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Theartsdesk
Wednesday, 01 October 2025
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...
Helen Hawkins
Wednesday, 14 May 2025
There is so much that is right about Jonathan Kent’s new production of House of Games – the casting, the staging, the direction. But the flaw it can’t overcome is that the 1987...
David Nice
Wednesday, 14 May 2025
William Byrd, Arnold Schoenberg and their respective acolytes go cheek by jowl, crash into one another, soothe, infuriate and shine in their very different ways This is all in a...
Thomas H Green
Wednesday, 14 May 2025
Danish singer MØ is a paradox. Initially she appeared to be another Scandi electro-pop princess of the bangers. The monster 2015 hit “Lean On” with Major Lazer jacked her profile...
Bernard Hughes
Tuesday, 13 May 2025
There was a wonderful festal spirit at the Wigmore Hall last night, as the vocal ensemble Stile Antico ran through a Greatest Hits selection in celebration of their 20th...
Jonathan Geddes
Tuesday, 13 May 2025
According to PUP lead singer Stefan Babcock, the Toronto foursome practiced together a grand total of twice before embarking on their current UK and European tour.Given the band’s...
Veronica Lee
Tuesday, 13 May 2025
Zoe Lyons knows her audience; as a few shoutouts confirmed, many of them are long-time fans, and have had lives with similar...
Sarah Kent
Tuesday, 13 May 2025
“It is so disgraceful, what happened there,” says Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, in a comment that is the understatement of the...
Giulio Cesare, The English Concert, Bicket, Barbican review - 10s across the board in perfect Handel
David Nice
Monday, 12 May 2025
Is Giulio Cesare in Egitto, to give the full title, Handel’s best and shapeliest opera? Glyndebourne’s revival of the...
Robert Beale
Monday, 12 May 2025
Huw Watkins’ Concerto for Orchestra, the fourth new work of his to be commissioned and premiered by the Hallé and Sir Mark...
Tim Cumming
Monday, 12 May 2025
Over the years Slade in Flame has been hailed as one of the greatest rock movies (albeit rarely seen or screened), up there...
Kieron Tyler
Sunday, 11 May 2025
“Soul Scene,” by Echoes Limited, is built from elements of the James Brown sound. But it’s put together in such a way that...
Jonathan Geddes
Saturday, 10 May 2025
It is a family affair at Supergrass shows these days. There were plenty of parents and offspring filing onto the Barrowland’...
Peter Quinn
Saturday, 10 May 2025
London's iconic Roundhouse, packed to the rafters, provided the perfect setting for the UK premiere of Louis Cole's...
Tim Cumming
Saturday, 10 May 2025
Following on from an impressive set with the Libertines – last year’s No 1 album All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade – Peter...
Matt Wolf
Friday, 09 May 2025
You don't have to be greeting the modern day with a smile unsupported by events in the wider world to have a field day at...
Saskia Baron
Friday, 09 May 2025
There used to be an unwritten rule among BBC commissioners about how long an interval had to pass before greenlighting a new...
Helen Hawkins
Friday, 09 May 2025
When Mark Rosenblatt was preparing his debut play, the miseries of the assault on Gaza were still over the horizon. Now they...
Graham Fuller
Friday, 09 May 2025
Pink Floyd’s “Echoes”, the ineffable progressive rock epic that occupies side two of 1971’s Meddle, is having a moment. Nick...
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disc of the day
Album: MØ - Plæygirl
Scandinavian singer injects a dash of outsider melancholy into her fizzing electro-pop
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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.
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tv
The Trunk, Netflix review - stylish, noir-ish Korean drama wrapped around a beguiling love story
Unusual psychological study of a stranger paid to save a toxic marriage
Malpractice, ITV1, Series 2 review - fear and loathing in the psychiatric unit
Powerful return of Grace Ofori-Attah's scathing medical drama
Fake, ITV1 review - be careful what you wish for
Australian drama probes the terrors of middle-aged matchmaking
film
The Last Musician of Auschwitz review - a haunting testament
When fine music was played in a death factory
Riefenstahl review - fascinating fascism? Portrait of the Nazis' favourite film-maker
A new documentary unlocks the archive of the woman who directed 'Triumph of the Will'
new music
Album: MØ - Plæygirl
Scandinavian singer injects a dash of outsider melancholy into her fizzing electro-pop
PUP, SWG3, Glasgow review - controlled chaos from Canadian punks
A no-frills set demonstrated the Toronto quartet's skill with a chorus and a mosh pit
classical
Karim Said, Leighton House review - adventures from Byrd to Schoenberg
The Jordanian pianist presents a magic carpet of dizzyingly contrasting styles
Stile Antico, Wigmore Hall review - a glorious birthday celebration
Early music group passes a milestone still at the top of its game
Hallé, Elder, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review - premiere of new Huw Watkins work
Craftsmanship and appeal in this 'Concerto for Orchestra' - and game-playing with genre
opera
Giulio Cesare, The English Concert, Bicket, Barbican review - 10s across the board in perfect Handel
When you get total musicality from everyone involved, there’s nothing better
The Excursions of Mr Brouček, LSO, Rattle, Barbican review - sensuousness, fire and comedy in perfect balance
Janáček’s wacky space-and-time-travel opera glows and grips in every bar
theatre
House of Games, Hampstead Theatre review - adapted Mamet screenplay entertains but is defanged
Richard Bean has turned Mamet's steel trap into an amusing puzzle
Here We Are, National Theatre review - Sondheim's sensational swan song
The late composer bids farewell with a show made-to-order for now
Giant, Harold Pinter Theatre review - incendiary Roald Dahl drama with topical bite
John Lithgow gives a masterclass in delivering a 'human booby trap'
dance
The Forsythe Programme, English National Ballet review - brains, beauty and bravura
Once again the veteran choreographer and maverick William Forsythe raises ENB's game
Sad Book, Hackney Empire review - What we feel, what we show, and the many ways we deal with sadness
A book about navigating grief feeds into unusual and compelling dance theatre
comedy
Greg Davies, Brighton Dome review - chocolate bars and errant bumholes
Taskmaster's first tour in seven years is a joy
Books
Zsuzsanna Gahse: Mountainish review - seeking refuge
Notes on danger and dialogue in the shadow of the Swiss Alps
Patrick McGilligan: Woody Allen - A Travesty of a Mockery of a Sham review - New York stories
Fair-minded Woody Allen biography covers all bases
visual arts
Do Ho Suh: Walk the House, Tate Modern review - memories are made of this
Home sweet home preserved as exquisite replicas
Ed Atkins, Tate Britain review - hiding behind computer generated doppelgängers
Emotions too raw to explore
latest comments
And with their best song 'How Does It Feel?'. x
Thanks so much for this review of Shack at Union...
A heavier touch wouldn't have worked (though the...
"Vespetta has her way, of course, but in these...
Seen it last night in NYC, was a bit of a let...
I think the series portrays a parallel vision...
Corrected, with thanks.
Yep. It's an incredible album.