Reviews
Queer review - Daniel Craig meets William Burroughs
Friday, 13 December 2024
Judging by a Sunday Times interview last weekend, Daniel Craig now enjoys wearing brilliantly-coloured sweaters and extraordinary trousers, very much like a man running as fast as possible in the opposite direction to James Bond. He has goodbye-Bond-esque quotes to go with it.
The Legends of Them, Royal Court review – reaching out for serenity
Friday, 13 December 2024
I live in Brixton, south London. To get to the tube, I have to cross Windrush Square. Since 2021, I go past the Cherry Groce memorial, which honours the woman who was wrongfully shot by the Met in 1985, an event which sparked the riots I remember so well from 40 years ago.
William J. Mann: Bogie & Bacall review -...
Friday, 13 December 2024
What is it about Humphrey Bogart? Why does he still spark interest, still feel relevant, so many decades after his death? It’s a complex question and...
The Devil Wears Prada, Dominion Theatre review -...
Friday, 13 December 2024
It's second time only quasi-lucky for The Devil Wears Prada, the stage musical adaptation of the much-loved Meryl Streep film from 2006 that...
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim...
Thursday, 12 December 2024
Lauded by Auden, detested by Edmund Wilson, the Tolkien sagas have divided many from childhood onwards: for kids, they’re not quite pulpy enough to...
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Jesus & Mary Chain, O2 Institute, Birmingham - Reid Brothers refuse to join the heritage industry
Noise veterans deck the halls with feedback and dry ice |
Album: Ajukaja & Mart Avi - Death of Music
Estonian electronica duo enter a domain where nothing is explicit |
The Producers, Menier Chocolate Factory review - liberating taboo-busting fun for grown-ups
Director Patrick Marber does Mel Brooks's musical proud |
La rondine, LSO, Pappano, Barbican review - sumptuous orchestral playing in an underrated score
Puccini's 100th anniversary celebrated in style |
A Midsummer Night's Dream, RSC, Barbican review - visually ravishing with an undercurrent of violence
This psychedelic mashup conveys a sci-fi-style alternate reality |
L’étoile, RNCM, Manchester review - lavish and cheerful absurdity
Teamwork to the fore in a multi-credit operatic comedy |
Black Doves, Netflix review - Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw battle against the implausible
Can anyone be trusted in Joe Barton's twisty London drama? |
Vampire Weekend, OVO Hydro, Glasgow review - a mixture of brilliance and self-indulgence
The New Yorkers offered dancers, covers and great songs in a lengthy set |
The Commander review - the good Italian
Chivalrous valour at sea from a real World War Two hero |
Ballet Shoes, Olivier Theatre review - reimagined classic with a lively contemporary feel
The basics of Streatfeild's original aren't lost in this bold, inventive production |
Christmas with Connaught Brass, Milton Court review - delightful seasonal fare from Bach to Boulanger
Young quintet dazzle with their technical accomplishment and easy charm |
Cinderella, Royal Ballet review - inspiring dancing, but not quite casting the desired spell
A fairytale in need of a dramaturgical transformation |
Nocturnes review - the sounds of the rainforest transport you a remote region of the Himalayas
Mansi spends her nights counting moths in North East India |
Julia Holter, Islington Assembly Hall review - shelter from the storm in experimental delight
A night of old and new from a leftfield virtuoso |
Music Reissues Weekly: John Leyton - Lone Rider The Holloway Road Sessions 1960-1962
‘Johnny Remember Me’, Joe Meek and the evolution of British pop |
Merchant Ivory review - fascinating documentary about the director and producer's long partnership
Stephen Soucy examines Ismael Merchant and James Ivory's complicated relationship with input from many stars |
The Pirates of Penzance, English National Opera review - fresh energy in clear-sighted G&S
Tenor lead shines, and conductor finds new beauties in Sullivan's score |
Hansel and Gretel, Shakespeare's Globe review - too saccharine a retelling for our times
Songs and sweeties, but insufficient sourness and sadism for fans of fairytales |
Grand Theft Hamlet review - intriguing documentary about Shakespeare as multi-player shooter game
How two jobless actors created a novel Hamlet inside the game Grand Theft Auto |
Nightbitch review - Mother's life as a dog
Amy Adams hits it out of the park in Marielle Heller's film |
Giltburg, Bournemouth SO, Wigglesworth, Portsmouth Guildhall review - seemingly effortless élan
New chief conductor turns Tchaikovsky waltz king, and a Rachmaninov partnership flows |
Rumours review - pallid satire on geopolitics
The Guy Maddin team's caustic mainstream spoof misfires |
On Becoming a Guinea Fowl review - mordant seriocomedy about buried abuse
Rungano Nyoni writes and directs a vitriolic story about the Zambian middle class |
Ricky Gervais, Touring review - new show, not-so new gags
Set relies on established tropes |
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It all started on 09/09/09. That memorable date, September 9 2009, marked the debut of theartsdesk.com.
It followed some...
Queer review - Daniel Craig meets William Burroughs
Judging by a Sunday Times interview last weekend, Daniel Craig now enjoys wearing brilliantly-coloured sweaters and extraordinary...
The Legends of Them, Royal Court review – reaching out for s...
I live in Brixton, south London. To get to the tube, I have to cross Windrush Square. Since 2021, I go past the Cherry Groce memorial, which...
William J. Mann: Bogie & Bacall review - beyond the scre...
What is it about Humphrey Bogart? Why does he still spark interest, still feel relevant, so many decades after his death? It’s a complex question...
The Devil Wears Prada, Dominion Theatre review - efficient b...
It's second time only quasi-lucky for The Devil Wears Prada, the stage musical adaptation of the much-loved Meryl Streep film from 2006...
Album of the Year 2024: Amelia Coburn - Between the Moon and...
I’ve known for some time that Ariel Sharratt & Matthias Kom’s Never Work is my Album of the Year. This lividly witty...
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review - a mi...
Lauded by Auden, detested by Edmund Wilson, the Tolkien sagas have divided many from childhood onwards: for kids, they’re not quite pulpy enough...
Jesus & Mary Chain, O2 Institute, Birmingham - Reid Brot...
The Jesus and Mary Chain may have been around for some 40 years (albeit on and off), but the Reid brothers clearly have no intention of setting up...
Album: Ajukaja & Mart Avi - Death of Music
Death of Music was created in Estonia. Despite the English lyrics, directness is absent. Take the title track. “Drop the music” exhorts...
The Producers, Menier Chocolate Factory review - liberating...
There is something deliciously perfect about the timing of The Producers’ arrival at the Menier Chocolate Factory. In these...