theartsdesk.com, first with arts reviews, news and interviews
theartsdesk |
It all started on 09/09/09. That memorable date, September 9 2009, marked the debut of theartsdesk.com.It followed some hectic and intensive months when a disparate and eclectic…
Peter Culshaw |
With WOMAD not happening this year, where could one go for a feast of global sounds? Fes in Morocco has been presenting its sacred music festival for 29 years. I’ve been several…
Guy Oddy |
No-one needs to be living in Trump’s USA to be aware that governments never feel that it’s in their interest to prioritise great art and music over attention-grabbing and ill-…
Kathryn Reilly |
While the Gallagher brothers scrabble around in the dirt for their rich pickings, an altogether more dignified experience is on offer from Sheffield. More is Pulp’s…
Markie Robson-Scott |
“Do you know the name of the propaganda minister of England, or America, or even Stalin? No. But Joseph Goebbels? Everyone knows him.” The cynical, grinning Dr Goebbels (Robert…
Ibi Keita |
Turnstile’s NEVER ENOUGH is a vibrant, shape-shifting album that proves the Baltimore-based band is fully committed to evolution. Since their formation in 2010, Turnstile have…
Fiddler on the Roof, Barbican review - lean, muscular delivery ensures that every emotion rings true
Rachel Halliburton
It’s always a risk when a production changes venue. In the curious alchemy of live performance, no-one can be sure whether a shift in surroundings might rob a show of the glitter…
Heather Neill
Terence Rattigan's rehabilitation – some might almost say deification – as a leading 20th century playwright is complete. As well as academic studies, biographies and numerous…
joe.muggs
Little Simz clearly believes in meeting situations head on. Her sixth full-length album kicks off, in every sense of the phrase, with “Thief”: unambiguously a lyrical barrage at…
Helen Hawkins
In 2012, the award-winning American writer Sarah Ruhl met a Yale playwriting student who became a special part of her life. Out of their friendship she created Letters from Max, a…
Mark Sheerin
Botanical forms, lurid and bright, now tower above a footpath on a moor otherwise famed for darkness and frankly terrible weather. But the trio of 5m-high contemporary sculptures…
Thomas H. Green
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away called the late 1990s, there was a scene known as “big beat”. It consisted of club culture sorts making music closer in flavour to rock…
David Nice
Chelsea Opera Group has made its own luck in winning the devotion of two great bel canto exponents: Nelly Miricioiu between 1998 and 2010, Helena Dix over the past 10 years. Last…
Adam Sweeting
Netflix’s new detective-noir is a somewhat cosmopolitan beast. It’s written and directed by an American, Scott Frank, derived from a novel, Mercy, by the Danish crime writer Jussi…
David Nice
Recent events have prompted the assertion – understandable in Ukraine – that the idea of the Russian soul is a nationalist myth. This production reminded me that it isn’t, if only…
John Carvill
What constitutes a “lost classic”? I guess we can’t say it’s an oxymoron, since we readily accept the concept of “instant classic”? Either way, the “classic” aspect may be in the…
Anthony Cecil
I think The Ballad of Wallis Island is the best British romcom since I Know Where I’m Going! (1945), which it closely resembles.In the earlier film, an unexpected love affair…
Kieron Tyler
Pete Shelley’s departure from Buzzcocks felt abrupt. When he left the Manchester band which had been integral to British punk since 1976, the other members thought it was still a…
Markie Robson-Scott
“I can’t move my arms or legs, but apart from that I’m good to go.” Moth (Jason Isaacs) has to be pulled out of the tent in his sleeping bag by his wife Ray (Gillian Anderson).…
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Subscribe to theartsdesk.com
Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
To take a subscription now simply click here.
And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?
tv
Matthew Goode stars as antisocial detective Carl Morck
Life in the fast lane with David Cameron's entrepreneurship tsar
Rose Ayling-Ellis maps out her muffled world in a so-so heist caper
film
Joachim Lang's docudrama focuses on Goebbels as master of fake news
The BFI has unearthed an unsettling 1977 thriller starring Tom Conti and Gay Hamilton
Estranged folk duo reunites in a classy British comedy drama
new music
A new Renaissance at this Moroccan festival of global sounds
Reduced Malian band take Birmingham by storm
classical
Accordion virtuoso’s brilliant arrangements showcase the possibilities of the instrument
Ancient Scottish musical traditions explored through the lens of today, and a short teaser for some of opera's greatest moments
Szymanowski’s fantasy more vague than Berlioz’s, but both light up the hall
opera
Australian soprano Helena Dix is honoured by fine fellow singers, but not her conductor
Striking design and clear concept, but the intensity within comes and goes
theatre
Fiddler on the Roof, Barbican review - lean, muscular delivery ensures that every emotion rings true
This transfer from Regent's Park Open Air Theatre sustains its magic
Unspoken emotion flows through this late work
Sarah Ruhl turns her bond with a student into a lesson in how to love
dance
The title says it: as dancemaker, as creative magnet, the man clearly works his socks off
Once again the veteran choreographer and maverick William Forsythe raises ENB's game
comedy
Search for his birth father takes a few turns
Nick Mohammed gives his creation's origin story
books
Notes on danger and dialogue in the shadow of the Swiss Alps
Fair-minded Woody Allen biography covers all bases
visual arts
City, mill and moor inspire the city's visual arts offering
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