Front Row Folgen

British director Ola Ince discusses her new stage production of Romeo & Juliet, currently on at Shakespeare’s Globe in London. Ince has given it a contemporary setting, but she doesn’t shy away from showing the play’s relevance to current societal struggles. The degree of harassment and bullying in the acting profession has been brought into the spotlight by #metoo and the recent Noel Clarke case. Radio 4's File on 4 reviewed the current situation and looked at measures being taken within the industry to combat the problem. The Cannes Film Festival opened yesterday with five films funded by the British Film Institute selected for screening. Ben Roberts was appointed the BFI’s Chief Executive just before the lockdown. He talks to Kirsty Lang about the role of the BFI, and how it has supported - and challenged - the industry in times troubled not just by the pandemic but revelations of bullying, abuse and lack of diversity. Presenter: Kirsty Lang Producer: Oliver JonesMain image: Alfred Enoch (Romeo) and Rebekah Murrell (Juliet) in The Globe's Romeo & Juliet Image credit: Marc Brenner

With her new sound and light installation, Arcadia, Theatre and Opera director Deborah Warner has brought the feel of the field into The Factory – the new home for MIF. The Factory is still very much a building site open to the elements, but for one weekend only the festival is providing an opportunity for visitors, to see the new construction from the inside. And once inside the concrete shell, they will enter Arcadia, Deborah’s subversive and challenging artwork to Manchester’s spirit of progress. Deborah talks to Nick about the appeal of making an installation in an unfinished venue.One of Pakistan’s most celebrated artists has used his MIF commission to explore his concept of Eart - his term to describe ways of thinking, being and acting creatively in real life. Under the title, A Manifesto of Possibilities, Rana presents an exhibition which interrogates new ways of living, and he makes real one of his ideas with the creation of his version of the essential corner shop. Nick Ahad pops in to the pop-up store to talk to producer Shanaz Gulzar about why ordering produce and stocking shelves is a new art frontier.The death of her father last June prompted the novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche to write a emotional essay, Notes On Grief, for the New Yorker. The essay expanded into a book earlier this year, and now courtesy of MIF it has been adapted for the stage. Nicky Byrne, Head of Clinical Services at Willow Wood Hospice and Nick Ahad attended the preview and discuss a play that meets a moment when many around the country are dealing with their own grief.Hayley Finn, aka Skyliner, has been leading what has been described as “anti-tours” around Manchester for almost a decade. Her urban tours not only seek to reveal new things about the city to its inhabitants as well as its visitors, but to empower those on her tours with a sense that a city is a place created by those who live and work within it and that they too can and should contribute to the never-ending project that is improving the city. Nick meets Hayley to discuss one of the tours she’s leading for MIF, There Was A Bench Here Once.Presenter: Nick Ahad Producer: Ekene Akalawu

The largest ever UK retrospective of the Portuguese-born artist Paula Rego opens at Tate Britain this week. Featuring over 100 works, many not seen before, the show spans Rego’s early work from the 1950s which responds to the socio-political context of Portugal at the time, to her more recent, richly-layered paintings. Critic Jacky Klein gives her response to the show.Black Widow is the long-awaited new Marvel movie starring Scarlett Johansson. Director Cate Shortland talks to Front Row about putting Johansson centre frame, her on-screen chemistry with Florence Pugh and building on the conventions of superhero and spy movies to tell a different story about female power.The £1.57 billion Cultural Recovery Fund was initiated exactly one year ago to shore up arts and cultural organisations against financial devastation caused by the loss of audiences during the pandemic. In England distribution of the cash is managed by Arts Council England and its chair Sir Nicholas Serota explains how the money has been shared out, who has benefited and what will happen to another £300 million soon to be made available.Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Jerome WeatheraldMain Image: Paula Rego Image credit: (c) Nick Willing