Front Row - 20/01/2009

Presented by Kirsty Lang. Political satirist and writer Alastair Beaton reviews Frost/Nixon, a film version starring Frank Langella and Michael Sheen of Peter Morgan's stage play about the series of televised interviews that former US President Richard Nixon gave David Frost in 1977. Guitar virtuoso Richard Thompson was asked by Playboy magazine in 1999 to come up with a list of the top 10 songs of the Millennium. Inspired by this, he has created a concert which takes the audience from a 16th Century Italian dance to a Britney Spears chart-topper. Kirsty talks to him about his selection and he plays some of his choices live in the studio. Designer Hussein Chalayan's work includes armchair covers which transform into dresses and chairs which become suitcases. As the first major British exhibition of his work opens, he talks to Kirsty about his approach to clothing-design, and his use of unlikely materials. How far should actors or directors go to achieve authenticity in a stage performance? Actor and author Michael Simkins joins Kirsty to discuss his own experiences of preparing for roles.