Front Row: Archive 2012

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

With Mark Lawson. Welcome to India is a new BBC series which aims to lift the lid on the reality of life for India's 1.2 billion residents. The poet Daljit Nagra reviews the programme, and also considers previous Western documentaries about the country.The playwright Howard Barker - who coined the term 'Theatre of Catastrophe' - shares his uncompromising views on collaboration, accessibility, and art as an ordeal. And as his play Scenes from an Execution receives a new production at the National Theatre, he offers a theory as to why his works have never been staged there before.For younger audiences, opera can seem an unwelcoming art-form, and its reputation for high ticket prices can also make it seem unattractive. As the English National Opera launch a scheme designed to encourage young people to try opera, artistic director John Berry explains how Damon Albarn and Terry Gilliam are part of the plan to bring in new audiences.In the week that Channel 4 gathers a whole host of its presenting talent under one

John Wilson reports live from the BBC International Short Story Award ceremony, where chair of judges Clive Anderson presents the winner with the £15,000 prize. John also talks to members of the band Mumford and Sons about their latest album, Babel, their encounter with the Obamas and borrowing a line or two from a Booker Prize winner. Producer Rebecca Nicholson.

With Mark Lawson.Emma Watson returns to the big screen in a new film The Perks of Being a Wallflower, in which a young man falls for Sam (played by Watson) while under the protective eyes of two fellow students who take him under their wing. Rebecca Nicholson reviews.The 2012 Turner Prize exhibition opens tomorrow, featuring works by the four shortlisted artists. Spartacus Chetwynd, Luke Fowler, Paul Noble and Elizabeth Price are competing for the £25,000 award. Art critic Jackie Wullschlager gives her verdict. The production company behind Spooks and Ashes To Ashes now bring us Hunted, a TV drama series which focuses on a highly-skilled operative for an elite private intelligence firm. She has faced a threat to her life which might have been an inside job. Gabriel Tate reviews.And as Halifax-based theatre company Northern Broadsides celebrate their 20th anniversary, founder Barrie Rutter and company members reflect on their tradition of performing classic plays in northern voices in non-velvet spaces.Produce

With Kirsty LangThe plot lines from the BBC political comedy The Thick of It - school breakfast club closures, texting in cabinet meetings and the launch of a community bank - have been an uncannily accurate reflection of recent announcements from our real-life politicians. Kirsty Lang talks to Sean Gray and Ian Martin, both writers on The Thick of It, and wonders if they have been gazing into a crystal ball or have a mole in Westminster. Singer Cerys Matthews gives the verdict on a new Country Music album which celebrates the women who were pioneers in a field previously dominated by men. Matthews, who has lived in Nashville, assesses the influence of artists such as Kitty Wells, Dolly Parton and Tammy Wynette.The adventures of Sherlock Holmes are set to hit our screens again, this time in the US-produced series Elementary. It comes hot on the heels of Guy Ritchie's films and the BBC TV series Sherlock. Boyd Hilton discusses this latest version, starring Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes and Lucy Liu as hi

J K Rowling discusses the inspiration for her new novel The Casual Vacancy, her first book for adult readers, in a wide-ranging conversation with Mark Lawson. She considers her use of strong language and adult themes, and also reflects on her role in the Olympic opening ceremony, her global success with Harry Potter, and whether she will ever return to her most famous character. Producer Erin Riley.

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

With Mark Lawson. In the new sci-fi thriller Looper, time-travel exists, but is illegal and only available on the black market. Organised crime bosses send their victims into the past, to be murdered by a Looper - a hired gun. Bruce Willis plays a successful Looper who is sent back in time to assassinate his younger self, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Writer Matt Thorne reviews.Ashley Jensen, best known for her TV roles in Extras and Ugly Betty, talks about working with Ricky Gervais, relocating to Hollywood, the appeal of her Scottish accent and returning to the stage in Alan Ayckbourn's A Chorus of Disapproval, with Rob Brydon and Nigel Harman. The phrase Plan B has entered current debates about the economy - but it's also a London musician, it appears in the title of the latest Van Morrison album and it's the name of a Hollywood production company. Craig Leyland from the Oxford English Dictionary discusses the origins of the phrase, and its many re-appearances.This year - in celebration of the Olympics -

With Kirsty Lang. The French film Holy Motors, which provoked boos and cheers at the Cannes film festival, arrives in UK cinemas this week. The cast includes Kylie Minogue as an enigmatic singer. Jason Solomons and Larushka Ivan-Zadeh debate whether the film adds up to more than its parts. The Paradise, a new TV drama series, is a romance set in a glamorous department store in 1875. It's based on a novel by Zola, given a British setting - and the love it depicts includes the female customers' adoration of the products on sale. Biographer Kathryn Hughes reviews. The RSC's latest production of Much Ado About Nothing, directed by Iqbal Khan, is set in contemporary India. Writers Jatinder Verma and Hardeep Singh Kohli have done the same for Moliere's The Miser, transporting it from 17th century France. A forthcoming Radio 3 production of Ibsen's A Doll's House, adapted by Tanika Gupta, takes place in 19th century India, rather than Norway. Iqbal Khan, Hardeep Singh Kohli and Tanika Gupta discuss how relocating th

With Kirsty Lang. Untouchable, a French comedy film about a wealthy disabled man and his young impoverished carer, has proved an unlikely hit across Europe, even taking more than Avatar in some countries. Critic Agnes Poirier explains its unexpected popularity and delivers her verdict.Shout To The Top is a new music drama coming to BBC Radio 2, about a young girl band starting out in the 1980s. Writers Roy Boulter, drummer of The Farm, and Louise Wener, former singer with the Britpop band Sleeper, discuss how they set about creating radio drama and how far they drew on their own experiences of the music industry. The Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuscinski was one of the most influential eyewitness reporters of the 20th century. Artur Domoslawski has written a new biography which examines the complex relationship between fact and fiction in Kapuscinski's work. He describes his feelings when he realised that he was going to have to be critical of his friend, whom he greatly admired. As Radio 4 broadcasts the 10

With Kirsty Lang.The actor Rupert Everett is just about to publish a second memoir, Vanished Years, in which he describes what he sees as a precarious career in film and theatre since his early success in Another Country. He reflects on how Noel Coward inspired the book's title, and reveals his plan to direct a film about the last weeks of Oscar Wilde's life.2012 Man Booker-shortlisted author Deborah Levy is also on the shortlist for this year's BBC International Short Story Award. She discusses her story Black Vodka, to be broadcast on Radio 4 tomorrow, read by Rory Kinnear.Swedish film-maker Fredrik Gertten fell foul of the fruit company Dole when he made his 2009 documentary Bananas!*, about a lawsuit filed against the company for using banned pesticides. Dole responded with a lawsuit against Gertten in an attempt to get him to withdraw the film. His new documentary Big Boys Go Bananas!* charts the David and Goliath battle between the independent film-maker and the fruit giant.Producer Jerome Weatherald.

With Mark Lawson. Oliver Stone, director of Wall St, Nixon, JFK and Natural Born Killers, discusses his latest film Savages, which focuses on a pair of young men in California who run a lucrative and peaceful business growing marijuana. But trouble and violence loom when they come up against an aggressive and powerful Mexican drugs cartel who demand their share. Mark talks to Mel C, Chris Moyles and Tim Minchin, the stars of a new production of Jesus Christ Superstar which is set to tour arenas around the country. 40 years after Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's original stage show opened, this production features Ben Forster as Jesus, a role he won in ITV's Superstar talent show in May.As Radio 4 broadcasts the 10 short stories competing for the £15,000 BBC International Short Story Award, Front Row talks to each of the writers.Tonight M J Hyland talks about her story Even Pretty Eyes Commit Crimes which will be broadcast tomorrow afternoon. Producer Erin Riley.

With Mark Lawson. Gareth Malone first found fame in the TV series The Choir, where he encouraged reluctant teenagers to sing. Most recently he led the Military Wives choir, who scored a Christmas number one last year. With a new TV series Sing While You Work about to be broadcast, Gareth Malone reflects on the insights he gained from writing a book about his experiences, and why he will never make a programme in a prison, despite being asked many times.Brad Pitt's latest film, Killing Them Softly, is a gangster movie about the credit crunch and America's economic woes. Adrian Wootton delivers his verdict.Comedian Greg Davies reveals why his parents want him to keep making jokes at their expense.As Radio 4 broadcasts the 10 short stories competing for the £15,000 BBC International Short Story Award, Front Row talks to each of the writers. Tonight South African writer Henrietta Rose-Innes discusses the inspiration for her story Sanctuary, to be broadcast tomorrow afternoon. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With Mark Lawson. Director Ol Parker, who wrote the screenplay for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, discusses his new film Now Is Good, about a young woman - played by Dakota Fanning - who has terminal cancer and is compiling a list of the things she wants to do before she dies.Caryl Churchill's first play for six years, Love And Information, has 57 scenes and over 100 characters played by 16 actors. The novelist and critic Bidisha delivers her verdict.Ferdinand von Schirach, one of Germany's leading crime fiction writers, discusses his new novel The Collini Case, in which he explores the mark left on the Ministry of Justice by its Nazi part. He also reflects on the legacy of his grandfather's surname: Baldur von Schirach was the leader of the Hitler Youth. And as Radio 4 broadcasts the 10 short stories competing for the £15,000 BBC International Short Story Award, Front Row talks to each of the writers. Tonight South Korean-born writer Krys Lee reveals the background to her short story The Goose Father.Produc

With John Wilson.Clive Anderson, the chair of judges and fellow judge Anjani Joseph announce the 10 contenders for the £15,000 BBC International Short Story Award. All the stories can be heard on Radio 4 from 17 - 28 September, and each writer will be interviewed on Front Row, starting tonight with the author of the story to be broadcast on Monday afternoon. The ten shortlisted stories for the BBC International Short Story Award are:Escape Routes, by Lucy Caldwell The Goose Father, by Krys Lee Sanctuary, by Henrietta Rose-Innes Even Pretty Eyes Commit Crimes, by MJ Hyland Black Voda, by Deborah Levy East Of The West, by Miroslav Penkov A Lovely And Terrible Thing, by Chris Womersley In The Basement, by Adam Ross Before He Left The Family, by Carrie Tiffany The iHole, by Julian GoughMusician John Cale first entered the spotlight as a member of The Velvet Underground in the mid-1960s. Cale, who celebrated his 70th birthday this year, is about to release a new disc, Shifty Adventures in Nookie Wood. He reflects

With Kirsty Lang.Downton Abbey, Julian Fellowes' series about the Earl and Countess of Grantham and their household, has become a love it or hate it phenomenon of TV costume drama. This weekend the third series arrives, taking the Crawley family into the Roaring Twenties, with Shirley MacLaine as an outspoken mother-in-law. David Hepworth reviews. Sheridan Smith takes on Ibsen's dark heroine Hedda Gabler at The Old Vic Theatre, after her award-winning stage performances in Legally Blonde: The Musical and Terence Rattigan's Flare Path. Rachel Cooke reviews.The musician, songwriter and Talking Heads front-man David Byrne reflects on the influence of his Scottish roots, how small venues shaped the sound of his songs and the future of the music industry, as he publishes a book called How Music Works. As Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a cycle courier pursued across New York City by assorted bad guys in the film Premium Rush, Adam Smith charts innovations in the cinematic chase sequence, from The Spy Who Loved Me to Ku

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

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

With Mark LawsonIn Meryl Streep's latest film, Hope Springs, she and Tommy Lee Jones play a middle-aged couple whose marriage has become stale, after more than three decades together. They attend a series of therapy sessions in an attempt to revive their relationship. Writer and critic Gaylene Gould reviews.The work of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood has been brought together in a major exhibition, for the first time in nearly 30 years. The show at Tate Britain aims to display the breadth, influence and radical intentions of the group, and includes major works by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Everett Millais and William Holman Hunt. Rossetti biographer Dinah Roe reviews.Daniel Evans, Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres, discusses his new production of Macbeth and why he has no fear of saying the play's name.As a new documentary, released today, charts how independent record shops are disappearing from our high streets, David Hepworth recalls the very specific pleasures of hours spent flicking through the ra

With Kirsty Lang. Charles Sturridge, the director of the landmark TV series Brideshead Revisited, discusses his latest project, a TV adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's The Scapegoat, a tale of two identical looking men who swap lives. He also reflects on how television drama has changed since the days of Brideshead. Iraq war veteran Kevin Powers has drawn on his own experiences in his novel The Yellow Birds, the story of a young recruit sent to Iraq's Nineveh Province in 2004, and his struggle to adapt to civilian life on his return. Kevin reveals the frequently asked question that was the starting point for the book.Not since the invention of sound cinema have silent movies been so popular, partly due to the unexpected Oscar success of The Artist. This week sees two new films which pay homage to the silent era - Tabu, which has no dialogue in its last half hour and takes its name from a famous F W Murnau drama, and a Spanish adaptation of Snow White which looks like it's been made in the 1920s and not the 21s