Pinter at the Pinter: Stagings of the great playwright’s short plays and poems offers a rare chance to see these unmissable works October 5, 2018 Harold Pinter was prolific, with more than 30 stage plays, almost as many screenplays and dozens of works of prose and poetry to his name. But while revered masterpieces such as The Birthday Party, No Man’s Land and Betrayal are regularly staged, there are fewer opportunities to see his equally brilliant shorter works. Director Jamie [...]
Tania Bruguera in the Tate Modern Turbine Hall continues a downward trend for the once great exhibition space October 5, 2018 The Turbine Hall is the toughest gig in contemporary art. While it must feel like a dream commission, it often proves to be a poisoned chalice. Filling the largest public exhibition space in the world requires massive art and super-massive ideas. It needs to be engaging, without descending into a crowd-pleasing fairground attraction. And while [...]
A Star is Born review: Lady Gaga shines like a supernova in Bradley Cooper’s remake of a Hollywood classic October 5, 2018 A Star is Born is a simple idea that just won’t die. This version, directed by and starring Bradley Cooper as rock star Jackson Maine, is the fourth retelling of the starstruck fantasy. Famous boy meets girl in bar, makes her a star, they fall in love, get married and she cares for his tortured [...]
Editor’s Notes: A subversive Brexit comedy? It’s about bloody time; art’s in the right place and Conservative party conference diary October 5, 2018 Whenever Brexit is introduced as a subject for comedy, it is invariably the Remainers laughing at the Leavers. I don't say this to make a populist point, it is simply an observation. Think of Radio 4 comedy, BBC panel shows and the stand-up circuit. It’s risk-free to be a Remainer – and laughing at the Leavers, [...]
England squad: Gareth Southgate’s selection of Jadon Sancho, James Maddison and Mason Mount shows refreshing change of attitude October 4, 2018 When Jadon Sancho turned down a £30,000 per week contract at Manchester City last season he was taking a big gamble. But armed with supreme confidence in his own ability, the then 17-year-old winger upped sticks amid plenty of acrimony to join Borussia Dortmund for £10m and challenge himself. Fast-forward 14 months and Sancho could [...]
Ollie Phillips: Alex Goode’s omission from England’s squad proves Eddie Jones is contradicting his own statements October 4, 2018 I find some of the messages coming from England coach Eddie Jones confusing. He says he picks players on form and his side will be comprised of the best performing players from the Premiership. But if you look at the squad that simply isn’t the case. Alex Goode has been brilliant for Saracens over a [...]
Manchester United v Newcastle: Old foes Jose Mourinho and Rafael Benitez have chance to twist the knife October 4, 2018 Perhaps, after the final whistle has blown at Old Trafford on Saturday evening, Jose Mourinho and Rafael Benitez will gather in the Manchester United manager’s office and share a bottle of vintage claret, as Sir Alex Ferguson was fond of doing, and reminisce about the good old days. Or perhaps not, given their long-running and [...]
Silverstone chiefs admit next year’s British Grand Prix could be the last for the foreseeable future October 4, 2018 The owners of Silverstone have revealed that next year’s British Grand Prix is on track to be the last as they have still not signed a new deal after more than a year of negotiating. The admission is made in a letter sent last month by John Grant, chairman of Silverstone’s owner, the British Racing [...]
Former footballer Scott Ward launches new scheme with EY to support retiring athletes October 4, 2018 One of the lowest points of Scott Ward’s career came when he was without a contract and training with Millwall, hoping to rebuild his fitness after leaving boyhood club Luton Town. Ward bumped into a group of his former Luton team-mates while walking down the high street, but when they asked what he was doing [...]
Johnny English Strikes Again review: More than ever this half-arsed spy spoof feels lazily out of touch October 4, 2018 Here’s why Mr Bean is funny and Johnny English is not. The former character is comically inept, but morally pure. In the opening sequence, Mr. Bean literally descends to Earth in a beam of light, as though ejected from the Pantheon, or deposited by an intergalactic spaceship. A choir sings “ecce homo qui est faba”, [...]