Front Row Folgen

An eight-part series about the legendary rivalry between Hollywood icons Bette Davis and Joan Crawford comes to BBC2 this Christmas. Matthew Sweet reviews.What makes going to the theatre or cinema a pleasurable experience and what -such as long loo queues, smelly snacks and mobile phones - can ruin a night out. Matthew Sweet stays on to discuss this with journalist Rosamund Urwin.'Snow was general all over Ireland' wrote James Joyce, memorably, in Dubliners. Snow has been a great inspiration to writers and poets. In America Emily Dickinson, Wallace Stevens and Robert Frost have all written beautiful snow poems. But snow is nothing unusual there. Poets here are inspired by snow partly because it comes unexpectedly. There is always an element of surprise and wonder. Gillian Clarke reads her poem Snow, from her collection, Ice. Anne Washburn thinks that almost every American aged over 30 has seen the sci-fi series The Twilight Zone. The playwright tells Kirsty Lang about bringing this television classic to the English stage.The television presenter Keith Chegwin's death was announced today. There will be many tributes to Cheggers, Front Row celebrates his foray into high culture, linking his name forever with Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare, Roman Polanski and an obscure ensemble called The Third Ear Band. In 1971 Chegwin played Fleance in Polanski's wonderful film of Macbeth and he sang part of the Rondel of Merciless Beauty by Chaucer - an unexpected contrast to Cheggers Plays Pop. Presenter: Kirsty Lang Producer: Julian May.

Vanessa Redgrave has just been awarded the Richard Harris Award which is given to an actor for their outstanding contribution to British film. She talks to Stig about her long career in cinema and theatre. Imperium is the Royal Shakespeare Company's new six-hour production which looks at power politics in ancient Rome, which is based on Robert Harris's bestselling Cicero trilogy. The writer and classical historian Natalie Haynes has seen the production and gives her verdict. French president Emmanuel Macron has called for African artefacts currently held in French museums to be returned to their countries of origin. Cultural historian Andrew Hussey discusses the reaction in France, the practicalities of such a pledge, and what pressure it might put on museums in Britain. The Irish writer Sally Rooney has just been awarded The 2017 Sunday Times/Peters Fraser + Dunlop Young Writer of the Year Award for Conversations With Friends. The 26-year-old's debut novel has become a critical and word-of-mouth hit this year, acclaimed as fresh and clever. She talks to Stig about the book and what the win means to her. Presenter Stig Abell Producer Jerome Weatherald.

Christopher Nolan, writer and director of Memento, Inception, Interstellar and the Batman trilogy including The Dark Knight, looks back over his career as the DVD of his most recent film Dunkirk is about to be released.Theatre critic and broadcaster Nick Ahad reviews the new all-black cast production of Guys and Dolls at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester. John Lahr, writer and theatre critic, and Dr Lynette Goddard, author of Modern and Contemporary Black British Drama, discuss the issues raised by all-black cast theatre productions.Tonight the UK's City of Culture 2021 will be announced. The contenders are Coventry, Paisley, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Swansea. Arts Minister John Glen and a spokesperson from the winning city tell us what to expect from the new City of Culture.Presenter: Kirsty Lang Producer: Kate Bullivant.