Reviews
Joseph Andras: Tomorrow They Won't Dare to Murder Us review - injustice and tenderness in the Algerian War
Thursday, 25 February 2021
Joseph Andras wastes no time. “Not a proud and forthright rain, no. A stingy rain. Mean. Playing dirty.” This is how his debut novel kicks off, and it’s a fitting start for his retelling of the arrest, torture, one-day trial and subsequent execution of Fernand Iveton, the only Algerian-born European (or “pied-noir”) to have been subject to the death penalty during the conflict.
Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Hung Parliament review – choose-your-own whodunnit
Thursday, 25 February 2021
I’ll admit, I’ve never been a fan of murder mysteries. Patience is not one of my virtues; if I can’t work something out in 30 seconds, I’m liable to give up, and whodunnits tend to need a bit longer than that.
Rachel Parris and Marcus Brigstocke's...
Wednesday, 24 February 2021
Lockdown has been mostly pants for live performers, comics included. There was that brief foray into open-air performances last summer, made even...
Sean Shibe, Wigmore Hall online review -...
Wednesday, 24 February 2021
Returning to the Wigmore Hall for another socially distanced concert, Edinburgh-born guitarist Sean Shibe brought a programme of moving, often...
Album: Frànçois & The Atlas Mountains -...
Wednesday, 24 February 2021
Frànçois Marry’s sixth album as Frànçois & The Atlas Mountains evokes warm days spent lounging in fields of clover reflecting on friendship,...
Barnes' People, Original Theatre Company online review - intriguing quartet of monologues revived
Jemma Redgrave and Adrian Scarborough excel in Peter Barnes radio solos brought to screen |
Tony and the Young Artists, Royal Opera/Liebeslieder Waltzes, Blackheath Halls online review - love and joy
Much-needed platforms for talented youth to make its way in difficult times |
Karla Suárez: Havana Year Zero review - maths, phones and mysteries in down-at-heel Cuba
A smart, romantic romp through the island's darkest days |
Bloodlands, BBC One review - ghosts of the Troubles return to poison the present
James Nesbitt stars in Chris Brandon's dark and twisty thriller |
Hughes, Manchester Collective, Lakeside Arts online review - creating the occasion
From gentle melancholy to burning conviction in a single stream |
The Color Purple - at Home, Curve online review – life-affirming musical retelling of Alice Walker's novel
Celie learns how to live from the strong, rebellious women she encounters |
Coote, Blackshaw, Fiennes, Wigmore Hall online review – lonely hearts club band
Tchaikovsky songs and Russian poems harmonise in a melancholy magic |
Reissue CDs Weekly: For The Good Times - The Songs Of Kris Kristofferson
An unexpected brush with punk from the writer of ‘Help me Make it Through the Night’ |
Budapest Festival Orchestra, Fischer online review - Mahler movements for the fish
What joy to see a big orchestra in action, even if this isn't all of the Seventh Symphony |
Hymn, Almeida Theatre online review - highs and lows of a soulful brother bonding
Adrian Lester and Danny Sapani in their skins in Lolita Chakrabarti’s new play |
To Olivia review - Keeley Hawes rises above brainless biopic
Syrupy take on a tempestuous marriage |
Music review - a few music videos cobbled together
Musician Sia’s film debut uses autism as a prop for shallow song and dance routines |
Sauti za Busara Festival 2021, Zanzibar review - 2500 gather to celebrate music unlocked
Cheering glimpse of a massed musical gathering of the kind we're all missing |
Disc of the Day 10th Anniversary: Albums We Got Wrong
Our writers reveal the occasions when their critical faculties glitched |
Framing Britney Spears, Sky Documentaries review - the rollercoaster ride of the former teen icon
The struggle to survive the sexism and savagery of showbusiness |
Pavel Kolesnikov, Wigmore Hall online review - the joyful wisdom of the Goldbergs
A profound and playful engagement with Bach’s world in miniature |
All On Her Own, Stream.Theatre online review - a vivid monologue on bereavement
Existential tension between actual and idealised selves |
Albums of the Decade 2011-2021
Our writers explain their choices from the last ten years |
Whirlybird: Live Above LA - Storyville, BBC Four review - rise and fall of the first couple of airborne TV news
Matt Yoka's fascinating account of obsession, media madness and the price of fame |
Patricia Lockwood: No One is Talking About This review - first novel goes beyond the internet
You have a new memory: escaping the pull of the portal |
Der Freischütz, Bavarian State Opera online review – marksmen as marketeers
Tcherniakov’s staging heightens the psychological drama, but his feminist angle falls flat |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Disco Zombies - South London Stinks
There’s more to the arty pop-punk outfit than the racket they made |
PVT CHAT review - the cam girl who loved me
Be careful what you wish for virtually... |
theartsdesk on Vinyl 62: Nick Mulvey, Off The Meds, Black Keys, Kreator, Oneohtrix Point Never, Sam Cooke and more
The largest, loudest, longest reviews of music on plastic |
latest in today
Joseph Andras: Tomorrow They Won't Dare to Murder Us re...
Joseph Andras wastes no time. “Not a proud and forthright rain, no. A stingy rain. Mean. Playing dirty.” This is how his debut novel kicks off,...
Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Hung Parliament review – ch...
I’ll admit, I’ve never been a fan of murder mysteries. Patience is...
Album: Alice Cooper - Detroit Stories
A decade ago, Alice Cooper reconnected with his roots. He created a sequel to his 1975 album Welcome to my Nightmare with Bob Ezrin, the...
Rachel Parris and Marcus Brigstocke's Tuesday Night Clu...
Lockdown has been mostly pants for live performers, comics included. There was that brief foray into open-air performances last summer, made even...
Sean Shibe, Wigmore Hall online review - persuasive and poig...
Returning to the Wigmore Hall for another socially distanced concert, Edinburgh-born...
theartsdesk Q&A: actor and comedian Andi Osho on her deb...
In her 15-year career, Plaistow-born Andi Osho has worked in theatre, TV and stand-up, and is the only contestant to have won Celebrity...
Barnes' People, Original Theatre Company online review...
The four monologues that make up Barnes’ People were filmed in the grand surroundings of the Theatre Royal, Windsor, and that venue's...
Tony and the Young Artists, Royal Opera/Liebeslieder Waltzes...
Young performers seeking platforms for their careers have had it especially rough over...
Karla Suárez: Havana Year Zero review - maths, phones and my...
Havana, 1993. Far away, the fall of the Soviet empire has suddenly stripped Fidel Castro’s...