Arts
Great Britten
Of this year’s three musical birthday boys, Wagner has fared, in England, surprisingly well, Verdi inexplicably badly, and Britten, as…
The odd couple
Saving Mr Banks tells ‘the untold true story’ of the making of the Disney classic Mary Poppins via the stand-offs…
Cultural touchstone
Next month marks the 30th anniversary of the release of what is, in my opinion, one of the funniest films…
Cranko’s legacy
Stuttgart Ballet’s rapid ascent to fame is at the core of one of the most interesting chapters of ballet history.…
The people’s champion
Gary Bell is the rudest man in Britain. I have known the bastard for years and no one —move over,…
Letting us down
As I listened to Robert Peston early last Friday fluffing on about the Revd Paul Flowers and the possible effect…
What a life
If you were in a bathtub for 25 years, don’t you think you’d get a little bit psychotic? Well, yes,…
What a life
If you were in a bathtub for 25 years, don’t you think you’d get a little bit psychotic? Well, yes,…
What a life
If you were in a bathtub for 25 years, don’t you think you’d get a little bit psychotic? Well, yes,…
Cranko’s legacy
Stuttgart Ballet’s rapid ascent to fame is at the core of one of the most interesting chapters of ballet history.…
Guiding dream
Andrew Lambirth takes a tour of the revamped Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft
Weaving wonder
One loom, six metres in length, currently dominates the great, light-filled weaving hall of Edinburgh’s renowned tapestry workshop, Dovecot Studios.…
No laughing matter
Pop Art Design, curated by the Vitra Design Museum and currently at the Barbican, opens with Richard Hamilton’s 1956 ‘Just…
Time travelling
The title of the Lisson Gallery’s new show, Nostalgic for the Future, could sum up the gallery’s whole raison d’être.…
Fishy fantasies
One of the more exotic attractions at the 1939–40 World’s Fair in New York was Salvador Dalí’s ‘Dream of Venus…
Remembering John Tavener
When I first met John Tavener in 1977, he was still largely known for his dramatic cantata The Whale, which…
The killing fields
In the future, everyone will have silly names. Some people will be called Haymitch Abernathy. Others will be Effie Trinket…
Baroque brilliance
Visits by English Touring Opera are always to be looked forward to, but this autumn it has surpassed itself with…
In the slammer
Athol Fugard is regarded as a theatrical titan but I usually need a microscope to find any trace of greatness…
Who’s who
If I could go back in time, I’d watch Doctor Who from the very first episode. I wasn’t born in…
Squirming at Screwtape
A surfeit of anniversaries this week reminded us that on the day of President Kennedy’s assassination, C.S. Lewis (born 1898)…
Images of war
Catalyst: Contemporary Art and War at the Imperial War Museum North (until 23 February) is alone worth a trip to…
Images of war
Catalyst: Contemporary Art and War at the Imperial War Museum North (until 23 February) is alone worth a trip to…
Images of war
Catalyst: Contemporary Art and War at the Imperial War Museum North (until 23 February) is alone worth a trip to…
Critical divide
Collectors may be mad for Jean-Michel Basquiat but the critics hate him. Niru Ratnam asks why
