Actor and screenwriter Lennie James talks about the return of his award-winning Sky drama Save Me, in which he plays a father trying to rescue his daughter from a sex trafficking ring. In the new series Save Me Too, he finds someone who may hold the key to her location. Writer and comedian Rob Auton performs live and talks about finding inspiration from small everyday things including hair, water, talking, and the colour yellow. His stand-up tour has been cancelled but his daily podcast will continue with a short burst of spoken word each day to lift us from the gloom. Saxophonist Jess Gillam performs live with pianist James Ballieu. Presenter: Chrystal Genesis Producer: Edwina Pitman

Front Row

Lennie James, Rob Auton, Jess Gillam

Director and writer Gary Sinyor joins John Wilson to discuss his new sitcom The Jewish Enquirer. This follows hapless journalist Paul, played by Tim Downie, in search of scoops for Britain’s “fourth most-read Jewish newspaper”. Sinyor reveals how his own Jewish heritage inspired this irreverent depiction of a Jewish family and how everything and everyone from circumcision to Philip Green is ripe for satire. Most people working in the arts are freelance and so may lose their livelihoods when shows close and projects are curtailed because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Earlier this week the Arts Council announced that it will change some of its funding programmes to help compensate individual artists and freelancers for lost earnings. Laura Dyer, the Deputy Chief Executive of Arts Council England, explains what is planned and how this will work. Theatre Uncut has created an online film, which stars actors from different Universities across Europe who have filmed themselves on their phones. Their performances were then edited together. Written by Kieran Hurley using text and emojis, Bubble is about freedom of speech and will premiere on Facebook on Monday. Director Emma Callander discusses this unique project. With actors working in isolation, edited elsewhere and viewed on phones and laptops, this is a film for our troubled times. Presenter: John Wilson Producer: Simon Richardson

Gary Sinyor, Arts Council aid, Theatre Uncut

Author and comedian David Baddiel is going to read The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow, now his UK tour has been cancelled due to coronavirus, and he has the time. David tells Stig Abell why this novel has always been such a challenge to him. As cinemas close round the country, Universal Pictures have announced they are home releasing several current big films such as Emma and The Invisible Man. Critic Jason Solomons discusses what this means for the industry. The Visionary Honours is a prize recognising artworks in all genres that have generated the greatest social change from diversity, mental health, anti-social behaviour and environmental change. We speak to the co-founder Adrian Grant about why he felt this award was needed, and critic Hannah McGill charts the ups and downs of art for social good. And Irish musicians John Gaughan and Gerry Diver perform Splendid Isolation live in the studio to celebrate St Patrick's Day Presenter : Stig Abell Producer : Dymphna Flynn

David Baddiel, arts prize for social change, film news

American author Jenny Offill discusses her highly anticipated new novel, Weather, about a female librarian struggling to cope with a domestic life haunted by the growing awareness of catastrophic climate change. Actor and comic Roy Hudd has died at the age of 83. We speak to producer and writer John Lloyd - who was also a friend - about Roy's career. The English Game, a new Netflix drama written by Julian "Downton Abbey" Fellowes charts the formative years of football in late 19th century England. The six-part series which follows two sportsmen on opposite sides of the class divide, begins streaming this week. Actor Kevin Guthrie, talks about taking on the role of Fergus Suter, the man considered to be the first professional footballer. The Prime Minister has announced that - among other precautions to prevent the spread of coronavirus - the public should 'avoid pubs clubs theatres and other social venues'. How is this likley to affect arts venues? Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Oliver Jones

How theatres will cope with PM's advice? Jennifer Offill, Roy Hudd, Kevin Guthrie

The Kodo drummers from Japan formed in 1981 and are currently nearing the end of their world tour. Five members bring their drums, flutes and cymbals to our studio to perform, and to discuss the strict regime for their apprenticeship and the physical demands of their stage show. As theatres empty, film releases are delayed and festivals cancelled, Front Row considers the ongoing impact of coronavirus on the arts. With Nancy Durrant of the Evening Standard. Marina Lewycka’s novel A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian sold over a million copies and won the Bollinger Everyman Prize for Comic Fiction. Her new book The Good, the Bad and the Little Bit Stupid is the story of a family torn apart by Brexit and international bank fraud. She talks about making fun out of testing times. Presenter: Stig Abell Producer: Timothy Prosser

Kodo Drummers, Marina Lewycka, Arts affected by coronavirus

Dame Judi Dench looks back at her six decade career in theatre, television and film, from playing Lady Macbeth to M in Bond. As she prepares to return to the stage for a series of conversations at the Bridge Theatre in London, Judi discusses Shakespeare, Musicals, Awards, how she copes with losing her eyesight, and how she was originally told she didn't have a face for films. Now she has a record seven Oscar nominations and one win, eight Olivier awards and eleven BAFTAs. Presenter: John Wilson Producer: Timothy Prosser

Dame Judi Dench

Steven Appleby’s comic strips have graced the pages of many national newspapers including The Guardian, The Times, The Daily Telegraph, and The Observer. Now he’s created his first graphic novel, Dragman - a thriller about August Crimp who discovers that wearing women’s clothing gives him the power of flight. As his superhero alter ego, Dragman, he’s on the case of the missing souls, but can he also use his powers to save his marriage and himself? Playwright Sally Abbott discusses her new play, directed by Kathy Burke, that helps to mark 25 years of Frantic Assembly and their distinctively physical take on theatre. I Think We Are Alone is a multi-stranded story of the connections - and disconnections - between people and their desire for intimacy. Humans hunting humans for sport – this is the theme of two new films, The Hunt and Bacurau, both seemingly inspired by the 1920s short story The Most Dangerous Game. Controversial thriller The Hunt is a satire of the American political landscape, with a liberal elite hunting conservative 'deplorables'; while Bacurau explores neo-colonial tensions with a small Brazilian village held siege by bloodthirsty American and European hunters. Mark Eccleston reviews. Presenter Samira Ahmed Producer Jerome Weatherald

Cartoonist Steven Appleby, Sally Abbott, The Hunt and Bacurau

The Miss World beauty pageant in 1970 is probably best remebered for one thing: The Women’s Liberation movement's intervention. They staged a protest at the final and it got them on the front pages of newspapers around the world. And now it’s the subject of a new film called Misbehaviour starring Keira Knightley, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Jessie Buckley. We speak to the film’s director Philippa Lowthorpe about bring this moment of history to life on screen. We continue our new series, J’Accuse, in which contributors get the chance to make a short, uninterrupted argument on an artistic subject that matters to them. Tonight John is joined by bestselling author Marian Keyes who shares her thoughts on the fiction genre often dismissed as Chick Lit. A daily 9 minute breakfast show, hosted by Love Island’s Chris Taylor and drag queen Ginger Johnson is the newest way that entertainment and technology have combined to improve mental health. A new app, Wakey, has been designed with scientists and television experts to come straight to your phone so you can watch as you start the day in a positive way. Founder Deborah Coughlin tells us how it works. The jazz pianist McCoy Tyner, whose death at the age of 81 was announced at the weekend, made his name playing alongside improvisational saxophonist John Coltrane before carving out his own career as a soloist, bandleader and composer. Music writer Kevin Le Gendre looks back over the life of the influential figure. Presenter: John Wilson Producer: Oliver Jones

Misbehaviour, Marian Keyes, Mental health app, McCoy Tyner obituary

In recent weeks, two new reports on diversity in the arts have generated headlines. Arts Council England has issued a document called Equality, Diversity and the Creative Case, and The Creative Diversity Network, an organisation funded by all the main broadcasters, has released its third assessment of representation on screen and off. Discussing what we can be learnt from their findings are: Deborah Williams, the head of the CDN, Priya Khanchandani, writer, curator and editor of Icon magazine, Tiffany Jenkins, writer and broadcaster, Will Harris, poet whose debut collection Rendang is a reflection on his mixed-race heritage, Sophie Duker, comedian. And in the first of an occasional series on Front Row called J'accuse, Tiffany Jenkins makes the case for a greater diversity of opinion in the arts. Presenter: Stig Abell Producer: Edwina Pitman

Representation and diversity in the arts

The Mash Report’s Rachel Parris discusses why her private life rather than politics has inspired her new stand up show, All Change Please. As the Greater Manchester Combined Authority announces increased funding for arts venues across its ten boroughs, we talk to Mayor of Greater Manchester and former Culture Secretary Andy Burnham about the effect Local Government funding cuts have had on councils’ cultural activities. Actor and writer Mark Gatiss discusses his lifelong fascination with the artist Aubrey Beardsley, who died of tuberculosis in 1898 at the age of just 25. Gatiss has made a BBC4 film about Beardsley, famous for his distinctive black and white drawings, which coincides with an extensive new exhibition at Tate Britain of the artist’s work. Presenter: John Wilson Producer: Sarah Johnson

Rachel Parris, Mark Gatiss on Aubrey Beardsley, Andy Burnham

Playwright and writer Hassan Abdulrazzak discusses his latest play The Special Relationship, a dark satire about the deportation of ex-prisoners from the US, which is based on interviews with real ex-prisoners. Tim Robey reviews Onward, the new Pixar/Disney animation about two teenage elves who go in search of their father, set in a realm of mythical creatures who live as humans do, with houses and modern appliances. Recently there have been a number of memoirs written by people who have experienced or witnessed extreme trauma. Psychotherapist and writer Sasha Bates, whose memoir Languages of Loss is a graphic and personal account of the sudden death of her husband, and memoirist and author Horatio Clare discuss the increasing popularity of the form, and why the personal voice has come to have such resonance in 21st century Britain. Presenter: Nikki Bedi Producer: Edwina Pitman

Hassan Abdulrazzak, Onward, The art of the memoir

Hilary Mantel's novel The Mirror and The Light is published tomorrow. In the Front Row readers' panel, three of our listeners - Deborah Stuart, Sasha Simic, and Laura Helen Back - gather to discuss the first two novels in the Cromwell trilogy, Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies, and to express their hopes and fears for the final instalment. Shay D, a UK hip hop artist, is curating a national tour of women-only artists, to redress the balance of the male-dominated world. She joins Stig along with journalist J’na Jefferson from New York to talk about how women are cutting through the hip hop and rap world. How does isolation or solitude breed creativity? As the likelihood of self-isolation increases with the coronavirus situation, what can we learn from artists about the creative properties of solitude, loneliness and even boredom? We discuss with composer and musician Errollyn Wallen, who composes from a remote lighthouse in Scotland, and poet and author Andrew Greig, who divides his time living in Edinburgh and the Orkney Islands. Presenter Stig Abell Producer Jerome Weatherald

Hilary Mantel's Cromwell trilogy, Women in hip hop, Creativity in isolation

Koby Adom on directing Malorie Blackman's best-selling young adult novel Noughts + Crosses for BBC1, creating an alternative world where Europe has been colonised by Africa, the ruling class are black and the white population are slaves. As Korean film Parasite dominates the box office, have theatre, film and TV audiences become more accepting of subtitles? Declan Donnellan, artistic director of theatre company Cheek by Jowl, who is directing Thomas Middleton’s The Revenger’s Tragedy on stage in Italian with English surtitles, discusses with Film and TV critic Hannah McGill. The Broadway production of Pretty Woman The Musical, based on the 1990s classic rom-com, has transferred to London, featuring new songs co-written by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance, and a book based on the original film script. Liz Carr, actor and fan of the film, reviews. Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Timothy Prosser Main Image: Sephy Hadley (Masali Baduza) and Callum McGregor (Jack Rowan) in Noughts + Crosses. Credit: BBC / Mammoth Screen / Ilze Kitshoff

Noughts + Crosses, Pretty Woman the Musical, the rise of Subtitles

Director Francis Annan discusses his film Escape from Pretoria. Daniel Radcliffe and Ian Hart star in the true story of the imprisonment of white anti-apartheid campaigners in the 1970s and their incredible escape from South Africa’s maximum-security Pretoria prison. Did you know that amateur dramatics is the third most popular pastime in the UK after fishing and football? Michael Coveney has been a theatre reviewer for four decades and in his new book Questors, Jesters and Renegades he tells the story of Britain’s amateur theatrical companies. He is joined by Clare Greer from the Bangor Drama Club in Northern Ireland, established in 1935. Denise Mina is acclaimed for her award-winning crime fiction, and now she’s turned her hand to crime of a different nature. Bertolt Brecht famously said 'What is robbing a bank compared with founding a bank?'. Denise discusses Mrs Puntila and her Man Matti, her new gender-swapping adaptation of a Brecht play which seeks to show how the law is always on the side of the wealthy. Main image: Daniel Radcliffe as Tim Jenkins in Escape from Pretoria Image credit: Signature Entertainment Presenter: John Wilson Producer: Oliver Jones

Film director Francis Annan, Denise Mina, Amateur dramatics - its development and popularity

Elisabeth Moss talks about her new film The Invisible Man, a 21st century reboot of the HG Wells story. Told from the victim’s point of view, Elisabeth plays Cecilia who fears for her safety after escaping an abusive relationship. But when she discovers her ex has killed himself, she fears something far worse: that he’s not dead and has found a way to make himself invisible. Booker winning novelist Aravind Adiga on his latest novel Amnesty, a novel set Sydney, Australia over 24 hours that follows Danny, an illegal immigrant, who gets unwittingly involved in a murder. Twenty years ago this month, the video game The Sims was launched and went on to become one of the most successful games to date with millions of players worldwide. Games critic Jordan Erica Webber, and Dr Jo Twist, CEO of Ukie, discuss the ground-breaking impact of The Sims and how the games industry has changed in the last two decades. Presenter: Stig Abell Producer: Hilary Dunn

Elisabeth Moss, Aravind Adiga, 20th anniversary of The Sims computer game

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