Reviews
The Divine Comedy: Live from the Barbican review – thirty years of great songsSaturday, 17 October 2020
If “things” hadn’t intervened, September would have seen the Divine Comedy play a five night residency at the Barbican, playing their entire back catalogue, two albums a night, to mark 30 years since the band was started. Instead we got just one... Read more... |
LFF 2020: Never Gonna Snow Again review - mystic masseur with God-like giftsSaturday, 17 October 2020
The 1986 nuclear accident at Chernobyl was brilliantly explored in last years’s HBO series, but here, prolific Polish director Malgorzata Szumowska finds an alternative purpose for the disaster. As a child Zhenia, the Ukrainian protagonist of Never... Read more... |
Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Queen's Hall, Edinburgh online review – two Parisian gemsFriday, 16 October 2020
Though live performances are, thankfully, starting to reappear throughout the country, and socially distanced seating, mask-donning and constant hand sanitising becomes the norm for audiences south of the border, those in Scotland are still eagerly... Read more... |
LFF 2020: Another Round review – a glass half emptyFriday, 16 October 2020
In 2012, two great Danes, director Thomas Vinterberg and actor Mads Mikkelsen, teamed up for the powerhouse drama The Hunt, about a teacher victimised by his community when wrongly accused of abusing a pupil. For their reprise, Mikkelsen again... Read more... |
Taskmaster, Channel 4 review - comedy show makes seamless transferFriday, 16 October 2020
After nine successful series, a Bafta and an Emmy nomination, Taskmaster has moved from Dave to Channel 4 – amusingly, the broadcaster that its creator Alex Horne first took it to but which turned it down. It has made the transition seamlessly – ie... Read more... |
Being A Human Person review - enter the surreal world of Roy AnderssonFriday, 16 October 2020
It’s fair to say that the idiosyncratic, surrealist films of Roy Andersson are not everyone’s cup of tea. Whether you find his films impregnable or incisive, it’s impossible to argue with the artistic imprint the Swedish auteur has had on European... Read more... |
LFF 2020: Supernova review – Stanley Tucci and Colin Firth shine as couple on the roadThursday, 15 October 2020
Unsurprisingly, there’s a lot of pleasure to be had watching Stanley Tucci and Colin Firth as a mature couple pootling around the UK in their humble camper van. They bicker about the satnav voice, argue the merits of the shipping forecast, and both... Read more... |
Time review - a stunning portait of enduring loveThursday, 15 October 2020
Sometimes in fictional cinema, a character can seem so strong, so righteous, that you begin to doubt the reality of the piece. How can anyone be that good when faced with such hardship? Perhaps these thoughts make us feel better about ourselves, and... Read more... |
Emily in Paris, Netflix review - addictive escapism in the City of LightWednesday, 14 October 2020
Is Emily in Paris “the dumbest thing on Netflix right now?” or a sugar-rush of escapism in the midst of our global pandemic misery? “We need things to make us smile,” commented one Parisian viewer. “In the time of Covid,we don’t need more to stress... Read more... |
Mariam Batsashvili, Wigmore Hall review – the serious virtuosoWednesday, 14 October 2020
“O wise young judge”, says Shylock to Portia in The Merchant of Venice.It seemed just such a figure who made her way to the piano at the Wigmore Hall last night. Besuited, bespectacled, with a poised upright posture that frees her arms, plus... Read more... |
Baker, Ridout, LaFollette, Schwizgebel, Fidelio Orchestra Cafe review - fun and ferocityWednesday, 14 October 2020
How many musicians can you fit in the main space of the Fidelio Orchestra Café? The answer is 23 string players in masks, for the recording of Strauss’s Metamorphosen of which I was a solitary witness in the summer. With diners accommodated,... Read more... |
The Royal Ballet: Back on Stage review - fireworks in the GardenTuesday, 13 October 2020
"Don’t hold back,” a front-of-house manager told us. “If you want to show your appreciation, go for it.” This was nothing to do with providing sound effects for the imminent streaming to tens of thousands around the world. It was about letting the... Read more... |
