Reviews
Così fan tutte, Welsh National Opera review - relevance reduced to irrelevanceTuesday, 27 February 2024
We can’t do without Così fan tutte; it’s an irresistible masterpiece. But it’s a thorn in the flesh of modern directors, who struggle to find the "relevance" they seem to need in order to get the wretched piece on to the stage.In his new production... Read more... |
Driving Mum review - a dark comedy that has you laughing out loudTuesday, 27 February 2024
Hilmar Oddsson’s award-winning film Driving Mum is pitch-perfect. Jon has spent the last 30 years looking after his domineering mother. There they sit, side by side, in a remote cottage on Iceland’s western fjords, knitting jumpers to sell to the... Read more... |
Manon Lescaut, English Touring Opera review - a nightmare in too many waysMonday, 26 February 2024
Opera in Britain is currently cursed by funders, politicians and ideologues – of right and left – who heartily detest the form. Alas, some directors do their work for them with interpretations seemingly designed to undermine the very art they are... Read more... |
The Merchant of Venice 1936, Criterion Theatre review - radical revamp with a passionate agendaMonday, 26 February 2024
It’s an unhappy time to be staging Shakespeare’s problematic play, given its antisemitic content, so hats off to adaptor-director Brigid Larmour and actor Tracy-Ann Oberman for persevering with this updated version, now in the West End. Their... Read more... |
RSNO Chorus, Doughty, Greyfriars Kirk, Edinburgh review - breaking out in anniversary BrucknerMonday, 26 February 2024
The Scottish Chamber Orchestra Chorus has a well-established concert life away from the main orchestra; the Royal Scottish National Orchestra Chorus less so. So it was refreshing to get to hear them going it (almost) alone in Edinburgh’s Greyfriars... Read more... |
Album: The Bevis Frond - Focus on NatureMonday, 26 February 2024
Musically, the assured Focus on Nature knows exactly what it is. Fuzzy, psychedelic-leaning, folk-aware pop-rock with an emphasis on guitars about captures it. And what tunes – this 75-minute double album’s 19 songs are immediate, instantly... Read more... |
Music Reissues Weekly: Blank Generation, Just Want To Be MyselfSunday, 25 February 2024
“I hate it, so I guess Eater have succeeded.” NME’s March 1977 appraisal of the debut single by UK punk's teen sensations was direct. In his trailblazing British punk fanzine Sniffin' Glue, Mark Perry was equally forthright when contemplating “... Read more... |
Wicked Little Letters review - sweary, starry film is mostly strangeSaturday, 24 February 2024
A splendid cast struggle to make something coherent out of Wicked Little Letters, the latest film from Thea Sharrock who not that long ago was one of the hottest theatre directors in town.Sharrock's proven skill onstage with thesps ranging from... Read more... |
Sánchez, National Symphony Orchestra, Martín, National Concert Hall, Dublin review - Spanish panacheSaturday, 24 February 2024
Ravel’s Boléro, however well you think you know it, usually wows in concert with its disconcerting mix of sensuality, fun and violence. Context can make it even more powerful: in this case as the culmination of NSO Chief Conductor Jaime Martín’s... Read more... |
Sargent and Fashion, Tate Britain review - portraiture as a performanceSaturday, 24 February 2024
At the turn of the 20th century, London’s smart set queued up to get their portraits painted by American-born artist John Singer Sargent. Sitting for him was a performance, a way to show the world just how rich, glamorous, clever or important you... Read more... |
Uproar, Rafferty, Royal Welsh College, Cardiff review - a rare spring in the new music stepSaturday, 24 February 2024
It’s not often one comes out of a concert of mainly new works with a spring in one’s step. A sigh of relief is rather more usual. But this concert on Thursday by the Welsh new music ensemble Uproar was an exception, partly but by no means... Read more... |
The Big Life, Stratford East review - musical brings the joy and honours the pastSaturday, 24 February 2024
Is there a healthier sound than that of laughter ringing round a theatre? There are plenty of opportunities to test that theory in Tinuke Craig’s riotous revival of The Big Life, two decades on from its first run at this very venue. Much has... Read more... |
