Botticelli in the Fire at Hampstead Theatre review: A giddy nihilistic romp November 1, 2019 Botticelli in the Fire is a giddy nihilistic romp. A pyrotechnic period drama that vigorously thrusts its way into a position of contemporary cultural relevance, somewhere between Brexit and RuPaul’s Drag Race. Jordan Tannahill’s script is Shakespearean in its regard for historical fact and Brechtian in its regard for the fourth wall, a mish-mash of [...]
The Antipodes at the National Theatre: An excruciating look at the creative process November 1, 2019 Writing stories is hard. This seems to be the message behind Annie Baker’s new play The Antipodes, an excrutiating, self-indulgent insight into the misery of the creative process. The entire play takes place in a nondescript conference room, in which a bunch of writers fawn over an aging director reminiscent of George Lucas. His methods [...]
24/7 at Somerset House review: The story of a world in flux November 1, 2019 For an exhibition about how fragmented and confusing modern life can be, 24/7 at Somerset House has an appropriately short attention span. The flashing, clattering, often overwhelming show bounces from subject to subject, medium to medium, tackling issues as diverse as screen addiction, mass surveillance, light pollution and sleep disturbance. It tells the story of [...]
Sorry We Missed You film review: Ken Loach’s attack on the gig economy feels important to watch November 1, 2019 Sorry We Missed You is the latest offering from director-slash-social-critic Ken Loach; a polemic against the false promises of the gig economy and the brutal reality of life on a zero-hours contract. Its protagonist is Ricky (Kris Hitchen), who gets a new job as a delivery driver because he wants to buy a house for [...]
Artist Gavin Turk on getting arrested, collecting junk and trying to save the planet October 30, 2019 A generation of artists and musicians and filmmakers are starting to engage with climate change in the way creators in the mid-1960s engaged with the anti-war movement. You couldn’t move during this year’s Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy, for instance, without falling over an oblique reference to the planet dying. But in the case [...]
Lucian Freud: The Self-portraits at the Royal Academy review: There’s genius at play, but it’s shrouded in darkness October 25, 2019 Wandering through the life of Lucian Freud, from awkward teen to darkly handsome young man to disheveled old artist, I was reminded of Nietzsche’s famous line, “If you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.” The longer you spend in the presence of Freud’s self portraits, taking in their raw, [...]
Bridget Riley at Hayward Gallery review: Art meets psychology in this brain-bending exhibition October 25, 2019 Bridget Riley, one of the defining figures in the op art movement of the 1950s and 60s, was as much a psychologist as she was a painter. Her works aren’t really about what’s on the canvas (although her flawless brush strokes are certainly nice enough) – they’re about the sensations they provoke, the strange, hypnotic [...]
Why The Apprentice is actually really good for business October 25, 2019 Last week, Matt Clifford was lambasted by Lord Sugar on Twitter for his piece in City PM on why The Apprentice is bad for business. But having watched the past 15 series of the UK version of the show, there are many positives about the programme. The business world is constantly changing, but the fundamentals [...]
Out of Order at Southbank Centre review: It’s hard to stay focused on this experimental, dialogue-free play October 18, 2019 If you’re going to see Out of Order, the latest project by experimental theatre company Forced Entertainment, you’ll need to leave your understanding of what constitutes a play at the door. There’s no dialogue – instead, you watch a group of six mime-clowns in tartan suits repeatedly trying to sit down at a table as [...]
Gemini Man review: A technical tour de force, but a mediocre action movie October 10, 2019 Ang Lee’s latest film, Gemini Man is remarkable for two reasons. Firstly, it stars regular Will Smith facing off against a digitally de-aged Will Smith, in a feat of cinematic engineering that is genuinely very convincing. Thanks to whatever manner of advanced Snapchat filters Ang Lee brought to bear upon the actor’s motion-captured face, Smith [...]
