Arts
Making a mint
Send George Osborne to the Tower, then he might learn that currency manipulation rarely ends well. Coins and Kings occupies…
Hooked on classics
Tradition is often frowned on. Yet, if properly handled, it can be sheer fun and pure bliss, as demonstrated by…
How Manet was influenced by the artists of the Renaissance
Roderick Conway Morris on the French master’s love affair with the art and artists of the Renaissance
Compare and contrast Rodin and Moore
One generation is usually so busy reacting against its predecessors that it can take years for a balanced appreciation of…
70th anniversary of Composer of the Week
Mention of the 70th anniversary of Composer of the Week brings to mind a distinguished list of long-running programmes on…
Thwarted love between geriatrics
This is brilliant. The new play by Oliver Cotton, a 69-year-old actor, is set in New York in 1986. An…
Michael Tanner’s Glyndebourne experience is ruined by the traffic
What could be more delightful than going to Gyndebourne with someone who has never been before, arriving in time for…
Sandra Bullock must be blindfolded when she picks her movies
Sandra Bullock is a highly watchable actress and she seems like she’d be fun to hang out with — I…
Lenny Henry’s tear-jerker
Every so often a programme comes along that completely alters the way you think about something you thought you understood.…
Clarissa Tan experiences the greatest show on earth, and laughs
I watched Top Gear (BBC2, Sunday) for the first time in my life last week (the rock under which I’ve…
Punchdrunk’s bizarre spectacle
Standing enthusiastically by as a naked man writhes in agony might not be everyone’s cup of tea. But this is…
Voyeurs all
Standing enthusiastically by as a naked man writhes in agony might not be everyone’s cup of tea. But this is…
Voyeurs all
Standing enthusiastically by as a naked man writhes in agony might not be everyone’s cup of tea. But this is…
Interview: David Haig on King Lear and The Wright Way
Lloyd Evans meets the ever-versatile David Haig
Why has nobody heard of the miraculous Czech composer Zelenka?
When I was in my late twenties I discovered the joy of drinking alone. Well, perhaps ‘joy’ is putting it…
Is Richard Rogers still a rebel?
‘Lounge suit’ is normally a reliable signifier of supine gentility. But there it was on the invitation to Richard Rogers’s…
Modernist Marxists skew the Lowry exhibition
There has been much positive comment about the rehang of the Tate’s permanent collection, which sees a welcome return to…
The National Theatre of Scotland has done more to demean Scotland’s cultural reputation than anything I can think of
West End producers are itching to get their hands on the new show at the Bush. Mama Mia’s director, Phyllida…
A formidable cast for Covent Garden’s Capriccio
Richard Strauss’s operatic swansong Capriccio made an elegant and untaxing conclusion to the Royal Opera’s season. It was done in…
At last, a film about proper women who aren’t just drippily searching for love
Frances Ha will make many spit ‘Frances…Bah!’ but I won’t be among them. Yes, it is rather kooky, and highly…
What was the point of Burton and Taylor?
Watching Burton and Taylor (BBC4, Monday) I felt a bit like I do when I go to the theatre —…
The BBC bows to celebrity
The licence fee is both a blessing and a curse for the BBC. The clue is in that nickname —…
A secret gallery at Hyde Park Corner
A rare jewel sits in the middle of the Hyde Park Corner roundabout. The Quadrant Gallery, run by English Heritage,…
Battle of the buildings
A rare jewel sits in the middle of the Hyde Park Corner roundabout. The Quadrant Gallery, run by English Heritage,…
Wilful expression
‘Lounge suit’ is normally a reliable signifier of supine gentility. But there it was on the invitation to Richard Rogers’s…
