Arts
When Fauré played The Spectator
Gabriel Fauré composed his song cycle La bonne chanson in 1894 for piano and voice. But he added string parts…
Craving some alien spider insanity? Sting’s the film for you
This week, a horror film – and with it, a whole load of alien spider insanity. If you’ve been hankering…
Amazingly sloppy: Romeo & Juliet, at Duke of York’s Theatre, reviewed
Romeo & Juliet is Shakespeare with power cuts. The lighting in Jamie Lloyd’s cheerless production keeps shutting down, perhaps deliberately.…
Is there still life in British still life?
‘The tyrannical rule of nature morte is, at last, over,’ announced Paul Nash in the Listener in 1931. ‘Apples have…
Nickelback may not be cool but they are very good at what they do
In May 2013, Rolling Stone polled its readers in an attempt to discover which band might be crowned the worst…
This distorting mirror of cruelty
Every so often a bit of streamer television comes along and makes you grateful for what the form can achieve…
The jaw-dropping story of the British Museum thefts
It’s August 2023 when news breaks that artefacts have gone missing, presumed stolen, from the British Museum. I’m about an…
BBC1’s new Rebus is the kind of TV detective they just don’t make any more
Imagine a new series of Morse in which the real-ale-quaffing, jag-driving opera buff is turned into a speed-snorting mod on…
The weird, hypnotic world of Willie Nelson
Many years ago, I wrote a book about Willie Nelson. At its conclusion, I reached for an elegiac, valedictory tone.…
Bristol’s new concert hall is extremely fine
Bristol has a new concert hall, and it’s rather good. The transformation of the old Colston Hall into the Bristol…
The new Mad Max film is a betrayal of everything that made Fury Road so good
Action films are boring. This isn’t really an opinion, it’s just demonstrably true. Try it for yourself: put on any…
The unstoppable rise of country music
When a major artist releases a new album, the first thing to follow is the onslaught of think pieces. And…
Headed for the canon: Withnail and I, at the Birmingham Rep, reviewed
After nearly 40 years, Withnail has arrived on stage. Sean Foley directs Bruce Robinson’s adaptation, which starts with a live…
Obscured by tattiness
A friend, with a lot more culture than your columnist, used to carry audio recordings of two works on her…
Lovely slice of Cosmic Scouse: Michael Head & the Red Elastic, at EartH, reviewed
One of the more bizarre but recurring tales about how the music of Liverpool has been shaped over these past…
Gorgeous and deeply absorbing: Manor Lords reviewed
Grade: A ‘God games’, as they used to be called, have a storied history. SimCity, Civilisation and the excellently sadistic…
Nowhere near as miserable as I remember it: The Beatles – Let It Be reviewed
Beatles lore has long held that the film Let It Be was a depressing portrait of the band falling apart.…
The woman who revolutionised British fashion: Barbara Hulanicki interviewed
‘I was one of your original customers in Kensington Church Street,’ I tell the founder of Biba when we meet.…
Beguiling: Yinka Shonibare, at the Serpentine Galleries, reviewed
More than seven centuries ago, the medieval cartographer Richard of Haldingham created Hereford Cathedral’s Mappa Mundi; I say ‘created’ because…
Meet the man who says improvisation is the key to Mozart
In August 1993, the pianist Robert Levin sat down in Walthamstow Assembly Rooms with the conductor Christopher Hogwood and the…
Predictable but has a certain French verve: Two Tickets to Greece reviewed
Within the first five minutes of Two Tickets to Greece you know what it is and where it’s going. It’s…
Fawlty Towers – The Play is the best museum piece you’ll ever see
Fawlty Towers at the Apollo may be the best museum piece you’ll ever see. A full-length play has been carved…
