Eyam at Shakespeare’s Globe is an impressive, emotionally draining play about accepting death September 28, 2018 Shakespeare's Globe, until 13 Oct RECOMMENDED It’s the 17th century, and the people of the plague-struck Derbyshire village of Eyam have made a noble decision to quarantine themselves, rather than risk the illness spreading to neighbouring settlements. By the time the pestilence has ended, three-quarters of the villagers will be dead. Directed by Adele Thomas [...]
Poet in Da Corner at the Royal Court is the world’s first grime musical and it’s brilliant September 28, 2018 Royal Court, until 6 Oct UNMISSABLE Grime has come a long way in the past few years. Formed from a crucible of garage, jungle and dancehall music, it was until recently an entirely underground genre, mentioned by the press only in the context of rising knife crime. But at some point a broader audience started [...]
Antony and Cleopatra at the Olivier is a wonderfully acted epic that outstays its welcome September 28, 2018 National Theatre's Olivier, until 19 Jan RECOMMENDED Shakespeare’s plays tend to be reviewed on the strength of the production rather than the quality of the text, which is taken as a given. But the problems with this otherwise brilliant National Theatre show are all of the bard’s making. There’s a reason, after all, why Antony [...]
Francis Upritchard: Wetwang Slack at the Barbican is a a wry commentary on our fetishisation of historical objects September 28, 2018 Barbican Curve Gallery, until 6 Jan RECOMMENDED Bringing together dozens of multi-disciplinary works by New Zealander Francis Upritchard, Wetwang Slack is a wry commentary on our curation – and fetishisation – of historical objects. His delicate, slightly grotesque sculptures are presented as if they were museum pieces, perched upon plinths or lining glass cabinets. There’s a [...]
Space Shifters at the Hayward Gallery is an unmissable exhibition that will make you question your senses September 28, 2018 Hayward Gallery, until 6 Jan UNMISSABLE Art isn’t generally the kind of thing you can ‘spoil’. Someone telling you about the Guernica before you see it doesn’t detract from your appreciation of it – quite the contrary: the more you know, the more powerful it becomes. But I feel I should include a spoiler warning [...]
Shadow of the Colossus review: An expert restoration of a breathtaking classic September 28, 2018 Shadow of the Colossus was a quiet epic, launched at a time when games were predominantly about things exploding loudly in your face. In this minimalist and melancholic saga, you ride your faithful horse across a vast wilderness to track down and slay 16 enormous stone giants. The world, desolate and littered with the [...]
Isle of Dogs review: More bark than bite, but Wes Anderson’s stop-motion adventure is adorable fun September 28, 2018 Wes Anderson’s latest film takes place in a hyper-stereotyped, near-future Japan, in which dogs have been cruelly banished to a trash island under the invented pretence that they’ve succumbed to a mix of highly infectious dog flu and “snout rot”. The director’s second stop-motion project (the Roald Dahl adaptation Fantastic Mr. Fox being the [...]
The Wife film review: Glenn Close serves up a career-best performance as Nobel laureate’s beleaguered spouse September 28, 2018 What happens when you win the Nobel Prize? Does a peace dove deliver the news by flying telegram? Is there a banquet of all your favourite foods? Can you invite your mum? This simple dispersal of news becomes one of many fascinating aspects of The Wife. Based on a bestselling novel by Meg Wolitzer, it’s [...]
Exit the King: The National Theatre’s production of Ionesco’s absurdist drama wanders but the journey is worth it September 27, 2018 First performed in 1962, Exit The King is a tragic comedy about a clownish, centuries old despot who once held dominion over nature itself, but is forced to rapidly come to terms with his imminent death, his waning powers and his shrivelling kingdom. A great crack runs down the castle wall. Ministers are falling [...]
Kanye West, rap’s most enigmatic star, has dreams of making affordable, brutalist homes September 24, 2018 The students were a combination of shocked and awed when their lecturer jumped on top of a desk and cried, “The world can be saved through design!” It could have been a scene from 1989’s Dead Poets Society, but in fact it was an overexcited Kanye West taking a class at Harvard Graduate School of [...]