Arts
WNO sinks an unsinkable opera: The Magic Flute, at Birmingham Hippodrome, reviewed
As stage directions go, the The Magic Flute opens with a zinger. ‘Tamino enters from the right wearing a splendid…
From Botticelli to Marvel: why artists love St Francis
Laura Gascoigne on the pulling power of St Francis of Assisi
Dragons, broomsticks and whatnot
It was saddening to hear of the death of the poet John Tranter the other week. For those of us…
Despite the lack of sex, stick with it: Paramount Plus’s Fatal Attraction reviewed
With the current taste for remakes of erotic-thriller movies of the 1980s and ’90s, these are certainly good times for…
A phenomenally exciting new band: The Last Dinner Party, at Camden Assembly, reviewed
A user’s guide to how pop music works in the 21st century. Step one: you see a great new band.…
‘I have uncancelled myself’: David Starkey interviewed
David Starkey’s commentary on the Queen’s funeral on GB News was generally agreed to be the best of all the…
Discover who wrote the catchy music for the coronation of the cannibal Emperor Bokassa
If being asked to write music for the coronation of a king is an honour, then doing it for an…
The magic is missing in this remake: Disney’s Peter Pan & Wendy reviewed
Peter Pan & Wendy is Disney’s latest live-action remake (the animated version was in 1953) and it’s quite the sombre…
Upstart Crow without the jokes: RSC’s Hamnet, at the Swan Theatre, reviewed
The Swan Theatre has reopened after an overhaul and praise god: they’ve replaced the seats. The Swan is a likeable…
So good it would have made Ibsen envious: Dixon and Daughters, at the Dorfman Theatre, reviewed
Dixon and Daughters is a family drama that opens on a note of sour mistrust. We’re in a working-class home…
From Bayeux to Cartier-Bresson: how artists have brought the coronation crowds to life
Dan Hitchens on the art that has shaped our image of the coronation
The preternatural nature of his genius
Is it being a dominion country, a well-heeled colony, that makes this country good at comedy? The death of Barry…
How productive is it to listen to productivity gurus?
I was making my way slowly through one of my dismally prosaic little to-do lists – ‘pay the water bill’…
Purest fantasy but you’ll love it: Tetris reviewed
Tetris is a righteously entertaining movie about the stampede to secure the rights from within the Soviet Union to what…
Americana Coldplay: The National’s First Two Pages of Frankenstein reviewed
Once upon a time, rock bands wished for nothing more than to look as though they posed a clear and…
Hitching them together does neither any favours: Hilma af Klint & Piet Mondrian, at Tate Modern, reviewed
In July 1928, an unknown Swedish woman artist mounted a solo show of her revolutionary abstract paintings at the World…
Famine zones are more fun than this play: Dancing at Lughnasa, at the Olivier Theatre, reviewed
Snowflakes, an excellent title, rehashes The Dumb Waiter by Harold Pinter. A guest in a hotel room is visited by…
Dramatically powerful and sonically beguiling: Innocence, at the Royal Opera House, reviewed
Plus: a striking production of an operatic dud at ENO
A triumph: Nederlands Dans Theater 1, at Sadler’s Wells, reviewed
Yes, yes, I know. You’ve had your fill of David Attenborough’s jeremiads, you’ve heard enough already about climate change catastrophe.…
I cried twice: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry reviewed
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry is an excellent adaptation of Rachel Joyce’s bestselling novel (2012) about a retired old…
John Gielgud and Richard Burton’s fraught, botched, triumphant Hamlet
Robert Gore-Langton on John Gielgud and Richard Burton’s fraught, botched, triumphant Hamlet
A ravishing sensuousness
What a world of paradox painting confronts us with. The death of John Olsen is a reminder of his stature…
Not an experience you’d want to repeat: Shen Yun, at the Eventim Apollo, reviewed
If you live in London, you may well have spotted Shen Yun’s enormous candy-coloured posters on the Underground, endorsed by…
Why do people in theatre hate their audiences?
Lloyd Evans bemoans theatre’s new hostility towards paying punters
