Arts
German refugees transformed British cultural life - but at a price
German-speaking refugees dragged British culture into the 20th century. But that didn’t go down well in Stepney or Stevenage, says William Cook
Horridly magnificent - but real problems occur when anyone opens their mouth: Macbeth reviewed
Who goes to big-screen Shakespeare? Not theatre-goers much, and with reason. Apart from the odd corker by Kurosawa, arguably Olivier…
Thank god for bored wives: Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk at the ENO reviewed
‘Kiss me, Sergei! Kiss me hard! Kiss me until the icons fall and split!’ sings Katerina Ismailova, adulterous antiheroine of…
The best ballerinas in Britain at the moment are hairy and male
There was blood on the walls and floor at the birth of Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet in 1965. The…
Culture buff
1989 saw the establishment by Paul Dyer of the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra with the assistance of Bruce Applebaum as General…
Half-brilliant: Mr Foote’s Other Leg at Hampstead Theatre reviewed
Samuel Foote (1720–77) was a star of the 18th-century stage who avoided the censors by extemporising his performances. Today we’d…
Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s films verge on the incomprehensible — but that doesn’t stop him being a genius
London’s Goethe-Institut has a two-month season of films of Rainer Werner Fassbinder (whose 70th anniversary it’s celebrating), but only five…
On the frontiers of figuration, abstraction and total immateriality
The artist, according to Walter Sickert, ‘is he who can take a piece of flint and wring out of it…
James Delingpole discovers the fons et origo of indie music
I really hadn’t meant to write a postscript to last week’s column on my dark Supertramp past. But then along…
Why we should embrace being average
Maybe what we love about radio is the way that most of its programming allows us the luxury of staying…
Speech impediment
Who goes to big-screen Shakespeare? Not theatre-goers much, and with reason. Apart from the odd corker by Kurosawa, arguably Olivier…
Incomprehensible genius
London’s Goethe-Institut has a two-month season of films of Rainer Werner Fassbinder (whose 70th anniversary it’s celebrating), but only five…
Gutted!
There was blood on the walls and floor at the birth of Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet in 1965. The…
Now you see it, now you don’t
The artist, according to Walter Sickert, ‘is he who can take a piece of flint and wring out of it…
Lady killer
‘Kiss me, Sergei! Kiss me hard! Kiss me until the icons fall and split!’ sings Katerina Ismailova, adulterous antiheroine of…
Lady killer
‘Kiss me, Sergei! Kiss me hard! Kiss me until the icons fall and split!’ sings Katerina Ismailova, adulterous antiheroine of…
Foote fault
Samuel Foote (1720–77) was a star of the 18th-century stage who avoided the censors by extemporising his performances. Today we’d…
Foote fault
Samuel Foote (1720–77) was a star of the 18th-century stage who avoided the censors by extemporising his performances. Today we’d…
Special effects
Maybe what we love about radio is the way that most of its programming allows us the luxury of staying…
Special effects
Maybe what we love about radio is the way that most of its programming allows us the luxury of staying…
Independents’ day
I really hadn’t meant to write a postscript to last week’s column on my dark Supertramp past. But then along…
Hitler’s émigrés
Next week Frank Auerbach will be honoured by the British art establishment with a one-man show at Tate Britain. It’s…
Culture buff
The popularity of Writers’ Festivals is a growing cultural phenomenon matched by the boom in book groups. Now, book groups…
Don McCullin interview: ‘I take more than I bring. That’s not a role I’m proud of’
Jenny McCartney talks to the celebrated photojournalist about war, guilt and Aylan
When technology was art: Cosmonauts at the Science Museum reviewed
‘The dominant narrative of space,’ I was told, in that strange language curators employ, ‘is America.’ Quite so. Kennedy stared…
