Back Roads review - nice cheekbones, not much else

Alex Pettyfer's directing debut is more or less DOA

Back Roads has languished largely unseen since its completion in 2017, and one can see why: lurid to the point of absurdity, this adaptation of a 1999 novel by co-screenwriter Tawni O’Dell is preposterously self-serious and doesn’t augur well for a hyphenate career for leading man Alex Pettyfer, the English actor (of Magic Mike fame) here doubling for the first time as director.

Theatre Lockdown Special 12: An American rarity, a British savoury, and fresh Apples

Nigel Slater is back, as is Richard Nelson's Apple family for a second time via Zoom

Can this weekly lineup really now be three months old?  As we move towards at least some degree of relaxation on the social restrictions that have long been in place, the offerings of theatre online continue to afford many a reason not to leave your laptop.

On the Record review - #MeToo turns its lens to the music industry, gives the mic to women of colour

★★★ ON THE RECORD #MeToo turns its lens to the music industry, gives the mic to women of colour

An unflinching look at #MeToo, misogyny in hip hop, and the burdens of black women

On the Record, the latest documentary from Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering (acclaimed directors of The Hunting Ground), dives into the sexual misconduct allegations against music mogul Russell Simmons, the so-called ‘Godf

The Last Five Years, The Other Palace Digital review - socially distanced heartbreak

★★★ THE LAST FIVE YEARS, THE OTHER PALACE DIGITAL Socially distanced heartbreak

Jason Robert Brown's chamber musical has new lockdown resonance

A musical featuring two people who are physically separated? Jason Robert Brown’s work is a shutdown natural – as this new digital theatre version demonstrates.

CD: Bob Dylan - Rough and Rowdy Ways

★★★★★ BOB DYLAN - ROUGH AND ROWDY WAYS Bob returns with an unadulterated masterpiece

Bob returns with an unadulturated, stone-cold masterpiece

When “Murder Most Foul” was dropped into an unsuspecting world under lockdown, the surprise was palpable, given that eight years had passed since Tempest, filled by Sinatra covers and seasonal tours. That it was a 16-minute epic that took Dylan’s writing into new areas (including No1 on Billboard) – and this on the verge of his eightieth year – is also astonishing.

Hillary, Sky Documentaries review - facing the fire and fury

★★★★ HILLARY, SKY DOCUMENTARIES Facing the fire and fury

A successful and heavily scrutinised life. Were all the questions answered?

“Never get rattled”. For some, it might sound like a trite self-help mantra. For Hillary Rodham Clinton, it was an essential daily memo and a practical self-affirmation. In recent public memory, she is the political figure who has been rattled the most, often with sinister intent.

Theatre Lockdown Special 9: Alan Bennett revisited, and so is Oz

THEATRE LOCKDOWN SPECIAL 9: Alan Bennett revisited, and so is Oz

Some familiar titles, a 1913 rarity and a show in which the audience plays its part

The government may occupy shifting sands when it comes to handling Covid-19, but the arts thank heavens continue to step up to the plate with a dizzying array of online options. This week's output mixes a soul musical from 1970s Broadway alongside a major revival of a play by Alan Bennett whose enquiry into the psychological well-being of those in charge will doubtless resonate anew today.

Album: Larkin Poe - Self Made Man

★★★ LARKIN POE - SELF MADE MAN Female-fronted blues-rock stalwarts return with the songs and enough range to carry the day

Female-fronted blues-rock stalwarts return with the songs and enough range to carry the day

Larkin Poe are an American blues-rock band fronted by the Lovell sisters, Rebecca and Megan, both mainstays of the US Americana scene since their teens, at the start of this century. Best known in Europe for their fired-up gigs and festival appearances, their fifth album starts off accessibly yet the immediate thought is that it’s overly derivative.