Interviews with leading figures from the arts
'By the end I’d lost me': Joe Simpson, mountaineer and writer - interview
Saturday, 16 November 2019
In Peru in 1985, Joe Simpson - then 25 - and his 21-year-old climbing partner Simon Yates were descending the remote Siula Grande, which was hard to get up but even harder to get down, when Simpson broke his leg. They both assumed it was a death sentence, but Yates gave him a couple of paracetamol, dug himself into a bucket seat in the snow and lowered the stricken Simpson down the mountain slope, paying out 300ft of rope, then climbing down and doing it again, and again, for hours.
'I’m having too much fun writing novels': author Nicolas Searle on The Good Liar
Thursday, 07 November 2019
"Surreal" is how the man calling himself Nicholas Searle describes the last five years of his life. He began working on his debut novel The Good Liar in 2014 at the age of 57, having recently retired from the Civil Service. The nature of his former employment remains undisclosed.
theartsdesk Q&A: Shakespears Sister
Thursday, 24 October 2019
When goth-pop duo Shakespears Sister split in 1993, the music press dubbed it the break-up of the decade. Partly it was because at the time they were...
10 Questions for musician Craig Finn
Sunday, 20 October 2019
As frontman and lyricist of US rockers The Hold Steady, Craig Finn specialises in vivid storytelling featuring larger than life characters. It’s a...
theartsdesk Q&A: Gianandrea Noseda on...
Wednesday, 16 October 2019
There's something about the very opening of a Mahler symphony which gives you an idea of how the rest of the performance will go. In the case of the...
'A laboratory for everything': Jasper Parrott on the future of his classical music agency
As Harrison Parrott celebrates 50 years with concerts on Sunday, its main mover reflects |
10 Questions for conductor Charles Hazlewood
The man with the baton talks books, Brexit, minimalism, techno and time machines |
10 Questions for author Martin Gayford
The prolific writer on his love of art and jazz, and what makes a good writer |
theartsdesk Q&A: composer Alastair White on his new opera ROBE
Emerging Scottish talent describes creating layers of reality in his latest work |
theartsdesk Q&A: Lia Williams on the challenges of theatre
As 'The Night of the Iguana' opens, the actor renowned for playing dual roles talks Tennessee Williams, Pinter - and Wallis Simpson |
Bob Dylan Special - theartsdesk Q&A: Scarlet Rivera
The violinist on 'Desire' and 'Rolling Thunder Revue' talks about working with Dylan at his peak |
'I wrote a letter to Björk in Icelandic and it did the trick': Helgi Tomasson on an intervention that saved a ballet
The artistic director of San Francisco Ballet heralds its all-new season at Sadler's Wells |
Chamber Music, Brighton Festival 2019 review - Wu-Tang Clan depths divined
The social and musical roots of the Wu-Tang Clan's debut discussed |
10 Questions for Cellist Raphael Wallfisch
On composers in exile, the forgotten beauty of English cello concertos, and why you shouldn’t mess with Beethoven |
10 Questions for Director Benedikt Erlingsson
Woman at War's Icelandic director on eco-activism, being chained to a whaling ship and a peculiar Cold War childhood |
10 Questions for Musician Will Gregory
The Goldfrapp mainstay talks physics, Moogs, Morricone and his work with the British Paraorchestra |
10 Questions for Musician Soumik Datta
The British-Indian sarod player talks jazz, colonialism, film and more |
theartsdesk Q&A: playwright William Nicholson
The 'Shadowlands' author talks about CS Lewis, love, pain and being a writer |
10 Questions for actress and playwright Nicôle Lecky
The rising star of stage and screen talks grime, feminism, sex work, Nicki Minaj and SENSE8 |
theartsdesk Q&A: Bananarama
The indestructible girl group on singing, clubbing, post-punk, Lemmy, George Michael and much more |
Director Jason Barker: ‘Trans lives are often portrayed so bleakly’
A Deal with the Universe filmmaker shares the story behind his pregnancy |
Interview with director Agnès Varda, who has died at 90
The French/Belgian filmmaking legend talked with Demetrios Matheou about her career |
10 Questions for Brighton Festival CEO Andrew Comben
Helmsman talks art forgery, politics and the highlights of this year's programme |
Q&A special: The making of Local Hero
As it becomes a stage musical, the film's writer-director and stars recall the birth of a masterpiece |
An encounter with John Richardson, Picasso's biographer who has died at 95
Picasso's definitive biographer recalls the artist he knew |
10 Questions for Candice Edmunds of Theatre Company Vox Motus
The Glasgow-based artistic director talks theatre with a difference |
Director Toby Macdonald: 'Comedy is something people need at the moment'
Old Boys director talks about adapting Cyrano de Bergerac into a boarding school |
Q&A Special: Actor Bruno Ganz on playing Hitler
The Swiss actor, who has died aged 77, was the first to play the Führer in a lead role in German |
theartsdesk Q&A: Musician, writer and performance artist Cosey Fanni Tutti
The “Wrecker of Civilisation” on artistic independence, magick and motherhood |
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