Front Row

Academy Award nominee Steve Carell continues his pursuit of more serious roles with his latest film Beautiful Boy. The true story is based on the parallel books by David and Nic Sheff, played by Steve and Timothée Chalamet, chronicling the years in which David tries to help his son, whose drug addiction is spiralling out of control. This weekend 70,000 people attended the festival marking the start of Waltham Forest's year as the inaugural London Borough of Culture. But after recent knife attacks in the area, questions have been raised about whether London's City Hall should be spending the £1 million award on culture rather than policing. Sam Hunt, Creative Director of the Waltham Forest Borough of Culture, and former Deputy Mayor and Executive Director for Culture at King's College London, Munira Mirza discuss. Composer Brian Tyler is best known for blockbuster film scores including Avengers: Age of Ultron, Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World and The Mummy 3. His most recent hit soundtrack was for Jon M Chu’s Crazy Rich Asians, which incorporates Asian instruments into big band swing. He talks to John about how he creates the theme of a superhero. Presenter: John Wilson Producer: Ben Mitchell

Octavian, the winner of BBC Music’s Sound of 2019 announced on Friday, is a true rags-to-riches story. The French-born rapper discusses how, after a turbulent upbringing which saw him homeless for some of his teenage years, he has gone on to make his mark on the scene and how music has always been a driving force for him. Seven years since TV series The Killing's final episode, its creator, Danish writer Søren Sveistrup, is publishing a crime thriller, The Chestnut Man, his first novel. Søren tells Stig how he moved from the cult detective Sarah Lund to create new detectives for the novel. Minutes after the announcement is made, live from the award ceremony Front Row brings you the first interview with the winner of the £25,000 T. S. Eliot Prize for the best collection of poetry published last year. This is the UK’s most prestigious poetry prize, the one poets aspire to win, the one judged only by other poets. Only Fools -The (Cushty) Dining Experience, is the latest comedy theatre tribute version of the BBC’s well-known television sitcom, Only Fools and Horses, to open in the UK. But it’s been reported that the producers behind Only Fools and Horses: The Musical which premieres next month, have complained that such tribute versions may cross moral and legal lines. Theatre critic Paul Vale and Intellectual Property barrister Guy Tritton discuss the issues raised by these tribute productions. Presenter Stig Abell Producer Jerome Weatherald

The immortal comedy duo of Laurel and Hardy have been given a second life on screen by John C. Riley and Steve Coogan in the new film Stan & Ollie. The actors have been nominated for their roles at the Golden Globes and BAFTAs respectively, and they discuss the film that tells the story of Laurel and Hardy’s final UK tour in the twilight of their careers. A man wakes up in a forest with no memory. He is told that today a murder will be committed. He will relive the same day eight times, but each morning he’ll wake up in a different body. This lies at the heart of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle which has just won the Costa First Novel Award. Its author Stuart Turton discusses his time-travelling, body-hopping novel. Tomorrow, the partial shutdown of the US government becomes the longest in the country's history, leaving some 800,000 federal employees unpaid. From New York, David D'Arcy of the Art Newspaper explains how the shutdown is impacting on the US's arts and cultural institutions. Presenter Kirsty Lang Producer Jerome Weatherald

Hugh Jackman on his film The Front Runner, in which he plays Democratic contender Gary Hart, who in 1987 was ahead in the polls before an alleged affair shot down his chances of becoming US President. The winner of the Costa Biography Award, announced on Front Row this week, is The Cut Out Girl by Bart van Es. The author discusses his book which tells the story of a 9-year-old Jewish Dutch girl, Hesseline – or Lien – who was handed by her parents to Bart van Es’s grandparents in 1942 to be fostered and kept safe during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. Lien is now 85 and living in Amsterdam, and together they recount a remarkable story of tragedy and survival. As Italy decides not to lend three Leonardo Da Vinci paintings to the Louvre in Paris for their blockbuster exhibition of the old master's work, art journalist Anna Somers Cocks reports on how much loans of this kind are used as symbolic political gestures. Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Hannah Robins

The comedian Nish Kumar on why his latest stand up tour is his most political yet, and the challenge of keeping his satirical topical news television show, The Mash Report, fresh in these febrile times. The look of a building has always been an essential element in architectural design, but less conspicuous are its acoustic properties. Specialists in acoustic design are frequently engaged to enhance the aural experience of people in a room or a building. Their work ranges from blocking out unwanted noise, such as from passing trains, to providing the optimal sound for the audience and musicians in a concert hall. Stig Abell visits a virtual sound laboratory, and hears from Trevor Cox, professor of acoustic engineering, about the history and importance of sound in building design. The winner of the 2018 Costa Children’s Book Award is Hilary McKay. She talks to Stig about her novel, The Skylarks’ War. This is set during the First World War and follows three children growing up at a time when girls had to fight for an education and boys, as soon as they were able, went off to fight. Presenter: Stig Abell Producer: Julian May