Front Row Folgen

The actress Julie Hesmondhalgh, best known for Coronation Street and Broadchurch on TV, returns to the theatre for the opening night of her new play at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough. Modestly titled The Greatest Play in the History of the World… it is not only the first night of the tour but the first night the theatre has been open since last year. Julie takes a break from rehearsals to talk to Samira about how she is looking forward to being onstage again and the importance of theatre to regional towns. Lie Down and Listen is the idea behind a new series of classical music concerts being led by the pianist Christina McMaster. She talks to Samira about how lying down helps both the mind and body listen to music.A new photographic exhibition opening at The Serpentine Gallery in London shows the work of 91-year-old photographer James Barnor. He’s been working for 6 decades, first in his native Ghana where he captured the country’s move to independence, before coming to the UK in the 60s where he worked for Drum magazine, taking photos of the African diaspora. In the 70s he returned to Ghana as a pioneer of colour photography.Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Simon Richardson

Barry Jenkins, the director of the 2017 Oscar-winning film Moonlight, discusses his new ten-part TV adaptation of Colson Whitehead's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Underground Railroad.The drama series follows two young slaves as they escape their cotton plantation in Georgia and go in search of the fabled railway which they hope will transport them north in their quest for freedom.The director discusses shooting the drama - which contains harrowing scenes of violence - on the site of former plantations in Georgia where slaves worked and died, and how the experience affected him as an African-American. Presenter Kirsty Lang Producer Jerome WeatheraldMain image: Showrunner, writer and Director Barry Jenkins on The Underground Railroad shoot in Georgia, USA. Image credit: Kyle Caplan/Amazon Studios

Chloe Zhao’s Nomadland, which recently won best film at both the Oscars and Baftas, is leading the pack as cinemas reopen next week. Film critic Tim Robey and Chinese arts journalist Yuan Ren discuss Nomadland and what else we have to look forward to.St Vincent’s latest album Daddy’s Home is inspired in part by her father’s release from 10 years in prison. The artist discusses getting personal for her sixth record, returning to the sound of the '70s and the female artists that paved the way for her.A lack of commercial and government-backed insurance has led to the cancellation of many festivals this year with more cancellations expected if things don’t change. Marina Blake, co-founder and creative director of Brainchild Festival, has a plan to ensure her festival goes ahead. She talks to John about asking ticketholders to share the costs of the risk.Author Maylis de Kerangal discusses Painting Time, her coming-of-age novel set in the world of decorative painting, following a young woman who finds herself discovering the world and herself through the art of trompe l’oeuil.Presenter: John Wilson Producer: Jerome Weatherald