Bafta interviews and reviews
Read theartsdesk's reviews and interviews for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts award-winners.
News, comment, links and observations
Plastic People vs the Ministry
Opposite poles of London's clubland threatened for contrasting reasons
Two London clubs currently appear to be under threat. The Ministry of Sound, one of the most successful brands in club music's history, is kicking up a fuss because new housing block planned opposite it may make it vulnerable to noise complaints. Meanwhile, rumours have flown around over the last 48 hours that police are lobbying Hackney Council against Plastic People in Shoreditch whose licence is currently under review for reasons of “prevention of crime and disorder and public nuisance basis”.
Comic Jason Wood dies at 38
Comic and reality TV star Jason Wood has died at the age of 38. Wood was a genuinely popular comic among fans and within the industry, and was for many years an Edinburgh Fringe staple. His comedy relied on his distinctive voice and astonishingly accurate impressions of male and female divas - from Dame Shirley Bassey and Barbra Streisand to Johnny Mathis and Neil Diamond. In 2004 he had the dubious honour of being the first participant to be voted off the first series of Strictly Come Dancing, which was later won by Natasha Kaplinksy. But Jason liked to turn setbacks to his advantage: he was once given a stinging one-star review at the Fringe by The Scotsman and he simply added "A star - The Scotsman" to his show posters.
His agent released a statement saying that Wood died in his sleep last Saturday night and that a postmortem was being carried out.
Headbanging against repressive regimes
A new report from Freemuse, the organisation which campaigns against music censorship, describes the oppression of heavy metal musicians in numerous countries. From the underground to the mainstream, heavy metal is a global phenomenon attracting millions of fans – but along the way it has gained many enemies too. “Long-haired music”, as it has been described in Malaysia and China, has been banned by both governments.
Reader offer, Jewish Book Week
Jewish Book Week is making a special offer to readers of theartsdesk. From the week of literary discussions taking place at the Royal National Hotel in London, the festival is offering our readers a chance to buy a ticket to four events and to take along a guest for free.
Birthdays on the Tube: 21-27 February
Segovia, Handel, Johnny Cash, George Harrison, Nusrat Parsa and Akira Takasaki
This week’s birthday videos include guitarists Andrés Segovia playing a fandango, Japanese heavy metal hero Akira Takasaki and George Harrison. Then there’s Johnny Cash and murdered Afghan singer Nusrat Parsa. It's also the birthday of the mighty Handel. Videos below.
High-Def Hell in The Pacific
Take cover! The Pacific is the new 10-part World War Two epic from executive producers Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, a follow-up to their 2001 series Band of Brothers. It was commissioned by HBO, who will premiere it in the States on March 14, and comes to Sky Movies HD in the UK over Easter.
Irina awaits the Spring
The redoubtable and always stylish Russian mezzo-soprano Irina Arkhipova, who died a week ago at the age of 85, still has a song to sing about the prolonged winter we're enduring. Among many roles in which she plunged in true Slavic fashion to contralto depths was that of the shepherd-boy Lel in Rimsky-Korsakov's Snegurochka (The Snow Maiden). This "Spring fairy-tale" is about how we're destined to carry on shivering until the Snow Maiden, daughter of Frost and Spring, melts at the first rays of love. Here's Arkhipova in a fine old Melodiya recording of Lel's first song, wondering whether the wild strawberry can survive the continuing cold snap.