The Radical Eye: Modernist Photography at the Tate Modern review: Elton John’s personal photography collection is astonishing November 11, 2016 In a moment of irony at this exhibition of Elton John’s personal photography collection, a security guard berated a woman for taking a picture on her iPhone. It was a neat reminder of how saturated and disposable this medium has become in the 21st century, clogging up social media feeds, propped up by technology that [...]
King Lear at the Old Vic review: Glenda Jackson’s return to the stage is a triumph November 11, 2016 Glenda Jackson has spent the last 25 years researching the intricacies of political life especially for this role (she’s been the MP for Hampstead and Highgate). It was worth it – and what a loss to the stage the last quarter of a century has been. Her gender-switched Lear is by turns viperous, bawdy and [...]
Interiors: We ask the experts how to snazz up your dinner table before the Christmas hordes arrive November 11, 2016 Staying in is the new going out; we want to bring friends home to warmth and hospitality. Being able to light intimate candles for dinner is one of the overlooked joys of shorter days. However, with the trend for simplicity, and sharing, we need to be careful not to make boring choices when it comes [...]
Focus On Rotherhithe: A £34m investment has brought a new town square, library and cultural centre to the Docks November 11, 2016 Rotherhithe, a conservation area in the Docklands in south east London, is one of the prettiest and most rapidly gentrifying places in the capital. With a long and proud history as a major trade port, it was a working dock right up until the 1970s. It was also home to the first under-river tunnel in [...]
Here’s everything that happened in the sixth episode of The Apprentice November 11, 2016 This week’s Apprentice sent the final 12 on a wild goose chase around London in a classic task – the treasure hunt challenge. They were given all night to find every object on a list, which shouldn't have been too hard considering London is now a 24-hour city. Perhaps a more difficult challenge before the advent [...]
Cymbeline at the Barbican review: Epic, thrilling and bold to the core November 10, 2016 Shakespeare is the still the master of blending the personal and the political. And nowhere is this showcased more effectively than this production of Cymbeline by the RSC, set in “a dystopian Britain not too far in the future” (the programme’s words, not mine). In a symbolic act of self-sabotage, our green and pleasant land [...]
American Pastoral review: The American Dream dissolves into a bleak nightmare in this all too relevant film November 10, 2016 A film exploring the frailties of the American Dream couldn’t be more relevant, yet there’s little that rings true in this adaptation of Philip Roth’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about the generational shifts in post-war American politics. The novel occupies a profound place in the US literary canon, so it seems an odd vehicle for Ewan [...]
Arrival review: This is Close Encounters for the Interstellar generation November 10, 2016 Language is both a bridge and a barrier in Arrival, a film in which a dozen gargantuan alien ships appear around the world and cause global existential upset. These obsidian-black sentinels hover metres above the earth, silent, still and towering, and in an effort to figure out the intentions and nature of their occupants the [...]
Why it’s time to stop drinking prosecco November 10, 2016 Three years ago, when I was just starting out with this column, I boldly predicted the rise of prosecco in the hearts of the British quaffing classes. And oh how it has turned out to be true. Clever marketing, combined with the British love of cheap fizz, has propelled prosecco relentlessly up the wine charts. [...]
Restaurateur Mark Hix reminisces with artist Gavin Turk about the glory days of the YBAs ahead of his upcoming show at Damien Hirst’s Newport Street Gallery November 10, 2016 I’ve converted a couple of veggie artists over the years, tempting them with tasty cuts of rare beef – Tim Noble and Mat Collishaw spring to mind – but I suspect Gavin Turk is a lost cause. Gavin, one of the original YBAs, has been veggie for over five years and went full-vegan last year; [...]