reviews

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Dead Man's Wire review - Gus Van Sant's take on a 1977 hostage crisis

Markie Robson-Scott |

Tony Kiritsis (the excellent Bill Skarsgård; Nosferatu) is a nervy, paranoid oddball. Well, he would be. He has an appointment with a mortgage broker and in the long cardboard box that he’s carrying is a sawn-off shotgun.

Siegfried, Royal Opera review - no bully, but a bright boy who learns fast

David Nice
When the joyful energy at the final curtain - love briefly triumphant in the power-dominated world of Wagner's Ring - is as insanely high as it was…

R.O.I. (Return on Investment), Hampstead Theatre review - sick take on health and wealth

Gary Naylor
If you’ll forgive me the first of two tiptoes into Gonzo Journalism, a few weeks ago I found out that I have a faulty gene - not a romantically…

Summerfolk, National Theatre review - Gorky's self-deluding intelligentsia under sharp comic scrutiny

Heather Neill
Gorky's satire is set in the summer of 1904, between the opening of The Cherry Orchard and Chekhov's death that year, and the first Russian…

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Iceland's Gyða Valtysdóttir’s 'Mother Pearl' is impressionistic yet enveloping

Kieron Tyler
Former member of múm musically reclaims herself

Pukhlianko, National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, Sirenko, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review - heroes of a distinguished tradition

Robert Beale
Beethoven dominates a symbolic musical link

Children of the Night, Southwark Playhouse review - girls spice up deadend lives

Gary Naylor
New 90s nostalgia play has plenty of lessons for today

Gillam, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Glassberg, Queen's Hall, Edinburgh review - sold out hall and sensational sounds

Simon Thompson
Star power sells a concert of recently written music

The Madison, Paramount+ review - Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell in a tale of bereavement and healing

Adam Sweeting
From Manhattan to Montana with the prolific Taylor Sheridan

Sampson, Kilsby, Gabrieli, McCreesh, Smith Square Hall review - a Handelian feast

Boyd Tonkin
A lavish double serving of full-flavoured masterworks

Howling Bells, King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow review - welcome return for dark-hearted Aussies

Jonathan Geddes
The trio have recently returned after a hiatus of more than a decade

Dariescu, Mitchell, Clegg, Manchester Camerata, Andrews, RNCM, Manchester review - a window on British women’s music

Robert Beale
Hidden gems by 20th century composers revealed

Lily Allen, Theatre Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham review - thrillingly imaginative show based on her 'West End Girl' album

Thomas H. Green
Much-talked-about divorce album is better as theatre

Music Reissues Weekly: Eternal Journey - The Arrangements and Productions of Charles Stepney

Kieron Tyler
First-ever collection dedicated to the musical polymath’s latterly defined golden years

Son, BBCSO, Oramo, Barbican review - a fiery Firebird and some welcome rain

Bernard Hughes
Enticing programme is given a suitably colourful performance

Plantoid, Moth Club review - Brighton-based band showcases a penchant for jazz

Kieron Tyler
Sell-out show suggests embracing difficult music won’t impede an upwards trajectory

Witch Fever + Cowboy Hunters, Bodega, Nottingham - an enthralling night with two sets of rising stars

Thomas H. Green
Heavy riffin', punk rock, food poisoning, snark and moshpit mayhem

Elisabeth Leonskaja, Wigmore Hall review - fantasy and rigour

David Nice
The great pianist takes us on a Shakespearean journey, from Ariel and Prospero to Lear

The Tasters review - spring greens time for Hitler

James Saynor
A curious, cautious tale about sampling the Führer’s grub

The Love that Remains review - regret, joy and giant rooster nightmares

Helen Hawkins
Hlynur Pálmason creates an entrancing, novel form of film-as-memory

David Hockney, Serpentine North review - step into digital darkness

Sarah Kent
A frieze of iPad pictures that sends you hurrying for the door

Bach's St John Passion, Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, Whelan, St-Martin-in-the-Fields review - high drama, fine detail

Boyd Tonkin
The great Gospel tragedy rendered bright, swift and fierce

Hayes, The Common Ground Ensemble, Koko review - a whirligig of exuberance and joy

Rachel Halliburton
Irish fiddler sets ego aside and completely surrenders to the music

The Holy Rosenbergs, Menier Chocolate Factory review - still timely and thought-provoking

aleks.sierz
Excellent revival of Ryan Craig’s 2011 play about an British-Jewish family in crisis

Ballet Black at 25, Linbury Theatre review - a 21-year-old's dream comes of age

Jenny Gilbert
After 25 years and counting, Cassa Pancho's fine company remains essential

Catherine Opie: To Be Seen, National Portrait Gallery review - identity put on display

Sarah Kent
Photographs of California’s queer community in the 1990s

Unfamiliar, Netflix review - funerals in Berlin

Adam Sweeting
Spies, lies and surprises in gripping German thriller

David Byrne, SEC Armadillo, Glasgow review - a theatrical spectacle with fiery energy

Jonathan Geddes
The former Talking Heads singer mixed old and new alike in a compelling show.

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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…
Dead Man's Wire review - Gus Van Sant's take on a 1977 hostage crisis
Tony Kiritsis (the excellent Bill Skarsgård; Nosferatu) is a nervy, paranoid oddball. Well, he would be. He has an appointment with a…
The Puppini Sisters celebrate 20 glorious years with 'The Birthday Party'
In this most challenging of times, we need music to lift our spirits and relieve the gloom. Step forward, in all their retro-chic, cabaret-…
Siegfried, Royal Opera review - no bully, but a bright boy who learns fast
When the joyful energy at the final curtain - love briefly triumphant in the power-dominated world of Wagner's Ring - is as insanely high…
R.O.I. (Return on Investment), Hampstead Theatre review - sick take on health and wealth
If you’ll forgive me the first of two tiptoes into Gonzo Journalism, a few weeks ago I found out that I have a faulty gene - not a…
Summerfolk, National Theatre review - Gorky's self-deluding intelligentsia under sharp comic scrutiny
Gorky's satire is set in the summer of 1904, between the opening of The Cherry Orchard and Chekhov's death that year, and the first Russian…
Iceland's Gyða Valtysdóttir’s 'Mother Pearl' is impressionistic yet enveloping
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Pukhlianko, National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, Sirenko, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review - heroes of a distinguished tradition
The members of the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, on an intensive tour of the UK and Ireland which sees them right now performing…
Children of the Night, Southwark Playhouse review - girls spice up deadend lives
Yo, I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want. Er… another nostalgic play about growing up in a Yorkshire post-industrial city?…
Gillam, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Glassberg, Queen's Hall, Edinburgh review - sold out hall and sensational sounds
It’s hard enough to sell tickets for any concert of classical music these days, let alone one that features mostly contemporary music; yet…