Edinburgh Fringe could be forced to close due to rising costs, warns chief executive April 11, 2023 The head of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society has warned the annual Edinburgh Fringe event is under “existential threat” due to rising costs faced by companies and venues. Speaking on Barry Fearn’s Leading Conversations podcast, Society chief executive Shona McCarthy said the lack of support had left the Fringe “cracking at the seams” before the [...]
These photos of Paul O’Grady as Lily Savage in London in the 1980s show what an icon she was April 7, 2023 Paul O’Grady, who has sadly died, was beloved as a TV and radio presenter. But in the 1980s and 1990s he was more famous as pioneering drag queen, Lily Savage, who was integral LGBTQ representation on British TV in an era before drag queens were mainstream. Many of the UK Drag Race queens today owe [...]
One Fine Morning, film review: Lea Seydoux’s Parisian portrait lacks focus April 7, 2023 Léa Seydoux, aka Dr. Madeleine Swann in Spectre and No Time To Die, is a fine actor with huge range. She’s immensely watchable in One Fine Morning, whether she’s casting a flirtatious eye across a road or acting the repercussions of a heart-rending break up, and in ponderous new drama One Fine Morning she gets [...]
Ai Weiwei: Making Sense at the Design Museum is a triumph April 6, 2023 There is a saying among locals in the Chinese city of Xi’an that the worst thing that could happen during a trip there would be to miss the world famous Terracotta Army. The second worst thing would be to see the Terracotta Army. You see, despite this lifesize army of clay soldiers being a genuine [...]
Fake QAnon Shaman falling off his bike: A frame-by-frame analysis April 5, 2023 As Donald Trump arrived in New York to be charged with falsifying accounts, his rag-tag bunch of MAGA supporters were out in force. One of them looked familiar: a man dressed as the infamous QAnon Shaman, who was part of the raiding party that stormed the White House after Trump lost the last election. We [...]
Portraits of Dogs at the Wallace Collection will make your tail wag April 5, 2023 From taxidermy to Hockney’s adorable dachshunds, Portraits of Dogs, a new exhibition at the Wallace Collection, explores how the portrayal of our canine friends has changed over the centuries. Three huge portraits greet you as you enter: George Stubbs’ ‘aristocratic dogs’, which are among the exhibition’s finest pieces. More than almost anyone else on display [...]
9 wines to try this Easter weekend April 5, 2023 Whether celebrating with friends, hosting family, or hiding eggs from chocolate smeared children, there has always been a lot of food associated with the celebration of Easter (see page opposite). Lamb is probably the best-known meat at this time of year, pre-dating Christianity as the main meal of Jewish Passover, a tradition continued by the [...]
New Harry Potter TV series is happening with JK Rowling on board, reports say April 4, 2023 A new TV series based on all seven Harry Potter books is due to go into production if the deal can be finalised. HBO Max is reportedly finalising a deal with Potter author JK Rowling who retains creative control over the way her books are adapted for the screen. Rowling is in talks to work [...]
Gwyneth Paltrow: What her ‘courtcore’ appearance says about dressing for your trial April 4, 2023 I’m going to bet that most of you have never followed a trial at Utah’s 3rd District Court in Park City before. You had probably never even heard of Kent R. Holmberg, a 65-year-old judge appointed to the bench six years ago. But last week Judge Holmberg’s courtroom was the setting for a civil suit [...]
I went to Auschwitz with Holocaust survivors. It was shocking, but so memorable April 3, 2023 Survivors, now in their 90s, return to Holocaust sites to take visitors on tours for the annual March of the Living. Daniel Edward went along I’m not generally a nervous traveller, it would be something of a professional impediment, but I must admit to being nervous of visiting some of the most horrific sites of [...]