New York
Philip Guston, Tate Modern review - a compelling look at an artist who derided the KKKThursday, 05 October 2023
At last, after waiting several years, we get to see Philip Guston’s paintings at Tate Modern. His retrospective was scheduled to open in summer 2020 at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, but the murder of George Floyd made the institution... Read more... |
Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends, Gielgud Theatre review - exuberant gala of nonstop virtuosityWednesday, 04 October 2023
The Sondheim gala show Old Friends is a must for fans of the master, naturally, but its quality would knock anybody who loves musical theatre for six. It’s the successor to a one-off gala of the same name staged in May 2022 and broadcast since... Read more... |
The Continental, Prime Video - welcome to the expanding John Wick universeWednesday, 27 September 2023
Now that earnings from the John Wick movie franchise have topped a billion dollars, it’s no surprise that there should be moves afoot to cash in by developing a “John Wick Universe”.And here we have it, since Amazon's The Continental (subtitled "... Read more... |
Untitled F*ck M*ss S**gon Play, Young Vic review - committed and important play let down by heavy-handed writingWednesday, 27 September 2023
Seldom can a title have given so much away about the play to follow, not just in terms of the subject matter but also in terms of the sledgehammer approach to driving home its points. Kimber Lee, who won the inaugural Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting... Read more... |
Past Lives review - poignant story of a long-maturing loveThursday, 07 September 2023
In the mood for love? It’s over 23 years since Wong Kar-Wai’s swoony, bittersweet film of that name reset the bar for the art-house love story. Now comes Celine Song's Past LIves, an entirely different kind of bar-setter but with a similar tough-but... Read more... |
Isidore Quartet / Mao Fujita, Edinburgh International Festival 2023 - carefree beauty and improvisatory flairTuesday, 29 August 2023
The Edinburgh International Festival’s Queen’s Hall series ended with two very impressive debuts. Thursday morning brought the Isidore Quartet, who winningly, if slightly naively, told us that Edinburgh had a similar energy to their native New York.... Read more... |
The Walkmen, SWG3, Glasgow review - a classy return for New York's finestWednesday, 23 August 2023
As the relentless, hammering beat of “The Rat” faded away, the Walkmen’s singer Hamilton Leithauser was evidently in buoyant mood. “Like riding a bike,” he declared to the Glasgow crowd, and this was a statement that proved consistently accurate... Read more... |
Only Murders in the Building, Disney+ review - this comedy crime drama is a class actSaturday, 19 August 2023
Despite its cursory nods to new technology, there’s something deliciously old-fashioned about Only Murders in the Building. Now into its third series, it tells the stories of a trio of affluent Manhattanites who make true-life podcasts about the... Read more... |
You Hurt My Feelings review - Manhattanite comedy with a characterful castWednesday, 09 August 2023
Popped straight out to the streamers, Nicole Holofcener’s new film has apparently been labelled as insufficiently marketable for a theatrical release against the juggernaut of Barbenheimer. Surely by now a movie that doesn't feature either Ryan... Read more... |
Appraising Billie Holiday's 'Fine and Mellow' - anatomy of a jazz masterpieceTuesday, 11 July 2023
On December 8th 1957 there was a heavy snowstorm in New York. Ten elderly jazz musicians struggled to make their way through the drifts to a television studio on 10th Avenue. One of them – the bass player – collapsed in the street, and died in... Read more... |
A Strange Loop, Barbican review - Black queer musical with confusing concept but an excellent leadSaturday, 01 July 2023
If you are going to see A Strange Loop, the new American musical trailing a Tony Award and a Pulitzer Prize that has arrived at the Barbican, here’s a checklist of topics to make sure you are on top of first: intersectionality, Harriet Tubman,... Read more... |
Music Reissues Weekly: Tribal Rites of the New Saturday NightSunday, 18 June 2023
“It all started with a June 7, 1976 article in New York magazine about Queens, New York working-class young adults who flocked to a local disco in platform shoes and outlandish clothes to perform organized dances. [Bee Gees manager] Stigwood read... Read more... |
