Arts
From Ted to Troy
How many digital radios have you bought over the years? How many are still working? Of the four I used…
Australia’s film awards – put your money on the pulpy stuff
If I were asked to name my favourite job over the past 15 years, since I took leave of my…
Culture buff
Wanting to love it was not enough; Mr Turner just didn’t quite do it for me. Mike Leigh’s new film…
Let the wrong one in
There’s been heated disagreement over the past week about what’s right and wrong. Is the rocket-propelled ex-Bolshoi enfant terrible Ivan…
Marx men
Ian Thomson celebrates the anarchic genius of Groucho and his brothers
Easy listening
There were two new albums I wanted for Christmas — the Bryan Ferry and the Pink Floyd — and to…
Double vision
In 1933, two new students met on their first day at Glasgow School of Art. From then on they were…
Slowly, slowly, catchy, catchy
Foxcatcher is a crime drama (of sorts) that has already been dubbed ‘Oscarcatcher!’ as it barely puts a foot wrong.…
Beauty without brains
The Young Vic produces shows that please many but rarely me. Its big hit of 2014, A Streetcar Named Desire,…
Where to start…
Whether by chance or bold design, the Royal Opera’s two Christmas shows were written at precisely the same moment, between…
Filling in the blanks
‘So — take heart,’ said Alan Bennett, sending us out from his play, Cocktail Sticks, on a cheery note. The…
Right and wrong
God, it must be awful to have been at school with James Corden. As he sat fatly at the back…
Culture buff
Not many people would still argue that fashion, as in garments, has no place in an art museum. After all,…
Easy listening
There were two new albums I wanted for Christmas — the Bryan Ferry and the Pink Floyd — and to…
Easy listening
There were two new albums I wanted for Christmas — the Bryan Ferry and the Pink Floyd — and to…
Strokes of genius
The art on show over the coming year demonstrates that we still live in an age of mighty painters, says Martin Gayford
Birdbrained
Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman, which stars Michael Keaton as a one-time superhero movie star (just like Keaton himself), is audacious…
Balkans ballyhoo
A masterpiece at the National. A masterpiece of persuasion and bewitchment. Croatian word-athlete Tena Stivicic has miraculously convinced director Howard…
Delusions of grandeur
Any adequate performance of Tristan und Isolde, and the first night of the Royal Opera’s production was at least that,…
High and mighty
One of the most complete bars to the authentic performance of both baroque opera and some renaissance polyphony is the…
S’wonderful
A new year must start with hope and resolution, and if you’re very rich, with influence in the highest places,…
Tale of the expected
As a New Year’s Day treat for all the family, Esio Trot (BBC1) seemed to be taking no chances. It…
Serial killer
The fuss may now be over, the last episode of Serial revealed. But if the global success of WBEZ Chicago’s…
Culture buff
I’m a bit perplexed about a current Christmas (perhaps I should say Xmas) craze. This is not a moan from…
S’wonderful
A new year must start with hope and resolution, and if you’re very rich, with influence in the highest places,…
