Jumanji: The Next Level review: Jack Black and Danny DeVito’s star power doesn’t make up for shaky plot December 16, 2019 As a die-hard defender of the 1994 original, and a some-time apologist for its 2017 remake, I was willing to forgive a lot of Jumanji: The Next Level. It is, once again, a body-swap comedy in which a group of teenagers become characters in a 1990s video game. And while you don’t ask much of [...]
The Ocean at the End of the Lane at the National Theatre review December 13, 2019 Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane is one of those novels that seems impossible to stage. It’s a tangled tale that takes place across dimensions, flitting between the real and the imagined, the domestic and the cosmic. It features civilised family diners and epic battles with giant, many-legged monstrosities. And you’d [...]
A Taste of Honey at Trafalgar Studios review: A kitchen sink drama with real heart December 13, 2019 I first heard about A Taste of Honey through Morrissey, who had a penchant for nicking its best lines. I’m clearly not the only one: the delivery of “I dreamt about you last night. Fell out of bed twice” and “The dream has gone but the baby is real” were met with a ripple of [...]
The Duchess of Malfi at the Almeida review: A shocking, brilliant drama December 13, 2019 Since the explosion of the #MeToo movement, theatre directors have been bringing to the fore the themes of patriarchal violence in everything from Shakespeare to Ibsen. Director Rebecca Frecknall’s production of The Duchess of Malfi takes this close to its logical conclusion with this unflinching, often outright horrific portrait of the terrible consequences of men [...]
Fairview at the Young Vic review: A strange and thrilling masterpiece December 13, 2019 When talking about her Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Fairview, writer Jackie Sibblies Drury explains that she cannot reveal what it is about without spoiling it. And she has a point – this really is a see-it-to-believe-it surprise of a show, and is thoroughly deserving of such anticipation. In simple terms, the story concerns a black middle-class [...]
Charlie’s Angels review: A fun reboot, despite the ham-fisted subversion of gender roles November 29, 2019 Wasn’t there a remake of Charlie’s Angels a few years back, I hear you ask? Well, I regret to inform you that version – featuring Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu and Drew Barrymore – was in fact made two whole decades ago. So here we are again, with another reboot of the hair-flicking, gun toting 1970s [...]
The Immersive Wolf Of Wall Street review: A trading tragedy November 29, 2019 The Immersive Wolf Of Wall Street, a theatrical event that promises to transport you into the hedonistic world of crooked stocks trader Jordan Belfort, has had a traumatic birth. The official opening was delayed owing to a “script in flux” and three separate flooding incidents at its venue near Liverpool Street. And boy does it [...]
My Brilliant Friend at the National Theatre review November 29, 2019 Taking place over two sittings, each more than two and a half hours long, My Brilliant Friend promises to be an epic production. And it is. Sort of. This adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels (now a hit HBO series) runs the full gamut of human emotion, spanning decades and shifting violently in both tone [...]
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at Bridge Theatre review: Perfect family fun November 29, 2019 Christmas is not typically a high-point for theatre, but parents seeking something beyond this season’s repertoire of pantomimes should look to this loveable interpretation of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. CS Lewis’ 1950 novel is sometimes viewed a little suspiciously, given it’s a fairly transparent allegory for the Christian origin story. But it’s [...]
Dora Maar at the Tate Modern review: Forget what you think you know November 29, 2019 Like so many women throughout history, Dora Maar is best known for her connection to a more famous man. For many art historians, she’s a footnote in the biography of Pablo Picasso, one of many young women the creepy cubist collected throughout his life. But this is 2019: if Picasso were around today he’d be [...]