Front Row Folgen

Macbeth is on at the National Theatre, The Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House, and there will be at least 15 more Macbeths at theatres and festivals around the country this year. Rufus Norris, director of the National's production, and Kit Monkman, who has made the latest film version, discuss why Shakespeare's play has such urgent appeal today.The British Council has been in the news because Moscow has shut down its activities in Russia. But what does the Council actually do? Alastair Niven, who was for four years Director of Literature at the British Council, explains its work, significance and why it sometimes falls foul of certain regimes.As music superstar partners Beyoncé and Jay-Z announce details of their new joint tour, Front Row decided to examine the delights and drawbacks when artists, who are couples, hit the road together. John talks to comedian Francesca Martinez and her touring partner actor Kevin Hely, and married musical duo Cara Dillon and Sam Lakeman.

Director Steven Soderbergh on his latest film, Unsane, which stars Claire Foy as a woman admitted to a mental health facility against her will. The film was shot entirely on three iphones. Is this the future of film? America's Cool Modernism: O'Keeffe to Hopper, a big exhibition at the Ashmolean in Oxford focuses on American artists in the early 20th century - including Georgia O'Keeffe and Edward Hopper - many of whom expressed their uncertainty about the rapid modernisation and urbanisation of their country. The show's curator discusses the significance of these paintings, prints and photographs made between 1915 and 1945, many of which have not been seen in the UK before. How to establish yourself as a solo artist after a successful career in a double act - Stephen Armstrong considers examples from cultural history as Ant McPartlin, one half of TV presenting powerhouse Ant and Dec, is admitted to rehab, leaving Declan Donnelly considering his options.A new RSC production of The Duchess of Malfi will involve the spilling of 3000 litres of stage blood throughout its run. To tell us how, why, and how much we should expect in the world of stage blood, we're joined by theatre critic Sam Marlowe and Giuseppe Cannas, Head of Wigs, Hair and Make-up at the National Theatre.Presenter: Stig Abell Producer: Julian May.

Bruce Springsteen, John Lennon and Patti Smith are just a few of the artists who trusted an inexperienced recording engineer, Jimmy Iovine, at the controls of their albums in the '70s. Iovine discusses a new documentary series The Defiant Ones, in which he looks back at 40 years in the record business: from those early beginnings, teaming up with hip hop artist Dr Dre, creating the Beats audio brand and running Apple Music.Award-winning Irish novelist Donal Ryan on his fifth novel, From a Low and Quiet Sea, which tells the story of three men, from war-torn Syria to small-town Ireland. Three apparently disparate stories that come together in the most unexpected of ways.An international competition for young singers, The Glyndebourne Opera Cup is being televised this week. Samira talks Maria Mot, one of the jury, about what she's looking for in such a wide range of voices and styles and its appeal to a younger audience of opera aficionados.Today is the spring equinox and through the day Radio 4 has been broadcasting new poems to mark the (official) start of the season when life quickens. On Front Row we welcome, with a poem each, Caleb Femi, the Young People's Laureate for London, and Scotland's Makar Jackie Kay.Presenter Samira Ahmed Producer Harry Parker.