Arts
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…
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…
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…
In praise of the Emperor
Roderick Conway Morris on the influence and legacy of Augustus
Sacred songs
I love a good hymn, so long as I’m not expected to sing it. Lusty declarations of faith sound ridiculous…
Putin’s poison
Sochi 2014 is the least wintry Winter Olympics ever. Yes, there’s a bit of downhill shimmying going on in the…
Brown studies
Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (1609–64) was, I must admit, unknown to me until I visited this show, the only Castiglione I…
Animal appetite
Last seen clambering over the MDF wheelchair ramps of Laurent Pelly’s Royal Opera House production of Jules Massenet’s opéra comique,…
Inspired by Bach
It appears that J.S. Bach’s music is to theatre-dance what whipped cream is to chocolate. Masterworks such as Trisha Brown’s…
Clooney’s tale
You know that old quip ‘I’m not just a pretty face’? I always thought it was meant to be said…
Bonjour, Benelux!
So long, Scandinavia. Bonjour, Benelux! BBC4, your subtitle-friendly channel, has filled the hole left by Nordic-noir The Bridge with Belgian…
Crossing continents
‘Brown is very good — no Cameron. David Cameron no good,’ he said. Just in case we weren’t sure what…
