reviews

'We are bowled over!' Thank you for your messages of love and support

theartsdesk |

We are bowled over! 

We knew that theartsdesk.com had plenty of supporters out there – we’ve always had a loyal readership of arts lovers and professionals alike – but the response to our appeal to help us relaunch and reboot has been something else.

O'Sullivan, Fantasia Orchestra, Fetherstonhaugh, Smith Square Hall review - the sassy airs of summer

David Nice |

Despite Proms appearances, I'm still not sure that Tom Fetherstonhaugh, mover and shaker of the young Fantasia Orchestra, has yet had quite the limelight he deserves for original programming that reaches out, not to mention for the sleek and romantic sound he got from a relatively small body of strings in this lovely sequence (portamentos as apt for Gershwin as for Mahler).

The Guilty, Donmar Warehouse review - spine-tingling and gut-tightening thriller

Aleks Sierz
The best thrillers have not one, but two twists. Often, there’s a predictable twist, and an unpredictable one. So it is with The Guilty, Chloë Moss’s…

Rolf Harris: Primetime Predator, Prime Video review - rise and fall of the 'beloved entertainer'

Adam Sweeting
The “hiding in plain sight” technique has proved appallingly effective for a list of notorious sex offenders. When in doubt, get yourself a prominent…

Birds of War review - we found love in a hopeless, hopeful place

James Saynor
For factual footage from battle zones, we once used to rely on people toting heavy cameras who went in and out of the fields of war. The successors…

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 great deal, and hope you do too.

To take a monthly subscription now simply click here.

Or
Why not take an annual subscription and save a third off our monthly price simply click here.

Sunn O))), O2 Institute, Birmingham review - the Gods of Thunder return

Guy Oddy
An eardrum damaging evening spent with Birmingham’s Sunn O))) worshippers

Zoe Rahman's 'Hull Suite Live' lands themes of migration in a good place

Sebastian Scotney
Trio with Gene Calderazzo and Alec Dankworth is a jewel of British jazz

Arcadia, Duke of York’s Theatre review - reaching for the stars

Demetrios Matheou
Carrie Cracknell’s splendid revival of Stoppard’s masterwork transfers with its magic intact

My Father's Island review - ambitious literary adaptation

Saskia Baron
David Vann's acclaimed novella transposed to the screen with mixed results

Springwood, Hampstead Theatre review - international politics revealed as a gentle comedy of manners

Rachel Halliburton
Transatlantic tensions are diffused through alcohol, sex, and the etiquette of hot dogs

How to Live on Planet Earth review - a hopeful look at our collective future

Sarah Kent
The most important 'how-to video' you are ever likely to see

Tristan und Isolde, LSO, Pappano, Barbican review - more impressive than profoundly moving

David Nice
Turbocharged orchestra, sometimes too much so, various approaches from the singers

Sinatra the Musical, Aldwych Theatre review - not exactly frank about Frank

Gary Naylor
Bad husband, bad dad, great singer

The Rolling Stones speak in 'Foreign Tongues'

Tim Cumming
The follow-up to comeback album 'Hackney Diamonds' is a raucous, joyful late-period classic

I puritani, Royal Opera - fine moments, tedious quarters of an hour

David Nice
Richard Jones tries hard with Bellini's vehicle for lyric madness; Lisette Oropesa dazzles

Lenny Henry, Touring review - family memories and familiar tales

Veronica Lee
Comic looks back on his life and career

Sting, Young Vic review - emotionally gruelling, but a bit bizarre

Aleks Sierz
New play about domestic abuse adopts a radical form that works - up to a point

theartsdesk at the Aldeburgh Festival - second-midweek concert gems in a row

David Nice
Two recitals in a thousand, other events good to excellent

Billy Budd, Glyndebourne review - superb revival of a classic production

stephen.walsh
Britten's dark ship of life and death sails on

I Will Find You, Netflix review - Sam Worthington stars in dead child mystery

Adam Sweeting
Harlan Coben thriller does what it says on the tin

Cyrano de Bergerac, Noël Coward Theatre review - smouldering sadness beneath the verbal fireworks

Rachel Halliburton
Adrian Lester’s spiky, swaggering hero is the apex predator in this linguistic ecosystem

theartsdesk on Vinyl 98: Metric, Arvo Pärt, Future Islands, Rainbow, Suede, Mekons and more

Thomas H. Green
The hugest regular record reviews in the universe

Archduke, Royal Court review - gloriously zany history play

Aleks Sierz
American playwright Rajiv Joseph’s account of Serbian political assassins really rocks

Supergirl review - flying low

Nick Hasted
Superman's party girl cousin earns her stripes underwhelmingly

Music Reissues Weekly: The 101’ers - the tangled musical legacy of Joe Strummer’s pre-Clash band

Kieron Tyler
Making the case for wading through a hotchpotch of archive releases

The Agency, Season 2, Paramount+ review - a gruelling trip to the dark side

Adam Sweeting
Second series of CIA drama ratchets up the pressure

Storey, RNCM Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Schuldt, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review - bright hopes on show

Robert Beale
Distinction and emotional impact from young musicians and an exuberant maestro

Relics, Lyric Hammersmith review - faultless cast in an effortlessly funny family drama

Helen Hawkins
Michael Longhurst's intelligent directing wrings fresh laughs from a familiar setup

The Last Viking review - absurdist thriller with Scandinavia's stars

Saskia Baron
Convoluted drama takes on Fab Four delusions, brotherly trauma and ultraviolence

the future of arts journalism

You can stop theartsdesk.com closing! 

We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d

And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.

latest in today

'We are bowled over!' Thank you for your messages of love and support
We are bowled over! We knew that theartsdesk.com had plenty of supporters out there – we’ve always had a loyal readership of arts…
O'Sullivan, Fantasia Orchestra, Fetherstonhaugh, Smith Square Hall review - the sassy airs of summer
Despite Proms appearances, I'm still not sure that Tom Fetherstonhaugh, mover and shaker of the young Fantasia Orchestra, has yet had quite…
The Guilty, Donmar Warehouse review - spine-tingling and gut-tightening thriller
The best thrillers have not one, but two twists. Often, there’s a predictable twist, and an unpredictable one. So it is with The Guilty,…
Classical CDs: Mikados, marimbas and minuets
Elgar & Dvořák: Cello Concertos Alban Gerhardt (cello), WDR Sinfonieorchester/Andrew Manze (Hyperion) Image…
Rolf Harris: Primetime Predator, Prime Video review - rise and fall of the 'beloved entertainer'
The “hiding in plain sight” technique has proved appallingly effective for a list of notorious sex offenders. When in doubt, get yourself a…
Birds of War review - we found love in a hopeless, hopeful place
For factual footage from battle zones, we once used to rely on people toting heavy cameras who went in and out of the fields of war. The…
Sunn O))), O2 Institute, Birmingham review - the Gods of Thunder return
To experience a performance by Seattle’s ambient metal kings, Sunn O))) is not like attending a conventional rock’n’roll gig, by any means…
Zoe Rahman's 'Hull Suite Live' lands themes of migration in a good place
“Hull Suite” is an important work in the canon of British-Bengali pianist Zoe Rahman, because it evokes themes – voyage, migration and…
Arcadia, Duke of York’s Theatre review - reaching for the stars
Hot from its successful run at the Old Vic, Carrie Cracknell’s Olivier-nominated revival of Tom Stoppard’s 1993 masterpiece has made a…
My Father's Island review - ambitious literary adaptation
It’s a big ask of an audience to watch a film which for most of its two hour running time, focuses on just two actors, even when they are…