theartsdesk.com, first with arts reviews, news and interviews
theartsdesk |
We are bowled over! We knew that theartsdesk.com had plenty of supporters out there – we’ve always had a loyal readership of arts lovers and professionals alike – but the…
Jenny Gilbert |
The jury was out when Ballet Nights first made its pitch to the dance-curious – a potential audience, the thinking went, that might be nervous about signing up to the full three-…
Veronica Lee |
An evening in the company of the smiley Russell Howard always lifts one’s spirits and his latest show, Don’t Tell the Algorithm, proves no exception.But first he’s going to…
Markie Robson-Scott |
“I was not a bad man. Nowhere near it. But they said I was anyway.”Makenna Goodman’s second novel (her first, The Shame, a brilliant exploration of motherhood, came out in 2020)…
graham.rickson |
The Straight Story is the slowest of road movies, its elderly protagonist crawling 240 miles from Iowa to Wisconsin at just five miles per hour. Screenwriters John Roach and Mary…
Helen Hawkins |
Before the lacerating spats of Albee’s Martha and George, and the circular kvetching of Beckett’s characters, there were August Strindberg’s pioneering excursions into dark…
Ibi Keita
After leaving my headphones elsewhere, I plugged my wired earphones into my laptop and sat cross-legged on my bed. It felt like the universe wanted me to rewind time, back to when…
Graham Fuller
Sexual abuse and violence, self-harm and sadomasochism, piss and postpartum blood – Kristen Stewart’s The Chronology of Water doesn’t flinch from showing the indignities, the…
Kieron Tyler
For Richard Hawley, a “little banger” is a top-notch single, one condensing everything about the performance and performer into what can he held on one side of a seven-incher. A…
David Nice
Star attractions for this revival of ENO/Improbable's Coney-Island-in-the-1950s Così were sopranos Lucy Crowe and Ailish Tynan, and conductor Dinis Sousa. All three excelled, but…
Gary Naylor
A right wing populist, a master manipulator of the media, he appears to be immune to the long accepted norms of professional behaviour. Foul-mouthed and a bully, but backed by an…
Sarah Kent
It’s a story being repeated the world over – apex predators such as lynx, wolves and bears hunted to extinction, followed by the gradual realisation that a healthy ecosystem…
Sebastian Scotney
Edward Simon shows again on this new album of re-imagined songs from Venezuela what a very fine pianist he is. His touch and inventiveness, his command of counterpoint and voice-…
Adam Sweeting
Fabled for (among other things) The Evil Dead, Darkman and Spider-Man, Sam Raimi made his last appearance as a director on 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,…
Thomas H. Green
Mandy, Indiana are a Mancunian four-piece with a French singer who's based in Berlin. They make a lot of noise. Their second album is a take-no-prisoners amalgamation of…
Matt Wolf
"How can we sleep for grief?", asks the brilliant and agitated Thomasina Coverly (the dazzling Isis Hainsworth) during the first act of Arcadia, a question that will come to haunt…
David Nice
Two concerts packed with thorny repertoire playing to large and enthusiastic audiences of all ages: the London Philharmonic Orchestra is cresting a tricky wave right now. A…
Joe Muggs
Another interesting thing about the endless flux of the streaming era is that, for all that it’s supposed to homogenise and flatten things out, sometimes it ends up allowing more…
Helen Hawkins
From his sickbed, after a nervous breakdown during basic training for the army, the 18-year-old Noel Coward started churning out plays, many of which were never staged. The Rat…
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Superb performances and restrained direction elevate David Lynch's detour into the mainstream
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Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
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tv
Sinister shenanigans amid ravishing Welsh landscapes
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck reunite in fierce Miami crime drama
film
Superb performances and restrained direction elevate David Lynch's detour into the mainstream
Kristen Stewart directs Imogen Poots in a shattering story of abuse and redemption
Ecologists versus shepherds; can a compromise be found?
new music
A boom bap return that feels as personal as it is timeless
Explosive collection of the Sheffield stylist’s favourite singles
A look back at the long-gone world of the original songs
classical
Savage parade includes wonderfully discombobulating Martinů concerto
Thrillingly authoritative and stirringly poetic in Brahms
Committed and high-class performance doesn’t quite overcome doubts about the piece
opera
Conductor Dinis Sousa paces a brilliant cast and orchestra perfectly in this classy revival
Susanna’s story takes the limelight in this imagined country house weekend
Deep sound under Mark Wigglesworth complements Richard Jones's vision
theatre
Richard Eyre’s adaptation gives Strindberg’s warring monsters a human dimension
Elton John fights back, and wins a battle with Fleet Street
Tom Stoppard's best play is unbeatable now as it was then
dance
Much-appreciated words of commendation from readers and the cultural community
In the shortest time, the compèred dance series seems to have become a brand
A surprise new work from Christopher Bruce pays tribute to Leonard Cohen in this captivating programme
comedy
Much-appreciated words of commendation from readers and the cultural community
Comic urges us to fight the machine
Some hits among the misfires
books
Much-appreciated words of commendation from readers and the cultural community
Goodman's second novel, structured like a play, is challenging and original
visual arts
Much-appreciated words of commendation from readers and the cultural community
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