Theatre review: Tour de force Ralph Fiennes steals the show in Man and Superman February 26, 2015 Lyttelton Theatre | ★★★★☆ Whew, how he does talk!” So exclaims the commodore from Don Juan, listening in as Ralph Fiennes’ garrulous Juan debates with the Devil. The same applies to Jack Tanner, Juan’s descendant and the protagonist of this supremely wordy play. First performed in 1905, George Bernard Shaw’s Man and Superman may be [...]
Something for the weekend February 26, 2015 DRINK! MEANTIME TASTING ROOMS If you’re into your craft beer, why don’t you, er, hop along to the Meantime Tasting Rooms where all the brewery’s beers are on tap. Open all day till 11pm, Lawrence Trading Estate, Blackwall Lane, Greenwich, visit meantimebrewing.com WATCH! BEST PICTURE WEEK Missed out on some of the films of the [...]
Photography review: Human Rights and Human Wrongs February 20, 2015 Photographers’ Gallery | ★★★★☆ Starting with the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Human Rights and Human Wrongs exhibition features 300 prints taken from the Black Star collection of twentieth century photoreportage. The prints depict racism, oppression and a common struggle uniting movements as diverse as American Civil Rights and north Africans’ attempts at [...]
Magnificent Obsessions: The Artist as Collector – art review February 20, 2015 Barbican | ★★★★☆ What art do artists like? From Damian Hirst’s extensive collection of stuffed animals and skulls to Peter Blake’s near-bottomless stock-pile of vintage road signs, many of today’s leading artists are as enthusiastic about accumulating stuff as they about making it. Over two levels of the Barbican, Magnificent Obsessions presents 8,000 objects belonging [...]
Film review: Duke of Burgundy February 20, 2015 Cert 18 | ★★★★☆ That The Duke of Burgundy’s release falls within a week of a certain other sadomasochistic soap opera is probably no coincidence (get them while they’re still hot), but the association does Peter Strickland’s filthy-but-tender love story a disservice. We are first introduced to Evelyn, a maid whose sadistic mistress Cynthia [...]
Theatre review: Mark Strong stars in A View From the Bridge February 20, 2015 Wyndham’s Theatre | ★★★★☆ The set in Ivo van Hove’s lauded adaptation of Arthur Miller’s classic A View From the Bridge (first shown at the Young Vic in 2014) evokes both a boxing ring and a pagan temple. It’s an ideal space for a play in which desire wrestles with reason on the way to [...]
Film review: Cake – the one where Jennifer Aniston feels sorry for herself February 19, 2015 Cert 15 | ★☆☆☆☆ Since Friends, Jennifer Aniston has gone on to build a successful, if not groundbreaking, career as a commercially bankable but critically patronised American sweetheart. But she wants more. She wants respect. She wants awards. She wants – whisper it – to do a McConaughey. Cake isn’t Aniston politely asking to [...]
Something for the weekend February 19, 2015 DRINK! LONDON BEER WEEK Round off the week with round of delicious ales at London Beer Week. A £10 LBW wristband entitles you to discounted pints at a number of watering holes around London. Brewery tours and brewing masterclasses are also on offer. Visit londonbeerweek.com PARTY! CHINESE NEW YEAR Chinese New Year fell yesterday but [...]
Half term! Imagine Children’s Festival 2015 February 13, 2015 If you’re struggling to think of what to do this half term, head down to the Southbank Imagine Children’s Festival. A diverse programme of activities features readings from top authors including Russell Brand, Judith Kerr, Lauren Child, Anthony Horowitz and Helen Skelton. For something more lively you can clap along to live performances of Charlie [...]
Film review: Coherence has the kernel of something interesting but doesn’t hold together February 13, 2015 Cert 15 | ★★☆☆☆ Coherence is soft science fiction slush that simply doesn’t hold together. As four couples meet for dinner, a mysterious comet streaks through the heavens, cracking mobile phone screens, fracturing reality, and encouraging the kind of ill-informed, feng shui and quantum theory-tinged, new age, nonsense-strewn dinner party conversation that makes you hope [...]