politics
Les vêpres siciliennes, Welsh National Opera review - spectacular, silly, but some great musicSunday, 09 February 2020
It’s not hard to see why The Sicilian Vespers has struggled since its surprisingly successful opening run at the Paris Opéra in 1855. Verdi had composed it reluctantly, despised the librettist, Eugène Scribe, who he regarded as a well-named cynical... Read more... |
The Haystack, Hampstead Theatre review - a chilling surveillance state thrillerFriday, 07 February 2020
With counter-terrorism an urgent concern – and specifically how best to find, track and use the data of suspected threats, without sacrificing our privacy and civil liberties – it’s excellent timing for a meaty drama about the surveillance state.... Read more... |
Richard Jewell review - a portrait of duty and dignity in this true-life taleSaturday, 01 February 2020
Since Play Misty For Me in 1971, Clint Eastwood has been tearing up the American myth with a body of muscular, often melancholic work. He continues this theme with Richard Jewell, the story of a security guard falsely accused of the 1996 Atalanta... Read more... |
Matt Forde, Soho Theatre review - Brexit and beyondFriday, 24 January 2020
Matt Forde sets out his stall in Brexit: Pursued by a Bear from the first line: “We meet in diabolical circumstances.” These aren't good times, he says, with two major leaders in the Western world whose relationship with the truth is merely that of... Read more... |
Just Mercy review - soul-stirring true story about race and justice in AmericaFriday, 17 January 2020
Just Mercy, the latest film from Destin Daniel Cretton (Short Term 12), is based on a New York Times bestseller. It has a star-studded cast. It’s emotionally moving as well as intellectually accessible. But it’s no easy film to watch. “They can call... Read more... |
Bombshell review – powerful, to a pointThursday, 16 January 2020
With Harvey Weinstein about to go on trial, the timing is particularly apt for a film that outlines the fall from grace of another media giant who used his powerful position to sexually victimise women. The late Roger Ailes was the CEO of the right-... Read more... |
The Brexit Storm Continues: Laura Kuenssberg's Inside Story, BBC Two review - rehashed political history fails to set pulses racingWednesday, 18 December 2019
All the TV networks like to big up their news journalists as major players, but are they as important as they like to think? Laura Kuenssberg, the BBC’s political editor, is a dogged reporter who rarely seems to sleep, and here we watched as she... Read more... |
Ravens: Spassky vs. Fischer, Hampstead Theatre review - it's game over for this chess playFriday, 06 December 2019
We’ve had Chess the musical; now, here’s Chess the play. Tom Morton-Smith, who has experience wrestling recent history into dramatic form with the acclaimed Oppenheimer, turns his attention to the 1972 World Chess Championship in Reykjavík, in which... Read more... |
Motherless Brooklyn review – tic tecThursday, 05 December 2019
Edward Norton has wanted to adapt Motherless Brooklyn since Jonathan Lethem’s acclaimed novel was first published 20 years ago. His film (as producer, writer, director and star) is an obvious labour of love, an evocative, entertaining, old-fashioned... Read more... |
Billy Bragg, Islington Assembly Hall review - a pep talk from the progressive patriotSunday, 24 November 2019
It’s always good to be among friends and it’s safe to say that everyone gathered at Islington Assembly Hall on Saturday for the third and final North London gig of Billy Bragg’s One Step Forward, Two Steps Back Tour was left of centre. The tour... Read more... |
Ivo Graham: The Game of Life, Soho Theatre review - privilege and parentingThursday, 21 November 2019
Ivo Graham's latest show The Game of Life follows on from his previous hour, in which he talked about passing a milestone in life and the prospect of starting a family. Now he is a dad, and uses domestic detail as the starting point for some fine... Read more... |
The Report review - searing political dramaSaturday, 16 November 2019
It should come as no surprise that the writer of Side Effects and Contagion, Scott Z. Burns, is capable of directing a whip-smart drama like The Report. Known for his collaborations with Steven Soderbergh, most recently on... Read more... |
