Cancel culture: Will 2022’s cancelled celebrities make 2023 comebacks? December 24, 2022 If we’ve learned anything about cancel culture in the last few years, it’s that being cancelled doesn’t necessary mean, well, being cancelled. Harvey Weinstein had been cancelled. But then there he was, sipping on a drink in a public bar, without a care in the world. J.K. Rowling had been cancelled too. But then there [...]
Mother Goose review: Ian McKellen delivers pure theatrical ecstasy December 22, 2022 Mother Goose: Ian McKellen is as incredible as you’d hope in his first pantomime in fifteen years If pantomime is normal theatre distilled into only the most joyous parts, this production of Mother Goose starring Ian McKellen is the logical extension of that. Pure theatrical ecstasy from beginning to end. Of course, it’s all down [...]
How ChatGPT AI is changing our online lives forever December 21, 2022 Instead of explaining ChatGPT in my own words, I’ll let ChatGPT explain itself. Logging onto the website, I search: “What is ChatGPT?” “GPT can be used for a variety of tasks, including language translation, summarization, and chatbot responses,” the chatbot responds. “In the context of chatbot responses, GPT could be used to generate responses to [...]
Kerry Jackson, National Theatre, review: This show would instil empathy in the most hardened sociopaths December 15, 2022 Amid the deafening noise of the culture wars, when everyone’s trying to shout the loudest to get their point across, we need shows like Kerry Jackson. A new piece by April De Angelis, it employs an almost perplexingly simple set up to show how easily we forget to look for the empathy in one another. [...]
The best London theatre of 2022, from Prima Facie to Jerusalem – but who got the top spot? December 15, 2022 After two years of Covid, London theatre returned this year with a vengeance, kicking off with some of the best new and returning plays of the decade. Here are a few of our favourites. 1. CRUISE (APOLLO) Jack Holden’s incredible one-man show explores the fallout of the AIDS crisis in a spectacularly contemporary way. Having [...]
Dolly Parton’s Christmas Carol, Southbank Centre review: Catchy new tunes in touching show December 15, 2022 As a title, Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol doesn’t give away much. It inevitably conjures images of Parton herself: her widely permed hair and even wider smile, an image as familiar and iconic as the Coca-Cola sign. Eavesdropping on conversationsn in the foyer of the Southbank Centre, it was clear that audiences hadn’t got [...]
The Christmas gift guide 2022, by City A.M. December 8, 2022 Ho, ho, hold up on shopping for Christmas presents on the freezing cold streets of London… we present you with the City A.M. Christmas Gift Guide. Do your shopping online and find some seriously thoughtful presents in our guide, which is broken down into ten categories so there’s something for every type of gift receiver [...]
Orlando, Garrick Theatre, review: Emma Corrin stuns in poetically crafted gender play December 6, 2022 If you’re feeling exhausted or lost amid the conversations around transness and gender that pervade the news cycle, this gentle production of Orlando reminds how disarmingly simple it all is. “Isn’t it really just an ode to freedom and love?” director Michael Grandage asked about Virginia Woolf’s satirical novel. And Grandage proves that point across [...]
Disneyland Paris for adults: I went without kids and it was a perfect weekend December 5, 2022 As Disneyland Paris celebrates its 30th anniversary, Adam Bloodworth checked in to get nostalgic for his childhood – and found a wholesome weekend away without too much temptation to drink and be hedonistic, and plenty of fun rides too THE WEEKEND: I had faded memories of gawping at the Castle and meeting Mickey Mouse in [...]
Drag Race’s Miz Cracker on her new London show Who’s Holiday December 2, 2022 Forget the London Palladium: if you want a camp Christmas show with drag in it you’d better head to the Southwark Playhouse this season. One-woman show Who’s Holiday is an adults-only comedy kicking off on 16 December and starring RuPaul’s Drag Race alumni Miz Cracker. She placed fifth in the tenth season of Drag Race in [...]