Life&Style

Unwind with City PM's Life&Style section

Sports business in 2019: Industry insiders pick the trends that defined the year

December 15, 2019

Izzy Wray, consultant in Deloitte’s Sport Business Group Women’s football The growing popularity of women’s football has been one of the defining sports trends of 2019. The Women’s World Cup smashed TV audience records, with a reported 1bn people watching it worldwide and over 28m people tuning in to the tournament on the BBC. Numerous [...]
The Ocean at the End of the Lane at the National Theatre review

December 13, 2019

Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane is one of those novels that seems impossible to stage. It’s a tangled tale that takes place across dimensions, flitting between the real and the imagined, the domestic and the cosmic. It features civilised family diners and epic battles with giant, many-legged monstrosities. And you’d [...]
A Taste of Honey at Trafalgar Studios review: A kitchen sink drama with real heart

December 13, 2019

I first heard about A Taste of Honey through Morrissey, who had a penchant for nicking its best lines. I’m clearly not the only one: the delivery of “I dreamt about you last night. Fell out of bed twice” and “The dream has gone but the baby is real” were met with a ripple of [...]
The Duchess of Malfi at the Almeida review: A shocking, brilliant drama

December 13, 2019

Since the explosion of the #MeToo movement, theatre directors have been bringing to the fore the themes of patriarchal violence in everything from Shakespeare to Ibsen. Director Rebecca Frecknall’s production of The Duchess of Malfi takes this close to its logical conclusion with this unflinching, often outright horrific portrait of the terrible consequences of men [...]
Fairview at the Young Vic review: A strange and thrilling masterpiece

December 13, 2019

When talking about her Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Fairview, writer Jackie Sibblies Drury explains that she cannot reveal what it is about without spoiling it. And she has a point – this really is a see-it-to-believe-it surprise of a show, and is thoroughly deserving of such anticipation. In simple terms, the story concerns a black middle-class [...]
My life after cricket: How I transitioned from fast bowling to property investment

December 11, 2019

When I was 23 my cricket career was nearly over. I had a nasty operation on a ruptured hamstring, which put me out of action for six or seven months, and after it became infected the surgeon told me I might not be able to play again. Back then I had no idea what I [...]
Chelsea 2-1 Lille: Blues avoid banana skin to qualify for the Champions League last 16

December 10, 2019

Frank Lampard was clear in his view on Chelsea’s crunch match with Lille tonight. The Blues needed a result from their final Champions League group game to reach the last 16 and their manager was ready to embrace the occasion. “I like the pressure of this game being a knockout,” he said in his pre-match [...]
Manuel Pellegrini must wake up and take West Ham back to basics to avoid the sack

December 10, 2019

Manuel Pellegrini says he not worried about West Ham being relegated from the Premier League, but he needs to wake up because right now that is a possibility. Monday’s 3-1 home defeat by Arsenal means the Hammers have taken just four points from their last eight games – a run that leaves them one point [...]
SailGP is aiming to make a splash in its second year after the arrival of Sir Ben Ainslie

December 10, 2019

If the first season of SailGP was about making a splash and proving that there is an audience for the sport, then the second is about expansion. The worldwide sailing series, the brainchild of American software billionaire Larry Ellison and former world champion yachtsman Sir Russell Coutts, enjoyed a successful first season this year. Teams [...]
Amazon nets Champions League rights with German streaming deal

December 10, 2019

Amazon has made its first move into European football streaming after snapping up the rights to show a package of Champions League games in Germany. The US retail giant today said it has secured exclusive rights to broadcast Tuesday night fixtures in the country for the 2021-2022 season. Read more: Amazon steps into Premier League [...]