Arts
Paloma Faith interview: 'If you do something enough times, it becomes you'
Paloma Faith has forced herself to become confident, she tells Matthew Stadlen,but sometimes she still has to put on a brave face
Addicted to Vole
Earworm: what a wonderful word. It describes, as nothing else quite can, the effect a really invasive melody can have…
The British Museum's Vikings: part provincial exhibit, part gripping drama
Exhibitions are made for two main reasons: education and entertainment. Although I recognise the importance of education I am, by…
ENO's Rodelinda: near-perfect singing, perfectly gimmicky direction
I wasn’t going to write about Handel’s Rodelinda, wasn’t even intending to go, but thanks to the kindness of the…
Rape, porn and Cheesy Wotsits
Interesting times at Soho Theatre. One of its outstanding shows of last year, Fleabag, was an offbeat Gothic love story…
A film to enjoy with your eyes
The Grand Budapest Hotel is the latest Wes Anderson film and it is beautiful to look at, scrumptious, luscious, such…
Is True Detective worth sticking with? The jury's out
I’ve got this brilliant idea for a major new cop series. It’s called Chalk and Cheese and, though you won’t…
Listening to genocide – and what came next
It doesn’t take long for an international event of historic importance to fall off the news agenda. Ukraine is still…
Behind the scenes at Spitting Image
If Margaret Thatcher is remembered by many more as a caricature than as her actual self, then blame Spitting Image.…
Blast from the past
If Margaret Thatcher is remembered by many more as a caricature than as her actual self, then blame Spitting Image.…
Blast from the past
If Margaret Thatcher is remembered by many more as a caricature than as her actual self, then blame Spitting Image.…
The torture of earworms
Earworm: what a wonderful word. It describes, as nothing else quite can, the effect a really invasive melody can have…
The torture of earworms
Earworm: what a wonderful word. It describes, as nothing else quite can, the effect a really invasive melody can have…
'At last I wasn't worried about making pictures': an interview with Mark Shields
Andrew Lambirth talks to Mark Shields, an artist whose work transcends the specific
Hannah Höch – from Dada firebrand to poet of collage
I suspect I am not alone in finding it surprising to encounter at the close of this exhibition an unexpected…
Who knew that Cézanne had a sense of humour?
Tourists are attracted to queues, art lovers to quietude. So while the mass of Monet fans visiting Paris line up…
The best exhibition of architecture I have ever experienced
Curtain walls, dreaming spires, crockets, finials, cantilevers, bush-hammered concrete, vermiculated rustication, heroic steel and delicate Cosmati work are all diverse…
The Ikon Gallery's greatest hits
In a crowded storeroom at Ikon, Birmingham’s contemporary art gallery, its director Jonathan Watkins is unwrapping the pictures for his…
Why is Tippett's King Priam so difficult to love?
The difference between lovable, likable and admirable is perhaps more significant in the operatic world than in other artistic spheres…
I'm proud to say The Book Thief couldn't pull my heartstrings
The Book Thief is based on Markus Zusak’s novel of the same name which, although written for young adults, appears…
Less subsidy means better music
One of the unlooked-for side effects of the financial crisis has been what might be called the desocialising of music…
Superior Donuts – a very irritating success
Tracy Letts, of the Chicago company Steppenwolf, has written one of the best plays of the past ten years. August:…
A quietly stunning quest for Bonnie Prince Charlie
What if Bonnie Prince Charlie, as he swept down from Scotland towards London to lay claim to the throne, hadn’t…
The Today programme's 'Phwoof!' moment
‘Phwhoof!’ exclaimed Evan at 8.27, before reluctantly turning us over to the sport report on Saturday morning’s Today (Radio 4).…
Do critics make good artists? Come and judge ours
Artists make good critics, but do critics make good artists? It’s hard to tell, when most are too chicken to…
