Reviews
Gary Naylor
“Trump Arrangement Syndrome”, my propensity to see the world refracted through the lens of the omnipresent ogre’s cult, raised its head again. In watching a mad monarch, dementia tearing at their mind, insults raining down on those who fail to praise them, he loomed large in the consciousness yet again. How long will it be before we can look upon Lear and not see the orange man-child? Soon, I hope - but I doubt it.Finn den Hertog, listed as director and adapter, has a wonderful stage on which to work, a fine cast and, for only the eighth time in the 75-year history of Pitlochry Festival Read more ...
Helen Hawkins
The regular scriptwriter for Yorgos Lanthimos’s films, Efthimis Filippou, has worked with another director, Karim Aïnouz, on Rosebush Pruning. It’s a film that bills itself as “inspired by” Marco Bellocchio’s 1965 satire, Fists in the Pocket, but deals in the same kind of lurid surrealism as Lanthimos’s off-kilter yarns.This is a narrative that’s by turns enigmatic and unsubtle. Bellocchio’s starting point is there – the son of a large, dysfunctional family, in which one child is epileptic and one parent blind, sets about downsizing it – but in Filippou’s hands it’s become a cluttered story Read more ...
Guy Oddy
This week saw something of a landmark gig for Birmingham’s ever-exuberant folkies, Bonfire Radicals. New album, Spaghetti Junction was revealed to a home crowd; long-time violinist Sarah Farmer played her last show with the band; her replacement, Emily Dawe was introduced to a welcoming crowd; and at least one tune was performed for the last time and finally exorcised from their live set.Gigs in rooms above pubs aren’t necessarily a joyful experience when there’s a blistering heatwave going on. However, the Hare and Hounds had the presence of mind to install air conditioning some years ago Read more ...
Rachel Halliburton
A febrile energy powers Timothy Sheader’s production of Jesus Christ Superstar, which arrives in the West End with an edgy vibe that powerfully conveys the idea of Jesus as a dangerous revolutionary. At the age of 56, the musical isn’t showing its age remotely, with its vigorous, unashamedly complex rhythms and persuasive interrogation of the Bible marking it as a resounding classic even for Lloyd Webber agnostics like this critic.You could argue that Eurovision star Sam Ryder was made for the role, a former carpenter with an impressive beard and a lion’s mane of hair, who after years of Read more ...
Sarah Kent
The Aviva studios in Manchester consist of an open plan warehouse with black walls and no windows. The space is vast, dark and difficult to occupy, but since Ai Weiwei’s work tends to be large, gloomy and uncompromising, this, in a way, is a perfect marriage. Don’t expect a bundle of laughs, though.The first thing you see is a huge chandelier made of Murano glass. Traditionally these flamboyant lights are a riot of baroque shapes and gaudy colours. But Ai’s three-tiered monster consists of three tonnes of black skeletons (main picture). Called La Commedia Umana (The Human Comedy), it hangs Read more ...
theartsdesk
We are bowled over! We knew that theartsdesk.com had plenty of supporters out there – we’ve always had a loyal readership of arts lovers and professionals alike – but the response to our appeal to help us relaunch and reboot has been something else.Our fundraiser is rolling towards hitting the halfway mark, and it’s already raised enough to repair our ageing site and ensure its survival. But just as important to all of us have been the messages of love and support from our readership. It’s not just the morale boost of being praised either – though let’s be honest, the warm glow is pretty Read more ...
Jonathan Geddes
It is never a great sign when a local authority is forced to comment on a music festival. The opening night of the In The Park series of shows at Newcastle's Exhibition Park forced such a reaction from the city council, after claims of overcrowding to see headliner Lewis Capaldi perform, on a day of sweltering heat. Nothing amiss was found according to the council, and by this night, the final one in the series of shows, there were thankfully no issues to cause concern. Instead the sunshine was accompanied by a light breeze to create an atmosphere more suitable for picnics than rock Read more ...
Robert Beale
Buxton International Festival, long known for its explorations of some of the less well-known parts of the opera repertoire, this year features two of the best-loved, alongside its other fare.Its first two nights saw a new production of La Traviata (jointly with Norwich Theatre, to which it will go after the Derbyshire spa town’s summer festival is over), and a borrowed one from Scottish Opera and Opera Holland Park of The Merry Widow (seen last year both north of the border and in London).The Verdi is a staging of which no good producing house would need to feel ashamed. BIF has sometimes Read more ...
Kieron Tyler
Reviewing The Clash’s 27 October 1976 appearance at Birmingham’s Barbarella’s, UK music weekly Sounds detected a particular, unique, characteristic of the band. Jonh (sic) Ingham identified “a Clash trick of everything dropping out except for Mick Jones' guitar, dropping back in two bars later behind a thundering crack from Terry Chimes' baseball bat sized drumsticks.”The drop-out was a feature of dub, the form of studio-created reggae which emerged in the early Seventies. Music historian David Katz has pointed to “Ivan Itler the Conqueror,” a 1970 single side credited to Bunny Lee Allstars, Read more ...
Helen Hawkins
A voice at the start of dancer Aakash Odedra’s performance speaks out of the darkness about the Sufi myth behind what we are going to see, one of a caged bulbul — a nightingale — yearning to be merged with the divine and singing for its freedom in ever more beautiful ways. In this, the voice says, the bulbul represents the artist’s quest for perfection, always refining his work until death brings a sense of freedom and transcendence.What follows is a simple yet extraordinary, lavish piece choreographed by Rani Khanam and performed to the music of Rushil Ranjan, played by the Manchester Read more ...
Kieron Tyler
The most up-front factor defining the 10 tracks of Sweet Thief’s 26 minutes is Zoë Randell’s voice. Figuratively, she does not – vocally, that is – break a sweat or get agitated. On “Wanna Get Free,” she sings “put down your weapon.” Yet there is no sense of experiencing imminent danger. The lyrics of “A Better Truth.” which musically evokes Leonard Cohen's "Susanne”, tell of “troubled men… anger, shame, building to cycles of misery and strife.” Again, there’s that distance, a cool, the sense that Randell is a detached though acutely aware observer.Luluc are the duo of Zoë Randell and Steve Read more ...
Veronica Lee
Ania Magliano has built a solid body of work over the past few years with her thoughtful, self-reflective shows (gaining an Edinburgh Comedy Award nomination on the way), and a following boosted by her appearances on Taskmaster and SNL UK.After her television sojourn she’s back to stand-up with Peach Fuzz (which I saw at Soho Theatre), another walk through her life, this time her relationship with her body.Before she dives into that, though, there’s some “heat admin” in the very hot room during this blessedly warm summer many of us are having. She has even brought along some ice lollies for Read more ...