Arts
Subtle, intriguing and inventive: Rambert’s Death Trap reviewed
Ben Duke belongs to a class of younger choreographers who have decided to flout the convention that dancers should remain…
Branagh can’t quite banish the spirit of Noel Edmonds: King Lear, at Wyndham’s Theatre, reviewed
Branagh vs Lear. The big fixture in theatreland ends in a win for Shakespeare’s knotty and intractable script which usually…
Embarrassment of riches: South Asian Miniature Painting, at MK Gallery, reviewed
In 1633, British merchants travelling east were issued with a royal command from Charles I: ‘As the king has considered…
Incomprehensible and epically anti-climatic: Netflix’s Bodies reviewed
Bodies is another of those ‘ingenious’ time-travel apocalypse mash-ups so tricksy and convoluted that by the time the ending comes…
Entertaining. Mostly: Dream Scenario reviewed
Dream Scenario is a high-concept dark comedy about celebrity and cancel culture. It stars our old pal Nicolas Cage who,…
Funny, faithful and inventive: Scottish Opera’s Barber of Seville reviewed
A violinist friend in the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra used to talk about an orchestra’s ‘muscle memory’; a collective…
This recreation of Dylan’s Free Trade Hall concert is supremely good
In May 1966, Bob Dylan toured the UK with The Band, minus drummer Levon Helm, and abrasively pulled the plug…
Joni Mitchell, in her own words
There’s always been something at once girlish and steely about Joni Mitchell, the stellar Canadian whom Rolling Stone called ‘one…
The rise of Christian cinema
Robert Jackman on the rise of Christian cinema
How the girls sighed
You know the year is starting to come to an end when a new production of A Christmas Carol is…
Riveting and heart-wrenching: BBC1’s Time reviewed
‘Only with women’ is a phrase used by more cynical TV types for a show that takes something that’s been…
‘You cannot begin by calling me France’s most famous living artist!’: Sophie Calle interviewed
‘You cannot begin by calling me France’s most famous living artist!’ Thus Sophie Calle objected to the first line of…
Spellbinding performance of a career-defining record: Corinne Rae Bailey, at Ladbroke Hall, reviewed
You won’t see two more contrasting shows this year than Corinne Bailey Rae performing her album Black Rainbows and Brian…
The importance of lesbianism to British modernism: Double Weave, at Ditchling Museum, reviewed
The name of Ditchling used to be synonymous with Eric Gill, but since he was outed as an abuser of…
Outstanding and eye-opening doc about North Korea: Beyond Utopia review
The documentary Beyond Utopia follows various families as they attempt to flee North Korea. It is eye-opening and outstanding. In…
Comedy of the blackest kind: Boy Parts, at Soho Theatre, reviewed
There’s something mesmerising about watching a good mimic. And Aimée Kelly, who plays fetish photographer Irina Sturges in Soho Theatre’s…
Real women do not behave like this: Lyonesse, at the Harold Pinter Theatre, reviewed
Lyonesse by Penelope Skinner takes a while to get going. The central character, Elaine, is a washed-up British actress (Kristin…
Can everyone please shut up about Maria Callas?
Rupert Christiansen on the cult of Callas
A naive friend
John le Carré was one of the more extraordinary popular writers of the last half-century (and more) and part of…
The miracle of watching a great string quartet perform
Joseph Haydn, it’s generally agreed, invented the string quartet. And having done so, he re-invented it: again and again. Take…
Basic, plodding and lacking any actual horror: Doctor Jekyll reviewed
Tis the season of horror, as it’s Halloween, which we celebrate in this house by turning off all the lights…
Surprisingly addictive and heartwarming: Netflix’s Beckham reviewed
If you’re not remotely interested in football or celebrity, I recommend Netflix’s four-part documentary series Beckham. Yes, I know it’s…
The case against re-recording albums
In 2012, Jeff Lynne released Mr Blue Sky: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra. Except it wasn’t. It was…
I’m not convinced Thomas Heatherwick is the best person to be discussing boring buildings
Architects are often snobby about – and no doubt jealous of – the designer Thomas Heatherwick, who isn’t an actual…
