Blues for an Alabama Sky review: A comic picture of The Great Depression, but not a cohesive one October 14, 2022 Who knew a play about The Great Depression could, and frankly, should, be this funny? We laugh or we cry, goes the old adage, and Pearl Cleage’s 1995 play is an uneven but often joyfully comic celebration of some of the vulnerable, brash and foolhardy characters who lived through it. We meet Angel who dreams [...]
Sipping martinis at DUKES hotel, St James, on the 60th anniversary of James Bond October 10, 2022 Dr. No was released in cinemas in October 1962, and to celebrate James Bond’s 60th anniversary our Travel Editor visited the film franchise’s most iconic worldwide locations. We also checked into DUKES Hotel, where Ian Fleming drank martinis in the 1950s… THE WEEKEND: A two minute walk from Green Park and the throws of Piccadilly, [...]
James Bond locations: become Bond by sinking martinis at these worldwide filming destinations October 10, 2022 Your mission, 007… Visit these James Bond locations around the world. From St James to Jamaica, so much of Bond is about escaping to the planet’s most gorgeous corners The view from the private balcony of The Duke of Clarence Suite at DUKES Hotel offers Green Park so close up that you could throw a [...]
The Doctor West End review: Juliet Stevenson mesmerises in play for our times October 10, 2022 Say the name Juliet Stevenson to those that don’t go to the theatre and it may not mean much – but on the stage, Stevenson has A-List status. In riveting Robert Icke play The Doctor, she lays out every reason why. The piece, which first opened at the Almeida in 2019, is a damning character [...]
Sh!t Theatre review: Evita Too is the most fun you’ll have in the theatre this year October 7, 2022 Sh!t Theatre’s latest completely ridiculous but utterly barmstorming show begins with a question. Would you rather hear a Wikipedia page recited as context for the performance, or watch founders Louise Mothersole and Rebecca Biscuit roller skate around the theatre naked? You can guess how the show opens, and it’s classically barmy stuff from the trope [...]
Richard Eyre: ‘Usually there’s a dark side to national treasure actors’ October 6, 2022 The number of over-60s around the world will almost double from 2015 to 2050, according to the latest data from the World Health Organisation. Amid this staggering rise, the NHS is facing constant calls for further funding, and health inequality widened significantly under the pandemic. For Richard Eyre, director of Iris and Notes On A [...]
How graffiti became the nation’s favourite artform September 25, 2022 Once sidelined as a reckless illegal pursuit, you might’ve noticed more street art than ever recently, and in more obvious public spaces. Graffiti has long been a sign of protest, even revolution, but over the past two years public art and graffiti have symbolised the national mood more often than we might realise. Images of [...]
Handbagged review: Camp tribute to the Queen needs a juicy plot September 16, 2022 Kiln Theatre artistic director Indhu Rubasingham was so nervous last night that she forgot her words on stage at the Handbagged press night. It’s not common for a director to be treading the boards when a show is open, they’re normally in the audience, but this was no ordinary press night. Following the Queen’s passing, [...]
Mike Leigh: ‘The Queen dying is emotional but King Charles? That’s another matter’ September 15, 2022 For a man seven-times Oscar nominated for films about so-called ‘ordinary’ people, Mike Leigh certainly plays the part. We meet outside the newly opened Garden Cinema, but there’s no blacked-out car to deliver perhaps Britain’s most famous living director. Instead, Leigh appears from around a street corner, alone, clasping a folded chair under arm. If [...]
Wonderville is the capital’s enchanting new Cabaret bar September 15, 2022 There’s honestly very little funnier than awkward suburban dads getting flirted with by overly ostentatious female performers. Especially when they’re dressed in tiny scraps of clothing. Brits are awkward, and then there are suburbanites that get dressed up to go into London to see a cabaret show. They are awkward. At new London cabaret venue [...]