Blair Witch: this 2016 sequel to the found-footage classic has plenty of scares but little new to offer September 15, 2016 The Blair Witch Project was the product of a more innocent time. Back in 1999, people believed the film might have been a genuine documentary about some kids being murdered by a witch. Actor Heather Donahue, who played a fictional version of herself, even complained that “being dead” had an adverse affect on her career. [...]
The Alchemist at the Barbican review: this brilliant 17th century morality play still feels searingly relevant September 15, 2016 Ben Jonson’s The Alchemist is an invigorating blend of clever script and silly performances, in which three con artists make an uneasy alliance to fleece the unsuspecting citizens of 17th century London. First performed in 1610, The RSC’s revival at the Barbican reveals a play that’s still funny, and not just in the way you [...]
Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again at Shoreditch town hall review: an angry, uncomfortable but worthwhile play September 12, 2016 Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again begins as a series of smart, unconnected sketches exploring ways in which women are subjugated, and ends up a chilling experimental dreamscape in which language and structure have entirely broken down. Featuring no backdrop, few props and four actors playing a series of unnamed characters, this is minimalist theatre taken [...]
The Naked Magicians is a lovely show about two men who do card tricks for a while and then get their penises out September 8, 2016 Now that we all live in the future and can summon an infinite parade of willies and foofs with just a few lazy swipes of our thumb, on-stage nudity doesn’t carry the giddying air of scandal it used to. The Naked Magicians feels like a cabaret show from the pre-internet era, the sort of hotel [...]
You Say You Want A Revolution? Records and Rebels 1966-1970 at the V&A is a chaotic, messy but satisfyingly psychedelic trip September 8, 2016 We’re not exactly short of gushing eulogies of the late 1960s, but the V&A’s new exhibition does at least allow us another chance to ponder the formative years of a generation many blame for the near-breakdown of western civilisation. Records and Rebels does little to disprove the theory that baby boomers had their cake and [...]
Vanities is a hilarious musical comedy charting the life journeys of three cheerleaders September 8, 2016 Vanities is a musical comedy that follows the fate of three childhood friends, from their days as boundlessly energetic cheerleaders in a Dallas high school in the mid-1960s to their lives as three very different adult women. Mary, Joanne and Kathy each have their own clear aspirations for the future, but shared among them is [...]
It’s not that I want horses to die for my entertainment, but Ben Hur would have benefited from at least one horse being in mortal danger during filming September 8, 2016 Ben Hur (1959) is an epic historical drama about a Jewish prince sent into slavery after some shoddy tiling fell on a centurion and made him look a right tit in front his garrison. Condemned to row himself to death aboard a Roman galley, he eventually wins his freedom and returns to his home country [...]
My Inspiration: Architect Richard Found on his love of painter Barry Reigate September 6, 2016 Award-winning architect Richard Found talks about his unlikely love affair with the chaos and colour in the paintings of Barry Reigate This painting is by an artist called Barry Reigate, whose work could be described as a cross between Jean-Michel Basquiat and Banksy. A lot of his material is black and white but this one [...]
Captain Fantastic review: Viggo Mortensen road-trip movie can’t rescue depressingly cliched indie effort September 6, 2016 Captain Fantastic hints at a fresh take on the American indie movie, but lapses disappointingly into a series of cliched genre tropes dressed up with pretty lens flare. We meet the Cash family – father Ben and his six children aged from eight to 18 – as they stalk a deer through lush woodland, killing [...]
Sausage Party review: Knob-gags abound in Seth Rogen’s family unfriendly animated film September 2, 2016 The term ‘animated comedy’ generally comes with the assumption that it’s also family friendly. However, the team behind The Interview are back to lampoon Pixar et al in Sausage Party, imagining a world where items of food come to life (a la Toy Story) and believe they go to The Great Beyond once they are [...]