Reviews

Game, Almeida Theatre

Aleks Sierz Thursday, 05 March 2015

This venue is one of the coolest in London — and its regular audience is both trendy and well-heeled. In the foyer, you get jostled by a better class of person. For this immersive show, written by the prolific and ever-inventive Mike Bartlett, the audience arrives and, after getting its tickets, is divided into four groups: A, B, C and D. Each group is then summoned by tannoy to enter the theatre though a different entrance. Yes, this is not a theatre show — it is a game show.Once inside, we...

Spectres, The Lexington

Barney Harsent Thursday, 05 March 2015

I first saw Spectres last October at the 10th birthday celebrations for their label, Sonic Cathedral. That night, they struck me as noisy, spiky and fun. If that sounds like faint praise, it really wasn't meant to be – noisy, spiky fun is in my all-time top three funs. Now, they've gone from bottom of the bill to headline act in less than six months on the back of an album so incendiary it should come wrapped in a fire blanket (well, it beats a tote bag any day) and, oh my… how they have grown...

Inventing Impressionism, National Gallery

Marina Vaizey Wednesday, 04 March 2015

Here is an exhibition that tells us how something we now take totally for granted actually came about: how our love affair with the Impressionists...

Still Alice

Matt Wolf Wednesday, 04 March 2015

Oscar winner Julianne Moore: the phrase has been a long time coming but it finally came true 10 days ago when the actress, long considered one of...

Super-Powered Owls: Natural World, BBC Two

Marina Vaizey Tuesday, 03 March 2015

The owl – symbol of wisdom, harbinger of death – is a powerful if disparate symbol in human mythology worldwide. But this outstanding visual...

Arthur and George, ITV

Matthew Wright Tuesday, 03 March 2015

Conan Doyle is a bluff, romantic Holmes in ITV's splendidly thrilling three-parter

Ruddigore, Charles Court Opera, King's Head Theatre

David Nice Tuesday, 03 March 2015

They can sing, dance and make you laugh until you cry: portmanteau G&S at its very best

The Rise and Shine of Comrade Fiasco, Gate Theatre

Marianka Swain Monday, 02 March 2015

Inventive exploration of Zimbabwe's fight for freedom lacks clear intention

Le Roi de Lahore, Chelsea Opera Group, QEH

David Nice Monday, 02 March 2015

Top quality operatic voices in first London performance of Massenet exotica since 1880

Nómada, Compañía Manuel Liñán, Sadler's Wells

Hanna Weibye Monday, 02 March 2015

Style and showmanship aplenty from one of flamenco's innovators

Pompidou, BBC Two

Veronica Lee Monday, 02 March 2015

Few laughs in Matt Lucas's almost silent sitcom

BBCSO, Segerstam, Barbican

Peter Quantrill Monday, 02 March 2015

Stonehenge in sound: conductor-composer of 285 symphonies tackles Bruckner's Eighth

Appropriate Behaviour

Tom Birchenough Monday, 02 March 2015

Gay Brooklyn dramedy memorably mixes great humour with uneasy search for identity

Die Zauberflöte, Royal Opera

David Nice Sunday, 01 March 2015

Young lovers, a comic turn and paternal priest triumphant in Covent Garden staple

Three Men in a Boat, The Original Theatre Company, Touring

Ismene Brown Sunday, 01 March 2015

Jolly boating music-hall as Jerome K Jerome's silly asses barge down the Thames

Reissue CDs Weekly: Bridget St. John

Kieron Tyler Sunday, 01 March 2015

Wallet-friendly compendium of one of Britain’s great singer-songwriters

Jazz for Labour, Barbican

Thomas Rees Saturday, 28 February 2015

A celebration of diversity and a historic addition to jazz’s political back catalogue

Goya: The Witches and Old Women Album, Courtauld Gallery

Florence Hallett Saturday, 28 February 2015

Enigmatic works on paper, reunited for the first time since the Spanish artist's death

Benedetti, La Cetra, Saffron Hall

Sebastian Scotney Saturday, 28 February 2015

The violinist's Vivaldi charms an appreciative audience in a bold new hall

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Matt Wolf Saturday, 28 February 2015

The expats are back in that rare sequel that betters its predecessor

Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, CBSO Centre, Birmingham

Stephen Walsh Saturday, 28 February 2015

Woolrich's songbook asks important questions, and answers only some of them

Lippy, Young Vic

Marianka Swain Saturday, 28 February 2015

An unconventional meditation on storytelling confounds

Sculpture Victorious, Tate Britain

Marina Vaizey Friday, 27 February 2015

Technical innovation often coupled with meaningless extravagance

The Indian Queen, English National Opera

Kimon Daltas Friday, 27 February 2015

A colourful but eccentric production veers between beauty and incomprehensibility

Resident Evil: Revelations 2 – Episode 1

Simon Munk Friday, 27 February 2015

Action-oriented horror series gets snipped into formulaic episodes

White God

Kieron Tyler Friday, 27 February 2015

Hungarian allegory on racism and the rise of the far right fails to cohere

Man and Superman, National Theatre

Alexandra Coghlan Thursday, 26 February 2015

A theatrical trip to Hell has some heavenly moments

Wolf Hall, Series Finale, BBC Two

Jasper Rees Thursday, 26 February 2015

Superb drama from another age reaches its chilling endgame

The Mikvah Project, The Yard, Hackney

Jenny Gilbert Thursday, 26 February 2015

New play about Jewish faith and the limits of love makes a splash

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