Arts
The acting rescues it: National Theatre’s Othello reviewed
Crude eccentricities damage the potential brilliance of Othello at the National. Some of the visual gestures seem to have been…
Fascinating, plausible ideas undermined by Netflix: Ancient Apocalypse reviewed
Graham Hancock’s Ancient Apocalypse has been described by the Guardian as ‘the most dangerous show on Netflix’. What? More dangerous…
‘What happened in Russia can happen anywhere’: Pussy Riot interviewed
Oliver Basciano talks to Maria Alyokhina of Pussy Riot about Putin-baiting, Ukraine and western hypocrisy
And introducing Michael Caine
It was the night of the Victorian election that might have seen Daniel Andrews fall like Lucifer never to rise…
Quiet yet beautiful – and there’s plenty of sex: Lady Chatterley’s Lover reviewed
If you’re of my generation, I expect your first encounter with D.H Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover was the (well-thumbed) book…
An author speaks out against social censorship: The Reith Lectures reviewed
‘The Age of Anxiety’, W. H. Auden’s book-length poem, has always been described as strange, and difficult. It is an…
Why I love Rod Stewart
Reader, I let you down. But I did so for the right reason: for love. On a night when all…
Mesmerising and eye-opening: Courtauld Gallery’s Fuseli and the Modern Woman reviewed
It’s not until you see this exhibition of drawings by Henry Fuseli that you realise that most artists have really…
A dismaying exercise in nostalgia: Simon Schama’s History of Now reviewed
For those who consider themselves traditional liberals (full disclosure: such as me) Sunday’s first episode of Simon Schama’s History of…
An unexpected heartbreaker: Elf the Musical, at the Dominion Theatre, reviewed
Elf opens with an unbelievable premise. Buddy was abandoned as a baby and adopted by Santa’s elves and he spent…
The sonic equivalent of a Starbucks Eggnog Latte: ENO’s It’s a Wonderful Life reviewed
Whoosh! A digital starburst, a sweep of orchestral sound and the stage of the Coliseum is alive with dancing, whirling…
Why ASMR is evil
Sam Kriss on how we became addicted to ASMR
Firefighters of bounty
Dickens’ A Christmas Carol has been with us for as long as we can remember. The story of the unlovely…
Repellent: Paramount+’s Tulsa King reviewed
TV currently abounds with ‘I thought they were dead’ revival projects: series in which your favourite 1980s movie stars are…
Wordy, overwritten flop – perfect for the BBC: Noor, at Southwark Playhouse, reviewed
A heroic Asian woman parachutes into occupied France to work for the resistance and help overthrow the Nazis. This sounds…
I soaked my jumper with tears: The Last Flight Home reviewed
If you’re planning on seeing The Last Flight Home at the cinema, don’t make any plans for afterwards as you’ll…
The highlight was a dazzling duet from Pam Tanowitz: The Royal Ballet – A Diamond Celebration reviewed
The Koh-i-Noor in this Diamond Celebration of 60 years of the Friends of the Royal Opera House garnered the least…
Like A-ha after an extensive rewilding process: Sigur Ros, at Usher Hall, reviewed
Plus: it’s quite clear that MUNA are going to be huge What is it with Icelanders and mushrooms? Just weeks…
Does gender matter? Making Modernism, at the Royal Academy, reviewed
The catalogue to Making Modernism opens with an acknowledgment from the Royal Academy’s first female president, Rebecca Salter, that in…
A once-great engine of culture, slowly running out of steam: the BBC at 100
Tanjil Rashid on the BBC at 100
Minimalist but highly imaginative
If you live in the suburb of Hawthorn in the midst of all that leafy greenness, in the federal seat…
Rebecca Humphries is dynamite – pity about the play: Blackout Songs, at Hampstead Theatre, reviewed
Viewers watching a good romcom need to fall in love with three things. The boy, the girl and the affair…
Riveting: C4’s Who Stole the World Cup reviewed
Have you ever seen film of the England 1966 football team holding the World Cup at the Royal Garden Hotel,…
Hugely entertaining: Royal Opera’s Alcina reviewed
A hotel bellboy, the story goes, discovered George Best in a luxury suite surrounded by scantily clad lovelies and empty…
