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7 Episodes 2018 - 2018
Episode 1
30 mins
Classicist Mary Beard hosts the arts and culture programme as it returns under the banner of Front Row Late. In this edition of the show Mary is joined by writer and broadcaster Joan Bakewell, actor and writer Mark Gatiss, poet Dean Atta and journalist and author Ella Whelan to discuss the topic of inter-generational conflict. The young and their elders may be bitterly divided over pensions and house prices, but are they also waging a war in the nation's theatres, galleries and bookshops? How do artists relate to the generations that have gone before? Are modern day students as politically active as their counterparts from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s? Continuing the theme of the studio discussion the panel review the exhibition of Damien Hirst's work on display at historic Houghton Hall. Does the juxtaposition of the classical and the modern work or is it just a gimmick? Stephen Daldry's play The Inheritance is reviewed as it arrives in the West End, exploring the interaction between different generations within New York's gay community.
Episode 2
30 mins
Mary Beard is joined by LBC Radio host and Katie Hopkins's publisher Iain Dale, journalist and author Afua Hirsch and writer and broadcaster Keenan Malik to discuss the issue of taking offence. The 2012 public artwork "Freedom For Humanity" by American street artist Mear One in Brick Lane, London has become entangled in the antisemitism row engulfing the Labour Party and removed - is that a dangerous path to go down? Do different rules apply to art in the public realm to that on display in a gallery? The programme is given a sneak peek at preparations for Theatr Clwyd's controversial new play "The Assassination of Katie Hopkins". The controversial South African film The Wound (2017) is also discussed.
Episode 3
30 mins
Host Mary Beard and her panel of guests enter the magical world of musical theatre. As a self-confessed sceptic Mary looks at some genre-busting musicals asking if it is now cool to like musicals?
Episode 4
29 mins
Mary and her guests examine what it takes to make it in art. Is it talent and hard graft or is it all down to your parents? They discuss a new report on class and the creative industries.
Episode 5
29 mins
In the week the nominations for the Art Fund Museum of the Year are announced, Mary and her guests discuss what museums can do to attract broader audiences. Pre-recorded on Thursday.
Episode 6
31 mins
This week Mary Beard and her panel of guests discuss colour-blind and gender-blind casting of roles and what it really means to get the 'right person for the job'. There is also a tribute to Philip Roth.
Episode 7
30 mins
The second series concludes with a special edition of the programme broadcast live from the Hay-on-Wye Literary Festival. Mary Beard is joined by guests Rose McGowan, Laurie Penny and Kamila Shamsie.