Satire
A post-Brexit entertainment: The Proof of My Innocence, by Jonathan Coe, reviewed
A satire on radical economic libertarianism combines with a cosy Cotswold murder mystery in an ingenious series of stories within stories
Nothing was off-limits for ‘the usual gang of idiots’ at Mad
First published in 1952, the satirical magazine helped free the American youth of Vietnam War era of some of the stupidest beliefs they were supposed to hold about their country
Do men and women need different podcasts?
Do men and women need different podcasts? The notion goes against the unisex, every-sex, what-is-sex-anyway culture we have come to…
Headed for the canon: Withnail and I, at the Birmingham Rep, reviewed
After nearly 40 years, Withnail has arrived on stage. Sean Foley directs Bruce Robinson’s adaptation, which starts with a live…
Fools rush in: Mania, by Lionel Shriver, reviewed
In an alternative universe where the Mental Parity Movement holds sway, the ignorant and unqualified are deemed ‘just as good as anyone else’ – with predictable results
Fast and furious: America Fantastica, by Tim O’Brien, reviewed
As the avalanche of lies issuing from the White House morphs into the pandemic, Covid becomes in an engine of justice in this rollicking satire on Trumpworld
A satire on the American art world: One Woman Show, by Christine Coulson, reviewed
Rich, pretty Kitty has been admired since childhood – but will the Park Avenue princess spend her entire life as a collectable object for connoisseurs?
Ugly and humdrum: Brokeback Mountain, at @sohoplace, reviewed
Brokeback Mountain, a play with music, opens in a scruffy bedroom where a snowy-haired tramp finds a lumberjack’s shirt and…
An eye for the absurd
Come for the satire, stay for the one-liners, and take succour from the hope Walter finds in a world where everyone needs an angel from time to time
Pure scorn without wit or insight: Triangle of Sadness reviewed
The latest film from Ruben Ostlund received an eight-minute standing ovation after its screening in Cannes and also won the…
P.J. O’Rourke’s death marks the end of a great satirical era
Fond memories of the great satirist
Scholars and spectres: The Runes Have Been Cast, by Robert Irwin, reviewed
It could be said that the power of a horror story depends on the possibility, however minute, of it being…
A book trade romp: Sour Grapes, by Dan Rhodes, reviewed
Dan Rhodes’s career might be regarded as an object lesson in How Not to Get Ahead in Publishing. Our man…
Up there with Succession and Chernobyl: The White Lotus, Sky Atlantic, reviewed
Every now and then, you see a new series — Succession, say, or Chernobyl or To the Lake — which…
A mighty contest from trivial things — the quarrel between Alexander Pope and Edmund Curll
Rapid technological advance, a dark underworld of uncensored publishing, a threatened rupture with Scotland, even fears of a new outbreak…
Praise be to our benevolent Big Tech Overlords
It is done. The Dark Lord has been vanquished. His threatening aura has been purged from Twitter, along with many…
A conciliatory P.J. O’Rourke is not the satirist we know and love
There was an acidic bravura and beauty in P.J. O’Rourke’s early journalism and a gleefulness in the ease with which…
Letter from the online trenches
November 7, 2020 To my dear parents, Victory. Uttering the word feels strange after four long years of battle. But…
Enough plotlines to power several seasons of The West Wing: BBC1's Roadkill reviewed
Like many a political thriller before it, BBC1’s Roadkill began with a politician emerging into the daylight to face a…
Antifa for Biden
Hey folks, it’s me, your friendly neighborhood antifa ringleader. You may recognize me from such news clips as ‘Small group…
What stunts should we expect to see at future State of the Unions?
The State of the Union is like that annual meeting where the boss says it was a triumphant year as…
Fabulous and enthralling: Parasite reviewed
Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite won the Bafta for best foreign film and is up for six Oscars and it is an…
The art of pregnancy
Pregnancy has always been a public spectacle – and as the Foundling Museum’s new exhibition shows, a dangerous one
My evening with the Bernie Bros
The stench of beer and cheap deodorant filled the bar in which the ‘Bernie Bros’ were meeting. The scene looked…
