22 March 2018 Charmed Lives In Greece Ghika, Craxton and Leigh Fermor The British Museum, 8 March – 15 July. Reviewed by William Morton This compact exhibition celebrates the friendship of the painters, Niko Ghika (1906-1994) and John Craxton (1922-2009), and the writer, Patrick Leigh Fermor (1915-2011). Ghika was Greek and the other two lived… Continue reading Issue 146: 2018 03 22: Charmed Lives In Greece
Article Category: Review
Issue 146: 2018 03 22: The York Realist
22 March 2018 The York Realist (a play by Peter Gill) The Donmar Warehouse reviewed by Adam McCormack Star rating **** Gentle and tender, this is a tale of two young men falling in love. Take a humble farm labourer living in a tied cottage with his mother in Yorkshire and introduce a well-educated assistant… Continue reading Issue 146: 2018 03 22: The York Realist
Issue 145: 2018 03 15: Where We Are
15 March 2017 Where We Are The State of Britain Now A book by Roger Scruton Reviewed by J R Thomas Sir Roger Scruton is a very rare thing – a Conservative philosopher. Mrs Thatcher was perhaps the last proponent of a reasoned coherent approach to Conservatism. The Iron Lady’s considerable brain, trained in science… Continue reading Issue 145: 2018 03 15: Where We Are
Issue 144: 2018 03 08: Macbeth
08 March 2018 Macbeth The National Theatre reviewed by Adam McCormack Star Rating: *** Onto a dystopian dimly lit stage runs a man in fear for his life. Together with the gruesome beheading that follows, this sets the tone for a very bleak production of Macbeth. In an apparently plastic ridden post-apocalyptic world, where armour… Continue reading Issue 144: 2018 03 08: Macbeth
Issue 144: 2018 03 08: Summer And Smoke
08 March 2018 Summer and Smoke (Tennessee Williams) Almeida Theatre (until 7 April) Reviewed by William Morton Star rating: **** Tennessee Williams was very prolific, writing approximately 30 major plays. After enjoying great success with The Glass Menagerie and A Street Car named Desire, his work fell out of favour to some extent, although he… Continue reading Issue 144: 2018 03 08: Summer And Smoke
Issue 144: 2018 03 08: I, Tonya
08 March 2018 I, Tonya A film by Craig Gillespie reviewed by Adam McCormack Star rating: **** Does the American Dream still exist? Tonya Harding grew up in a poor working class family and, funded by her mother’s work as a waitress, rose to be a world-class figure skater and the first to land the… Continue reading Issue 144: 2018 03 08: I, Tonya
Issue 144: 2018 03 08: Mute
08 March 2018 Mute A film by Duncan Jones reviewed by J.R.Thomas Should’ve Been Nicer, Bill If you get nothing else from seeing this movie, remember this: it pays to be nice. You never know when you might come to wish you had been kinder. This moral of Mute might also apply to some film… Continue reading Issue 144: 2018 03 08: Mute
Issue 143: 2018 03 01: Charles I: King and Collector
01 March 2018 Charles I: King and Collector At the Royal Academy (27 January – 15 April). Reviewed by William Morton A five star exhibition Charles I was the second son of James I (and VI of Scotland). He became heir apparent on the death in 1612 of his popular older brother, Henry. One’s knowledge of… Continue reading Issue 143: 2018 03 01: Charles I: King and Collector
Issue 143: 2018 03 01: Hamilton
1 March 2018 Hamilton, a musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Victoria Palace Theatre Reviewed by Adam McCormack Star Rating: ***** Who remembers the right-hand man? That most of us had never heard of Alexander Hamilton (despite his face being on the $10 note) before the huge success of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hip-hop musical is quite remarkable. Quite… Continue reading Issue 143: 2018 03 01: Hamilton
Issue 141: 2018 02 15: The Phantom Thread
15 February 2018 The Phantom Thread A film by Paul Thomas Anderson Reviewed by Adam McCormack Star rating: **** This is a beautiful film. Visually stunning, with haunting music and impressive performances, Paul Thomas Anderson has produced a treat for the senses. For those looking for action it may not be for you as, for… Continue reading Issue 141: 2018 02 15: The Phantom Thread
Issue 141: 2018 02 15: Screaming Secrets
15 February 2018 Screaming Secrets, a play by Alexander Matthews Tristan Bates Theatre Star rating: ** Reviewed by Adam McCormack Rather than the prisoner’s dilemma, this is the philosopher’s dilemma. When a commitment – shy writer of philosophy, Antonio, discovers that he is terminally ill at his own birthday party, what should he do? Should… Continue reading Issue 141: 2018 02 15: Screaming Secrets
Issue 140: 2018 02 08: Gun
8 February 2018 Gun (a play by William Hartley) Waterloo East Theatre reviewed by Adam McCormack Star rating: **** A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do – and for Roscoe Porter that means avenging the death of his virtuous sheriff brother John, finding the mysterious masked killer Omega and disposing of the key… Continue reading Issue 140: 2018 02 08: Gun
Issue 139: 2018 02 01: John (by Anne Baker)
1 February 2108 John (a play by Anne Baker) The National Theatre reviewed by Adam McCormack Stars: **** Jenny and Elias have been going through a difficult patch in their relationship. In an effort to patch things up, they take a trip to the battlefield sites of Gettysburg in the week after Thanksgiving. Elias has… Continue reading Issue 139: 2018 02 01: John (by Anne Baker)
