Buzz
Ismene Brown
Jonathan Mills has announced the programme for Edinburgh International Festival 2010, on a theme of modern culture in the New Worlds of the Americas and Australasia. Ranging from California to Canberra, New York to New Zealand, from Santiago to Samoa, the festival opens on Friday 13 August with John Adams' oratorio El Niño and closes on Sunday 5 September with the traditional fireworks concert.World premieres include political writer Alistair Beaton’s exploration of Scotland’s futile attempt at establishing a colony in Panama, Caledonia, directed by Anthony Neilson and co-produced by the Read more ...
holly.kyte
The Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival kicks off this week with a dazzling line-up of today's literary giants - including Martin Amis, Ian McEwan, Hilary Mantel, Rose Tremain, Tracey Chevalier, John Le Carré, Philip Pullman and Sebastian Faulks. Based in and around some of Oxford’s most jaw-dropping buildings, the festival runs from 20-28 March and offers more than 250 events including talks, topical panel discussions, a creative writing workshop and a newly re-launched children’s programme.
To see a full list of events and to book tickets, visit The Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival Read more ...
Peter Culshaw
This week's birthdays include the impeccably funky Sly Stone and Wilson Pickett, manic Chopin played by the great pianist Sviatoslav Richter, lush orientalism from Rimsky-Korsakov, classic jazz from Bix Beiderbecke, and annoying pop from Clare Grogan.
15 March 1944: One of the funkiest beings ever to strut his stuff, Sly Stone (born Sylvester Stewart) and the Family Stone perform “Dance to the Music”. For the last 20 years he has been a virtual recluse, there are persistent rumours of a new album for 2010.18 March 1941: Wilson Pickett performs “Mustang Sally” in a classic clip from Read more ...
Veronica Lee
Theatre lovers and theatre-history devotees alike will be delighted by the news that the Hackney Empire in east London, which went dark last month, is to be saved. A property developer will pay the theatre an unspecified sum to create 25 flats in an adjacent building it owns; there will also be offices and a community space for the use of the venue, a Grade II*-listed 1901 Frank Matcham beauty. The Empire's acting chief executive, Claire Middleton, described it as "a stabilising deal" and it will allow the theatre to regroup during 2010 before its next scheduled theatrical production, its Read more ...
Adam Sweeting
Horses, Liz Mermin's "intensely strange" but bewitching documentary about a year in the life of a trio of Irish "horse athletes", has already been seen at the Sheffield Doc/Fest and at the ICA in London. Now, recut and retitled Race Horses, it comes to BBC Four's Storyville tonight (March 11) at 9pm. Read theartsdesk's interview with Liz Mermin here, and take a gallop with Joncol, Cuan na Grai and Ardalan.
Jasper Rees
Is this a good idea? It has been announced that Ralph Fiennes is to begin work as a director. Not that he is forsaking his more familiar job description in the mean time. For his debut behind the camera, he will also be in front of the camera in the modest, unchallenging part of Coriolanus. Yes, Fiennes is returning to a role that he first played on stage 10 years ago.That was when the Almeida Theatre was in an expansionist phase and had moved into the derelict Gainsborough Studios in Shoreditch. Where Hitchcock had once filmed, in recent years carpets had been stored. The Almeida took it on Read more ...
josh.spero
Variety, the most venerable entertainment trade journal in America, is sacking its chief film and theatre critics, including the man for whose film reviews many people read the magazine, Todd McCarthy.According to a leaked internal memo from editor Tim Gray to editorial staff, “It doesn’t make economic sense to have full-time reviewers, but Todd [McCarthy, chief film critic], Derek [Elley, senior film critic] and Rooney [David Rooney, chief theatre critic] have been asked to continue as freelancers.” The memo prefaces this by saying: “Today’s changes won’t be noticed by readers,” which Read more ...
sue.steward
Zhang Xiao is a young documentary photographer from Chongqing, China, who was the most talked-about exhibitor at the 2009 FORMAT photography festival in Derby. He presented a grid of 20 colour photographs under the title of Shanxi, a town he visited during a touring project to document vanishing traditions and customs viewed amongst the fast-changing lifestyles of the local people.This week, Birmingham City Library announced that it has bought the 20 images which Peter James, Head of Photographs at the Library, says "exhibit many resonances with historical and contemporary images Read more ...
Veronica Lee
Udderbelly's 2010 season at London's Southbank has been announced and the line-up has some gems. American comic Rob Schneider, veteran of Saturday Night Live, will be the main overseas draw and The Wire fans will be rushing to An Evening With Clarke Peters. Irish comic Tommy Tiernan makes a rare UK appearance, while Sandi Toksvig returns to stand-up after a long absence and Alexei Sayle is doing a book reading and Q&A. Others appearing in the upturned purple cow are Ardal O'Hanlon, Alun Cochrane and Jack Whitehall. Last year's launch season was a hit with comedy fans, as Udderbelly @ Read more ...
Ismene Brown
Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall will attend Birmingham Royal Ballet’s 20th anniversary gala tomorrow night celebrating two decades in Birmingham for the company which was once Sadler’s Wells Theatre Ballet. The Prince of Wales is President of BRB and the Duchess is Patron of Elmhurst School of Dance, now Birmingham-based and associated with BRB. The move out of the capital made in 1990 by then director Peter Wright was seen as high-risk, but it was backed by Dame Ninette de Valois, then 92, who also approved of Wright’s succession by the young choreographer David Bintley.Bintley Read more ...
sheila.johnston
Kathryn Bigelow made Hollywood history last night at the 82nd Academy Awards by becoming the first woman to be named Best Director for The Hurt Locker, which also won for Best Picture. Her brilliant, low-budget Iraq war drama was the big winner at the ceremony, bagging six statuettes as against three Oscars for the co-favourite, Avatar, the sci-fi extravaganza directed by Bigelow's ex-husband James Cameron. The four acting awards were utterly unsurprising and it was a lean night indeed for the Brits, although the respected costume designer Sandy Powell - previously a laureate for Shakespeare Read more ...
Veronica Lee
theartsdesk has previously written about concerns felt by many about UK libel laws. Now comedian Robin Ince has organised a fundraising comedy gig (which he will host) to raise awareness about scientist and author Simon Singh, who is being sued by the British Chiropractic Association. It will be held at the Palace Theatre in London on Sunday 14 March and the line-up includes Dara Ó Briain, Tim Minchin, Marcus Brigstocke, Robin Ince, Ed Byrne and Shappi Khorsandi, while scientists Simon Singh and Dr Ben Goldacre will speak. Funds raised from The Big Libel Gig will be donated to the Coalition Read more ...