Theatre review: Kafka on the Shore June 5, 2015 Barbican | ★★★★★ Haruki Murakami’s novel Kafka on the Shore is an ever-shifting mirage where dream and reality, past and future, here and there all twist and collide. It’s a book about ideas, encompassing western philosophy, Greek tragedy, psychoanalysis and science fiction. It should translate horribly to the stage, but legendary Japanese theatre director [...]
Theatre review: Bradley Cooper’s physical performance is a little too good in The Elephant Man June 5, 2015 Theatre Royal Haymarket | ★★☆☆☆ Bradley Cooper’s performance in The Elephant Man is an impressive feat of physical acting that’s a little too good for a largely uninspired play. In one of the few genuinely innovative scenes, we first see Cooper as a near-naked, barrel-chested vision of human perfection. As Joseph Merrick’s many [...]
Film review: Melissa McCarthy is hampered by her co-stars in Spy June 5, 2015 Cert 15 | ★★☆☆☆ Bounteous as Melissa McCarthy’s comedic gifts no doubt are, do they justify a resuscitation of the spy-spoof genre? In a word: no. In Spy she plays a desk-bound CIA operative working in partnership with field agent Bradley Fine (Jude Law) with whom she is not-so-secretly in love. Despite finishing top [...]
Art review: Agnes Martin brings peace and quiet to Tate Modern June 4, 2015 Tate Modern | ★★★★★ When we think of 20th century abstraction we tend to think of great male painters who divided the canvas into blocks (Mondrian, Rothko) or set colours against each other in explosions of warring pigment (Pollock). Agnes Martin’s approach was different. She ruptured the chains of figuration only to find another [...]
Something for the weekend June 4, 2015 WATCH! MORE LONDON FREE FESTIVAL This weekend the More London Free Festival returns, bringing a varied programme of arts and events to the concrete amphitheatre next to the Mayor’s building. See everything from child-friendly adaptations of Greek tragedies to a French Riviera-inspired pop up restaurant. Visit morelondon.com PERUSE! MAP FAIR What better way to add [...]
From Field Day to the Chelsea Fringe, the best of summertime in London June 4, 2015 The summer season is finally upon us! This means music festivals, rooftop drinking and lounging around in the park. Don’t wait for the weather to arrive, take advantage of all the adventures you can have outdoors this weekend Field Day Saturday and Sunday, Victoria Park, fielddayfestivals.com This may have been Field Day’s [...]
Fifty scents: Richard E Grant on being led by his nose, speaking to peacocks and watching his neighbours ‘at it’ June 4, 2015 When Richard E Grant suggested we meet at Fulham’s exclusive Hurlingham members’ club, it seemed to make perfect sense. He lives just up the road in Richmond and it’s exactly the kind of place I can imagine him hanging out, especially after having watched him star in Downton Abbey. I had visions of wood-panelled walls, winchester sofas, views over the croquet [...]
Theatre review: Temple tells the Occupy protest story for the Netflix generation May 29, 2015 Donmar Warehouse | ★★★★★ Temple, Simon Russell Beale’s new Protestants vs protesters play about the decision to evict the Occupy squatters from St Paul’s is nuanced and satisfying theatre for the Netflix generation. At its peak, in October and November of 2011, the anti-capitalist protest camp surrounding St Paul’s dominated the news, leading [...]
Bold Tendencies: Richard Wentworth May 29, 2015 Peckham Multi-Storey Car Park | ★★★★☆ Sure, the days are getting longer and the weather is hotting up, but nothing signals the beginning of summer in south London like the opening of Frank’s Cafe in Peckham multi-storey car park. While most come for the booze and the views, influential young curator Hannah Barry has turned [...]
Film review: San Andreas May 29, 2015 Cert 15 | ★★☆☆☆ KABOOM. Was that the sound of tectonic plates ripping, or was it a giant penny dropping in the mind of a Hollywood producer: destroy some buildings, throw Dwayne Johnson into the wreckage and voila, no need to shell out for a screenwriter. Who needs a script, seems to be [...]