Arts
Racists will love it: National Theatre's Death of England – Delroy reviewed
Death of England: Delroy is a companion piece to Death of England, which ran in February at the NT and…
I miss the faint hiss of a spinning foot: Royal Ballet – Live reviewed
Ballet lovers driven square-eyed by a drip feed of livestreaming and archive footage have been pining for the patter of…
I’ve heard worse things — the death rattle of a close relative, for example: Kylie’s Disco reviewed
Grade: B– Uh-oh. Might have to be careful here, pull my punches a little bit. The editor is a big…
Boldly going where hundreds have gone before: Brave New Planet podcast reviewed
Since technology is developing at such light-speed pace, why does it feel so strangely slow? There is a sense that…
Did any of this actually happen? The Crown, season four, reviewed
‘We have to stop it now!’ says Princess Margaret (Helena Bonham Carter), smoking another cigarette, obviously. She’s talking about the…
A gripping portrait: Billie reviewed
This documentary about Billie Holiday is transfixing. Not just because it’s about Billie Holiday — I am not into jazz…
Sean Connery
Sean Connery outlived all of them, those great British actors who came to such prominence in the early Sixties: Richard…
Simon Fieldhouse Mozart Statue, Vienna
Simon Fieldhouse is a Sydney- based artist who has developed a very particular area of expression. Typically, he uses watercolour…
Antony Gormley on why sculpture is far superior to painting
In an extract from their book, Antony Gormley tells Martin Gayford that the 3-D will always trump the 2-D
The Beeb could turn this script into TV gold: Howerd's End reviewed
It’s touch and go whether the theatre will survive this latest assault. Some venues have pushed back their entire programme…
Unobtrusively filmed, powerfully performed but still unsatisfying: LSO's Bluebeard reviewed
The timing couldn’t be better. Just as the gates clang shut on another national lockdown, trapping us all indefinitely with…
The shocking story of Charles and Mary Lamb: Slightly Foxed podcast reviewed
The Slightly Foxed podcast, like the quarterly and old bookshop of the same name, is almost muskily lovely. It’s the…
Tranquil, silky and serene: Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Lazuli Sky reviewed
When Carlos Acosta was named artistic director of Birmingham Royal Ballet in January of this year, he announced ambitious plans…
Every scene Sophia Loren isn’t in feels like a wasted one: The Life Ahead reviewed
The Life Ahead stars Sophia Loren, and if there is one reason to see The Life Ahead it is this:…
Is The Undoing properly great or just a run-of-mill thriller with a brilliant casting director?
There must be some people somewhere who vaguely know their own spouses — but if so, they don’t tend to…
Rebecca
Imagine daring to make another version of Rebecca. Hitchcock’s 1940 film is the version that is bound to overshadow any…
Neil Armfield’s Dream
Benjamin Britten’s setting of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is an outstanding achievement. In Australia, we have experienced two exceptional…
'We're all members of the Stasi now': Irvine Welsh interviewed
The arts are everywhere under attack from those who claim offence, writes Nina Power. Irvine Welsh steps into the fray with a documentary on the new censorship
Has Spitting Image ever been funny?
Thank you, Spitting Image, for the nostalgia trip! Your new series on BritBox has rekindled with almost Proustian fidelity those…
You won’t be able to look away: Shirley reviewed
This week, two electrifying performances in two excellent films rather than two mediocre performances in the one mediocre film —…
Finally a lockdown drama that will endure: James Graham's Bubble reviewed
Theatres can open if they want to. That’s the current position. The only factor keeping a playhouse dark is a…
One of the greatest of all outsider artists: Alfred Wallis at Kettle’s Yard reviewed
Alfred Wallis (1855-1942) should be an inspiration to all late starters. It was not until he had passed the age…
A new opera that deserves more than one outing: Royal Opera's New Dark Age reviewed
It’s quite a title sequence. Puccini swells on the soundtrack and words flash before your eyes. ‘Ecstatic!’ ‘Spellbound!’ ‘Passionate!’ ‘Dazzled!’…
One of the few genuine British visionaries at work today: Richard Dawson at the Barbican reviewed
How hard must it be to make music that sounds like no one else? And how unrewarding, often, as well?…
Orson Welles
The journals of the plague year from the point of view of culture are getting weirder and weirder from Daniel…
