Reviews
MØ, Heaven, London review - snappy, sexy and energized
Friday, 20 May 2022
“I live to survive another heartache/I live to survive another mistake,” roars a sold-out Heaven. It’s a new song but everyone seems to know it. It’s not MØ’s most famous song but is the bluntest monster banger of the night, crunching four-to-the-floor club-pop that brooks no argument. It’s the last of the set (prior to an encore) and MØ is now a perspiring ball of energy.
Top Gun: Maverick review - Tom Cruise defies age and gravity
Friday, 20 May 2022
Only 36 years later, Tom Cruise is back with his eagerly-awaited Top Gun sequel (it was delayed a couple of years by Covid), and there are loyal legions of fans out there desperate to see it. The original, some say, in some way helped to “define” the 1980s, grossing $360m and spinning off a monster multi-platinum soundtrack album, headlined by Berlin’s cheesy synthetic megaballad “Take My Breath Away”.
The Father and the Assassin, National Theatre...
Friday, 20 May 2022
The young Indian man stepping towards us on the vast Olivier stage is unremarkable enough, slight and boyish in manner. When he speaks he is direct,...
I Get Knocked Down, Brighton Festival review -...
Thursday, 19 May 2022
One effect of the film I Get Knocked Down, a playfully constructed journey around the life of Chumbawamba vocalist Dunstan Bruce, is to remind that...
Berrut, ECO, Guzzo, Cadogan Hall review -...
Thursday, 19 May 2022
I came for the Schubert and it didn’t disappoint. Which was good, as the Mozart and Stravinsky did, a little. I came to know Schubert’s Fifth...
The Innocents review - they're just playing
A Norwegian tale of kids doing what kids do, sinisterly |
The House of Shades, Almeida Theatre review - Anne-Marie Duff blazes in Beth Steel's excoriating new drama
Inter-generational story from a Northern mining town melds naturalism and tragedy |
Grease, Dominion Theatre review - a super night out, great songs well sung and spectacular dancing
Crowdpleaser pleases crowd: this High School musical delivers what its audience wants |
Tallies, Old Blue Last review - Canadian quintet rejuvenates indie prototypes
Toronto outfit transcends its influences |
The Essex Serpent, Apple TV+ review - tradition and superstition versus the march of progress
The battle of ideas comes to the East Coast in exquisitely shot treatment of Sarah Perry's novel |
Charli XCX, O2 Academy, Glasgow review - sweat-drenched pop amid feverish atmosphere
The singer's commanding presence overcame a slick production |
Vortex review – an old couple's road to nowhere
Gaspar Noé's unflinching depiction of dementia's merciless grip |
The Great Escape 2022, Brighton review - sunshine, queues, and thrilling new bands
theartsdesk's intrepid duo spend a day trawling the multi-venue seaside festival for musical kicks |
The Breach, Hampstead Theatre review - profoundly uncomfortable work that burns like ice
Naomi Wallace's writing is brave and uncompromising |
Ozark, Series 4 Part 2, Netflix review - crumbling consciences and a last stand
No spoilers, hopefully: farewell to this superbly-acted corruption saga |
Vondráček, LSO, Tilson Thomas, Barbican review - mixed messages
Fine detail in Liszt and Mahler, but drama was lacking |
Andy Zaltzman, Soho Theatre review - satire on the hoof
Setting the world to rights, one joke at a time |
Dandy, BBC Philharmonic, New, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review - energy and fierce attention
Gustav and Alma Mahler, and pictorial music, are linked in a fascinating programme |
Music Reissues Weekly: 999 - A Punk Rock Anthology
Entry point compilation into the band who ‘seem to have lost control’ |
Julius Caesar, Shakespeare's Globe review - the Bard buried in bad choices
Intrusive 21st century agenda and dismal staging waste an opportunity |
Transgressive Records showcase, The Great Escape, Brighton review - five acts offer intriguing pop alternatives
Let's Eat Grandma, The Waeve, Mykki Blanco and more set the south coast a-buzz |
The Patient Gloria, Brighton Festival review - an electric exploration of the control and manipulation of women
Laying bare the authority and entitlement of misogyny |
The Staircase, NOW review - addictive dramatisation of real-life murder investigation
Colin Firth visits the dark side as suspected killer Michael Peterson |
Fidelio, Insula Orchestra, Barbican review - truth and justice brought to light
Sturdy singing and human drama enrich a fuss-free staging of Beethoven's only opera |
Mavra/Pierrot Lunaire, Linbury Theatre review - operatic madness tempered with plenty of method
A collision of musical worlds makes for an intriguing double-bill |
Everything Everywhere All at Once review - brace yourself
Pick 'n' mix assortment of martial arts, sci fi, family drama, and existential angst |
Osborne, Hallé, Elder, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review - an eclectic mix
Glory in conclusion of Manchester's Vaughan Williams symphonies cycle |
The Quiet Girl review - finding a home away from home
Colm Bairéad's beautiful, understated film is faithfully adapted from Claire Keegan's novella |
Brandon Wardell, Soho Theatre review - US comic wings it
UK debut show is disjointed and uneven |
latest in today
Album: Harry Styles - Harry's House
Harry Styles’ previous two albums sounded like someone rifling pleasantly through the history of...
MØ, Heaven, London review - snappy, sexy and energized
“I live to survive another heartache/I live to survive another mistake,” roars a sold-out Heaven. It’s a new song but everyone seems to know it....
'How that music was created remains to me a complete my...
It has been a difficult couple of years for us in the world of opera, losing several of our most respected and admired colleagues who have...
Top Gun: Maverick review - Tom Cruise defies age and gravity
Only 36 years later, Tom Cruise is back with his eagerly-awaited Top Gun sequel (it was delayed a couple of years by Covid), and there...
The Father and the Assassin, National Theatre review - Gandh...
The young Indian man stepping towards us on the vast Olivier stage is unremarkable enough, slight and boyish in manner. When he speaks he is...
Album: Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Dirt Does Dylan
I have to confess, it’s a long time since I’ve thought about the Nitty Gritty Dirty Band and a new...
I Get Knocked Down, Brighton Festival review - Chumbawamba s...
One effect of the film I Get Knocked Down, a playfully constructed journey around the life of Chumbawamba vocalist Dunstan Bruce, is to...
Berrut, ECO, Guzzo, Cadogan Hall review - Schubert with a sm...
I came for the Schubert and it didn’t disappoint. Which was...
The Innocents review - they're just playing
The Innocents made a splash at Cannes in 2021 and it’s easy to see why. The ...
Blu-ray: I Am a Camera
The first film rendering of Christopher Isherwood’s experiences in early 1930s Berlin, I Am a Camera has been restored and released on...