Buzz
They didn't make them like that then either: Simon Gray back on screenWednesday, 07 April 2010Every generation is inclined to moan that they don’t make them like they used to. It’s a favourite refrain of television dramatists. It scarcely seems credible now that a theatre animal like Simon Gray could regularly write single plays for... Read more... |
Royal Opera House hits low noteMonday, 05 April 2010
As anyone on the Royal Opera House's mailing list will no doubt be aware, today is the first day you can book for the new season. In theory. Why in theory? Because currently I am number 1087 in the queue to get onto the website. Not even to buy... Read more... |
'You can start a conversation': what's the point of critics?Sunday, 04 April 2010Everyone who likes his reviews on Radio FiveLive would have wanted Mark Kermode, the gobby critic who is well known for having seen just about everything. But he claims that he didn't want the job. And who knows if he'd have got it? Jonathan Ross's... Read more... |
Pina on screenWednesday, 31 March 2010Film of Pina Bausch’s dances is rare, but linked to the London performances by Tanztheater Wuppertal this week the Barbican centre is showing a season of films about her theatre as well as her working methods, capped by the famous 1985 film of Café... Read more... |
Forster's Maurice takes a longer journeyTuesday, 30 March 2010
Above the Stag, an unpromising-looking, ominously shuttered gay pub in the ungainly heart of Victoria, a little miracle has been taking place. Word of mouth quickly sold out an intelligent adaptation of E M Forster's great coming-out novel Maurice,... Read more... |
The ballerina who tweets while she dancesMonday, 29 March 2010How does a ballerina feel during Swan Lake? Find out instantaneously from the New York ballerina who tweets while she dances. Ashley Bouder is one of the most exciting dancers of the new generation over there - and new-generation she is.According to... Read more... |
Birthdays on the Tube: 28 March-2 AprilSunday, 28 March 2010
This week's musicians birthdays include the genius/lecherous mediocrity (according to taste) Serge Gainsbourg, singing a duet with Brigitte Bardot, classic early 60s footage of Marvin Gaye, vibraphone maestro Red Norvo, Herb Alpert in a rodeo video... Read more... |
Your chance to be a Booker Prize judgeThursday, 25 March 2010Four decades ago, a bunch of good books fell through the net. The year was 1970, in which the Booker Prize – as it was then sponsorlessly known – was inaugurated. The original winner was Bernice Rubens with The Elected Member, but it now seems that... Read more... |
The antidote to charity fundraisersThursday, 25 March 2010Next month a concert celebrating the unique career of Humphrey Lyttelton, the great jazzer, broadcaster and quizmaster, will take place at HMV Apollo in Hammersmith, west London. The show, which takes place on 25 April, has been constructed about... Read more... |
See 200 films in nine days...Tuesday, 23 March 2010
Now in its ninth year, London's East End Film Festival today announced its programme at a reception at the heart of its manor, at the Old Truman Brewery in Brick Lane. The Festival kicks off on 22 April with a preview screening of Barney Platts-... Read more... |
1954 Cunning Little VixenFriday, 19 March 2010
Filmed extracts of a fantastically vivid 1954 production of Janáček's The Cunning Little Vixen have been unearthed by the great blogger Doundou Tchil of Classical Iconoclast. Václav Neumann is the conductor; Berlin's Komische Oper is the house.... Read more... |
Tinie Tempah and the rise and rise of black British popFriday, 19 March 2010
A little revolution is taking place at the top of the pop charts. UK artist Tinie Tempah's rap track “Pass Out” has had two weeks at number one, and at the time of writing looks very much like it may successfully fight off Lady Gaga & Beyonce's... Read more... |
