20.10.2010 10:10

What's on?: frontrow

Frontrow is broadcast every weekday evening and provides articles on the latest books, films, music, performance, visual art, media and more - anything that comes under the umbrella of culture. Theatre, ballet, poetry, photography, sculpture, modern music, art galleries, documentaries, video games, pop music, television series, gardens, opera, memoirs, magazines, classical music …

As well as interviews with important public figures, there are also reviews, previews, discussions and reports. As the programme's remit covers the whole of the UK, there may be an interview with the lead actor from the Liverpool Playhouse, a review of an art exhibition in Glasgow and a studio discussion about best-selling crime books within the programme's 30-minute slot.

First broadcast in 1998, frontrow developed from Radio 4's earlier arts programme, Kaleidoscope, which had been running for 25 years. The first interviewee on the new programme was the British novelist Beryl Bainbridge, who died earlier this year. (In fact, frontrow had an appreciation of her life very soon after her death.)

The main presenters are Mark Lawson, Kirsty Young and John Wilson and they all have huge experience dealing with the (sometimes) sensitive guests they interview. Two years ago, John Wilson interviewed Chris Martin and other members of the UK rock group Coldplay, who were publicising their new album Viva la Vida. Nine minutes into the interview, Chris Martin decided he was unhappy and left. John Wilson carried on like a trooper! Earlier this year, Australian actor Russell Crowe stormed out of an interview with Mark Lawson, offended by questions about his accent in the film Robin Hood.

Listeners are also kept up to date on prizes in the arts. The Man Booker Prize awarded for fiction is reviewed each year; the nominees for the Mercury Prize for music from the UK are showcased; the contenders for the UK City of Culture 2013 were visited; the annual Art Fund Prize for museums and galleries is also featured as is the Orange Prize for women's fiction.

To find out what's on tonight's frontrow at 7.15pm (UK time), click here:

and see if there's something which will tickle your cultural taste buds.

And if you like, you can listen to the interview with Welsh crooner Tom Jones by clicking here:

and scrolling down to Thursday July 22 2010.