Arts
The importance of copying
The lunatics were once in charge of the asylum. The first six directors of the National Gallery were all artists:…
The Ava Gardner of the ketamine age: Lana Del Rey, at Leeds Festival, reviewed
As the American superstar starts singing another slow, sad, rather beautiful song, my mind begins to drift. I’m thinking that…
The Terminator is still the best
The Terminator is James Cameron’s first film, made a star of Arnold Schwarzenegger, is celebrating its 40th anniversary – there’s…
Aggressively jaded: Edinburgh’s Marriage of Figaro reviewed
‘Boo!’ came a voice from the stalls. ‘Boo. Outrage!’ It was hard not to feel a pang of admiration. British…
Glamour or guilt? The perils of marketing the British country house
The most angst-ridden sub-category of the very rich – admittedly a lucky bunch to start with – must surely contain…
A man of incomparable beauty
It was sad to see that great French actor Alain Delon had died the other day. He was a man…
A familiar OE-led balls-up: Rory Stewart’s The Long History of Ignorance reviewed
In my next life I intend to have my brain removed in order to become a telly executive. You know:…
Britain’s youngest summer opera festival is seriously impressive
Waterperry is one of the UK’s youngest summer opera festivals: it started up in 2018, at the northern limit of…
How did we ever come to accept the inhumane excesses of capitalism?
What was neoliberalism? In its most recent iteration, we think of the market seeping into every minute corner of human…
The best film you won’t go and see this week: Widow Clicquot reviewed
August is known as ‘dump month’. It’s when the most forgettable films are released on the grounds that people don’t…
The cast mistake screaming for comedy: Cockfosters, at Turbine Theatre, reviewed
The Turbine Theatre is a newish venue beneath the railway arches of Grosvenor Bridge in Battersea. The comfy auditorium is…
Too bombastic to be country music: Post Malone’s F-1 Trillion reviewed
Grade: B Country music has become the acceptable route through which American pop stars resuscitate their floundering careers: sales are…
Why are these dead-eyed K-pop groups represented as some kind of ideal?
On Saturday, Made in Korea: The K-pop Experience began by hailing K-pop as ‘the multi-billion-pound music that’s taken the world…
Triumphant: Big Thief, at Green Man, reviewed
One of the first things I learned after seeing Big Thief triumph at Green Man is that some long-time fans…
The power of surprise
You would think that Andrew Bovell, the man who wrote Lantana, would not be subject to the petty indignities of…
Please stop making Alien movies
In the Alien films, a xenomorph is a monstrous, all-consuming life form that exists only to make more and more…
This Edinburgh Fringe comedian is headed for stardom
Dr Phil Hammond is a hilarious and wildly successful comedian whose career is built on the ruins of the NHS.…
In defence of Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Grand Duke
Artistic partnerships are elusive things. The best – where two creative personalities somehow inspire or goad each other to do…
Fun, frenetic and only a little gauche: Declan McKenna, at the Edinburgh Playhouse, reviewed
Towards the end of Declan McKenna’s snappy, enjoyable 90-minute set at the Edinburgh International Festival, something quite powerful occurs. The…
Porcelain-painting during the French revolution
People don’t accumulate stuff any more. When the late Victorian houses on our street change hands their interiors are stripped…
A fiery examination of the damage wrought by internet culture
Historically, when a woman was giving birth, she was attended by the women she trusted most, including her child’s prospective…
About as edgy as Banksy: Joe Rogan’s Netflix special reviewed
My resolution this summer was to see how far into the Olympics I could get without watching an event. It’s…
Immersive and spectacular: Piet Oudolf’s new borders at RHS Wisley reviewed
Piet Oudolf’s long borders at Wisley were worn out. The famous designer had in fact become a bit embarrassed by…
The standard of beauty
Maxim Vengerov is touted as one of the world’s greatest violinists, the kind of musician who can fill Carnegie Hall…
