Theatre review: Treasure Island December 12, 2014 Olivier Theatre | ★★★☆☆ The National Theatre employed the services of a “comedy consultant” for its lavish new Treasure Island adaptation. Whatever he did, it didn’t work – the jokes let down an otherwise impressive production that kids will enjoy (if not love) and adults will tolerate. Too often laughs are grasped at clumsily, upsetting the [...]
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – film review December 12, 2014 Cert 12a | ★★★★☆ When Peter Jackson approached Billy Connolly to play the fiercest of Tolkien’s dwarves, he asked, “Have you read The Hobbit?” and Connolly replied “No, and I don’t like people who have. His comments, said in jest, nevertheless encapsulate the franchise’s reputation for being somewhat nerdy and inaccessible for those who have [...]
Film review: The Green Prince December 11, 2014 Cert 15 | ★★★☆☆ In August 2008, from the safety of exile in the States, Mosab Hassan Yousef (pictured) went public with his betrayal of Palestine. The son of a senior Hamas leader, he revealed that he had spent ten years spying on his father and others for Shin Bet (the Israeli secret service) under [...]
Something for the weekend December 11, 2014 STOCK UP: WINE SAMPLE SALE New Zealand produces some of the world’s most underrated wines and the NZ Cellar is flogging lots of them for peanuts at a wine Garage Sale in Brixton on Sunday morning. £5 per ticket, children free, 8.45-14.00, visit musicglue.com. CHEER: PANTO HORSERACE In Greenwich on Sunday over 40 panto horses [...]
2014 Christmas shows in London: From traditional pantomime to award-winning theatre December 11, 2014 Whether you’re a fan of cutting-edge theatre, a good old singalong or a traditional Christmas pantomime, London’s got you covered. Here are some of our favourites. MOTHER GOOSE Hackney Empire, from £10 Princess Priscilla has waddled into the life of Mother Goose and started laying priceless golden eggs. Now Mother can buy whatever [...]
Art review: Tony Bevan: Trees and Archives at Ben Brown Fine Arts December 5, 2014 Ben Brown Fine Arts | ★★★★★ Yorkshire-born painter Tony Bevan, 63, is renowned for bloodshot portraits mapped with veins that contort, twist and strain toward the subconscious. His latest exhibition (a show of 15 new paintings of trees and archive grids) is a departure in terms of subject matter but not in terms of theme. [...]
Black Sea film review: Jude Law’s absurdly overcooked accent isn’t the worst thing in this submarine borefest December 5, 2014 Cert 15 | ★☆☆☆☆ Maybe three miles under the sea, locked in a rusty tube with a dozen sweaty blokes, is the only place Jude Law can be trusted not to get anyone pregnant. That’s the only reason I can think of for why he agreed to this sub-Guy Richie, substandard, submarine borefest. It’s [...]
Theatre review: 3 Winters December 5, 2014 Lyttelton Theatre | ★★★★☆ In Britain, it can be difficult to understand the seismic societal shifts that characterised much of modern European history. From 1945 to 2011, Croatia moved through monarchy and communism to capitalism, on the way fragmenting from Yugoslavia in a brutal succession of wars. London-based Croatian playwright Tena Stivcic’s new play follows a [...]
Film review: St Vincent December 5, 2014 Cert 12a | ★★★☆☆ It isn’t clear whether those rumours of Bill Murray turning up randomly at house parties are true. But on this evidence, you probably wouldn’t want him to crash yours. In St Vincent, Murray reconfigures his surly persona to play Vincent MacKenna, a feckless drunk and reckless gambler who’s struggling to keep [...]
Photography review: Royal Photographic Society at the Science Museum December 4, 2014 Science Museum | ★★★★☆ The Royal Photographic Society has been in existence for over 150 years, and over the course of that time it has amassed a collection of over a quarter of a million photographs. Drawn By Light, the new exhibition at the Science Museum, selects just 200 of these images, ranging from [...]