The Apprentice 2016: Here’s what happened in last night’s episode October 14, 2016 In last night’s show candidates undertook a Lord Sugar favourite – the advertising task. But the outcome was less Mad Men, and more men bickering over a bus shelter advert. As usual for this challenge, the teams were given a product and a random adjective to use when marketing it. This year, they had to flog a pair [...]
Shopping and Fucking review: An explosively sensory play whose simple message is marred by the grotesque October 13, 2016 Sex and love are reduced to transactional commodities in the colourfully named Shopping and Fucking. In Mark Ravenhill’s controversial 90s play, some young folk have wilfully inducted themselves into a kind of sexual servitude. Rent boys leap out of cardboard packaging, and the stage is made to resemble the set of a gaudy shopping channel, [...]
Inferno review: Tom Hanks and his frantic legs investigate every tomb in the world in Dan Brown’s latest October 13, 2016 The latest in Dan Brown’s “what if your dad was Jason Bourne” series (following The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons) sees Tom Hanks being chased into roughly four thousand museums and churches by shady government cabals, each time escaping through secret catacombs and ancient tunnels that only he knows about. The twist in [...]
One Night in Miami at the Donmar Warehouse is a powerful account of the night Cassius Clay became Muhammad Ali, with the help of Malcolm X October 13, 2016 “Why am I so pretty?” asked Cassius Clay – as he was called back in 1964 – on the night he defeated Sonny Liston to become the heavyweight champion of the world. Rather than hit the clubs, the 22-year-old spent the night eating vanilla ice cream in a hotel room with three superstars of the civil [...]
The Mountaintop play at Young Vic review: a searing, sexy, devastating imagining of Martin Luther King Jr’s last night October 13, 2016 Martin Luther King Jr is one of the towering figures of the 20th century. A champion of African-American culture and people, a religious leader, a community organiser, a crusader for civil rights, an exemplar of non-violent resistance, a model of masculinity, a moral touchstone, an icon, a martyr, a secular saint. A play about his [...]
Mercedes F1 engines fuel £130m investment in Britain October 12, 2016 German car manufacturer Mercedes has revealed that the production of the V6 engines used by its Formula One team contributes around £130m to the British economy. Mercedes clinched its third consecutive F1 championship on Sunday and is on track to win the drivers' title with either Britain’s Lewis Hamilton or his team mate Nico Rosberg [...]
Movie-length games: new titles you can play in under three hours, including That Dragon, Cancer and Virginia October 12, 2016 These movie-length games pack an emotional punch but won't lead to you getting a messy divorce because you neglected your family to farm credits to pay for a new colour of rocket launcher. That Dragon, Cancer Platform: iOS That Dragon, Cancer is less a game than an interactive art installation about a grieving family coming to [...]
Mafia III review: An evocative open-world shooter that’s only slightly more fun than a horse head in the bed October 12, 2016 Mafia III is the third instalment of a game franchise all about the mafia. This may sound a little glib, but here’s the thing: the implications of choosing a title as bold as ‘Mafia’ are significant. The word is laden with cliché. By using it, you’re invoking some of the most significant movies and novels [...]
Fancy something sweet? Here are the seven best chocolatiers in London October 11, 2016 1. William Curley Sloane Square William Curley is one of the world’s most renowned chocolatiers, having won so many awards he has no space left on his awards shelf. Top among his many honours includes the Academy of Chocolate's Britain's Best Chocolatier Award, which he has bagged an unprecedented four times. His dessert-bar near Sloane [...]
Our resident chef Mark Hix on how to spruce up your partridge with foraged berries October 11, 2016 The hedgerows are full of tasty Autumn fruits at the moment which often get completely ignored. I suppose if you live in the countryside you take it for granted but city-folk should be all over the blackberries, elderberries and wild blueberries that they can make into a great little free treat at a dinner party. [...]
