Reviews

Floyd Collins, Wilton's Music Hall

Edward Seckerson Friday, 30 September 2016

It's one of those true stories you couldn't make up: in 1920s Kentucky, Floyd Collins, visionary cave explorer, happens across the spectacular sand cave of his dreams only to become trapped on the way back to the surface. The media attention he might have hoped would turn his discovery into a commercial proposition for him and his impoverished family is instead – irony of ironies – focused on his entrapment.Will he or won't he make it back into the light? While the carnival arrives above...

Stravinsky: Myths and Rituals 5, Philharmonia, Salonen, RFH

Helen Wallace Friday, 30 September 2016

The Symphony of Psalms, which ended the Philharmonia’s Stravinsky series last night, is an indelible masterpiece, silencing the tired but persistent accusation that Stravinsky’s music is clever but cold. Abstract it may be, but suffused with an exile’s deep longing, spritual hope rising in harmonies of heart-stopping consolation until that final, revelatory C major chord. This performance (with three Swedish choirs) was of focused beauty and searing sincerity; I have never heard better. Its...

The Fall, Series 3, BBC Two

Adam Sweeting Friday, 30 September 2016

The cliffhanger ending of series two – will serial killer Paul Spector survive his gunshot wounds? – has been quietly defused, since Spector (Jamie...

The First Monday in May

Markie Robson-Scott Friday, 30 September 2016

“I’m so tired of hearing that McQueen is the best show we’ve ever done. It’s become a bit of an albatross,” complains Andrew Bolton, curator of the...

Kiss Me, Kate, Welsh National Opera

Stephen Walsh Friday, 30 September 2016

There are two ways of reacting to an opera company like WNO staging a musical like Kiss Me, Kate. You can ask yourself whether this is work that an...

Under the Shadow

Nick Hasted Friday, 30 September 2016

Strikingly original terror stalks wartorn Tehran

David Shrigley: Really Good, Fourth Plinth

Alison Cole Thursday, 29 September 2016

Thumbs up for Trafalgar Square's latest sculpture

La Fille mal gardée, Royal Ballet

Hanna Weibye Thursday, 29 September 2016

Young love in yellow tights

Turner Prize 2016, Tate Britain

Florence Hallett Thursday, 29 September 2016

Poetic and utterly baffling, this year's shortlist is as eccentric as it is divergent

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Saskia Baron Thursday, 29 September 2016

Tim Burton does the time warp again in a wordy but stylish gothic fantasy

The Libertine, Haymarket Theatre

Aleks Sierz Wednesday, 28 September 2016

'History Boy' Dominic Cooper triumphs as the Restoration rake Rochester

Ana Moura, Barbican

Markie Robson-Scott Wednesday, 28 September 2016

The glamorous fado star shines bright with songs from her new, upbeat album

Damned, Channel 4/ Morgana Robinson's The Agency, BBC Two

Veronica Lee Wednesday, 28 September 2016

Social comedy and sketch impressions

Beethoven Ninth, RLPO, Petrenko, Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool

Glyn Môn Hughes Wednesday, 28 September 2016

Standing ovation ends series of all nine Beethoven symphonies

Free State of Jones

Adam Sweeting Wednesday, 28 September 2016

Remarkable true story of Civil War renegades suffers from shagginess

Swiss Army Man

Jasper Rees Tuesday, 27 September 2016

Daniel Radcliffe and Paul Dano go too far in self-indulgent indie two-hander

Kew's Forgotten Queen, BBC Four

Marina Vaizey Tuesday, 27 September 2016

How Marianne North mastered the art of capturing nature

Mariinsky Orchestra, Gergiev, Cadogan Hall

Sebastian Scotney Tuesday, 27 September 2016

Prokofiev's 125th marked with mostly workaday playing

Stravinsky: Myths and Rituals 4, Philharmonia, Salonen, RFH

David Nice Monday, 26 September 2016

Three Greek-inspired masterpieces in perfect equilibrium

Tubular Brass play Tubular Bells, Howard Assembly Room, Leeds

Graham Rickson Monday, 26 September 2016

Mike Oldfield's '70s classic. Performed live. With extra trombones

James Acaster, Touring

Veronica Lee Monday, 26 September 2016

Beautifully crafted show of offbeat observations

Reissue CDs Weekly: John Foxx

Kieron Tyler Sunday, 25 September 2016

Lavish package devoted to the three ‘Cathedral Oceans’ albums

Lammermuir Festival 2016, East Lothian

David Kettle Sunday, 25 September 2016

Biggest and boldest event yet for Scotland's early autumn musical harvest

David Gilmour, Royal Albert Hall

Russ Coffey Saturday, 24 September 2016

The spirit of Pink Floyd lives on as the 'Rattle That Lock' tour comes home

Abstract Expressionism, Royal Academy

Marina Vaizey Saturday, 24 September 2016

Energy, alcohol and bucketloads of paint: a triumphant reunion for New York's most exciting artists

Imogen, Shakespeare's Globe

David Nice Saturday, 24 September 2016

Sound and vision blazon the new regime, but this is vintage Shakespeare

Pilgrims, The Yard Theatre

Aleks Sierz Saturday, 24 September 2016

The metaphor of mountain climbing resonates in new sex-war drama

Benedetti, LPO, Jurowski, RFH

Gavin Dixon Saturday, 24 September 2016

Imaginative programme delivered with intensity and precision

Classical CDs Weekly: Copland, Charlemagne Palestine, Lincoln Trio

Graham Rickson Saturday, 24 September 2016

American modernism, unhinged minimalism and a vibrant disc of piano trios

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