Sunderland demand FA speed up decision on whether to hire Sam Allardyce as England boss July 13, 2016 Sunderland chiefs have called on the Football Association to move quickly and appoint a new England manager after Black Cats boss Sam Allardyce was interviewed for the vacancy on Tuesday. The club confirmed that Allardyce had left a pre-season training camp in Austria to hold talks with the FA over succeeding Roy Hodgson, who quit [...]
Unreachable at the Royal Court theatre review: former Doctor Who Matt Smith adds sparkle to this meandering tale of egotistical genius July 13, 2016 Anthony Neilson’s latest play is a wry examination of tortured artists and overblown filmmakers, a cautionary tale of how ego can sever your links to reality. It may remind you of the more dramatic people on your Instagram feed. Troubled director Maxim (Matt Smith) is obsessed with capturing light on film. Not just any light: [...]
Men & Chicken movie review: Mads Mikkelsen stars in this deranged, blacker than black Danish comedy July 13, 2016 This pitch-black Danish comedy touches upon incest, sex addiction, bestiality and vivisection, yet still manages to be disarmingly adorable. It follows two cleft-lipped brothers, depressive Gabriel (David Dencik) and compulsive masturbator Elias (Mads Mikkelsen, in a role as far from his part as Le Chiffre in Casino Royale as it’s possible to get) as they search [...]
Past is the past: Mohammad Amir–inspired Pakistan will be a stern challenge for England July 13, 2016 All the talk is of convicted spot-fixer Mohammad Amir returning to Test cricket and he is a big reason why I expect Pakistan to provide a stern challenge for England when the four-match Investec series gets underway at Lord’s on Thursday. The 24-year-old looks to be bowling pretty well and swinging the Dukes ball late, [...]
Ragnar Kjartansson at Barbican review: top Icelandic artist explores the point where performance meets reality July 13, 2016 Every five years Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson records a video of his mother repeatedly spitting in his face. So far there are four videos, which play side-by-side in this Barbican retrospective of his work. They encapsulate a question that’s fascinated him throughout his career – where do performance and reality meet? His mother is a [...]
Needles and Opium at barbican review: a surreal jazz noir and absurdist Miles Davis tribute July 13, 2016 Needles and Opium is a surreal jazz noir staged in a giant revolving cube. It’s a revival of a 1991 play by mercurial French Canadian theatre director Robert Lepage, whose past works include Lipsynch, a nine-hour meditation on the human voice. This play begins with actor Marc Labrèche – who also starred in the production [...]
Dustin Johnson targeting hat-trick of wins, Claret Jug and No1 ranking at Troon July 13, 2016 In-form Dustin Johnson believes that his Major breakthrough at Oakmont last month has multiplied his chances of scooping the Open Championship at Royal Troon, which begins on Thursday. Johnson confesses he rarely wants for confidence, but the world No2 says that winning the US Open – and following it up with victory in the WGC [...]
Premier League pre-season fixtures: Tottenham’s travels down under top Manchester City and Manchester United’s trip to China July 13, 2016 Brexit may have cast doubt on the future of UK trade, but there’s at least one British export showing no signs of shrinking this summer: Premier League football. Just this month alone teams will be jetting on pre-season tours to China, America, Australia and Scandinavia where thousands of eager fans are waiting to lap up [...]
England skipper Alastair Cook urges debutant Jake Ball to seize Test opportunity and rip through Pakistan July 13, 2016 England skipper Alastair Cook has backed seamer Jake Ball to rack up the wickets when he makes his international debut in today’s first Investec Test against Pakistan at Lord’s on Thursday. Cook has confirmed that Nottinghamshire quick Ball, who has claimed 96 first-class scalps, has been given the nod over Middlesex rookie Toby Roland-Jones to [...]
Cricket betting: Comeback kid Mohammad Amir to shine – but England to take series July 13, 2016 England swatted Sri Lanka away in an underwhelming start to the cricketing summer and now face a far stiffer opponent in the shape of Pakistan. The two nations have a chaotic cricketing history, littered with controversy and confrontation. If Mike Gatting’s famous finger-wagging with umpire Shakoor Rana in 1987 wasn’t bad enough, Inzamam-ul-Haq then refused [...]