Arts
Lush, lyrical, exquisite
Brooklyn is a wee slip of a thing compared to the Bond film, Spectre, and cost $12 million, as opposed…
West End wannabe
The love that asks no questions, the love that pays the price… The amount of unconditional love sloshing about at…
M.C. Escher: limited, repetitive, but he deserves a place in art history
‘Surely,’ mused the Dutch artist M.C. Escher, ‘it is a bit absurd to draw a few lines and then claim:…
Fantasy on ice
In this exciting new era of Spectator cruises I have been put in mind of a dream event long in…
Fantasy on ice
In this exciting new era of Spectator cruises I have been put in mind of a dream event long in…
Northern Ireland Opera’s Turandot will fill you with awe and revulsion
Chords as bright and sweet as pomegranate seeds burst and spill in Turandot, a splinter of bitterness at their centre.…
Northern Ireland Opera’s Turandot will fill you with awe and revulsion
Chords as bright and sweet as pomegranate seeds burst and spill in Turandot, a splinter of bitterness at their centre.…
Glyndebourne caters to the lower-middle classes not past-it toffs
What is Glyndebourne? A middle-aged Bullingdon. That’s a common view: a luxury bun fight for past-it toffs who glug champagne,…
Glyndebourne caters to the lower-middle classes not past-it toffs
What is Glyndebourne? A middle-aged Bullingdon. That’s a common view: a luxury bun fight for past-it toffs who glug champagne,…
Community listening
There’s been a lot of fanfare and trailers about BBC Radio’s new ‘online first’ facility. We can now get hold…
Community listening
There’s been a lot of fanfare and trailers about BBC Radio’s new ‘online first’ facility. We can now get hold…
Why most four-year-olds deserve to be sectioned
The first episode of Let Us Entertain You (BBC2, Wednesday) definitely couldn’t be accused of lacking a central thesis. Presenter…
Culture Buff
Mark Twain famously said ‘Golf is a good walk … ruined’. Bondi locals possibly think that Sculpture by the Sea…
Shaken, not stirred
Spectre is the 24th film in the Bond franchise, the fourth starring Daniel Craig, the second directed by Sam Mendes,…
Of gods and men
Over the stupefyingly long course of Egyptian history, gods have been born and they have died. Some 4,000 years ago,…
Wherefore art thou Romeo?
You always remember your first time, don’t you? And in ballet one imagines that Juliet wants to remember her first…
Unreliable evidence
I hadn’t really thought much about pixels before, despite spending a large portion of my day looking at them. After…
Hanging offence
Modern Scottish Men, a new exhibition celebrating the achievements of male artists in the 20th century, opens next month in…
Intelligent design
Peter Mandelson, in his moment of pomp, had his portrait taken by Lord Snowdon. He is sitting on a fine…
Maximum Bob
We were like four hapless contestants on University Challenge. None of us knew the answer. But just like they do…
Maximum Bob
We were like four hapless contestants on University Challenge. None of us knew the answer. But just like they do…
Irish ayes
It’s Halloween, and right on lightning-flash cue enters an operatic ghost story exhumed from the grave of long-since-buried works. You…
Irish ayes
It’s Halloween, and right on lightning-flash cue enters an operatic ghost story exhumed from the grave of long-since-buried works. You…
Character assassination
Here are three truths about play-writing. A script without an interval will be structurally flawed. A vague, whimsical title means…
Character assassination
Here are three truths about play-writing. A script without an interval will be structurally flawed. A vague, whimsical title means…
