Has all the charisma of Chernobyl: Manchester’s Aviva Studios reviewed
There is a (possibly apocryphal) story about William Morris, where he spends most of his time in Paris inside the…
Enemy of the Disaster: Selected Political Writings of Renaud Camus, reviewed
The French writer does not accept that all incomers to his country can be truly ‘French’, and considers the dramatic change of population an unprecedented disaster
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…
Love and loathing at Harold Wilson’s No. 10
Even her enemies considered Marcia Williams the prime minister’s ‘political wife’, and the real force in the Labour party from the mid-1960s to Wilson’s resignation
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,…
Books of the year II: more choices of reading in 2023
Recommendations from Mary Beard, Richard Ingrams, Sam Leith, Francis Wheen, Michela Wrong, William Dalrymple and many more
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…
London diary: Reflections for Remembrance Day
The famous English writer and critic, Samuel Johnson, once said: ‘If you are tired of London, you are tired of…
Tough crowd
Take a quick look at the reviews of Graham Linehan’s new book Tough Crowd and you will gather that he is what…
Suella Braverman’s clumsiness makes Met reform less likely
Suella Braverman’s career as Home Secretary may be over very soon. But a long tail of it will be the…
Could the world go to war again?
Armistice Day is an appropriate moment to reflect on why democracies triumphed in the two world wars that blighted the…
Judges shouldn’t be legislators
The Federal Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights is conducting an Inquiry into Australia’s Human Rights Framework, including whether a…
Joe Manchin has every reason to run for president
Joe Manchin’s decision to retire from the US Senate is not surprising. The tea leaves have been there for a…
What Harry’s legal win could mean for press regulation
The phone-hacking saga has just been given a new lease of life after a judge ruled that Prince Harry can…
The shrinking lifespan of the college president
Twenty-five years ago I published an essay titled “Dogfish.” It was not about the little sharks that skim along the…
‘Humanitarian pauses’ will help Israel defeat Hamas in Gaza
As the IDF continues to close in on Hamas in the heart of Gaza, the US announced that Israel will…
Prince Harry wins his latest legal battle – but at what cost?
Prince Harry has won a small victory in his High Court battle: a judge ruled this morning that his privacy…
Where does the Suella Braverman debacle go next?
The debacle concerning Suella Braverman makes the front page of most papers today after No. 10 confirmed that the Home…
