NDT Broadgate: £40m generated for UK economy by ‘revolutionary’ City of London arts project April 19, 2023 A piece of City of London land offered for free to 8,800 independent artists for twelve months has generated £40m in revenue for the UK economy. The NDT Broadgate initiative ran for twelve months in 2021 and 2022, providing rehearsal spaces, writing rooms, co-working areas, recording booths, studios and workshops to the creative community free [...]
Wagatha Christie, Ambassador’s Theatre, review: Can we put this (bad) joke to bed? April 18, 2023 Wagatha Christie was a great joke. The idea of Colleen Rooney being a modern day detective, the type Agatha Christie could have penned, is obviously hilarious. But can we end this joke now? Or I’ll call the real detectives in. In case you’ve been hiding in Miss Marple’s beehive for the past three years, this [...]
Graham Linehan, AKA Glinner, banned from Twitter… Again April 16, 2023 Graham Linehan, the creator of Father Ted now best known for his opposition to trans rights, has been banned from Twitter… Again. Linehan’s latest ban was for joking about killing protestors at a controversial women’s rights activist event in Belfast called Let Women Speak, although he had already received warnings from the platform about his [...]
Private Lives, Donmar Warehouse, review: Deliciously camp, everso restrained April 15, 2023 Private Lives review and star rating: ★★★ It’s been fifty years since the death of Noël Coward, the eminent British satirist who wrote frothy, seemingly throwaway comedic lines threaded with darkness and existential dread. Coward’s a complicated one: the style of his plays, and often, the language, can feel almost impossibly out of date, but his [...]
Nic Cage brings comedy bite to Dracula movie Renfield April 13, 2023 It’s that special time of year when Nicolas Cage stars in a film so batshit crazy it just might work. This time he plays Dracula with enough scenery-chewing to make Hammer Horror look like The Shining. He’s joined by Nicholas Hoult in the title role of Renfield, Dracula’s “familiar”, who is given some of the [...]
‘We don’t need Harry Potter reboot’: Fans condemn new Harry Potter TV series with JK Rowling April 13, 2023 Fans and television critics have been criticising the new Harry Potter TV series, with many calling out JK Rowling’s involvement following her controversial stance on transgender people. It was confirmed last night that a new TV series by Max – formerly HBO Max – will begin production, with Rowling, the original writer of the books, [...]
Suzume review: Your Name director returns with new masterpiece April 13, 2023 Japanese animation can often be unfairly categorised as a niche genre, meant for the arthouses but not the multiplex. Disproving this point, Suzume arrives on these shores already a blockbuster. Its director, Makoto Shinkai, is an animation veteran who has found international success in the last few years with 2016’s Your Name and 2019’s Weathering [...]
First ever Harry Potter TV series officially confirmed April 13, 2023 The first ever televised series of the Harry Potter books has been confirmed. A 30 second clip was made available by Max, formerly HBO Max, featuring the original Harry Potter music from the film franchise, the Harry Potter logo and a graphic of Hogwarts. It has long been rumoured that a televised version of the [...]
Beleaguered Edinburgh Fringe responds to financial struggles of key London festival April 12, 2023 The future of the Edinburgh Fringe festival is hanging in the balance due to rising costs, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society’s chief executive Shona McCarthy has said. “It’s not an exaggeration to say that this festival is under existential threat,” said McCarthy, speaking on Barry Fearn’s Leading Conversations podcast. “We’ve come into 2023 with a [...]
New Netflix show scores rare 100 per cent Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes April 12, 2023 Only a handful of shows have done it, but one new Netflix series has landed a rare 100 per cent Certified Fresh’ rating on review platform Rotten Tomatoes. It means critics and viewers think it’s one of the best shows out there at the moment, and it joins just a few dozen shows to have [...]