FA Cup fourth round talking points: Misery for Spurs, Hudson-Odoi makes his point, unhappy Hammers and trouble at Millwall January 27, 2019 What a terrible four days for Tottenham. Having lost in the Carabao Cup semi-final on penalties to bitter rivals Chelsea on Thursday, Mauricio Pochettino’s side made it back-to-back cup exits yesterday at Selhurst Park as Crystal Palace stepped up yet again against a Big Six side. The Eagles can add Spurs to their pile of [...]
Trouble in paradise: England facing familiar problems with brittle batting after 381-run thrashing by West Indies January 27, 2019 The start of England’s opening Test match against the West Indies in Barbados on Wednesday was dominated by discussion around the tourists’ selection. How would the pitch play? Did they really need two spinners? Should Stuart Broad be in the side? By Saturday evening those debates seemed irrelevant and a lifetime away. A completely inept [...]
Man Group ends sponsorship of Booker Prize after 18 years January 27, 2019 Britain’s most high profile literary award, the Man Booker Prize, has lost its headline sponsor after Man Group announced on Sunday that it will end its 18 year partnership with the event. Man Group – an asset manager – has sponsored the prize since 2002, contributing £1.6m a year. Read more: Waterstones acquires Foyles bookshops as [...]
Vice movie review: Another Scorsese-esque epic from the maker of The Big Short January 25, 2019 In 2015, Adam McKay went from being known as the man who directed Will Ferrell movies to one of the most stylistically innovative filmmakers in Hollywood. Gigs overseeing Anchorman, Talladega Nights and The Other Guys, plus writing credits on films including Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters and Ant-Man, somehow gave way to The Big Short, [...]
When We Have Sufficiently Tortured Each Other review: A play that somehow makes graphic S&M seem tedious January 25, 2019 Martin Crimp’s new play When We Have Sufficiently Tortured Each Other opened to giddy reports of audience members fainting during previews. And this strange production does shock and appal, but not for its uncomfortable themes or graphic depictions of violence, but for its total lack of coherence and crawling tedium. Somehow director Katie Mitchell takes [...]
Chelsea triumph on penalties at Stamford Bridge as cracks begin to appear for worn-out Tottenham January 24, 2019 After a gruelling London derby that was at times reminiscent of the infamously bruising encounter between the two sides during the 2016 campaign, the tie had to be decided on penalties at Stamford Bridge. The Battle of the Bridge II eventually saw Chelsea celebrating following a 2-1 win and 2-2 draw on aggregate as Tottenham [...]
Ollie Phillips: Eddie Jones needs players to buy into his methods fully in defining year for England January 24, 2019 England are in Portugal on their pre-Six Nations training camp, which means the players will be being put through their paces by Eddie Jones. Jones is an interesting character – intense and hard to judge. He likes to challenge those he works with, so it’s bound to be testing time ahead of the opening match [...]
Showstopper! is an improvised musical of fast thinking comedians and off-the-cuff tunes January 24, 2019 The premise of Showstopper! seems almost impossible to pull off. Each night an improv comedy troupe creates a brand new musical from scratch, taking audience suggestions for settings, plot points and style. But they’ve been pulling it off for more than 11 years and 1,000 shows, spawning such spontaneous one-offs as Sinky Boots (set aboard [...]
Asphodel Meadows/The Two Pigeons review: A split evening of showcasing sharp contemporary Royal Ballet choreography and a sugary romcom January 24, 2019 This evening of two short productions is, as ballerina Laura Morera says in her programme notes, “everything the Royal Ballet is about.” The first part, Asphodel Meadows, was the first work by Royal Ballet artist in residence Liam Scarlett, originally staged in 2010 when he was just 24. Taking its title from the part of [...]
Arsenal v Manchester United: Marcus Rashford has found his “killer instinct” to pose Gunners a major threat in the FA Cup January 24, 2019 Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has plenty of memories of facing Arsenal as a player during the era in which the teams’ rivalry was at its most fiery. The former striker scored the fifth goal in a 6-1 rout of the Gunners in February 2001 to send United 16 points clear at the top [...]