wed 23/04/2025

james woodall

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Bio
James wrote (1999-2010) for the Financial Times, The Economist and Dance Europe, mainly from Berlin. His books include a biography of Jorge Luis Borges, a study of Rio's music through the life and work of Chico Buarque, and an account of the marriage of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. He's now a writer back in England.

Articles By James Woodall

Rock Island Line: The Song That Made Britain Rock, BBC Four review - the early dawn of Britpop

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The Beatles: Made on Merseyside, BBC Four review - when the Fab Four were five

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theartsdesk Q&A: Theatre Producer Elyse Dodgson

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Titus Andronicus, RSC, Barbican review - blood will out

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Coriolanus, Barbican review - great, late Shakespeare compels but doesn't stun

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The Tempest, Barbican Theatre review - sound and fury at the expense of sense

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It Was Fifty Years Ago Today! review - without a little help from their friends

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Shakespeare Trilogy, Donmar at King's Cross

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10 Questions for Director Lucy Bailey

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The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years

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The Girl from Ipanema: Brazil, Bossa Nova and the Beach, BBC Four

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theartsdesk at the Holland Festival

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George Martin (1926-2016), record producer and 'fifth Beatle'

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Rio+Film, Barbican

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Hot August Night: The Beatles at Shea Stadium

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The Story of The Beatles' Last Song

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Help to give theartsdesk a future!

It all started on 09/09/09. That memorable date, September 9 2009, marked the debut of theartsdesk.com.

It followed some...

Personal Values, Hampstead Theatre review - deep grief that...

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April review - powerfully acted portrait of a conflicted doc...

It’s easy to see metaphors about the status of modern Georgia, once again threatened by the Russian boot, in its recent artistic output...

theartsdesk Q&A: filmmaker Miguel Gomes on his latest ex...

It doesn't take much to get lost in a film by Miguel Gomes. In fact, it's required. Multiple layers, timelines, and perspectives unfold in his...

Album: Billy Idol - Dream Into It

There’s always been a goofy charm about Billy Idol. As an implausibly chiselled Adonis shining out from the deliberate ugliness of the original...

Greg Davies, Brighton Dome review - chocolate bars and erran...

Greg Davies doesn’t spare himself in his new show, Full Fat Legend, his first tour in seven years after having been busy being...

Bach St John Passion, Academy of Ancient Music, Cummings, Ba...

In a programme note for the St John Passion at the Barbican, the Academy of Ancient Music’s chief executive called their Easter performances of...

Album: Viagra Boys - Viagr Aboys

Sweden’s most gloriously unhinged export is back, and Viagr Aboys might just be Viagra Boys at their most fun, feral and fully realised....

Music Reissues Weekly: 1001 Est Crémazie

It would have been hard to pick up a copy of the album credited to and titled 1001 Est Crémazie in...

MacMillan St John Passion, Boylan, National Symphony Orchest...

Never make your mind up too soon about any large-scale work by a genius. Back in 2010, I had my doubts about James MacMillan’s first Passion,...