Art review: Barbara Hepworth June 25, 2015 Tate Britain Three Stars She may not have had a major London show for 50 years, but we’ve hardly been deprived of Barbara Hepworth. Her sculptures are everywhere in Britain: in parks and gardens, in busy city thoroughfares, on beaches and in museum collections up and down the country. That her work is so ubiquitous [...]
Film review: Minions June 25, 2015 Cert U | ★★★☆☆ A large part of the Despicable Me franchise’s $1.5bn success, loveable sidekicks the Minions were bound to get their own spin off. This prequel follows the yellow babbling hoards as three of their number look to find an evil leader to serve, inadvertently causing chaos along the way in 1960s London. [...]
Film review: Slow West June 25, 2015 Cert 15 | ★★★★☆ In an era when capes and dinosaurs rule the box office, is there room for the Western in mainstream cinema? In recent years the genre has been adapted by more left-field filmmakers such as The Coen Brothers and Quentin Tarantino, both of whom brought their own auteurish instincts to bear [...]
Theatre review: The Motherf***er With the Hat is a wickedly comic, foul-mouthed romp that packs a sentimental punch June 25, 2015 Lyttelton Theatre | ★★★★★ The Motherf***er With the Hat is where you might end up if you commissioned Quentin Tarantino to write an episode of Eastenders. The plot makes the play sound like a far grimmer affair than it really is. Recovering alcoholic Jackie has just been released from prison for drug dealing. [...]
Perfect Saturday June 25, 2015 BREAKFAST AT FARM GIRL Get your Saturday off to a wholesome start at Farm Girl on Portobello Road. Australian Rose Mann’s cafe has just opened and will be serve up nutritious delights including superfood smoothies and chicken fried in coconut oil. Visit thefarmgirl.co.uk PRIDE PARADE IN THE AFTERNOON No city does Pride like London. Tens [...]
The Barbican: A new book celebrates one of London’s greatest landmarks June 25, 2015 Light and shadow on a clear day at the Barbican. Photograph by Alan Ainsworth Elegant expression of post-war utopianism, or concrete carbuncle in the heart of the City? Whatever you think of the Barbican, it’s impossible to deny its impact. The Grade II-Listed building, developed exclusively from designs by Chamberlin, Powell and Bon, was [...]
Return of an icon: Audrey Hepburn is the subject of a new exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery June 25, 2015 Audrey Hepburn by Philippe Halsman for LIFE Magazine, 1954 Say Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993) and the first thing most people think of is Breakfast at Tiffany’s. In the film’s poster she leans forward, hair fastened with a diamond clip (a wisp of fringe escapes), her gloved hands balancing a cigarette-holder between thumb and forefinger. [...]
Beautiful things: G-Star chairs, summer igloos and self-playing Steinway pianos June 25, 2015 This ultra-utilitarian collection of desks, chairs and lamps is the result of a partnership between Vitra and denim brand G-Star Fashion brand G-Star Raw has formed an unlikely partnership with iconic furniture- maker Vitra to create a stunning range of industrial office equipment. The Prouvé Raw crossover collection revives a line of utilitarian [...]
At your service: Meet the concierges who run the lives of London’s elite homeowners June 25, 2015 The humble bowler-hatted doorman was once a tell-tale sign of a prestigious London address. But he’s quickly being replaced by a tenacious new breed of concierge. The industry travels with the global super-rich, arriving at whichever city blossoms into the darling of the international property market. Multilingual, persistent and well-connected, London’s hard-working concierges are on [...]
Communities in the sky: Architects are embracing a very capitalist utopian dream June 25, 2015 Architects are returning to the utopian idea of housing projects as selfcontained communities where residents are able to interact in social spaces. Only this time it’s a very capitalist dream Here’s how most of us choose our homes: we pick an area we can afford, perhaps somewhere with a good school for the kids, [...]