Arts
Searching in vain for The African Queen
What a weird world we inhabit when it comes to popular culture or indeed to any culture high or low.…
Succession works because the writers don’t care about the boring business storylines
I have a theory that many great artists’ strength is a product of their weakness. The flaw of the relentlessly…
Why supergroups nearly always suck
Recently in these pages, ruminating on the ghastly Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I wrote that music does not…
In praise of From Our Own Correspondent
Most of us are familiar with the notion of writer’s block, that paralysis of invention induced by the appalling sight…
Emma Watson’s performance is extraordinary: God’s Creatures reviewed
There are some films that you know will be quality simply by the actors who have agreed to be in…
Flawless: Accidental Death of an Anarchist, at the Lyric Hammersmith, reviewed
Accidental Death of an Anarchist has been performed all over the world with varying degrees of success. Written by Dario…
The opera’s a masterpiece but the production doesn’t quite come off: ENO’s The Dead City reviewed
English National Opera has arrived at the Dead City, and who, before Christmas, would have given odds that this new…
Rich in masterpieces: After Impressionism – Inventing Modern Art, at the National Gallery, reviewed
Getting the words ‘impressionism’ and ‘modern art’ into one exhibition title is a stroke of marketing genius on the part…
How fog gripped the Victorian imagination
Christine L. Corton on how fog gripped the Victorian imagination
Brooding beauty
The prospect of a revival of Rudolf Nureyev’s Don Quixote by the Australian Ballet in Melbourne is a reminder of…
Is the BBC World Service superfluous or a vital adjunct of British diplomacy?
Is the World Service superfluous, or a vital adjunct of British diplomacy, wonders Oscar Edmondson
Don’t miss the exquisite Native-American carvings at the Sainsbury Centre
It’s payback time: women, artists from ethnic minorities and non-western traditions are taking over the exhibition schedules. On the heels…
Pretty, charming and largely unremarkable: Devonte Hynes & the LSO reviewed
Think of pop music as being like the parable of the sower. These days the seed falling on stony ground…
I never knew a game of dominoes could be so menacing: The Beasts reviewed
The Beasts is a rural psychological thriller from Spain that has won many awards across Europe and even though we…
Makes a change to see such reassuringly competent policemen: ITV1’s Grace reviewed
Sunday-night dramas on the two main terrestrial channels definitely aren’t what they used to be. Not so long ago, you…
Drab by comparison to the film: Bonnie & Clyde, at the Garrick Theatre, reviewed
The murderous odyssey of Bonnie and Clyde is a tricky subject for a musical because the characters are such loathsome…
If you’re anywhere near Edinburgh, get a ticket: Scottish Opera’s Il trittico reviewed
It does no harm, once in a while, to assume that the creators of an opera actually know what they’re…
The rise of the modern British B-movie
Robert Jackman on the rise of the modern British B-movie
Deathless dag
You need only pick up Tim Robertson’s Reliques/Pomes to know that you’re in the presence of a man with an…
Why does everyone hate Max Reger?
The German composer Max Reger, born 150 years ago next week, is mostly remembered today for countless elephantine fugues and…
A ripping production with plenty of laughs: Guys and Dolls, at the Bridge Theatre, reviewed
Further than the Furthest Thing is an allegorical play set on a remote island populated by English-speakers from all over…
The most exciting live band in Britain right now: Young Fathers, at the O2 Academy, reviewed
There are several reasons why Young Fathers currently feel like the most exciting live band in Britain, but for now…
A short introduction to the philosophy of Moomin
One of the lesser-known schools of modern philosophy is the Philosophy of Moomin. Like Cynicism or Epicureanism, it is difficult…
Generous, boundless, turbo-charged: Turn It Out with Tiler Peck and Friends, at Sadler’s Wells, reviewed
The death last week at the age of 83 of the sublime Lynn Seymour – muse to Ashton and MacMillan,…
Made me laugh for all the wrong reasons: Allelujah reviewed
Allelujah, based on the stage play by Alan Bennett, is set in a geriatric ward in a Yorkshire hospital and…
