Reviews
In the Long Run, Series 2, Sky 1 review - Idris Elba's warm-hearted comedy returns
Wednesday, 16 October 2019
Dust off the record player: Idris Elba’s Eighties comedy In the Long Run (Sky 1) has returned for a second series.
Richard Hawley, Barrowland, Glasgow - black clad crooner's songs remain full of atmosphere and heart
Wednesday, 16 October 2019
When Richard Hawley arrived onstage, he had a confession to make. “I like to talk”, he declared, before adding “and play rock n’ roll”. Both were delivered in ample supply during the ensuing performance, the black clad quiff wearing troubadour a natural fit for one of Scotland’s most famed rock n’ roll locations.
The Peanut Butter Falcon review - sentimental...
Wednesday, 16 October 2019
It’s an uncomfortable feeling to find oneself completely at odds with an audience in a cinema, but it happens. The recent London Film Festival...
Lenny Henry's Race Through Comedy, Gold...
Wednesday, 16 October 2019
Sir Lenny Henry, PhD and CBE, is scarcely recognisable as the teenager who made his TV debut on New Faces in 1975. He’s been a stand-up comedian,...
Bill Frisell's Harmony, Cadogan Hall review...
Wednesday, 16 October 2019
“Bill Frisell is all about sound and melody and enhancing whatever context he is in.” That quote, which defines both the American guitarist’s gentle...
Zauberland, Linbury Theatre review - an adaptation that adds much and gains nothing
This topical updating of a classic song-cycle feels laboured |
Chaos in the Cockpit: Flights from Hell, Channel 5 review - do we really want to watch plane-wreck TV?
The aircraft might be ok, but there's no accounting for human error |
Solaris, Lyric Hammersmith review - moving and finely cerebral
David Greig’s dream-drama of cosmic loneliness is sci-fi at its most philosophical |
Bevan, The Sixteen, Genesis Sixteen, Christophers, Barbican review - MacMillan transcends again
Thoughtful showcasing of UK and London premieres for the Scotish composer's latest |
Cross Currents/Monotones II/Everyone Keeps Me, Linbury Theatre review - the Royal Ballet finds the missing link
In exploring the road not taken, the Royal Ballet turns up treasures old and new |
A History of Water in the Middle East, Royal Court review - feminist dreams and passions
New lecture about British imperialism is energetically engaging, but rather slender |
LFF 2019: The Irishman review - masterful, unsentimental gangster epic
The whole story of a mobster's life in Scorsese and De Niro's autumnal reunion, plus 'A Hidden Life' |
Verdi Requiem, LPO, Gardner, RFH review – beyond the big noise
The LPO's incoming chief delivers a well-defined, strong-minded interpretation |
Great Women Artists review - the book we have been waiting for
Women artists put firmly on the map; an inspiring experience |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Dip - Ḣ-Camp Meets Lo-Fi
Collaboration between former Sugarcube and the evolving Jóhann Jóhannsson subverts expectations |
Studio 17: The Lost Reggae Tapes, BBC Four review - a perfectly paced tale of world-shaking basslines and human frailty
The inside story of the evolution of reggae and the family that helped facilitate it |
Baby Reindeer, Bush Theatre review - break, break, breaking Gadd
Provocative one-man show about a stalker by stand-up comedian Richard Gadd is darkly exciting |
PP Arnold, Islington Assembly Hall review - joy in a consummate musical setting
The claim of being 'London’s first lady of soul' is shown to be no idle boast |
The Cunning Little Vixen, Welsh National Opera review - family night in the forest
Janáček’s life cycle comes up fresh and inspiring after four decades |
LFF 2019: Le Mans '66 review - Matt Damon, Christian Bale and the Ford Motor Company go to war
Battle of the race aces, plus 'The Aeronauts', 'Greed' and 'The Exorcist' revisited |
Elf Lyons, Komedia, Brighton review - bonkers, brilliant and a bit of bare bum
An endearing personal journey into why guinea pigs hate their loving, attentive owners |
Gemini Man review - high-concept, high-tech Zen weirdness
Ang Lee's baffled action effort, with surplus Will Smiths |
Groan Ups, Vaudeville Theatre review - adding ambition and emotion to the mix
The ever-likable Mischief Theatre's latest stretches them in new if still-unfinished ways |
Rembrandt's Light, Dulwich Picture Gallery review - a film-maker out of time?
A novel collaboration between curators and cinematographer Peter Suschitzky |
Either, Hampstead Theatre review - funny, ingenious investigation of gender and love
First-time playwright Ruby Thomas is a daring and exciting new voice |
The Day Shall Come review – Homeland Security satire lacks bite
Chris Morris' new comedy highlights the absurdity of the War on Terror |
Anna Maria Maiolino: Making Love Revolutionary, Whitechapel Gallery review – a gentle rebellion
A career that evolves from silent resistance to celebration |
Assassins, Watermill Theatre, Newbury - Sondheim musical in scalding form
Sondheim's 1990 show gets more disturbingly pertinent with every revival |
Black Flag, The Mill, Birmingham review – hardcore punk originators come up trumps
Greg Ginn’s crew set ears ringing and answer the doubters |
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latest in today
In the Long Run, Series 2, Sky 1 review - Idris Elba's...
Dust off the record player: Idris Elba’s Eighties comedy...
Richard Hawley, Barrowland, Glasgow - black clad crooner...
When Richard Hawley arrived onstage, he had a confession to make. “I like to talk”, he declared, before adding “and play rock n’ roll”. Both were...
theartsdesk Q&A: Gianandrea Noseda on conducting Mahler...
There's something about the very opening of a Mahler symphony...
The Peanut Butter Falcon review - sentimental comedy is so d...
It’s an uncomfortable feeling to find oneself completely at odds with an audience in a cinema, but it happens. The recent London Film Festival...
Lenny Henry's Race Through Comedy, Gold review - illumi...
Sir Lenny Henry, PhD and CBE, is scarcely recognisable as the teenager who made his TV debut on New Faces in 1975. He’s been a stand-up...
Bill Frisell's Harmony, Cadogan Hall review – superb Am...
“Bill Frisell is all about sound and melody and enhancing whatever context he is in.” That quote, which defines both the American guitarist’s...
Zauberland, Linbury Theatre review - an adaptation that adds...
Dichterliebe is a song-cycle full of gaps, silences, absences. Where is the piano at the start of “Ich hab’ im Traum geweinet” when the...
Chaos in the Cockpit: Flights from Hell, Channel 5 review -...
Apparently your odds of dying in a plane crash are about one in 11 million, while chances of death in a car accident are about one in 5,000....
Bevan, The Sixteen, Genesis Sixteen, Christophers, Barbican...
Verdi, Elgar, Janáček, John Adams - just four composers who achieved musical transcendence to...