Arts
Elegance and intrigue
Anyone who knows the Sixties can easily be reminded of the beauty and the authority of Sidney Poitier. The MTC…
Gentleman Jack is Northern Ballet’s finest work
Northern Ballet commits itself almost exclusively to dance as a storytelling medium, and its weakness historically has been to home…
The perfect jazz song to play at your funeral
The prospect of the new Paul McCartney album does not set my pulses racing, still less that of the Beatles…
The appeal of doom, stoner and sludge metal
It was odd, walking around Camden Town during Desertfest – the annual weekend-long celebration of doom, stoner and sludge metal…
Haphazard and bitty but Rosie Holt is superb: Churchill’s Urinal reviewed
When Rachel Reeves became Chancellor she found a lavatory in her private suite which had been used by Churchill in…
Thoroughly entertaining: Tuner reviewed
I can’t see why anyone wouldn’t enjoy Tuner. It’s a heist caper as well as a romance and while it…
How did so many fail to appreciate Whistler?
I approached this exhibition like a conscientious critic, poring over the catalogue, the signage, making notes… And then, about halfway…
Undeniably stirring: Dear England reviewed
James Graham has said in interviews that he regards Gareth Southgate as ‘a hero for the ages’. Even if he…
The joy of Martinu’s symphonies
Grade: A– What, more Martinu? It feels like no time since the Pavel Haas Quartet was persuading us that there…
How the office has come to haunt us
Should we hop on a call? Let’s touch base. Let’s take this offline. Let’s circle back to your last slide…
Sex symbol or respected actor?
You don’t have to be any specific age to thrill to the Opera Australia production of La Traviata. It is…
I’m done with Rivals
Everybody has been raving about Legends, the Netflix series about undercover customs officers in the 1990s busting a heroin ring.…
Why is this Tudor drama full of swearing?
1536, by Ava Pickett, is set in a wheatfield near Colchester during the final months of Anne Boleyn’s life. Three…
Joy and melancholy from Tame Impala
About 15 years ago, I spoke to a relatively unknown neo-psychedelic musician from Western Australia called Kevin Parker. It was…
What have they done to Tom & Jerry?
Time was you knew where you were with Tom and Jerry. He chases the mouse; catches the mouse; the mouse…
The Arts Council’s bleak vision for the future of opera
English National Opera’s first production created in Manchester is Angel’s Bone, a one-act opera by Du Yun and the librettist…
The Venice Biennale was just that bit worse than usual
The 61st Venice Biennale arrived freighted with portent. To cut a long story short: Russia and Israel were invited to…
Derek Jacobi on playing Lucian Freud
Lucian Freud almost had a second career in the cinema. He acted as an extra in a couple of films…
A masterpiece of economy
There’s something very odd about the fuss that’s been made about David Szalay who won the Booker a few months…
Rosalia’s O2 show was a landmark concert
If Olivia Dean is the girl next door, Rosalia is the girl next planet. Their shows in successive weeks at…
The BBC at its nation-unifying best
Children of the Blitz began with the surprising news – to me anyway – that while 800,000 British children in…
A charmingly bold food podcast
It takes some gumption to name a podcast History’s Greatest Dishes and proceed to offer episodes on pizza, blancmange, balti,…
A Beatles show without the love
Please Please Me is a play about Brian Epstein whose brief and troubled life remains relatively unknown. Tom Wright’s linear…
The Trocks’ shtick is getting tired
Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo were popular regulars at Washington’s Kennedy Center until Trump’s demented blast against decadent queerness.…
The Christophers is delicious
Steven Soderbergh’s The Christophers is a deliciously sly, twisty, darkly comedic take on the art world starring Ian McKellen who…
