Robert Zemeckis The Witches is a dark Dahl triumph October 21, 2020 Readers over a certain age will remember losing sleep over the 1990 adaptation of Roald Dahl’s book The Witches, in which Anjelica Huston donned hideous prosthetics that are still unsettling to this day. It perfectly captured the spirit of Roald Dahl’s storytelling, which always towed the line between wonder and abject terror. Robert Zemeckis (Back [...]
DEBATE: Is there any point trying to find love in lockdown? October 21, 2020 Is there any point trying to find love in lockdown? JOIN THE DEBATE. Emma Sayle, founder and chief executive of social network Killing Kittens, says YES. When lockdown started, traffic to the Killing Kittens website went up 300 per cent. We had 150 per cent more photo uploads and 425 per cent more messages — [...]
Barbican Theatre to reopen with The Ghost Light, a mystery production for audiences of one October 17, 2020 The Barbican Theatre will reopen next month with The Ghost Light a show performed for audiences of just one guest and up to five of their friends. The theme of new show The Ghost Light, the first production at the Barbican Theatre in seven months, will remain a mystery until audience members take their seats, [...]
Over the Moon film review: This family Netflix animation has heart and colour October 16, 2020 Netflix looks to get in on the booming appetite for family content with this whimsical animated trip to space. Cathy Ang voices Fei Fei, a young Chinese girl fascinated by science, as well as the stories of the Moon goddess Change’e (Phillipa Soo) told to her by her mother (Ruthie Ann Miles). When her mother [...]
Rebecca film review: Ben Wheatley directs Lily James and Armie Hammer but is too in thrall to Hitchcock October 16, 2020 In a peculiar turn of events, Netflix has become the saviour of cinema. The streaming giant has become the highest profile pipeline for cinemas during this unprecedented fallow period. Once seen as the death knell for the picture house, the company’s decision to give its Original Movies a brief theatrical run now provides cinemas with [...]
The arts are not an optional extra, they are the life and soul of our nation October 8, 2020 If at first you don’t succeed, retrain and move into a more viable vocation. That was the advice of the chancellor this week with regards to the impossible position faced by artists, musicians and actors who have seen their livelihoods decimated since the start of the Covid crisis. ITV may have later clarified that Rishi Sunak’s [...]
Tenet film review: Can Christopher Nolan save cinema with his latest time-bending blockbuster? August 29, 2020 Inception filmmaker Christopher Nolan is one of the few remaining directors whose name alone can draw in a crowd. His post-Batman films stand as outliers in this industry – adult-targeted, original stories with no potential for sequels or spin-offs. In fact, Warner Bros have such confidence in the director’s brand that all but the most [...]
Lords urge government to protect UK creative industries in post-Brexit trade deal August 5, 2020 A House of Lords committee has written to the culture secretary demanding clarification on how a post-Brexit trade deal will affect the UK’s “overlooked” creative industries, as Britain edges towards the Brexit transition period deadline. In a letter to Oliver Dowden, the House of Lords EU Services sub-committee urged the government to provide a comprehensive [...]
Sky Arts to become free to air channel in bid to boost culture sector July 28, 2020 Sky Arts will become free to air for all viewers in September, as the broadcaster attempts to boost the sector in a “vital time for culture” during the pandemic. Britain’s only TV channel dedicated solely to arts and culture is currently only available to paying customers. However, it will become free to air for all [...]
The Tate Modern reopens next week – but what will it look like in a post-lockdown world? July 25, 2020 Monday will see the reopening of the Tate Modern (as well as the Tate Britain and the offshoots in Liverpool and St Ives) after more than five months behind shutters. And while we’re all becoming accustomed to social distancing in bars, restaurants and shops, how will it affect the UK’s second most popular tourist attraction? [...]