Badenoch’s ‘chaos’ attack on Starmer will be less effective than she hopes
Fists flew at Prime Minister’s Questions. The party leaders sprang from their corners and bashed each other repeatedly in the…
Everyone should see the Globe’s brilliant new production of The Crucible
Sanity returns to the Globe. Recent modern-dress productions have failed to make use of the theatre’s virtues as a historical…
The naked truth about life modelling
When I left university, I prepared for a short spell of poverty while I sent off amusing and opinionated articles…
Butlin’s is cashing in on nostalgia
Butlin’s is no longer a holiday ‘camp’. The company has evolved from its postwar heyday and now describes its properties…
Magnificent: The Deep Blue Sea, at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, reviewed
Richard Bean appears to be Hampstead Theatre’s in-house dramatist, and his new effort, House of Games, is based on a…
Badenoch responded well to Starmer’s winter fuel U-turn
That hardly ever happens. A major climbdown was announced in the house of commons at PMQs. Sir Keir Starmer used…
Two hours of yakking about Israel: Giant, at the Harold Pinter Theatre, reviewed
Two hours of yakking about Israel. That’s all you get from Giant at the Harold Pinter Theatre. Endless wittering laced…
Badenoch lacked bite at PMQs. Again
Sir Keir Starmer had a new song today at PMQs. The Tories are finished. He said it twice to Kemi…
What happened to Canterbury?
War is raging over Canterbury’s future. Only two Labour councillors are left in the whole of Kent, in the north and…
Delightful nostalgia for political wonks: The Gang of Three, at the King’s Head Theatre, reviewed
The Gang of Three gets into the nitty-gritty of Labour politics in the 1970s. It opens with the resignation of…
Starmer used Kemi’s words against her at PMQs. It worked
Kemi Badenoch tried two ambushes at PMQs. She lambasted Sir Keir Starmer for cutting the winter fuel allowance and leaving…
Pure gold: My Master Builder, at Wyndham’s Theatre, reviewed
My Master Builder is a new version of Ibsen’s classic with a tweaked title and a transformed storyline. Henry and…
Is Starmer more afraid of Badenoch or Farage?
We have two leaders of the opposition. Labour can’t decide which is the larger threat. Prime Minister’s Questions opened with a…
The case for replacing nurses with robots
Tending is a work of activism on behalf of the NHS. The script brings together the testimony of 70 nurses…
PMQs: Kemi had Keir on the ropes
Women and Sir Keir Starmer. That was the issue that dominated a fiery PMQs today. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch asked…
Those behind this fabulous new comedy are destined for big things
Rhinoceros by Eugene Ionesco is a period piece from 1959. It opens with the invasion of a French village by…
A horribly intriguing dramatic portrait of Raoul Moat
Robert Icke’s new play examines one of the least appetising characters in British criminal history. Raoul Moat went on a…
Visit the King’s Head Theatre for one of the greatest theatrical surprises of the year
Amanda Abbington’s new show is heavily indebted to Noël Coward’s Hay Fever.Coward’s early play follows the tribulations of the superficial…
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…
