Fifa election: Why Sepp Blatter will beat Prince Ali to remain president May 29, 2015 Corruption allegations, arrests of top officials, global outrage – in most organisations such calamities would cost a leader their job, let alone the chance to stand for re-election. But Fifa isn't most organisations, and not only is president Sepp Blatter bidding for a fifth straight term in this afternoon's election following one of the most [...]
Theatre review: Temple tells the Occupy protest story for the Netflix generation May 29, 2015 Donmar Warehouse | ★★★★★ Temple, Simon Russell Beale’s new Protestants vs protesters play about the decision to evict the Occupy squatters from St Paul’s is nuanced and satisfying theatre for the Netflix generation. At its peak, in October and November of 2011, the anti-capitalist protest camp surrounding St Paul’s dominated the news, leading [...]
Bold Tendencies: Richard Wentworth May 29, 2015 Peckham Multi-Storey Car Park | ★★★★☆ Sure, the days are getting longer and the weather is hotting up, but nothing signals the beginning of summer in south London like the opening of Frank’s Cafe in Peckham multi-storey car park. While most come for the booze and the views, influential young curator Hannah Barry has turned [...]
Serious Fraud Office to examine Fifa allegations after being accused of “failing its duty” May 29, 2015 Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) will examine information relating to alleged Fifa corruption after announcing it is "ready to assist in ongoing international criminal investigations". Two large British banks – HSBC and Barclays – were both named in the indictment filed by the US Department of Justice (DoJ), which led to the explosive arrest of [...]
Film review: San Andreas May 29, 2015 Cert 15 | ★★☆☆☆ KABOOM. Was that the sound of tectonic plates ripping, or was it a giant penny dropping in the mind of a Hollywood producer: destroy some buildings, throw Dwayne Johnson into the wreckage and voila, no need to shell out for a screenwriter. Who needs a script, seems to be [...]
Film review: In Danny Collins Al Pacino learns how to grow old gracefully May 29, 2015 Cert 15 | ★★★★☆ Watching Al Pacino and Robert De Niro slog it out in 2008’s Righteous Kill, you’d be forgiven for thinking Pacino was finished. Gone. Destined to live out his days impotently raging at the dying of the light, playing wrinkled, rattly-boned versions of the live-wires he once infused with febrile intensity. [...]
Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein: Who is the man taking on Sepp Blatter for the Fifa presidency? May 29, 2015 Sepp Blatter, the controversial 78-year-old Fifa president, is hoping to win a fifth term in today's election, but must first beat off the competition from a contender 39 years his junior. With Blatter’s reign mired in corruption scandals, contentious World Cup hosting choices and most recently a sensational series of arrests of senior officials, the Jordanian [...]
Theatre review: Merry hijinks lacking passion in The Beaux’ Stratagem May 28, 2015 Olivier Theatre | ★★★☆☆ George Farquhar’s The Beaux’ Stratagem is not quite your typical Restoration comedy. While his contemporary William Congreve took the genre to a new level of metropolitan licentiousness, Farquhar headed to the provinces. Though still based around amorous adventures, his later works check their horseplay with a tragicomic seriousness. The Beaux’ Stratagem [...]
Something for the weekend May 28, 2015 DANCE! BENJI B Internationally renowned DJ Benji B continues his residency at XOYO. If you’ve ever tuned in to his Radio 1 show – and if you haven’t, you should – you’ll recognise the eclectic mix of the best electronic sounds. Saturday, £13.50, visit xoyo.co.uk. SHOP! CLERKENWELL VINTAGE FAIR Need to revamp your wardrobe in [...]
Blatter remains defiant despite engulfing crisis May 28, 2015 DEFIANT president Sepp Blatter refused to quit his position at the top of the scandal-ridden world governing body yesterday as the shockwaves from the Fifa corruption scandal continued to reverberate throughout football. Uefa counterpart Michel Platini demanded that Blatter resign, while failing to rule out further challenges to the 79-year-old’s authority should he win today’s [...]