Reviews
Madonna, London Palladium review - a fiesta of the surreal and the fiercely fabulousFriday, 31 January 2020
The first time I heard Madonna, I was 8 years old at a school disco. Horrified parents, who came to pick us up as we jumped up and down yelling along to “Like A Virgin” in a fluorescent flurry of topknots, puffer skirts and lace gloves, subsequently... Read more... |
Persona, Riverside Studios review - Bergman masterpiece transformed into 'The Mumbling'Friday, 31 January 2020
A work of genius isn't sacred, copyrighted territory. A great film may become a play, a novel a film; the adaptation shouldn't be about fidelity, as Elena Ferrante has written about the latter case, but down to to the director "to find...the... Read more... |
Fatoumata Diawara, Roundhouse review - Malian magic on showFriday, 31 January 2020
Fatoumata Diawara knows how to please: with a winning and innocent smile, she wins the audience over in a matter of seconds. She has a vocal style all of her own: in her first song, “Don Do”, a quiet and meditative prelude to the boisterous show... Read more... |
Kunene and the King, Ambassadors Theatre review - a Shakespearean voyage through the legacy of apartheidThursday, 30 January 2020
John Kani’s Kunene and the King is history in microcosm. Its premiere at the RSC last year, in this co-production with Cape Town’s Fugard Theatre, coincided with the 25th anniversary of the end of apartheid, offering a chance to assess the momentous... Read more... |
Picasso and Paper, Royal Academy review - the most versatile of materialsThursday, 30 January 2020
Even more than most, Picasso exhibitions need a focus: he was so prolific and diverse that the alternative is neither practical nor comprehensible. As topics go, Picasso’s works on paper, it turns out, is not nearly focused enough, and the Royal... Read more... |
Denis Kozhukhin, QEH review - lyric mastery and subtle eleganceThursday, 30 January 2020
In Beethoven anniversary year, there will probably be many more "Moonlight"s, meaning the Sonata, than the real thing (though we've been lucky to see the crescent in close conjunction with Venus these past two nights). Not many pianists would dare... Read more... |
John Grant, Roundhouse review - simplicity, with a bit of space operaThursday, 30 January 2020
John Grant’s entry onto the stage was unobtrusive, appropriate for a set-up that consisted of just a grand piano and an electronic keyboard (with accompanying keyboardist). He began with similarly unadorned songs, the ballads that peppered the start... Read more... |
The Lighthouse review - shiver me timbersThursday, 30 January 2020
A creepy lighthouse on a remote island, a blistering storm, a mermaid languishing on the shore and two fabulously bewhiskered actors chewing up the scenery like there’s no tomorrow. The Lighthouse feels like it’s been washed up in a bottle... Read more... |
Queen & Slim review - a stylish and raw tale of outlaws on the lamThursday, 30 January 2020
There’s a palpable rage to Melina Matsoukas’ first feature film Queen & Slim, starring Get Out’s Daniel Kaluuya and newcomer Jodie Turner-Smith. Cast in the mould of Bonnie and Clyde, it’s a film that has you clinging to the arms of your seat... Read more... |
Belsen: Our Story, BBC Two review - inside the unfathomable horror of the HolocaustWednesday, 29 January 2020
The 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz reminds us once again of the unfathomable horror of the Holocaust. The revival of anti-semitism in our own country and elsewhere is why it’s worth telling these terrible stories again and again.... Read more... |
The Sugar Syndrome, Orange Tree Theatre review - pushing empathy to the limitWednesday, 29 January 2020
Your sweet tooth can get you into trouble. Lots of trouble. In this revival of Lucy Prebble's provocative debut, first staged at the Royal Court in 2003, the metaphor of sugar, and of the powerful attractions of this drug-like substance – bad for... Read more... |
Young, Sikh and Proud, BBC One review - siblings divided by their attitudes to faithWednesday, 29 January 2020
Journalist Sunny Hundal has a long track record as a writer and blogger concerned with issues of race, politics and ethnicity. He’s also the brother of the late Jagraj Singh, an influential preacher who encouraged a dramatic upsurge of interest in... Read more... |
