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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…
Bernard Hughes |
There is, of course, a long tradition in this country of Christmas Messiah performances – but it’s not one I’ve ever previously participated in. This was the first time I’ve ever…
Gary Naylor |
Ask many a boomer about their scariest childhood memory, and they may very well cite the extraordinary 1957 East German production, The Singing Ringing Tree, shown regularly on…
Jenny Gilbert |
Filmmakers Powell and Pressburger were not the first to portray ballet dancing as a fatal obsession and choreographer Matthew Bourne won’t be the last, but the latter’s 2016 stage…
aleks.sierz |
The National Theatre has a long record of starry revivals so this version of John Millington Synge’s The Playboy of the Western World, with a cast led by Nicola Coughlan (yes,…
graham.rickson |
Image
¡Feliz Navidad! – Mexican Baroque Music for Christmas Kölner Akademie/Michael Alexander Willens (CPO)Two of the…
Guy Oddy
In all honestly, 2025 has not been a vintage year for new recorded music and there certainly seems to have been a significant paucity of high-profile album releases that are…
Gary Naylor
That young person sitting next to you on the bus, earbuds wedged in, an enigmatic, Mona Lisa-ish smile on their face - are they listening to a podcast? If so, is it one of many,…
Jonathan Geddes
Of all the problems a band could face, fighting for room onstage with a Christmas tree must be far down the list of possibilities. Yet there was David "Jaff" Craig struggling to…
Sarah Kent
The village of Cesinova has the largest white stork population in Macedonia; every chimney and steeple is festooned with the scruffy nests of these enormous birds. We see the…
James Saynor
Hell has no fury like a stan scorned, as an Eminem song memorably established with respect to obsessed fanboys in the pop world, and this visually nimble not-quite-thriller shows…
Guy Oddy
Among millennials, Taylor Momsen is likely to be primarily remembered as an actor of things relatively sweet and family friendly. She appeared in Spy Kids 2 and TV’s Gossip Girl,…
Pamela Jahn
Even more than his new film, Jafar Panahi was a sensation at Cannes this year. For the first time in 15 years, the Iranian director was able to present a work in person at the…
Thomas H. Green
According to the fifth song on their first Christmas album, seasonal shenanigans in Old Crow Medicine Show’s family are boozy and raucous. Step aside Santa because “Grandpappy's…
Rachel Halliburton
Fire and ice are the elements invoked at the start of Handel’s remarkable opera of jealousy and betrayal, yet what gives it its power is the world of subtlety and shadow that lies…
Sebastian Scotney
This album truly is a delightful surprise. Winter Songs Vol. 2 is simply more fun, it swings harder and is filled with far more freshness than I could ever have expected. There…
Robert Beale
From the team who gave us a sparkly L’étoile just a year ago, comes a fun-filled production of Prokofiev’s wacky, surreal and glorious comedy romp. The Love for Three Oranges…
Justine Elias
Fear of being alone with our own thoughts, as much as fear of missing out, prevents most of us from disconnecting from our electronic devices and braving even a few hours in total…
Boyd Tonkin
It seldom happens that you long to hear choral music not in a modern auditorium but some chilly, echoing cavern of a great Victorian town hall. But that thought did arise as a…
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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
Jeremy Renner keeps chaos at bay in Taylor Sheridan's traumatic crime drama
Vintage documentary series boosted by sound and vision upgrades
Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys star in addictively twisty mystery
film
A tale of forced migration lifted by close-knit farming family, the Conevs
A chiller about celebrity chilling that doesn’t chill enough
Inspiring documentary follows lucky teens at a Norwegian folk school
new music
A dubby trip hop and woozy neo-soul treat
The Sunderland band played a variety of Christmas classics, with varying success
The former child actor's past meets her present
classical
Performance combines the best of two different approaches
Inward struggle meets global strife in music of the troubled soul
opera
Emily D'Angelo shines as Handel's impetuous, besotted protagonist
Playing from strength in a game where the Royal Northern has all the cards
Best of all possible casts fill every moment of Christopher Alden’s Handel cornucopia
theatre
Sondheim's cornucopia of fairytales proves a box of dreadful delights
Spectacular revival of Synge classic features Nicola Coughlan and Siobhán McSweeney
Dazzling portrayal of a town that was mad as hell and not going to take it any more
dance
Much-appreciated words of commendation from readers and the cultural community
A strong revival for this stage adaptation of a British film classic
Christopher Marney's revitalised company gains momentum with each appearance
comedy
Much-appreciated words of commendation from readers and the cultural community
Reunion of sketch show's creators
Storytelling that playfully wrongfoots the audience
books
Much-appreciated words of commendation from readers and the cultural community
Bennett’s virtuosic prose returns to ponder intimacy, but treads some old ground
Broad and idiosyncratic survey of classical music is insightful but slightly indigestible
visual arts
Much-appreciated words of commendation from readers and the cultural community
The sky’s the thing
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