count down to the start of the First World War. Sarah Crompton reviews. John Carter Cash talks about his father and his legacy as never-heard-before recordings, made in the 1980s during Cash's last days with his long-time label Columbia Records, are being released. A lost novella by Jack Kerouac has been published for the first time, more than seventy years after the author left it in a university dorm room in New York. The Haunted Life is a coming of age story and, like much of Kerouac's later work, is autobiographical. Michael Carlson discusses whether Kerouac's early writing tells us anything new about his later works, On the Road and Big Sur. Producer Claire Bartleet.

With John Wilson. Prime Suspect creator Lynda La Plante reveals her plans for a prequel focusing on the early life of DCI Tennison. Who will play the iconic detective? The makers of Spooks have teamed up with writer Lucy Kirkwood (Skins, Chimerica) to create a new Sky1 drama about firemen, starring Jamie Bamber and Jodie Whittaker. Sarah Crompton reviews. Andrew Graham Dixon reviews Strange Beauty, a new exhibition of German Renaissance painting at the National Gallery, which includes work by Hans Holbein and Albrecht Dürer. And musician Jon Hopkins on his Mercury nominated album Immunity, in which he uses real sounds such as exploding fireworks and creaking doors, on his relationship with Brian Eno, and on improvising for Coldplay.

The Tories are revolting! We debate with Douglas Carswell and Graeham Archer what the proper role of a Conservative MP should be. Also, the Telegraph's senior movie critic Robbie Collin and our arts editor Sarah Crompton talk obscenities.

With Kirsty Lang. Colin Firth talks about his new film, The Railway Man, a true story in which he plays Eric Lomax, a British Army officer who is tormented as a prisoner in a Japanese labour camp during World War II. Decades later, Eric learns that the Japanese interpreter he holds responsible for much of his treatment is still alive, and sets out to confront him. Colin also considers the fine art of pretending to be patrician - and Paddington Bear as Mr Darcy. Hostages is a new US TV drama, hot on the heels of Homeland and - like it - based upon an Israeli TV series. Hostages stars Toni Collette as a top surgeon in Washington DC, who - together with her family - gets caught up in the middle of a grand political conspiracy. Sarah Crompton, arts editor of the Telegraph, reviews. Es Devlin is a stage designer whose work has ranged from west end theatre productions, to designing the London Olympics closing ceremony, and creating tour-sets for artists including Kanye West, Pet Shop Boys and Take That. Es takes Kirsty around her studio where she is preparing work for Don Giovanni at the Royal Opera House, Harry Hill's new musical I Can't Sing and Miley Cyrus's upcoming tour. She discusses working in genres as diverse as opera, theatre and pop music, and why she feels stage directors should get more credit. Singer Sam Smith is tipped for success after winning BBC's Sound Of 2014; previous winners include Adele, Jessie J and Haim. Smith, who topped the charts in 2013 with his Naughty Boy collaboration, La La La, is also the winner of the BRIT Critics' Choice. He talks to Kirsty about his reaction to receiving both awards and his plans for the year ahead. Producer: Rebecca Nicholson.

With Mark Lawson. Saving Mr. Banks dramatises the real-life story behind the creation of Disney film Mary Poppins, starring Emma Thompson as Poppins author P.L. Travers and Tom Hanks as Walt Disney. Sarah Crompton reviews. The Politician's Wife screenwriter Paula Milne talks about the inspiration behind her drama Legacy, a new Cold War thriller for BBC2, starring Romola Garai, Charlie Cox and Simon Russell Beale. Award-winning violinist Janine Jansen discusses her new album of Bach Concertos and her relationship with her instrument, the 'Barrere' by Antonio Stradivari (1727), which is on extended loan. Producer: Claire Bartleet.

With Mark Lawson.In one of his final films, the late James Gandolfini stars alongside Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Seinfeld) in Enough Said. The pair play two single parents whose romance runs into problems. Sarah Crompton reviews.The singer-songwriter Tori Amos has written a new musical for the National Theatre, in collaboration with the playwright Samuel Adamson. The Light Princess is adpated from a fairy tale, with a new feminist twist. Tori Amos and Samuel Adamson discuss their partnership and how they worked within the traditional structure of a musical while breaking the rules.Stephen Fry and Karl Pilkington have both been travelling around the world, for TV documentaries which examine cultural attitudes. Stephen Fry: Out There looks at attitudes towards homosexuality, while in The Moaning of Life, Karl Pilkington investigates Marriage, Happiness, Kids, Vocation and Death. Rachel Cooke reviews.The work of the artist Paul Klee is explored in a major new exhibition at Tate Modern. The show focuses on the decade that Klee spent teaching and working at the Bauhaus, the centre of modern design in the 1920s, developing his unique style. Author Iain Sinclair reviews.Producer Olivia Skinner.

With Mark Lawson The Italian film The Great Beauty was acclaimed at this year's Cannes Film Festival, and now arrives in British cinemas. Set in contemporary Rome, it's the story of an ageing writer looking back with bitterness on his passionate youth. Sarah Crompton reviews. Stephen Fry is curating the Deloitte Ignite Festival at the Royal Opera House, London. Events focus on Verdi and Wagner, to mark the bicentenaries of their births. Stephen Fry discusses his ideas for the Festival, which include taking QI panellist Alan Davies to his first opera for a scientific experiment. He also talks about the political situation in Russia, and not wanting to make a career out of his personal life. The Great Tapestry of Scotland, thought to be the longest in the world, is being unveiled today in Edinburgh. It is more than 140 metres long and depicts the history of Scotland from pre-history to the present. The work was conceived by author Alexander McCall Smith, and the panels were designed by artist Andrew Crummy, with input from the historian Alistair Moffat. More than 1000 stitchers from every corner of Scotland have been working on the project for a year. Poet and dramatist Liz Lochhead discusses one of Scotland's biggest community arts projects. Producer Claire Bartleet.

John Wilson has news of the winner of the £100 000 Art Fund Prize for Museum of the Year, as he presents the programme live from the ceremony at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. The 10 contenders are: BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead Beaney House of Art and Knowledge, Canterbury Dulwich Picture Gallery, London The Hepworth Wakefield, Wakefield Horniman Museum & Gardens, London Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery, Glasgow Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology, Cambridge Narberth Museum, Pembrokeshire Preston Park Museum, Stockton-on-Tees William Morris Gallery, London John hears from each of the museums in the running, as well as speaking to the judges of the Prize, including Stephen Deuchar of the Art Fund, Bettany Hughes, Sarah Crompton and artist Bob and Roberta Smith. Maria Miller, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, discusses the current role of museums, and Ian Hislop will announce the winning museum live on the programme. Producer Ella-mai Robey.

With Mark Lawson. Baz Luhrmann's much-anticipated film version of The Great Gatsby stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan and Tobey Maguire. F Scott Fitzgerald's glittering Jazz Age world of 1922 is combined with Luhrmann's screenplay, co-written with Craig Pearce, which aims to make the story relevant to a modern audience. Sarah Crompton reviews. This year's Eurovision Song Contest comes from Malmö, Sweden. Bonnie Tyler performs the British entry, competing against a varied field of performers. Front Row's Jukebox Jury, Rosie Swash and David Hepworth, deliver their verdicts on this year's contenders. The French government is considering levying a "culture tax" on technology giants such as Google and Apple, to fund the arts in France. A report from businessman Pierre Lescure, commissioned by Francois Hollande's government, suggests a 4% tax on hardware, including smartphones and tablets, to fund content. The Independent's Paris correspondent John Lichfield discusses the protection of arts funding in France and whether this radical tax proposal can succeed. Cultural Exchange: writer Anne Tyler shares her passion for a self-portrait by photography pioneer Charles R Savage. Producer Claire Bartleet.

With Mark Lawson. Conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner discusses his fascination with Bach as he prepares to lead a nine hour marathon of the composer's work at the Royal Albert Hall. In mid-rehearsal, Gardiner explains his attempt to convey the rock and roll of Bach. He also talks about his forthcoming 70th birthday, working with apprentices and the music that saps his energy. Jack the Giant Slayer stars Nicholas Hoult as Jack, a young farm hand who must enter the land of the giants to rescue Princess Isabelle - in an adventure merging two fairy tales, Jack and the Beanstalk and Jack the Giant Killer. Sarah Crompton discusses whether this fantasy adventure from X-Men director Bryan Singer hits the mark. The Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford has become a licensed wedding venue - couples can now take to the stage and tie in the knot in the Swan Theatre. Professor Michael Dobson, director of the Shakespeare Institute, discusses Shakespeare's attitude to marriage and the weddings in his plays, from Beatrice and Benedick's union in Much Ado About Nothing to Kate's long wait for her groom in The Taming of the Shrew. On the eve of Philip Roth's 80th birthday, another chance to hear part of a rare interview from 2011: the full interview is available on the Front Row website. Producer Claire Bartleet.

With Mark Lawson. 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. Homeland, the acclaimed US TV series starring Damian Lewis and Claire Danes, returns to our screens for a second series this weekend. Sarah Crompton reviews the drama which focuses on a CIA officer (Danes) who believes that US Marine and now Congressman Nicholas Brody (Lewis) was turned by Al-Qaeda when held captive in Iraq for eight years. Bernhard Schlink is the author of the controversial novel The Reader, which relates the story of a young German's love affair with an older woman, who turns out to have had a Nazi past. Schlink explains why he never expected the controversy, and reveals why the theme of deception dominates his latest collection of stories, Summer Lies. Alex Katz, now aged 85, is considered one of the most important living American artists. With exhibitions opening in Margate and London, he reflects on a career that spans six decades and why he never thought of himself as a Pop artist. When playwright Caryl Churchill attended rehearsals of her new play Love and Information at the Royal Court Theatre, she brought along another new play, Ding Dong the Wicked, which now opens this week. It's a short play about a family whose son is about to go to war. Writer Bidisha reviews. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With Mark Lawson. Sheridan Smith takes the lead role in the new ITV1 drama series Mrs Biggs, which focuses on the story of Charmian, the wife of notorious train robber Ronnie Biggs. It follows her as she falls in love with Ronnie, discovers his role in the Great Train Robbery, and then secretly emigrates to Australia with him. Sarah Crompton reviews. The American author Joyce Carol Oates discusses her prolific writing career, and how her memoir about becoming a widow brought new readers with different reactions to her work. She also reflects on America's great post-war writers. Toby Jones (Frost/Nixon, Harry Potter, The Hunger Games) stars in the film Berberian Sound Studio, directed by Peter Strickland. Jones plays a mild-mannered sound effects specialist, whose work on a 1970s Italian horror film finds him stuck in a small room with only the grisly and sinister sounds for company. Critic Mark Eccleston gives his verdict. William Letford discusses his debut poetry collection Bevel, and how his work as a roofer since the age of 15 has inspired his writing. Letford often inscribed poems onto the joists of the roofs he worked on. Producer Ella-mai Robey.

With Mark Lawson. Novelist John Irving discusses his new book In One Person, which has, like all of his novels, been written back to front with the ending first. It's a doorstop rather than a novella, but Irving explains that when you're looking at the impact of 30 or 40 years on a life it's hard to be brief. Trade and politics forged a bond between Manchester and the countries of West Africa that dates back to the 19th century. A new citywide festival - We Face Forward: Art from West Africa Today - seeks to update that bond through contemporary art and music. Writer Jackie Kay, whose memoir exploring her Scottish and Nigerian heritage won the Scottish Book of the Year Award last year, joined Mark on the festival's art bus and took a tour round the exhibitions. British designer Thomas Heatherwick was described by Terence Conran as a "Leonardo da Vinci of our times". His range of creations includes a bridge that rolls open and closed, the new Routemaster bus, a seed-bank and the cauldron to hold the Olympic Flame. Sarah Crompton of the Daily Telegraph considers two displays of Heatherwick's work: a forthcoming exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and a new book. Producer Erin Riley.

With Mark Lawson. Brendan O'Carroll, the creator and star of the comedy Mrs Brown's Boys, reflects on the genesis of his raucous alter-ego Agnes Brown and her loving but dysfunctional family. Conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner first made his name with interpretations of baroque music on period instruments, but this week he tackles Verdi's Rigoletto for the very first time. He discusses his approach to performing it at the Royal Opera House. A major retrospective of the Turner Prize-winning artist Gillian Wearing is about to open at the Whitechapel Gallery in London, featuring her films and photographs which explore public faces and private lives. The exhibition includes her 1992 series of images in which people were offered paper and pen to communicate their message or thoughts. Sarah Crompton reviews. Producer Jerome Weatherald

With Mark Lawson, John Adams' controversial opera The Death of Klinghoffer, based on the true story of a hijacked cruise liner in 1985, has just had its first performance at English National Opera in a new production directed by Tom Morris, co-creator of the National Theatre's adaptation of War Horse. Sarah Crompton gives her response to the first night. Award-winning comedian Sarah Millican discusses moving her comedy from the stage to the TV screen, and also reflects on her row with a fan who recorded one of her shows on a mobile phone. In the new comedy film Wanderlust, Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd play an over-stressed couple who leave the pressures of Manhattan to join a freewheeling community where the only rule is 'to be yourself'. Antonia Quirke reviews. Radio 4 is inviting you to nominate New Elizabethans - people who have made an impact on the UK from 1952 to today. This week Front Row is asking writers and artists for their suggestions, and tonight playwright Mark Ravenhill nominates a pioneering theatre director. Producer Claire Bartleet.

With Mark Lawson. Jennifer Saunders reflects on the return of Absolutely Fabulous, 20 years after Patsy and Eddy first staggered onto our screens. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol is the latest instalment of the action-packed franchise. The film sees Tom Cruise return as undercover operative Ethan Hunt, trotting the globe in an attempt to clear his name of terrorism charges and prevent a nuclear attack. Naomi Alderman gives her verdict. Television is as much part of a traditional Christmas as turkey, with programmes including Downton Abbey, Doctor Who and Great Expectations on offer this year. Sarah Crompton makes her selection. And a tribute to Vaclav Havel, the playwright and former Czech President who died this weekend, from his friend and translator Paul Wilson. Producer Katie Langton Presenter Mark Lawson.

With Mark Lawson. Andrea Arnold's latest film is a re-telling of Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. The director of Red Road and Fish Tank cast mainly non-professional actors in the film, which aims to escape the conventions of a costume drama. Sarah Crompton reviews. Oscar-nominated screenwriter Peter Morgan returns to TV with a second series of the legal drama The Jury, nine years after the original series was aired. Morgan, whose credits include The Queen and Frost/Nixon, discusses why he favours writing for TV over cinema, the pressures of writing about living people and a letter he received from Tony Blair. The Royal Artillery Memorial at Hyde Park Corner, created by Charles Sargeant Jagger, was unveiled in 1925 and features a larger-than-life howitzer carved from Portland stone, standing on a large plinth surrounded by four bronze figures of artillery men. Richard Cork visits the newly-restored memorial ahead of Remembrance Sunday, and re-assesses the power of Jagger's work. Best-selling crime novelist Peter James talks about his latest book, Perfect People, a thriller set in the pioneering world of gene manipulation. As he explains, though this may sound like science-fiction, genetic planning is already possible to some extent - and so his book also explores the ethics of creating designer babies. Producer Katie Langton.