Mozart’s Don Giovanni at the ROH is a mixed bag of a production October 2, 2022 Mozart’s Don Giovanni is famously difficult to stage, what with its intricate combination of comedy, tragedy, and a Don Juan who is so completely grotesque that he makes Daemon Targaryen look like a saint. If you are thinking that no review that starts like this can signal a five-star show, you’re right. This revival of [...]
Blonde review: Marilyn Monroe biopic is exploitative and dull October 2, 2022 Another year, another lengthy Netflix Oscar hopeful. Blonde has been in development since 2010 with Naomi Watts and Jessica Chastain attached to star at various points. Can one of Hollywood’s hottest newcomers do justice to its eternal icon? Brought to the screen by director Andrew Dominik (The Assassination of Jesse James), the film is an [...]
Aida at the ROH is a thrilling opera set against a bleak backdrop October 2, 2022 Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida is an opera usually characterised by unabashed spectacle. When the original production opened in Cairo in 1871, the stage was adorned with all manner of ancient Egyptian finery. Many contemporary productions follow this original formula, more or less, but director Robert Carson swerves away from it in this brand-new Royal Opera House [...]
Eureka Day Review: Helen Hunt shines in culture wars drama October 2, 2022 When playwrights take aim at the culture wars, it’s usually those on the right they have in their sights. But Jonathan Spector’s barbs point towards the liberal left and the ludicrous situations that can arise when political correctness really does go mad. Eureka Day takes place in the titular primary school, a progressive Californian institution [...]
Discrimination against Dalits: How status can affect eye health September 30, 2022 | City Talk The Tej Kohli & Ruit Foundation has recently set up camps in Nepal where members of the highly discriminated against Dalits received cataract-curing surgery. Many cultures have systems of hierarchy entwined in their makeup. In the United Kingdom we have had the hierarchy of Kings and Queens, Knights and Noblemen, followed by merchants and peasants. [...]
Shop owner and mother receives a second chance at sight September 26, 2022 | City Talk In August, the Tej Kohli and Ruit Foundation travelled to the Kingdom of Bhutan on a mission to eradicate cataract blindness to reduce extreme poverty. This is part of a collaboration between us, the Bhutanese Ministry of Health, and the Royal Government of Bhutan under the Royal Patronage of Her Majesty Gyalyum Kesang Choeden Wangchuck. [...]
Sight and smiles restored by cataract surgery in Nepal September 26, 2022 | City Talk In March 2022, the Tej Kohli and Ruit Foundation staged one of the biggest cataract microsurgical camps ever organised in mountainous Nepal. The team organised seven screening camps from 15th to 22nd of March focussing especially on reaching out to extremely marginalised communities of the region, as those are the groups that are least likely [...]
Colour of the year: ‘It looks like magnolia with a hangover’ September 25, 2022 There is something wonderfully absurd about the annual colour of the year awards, which attempt to dress up selling paint as a sort of sociological barometer. What shade captures the public mood right now? What hue best describes the world today? According to Dulux, that would be Wild Wonder. The paint-maker describes it as 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 [...]
Visual impairments cause a loss of education September 25, 2022 | City Talk Many children in developing countries often have restricted access to education, when paired with a visual disadvantage, it is near impossible for them to learn at all. With some progress being made, often with the assistance of international organisations, there is still a long way to go in terms of supporting visually impaired youth. Visual [...]