Ireland
Jason Byrne, Leicester Square TheatreWednesday, 29 September 2010
It takes a very talented comic indeed to warm the main room at the Leicester Square Theatre, a venue that is situated beneath a Catholic church and which, vampire-like, can suck the life out of even the most buoyant of audiences. Fortunately, Jason... Read more... |
The Big Fellah, Lyric HammersmithMonday, 27 September 2010
When cultural talk drifts toward Mr Big, thoughts tend to turn to Sex and the City's Chris Noth, whose New York is world enough and time away from the doomed metropolis populated by the "big fellah" played by Finbar Lynch in Richard Bean's play of... Read more... |
Krapp's Last Tape, Duchess TheatreThursday, 23 September 2010
A play could be written about, or for, Michael Gambon's fingers, and perhaps Beckett's 1958 Krapp's Last Tape is it. I've seen this solo piece many times, most recently in a studio theatre rendition from Harold Pinter that opened a window on to his... Read more... |
Dara Ó Briain, Hammersmith ApolloSaturday, 18 September 2010
At 6ft 4in, Dara Ó Briain is a massive bloke. With his bald, cannon-ball head and barrel-chested torso – togged out in a suit – he looks like a bulldog that's acquired a tailor. But it is not, of course, his physical build that has made this affable... Read more... |
What I'm Reading: Conductor Peter PhillipsWednesday, 08 September 2010
Next to choose some favourite books is conductor Peter Phillips, whose touring lifestyle can make "summer reading" something of a year-round phenomenon. When Phillips founded the vocal ensemble the Tallis Scholars in 1973 it was a hobby among... Read more... |
My Summer Reading: Sculptor Cornelia ParkerFriday, 27 August 2010
Sculptor and installation artist Cornelia Parker is our fourth guest to choose some favourite books for holiday reading. Born in 1956, she is known in part for her suspended sculptures that appear to capture the moment of explosion, as well as for... Read more... |
The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Young VicThursday, 22 July 2010
The Martin McDonagh phenomenon is a curious one. He burst upon the world in 1996, aged 26, born in Camberwell, the son of Irish parents. The quirk of fate that placed him in south east London may or may not have been the making of him. But by pure... Read more... |
The Duckworth Lewis Method, Queen Elizabeth HallFriday, 18 June 2010
There cannot be many famous rock songs that mention cricket. Roy Harper's poetic "When an Old Cricketer Leaves the Crease" springs immediately to mind. And 10cc's "Dreadlock Holiday". And then the trail goes fairly cold. Until 2009, when The Divine... Read more... |
Thomas Adès, London Symphony Orchestra, Barbican HallSunday, 06 June 2010
If the second half of the 20th century saw opera throttled by existential crises, and left composers wondering whether the only future for the art form was for it to be hung out to dry, or to become an arcane intellectualised annex for the musical... Read more... |
Christine Tobin and Liam Noble, Lauderdale HouseFriday, 07 May 2010
A bad cover version can be a dangerous thing. Imagine, for example, that your first encounter with the brilliant Gershwins was Kiri Te Kanawa's egregious Kiri Sings Gershwin. This, potentially, could be so distressing that it might put you off... Read more... |
Brit has her first feature selected for CannesTuesday, 20 April 2010
Cheering news for Brits in Cannes (always assuming anyone is actually able to travel there this year). Originally rumoured to be in line for the Critics' Week, a young British filmmaker, Alicia Duffy, has now secured an even better berth: her first... Read more... |
Little Gem, Bush TheatreMonday, 19 April 2010
Monologue is a boring word, but in the hands of an Irish pensmith it can create some pretty exciting theatre. From a writer such as Conor McPherson or Mark O’Rowe the monologue can set the night alight with its storytelling brio. Word-drunk on these... Read more... |
