reviews

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Polyphony / OAE, Layton, Smith Square Hall review - an everyday miracle

Boyd Tonkin |

If this time of year should prompt everyone to count their blessings, then one precious musical gift shines brightly over Smith Square Hall this week.

Paranormal Activity, Ambassadors Theatre review - franchise frightener flops on stage

Gary Naylor
Peace and Goodwill to All Men outside. Inside, on stage at least, there’s not much peace nor goodwill to be had on the horror-filled Saturday…

Vox Luminis, Wigmore Hall review - the splendour of musical democracy

Mark Kidel
Vox Luminis, the vocal and instrumental group based in Namur and led by Lionel Meunier, continued their residency at the Wigmore Hall, hot on the…

Music Reissues Weekly: Gracious! - The Recordings 1970-1971

Kieron Tyler
UK prog-rockers Gracious! acquired their exclamation mark when their first album was released in July 1970. Up to this point, they were Gracious.…

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Lois, Williams, BBCSO, MacMillan, Barbican review - tough love at Christmas

Boyd Tonkin
No cosy comfort in this major modern act of faith

Amadeus, Sky Atlantic review - genius and jealousy at the Viennese court

Adam Sweeting
From stage to screen to five-part TV series

Kieron Tyler’s Album of the Year 2025: Benedicte Maurseth - Mirra

Kieron Tyler
Intensity, jazz-oriented psychedelia and the joys of recontextualisation

The Six Billion Dollar Man: Julian Assange and the Price of Truth review - crimes and misdemeanours

Nick Hasted
A forensic documentary on journalism and state power

Beare's Chamber Music Festival, Cadogan Hall, Wigmore Hall review - stellar string playing

Sebastian Scotney
New biennial event earns its place in the calendar

When We Are Married, Donmar Warehouse review - hilarious revival of JB Priestley's anti-marriage comedy

Rachel Halliburton
Sheader has assembled a dream cast to channel affluent prudery of Edwardian Bradford

Avatar: Fire and Ash review - amazing technology, one-dimensional characters

Adam Sweeting
Third instalment of James Cameron's saga is long but not deep

Oh, Mary!, Trafalgar Theatre review - uproarious farce

Demetrios Matheou
Rising star Mason Alexander Park excels in this Tony Award-winning comedy

The Nutcracker, English National Ballet, Coliseum review - a fresh look at a seasonal classic

Jenny Gilbert
On its second time out, ENB's production is a winner where it counts

Christmas Day, Almeida Theatre review - lacks cheer

Gary Naylor
Ambitious but tangled examination of British Jewish identity in troubled times

Twelfth Night, RSC, Barbican review - intelligent, inventive and genuinely funny

Helen Hawkins
The “Shakespeare laugh” has no place in this refreshingly wacko Illyria

Messiah, Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, Rousset, St Martin-in-the-Fields review - thrilling performance marked by ebullience and discipline

Rachel Halliburton
Christopher Rousset brought bold stripes of colour to his interpretation

Indian Ink, Hampstead Theatre - luminous Felicity Kendal's parting gift to Stoppard

Helen Hawkins
Crammed with wit and knowledge, this 1995 play can't totally disguise its origins as a radio play

theartsdesk on Vinyl 94: Nina Simone, The Coral, The Cranberries, Frank Sinatra, Pete Fij, Jimi Hendrix and more

Thomas H. Green
A seasonal slant on the most wide-ranging record reviews in the universe

Dracapella, Park Theatre review - it's dead good!

Gary Naylor
Count on laughs at this very silly musical-comedy

The BFG, RSC, Stratford review - Roald Dahl's story brought to life by astonishing puppetry

Gary Naylor
Wonder and charm flood the house in a show for all ages

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, O2 Academy, Glasgow review - revisiting the past produces mixed results

Jonathan Geddes
The American trio's 20th anniversary celebration of 'Howl' did not always convince

Preparation for the Next Life review - a Uyghur immigrant meets a soldier with PTSD in New York

Markie Robson-Scott
Bing Liu directs a lukewarm adaptation of Atticus Lish's novel

Music Reissues Weekly: Tangerine Dream - Rubycon

Kieron Tyler
How the Edgar Froese-led trio were integral to inventing the future of music.

Man vs Baby, Netflix review - feeble festive fare from Rowan Atkinson

Adam Sweeting
Where's Edmund Blackadder when you need him?

Messiah, Philharmonia Chorus, OAE, Dougan, Royal Festival Hall review - high-spirited and colourful

Bernard Hughes
Performance combines the best of two different approaches

Into the Woods, Bridge Theatre review - Grimm, sometimes grim, but always fast and furious

Gary Naylor
Sondheim's cornucopia of fairytales proves a box of dreadful delights

The Red Shoes, Sadler's Wells review - once again, Matthew Bourne lights up the season

Jenny Gilbert
A strong revival for this stage adaptation of a British film classic

The Playboy of the Western World, National Theatre review - bright and breezy, but where’s the reality?

aleks.sierz
Spectacular revival of Synge classic features Nicola Coughlan and Siobhán McSweeney

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latest in today

'We are bowled over!' Thank you for your messages of love and support
We are bowled over! We knew that theartsdesk.com had plenty of supporters out there – we’ve always had a loyal readership of arts…
Polyphony / OAE, Layton, Smith Square Hall review - an everyday miracle
If this time of year should prompt everyone to count their blessings, then one precious musical gift shines brightly over Smith Square Hall…
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The first time you see Renate Reinsve in Sentimental Value you want to catch her, hug her, slap her (as her character requests), or do…
Paranormal Activity, Ambassadors Theatre review - franchise frightener flops on stage
Peace and Goodwill to All Men outside. Inside, on stage at least, there’s not much peace nor goodwill to be had on the horror-filled…
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As a boy growing up in the 1970s, I loved lazy afternoons spent on the red shag carpet of my family’s living room while listening to my…
Blu-ray: Fantomas Returns!
Fantômas was the creation of French pulp novelists Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre, whose titular criminal genius made his first print…
Vox Luminis, Wigmore Hall review - the splendour of musical democracy
Vox Luminis, the vocal and instrumental group based in Namur and led by Lionel Meunier, continued their residency at the Wigmore Hall, hot…
Katie Colombus’ Album of the Year 2025: Brandi Carlile - Returning to Myself
Some albums announce themselves with a roar. Others arrive quietly, kind of casually strolling into your life when you weren’t looking.…
Music Reissues Weekly: Gracious! - The Recordings 1970-1971
UK prog-rockers Gracious! acquired their exclamation mark when their first album was released in July 1970. Up to this point, they were…
Lois, Williams, BBCSO, MacMillan, Barbican review - tough love at Christmas
When, in late 2021, I heard the UK premiere of Sir James MacMillan’s Christmas Oratorio, it truly felt like a heaven-sent gift of musical…