My Fair Lady review: Polished production lacks energy June 17, 2022 “Wouldn’t it be loverly,” Eliza Doolittle wonders in My Fair Lady, dreaming of a life of chocolate, heat and warm feet. Let me put it to Eliza: wouldn’t it also be ‘loverly’ if more musicals had the audacity to radically rethink their tired misogynistic plots like this version of My Fair Lady does? Musicals have [...]
Jitney review: Atmospheric and quietly revolutionary, but lacks plot June 17, 2022 August Wilson, who The New York Times described as “theater’s poet of Black America”, is having a moment. Fresh off the success of recent Oscarwinning film adaptations of his plays Fences and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, we are now seeing a return to the London stage for Jitney, Wilson’s workplace drama, which won the Olivier [...]
George Michael: Freedom Uncut review: Singer personally sets record straight June 17, 2022 It’s clear that the real George Michael is quite different from the caricature created by the tabloids during his life. Just over five years on from his death, Freedom Uncut, the late singer’s final work, offers a personal perspective on his legacy. Featuring heavy involvement from Michael himself (who is credited as a director), George [...]
Good Luck to you, Leo Grande review: Suave and sexy June 17, 2022 Sex and cinema haven’t historically been good bedfellows. The sight of two people getting it on often has censors clutching for their pearls, but thankfully, this new comedy-drama gets permission to be a bit more grown up. Emma Thompson plays Nancy, a retired RE teacher who hires handsome young escort Leo Grande (Daryl McCormack) for [...]
Lightyear review: Enjoyably nostalgic flight from the past June 17, 2022 Just when you thought Hollywood couldn’t find a new way to rehash old material, here comes a new category of film entirely. Lightyear is a spin-off of Toy Story, but one that imagines Buzz Lightyear as a real person. As the film explains in its opening moments, this is the movie that the toy was [...]
Barbarians hark back to less serious times, says David Flatman June 17, 2022 Sunday sees the curtain fall on the rugby season in England as an Eddie Jones XV takes on the globetrotters of oval ball in the Barbarians. The side are put together with little preparation and aim to please the masses, and former England international David Flatman says this year will be no different. “The pure [...]
Ollie Phillips: Leicester versus Saracens final rounds off great season June 17, 2022 South west London will be the centre of the rugby world this weekend when one of the most competitive seasons of Premiership action reaches its climax. You’ve got Leicester Tigers, buoyed by brilliant home form this year, and have a serious amount of off-field emotion in tow. And you’ve got Saracens who are hated by [...]
Paris Saint-Germain exec blasts LaLiga: ‘The last person we’ll take lessons from is Javier Tebas’ June 16, 2022 Paris Saint-Germain executives have issued a withering retort to LaLiga president Javier Tebas after the Spanish football chief accused the French club of breaking financial rules. LaLiga announced on Tuesday that it has lodged a formal complaint about Qatar-owned PSG’s spending with European football’s governing body Uefa. It follows PSG retaining the services of superstar [...]
Tennis can conquer sport if tours and Grand Slams unite, says Federer agent Tony Godsick June 16, 2022 Tennis could “conquer the sport world” if the ATP and WTA Tours and the four Grand Slams set aside their differences, says Roger Federer’s agent Tony Godsick. Steps to pool the commercial operations of the men’s and women’s circuits were proposed last year in a move that would see private equity take a stake in [...]
HSBC becomes Emma Raducanu’s eighth blue chip sponsor on eve of Wimbledon June 16, 2022 HSBC has become the latest blue chip brand to join British tennis star Emma Raducanu’s stable of sponsors. Raducanu, who shot to fame by winning the US Open in September, has agreed a four-year with the international banking group. “To partner with HSBC is so natural for me having grown up playing in the HSBC [...]