Arts
The Heckler: down with the actor-commentariat!
I’ve never been terribly keen on actors. I prefer hairdressers and accountants. And teachers and builders and lawyers. I may…
Culture Buff
The Wedding March by Felix Mendelssohn was greatly loved by our generation and several before us. It is derived from…
Our hero worship of Bach is to blame for rubbish like ‘Written By Mrs Bach’
My impression that Bach has come to rival Shakespeare as a flawless reference point in the cultural life of the…
Why James Delingpole is addicted to Pointless
Ever since Boy got back from school my work schedule has fallen to pieces. Every few minutes, just when I’ve…
Monky business
We ballet-goers may be the most self-deceiving audiences in theatre. Put a ‘new work’ in front of us and half…
Wife swap
My impression that Bach has come to rival Shakespeare as a flawless reference point in the cultural life of the…
Wife swap
My impression that Bach has come to rival Shakespeare as a flawless reference point in the cultural life of the…
Lime light
In April 1501, about the time Michelangelo was returning from Rome to Florence to compete for the commission to carve…
Lime light
In April 1501, about the time Michelangelo was returning from Rome to Florence to compete for the commission to carve…
The actor-commentariat
I’ve never been terribly keen on actors. I prefer hairdressers and accountants. And teachers and builders and lawyers. I may…
The actor-commentariat
I’ve never been terribly keen on actors. I prefer hairdressers and accountants. And teachers and builders and lawyers. I may…
Reimaging the lost masterpieces of antiquity
Martin Gayford visits two new surveys of Greek and Roman sculpture at the British Museum and Palazzo Strozzi. Reimagining what’s lost is as much of an inspiration as what remains
Wellington's PR machine
The history of portraiture is festooned with images of sitters overwhelmed by dress, setting and the accoutrements of worldly success.…
How gaming grew up
Sometimes a guy feels abstracted from the world. He visits Europe’s finest galleries, but the paintings seem to hang like…
Why we should revel in the empty virtuosity of Handel's pasticcios
Before the jukebox musical, back when Mamma Mia!, Jersey Boys and Viva Forever! were still dollar-shaped glints in an as-yet-unborn…
Shrapnel at the Arcola works for the slayers, not the slain
Quite a hit factory these days, the Hampstead Theatre. The latest candidate for West End glory is Hugh Whitemore’s bio-drama…
Lily James's Cinderella is more of a doormat than my actual doormat
Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella is a Disney film based on a Disney film, so is double Disney, if you like. It…
Does the future of radio really lie in podcasts?
To a debate on the future of radio at the BBC where it turns out not to be a discussion…
Channel 4's The Coalition reviewed: heroically free of cynicism
In a late schedule change, Channel 4’s Coalition was shifted from Thursday to Saturday to make room for Jeremy Paxman…
Culture Buff
We’re all keen on infrastructure at the moment so it’s worth remembering what an astounding impact the Suez Canal made…
Independents’ day
Sometimes a guy feels abstracted from the world. He visits Europe’s finest galleries, but the paintings seem to hang like…
Independents’ day
Sometimes a guy feels abstracted from the world. He visits Europe’s finest galleries, but the paintings seem to hang like…
Will you miss Mad Men? James Delingpole won’t
Mad Men looked great but, as the final season draws to a close, was there really anything to it, wonders James Delingpole
Radiant Vermin at the Soho Theatre reviewed: a barmy little sketch posing as a revolutionary satire
Philip Ridley is best known as the screenwriter of The Krays, in which Gary and Martin Kemp played Ronnie and…
Richard Diebenkorn at the Royal Academy reviewed: among the best visual evocations of LA there are
It is true that, like wine, certain artists don’t travel. Richard Diebenkorn, subject of the spring exhibition in the Royal…
