Front Row

The winner of this year's BBC Young Musician of the Year, 17-year-old cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, discusses Shostakovich and Britain's Got Talent.Bryan Singer has directed his fourth instalment of the X-Men series since he began the superhero franchise 16 years ago. We talk to him about the biblical scale of new film, X-Men: Apocalypse.As part of preparations to mark its 250th anniversary, the Royal Academy of Arts in London has commissioned the artist Yinka Shonibare to create a major new public artwork, which was unveiled today. The artist discusses his approach to creating his 71-metre-wide canvas, which features photographs from the RA's archive, as well as Shonibare's distinctive colourful textiles.On Saturday the winner of the International Dylan Thomas Prize was announced. Awarded for the best published literary work of fiction in the English language, it was won by Max Porter for Grief is the Thing with Feathers - part novella, part polyphonic fable, part essay on grief. He talks to Samira.Playwright

Francis Bacon: Invisible Rooms at Tate Liverpool is the largest exhibition of the artist's work ever staged in the north of England, featuring more than 30 paintings and a group of rarely-seen drawings and documents. Kasia Redzisz, senior curator at the gallery, shows John Wilson round the exhibition.The Pulitzer Prize-winning Pakistani American actor, screenwriter, novelist and playwright Ayad Akhtar discusses his play The Invisible Hand. Kidnapped by an Islamic militant group in Pakistan, with no-one negotiating his release, an investment banker takes matters into his own hands.Mum is a new BBC TV sitcom starring Lesley Manville and Peter Mullan about a mother who is trying to re-build her life following the death of her husband. David Butcher reviews.Jason Solomons reports from the Cannes Film Festival as it reaches the end of its first week.Presenter John Wilson Producer Jerome Weatherald.

Mark Billingham talks to Samira Ahmed about his latest novel - Die of Shame. Departing from his highly successful DI Tom Thorne novels, this book focuses on a group of recovering addicts who meet each week for their support group, that is, until one of them is murdered. Tate Britain's director, Alex Farquharson, on the Turner Prize shortlist while Rachel Campbell Johnston reviews.As the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra announce their 2016-17 season today, their newly appointed music director, Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla reveals what she believes is the secret behind the chemistry she and the orchestra immediately shared, and looks ahead to what she intends to programme in the future.And out-going BBC Diplomatic Correspondent Bridget Kendall reviews Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, starring Tina Fey, Martin Freeman and Margot Robbie. The film is based on real life reporter Kim Barker's autobiography.Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Elaine Lester.

The pioneering artist and musician Laurie Anderson discusses her role as Guest Artistic Director for this year's Brighton Festival, which includes a futuristic sound and vision installation on the beach and a film and music project called Symphony for a City which premieres tonight.AL Kennedy talks about her new novel Serious Sweet, which charts a day in London as two characters, each in crisis, try to meet in the hope of salvation. Shortlisted for an Oscar in the Foreign Language Film category, Mustang follows the story of five orphaned sisters growing up in rural Turkey. After playing on the beach with some boys from their school they are imprisoned in the family home as their marriages are arranged. Hannah McGill reviews.Presenter: Kirsty Lang Producer: Angie Nehring.

The hit American series Billions starts in the UK this week and is set in the power-hungry and corrupt world of New York finance, starring Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis. Boyd Hilton Reviews.As part of our Shakespeare's People series, Hugh Bonneville chooses Malvolio from Twelfth Night.Bryan and Mary M Talbot, authors of the award-winning Dotter of Her Father's Eyes, discuss their latest graphic novel The Red Virgin and the Vision of Utopia.Folk musician Olivia Chaney will be performing songs by Henry Purcell this weekend at the London Festival of Baroque Music. Olivia discusses reinterpreting the composer's songs in the folk tradition.And with the Zac Efron/Seth Rogan comedy Bad Neighbours 2 in cinemas this week, Adam Smith considers how much cinema loves it when you just can't get along with the folks next door.

Lionel Shriver's latest novel, The Mandibles, is set in 2029, and also in 2047, and looks at what might happen in America should the economy completely collapse. She reveals what inspired her to tackle this subject matter.Music critic Pete Paphides reviews A Moon Shaped Pool, the new album from Radiohead and the group's first since 2011's The King of Limbs.Richard Linklater, acclaimed director of Dazed and Confused and Boyhood, on his latest offering, the nostalgic 1980s college film, Everybody Wants Some!!Painting with Light: Art and Photography from the Pre-Raphaelites to the Modern Age is a new exhibition at Tate Britain exploring how the emergence of photography influenced painters. Spanning 75 years across the Victorian and Edwardian ages, the exhibition brings together paintings from artists including Millais, Rossetti, Whistler and Sargent, and photographs by pivotal figures such as Julia Margaret Cameron.

Tom Hiddleston talks to Kirsty Lang about his new role as country singer Hank Williams in the biopic I Saw The Light. Susannah Clapp reviews A Midsummer Night's Dream, Emma Rice's first production as Artistic Director of Shakespeare's Globe.Ukrainian writer Andrey Kurkov, best known for his cult novel Death and the Penguin, talks about his new book The Bickford Fuse.And English Heritage celebrates the 150th anniversary of Blue Plaques.

Ewan McGregor stars in Our Kind of Traitor, based on a John Le Carré novel. The plot follows a couple on holiday in Marrakech who strike up a friendship with a Russian man who turns out to be a mafia kingpin. Ewan McGregor describes how the author visited the set and gave his blessing to play his character as a Scot.Upstart Crow sees the comedic quill of Blackadder writer Ben Elton return to the Elizabethan era. Starring David Mitchell this new BBC comedy follows William Shakespeare as he tries in vain to write some of his most famous works. Natalie Haynes reviews.Artist Katie Paterson is busy right now with work showing at The Lowry and Somerset House, and a new public artwork called Hollow, made from 10,000 tree samples from across the world, about to be unveiled at the University of Bristol. She discusses her fascination with capturing time, distance, and space. Liam Scarlett is Artist in Residence at The Royal Ballet, and his latest work is a brand new ballet based on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. He discu

Howard Brenton discusses his new play Lawrence After Arabia, which examines a little known period of TE Lawrence's life. Back in England, Lawrence wearied by his romanticised public image and disgusted with his country and himself, seeks solace and a place to hide in the home of the Bernard Shaws.Christian Bale stars as a disillusioned Hollywood writer in the new film Knight Of Cups from director Terence Malick. Film critic Kate Muir reviews.91-year-old photographer Dorothy Bohm looks back over her 75-year career at her latest exhibition Sixties London. Born in East Prussia before being sent by her father to England to escape the threat of Nazism, she then became co-founder of The Photographer's Gallery and worked alongside some of the greats, from Henri Cartier-Bresson to Bill Brandt and Don McCullin.Danish artist Olafur Eliasson is most famous for erecting a giant sun in the Tate Modern for his work The Weather Project. He talks about his new book Unspoken Spaces which has collected all his architectural wo

The artist Mona Hatoum has a major survey of her work at Tate Modern in London. It includes her early performance works, such as when she walked through Brixton after the race riots barefoot, but with heavy boots tied to her ankles. And her later large installations such as a floor of marbles; beautiful but dangerous to walk on. She describes how the political and personal has always influenced her work.Alexander Masters' first book Stuart: A Life Backwards, a biography of a homeless man, won prizes before being adapted for television and the stage. As his latest book is published, A Life Discarded - inspired by the discovery in a skip of a 148 volumes of a personal diary - the author discusses the appeal of the overlooked.Starring Harry Enfield as Prince Charles, The Windsors is a new six-part comedy soap opera that takes a weekly peek behind the curtains of Britain's most famous family. Its creators Bert Tyler-Moore and George Jeffrie discuss the challenges they set themselves.Charles Dance is the latest Sh

Capability Brown, born 300 years ago this year, changed the landscape of Georgian England.John Wilson visits Chatsworth House in Derbyshire where the Duke of Devonshire describes what it's like to live in a Brown design and Head Gardener Steve Porter explains how Brown shaped the estate.At the Royal Horticultural Society's Lindley Library Fiona Davison shows John Capability Brown's original accounts book, and Ceryl Evans, Director of the Capability Brown Festival, paints a picture of his background and influences.Garden designer Dan Pearson discusses Capability Brown's influence on him, and his impact on our appreciation of the English landscape.Performance poets Joe Cook and Aliya Denton share their poems inspired by Capability Brown, and Anisa Haghdadi from Beatfreeks explains how she's working with Warwick Castle to engage young people from diverse backgrounds with Brown's work and explore the socio-economic context of it.The Duchess of Rutland and her Estate Manager Phil Burtt describe the work they're be

Ricky Gervais has written, directed and stars in the feature-length film Special Correspondents for Netflix. Kirsty talks to the comedian about celebrity, David Brent and returning to stand-up.The Secret is a new ITV drama set in Northern Ireland starring James Nesbitt. It tells the true story of a couple who embark on an affair and then plot to murder their spouses. Jenny McCartney reviews.Sir Ian McKellen has called for the National Theatre to have a resident company of actors, and the Liverpool Everyman has plans to trial one. Theatre writer and critic Lyn Gardner considers whether the old rep model of theatre can be resurrected.As The Hallé prepares for its Dvorák Festival, the orchestra's conductor Sir Mark Elder discusses his affinity for the music of the Czech composer.Presenter Kirsty Lang Producer Jerome Weatherald.

Mark Gatiss, the writer, actor and Doctor Who fan, gives his response to the re-issue of seven Doctor Who novelisations from the original range by Target Books, and visits the Cartoon Museum's display of original artwork for the books' covers.Evelyn Waugh's classic novel Brideshead Revisited has previously been made for television and the cinema, and has now been adapted for the stage. Playwright Bryony Lavery discusses her new version for the York Theatre Royal.Composer Mark Simpson talks about his new opera set in a gay nightclub. Pleasure stars Lesley Garrett as a toilet attendant, and is premiered tonight by Opera North in Leeds.In Demolition, actor Jake Gyllenhaal plays an investment banker who responds to his wife's death by writing bizarre letters of complaint to a vending company. These lead to an unlikely friendship with a customer service employee, played by Naomi Watts. Larushka Ivan-Zadeh reviews.Presenter Samira Ahmed Producer Angie Nehring.

As Hugh Bonneville returns to the stage after twelve years in Chichester Festival Theatre's new production of An Enemy of the People by Ibsen, Samira Ahmed talks to Hugh and director Howard Davies.Brothers Anthony and Joe Russo on directing the acclaimed Marvel superhero film Captain America: Civil War.As part of our Shakespeare's People series, Juliet Stevenson chooses Rosalind from As You Like It. Alan Kitching has been at the forefront of typographical design for nearly six decades. With the publication of A Life in Letterpress and a retrospective at Somerset House, Alan shows Samira round his workshop.

Alain de Botton discusses his first novel in twenty years. The Course of Love centres on the story of a couple called Rabih and Kirsten who meet, fall in love, and get married. The philosopher, author and presenter tells John why he wanted to explore the later chapters of a relationship, and why he has taken such a long break from fiction. The Hungarian feature film Son of Saul closely follows one inmate of the Auschwitz concentration camp who is a member of the Sonderkommando, responsible for disposing of the bodies of the victims murdered in the gas chambers. Jason Solomons reviews the film that won the Oscar and the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film this year, as well as the Grand Prix at Cannes. Playwright Nick Payne and director Josie Rourke discuss the inspiration behind Elegy, a new play set in a world where medical advances mean that life can be extended at the expense of our memories. With Miles Ahead, starring Don Cheadle as jazz master Miles Davies, currently in our cinemas, and film depi

Kirsty Lang talks to Hugh Grant about his new film Florence Foster Jenkins based on the true story of an out of tune singer and philanthropist. Hugh plays her common law husband and manager and their extraordinary relationship. We announce the winner of the Wellcome Prize for books that engage with medicine, health or illness. Lisa Jen from the group 9Bach, who won Best Album at last year's Radio 2 Folk Awards, discusses their new album Anian, which is rooted in the Welsh song tradition Pablo Bronstein is the artist chosen this year by Tate Britain, in London, to respond to its collection of art. Previous works have been by Mark Wallinger and Phyllida Barlow, and many will remember Martin Creed's athlete running through the galleries every 30 seconds. This year there's a return to that element of live performance as Bronstein has incorporated a continuous live dance performance in his work; Historical Dances in an Antique Setting. He explains why.Presenter Kirsty Lang Producer Elaine Lester.

William Shakespeare takes centre stage 400 years after his death. As The Hollow Crown returns to BBC One with the next series of the playwright's history plays, theatre director Dominic Cooke discusses his TV directorial debut making the series. The cast of Henry VI Parts I and II and Richard III include Benedict Cumberbatch, Judi Dench and Hugh Bonneville.Actor Kim Cattrall describes why she loves playing Cleopatra, as part of our series Shakespeare's People, in which celebrated actors choose the character they've enjoyed playing most.Rufus Wainwright's new album Take All My Loves adapts nine of Shakespeare's sonnets into rock ballads, operatic pop songs and dramatic readings. The musician talks about his personal take on the playwright's poetic work.Was Sir Henry Neville the real author of Shakespeare's works? A new book, Sir Henry Neville Was Shakespeare: The Evidence by John Casson and Professor William Rubinstein, provides fresh evidence supporting the claim. Professor William Leahy, Chair of the Shakesp

Singer Mica Paris remembers Prince who was her friend and mentor, and biographer Matt Thorne and journalist Kevin Le Gendre assess his legacy.As Opera North's Music Director Richard Farnes and General Director Richard Mantle prepare to present six complete productions of the company's much praised "austerity" Ring Cycle, they discuss the art of creating great opera on a budget. The Ring Cycle opens at Leeds Town Hall on 23 April and goes on to tour the Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham, The Lowry in Salford, the Royal Festival Hall in London, and Sage Gateshead.Georgina Harding's latest novel, The Gunroom, opens with a description of the image of Don McCullin's Shell Shocked Soldier. It then becomes a work of fiction which explores the impact of taking that photo on the photographer as he endeavours to escape the horror of what he has seen. Georgina Harding discusses what inspired her to write this story. The Gun Room is out now.

Geoff Posner, who produced Victoria Wood's first TV Show and then went on to work with her on other TV shows including Dinner Ladies, shares his memories and discusses how important she was in terms of paving the way for other female comedians.In our continuing series Shakespeare's People, Lucian Msamati nominates Iago.Curtis Sittenfeld, author of American Wife, talks about her new novel, Eligible. Set in Cincinnati, it's a modern-day re-telling of Pride and Prejudice, with Liz Bennet as a successful magazine journalist, and Darcy as a neurosurgeon.Maya Sondhi is perhaps best known for her role as the long-suffering daughter in Citizen Khan, or currently as WPC Maneet Bindra in Line of Duty. Maya Sondhi discusses Sket, the first play she has written, which examines the sexualisation of teenagers, which opened last night.Presenter Samira Ahmed Producer Rebecca Armstrong.

Samira Ahmed talks to Will Sharpe about Flowers, the surreal Channel 4 sitcom he has written and directed, and in which he stars with Olivia Colman.As part of our Shakespeare's People series, Don Warrington chooses the tragic figure of King Lear.Tim Robey reviews Jane Got a Gun, a new Western starring Natalie Portman.Yvvette Edwards discusses her novel The Mother, which is told from the perspective of a woman whose teenage son is stabbed. Yvvette was inspired to write when her own step son was the victim of random violence.