The Commonwealths are the ‘Local Global Games’ July 24, 2022 The Commonwealth Games begin in Birmingham this week. It’s the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, so where better than England’s second city? They should, however, be taking place in Durban, which would have become the first African city to host the Games. The opening day would have been last week – on 18 July, Nelson Mandela’s birthday [...]
101 Dalmatians musical at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre review July 24, 2022 One of the last-remaining Covid-hit productions, new musical 101 Dalmatians has finally opened, two years late, at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. So was it worth the wait? Well… Let’s start with the good bits. The dalmatians themselves – or at least the two main ones, the rest are bodiless heads – are brought to [...]
Patriots at the Almeida is a gripping drama about the rise of Putin July 22, 2022 The story of the rise of Putin and the oligarchs has been told through various lenses in recent years. Author Peter Pomerantsev places shadowy “Kremlin demiurge” Vladislav Surkov at the heart of his gripping memoir-cum-investigation Nothing is True and Everything is Possible. Lucy Prebble’s all-singing, all-dancing play A Very Expensive Poison put Alexander Litvenenko front [...]
Dame Sarah Storey previews the Tour de France Femmes July 22, 2022 One of sport’s most recognisable scenes involves a peloton of more than 170 men hurtling down the Champs-Élysées, where the Tour de France yellow jersey wearer is traditionally crowned champion of the gruelling 21-day bike race. But just hours before the latest chapter of men’s cycling history is written, the first of a monumental era [...]
Prizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher review: far from a knockout July 22, 2022 Just when you thought every boxing story imaginable had been committed to film, Prizefighter unearths the intriguing real-life tale of Jem Belcher. Embodied by Welsh actor Matt Hookings, who also wrote and produced the film, Belcher became the youngest ever World Champion towards the turn of the 19th Century, a record that stands to this [...]
England chief executive floats idea of sending potential coaches to Georgia July 21, 2022 England Rugby’s chief executive Bill Sweeney has floated the idea of placing coaches at second-tier nations such as Georgia to groom them for the England job. Speaking a week after England wrapped up a 2-1 Test series win against Australia Down Under, Sweeney suggested that a long-term coaching succession plan would not be realised until [...]
Fashion Freak Show review: This thrillscape of wild costumes will delight die-hards July 21, 2022 Men gyrating in neon yellow tutus, dancers proudly sporting red tubing as the only cover to their modesty, others teasing the crowd wearing Shakespearean ruffs extending the length of the body. And how could we forget the conical bras? French fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier’s vivid imagination is what helped him push past the crowd [...]
Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck In Time review: A fascinating portrait of genius July 21, 2022 Fascination with the life and work of Kurt Vonnegut, the celebrated author of science-fiction novel Slaughterhouse-Five, lives on well past his death fifteen years ago. And duly, new documentary Unstuck In Time feels like it was conceived through adulation. A culmination of decades of work, filmmaker Robert B Weide was initially approached by Vonnegut to [...]
The best new supercars to buy in 2022 July 21, 2022 Our pick of the best supercars you can buy, including the McLaren Artura, Porsche 911 GT3 and Lamborghini Huracan STO.
Exclusive with Jean Paul Gaultier: ‘Straight actors should be able to play gay roles’ July 21, 2022 It’s 9.30am and Jean Paul Gaultier is relentlessly turning over last night’s performance of ABBA Voyage. It’s far too hot for coffee so we’re sitting with a pair of orange juices and Gaultier is encouraging me to get stuck into the breakfast buffet. I politely decline because there are more important things at hand: discussing [...]