theartsdesk.com, first with arts reviews, news and interviews
Kieron Tyler |
The Adverts’ debut single was released by Stiff Records in late April 1977. The top side of the “One Chord Wonders” / “Quick Step” pairing was a dry humoured assessment of the…
Adam Sweeting |
Ah, Benidorm… sea, sun, sand, sex, sangria and chips. In 5’s new six-part comedy drama, masterminded by Ian Jarvis, the popular Costa Blanca resort becomes the setting for a…
Nick Hasted |
This is a barrel of fun, an adrenalised, old-school monster movie made with ferocious commitment by It Follows’ David Robert Mitchell. Setting dinosaurs loose in Eighties suburbia…
Nick Hasted |
Vicky Krieps is a guarantor of female integrity, whose characters rail against or ride roughshod over gender restrictions. Star turns from Phantom Thread’s steely ingenue to…
Graham Rickson |
The Art of David Munrow (Warner Classics)
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An online search tells me that the most popular gap year activity (for those…
Saskia Baron |
The strongest element in Tony is the performance that Antonio Banderas gives as ‘Chef’, the owner of a seafood restaurant in the holiday resort of Provincetown in the late…
Veronica Lee
Susie McCabeAssembly George Square ★★★★Glaswegian Susie McCabe has established a loyal following at the Edinburgh Fringe over the past few years, and in Coming of Rage she…
Simon Thompson
Several years ago, after a Queen’s Hall song morning, a fellow reviewer told me it was time we rethought the song recital, and that the old format of someone standing still while…
David Nice
An Ulster playwright who insists she's British, a childish American star hung up on Irish Catholic tropes - played by a very grown up actor, Matthew Broderick - and a theatre…
Markie Robson-Scott
“How many cancer patients does it take to change a lightbulb? One and then 12 to say, ‘How inspiring.’” Bad taste jokes are all the rage among the kids at the summer camp for…
Katie Colombus
A lost weekend is time you can't account for: you come out of it changed, unsure quite how. Phoebe Bridgers, it seems, has been living inside one. Six years after Punisher, she…
Adam Sweeting
The return of Taylor Sheridan’s all-female CIA special ops unit finds the war on terror cutting uncomfortably close to the bone, with team boss Joe McNamara (Zoe Saldaña) targeted…
David Kettle
Cathy ★★★Iconic Scottish actor Elaine C Smith towers over writer/director Eilidh Loan’s snarling, acid-sour comedy at the Traverse Theatre. Judging by chat in the hectic pre-…
Liz Thomson
Unlike in Britain, where the bar for entry is more survival than talent, “national treasure” is not a term in such wide currency in America. But Mavis Staples is indeed a National…
Joe Muggs
It’s easy to miss what an interesting artist Carly Simon is. I’ve certainly been guilty of it; bar a few undeniable gems, it felt like her oeuvre was based in a 1970s white rock…
Gary Naylor
Well, this is uncannily topical, thought I, as the opening number, “Where Is the Justice?” took me back to Jurisprudence seminars and caught plenty of the newspapers screaming…
Veronica Lee
Max Fulham’s Monkey Business ★★★★Gilded Balloon TeviotRarely do I delve into the rich world of children's entertainment at the Edinburgh Fringe, but sometimes a scheduling snafu…
Kieron Tyler
Temple Songs opens with “Arc Still Bends”. The song begins with filigreed acoustic guitar and Laura Veirs singing “the arc still bends towards justice, right?” “So why I am still…
Simon Thompson
This is Nicola Benedetti’s fourth opening concert while she has been in charge of the Edinburgh International Festival, and I suspect it might be the one she’s most proud of. That…
disc of the day
A father mourned and a lover found, all in one extraordinary breath
tv
John Hannah stars in smart and sun-drenched whodunnit
Taylor Sheridan's female CIA team bring the Ukraine conflict back home
Diane Morgan and Sarah Kendall's comedy is full of heart and soul
film
Dinosaurs hunt Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor through suburbia
Vicky Krieps fights to see her son and find herself in a defining role
Rites of passage at the kitchen pass; cooking up a coming-of-age romcom
new music
Hitherto unknown tracks from the totemic British punks' earliest days with Stiff Records
A father mourned and a lover found, all in one extraordinary breath
classical
A pioneering recorder player celebrated, plus baroque bassoons and musical postcards
An unforgettable voice, a mythic new song cycle, and Yuja doing jazz
Missy Mazzoli’s impressive new opera follows Wynton Marsalis' jazz symphony opening night
opera
Missy Mazzoli’s impressive new opera follows Wynton Marsalis' jazz symphony opening night
Michael Gallen's riveting music-theatre piece has committed performances all round
A joyous outing for Weber's mash-up of panto and profundity
theatre
David Ireland's theatrical clash of three cultures is funny but forgettable
Brutal comedy and cool understatement in two Traverse Theatre shows
Cult manga series adaptation works better for the fanbase
dance
Matthew Bourne’s 2000 hit revs up again with impressive dancers and a witty score
Marianela Nuñez celebrates 28 years at the company
A test of stamina for the audience as well as the dancers
comedy
Daft fun at a family show; a woman overcomes her travails
books
David Thomson explores the dark side of cinema, but still offers a flicker of hope
Joyce lurks in the margins of his own biography in a detailed history of Irish politics
An enjoyable look at 'missingness' and how it affects the way we experience the world
visual arts
Great American photographers all in one place
Four artists' films and a computer game speculate on societal collapse
A wild imagination outlined in miniature
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