Front Row Folgen

Disenchantment, Netflix's new animated series set in a fantastical medieval world from The Simpsons' creator Matt Groening is released this week. TV critic Andrew Collins and comedy writer Natasha Hodgson discuss whether the fantasy series has brought some Simpsons' magic to Netflix. Alan Garner's debut novel, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, is regarded as one of the great 20th century works of children's literature. It was inspired by the Cheshire landscape he grew up in, like many of his other novels like The Owl Service. His new memoir, Where Shall We Run To?, is a series of recollections of his wartime childhood but it's far from nostalgic. The Oscars have just announced the introduction of a new award category for outstanding achievement in popular film, making superhero films like Black Panther more likely to win an Oscar. Film critic Anna Smith comes into talk about the repercussions.Plus author and creative expert Dave Birss gives us his tips and tricks on how to improve our creativity.Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Kate Bullivant.

Sharks have long held a prominent place in mythology, the imagination and even religion for centuries. As The Meg, a thriller about a 75-foot-long prehistoric shark, hits cinema screens nature writer Philip Hoare and film critic Isabel Stevens discuss the ways in which sharks have been represented in the arts. How much is the cultural representation of these 400 million year old mysterious creatures of the deep a reflection of our own human fantasies and anxieties?This year the distinguished composer Thea Musgrave celebrated her 90th birthday. The event is being marked with a series of special performances including Turbulent Landscapes, her sequence of movements inspired by the land and seascapes of JMW Turner, at the Edinburgh Festival. She talks to Front Row about her career: her work, her teachers, her inspirations and why she puts drama at the heart of her work.Award winning mentalist and illusionist Derren Brown reveals what it is that inspires his work on stage and screen and the art he creates in his spare time as both a painter and street photographer.Presenter: John Wilson Producer: Hannah Robins.

The mezzo-soprano Dame Sarah Connolly is an opera star, singing the big roles at La Scala, The Met, Glyndebourne and the Royal Opera House. Her latest project is much more modest yet very ambitious; 'Come to Me in My Dreams' is a CD of songs and poems, mostly English - Shakespeare, Blake, Housman - set by composers all of whom studied or taught at the Royal School of Music. She talks to Morgan Quaintance about the attraction of simply singing, how she found the material - which includes two settings by Benjamin Britten never before recorded - and what connects these works that span a dozen centuries. Dame Sarah and accompanist Joseph Middleton perform a song from the album for Front Row ahead of a Prom performance on Monday.As part of Front Row's Inspire season we set three artists, the poet Alison Brackenbury, crime writer Vaseem Khan and rapper and playwright Testament, a challenge: to seek out inspiration, act on it and over the next six weeks create an original piece each, which they will perform live in the programme on 7th September. The three artists talk about their hopes and ideas.'The Producers', Mel Brooks' classic comedy musical film and Broadway show, whose hit song and dance number 'Springtime for Hitler' features Nazis doing the can-can is 50 years old. Critics Angie Errigo and Matt Wolf consider its virtues, foibles and if, given the political state of the world now, such a film could be made today.Presenter: Morgan Quaintance Producer: Julian May.