Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw review – falls flat fast

★ FAST & FURIOUS: HOBBS & SHAW Falls flat fast

Vanessa Kirby steals but can't save F&F spin-off starring The Rock and Jason Statham

“You know twinkle toes, in another life I bet me and you could’ve done some serious damage.” 

When Jason Statham’s bad guy turned good finally warmed to Dwayne Johnson’s cartoon-like lawman in Fast & Furious 8, it could well have been a cue for this spin-off focussed on the two bickering beefcakes.

Barber Shop Chronicles, Roundhouse review - riotous theatre at its best

★★★★ BARBERSHOP CHRONICLES, ROUNDHOUSE Riotous theatre at its best

 

Must-see show takes place in barber shops in London, Lagos, Accra, Harare, Kampala, Johannesburg

Emmanuel (Anthony Ofoegbu) runs Three Kings Barbers in London. His assistant, Samuel (Mohammed Mansaray), is the son of his erstwhile business partner, who is currently in jail. Emmanuel is boss, surrogate father and — occasionally — verbal punching bag: Sam is a whizz with the shears and just as cutting with his tongue. 

Stranger Things 3, Netflix review - bigger, dumber, better

Netflix’s retro adventure plays to its strengths in latest season

It sometimes feels like an age between Stranger Things seasons. Blame Netflix. The binge-watching trend that it helped solidify means that most people consume all eight hours of content in a single weekend. It comes and goes in a flash. But don’t let that fool you into thinking it’s a disposable snack, the TV equivalent of those famous Eggo pancakes.

A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare's Globe – blazing-coloured, kick-ass carnival

★★★★ A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, SHAKESPEARE'S GLOBE Blazing, kick-ass carnival

This riotous production with its Latin American vibe shows the Battle of the Dreams is on

Welcome to A Midsummer Night’s Dream as carnival – a blazing-coloured, hot-rhythmed, kick-ass take in which Oberon appears at one point as a blinged-up Elizabeth I and Puck exerts his powers as a flash-mob. Last month the glitter-ball hedonism of Nicholas Hytner’s gender-fluid Dream, which opened at The Bridge, felt like an impossible act to follow, but this riotous production by Sean Holmes at Shakespeare's Globe shows that the Battle of the Dreams is on.

Spiderman: Far from Home review - a pleasant, if clichéd, tour

★★★ SPIDERMAN: FAR FROM HOME No rest for the webbed wonder

Assorted European capitals are blessed with a visitation from the Marvel juggernaut

There’s no rest for the webbed wonder in Spiderman: Far from Home. It’s just a few months since Marvel wiped out Iron Man in Avengers: Endgame and his protégé Peter Parker is being hounded to fill Tony Stark’s place.

Support the Girls review - working class dramedy misses edge

★★ SUPPORT THE GIRLS Andrew Bujalski's working class dramedy misses edge

Great performances from an ensemble cast can't quite save this low-key sports bar drama

A rambling portrait of 24 hours in the life of Double Whammies, an American sports bar where the waitresses entertain their TV-watching patrons by dressing in skimpy tops and tiny shorts. Apparently this is categorised as a ‘breastaurant’ (my spell-checker reels at this portmanteau, but there are several well-established chains in the US).

Yesterday review - Beatlemania in a parallel universe

★★★★★ YESTERDAY Danny Boyle and Richard Curtis deliver an irresistible magical mystery tour

Danny Boyle and Richard Curtis deliver an irresistible magical mystery tour

The price of fame and the value of artistic truth are among the topics probed in Danny Boyle’s irresistible comedy, a beguiling magical mystery tour of an upside-down world where The Beatles suddenly never existed.

Education, Education, Education, Trafalgar Studios review - politics and pupils, mayhem and music

★★★★ EDUCATION, EDUCATION, EDUCATION, TRAFALGAR STUDIOS Politics and pupils, mayhem and music

The future of education seen from 1997 and 2019

It's the 2nd May 1997, the morning after the night that swept New Labour into power. We’re in the staffroom of a school somewhere in Britain and the teachers are jubilant. They've been glued to their TV sets for the results and have shagged and drunk through the night to crawl in with hangovers and pouchy eyes to face the day with a particular brand of frazzled optimism.