Koko founder on £70m relaunch: ‘Camden’s always gonna have edge’ April 28, 2022 Camden’s iconic Koko venue – closed for three years and the victim of a devastating fire in 2020 – finally reopens tomorrow following a £70m renovation. To put that into context, that’s one fifth of the cost the original contractor quoted for building The Shard. It’s a staggering renovation for the historical venue, which has [...]
Ed Sheeran set to headline Jubilee concert as organisers unveil £15m celebrations April 26, 2022 Ed Sheeran is set to be the centrepiece for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee as preparations are made for the “people’s pageant”.
Happening film review: An indie gem worthy of its accolades and hype April 26, 2022 The winner of the prestigious Golden Lion at last year’s Venice Film Festival finally hits UK cinemas, with Happening, the second film from journalist-turned-director Audrey Diwan, arriving with a hive’s worth of buzz. Set in France in 1963, Happening is the story of Anne (Anamaria Vartolomei), a promising student with a bright future ahead of [...]
Scandaltown review: Satire on cancel culture falls flat April 25, 2022 Imagine having three plays opening in London at once. Mike Bartlett, writer of the huge TV hit Doctor Foster, is that guy right now. Cock, starring Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey, is on in the West End, and he’s also commanding two of the biggest off-West End theatres with The 47th at the Old Vic and Scandaltown [...]
The Corn is Green review: A twee revival at the National Theatre April 25, 2022 The National Theatre’s revival of Welsh actor and playwright Emlyn Williams’ The Corn is Green – the first major production in London since the mid-80s – is a comforting, middle-brow ITV period drama plopped onto the stage. The beats of this semi-autobiographical tale of an impoverished boy propelled from the pits to the cultural elite [...]
The Unbearable Weight of Talent: Nicolas Cage shines as Nicolas Cage April 25, 2022 In recent years, Nicolas Cage has joined that exclusive club of beloved cult stars. Like William Shatner, Christopher Walken, and Jeff Goldblum before him, the actor has a balance of craft and eccentricity that makes him a fascinating pop culture figure. Also like those stars, Cage is embracing his oddball reputation. He turned heads with [...]
Marys Seacole at the Donmar Warehouse review: Dazed and confused April 25, 2022 Mary Seacole, a British-Jamaican nurse who, among other endeavours, cared for wounded British soldiers during the Crimean War, has only recently been given the recognition she deserves. With her new play, Sibblies Drury transcends the single history of Mary Seacole, and presents us with a number of Marys, across various time periods and settings. Mary [...]
The Burnt City review: Punchdrunk return in spectacular fashion April 22, 2022 Punchdrunk is the company that put immersive theatre on the map. Its productions of The Drowned Man (2013) and Sleep No More (2003, although best known for its 2011 revival in New York) created the modern blueprint for the medium, spawning a thousand imitators, most of whom only served to highlight how difficult immersive theatre [...]
Cabaret review: A riot, old chum – with or without Eddie Redmayne April 21, 2022 Fresh from breaking the record for the most amount of Olivier Awards ever won by a revival, Cabaret strides confidently forwards with an excellent new cast This new revival of Cabaret had West End critics fighting to publish their five star reviews first when it first opened in November 2021. Seeing homegrown A-List talent Eddie [...]
Foals: We’re changing the macho image of hot sauce April 21, 2022 There’s a video on YouTube entitled “Colin Farrell searches for meaning in the pain of spicy wings.” In it, the ageing hunk dollops hot sauce on chicken, eats it, then squirms in pain. The 28-minute video has racked up over 3m views in a little over a month. Halfway through, host Sean Evans boasts that [...]