Reviews

Lionel Bart: Reviewing the Situation, BBC Four

Matt Wolf Thursday, 05 December 2013

These days, it seems you can't move without encountering musicals in some context or another on TV. Series like Smash and Glee trade on the genre to a degree hovering between the loving and the parasitic, while two contrasting documentaries, The Sound of Musicals and The Story of Musicals, have shed varying degrees of light on how shows get actually get to the stage (or not). Shifting from the art form to the artist, Lionel Bart: Reviewing the Situation casts an affectionate if not wholly...

The Nutcracker, Royal Ballet, Royal Opera House

Hanna Weibye Wednesday, 04 December 2013

When dealing with the big beasts of the classical repertoire, the Royal Ballet has a history of both playing it straight and playing it very, very well. Peter Wright’s venerable production of The Nutcracker is a case in point: although sticking close to the original scenario and choreography, Wright (along with designer Julia Trevelyan Oman) created in 1986 a show that feels ever-fresh in 2013. Full of visual delight, wonderful dancing, and festive cheer, this Nutcracker also feels genuine, as...

Linda Perhacs, Kantine am Berghain, Berlin

Paul McGee Wednesday, 04 December 2013

There's been a quiet but nevertheless palpable sense of anticipation surrounding psych-folk enigma Linda Perhacs' first-ever European tour....

Imagine: Who's Afraid of Machiavelli?, BBC...

Jasper Rees Wednesday, 04 December 2013

There is a wonderful play to be written about the month in 1502 when Cesare Borgia was holed up in a castle in northern Italy with Leonardo da Vinci...

Henry V, Noel Coward Theatre

Kate Bassett Wednesday, 04 December 2013

It has been a hard slog, but he's emerging victorious in the end. Essentially, Shakespeare's Henry V tracks a military campaign. In Act One, the...

Nebraska

Katherine McLaughlin Wednesday, 04 December 2013

Alexander Payne strikes gold with a story about a man who doesn't

Pavel Haas Quartet, Trifonov, Wigmore Hall

David Nice Tuesday, 03 December 2013

Cultured strings kicked into fuller life by mercurial Russian pianist

Don't Ever Wipe Tears Without Gloves, BBC Four

Tom Birchenough Tuesday, 03 December 2013

Poignant Swedish drama depicts the early days of AIDS

Candide, Menier Chocolate Factory

David Benedict Tuesday, 03 December 2013

Great score, shame about the show

Seussical the Musical, Arts Theatre

Katie Colombus Monday, 02 December 2013

A bigger stage is needed for this larger-than-life show

theartsdesk at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival

Igor Toronyi-Lalic Monday, 02 December 2013

Modernism triumphant at Britain's foremost new-music festival

Frozen

Emma Simmonds Monday, 02 December 2013

Cockle-warming animation blends traditional Disney songs and sentiment with cheeky wit

Billy Bragg, Royal Festival Hall

Matthew Wright Monday, 02 December 2013

Erstwhile firebrand proves the political passions are smouldering with a new set of Americana-influenced songs

György and Márta Kurtág, Queen Elizabeth Hall

Igor Toronyi-Lalic Monday, 02 December 2013

Two Hungarian octogenarians bring the house down

Parsifal, Royal Opera

David Nice Sunday, 01 December 2013

Passing musical pleasures can't redeem a bloody betrayal of Wagner's holier intentions

Reissue CDs Weekly: The Velvet Underground, Neal Ford & the Fanatics

Kieron Tyler Sunday, 01 December 2013

Presumably the last word on 'White Light/White Heat' and the definitive collection of Texan Sixties stars

Gastronauts, Royal Court Theatre Upstairs

Matt Wolf Saturday, 30 November 2013

Fusion of theatre and food makes for a (mostly) savoury experience

Blues America: Woke Up This Morning, BBC Four

Kieron Tyler Saturday, 30 November 2013

Brisk account of the development of America’s music lacks atmosphere

Bob Dylan, Royal Albert Hall

Tim Cumming Friday, 29 November 2013

A great tour draws to a triumphant close

Legacy, BBC Two

Tom Birchenough Friday, 29 November 2013

Tight spy drama set in bleak mid-Seventies Britain

Sony PS4

Simon Munk Friday, 29 November 2013

Following on the heels of Microsoft's Xbox One, its by gamers, for gamers rival

Jumpers for Goalposts, Bush Theatre

Aleks Sierz Friday, 29 November 2013

Tom Wells’s new play about a genderbending football league is both tender and uplifting

Jake and Dinos Chapman: Come and See, Serpentine Sackler Gallery

Fisun Güner Thursday, 28 November 2013

The Chapman brothers hijack our affections by being brilliant and funny

Jeune et Jolie

Emma Simmonds Thursday, 28 November 2013

Authentic sexual discovery, or male wish fulfilment? Ozon's latest is a provocative drama

The Culture Show: Vicky Featherstone - All Change at the Royal Court, BBC Two

Matt Wolf Thursday, 28 November 2013

New Royal Court artistic director deserves better than a puff piece

Once a Catholic, Tricycle Theatre

Veronica Lee Thursday, 28 November 2013

Kathy Burke's businesslike revival of religious satire

The Anatomy of Melancholy, Ovalhouse

Alexandra Coghlan Thursday, 28 November 2013

Seventeenth-century self-help gets a contemporary makeover that can't quite hide its liver spots

Saving Mr Banks

Karen Krizanovich Wednesday, 27 November 2013

Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks star in the journey of Mary Poppins from page to screen

Britten 100: An Aldeburgh Centenary Diary

Humphrey Burton Tuesday, 26 November 2013

Distinguished broadcaster and documentary-maker celebrates the big birthday at home

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