Why Barbenheimer is actually about masculinity July 20, 2023 Both Barbie and Oppenheimer offer revealing male character studies, says Adam Bloodworth You wouldn’t think it from all the beaming photos of Margot Robbie plastered about the place, but ‘Barbenheimer’ has actually ended up sending some pretty prescient messages about masculinity, asking questions about what it’s like to be a man today. In case you’ve [...]
Oppenheimer review: Cillian Murphy is career-best in Christopher Nolan’s atomic hit July 19, 2023 Oppenheimer review and star rating: ★★★★ Well, here you have it: all three hours of Oppenheimer are finally ready for your consumption. Directed by directorial titan Christopher Nolan, nobody really likes being in the cinema for three hours, do they? Well, sometimes they do, but only when the film is very very good, and Oppenheimer [...]
Barbie movie review: Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling shine, but what’s the point? July 19, 2023 Barbie movie review and star rating: ★★★ I can only assume the Barbie movie PR team have checked into the most beige hotel possible this week, cowering from all the pink to engage in some much-needed deep breathing. The movie’s ballistic marketing campaign has been even more omnipresent on social media than the endless stream [...]
5 reasons to go to Bilbao BBK festival in Spain July 15, 2023 Bilbao BBK is one of Spain’s most loved festivals, but Brits don’t often go. Alongside a decent line-up of music and the opportunity to explore a fascinating part of Spain, the Basque Country, Bilbao BBK offers you the chance to party like a Spanish local. Here are five things we loved about visiting the festival, [...]
Beneatha’s Place at the Young Vic, review: Canny direction, excellent acting July 13, 2023 Kwame Kwei-Armah’s play (which he also directs) Beneatha’s Place is a more straightforward proposition than its circuitous history might suggest. It’s the first UK staging of his 2013 work, which premiered in Baltimore and acts as an unofficial sequel to Lorraine Hansberry’s seminal 1959 play about the African American experience. You don’t really need to [...]
Royal Court writer on staging a play about mobile phone addiction July 13, 2023 We caught up with the creator of this new play, a dark comedy about mobile phone addiction and three generations of women in one family WHERE DID THE INSPIRATION FOR CUCKOO COME FROM? It started with being interested in things you’re allowed to say and talk about, about having opinions and people disagreeing. I also [...]
See Hugh Jackman before he was famous in 1990s musical now in cinemas July 13, 2023 A West End musical may be the furthest thing imaginable from a Hollywood superhero blockbuster, but the 1998 National Theatre revival of Oklahoma! has a special place in superhero history. It’s the production that gave star Hugh Jackman recognition outside of his native Australia, with the actor auditioning for Wolverine during the show’s run. The [...]
Squaring the Circle: the story behind iconic Pink Floyd and Wings album artwork July 13, 2023 An album cover may have a different context in the era of endless streaming, but the designs on the front of LPs could make you a legend in the 1960s, as this documentary from Anton Corbijn (Control) illustrates by documenting the story of design studio Hipgnosis. Squaring The Circle documents the rise and fall of [...]
City Pages: The 10 books that should be on your list this summer July 10, 2023 From classic to contemporary, thriller or Booker prize winner, the Morning Wire team picks the 10 top books that should be on your list this summer. 1. Victory City by Salman Rushdie It’s Rushdie, so you know it’s gonna be good, but this is really good. Framed as a translation of a 15th Century Sanskrit [...]
Writer and businesswoman Hannah Rothschild on family, crypto, and not being a silly novelist July 10, 2023 “The name walks into the room long before you. So it brings baggage, for want of a better word,” Hannah Rothschild tells me. A businesswoman, philanthropist and writer, I am meeting with Hannah to talk about her latest novel High Time, but I can’t help but also ask about her extraordinary upbringing. A primogeniture-led family, [...]