Race
Viktor Orbán won't save conservatism
It’s always the ones you most expect. Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán, nationalist strongman and post-liberal poster-boy gave a speech…
Why the Tories are more diverse than Labour
‘The candidates fighting to replace Boris Johnson as Conservative party leader and Britain’s prime minister reflect the country’s rich diversity,’…
Right play, wrong place: The Fellowship, at Hampstead Theatre, reviewed
Roy Williams’s new play is a wonky beast. It has two dense and cumbersome storylines that aren’t properly developed. Dawn…
Bloated waffle: Jitney at the Old Vic reviewed
The Old Vic’s new show, Jitney, has a mystifying YouTube advert which gives no information about the play or the…
The dishonesty of how we respond to tragedies
It isn’t hard to notice that some crimes are more important than others. Or at least more politically advantageous. It…
Angry diatribes and amusing pranks: Donmar Warehouse's Marys Seacole reviewed
The title of the Donmar’s new effort, Marys Seacole, appears to be a misprint and that makes the reader look…
This Trump satire is too soft on Sleepy Joe and Cackling Kamala: The 47th at the Old Vic reviewed
Trump is said to be a gift for bad satirists and a problem for good ones. He dominates Mike Bartlett’s…
The sad demise of Brooks Brothers
New York Our own Douglas Murray is the canary in the Bagel coal mine as of late. The left controls…
Kemi Badenoch: the curriculum does not need ‘decolonising’
When the government published a report last year by the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities (CRED) into racism in the…
Were old children’s history books racist?
Are children’s history books racist?
Kamala Harris and the problem of affirmative action
In lauding Joe Biden’s promise to fill the upcoming vacancy on the US Supreme Court with a black woman, last…
Borderline soft porn but thrilling: Moulin Rouge! The Musical at Piccadilly Theatre reviewed
Moulin Rouge wins no marks for its storyline. A struggling Parisian theatre is bought out by an evil financier who…
One of the best nights of my life: Hampstead Theatre's Peggy For You reviewed
Hampstead Theatre has revived a play about Peggy Ramsay, the legendary West End agent who shaped the careers of Joe…
The mind virus killing academia
We lost a giant last month with E.O. Wilson’s passing. A man who stood on Darwin’s shoulders, Wilson had that…
Why? Spielberg's remake of West Side Story reviewed
When you first hear that a remake of West Side Story is on the cards, it’s: God, why? Why would…
An amazing technical achievement: Life of Pi at Wyndham's Theatre reviewed
Yann Martel’s novel Life of Pi is a complicated organism. The action starts in southern India where we meet a…
The joy of being cancelled
New York I’ve never met anyone called Othello, certainly not in Venice nor in Cyprus, but perhaps there are men…
What's the truth about Kyle Rittenhouse?
On the night of 25 August 2020, Richie McGinniss, a somewhat gonzo video journalist interviewed Kyle Rittenhouse, for the right-wing Daily Caller website. Rittenhouse wore his…
I’ve been back one week and the good old US of A has never seemed more depressing
New York Don’t let anyone tell you the Bagel is worse off than Kabul, where three people were recently shot…
Exquisite to look at, strangely tense and wholly riveting: Netflix's Passing reviewed
Passing is Rebecca Hall’s adaptation of the Nella Larsen novella (1929) about two biracial women, one of whom chooses to…
How the culture wars are killing Western classical music
Ian Pace on musicology’s culture wars
A well-meaning but dull Official History: Olivier's Normal Heart reviewed
The Normal Heart is not about Aids. Larry Kramer’s play is set in New York in 1981 at a time…
Hugely pleasurable – a vision of summer: Jennifer Packer at the Serpentine Gallery reviewed
We need to talk about Eric. In Jennifer Packer’s portrait of her friend and fellow artist, Eric N. Mack sits…
Britain is a tolerant country and a few football racists don't change that
The racist messages sent to England football players in recent days are shameful, but to suggest that the UK is a festering hotbed…
Why do those who abuse Priti Patel get a free pass?
Remember when Labour MP Clive Lewis got into trouble for saying, ‘On your knees, bitch’? It was at a fringe…
