Romeo & Juliet: Kenneth MacMillan’s notoriously tricky take on Shakespeare’s classic is brutally beautiful March 29, 2019 Romeo and Juliet Royal Opera House Shakespeare famously trailed his tragic romance with ‘there never was a story of more woe / than this of Juliet and her Romeo”. Big words, Bill. But they hold up in this brutal, speechless version by The Royal Ballet. The Bolshoi Ballet first brought Romeo & Juliet to the [...]
Dumbo review: Tim Burton turns a family favourite into an animal rights advocacy project March 29, 2019 In case you’ve forgotten – it did come out in 1941 – the animated Disney film Dumbo is deeply odd and wouldn’t be anyone’s first choice for a live action remake. There are barely any humans in it, for a start, then there’s Dumbo himself, a doe-eyed, speechless pachyderm who gets bullied for 70 per [...]
Ollie Phillips: Home advantage weighs heavy for Saracens, Edinburgh, Leinster and Racing 92 in the Champions Cup March 29, 2019 The Six Nations finished two weeks ago but the tournament remains relevant as we head into the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup this weekend. The relationship between club sides and their countries is an interesting one and it’s born out when looking at the fixtures for Europe’s premier club competition. Wales won the Six Nations [...]
At Eternity’s Gate review: A dreamlike and impressionistic portrait of Van Gogh March 28, 2019 In this dreamlike journey through the artist’s later years, American painter and filmmaker Julian Schnabel frames the artist as the director wants to see him, keeping his drunkenness, violence and bouts of psychosis somewhere just off-screen. The film presents a fragmented and impressionistic series of vignettes filmed in a drunken POV aspect, as though the [...]
Van Gogh and Britain review: Just how much did London inspire the artist? March 28, 2019 You really don’t need much of an excuse to dust off a collection of Van Goghs, but Tate Britain has reached for one all the same with its latest exhibition of twenty of the man’s works. Van Gogh and Britain contextualises the artist’s output around his few interactions with this country, which amounts to a [...]
Where Huddersfield Town rank among the five worst teams in Premier League history March 28, 2019 Huddersfield's relegation from English football's top tier could be confirmed this weekend. But where do the Terriers rank among the worst teams ever to play in the Premier League? 5. Sunderland 2002-03: 0.50 Points per game The fifth worst team in Premier League history, this Sunderland side took just 19 points from their 38 matches. Under [...]
Why reports of Soho’s death have been greatly exaggerated March 28, 2019 When Casanova arrived in London in 1763, Soho was his first port of call. It was a place riddled with opium dens and brothels and coffee houses and restaurants, the place you went for cheap rent, good food, great drugs and the best parties. It’s been the go-to place for hedonists and sybarites ever since, [...]
Wolves on course for Europa League, but is becoming the Premier League’s best of the rest worth it – or a poisoned chalice? March 28, 2019 Should Burnley manager Sean Dyche feel moved to dispense some characteristic no-nonsense wisdom to his opposite number this weekend, it might be of the be-careful-what-you-wish-for variety. Occupying the visitors’ dugout at Turf Moor on Saturday will be Nuno Espirito Santo, a rising star whose Wolves team have cut a dash in their first season back [...]
Glasgow Warriors can use Scotland’s Twickenham heroics for inspiration against Saracens in Champions Cup quarter-final March 28, 2019 Glasgow may not have beaten Saracens in Europe in five attempts but the Scottish side can take solace from their national team’s historic clash against England just two weeks ago as they prepare for this weekend’s Champions Cup quarter-final. Scotland were down and out after half an hour at Twickenham, with England 31-0 up, only [...]
Chris Tremlett: Ashwin’s Mankad was borderline cheating and should be banned from cricket for good March 27, 2019 Ravichandran Ashwin’s conduct in the Indian Premier League has caused debate right across the cricketing world this week. With his side, Kings XI Punjab, up against it on Monday the Indian spinner decided to run out Rajasthan Royals’ batsman Jos Buttler while he was backing up at the non-strikers’ end. The dismissal, known as a [...]