Arts
One masterpiece, one dud and one interesting rediscovery: Pinter Five reviewed
One masterpiece, one dud, and one interesting rediscovery. That’s Pinter Five. Victoria Station is a hilarious sketch which might have…
The joy of prints
Artists’ prints have been around for almost as long as the printed book. Indeed, they have similar origins in Gutenberg’s…
Never quite pivots from thesis to drama: Royal Opera’s Queen of Spades reviewed
We increasingly accept the collision between life and art. Whether we’re puzzling over the real identity of Elena Ferrante, choosing…
The balletic, bum-baring rituals of sumo
Dance critic Louise Levene investigates the balletic, bum-baring rituals of sumo
The best tribute possible to the greatest comics ever: Stan & Ollie reviewed
You mess with Laurel and Hardy at your peril. Their fan base is essentially the entire world. Samuel Beckett adored…
Neil MacGregor’s intense, impassioned new radio programme is shamelessly anti-Brexit
I suspect that whether or not you admire Neil MacGregor’s latest series for Radio 4, As Others See Us (produced…
According to BBC4, what was one of the 'most important inventions in modern music'?
Here’s a tricky quiz question for you. What word completes this sentence from a BBC4 documentary on Friday: ‘The world…
A masterpiece of pro-Trump propaganda: Sweat at the Donmar Warehouse reviewed
Sweat, set in the Pennsylvanian rust belt, looks at a blue-collar community threatened by a factory closure. The script uses…
It’s hard to think of finer images of children than Gainsborough’s
When he knew that he was dying, Thomas Gainsborough selected an unfinished painting from some years before and set it…
Dick Clement on Porridge, Kirk Douglas and having seven projects on the go
Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais are still going strong after more than 50 years. James Walton discovers their secret
How did the BBC’s podcast Unexpected Fluids ever get made?
You may have noticed the flood of podcasts that’s been pouring out of the BBC since the launch of its…
Comparing Peanuts to existentialism is an insult – to Peanuts
For the hundredth, possibly the thousandth, time, Lucy van Pelt offers to hold the football for Charlie Brown so he…
A horror show that appeals to the intellect but not the gut: The Tell-Tale Heart reviewed
The Tell-Tale Heart is based on a teeny-weeny short story by Edgar Allan Poe. The full text appears in the…
January as you would wish it: Royal Ballet’s Les Patineurs reviewed
The Royal Ballet’s Les Patineurs is January as you would wish it. No slush, no new-year sales, no streaming chest…
I don’t just recommend you see The Favourite. I command it
The Favourite is a period romp set during the reign of Queen Anne, but it’s not your average period romp.…
The fascinating story behind one of the best-loved depictions of the Nativity
Martin Gayford tells the fascinating story behind one of art history’s best-loved depictions of the Nativity
A short history of ice skating
In landscape terms, the Fens don’t have much going for them. What you can say for them, though, is that…
The people have not forgotten me: the exiled Empress of Iran interviewed
The widow of the Shah of Iran was painted by Warhol and assembled the greatest collection of art outside of Europe. Will Heaven meets her
All hail Mrs C.F. Alexander, author of 'Once in Royal David's City'
In this 200th anniversary of the birth of Mrs C.F. Alexander, author of ‘Once in Royal David’s City’, all of…
Gary Kemp on pop, Pre-Raphaelites, politics and playing Pinter
Gary Kemp is enjoying a comeback. He talks to Michael Hann about pop, the Pre-Raphaelites, politics and playing Pinter
I had my spite at the ready – but had to put most of it away: Mary Poppins Returns reviewed
So, Mary Poppins returns, and I was, of course, primed to be spiteful, as is my nature. Not a patch…
You’ll have shivers down your spine and tears in your eyes: Royal Ballet’s Nutcracker reviewed
Not another Nutcracker, I thought on the way to the Opera House. Haven’t we had our fill of Sugar Plums?…
I couldn’t wait to escape this opaque, witless horror show: True West reviewed
Sam Shepard was perhaps the gloomiest playwright ever to spill his guts into a typewriter. The popularity of his work…
Could it be that Jimmy McGovern was getting into the festive spirit? No... Care reviewed
Jimmy McGovern’s one-off drama Care (BBC1, Sunday 9 December) began with a loving grandmother called Mary having a lovely time…
Remembering the 1968 Apollo mission – when the world was reaching to the future rather than drawing in
Take yourself back to (or try to imagine) Christmas 1968; a year full of disturbances, dashed hopes and extreme violence…
