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Subscribe to theartsdesk.com
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.
To take a subscription now simply click here.
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tv
![Benedict Cumberbatch as Vincent, with Eric the giant blue puppet monster](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Cumbo%20MAIN.jpg?itok=4fzfPvK6)
Abi Morgan's drama is a strange mix of urban grime and magic realism
![Wheels up: Matthew Modine as Greg Townsend in 'Hard Miles'](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Hard%20Miles%20MAIN.jpg?itok=8Z3eG1Bk)
An eventful journey from 'Full Metal Jacket' to 'Oppenheimer' and 'Stranger Things'
![Crimewatch, Japanese style: Ansel Elgort as Jake Adelstein (centre)](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/T%20Vice%20MAIN.jpg?itok=4zLEkGi5)
The return of Jake Adelstein, ace reporter
film
!['She finds a connection to the old religion of her island'](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/03_SORCERY%201125.jpg?itok=NnXxvUhZ)
A girl's righteous revenge quest combines with her native beliefs in this Chilean tale
![A distinctly British habitat: David Edward-Robertson in 'The Moor'](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Moor1.jpg?itok=mzl4xVH5)
Despite buzz from the festival circuit, this folk horror film lacks a coherent vision
![Nanny dearest: Ilça Moreno and Louise Mauroy-Panzani](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/1_A%CC%80ma-Gloria_ZFF23_Website_Stills_21zu9_2560x1080px.jpg?itok=_TJ0lGIr)
A six-year-old girl effortlessly carries this sensitively executed love story
new music
![Margo Guryan: she saw herself as a songwriter, a figure with no public profile](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Margo%20Guryan%20Words%20and%20Music_header_1000.jpg?itok=CobbX4dG)
Lavish box set dedicated to the jazz composer who changed tack to embrace Sixties pop
![The Smashing Pumpkins, dressed to impress for a night with Weezer](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Pumpkins.jpeg?itok=izbirGsc)
Both 90s favourites went hard and heavy, if occasionally too bludgeoning
classical
![Shifting colours in mother of pearl: the Collegium Vocale Gent](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/CVG-choir-2-by-Eric-de-Mildt-2022-scaled.jpg?itok=mYvIRcPw)
Mathematical elegance as an intrinsic part of Bach's devotion
![Pianist Julius Drake and baritone Andrè Schuen in an epic recital of Schumann and Larcher](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Aldeburgh%203.jpeg?itok=mtrM4MVu)
Revelation of a master baritone and a new masterpiece at the heart of a packed weekend
![Support group: Monika Henschel being held by sibling twins Markus and Christoph and cellist Mathias Beyer-Karlshøj](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Henschels%20Monika%20lying%20down.jpg?itok=e6qTiWuz)
On places, people, and playing Freda Swain's 'Norfolk' Quartet at the Aldeburgh Festival
opera
![It's the music, stupid - or perhaps more a comedy with musical attachments](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Merry%20Widow%201_0.jpg?itok=XnkTx-3g)
Lehár upstaged but still triumphant
![Ingeborg Bröcheler greets the crowds at the start of 'Giulio Cesare'](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Cesare%201.jpg?itok=cTfPnuq3)
An infinitely various cast compels as the splendour falls on castle walls
![Street fighting man: Morgan Pearse as Scarpia](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/tosca%20sc%20demo.jpg?itok=pW9Z-9iZ)
1800, 1968, 2024: a smart revival makes Puccini's evergreen shocker sing again
theatre
![The cast of Miss Julie - gooseberries for lunch?](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Katie%20Edlred%2C%20Adeline%20Waby%2C%20Freddie%20Wise%20%28cred%20Mark%20Senior%29.jpg?itok=ZBFFd2di)
Much adapted play gets a traditional staging fuelled by electric leads
![Mr Wickham (Adrian Lukis) ruminates on his life over a glass of wine](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Adrian%20Lukis%20in%20Being%20Mr%20Wickham%20%28photo%20James%20Findlay%29_1-sized.jpeg?itok=M4_9l3xR)
Adrian Lukis revisits his disruptive character from the BBC adaptation of 'Pride and Prejudice'
![Don't cry for me, dead factory workers - the cast of 'Marie Curie'](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/076_Marie%20Curie%20Musical_Ailsa%20Davidson_Pamela%20Raith%20Photography.jpg?itok=xhvE9f3C)
Celebrated scientist is ill-served by confused and dull show imported from Seoul
dance
![Queen of the Night: Rocio Molina, the only flamenco dancer ever to win a prize at the Venice Biennale](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/AL%20FONDO%20RIELA%20%C2%A9%20O%CC%81scar%20Romero%20%C2%B7%20005_0.jpg?itok=xhgyuw_h)
Annual Spanish showcase opens with a dancer intent on subversion by edgy games
![Summer's lease: Francesca Hayward as Perdita and Marcelino Sambé as Florizel in Christopher Wheeldon's three-act ballet The Winter's Tale](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Francesca%20Hayward%2C%20Marcelino%20Sambe%CC%81%2C%20The%20Winter%27s%20Tale%20%C2%A92024%20ROH.%20Ph%20Andrej%20Uspenski.jpg?itok=kZJ7S4_m)
A compelling case for ROH's ballet-friendly rebrand
![Lean and hungry: an ancient spirit (Benedict Stewardson) steps out of the shadows in 'All You Need is Death'](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/041124-allyouneedisdeath-1_ggnej3.jpg?itok=siqP3r3b)
Irish folkies seek a cursed ancient song in Paul Duane's impressive fiction debut
comedy
![Rachel Parris says she has become a person she never thought she would be](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Rachel%20Paris%202%20-%20Credit%20Karla%20Gowlett.jpg?itok=ob99tiSM)
Late Night Mash host on tour
![Steve Punt (left) and Hugh Dennis take affectionate aim at middle-class obsessions](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Punt%20%26%20Dennis.%20Photo%20by%20Tony%20Briggs%20%281%29.jpg?itok=x3DySx0c)
Double act back on the road after a decade
Books
![Author Hugo Rifkind talks wild animals](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Hugo%20Rifkind-min_0.jpg?itok=aRxlvvNZ)
Comic novel rides the rollercoaster of 1990s teenagerdom among the Scottish elite
![Setting the mind in place: author Ian Sinclair](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Iain_Sinclair_-_John_Minihan%5B1%5D.jpg?itok=ieH5Avxi)
A form-defying writer explores the troubled mindscape of a Soho photographer
![Living on the edge: author Jonn Elledge](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Jonn%20Elledge%20%28c%29%20Jamie%20Drew-min.jpg?itok=JD2xTzZ4)
Enjoyable journey through the byways of how lines on maps have shaped the modern world
visual arts
!['Supremely strange wall-mounted objects': part of Laura Aldridge's installation at Jupiter Artland](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/laura%20aldridge%20installation%20view%201%20by%20author%20%282%29small_0.jpg?itok=C8MKlSNg)
Two Scottish artists explore childhood and play
![Installation view of Revelations, 2024 by Judy Chicago at Serpentine North](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Chicago%201.jpeg?itok=NChDbymF)
At 84, the American pioneer is a force to be reckoned with
!['The Roll Call', 1874 by Elizabeth Butler](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Now%20Elizabeth%20Butler%2C%20The%20Roll%20Call%2C%201874.jpg?itok=uzso8Rkh)
Rescued from obscurity, 100 women artists prove just how good they can be
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