James Ensor at the Royal Academy: a mercurial painter of the grotesque October 27, 2016 In the paintings of James Ensor, life is dour and murky while death is a riot of colour and expressive brush-strokes. In one of the first pieces in the Royal Academy’s exhibition two women sit taking afternoon tea (Afternoon in Ostend, 1881) in an oppressively brown room, as if the bourgeois scene is so interminably [...]
Doctor Strange review: The tightest, funniest, most refreshing super-hero movie in years October 27, 2016 While all around super-hero franchises are collapsing under their own grotesque weight – Batman v Superman, X-Men Apocalypse, Suicide Squad – Marvel stands alone in its uncanny ability to churn out hit after hit. With Doctor Strange, it’s just showing off. Its lead character is a beloved but relatively fringe inhabitant of the Marvel Universe, [...]
West Ham facing calls for stadium ban following supporter clashes during Chelsea EFL Cup tie October 27, 2016 West Ham should be forced to play matches behind closed doors if they and London Stadium chiefs are unable to eradicate crowd violence at the former Olympic venue, say MPs. The call comes after ugly clashes between Hammers and Chelsea supporters during Wednesday night’s EFL Cup fourth round tie, in which chairs and coins were [...]
A Pacifist’s Guide to the War on Cancer review: Cancer cells dance around inflatable tumours in this musical about disease October 27, 2016 A musical in which colourful cancer cells fart about on stage like rejected Saturday morning cartoon characters, A Pacifist’s Guide to the War on Cancer is an unexpectedly jazzy and frenetic show. It dissects and digests the bleak world of terminal illness with a song and a dance, as tumours slowly emerge from the stage [...]
Claudio Ranieri promises Tottenham Hotspur they will face a Leicester side which has re-found its title-winning magic October 27, 2016 Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri insists his side have re-found their title-winning magic and has promised Saturday's opponents Tottenham that the Foxes will be unrecognisable from their early season woes. Defending Premier League champions Leicester have been a shadow of their former selves this term, having lost four of their nine fixtures, while an away win [...]
Why West Ham’s crowd trouble will scare off potential London Stadium sponsors October 27, 2016 Synergy chief executive Tim Crow on why the Hammers and the LLDC will have a tough time finding a sponsor for the London Stadium. Naming rights sponsorships of major sports stadiums and entertainment arenas are something with which we are all very familiar. What began as a US phenomenon in the 1970s and 80s, as [...]
England skipper Alastair Cook excited to see how rookie Zafar Ansari adapts to Test arena October 27, 2016 England skipper Alastair Cook has backed international rookie Zafar Ansari to seize his opportunity to impress after confirming that the Surrey all-rounder will make his Test debut against Bangladesh on Friday. Cook confirmed yesterday that left-armer Ansari is set to replace his county captain Gareth Batty for the second Test in Dhaka, with the other [...]
FA bursts Jose Mourinho’s bubble with misconduct charge hours after Manchester United’s derby victory October 27, 2016 Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho’s relief at knocking Manchester City out of the EFL Cup was tempered on Thursday when he was charged with misconduct by the Football Association. Mourinho has until Monday to respond to the charge, which relates to comments he made about referee Anthony Taylor before last week’s draw against Liverpool. FA [...]
Rory McIlroy reveals the massive prize money cut he gave to caddie J.P. Fitzgerald after winning the FedEx Cup October 27, 2016 You would have needed to be ranked as one of the top 110 golf players in the world last season to have earned more than $1m in prize money. Not a bad career. Alternatively, you could land a job as a caddie for one of the very best players and earn even more without having to tee [...]
Met Police vow to identify and bring to justice West Ham and Chelsea fans involved in violence at London Stadium October 27, 2016 Seven people have been arrested following ugly clashes between West Ham United and Chelsea fans at the London Stadium on Wednesday night. The Metropolitan Police said it "will work tirelessly to identify people involved and bring them to justice" after West Ham's 2-1 victory over the Blues in the EFL Cup was barred by fan [...]