Reviews
theartsdesk on Vinyl: Record Store Day Special 2018
Friday, 20 April 2018
Record Store Day 2018 – Saturday April 21 – is upon us. It should really be Record Shop Day 2018 as this is the UK but let’s not quibble. Instead, put aside cynicism about major labels cashing in, wander down to the nearest record shop – and, happily, new record shops are starting to pop up a lot lately – then rifle through the racks.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society review - artery-furring whimsy
Friday, 20 April 2018
There’s a serious film to be made about the German occupation of the Channel Islands. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society is not that film. The absolute gobful of a title more than hints at artery-furring whimsy.
Bat Out of Hell, Dominion Theatre review - the...
Friday, 20 April 2018
Back by feverishly popular demand, Jim Steinman’s mega-musical is no longer in danger of alarming unsuspecting opera-goers. A year on from its...
True Horror, Channel 4 review - a Ronseal...
Friday, 20 April 2018
As if the real world wasn’t scary enough... Ghost stories are en vogue at the moment, and after the BBC’s hit-and-miss Requiem, Channel 4 brings True...
Roy Orbison In Dreams Hologram, Eventim Apollo...
Friday, 20 April 2018
On Wednesday night, the music world took a small step closer to the realms of science fiction. Roy Orbison, 30 years dead, stood in front of a packed...
Andsnes, LPO, Jurowski, RFH review - dazzling symphonic contrasts, plus oddities
Stunning articulation in generous helpings of Stravinsky with Shostakovich and Debussy |
Funny Cow review - Maxine Peake is stellar
Fictional biopic portrays the comedy circuit from a bygone age |
Occupied, series 2, Sky Atlantic review - political conflicts looking all too actual
Jo Nesbo’s neo-Cold War drama of Russia vs the rest - aka truth vs lies - resumes |
Angela Barnes, Soho Theatre review - history with great gags
Cold War buff with a weird obsession |
Stephen: The Murder That Changed A Nation, BBC One review - ‘He was a cool guy and everybody loved him’
New three part documentary marks 25 years since the murder of Stephen Lawrence |
Tina, Aldwych Theatre review - new Tina Turner bio-musical is simply OK
Powerhouse Adrienne Warren is the saving grace of a show that plays it safe |
Monet and Architecture, National Gallery review - a revelation in paint
The king of the blockbuster seen in a new light |
The Queen's Green Planet, ITV review - right royal arboreals
Gentle cliché met gentle cliché, but this film was charming, and the concept is fabulous |
Instructions for Correct Assembly, Royal Court review - Jane Horrocks in Middle England 'Westworld'
New sci-fi drama about suburban perfection lacks the necessary human touch |
Lifeline, Channel 4 review - Spanish sci-fi drama on speed
'Walter Presents' what-if transplant drama from Madrid hits the accelerator pedal |
Obsidian Tear / Marguerite and Armand / Elite Syncopations, Royal Opera House review - an evening of high-performance mismatch
Fine dancing, but these three ballets have nothing to say to each other |
Philharmonia, Salonen, RFH review – cosmic perspectives
Unsuk Chin explores man’s relation to the universe in new oratorio |
Daliso Chaponda, Touring review - uneven but entertaining
Britain's Got Talent finalist on first UK tour |
Barbara Ehrenreich: Natural Causes review - counterintuitive wisdom on the big issues
From challenging medical myths to making sense of the great unknowns, a bravura perspective |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Brian James
First solo album from the former Damned and Lords of the New Church man is a blast |
Amy Sackville: Painter to the King review - portrait of the artist in shadow and light
A novel about Velázquez that does justice to his genius – and his mystery |
The Moderate Soprano, Duke of York's Theatre review - love and opera with a flinty edge
Roger Allam and Nancy Carroll serve David Hare's iron fist in velvet glove to perfection |
Voices of America, English National Ballet review - a punchy programme of contemporary ballet
Forsythe commission is a romping, swaggering joy of a piece |
Igor Levit, Wigmore Hall review – music for the ages
New work for Rzewski’s 80th a puzzling affair but performed with dedication and authority |
Arcade Fire, Wembley Arena review - sensational spectacle
Canadian indies sing up a storm in in-the-round, with a cameo from Jarvis Cocker |
Chicago, Phoenix Theatre review - baggy revival picks up later pace
Cuba Gooding Jr hardly rises, but his co-stars shine in a show stronger on wit than tunes |
Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Royal Opera review - bleak rigour and black comedy still cast a spell
Eva-Maria Westbroek returns on top form as Shostakovich's lethally bored housewife |
Law and Order, BBC Four review - not a fair cop
GF Newman's 1978 series about police corruption still intrigues |
Dickson, SCO, Swensen, Queen's Hall, Edinburgh review - world premiere of a bold new work
James MacMillan takes the saxophone into uncharted territory |
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theartsdesk on Vinyl: Record Store Day Special 2018
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There’s a serious film to be made about the German...
Bat Out of Hell, Dominion Theatre review - the Meat Loaf mus...
Back by feverishly popular demand, Jim Steinman’s mega-musical...
True Horror, Channel 4 review - a Ronseal approach to ghost...
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Funny Cow review - Maxine Peake is stellar
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