Lyonesse, Harold Pinter Theatre review - a step backwards for #MeToo

★★ LYONESSE, HAROLD PINTER THEATRE A step backwards for #MeToo

Kristin Scott Thomas and Lily James star in misfiring drama involving divas, film execs and dead parrots

Penelope Skinner’s new play is one of the most eccentric things I’ve seen in a long time. It’s undoubtedly entertaining, with an engagingly bonkers attempt by Kristin Scott Thomas to navigate an almost impossible role, perched between victim, diva and madwoman, equally reminsicent of Norma Desmond and one of the posh recluses from Grey Gardens.

Cat Person review - the dynamics of dating and bad sex

Susanna Fogel's adaptation of the viral New Yorker short story goes over the top

Margot (Emilia Jones; Coda) has made a terrible mistake. She’s landed up in bed with Robert (Nicholas Braun; cousin Greg in Succession) and realises the sex is going to be excruciatingly bad.

How to tell him that she’s changed her mind? Can she leave before it’s too late? Or is it easier to get it over with, otherwise he might turn nasty? 

Maybe, as a last resort, she can make herself get turned on by his gratitude. “Look how much he wants us,” she tells her better self, who watches, cringing, from a corner of the room.

42nd Street, Sadler's Wells review - musical extravaganza will knock your socks off

★★★★★ 42nd STREET, SADLER'S WELLS Glorious musical extravaganza

Old show sparkles in astonishing new production that dazzles from first to last

There are better musicals in town, but can you find me a more spectacular show in a more comfortable theatre? I doubt it. Not that Jonathan Church's new production at Sadler's Wells is flawless. It's a 90-year-old blockbuster so, for all its references to breadlines, insecure employment and heat-or-eat decisions, one wonders if so much effort might be better expended on something a little more recent, a little less bound by the cliches of musical theatre?

Album: Kesha - Gag Order

★★★★ KESHA - GAG ORDER Kesha and Rick Rubin head out into the unknown

Kesha and Rick Rubin head out into the unknown

Kesha is one of the 21st century’s most characterful pop stars. She’s regularly stepped out of the boxes people have put her in, musically and otherwise. But, even taking into account truly oddball songs such as “Godzilla” (from 2017’s Rainbow), or projects such as working with Flaming Lips, Gag Order, created with cosmic ultra-producer Rick Rubin, is by far her most out-there work. It’s also the sound of a tormented human being.

Album: Gina Birch - I Play My Bass Loud

★★★★ GINA BIRCH - I PLAY MY BASS LOUD Solo from The Raincoats' founding member

Solo record from The Raincoats' founding member lives up to its possibilities

The Raincoats are one of those revered names that I never believed I would witness live. (See also: Hole, Elastica and, until their last UK tour, extraterrestrial kooks the B52s). But in late 2019, there was a surge of activity from the godmothers of post-punk as founding members Gina Birch and Ana da Silva came together for a string of shows.

Sylvia, Old Vic review - great leads, rambling story

 SYLVIA, THE OLD VIC Beverley Knight is compelling and complex in suffragette musical

Sylvia Pankhurst suffers for her commitment to votes for women and to socialism

For many years, I would ask groups of students to vote in elections because “it’s important to honour those who gave up so much to ensure that the likes of us can”. Some would nod, others would shrug, a few might have inwardly scoffed – too cool for school, innit?

Women Talking review - abused Mennonite women find their voice

★★★★ WOMEN TALKING Sarah Polley's sparkling adaptation of Miriam Toews's novel

Sarah Polley's sparkling adaptation of Miriam Toews's novel

Women Talking is very powerful. It was adapted by writer-director Sarah Polley from the novel that Miriam Toews, raised a Mennonite in Canada, based on terrible events that took place in an isolated Mennonite community in Bolivia between 2005 and 2009.

Album: Paramore - This is Why

★★★★★ PARAMORE - THIS IS WHY Superstar US band successfully expand their sound

Superstar US band successfully expand their sound on their sparkling sixth

I’ll admit it. When I first saw that noughties indie rockers Bloc Party would be supporting Grammy award-winning emo stars Paramore on their Spring stadium tour, it seemed like a perplexing choice. But, four minutes into hearing the return sounds from the Nashville natives and the crossover is palpable. Former single "The News" is just as sharp as Kele Okereke’s helicopter blades when it comes to cutting up the indie dancefloor.

Smoke, Southwark Playhouse review - dazzling Strindberg update

 SMOKE, SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE A dazzling Strindberg update

The perils of navigating power relations when sexual tension is all but tangible

A play’s title can be an almost arbitrary matter – there’s no streetcar but plenty of desire in that one for example – and it might have crossed Kim Davies’ mind to call her play Ms Julie, since it is a reimagining of August Strindberg’s 1888 masterpiece, Miss Julie.