theartsdesk com, first with arts reviews, news and interviews
Tom Birchenough
Friday, 14 November 2025
We are bowled over! We knew that theartsdesk.com had plenty of supporters out there – we’ve always had a loyal readership of arts lovers and professionals alike – but the...
Mark Kidel
Tuesday, 15 July 2025
Brian Clarke died on 1 July 2025, after a long illness. He was one of the most original British artists of our time – wide-ranging, ground-breaking and influential. His...
Boyd Tonkin
Tuesday, 15 July 2025
From the animatronic cat on the bar of the Garter Inn to the rowers’ crew who haul their craft across the stage and the military ranks of “Dig for Victory” cabbages arrayed in...
Graham Rickson
Tuesday, 15 July 2025
Heart of Stone (Das kalte Herz) was the first colour film produced by East Germany’s state film studio DEFA, a big-budget spectacular which attracted huge audiences upon its...
Katie Colombus
Monday, 14 July 2025
Billie Eilish may be one of the biggest names in new music, but here at the O2 Arena, she’s just Billie – the one who stares deep into your soul, smiles at you like she knows your...
David Nice
Monday, 14 July 2025
A Salome without the head of John the Baptist is nothing new: several directors have perversely decided they could do without in recent productions. In concert, the illusion needs...
Helen Hawkins
Monday, 14 July 2025
The 2024 play at the National Theatre that put writer Beth Steel squarely centre-stage has now received a West End transfer...
Helen Hawkins
Monday, 14 July 2025
A thirtysomething American woman with wavering self-confidence, a tendency to talk too much and a longing for married bliss...
Peter Quinn
Monday, 14 July 2025
This second album from London-based septet Kokoroko welcomes you into its warm embrace with the gorgeous, beatific vocal...
Kieron Tyler
Sunday, 13 July 2025
Tubeway Army’s “Are ‘Friends’ Electric” hit the top of the UK single’s chart in the last week of June 1979. It stayed there...
Helen Hawkins
Saturday, 12 July 2025
Can a romcom be intellectually challenging while hitting all the sweet spots of the genre? Jonás Trueba, the director of the...
Kathryn Reilly
Saturday, 12 July 2025
War, pestilence, famine, death. I don’t know about you, but I’ve had my fill of them all. So what better time to visit the...
Heather Neill
Friday, 11 July 2025
The National Health Service was established 77 years ago this month. Resident doctors are about to strike for more pay, long...
Sarah Kent
Friday, 11 July 2025
It took until the last room of her exhibition for me to gain any real understanding of the work of Australian Aboriginal...
Thomas H Green
Friday, 11 July 2025
Tami Neilson’s career is long and storied. The short version is that she began with a 1990s Canadian family band (opening...
David Nice
Thursday, 10 July 2025
Anyone seeking local genius in an international festival should look no further than the annual Ravenna concerts from...
Gary Naylor
Thursday, 10 July 2025
Well, I wasn’t expecting a Dylanesque take on "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'" as an opening number and I was right. But The...
Kieron Tyler
Thursday, 10 July 2025
The branch of the fast-food chain Hesburger in downtown Tallinn shopping centre Solaris is busy. Nothing unusual as it’s...
Adam Sweeting
Thursday, 10 July 2025
A mixture of legal drama, medical mystery and psychological thriller with creepy supernatural overtones, Insomnia sometimes...
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Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
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tv
Too Much, Netflix - a romcom that's oversexed, and over here
Lena Dunham's new series presents an England it's often hard to recognise
Insomnia, Channel 5 review - a chronicle of deaths foretold
Sarah Pinborough's psychological thriller is cluttered but compelling
Live Aid at 40: When Rock'n'Roll Took on the World, BBC Two review - how Bob Geldof led pop's battle against Ethiopian famine
When wackily-dressed pop stars banded together to give a little help to the helpless
film
DVD/blu-ray - S/HE IS STILL HER/E - The Official Genesis P-Orridge Documentary
Intimate portrait of the Throbbing Gristle & Psychic TV antagonist
The Other Way Around review - teasing Spanish study of a breakup with unexpected depth
Jonás Trueba's film holds the romcom up to the light for playful scrutiny
new music
Album: Kokoroko - Tuff Times Never Last
Sophomore album embraces horn-driven grooves and genre-blending experimentation
Music Reissues Weekly: Beggars Arkive - Gary Numan's 1979 John Peel session
Saying goodbye to Tubeway Army
Album: Wet Leg - moisturizer
A perfectly formed classic that will definitely be on those album of the year lists
classical
theartsdesk at the Ravenna Festival 2025 - Cervantes, Beethoven and Byron transfigured
Muti revitalised by young musicians, and a three-year theatre project reaches completion
Classical CDs: Bells, birdsong and braggadocio
British contemporary music, percussive piano concertos and a talented baritone sings Mozart
Siglo de Oro, Wigmore Hall review - electronic Lamentations and Trojan tragedy
Committed and intense performance of a newly-commissioned oratorio
opera
Falstaff, Glyndebourne review - knockabout and nostalgia in postwar Windsor
A fat knight to remember, and snappy stagecraft, overcome some tedious waits
Salome, LSO, Pappano, Barbican review - a partnership in a million
Asmik Grigorian is vocal perfection in league with a great conductor and orchestra
Semele, Royal Opera review - unholy smoke
Style comes and goes in a justifiably dark treatment of Handelian myth
theatre
Till the Stars Come Down, Theatre Royal Haymarket review - a family hilariously and tragically at war
Beth Steel makes a stirring West End debut with her poignant play for today
Nye, National Theatre review - Michael Sheen's full-blooded Bevan returns to the Olivier
Revisiting Tim Price's dream-set account of the founder of the health service
theartsdesk at the Ravenna Festival 2025 - Cervantes, Beethoven and Byron transfigured
Muti revitalised by young musicians, and a three-year theatre project reaches completion
dance
'We are bowled over!' Thank you for your messages of love and support
Much-appreciated words of commendation from readers and the cultural community
Quadrophenia, Sadler's Wells review - missed opportunity to give new stage life to a Who classic
The brilliant cast need a tighter score and a stronger narrative
The Midnight Bell, Sadler's Wells review - a first reprise for one of Matthew Bourne's most compelling shows to date
The after-hours lives of the sad and lonely are drawn with compassion, originality and skill
comedy
'We are bowled over!' Thank you for your messages of love and support
Much-appreciated words of commendation from readers and the cultural community
Kieran Hodgson, Soho Theatre review - a love affair soured by Trump
Can America be great again for the comic?
Books
'We are bowled over!' Thank you for your messages of love and support
Much-appreciated words of commendation from readers and the cultural community
Tom Raworth: Cancer review - truthfulness
A 'lost' book reconfirms Raworth’s legacy as one of the great lyric poets
Ian Leslie: John and Paul - A Love Story in Songs review - help!
Ian Leslie loses himself in amateur psychology, and fatally misreads The Beatles
visual arts
'We are bowled over!' Thank you for your messages of love and support
Much-appreciated words of commendation from readers and the cultural community
Sir Brian Clarke (1953-2025) - a personal tribute
Remembering an artist with a gift for the transcendent
Emily Kam Kngwarray, Tate Modern review - glimpses of another world
Pictures that are an affirmation of belonging
latest comments
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Thanks for this wonderful tribute to one of my...
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A truly excellent review. It completely expressed...
Why is the opening song "infamous"?
The Beach Boys finally retired from touring as it...
Just saw this yesterday. A very gripping and...