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 [...]
2020s interiors trends: Goodbye millennial pink and hygge, hello art deco and classic blue December 13, 2019 Some decades manifest their very selves in the form of interiors. It’s hard to conjure up an image of the 1970s that doesn’t involve shag pile carpets and brown swirly wallpaper, for example. What of the teenies, then? We round up what might one day be considered the classic styles of the decade, and predict [...]
Property of the week: An Italian villa for the price of a terrace in Streatham December 13, 2019 There are some types of home that people own, in part, because they sound impressive when dropped into conversation. Villas in the Italian countryside definitely fall into this category. If you too want to show off to your friends, this home which has just come on the market with Casaitalia International can be snapped up [...]
Mini bar, pepper spray pump, sound system: What the super-rich want in a panic room December 13, 2019 Most of us will never have the need for a panic room. The sum of our valuables and the size of our homes means dropping in a huge, heavy steel structure at a cost of (at least) hundreds of thousands of pounds doesn’t even cross our minds. Those who do find themselves in need of [...]
Four reasons why selling your house at Christmas might actually work December 13, 2019 Christmas is a time for many things. Family. Bad music. Overeating. One thing it’s not the time for is putting your home on the market. Or is it? According to some London agents, selling your house during the holidays might not be the complete no-no that you think. Here are some reasons why you might [...]
Inside ‘co-living’: the flats where millennials trade living space for free craft workshops and yoga December 12, 2019 My alarm goes off at 6.30am, which means it’s time for yoga. As I wipe the sleep from my eyes, I glance around the unfamiliar apartment I’ve just spent the night in, which doesn’t take long because it’s barely bigger than a walk-in wardrobe. I get dressed and stumble out the door, traipsing down the [...]
Bangkok 2049: What do the next three decades hold for this neon metropolis? December 11, 2019 It looked like volleyball from afar. Up close, I realised the players were only using their feet. And the ball was hollow; a spherical rattan of bamboo. Sepak Takraw (or “Muzzle”) was being played with brio by a group of local boys on Phutharet Square, a Thai time capsule in Old City Bangkok. They invited [...]
The unexpected consequences of gorilla conservation in Uganda December 11, 2019 Standing in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, I’m dodging a light hail of fruits being thrown down by gorillas in the trees above. The animals climb down and gallop through the undergrowth. While they roly-poly down the steep slopes, we chase them in a less dexterous fashion, slipping onto our backsides and hoping we don’t roll in [...]
Whisky business: A wintry trip to the magical Highlands December 10, 2019 Winter sun, this ain’t. Trundling northwards through the Cairngorms towards Inverness, you could be forgiven for thinking you were travelling through an alien landscape. Grey, spare hills emerge from the drizzly low cloud; the “torrents and loud-poured floods” of Rabbie Burns’ poetry run high and violent. Not for nothing do the Scots have several different [...]