I am deeply impressed by Ayoub Khan
Kemi Badenoch is doing all right at PMQs. The Tory leader is effective in the build-up but her finishing is…
I wish someone would kill or eat useless Totoro
My Neighbour Totoro is a hugely successful show based on a Japanese movie made in 1988. The setting is a…
Reeves’s Spring Statement just doesn’t add up
Is Rachel Reeves toast? Not according to her. The Chancellor delivered an aggressively self-confident statement about Labour’s spending plans this…
The Zoom call that confirmed my fears about Just Stop Oil
Just Stop Oil are their own worst enemies. I support their aims and I do my best to minimise my…
Irresistible: Clueless, at the Trafalgar Theatre, reviewed
Cher Horowitz, the central character in Clueless, is one of the most irritating heroines in the history of movies. She’s…
Starmer looked scared of Badenoch at PMQs
At PMQs this week, Sir Keir Starmer got a proper grilling for a change. Kemi Badenoch used smarter tactics: short…
A treat for nostalgic wrinklies: Punk Off!, at the Dominion Theatre, reviewed
Punk rock, packaged, parcelled, and boxed up as a treat for nostalgic wrinklies. That’s the deal with Punk Off!, a…
Is Kemi Badenoch getting better at PMQs?
If Kemi Badenoch has a plan, she’s keeping it hidden. At PMQs she used her scattergun approach to complain about…
My brush with a rabid monkey
India A crowded bus station. A lady monkey with a baby clinging to its neck sidled past me, eyeing the banana…
Brian Cox’s Bach has to be heading for Broadway
The Score is a fine example of meat-and-potatoes theatre. Simple plotting, big characters, terrific speeches and a happy ending. The…
PMQs was a façade
A bit of a stitch-up at PMQs, or so it seemed. The ‘opposition’ leader, Kemi Badenoch, ignored her duty to…
Shakespeare as cruise-ship entertainment: Jamie Lloyd’s Much Ado About Nothing reviewed
Nicholas Hytner’s Richard II is a high-calibre version of a fascinating story. A king reluctantly yields his crown to a…
We saw the real Keir Starmer at PMQs – and it was ugly
Strange atmosphere at PMQs. Our MPs seemed to believe that the Commons debate was a vital briefing session for Sir…
Tedious and threadbare: Unicorn, at the Garrick Theatre, reviewed
Unicorn, Mike Bartlett’s new play, involves some characters in chairs discussing a sexual threesome. That’s the entire show. Polly (Nicola…
If you have two hours to spare, spend it anywhere but here: The Years reviewed
The Years is a monologue spoken by a handful of actresses, some young, some old enough to carry bus passes.…
Kemi is starting to sound like Sir Keir
Kemi Badenoch has made PMQs her own. Her own what? Her own select committee. That’s how she runs it. She…
Stylish facsimile of Carol Reed’s film: Oliver!, at the Gielgud Theatre, reviewed
Oliver! directed by Matthew Bourne is billed as a ‘fully reconceived’ version of Lionel Bart’s musical. Very little seems to…
Kemi finally has a good PMQs
Genuinely, a historic day at PMQs. The plates are shifting. Labour whips spotted that Nigel Farage’s name was on the…
An excellent sixth-form drama project: Santi & Naz, at Soho Theatre, reviewed
Santi & Naz is a drama set in the Punjab in 1947 that uses an ancient and thrilling storyline about…
Starmer can’t keep blaming the Tories
Great stuff from Kemi Badenoch at PMQs. She was entertaining, tricky, probing, unpredictable. If she keeps this up she may…
The Traitors finale was a cruel spectacle
Blame Covid. That’s the origin of the BBC’s hit game-show, The Traitors. Workplaces are still deserted as people sit in…
Pious bilge: Kyoto, at @sohoplace, reviewed
The West End’s new political show, Kyoto, can’t be classed as a drama. A drama involves a main character engaged…
Cheerless and fussy: The Tempest, at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, reviewed
The Tempest is Shakespeare’s farewell, his final masterpiece or, if you’re being cynical, the play that made him jack it…
Keir can thank God for Kemi
Robots will never replace Sir Keir Starmer. No need. Silicon Valley is already using him as the template for an…
Exquisite: Tom Stoppard’s The Invention of Love, at Hampstead Theatre, reviewed
The Invention of Love opens with death. Tom Stoppard’s play about A.E. Housman starts on the banks of the Styx,…
