Culture

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s theatre: Defining the ill-defined

It has been 93 years since the first performance of Bertolt Brecht’s The Good Person of Szechwan at Schauspielhaus in Zurich. Many critics cite Brecht as the pioneer of...

Theatre Amy Lawson -

Authenticity and the pop genre: Slayyyter’s ‘WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA’

Originality could be dead in pop music. The genre is so self-referential that it...

Music Val Michael -

Why you should spring clean your bookshelf this Trinity

In the Northern Hemisphere, astronomers mark the beginning of spring on the date of...

Books Elizabeth Bourn -

Does ‘Euphoria’ no longer speak to our generation?

Should I have been watching Euphoria’s first season as an innocent, bright-eyed 14-year-old? Probably...

Culture Emma Heagney -

Latest

Review: Heart of Darkness at York Theatre Royal

Can we retell Conrad’s disturbing critique of exploitation in colonial times without falling prey to racism which even the author couldn’t avoid?

Review: Good Dog – ‘reflects an experience that many can relate to’

Arinzé Kene’s Good Dog portrays the harsh reality of growing up in inner-city London as a young black man

Unstoppable and unassailable: Sean Scully is an artistic force of nature

Self-mythologising, commercially driven, and unabashedly 21st-century, Sean Scully drives his own narrative of artistic success with brazen solipsism.

‘If We Were Villains’: Caught in long shadow of ‘The Secret History’

Does M.L Rio's debut novel prioritise style over substance?

Lady Gaga is not a receptacle for your pain

It's been almost two years since the release of Chris Moukarbel's documentary about the pop icon super-star Lady Gaga, a.k.a. Stefani Germanotta. Gaga: Five...

Reflective Awakenings

The Victorian period was one defined by immense social change - especially in regards to women’s position in society. Throughout the century, increasing debate...

The Magic of Madeline Miller’s ‘Circe’

An exploration of the way Madeline Miller finds beauty in sadness.

Review: Edward II – ‘fantastic at handling themes of homosexuality and power’

The tender exploration of sexuality in Bagnall's production makes Marlowe's sixteenth century play still relevant for a modern audience

Van Gogh and Britain

Exploring Van Gogh's fascination with British culture and Dickens

Tracey Emin’s A Fortnight of Tears: an unflinching study of the haunting power of trauma

The body is placed centre stage in an exhibition that flits between the violence of both birth and death.

BBC Three’s Fleabag

“I’d just like my tits to be that much bigger — does that make me a terrible feminist?” Such forthright, fourth wall busting, hilarious, and...

Jordan Peele’s new horror film ‘Us’

The idiom, “To be afraid of one’s own shadow,” normally forms part of an insult, a derogatory phrase denoting child-like cowardice. The characters of...

Hartnell’s ‘Bodies’: Hugely readable

A review of Medieval Bodies by Jack Hartnell (Wellcome Collection, 2019, 352 pages)

Talkin’ ’bout a Revolution: The Sound of Protest Art

Tracy Chapman’s appearance at the 1988 Nelson Mandela tribute concert transformed her career. The political turmoil surrounding Apartheid was transposed onto Chapman’s performance; songs...

Mackintosh at the Liverpool Walker

A working-class liberator of the arts

Review: Betrayal – ‘all the poise, restraint and subtlety that Pinter’s masterpiece requires’

Ingenious set design, the actors’ spectacular chemistry, and director Lloyd’s brilliant attention to detail make Betrayal a triumphant culmination of the ‘Pinter at the Pinter’ venture