In this week’s lead feature in the Arts section, Tom Rosenthal explains just why he thinks the Lowry retrospective at Tate Britain is so long overdue. Lowry is one of our most popular artists – and it is exactly this that has been his downfall. ‘Can one disapprove of someone merely because he popular? Clearly one can’, writes Rosenthal. The lack of Lowry in London only highlights ‘the fashionable dislike of Lowry’s art’. But, finally, Lowry has made it to the walls of Tate Britain. Should his work be there? Andrew Lambirth will be reviewing the exhibition in a future issue of The Spectator, but for now you can make your own minds up. Here’s a preview video:
‘Good and bad’, as Lloyd Evans puts it, from the National Theatre this week. The Amen Corner, by James Baldwin ‘is a wryly observed comedy drama’, and ‘an excellent small play’. With fantastic acting, and a ‘dazzlingly funny’ dialogue, Lloyd is a huge fan of it, with just one complaint: its length. At a ‘Napoleonic 155 minutes’ it would need a serious cut to make it over in the West End. The bad to come out of the National is Sweet Bird of Youth, which feels ‘more like a parody of Tennessee Williams’, rather than Williams himself. Kim Cattrall ‘is a revelation’, and although it might not be Tennessee Williams’ greatest play, it still makes for ‘an absorbing and draining night out’.
Before Midnight is the third in this series of films from Richard Linklater, following on from Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. Once again, explains Peter Hoskin in this week’s film review, we are immersed in the lives of Celine and Jesse, who are now 0n holiday in Greece. Essentially, this is ‘a simple middle-aged love story’, and three films on, Linklater proves he’s still got it. As our review says: ‘the craftsmanship is exquisite’.
Over the last 6 years, Secret Cinema has become something of a cult phenomenon, creating a brand out of, as they put it, ‘screening mystery films in extraordinary locations’. Their ‘immersive experience ‘ – essentially allowing the audience to engage with the film through their use of actors, locations and food. Now they’re spreading their wings into the music scene, and in this week’s Culture Notes, Ed Rex reviews the Secret Music’s ‘inaugural production’, featuring the ‘enchanting’ Laura Marling. Taking place in a Victoria hospital, the event takes place of all its various rooms, and even extends to croquet on the lawn. ‘Suddenly’, writes Ed, ‘a concert without croquet is suddenly a concert not worth attending’. Here’s Laura’s most recent album, so you can get an idea of what you’re missing out on.
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