Philip Guston at Tate Modern: A savage dissection of the banality of evil October 9, 2023 The furore surrounding the delay of this major Philip Guston retrospective precedes it. Originally due to tour in 2020 through London, Boston, Houston and Washington, the death of George Floyd, and the Black Lives Matter movement prompted its curators to balk at showing Guston’s highly controversial images of Ku Klux Klan figures, deeming it too [...]
Das Rheingold at the Royal Opera House is enthralling October 9, 2023 As the first opera in Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle, new productions of Das Rheingold attract intense scrutiny. Establishing the visual language for one production is hard enough, but setting the tone for three more operas is no mean feat. Director Barrie Kosky knows this, because this production marks his second stab at directing the epic [...]
Frans Hals at the National Gallery: A jolly man in a grim time October 7, 2023 Frans Hals was a relatively unfashionable 17th century Dutch master who specialised in portraiture – not a summary that necessarily leaps out to audiences. And yet it is a testament to Hals that an exhibition that almost exclusively contains men and women decked out in black can be so jolly. Religious conflict convulsed Europe during [...]
The Great Escaper review: Michael Caine prepares to bow out October 7, 2023 Sir Michael Caine recently hinted that his new film may well be his last. Having turned 90, and suffering ill health, he revealed in an interview that he is more or less retired, making The Great Escaper the last hurrah of a nearly 70 year career. The comedy-drama is based on the true story of [...]
Derren Brown interview: ‘Magic is childish, you’re just trying to impress people’ October 6, 2023 “There are people who can naturally command a room. I’m not one of them…” These are surprising words from the magician who once shot himself in the head live on TV in a game of Russian roulette. Backstage at the Criterion Theatre ahead of his new show, Unbelievable, the magician Derren Brown is telling me [...]
Blackberry the movie: A gripping real-life corporate tragedy October 6, 2023 Another week, another product biopic. Films about Air Jordan shoes, Flamin’ Hot Cheetos crisps, Beanie Babies, and Tetris have all been released this year to varying success. While the merit of some of those stories may be questionable, BlackBerry has arguably the most intriguing subject. Before everyone stared at their own black mirrors, BlackBerry phones [...]
Picture A Day Like This at ROH review: Beautiful ad memorable October 6, 2023 What does it mean to look for a miracle? Hope, as a uniquely human impulse, is the focus of composer George Benjamin and writer Martin Crimp’s latest operatic endeavour, Picture a day like this. This eagerly anticipated fourth collaboration between Benjamin and Crimp marks a departure from their grander operatic triumphs. Picture a day like [...]
Just Stop Oil protesters disrupt West End performance of Les Miserables October 5, 2023 Just Stop Oil protesters disrupted a performance of Les Miserables at the Sondheim Theatre in London’s West End on Wednesday night. The protesters entered the stage during a performance of Do You Hear The People Sing? Just Stop Oil said that four protesters then locked themselves to the stage using flexible bicycle locks at around [...]
Trompe L’Oeil review: Trump is the butt of the joke again October 5, 2023 How many fringe theatre and cabaret shows have made Donald Trump the butt of their jokes? Surely it’s in the thousands. It must hard to offer fresh material, so kudos to Trompe L’Oeil for finding new life in him yet. In this musical cabaret the former president is played by Emer Dineen, who portrays a [...]
Old Friends review: Sondheim honoured in show bursting with love October 4, 2023 Old Friends review and star rating: ★★★★★ What drew Bernadette Peters, living legend of Broadway, aged 75, after a half-century-long career in New York, to finally make her West End debut? Especially given she’ll make a considerably worse salary here compared to financially flush Broadway? A knees-up to celebrate musical impresario, Stephen Sondheim. Sondheim passed [...]