Theatre review: Waste at the National Theatre November 13, 2015 Lyttelton Theatre | ★★★☆☆ “The road to hell is paved not with good intentions but with high ideals”; it’s a statement delivered as a sardonic zinger but it turns out to be sadly prescient for the hero of Harley Granville-Barker’s 1906 play. This dense, long-winded story focuses on the political intrigue surrounding a bill to disestablish [...]
Steve Jobs review: Fassbender carries a poignant biopic of Apple’s dysfunctional tech messiah November 13, 2015 12A | ★★★★☆ You can’t code, you’re not a designer, you’re not a programmer,” says exasperated Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak (Seth Rogan). “But every day I read that Steve Jobs is a genius. What do you actually do?” This is the billion-dollar question asked by Danny Boyle in his follow-up to the London 2012 Opening [...]
Alexander Calder: Performing Sculpture at the Tate Modern November 13, 2015 Tate Modern | ★★★★☆ Alexander Calder is said to be the man who introduced mobiles to the art world in the 1920s (the things that hang over babies’ cribs rather then the phones). The first room in the Tate Modern’s retrospective of his work is dedicated to his early, figurative pieces. Deceptively complex wire sculptures dangle [...]
Lessons in wine: To decant or not to decant, that is the question November 11, 2015 A decanter is a vessel to pour wine into; these are almost always glass or crystal and decanters come in wonderful shapes and sizes. Deciding whether to decant, or how long to decant for is a difficult question, even for the most fervent wine enthusiast. So here are some thoughts which might help you decide. [...]
Sexy Fish restaurant review: Richard Caring’s seafood menu is all about that bass November 10, 2015 Berkeley Square House, W1J 6BR FOOD ★★★★☆ VALUE ★★★☆☆ ATMOSPHERE ★★☆☆☆ Cost for two with booze: £180 Sexy Fish. Sexy Fish. Sexy Fish. Wherever you put the emphasis on Richard Caring’s new Mayfair restaurant it sounds terrible. I suspect this might be the point: it’s wilfully crass, intentionally boorish, purposefully provocative. It’s flippant but [...]
Peugeot 308 GTI is a chip off the old block November 9, 2015 DESIGN: ★★★☆☆ PERFORMANCE: ★★★★☆ PRACTICALITY: ★★★★☆ VALUE: ★★★★☆ There is an unwritten rule of motoring journalism that any review of a sporty Peugeot must reference the 205 GTI. But while the “best hot hatch of all time” is undoubtedly an icon, it’s also an albatross. Its brilliance has cast a long shadow over every subsequent Peugeot. [...]
The Long Weekend: Cwmain Cottage, North Wales November 6, 2015 The weekend: It’s your choice whether you prefer a dreamy wander around North Wales’ romantic countryside, or a punishing hike up some of the UK’s most challenging mountains. The rest of this weekend will be spent recharging by a crackling log fire and getting to grips with the local beers in a nearby pub. WHERE? [...]
Play your own Game of Thrones in Northern Ireland November 6, 2015 Thronies, as they call themselves, have known for an age that the city of Belfast, and Northern Ireland in general, is the place to spot Game of Thrones film locations. Now even casual viewers (and readers) are following in the footsteps of the mythological characters, with popularity soaring for these epic, windswept landscapes. Based on [...]
Theatre review: As You Like It, National Theatre November 6, 2015 Cert: 15 | ★★★☆☆ With its rambunctious female lead and sketch-show skits, As You Like It must be one of the easiest Shakespeare plays to modernise. Which makes it all the more surprising that this is the first time in 36 years the National Theatre has staged the lovestruck comedy. And what a surprise it [...]
Lessons in wine: Why Piedmont is a unique and wonderful region November 6, 2015 Piedmont translates as “foot of the mountains”, with the Alps to the North and West of the region. Along with Tuscany it is Italy’s most important winemaking region. In this region south of Turin we find the famous Barolo and Barbaresco wines. These are made from the same grape, Nebbiolo, which gets its name from [...]