Arts
The torture of earworms
Earworm: what a wonderful word. It describes, as nothing else quite can, the effect a really invasive melody can have…
Universal records
Andrew Lambirth talks to Mark Shields, an artist whose work transcends the specific
Scabrous wit
I suspect I am not alone in finding it surprising to encounter at the close of this exhibition an unexpected…
A feast for the eyes
Tourists are attracted to queues, art lovers to quietude. So while the mass of Monet fans visiting Paris line up…
Dreams of space and light
Curtain walls, dreaming spires, crockets, finials, cantilevers, bush-hammered concrete, vermiculated rustication, heroic steel and delicate Cosmati work are all diverse…
Making history
In a crowded storeroom at Ikon, Birmingham’s contemporary art gallery, its director Jonathan Watkins is unwrapping the pictures for his…
Austerity measures
The difference between lovable, likable and admirable is perhaps more significant in the operatic world than in other artistic spheres…
Keep on running
The Book Thief is based on Markus Zusak’s novel of the same name which, although written for young adults, appears…
Bring on the young
One of the unlooked-for side effects of the financial crisis has been what might be called the desocialising of music…
Sweet talk
Tracy Letts, of the Chicago company Steppenwolf, has written one of the best plays of the past ten years. August:…
In pursuit of the Prince
What if Bonnie Prince Charlie, as he swept down from Scotland towards London to lay claim to the throne, hadn’t…
Phwhoof!
‘Phwhoof!’ exclaimed Evan at 8.27, before reluctantly turning us over to the sport report on Saturday morning’s Today (Radio 4).…
Double vision
Artists make good critics, but do critics make good artists? It’s hard to tell, when most are too chicken to…
Double vision
Artists make good critics, but do critics make good artists? It’s hard to tell, when most are too chicken to…
Double vision
Artists make good critics, but do critics make good artists? It’s hard to tell, when most are too chicken to…
Bring on the young
One of the unlooked-for side effects of the financial crisis has been what might be called the desocialising of music…
Bring on the young
One of the unlooked-for side effects of the financial crisis has been what might be called the desocialising of music…
At the crossroads again
Michael Henderson wonders what direction English National Opera will now take
Dazzled but confused
So it’s farewell to the fedoras and adieu to the jukebox. After 32 years of service, Jonathan Miller’s Little Italy…
Misdirected rage
Here it is. Fifty years late. Oh What a Lovely War was originally staged at Stratford East in 1964. It…
Small wonders
In this round-up of exhibitions in London’s commercial galleries, I feature three shows of little-known but mature contemporary British artists.…
Blood lovers
Jim Jarmusch is the noted American ‘cult director’, and if you were to judge him solely on the basis of…
Blind ambition
Half-term again, so naturally all my TV viewing plans have gone out of the window. In some households — my…
Remaking history
What does freedom mean to you? That’s the question the BBC World Service has been asking of us through its…
Laugh but don’t pop
A tip: go see Martin Creed’s retrospective at the Hayward in the company of a child. I didn’t, but I…
