Bloomsbury buys academic publisher ABC-CLIO for $22.9m December 16, 2021 Bloomsbury announced this morning it has acquired US academic publisher ABC-CLIO for $22.9m (£17.3m), pushing shares up 5.72 per cent to 351p. Out of the total deal, $22.3m were given in cash on completion, leaving $0.6m to be paid post completion. The purchase is expected to strengthen Bloomsbury’s academic reach, especially in North America. “ABC-CLIO [...]
Vodafone to auction the world’s first ever text message as an NFT for refugee charity December 14, 2021 Vodafone announced today that it will auction an NFT of the world’s first ever SMS text message – which read ‘Merry Christmas’, and was sent on the network in December 1992.
It’s behind you! Pantomimes and musicals forced to cancel after Covid-19 outbreaks threatens the industry once again December 14, 2021 Ongoing Covid-19 outbreaks across the UK looks to threaten theatres once again, as shows begin to cancel shows just before Christmas.
Lamb film review: Another unsettling horror from A24 December 11, 2021 The term Sheeple is given a whole new context in Lamb, the directorial debut from Valdimar Jóhannsson, co-written with Björk collaborator Sjón. Maria and Ingvar (Noomi Rapace and Hilmir Snær Guðnason) are the owners of a farm in Iceland, whose quiet existence is disturbed when one of their sheep give birth to a human child [...]
Being the Ricardos review: Aaron Sorkin’s I Love Lucy biopic is too tame December 10, 2021 Most people reading this won’t have been born when US sitcom I Love Lucy went off air in 1957. How- ever, it’s an evergreen institution to Americans, entertaining generations (as recently as 2011, 40m people worldwide watched re-runs). A movie about the show, or a biopic of star Lucille Ball, has been rumoured for some [...]
More Christmas No.1s than The Beatles? LadBaby shoot for top spot yet again with the help of Ed Sheeran and Elton John December 10, 2021 LadBaby are going for UK Christmas number once again this year with Sausage Rolls For Everyone, a spin off from Ed Sheeran and Elton John's new festive hit.
Haters Gonna Hate: Taylor Swift faces trial over copied ‘Shake It Off’ lyrics December 10, 2021 Taylor Swift face a jury trial over accusations that she plagiarised the lyrics for Shake It Off from another song from the band 3LW’s. In the 2001 hit Playas Gon’ Play, Swift is seen to copy the lines “players gonna play” and “haters gonna hate”. A US judge refused the pop superstar’s request to dismiss [...]
The Book of Dust at Bridge Theatre: Philip Pullman prequel is enchanting December 9, 2021 Set twelve years before the epic His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman’s The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage is the origin story, if you like, of the trilogy’s much-loved heroine, Lyra. A crisp adaptation by Bryony Lavery and wondrous direction by Nicholas Hytner make for a truly magical reimagining for stage. The Bridge’s metaphorical curtains [...]
Measure For Measure at Sam Wanamaker Playhouse review December 8, 2021 Government sleaze is on display again, but at least in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse’s latest Shakespeare production, it’s entertaining. In Measure for Measure, the Duke of Vienna delegates power to an outwardly righteous advisor, with the hope he will restore moral order in an increasingly licentious society, but remains in the city in the guise [...]
Blinding Lights: The Weeknd is the UK’s most-viewed artist December 8, 2021 The Weeknd is the most-viewed artist in the UK (94.3m views), followed by Little Mix (93.7m views), according to data released today by Vevo, the world’s leading music video network.