Reviews
Sunnymead Court, Tristan Bates Theatre review - a lovely lockdown romance
Saturday, 26 September 2020
The first words of Sunnymead Court, a new play at the Tristan Bates Theatre, are ominous. “We are transitioning from human experiences to digital experiences.” Oof. Thankfully, this isn’t another gloomy lockdown drama about the evils of Zoom quizzes – it’s the story of an unlikely romance between two women who live metres from each other, but have never spoken.
theartsdesk in Hamburg: Ghost Light - a ballet in the time of corona
Saturday, 26 September 2020
So the Royal Ballet is to make a live comeback, for one night only, on 9 October. Fielding the entire company of 100 dancers, suitably distanced, the enterprise is being hailed as a triumph of logistics. And so it is. But the fact remains that the vast majority of its audience will be watching on a computer screen at home.
An Evening with an Immigrant, Bridge Theatre...
Friday, 25 September 2020
When the history of British theatre’s response to COVID-19 comes to be written, the names of two men will feature prominently: Nicholas Hytner and...
Miss Juneteenth review - a ray of Texan sunshine
Friday, 25 September 2020
Beauty queen pageants have long been ripe for parody, from their plastic glamour to the Machiavellian competitiveness. Miss Juneteenth opts for a...
Hold Still, National Portrait Gallery review -...
Friday, 25 September 2020
A digital exhibition for digital times – and just right: as a reproductive medium, photographs can work brilliantly when reproduced again. Currently...
Castalian Quartet/Elizabeth Llewellyn, Simon Lepper, Wigmore Hall review - out of this world
A young string quartet and a glorious duo take us from the earthy to the sublime |
Finley, LPO, Gardner, Royal Festival Hall (p)review - special magic ready for streaming
A privileged glimpse of a great orchestra in full flight back in a much-loved venue |
Monsoon review - like something almost being said
Developing the subtle palette of his debut 'Lilting', Hong Khaou's second feature broadens its horizons |
Enola Holmes review – a new Sherlock-related franchise is afoot
Millie Bobby Brown gives the patriarchy what-for in a charming young adult adventure |
The Cheeky Chappie, The Warren Outdoors review - entertaining drama about risqué comic Max Miller
Jamie Kenna brings Brighton favourite to life |
The Movies: The Seventies review - a mirror on malaise
Sky's Hollywood documentary series reaches the Watergate decade |
Gillam, Miloš, Wigmore Hall review – charismatic performers, charming playing
'Siblings' revel in the pleasure of performing live again |
Naomi Klein: On Fire: The Burning Case for a Green New Deal review - an unapologetic manifesto
Klein’s radical remedy for reversing climate destruction |
A London Saturday with Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Pavel Kolesnikov, Samson Tsoy and friends - review
From a Dvořák concerto debut in a Kensington church to trios in a Peckham car park |
James Rebanks: English Pastoral, An Inheritance review - a manifesto for a radical agricultural rethink
A well-argued call for change through the lives of one family and their land |
Reissue CDs Weekly: John Coltrane - Giant Steps
60th-anniversary edition of the jazz landmark doesn’t go far enough |
Bill & Ted Face the Music review - modestly delightful
The slacker time-travel double-act's cheerfully cheap return |
Fidelio, Garsington Opera review - heart of darkness, light-filled liberation
Fine singers equalled by Philharmonia soloists in revelatory chamber-music Beethoven |
Picnic at the Castle review - entertaining mixed bill
Warwick Castle provides striking backdrop |
Hendrix and the Spook review - a search for clarity in murky waters
A detailed account of events surrounding a famous death that leaves you none the wiser |
Nocturnal review - an impossible love
A schoolgirl and a painter-decorator rush headlong into harm |
Rocks review - impressively well-crafted neo-realist drama
Sarah Gavron and Theresa Ikoko’s collaboration pays off in this lovingly observed tale |
GogolFest:Dream review - the best music festival of the summer?
A socially-distanced festival of new music and head-banging Nova Opera in Kherson |
Igor Levit, Wigmore Hall/Hill Quartet, Bandstand Chamber Festival review – seamlessness inside and out
Total fluency from the great pianist and a young team already rich in wisdom |
The Devil All The Time review – a test of faith in a Southern Gothic tradition
Anthony’s Campos’ blood-drenched period tale based on Donald Ray Pollak’s novel |
Alban Gerhardt, Markus Becker, Wigmore Hall review - long shadows and rich sounds
Shostakovich's dark intensity carries over to Schumann and Beethoven |
A Special School, BBC Wales review - heartwarming film about special needs education
Lovingly made and inspiring new series shows what's possible for students with special needs |
Maggini Quartet/Friend, Solem Quartet, Bandstand Chamber Festival review - in harmony with nature
More cultured beauty from outstanding musicians in the heart of Battersea Park |
Extinction: The Facts, BBC One review - David Attenborough tells a devastating story
This horrifying prognosis on the future of our planet was essential viewing |
latest in today
Sunnymead Court, Tristan Bates Theatre review - a lovely loc...
The first words of Sunnymead Court, a new play...
theartsdesk in Hamburg: Ghost Light - a ballet in the time o...
So the Royal Ballet is to make a live comeback, for one night only, on 9 October. Fielding the entire company of 100 dancers, suitably distanced,...
First Person: pianist Danny Driver on teaching online and th...
There’s an old saying that goes: if life deals you lemons, make lemonade. To say that the COVID-19 pandemic is a lemon would be a huge and trivial...
Miss Juneteenth review - a ray of Texan sunshine
Beauty queen pageants have long been ripe for parody, from their plastic glamour to the Machiavellian competitiveness. Miss Juneteenth...
An Evening with an Immigrant, Bridge Theatre review – poetic...
When the history of British theatre’s response to COVID-19...
Hold Still, National Portrait Gallery review - snapshots fro...
A digital exhibition for digital times – and just right: as a reproductive medium,...
Castalian Quartet/Elizabeth Llewellyn, Simon Lepper, Wigmore...
Songs of the beyond versus the profundity of the here and now struck very different depths in the Castalians’ evening concert at the...
Album: Róisín Murphy - Róisín Machine
This is a musical homecoming for Róisín Murphy, both geographically and figuratively. She may have been raised in Dublin and spent her gig-going...
Finley, LPO, Gardner, Royal Festival Hall (p)review - specia...
There was a rainbow over the Royal Festival Hall...