Reviews
Edinburgh Festival and Fringe 2017 reviews round-up
Friday, 18 August 2017
Wondering what on earth to choose between as you tramp the streets of the festival? These are our highlights so far.STANDUPAthenu Kugblenu, Underbelly Med Quad ★★★ Strong debut hour of political and identity comedy
An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power review - Al Gore's urgent update
Friday, 18 August 2017
When An Inconvenient Truth won the best documentary Oscar 10 years ago, the film’s success marked two significant events: a positive turning point in the campaign to avert environmental catastrophe; and the resurrection of the
Edinburgh Festival 2017 reviews: Meet Me at Dawn...
Friday, 18 August 2017
Meet Me at Dawn ★★★★★ Edinburgh-based playwright Zinnie Harris is the subject of a particular focus at this year’s Edinburgh International...
The Hitman's Bodyguard - potty-mouthed,...
Thursday, 17 August 2017
No cliché is left unturned in this odd-couple action comedy. Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L Jackson are the salt ‘n’ pepper rival bad-boys on the run....
King Lear, Shakespeare's Globe - Nancy...
Thursday, 17 August 2017
Every play is a Brexit play. This much we have learnt in the year since the referendum. But in Nancy Meckler’s hands the Globe’s new King Lear...
No More Boys and Girls, BBC Two – baby steps lead to great leaps for children
A classroom becomes the first battleground for one doctor's war on gender bias |
Edinburgh Fringe 2017 reviews: Hannah Gadsby / Suzi Ruffell / Ivo Graham / Athena Kugblenu
A possible valediction, class concerns, feeling the privilege, and millennial politics |
Edinburgh Festival 2017 review: Andreas Haefliger
A recital that was both frustrating and visionary from the Swiss-born pianist |
The Majority, National Theatre review – a minority interest
New play about democracy is entertaining, but a bit too tricksy |
Edinburgh Fringe 2017 reviews: Pike St / Box Clever / Sugar Baby
Comedy, tragedy and a whole lot more at Paines Plough's pop-up Roundabout |
Quest review - intimate documentary about a north Philly community
Jonathan Olshefski's film takes us into the heart of an African-American family |
Edinburgh Fringe 2017 reviews: Tom Allen / Cally Beaton / Lauren Pattison / Trumpageddon
A happy anniversary, neural pathways, an assured debut, and a deflated Trump |
Proms 37 / 38 review: Latvian Radio Choir, Gavrylyuk, BBCSSO, Dausgaard - numinous Rachmaninov triptych
Symphony, concerto, chants and Vespers combine for a vintage night at Royal Albert Hall |
Edinburgh Fringe 2017 reviews: Kiri Pritchard-McLean / Dad's Army Radio Hour / Elliot Steel
Unlikely subject matter for gags, an old favourite revived, and one for the millennials |
Final Portrait review - utterly convincing portrayal of an artist at work
Geoffrey Rush is the spitting image of Giacometti in Stanley Tucci's fly-on-the-wall portrait |
Fred Vargas: The Accordionist review - intriguing Gallic sleuthing yarn
The latest in 'The Three Evangelists' series is as quirky as ever |
I Know Who You Are, series finale, BBC Four review - gripping, but no one to root for
The mystery of Juan Elías and Ana Saura is resolved, but there's plenty more to sort out. Contains spoilers |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Noise Reduction System
Essential round-up of mainland Europe’s mid-Seventies to mid-Eighties musical boundary pushers |
Edinburgh Festival 2017 review: The Divide
Alan Ayckbourn's vast dystopian fantasy feels cosy rather than alarming |
Proms 34 & 35 review: Oklahoma!, John Wilson Orchestra - music triumphs, words and drama suffer
Lopsided results in faithful reconstruction of Rodgers and Hammerstein's groundbreaker |
La Bayadère, Mariinsky Ballet review - a parade of delights
Russians save the best till last in lavish display of showmanship and art |
Prom 33 review: Davidsen, Gerhardt, BBC Philharmonic, Storgårds - Nordic music glowing with colour
A thoughtful mixed programme from one of the BBC's most exciting conductors |
A Ghost Story review - spellbinding vision of life, death and time
Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara star, but director David Lowery lets the sheet do the talking |
theartsdesk on Vinyl 31: Psychic TV, Kendrick Lamar, Brian Eno, Stan Getz and more
The most diverse record reviews out there |
Tom of Finland review - engaging biopic of gay pioneer
From darkest Helsinki to sunny California, the story of the artist who created a distinctive gay subculture |
Edinburgh Fringe 2017 reviews: Tiff Stevenson / Jarlath Regan / Urzila Carlson
The politics of beauty, the comedy of organ donation and big laughs from the southern hemisphere |
Contrasts, Mariinsky Ballet review - company shows off range of its powers
Ekaterina Kondaurova the star as Russians display heritage and contemporary works at Royal Opera House |
Edinburgh Fringe 2017 reviews: Adam / Eve / Nassim
Three compelling shows on identity - gender and otherwise - at the Traverse Theatre |
Citizen Jane review - portrait of a New York toughie
BBC Four documentary on the remarkable Jane Jacobs, scourge of New York town planners |
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latest in today
Edinburgh Festival and Fringe 2017 reviews round-up
Wondering what on earth to choose between as you tramp the streets of the festival? These are our highlights so far.
STANDUP...
An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power review - Al Gore...
When An Inconvenient Truth won the best...
theartsdesk Q&A: Director Peter Kosminsky, Part 2
It was only at the dawn of the Blair age that Peter Kosminsky truly emerged as a basilisk-eyed observer of the nation’s moral health. By the time...
The best TV to watch this week
Too hot/wet outside? Take refuge on the box. We sift the schedules for you.
Sunday 20 August
The State,...
Blu-ray: Ronin
There are three bravura scenes in Ronin that merit the price of acquisition. Two of them are...
The Hitman's Bodyguard - potty-mouthed, turgid waste of...
No cliché is left unturned in this odd-couple action comedy. Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L Jackson are the salt ‘n’ pepper rival bad-boys on the run...
King Lear, Shakespeare's Globe - Nancy Meckler's G...
Every play is a Brexit play. This much we have learnt in the year since the referendum. But in Nancy Meckler’s hands the...
No More Boys and Girls, BBC Two – baby steps lead to great l...
Whether it’s the £400,000 that separates Mishal Husain from John Humphrys, or the 74 million miles between the metaphorical markers of Venus...
Edinburgh Fringe 2017 reviews: Hannah Gadsby / Suzi Ruffell...
Hannah Gadsby ★★★★
This is Hannah Gadsby's last show, she tells us. Not because she...