The Crown is royal cosplay – look out for James Bond and King Charles as a 1990s rock star November 11, 2022 There’s been much hoo-haa about how The Crown isn’t historically accurate, but one element about the show that is close to fact is the style sense of the royals. It’s hard to believe by today’s standards but in the 1990s Prince Charles was actually something of a style icon. God love him, but these days [...]
The Connaught Grill review: London’s classiest hotel plays with the formula November 9, 2022 There are lovely five-star London hotels and then there are the ones run by The Maybourne Group. That’s the company behind The Berkeley, Claridge’s and The Connaught, the eagles of the hotel world that fly higher than all the rest. In Mayfair, all the buildings look gorgeous, but propping up the corner of Adam’s Row [...]
Tom Kerridge’s The Hand and Flowers Marlow offers a new Michelin-starred travel package – I tried it out November 7, 2022 Tom Kerridge’s Hand and Flowers in Marlow is the only pub in the world with two Michelin stars. That prestige is reflected in eye watering pricing. One newspaper wrote an entire article about the £33 omelette, and the steak leaves you with a fiver’s change from one hundred pounds. I visit the river after dark [...]
The Crown season 5 review: Subtle and sensitive, the outrage has got this show all wrong November 5, 2022 The Crown season 5 review: Forget the headlines that cry out that this show is sensational – the latest series is defined by its sensitive and careful storytelling. Elizabeth Debicki is an incredible Diana, the central force of this season, which documents probably the most challenging period for the royals since the Netflix drama began. [...]
Call Jane film review: An essential education, but this film plods along November 4, 2022 In new abortion drama Call Jane, one female character ends up pregnant because she believes men can’t pull out once they’ve started having penetrative sex. Another didn’t know that standing up having sex could lead to pregnancy. Call Jane is stuffed with revealing moments about the discrimination women who needed abortions faced in the middle [...]
Reasons You Should(n’t) Love Me’s Amy Trigg on self love, laughter and disabled representation November 4, 2022 This interview is part of our The Lowdown interview series. This time, we speak to Amy Trigg, the first wheelchair user to graduate from a performance course at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, about her one-woman show. WHAT’S THE LOWDOWN ON YOUR ONE-WOMAN SHOW? The show is about love in all different forms. Self love, platonic [...]
Triangle of Sadness review: Utterly bonkers satire is one of the best films of the year November 4, 2022 Swedish filmmaker Ruben Östlund is one of the breakthrough modern satirists. Force Majeure, a black comedy released in 2014, quickly became a cult hit, and new film Triangle of Sadness confirms the 48-year-old as a director who doesn’t give a shit about the rules. It is ridiculous, hilarious and utterly vulgar. Arriving hot on the [...]
Living film review: Bill Nighy is majestic in poetically crafted ode to life November 4, 2022 If culturally we’re still clinging onto Bill Nighy as zany pirate radio presenter Billy Mack in Love Actually, then this film will help further establish him as a worthwhile actor in his own right. It follows 2018’s Sometimes Always Never, an underrated drama in which Nighy also shone. Living is a stylish rumination on old [...]
Soho Place theatre founder on opening West End’s first new theatre in fifty years October 28, 2022 For the next edition of The Lowdown interview series, we speak to Soho Place theatre founder Nica Burns about opening the first new West End theatre in fifty years Tell us about Soho Place theatre We want to offer different possibilities for performers and audiences. Our theatre is in-the-round so everyone has a perfect sight [...]
My Policeman review: Harry Styles naked gives us what we came for October 20, 2022 My Policeman review: Harry Styles is not yet a good actor, but Styles gives the fans exactly what they want in this gripping LGBTQ drama Amid all the rumours of a feud between Harry Styles, his director-girlfriend Olivia Wilde and their co-star Florence Pugh on the set of Don’t Worry Darling – a rumour that [...]