by Hannah Kane | Mar 19, 2015 | Culture
Greg Taylor celebrates a very British actress on the cusp of global fame Sally Hawkins and Asa Butterfield in X+Y X+Y is a British coming-of-age drama about Nathan, an autistic boy, possibly a mathematical genius, who leaves his mother and tutor behind to go to Maths...
by Hannah Kane | Mar 11, 2015 | Culture
Julie Reid ‘meets’ the man who changed art forever Photograph of Paul Durand-Ruel in his gallery, taken by Dornac, about 1910 © Archives Durand-Ruel © Durand-Ruel & Cie In some respects Impressionism has become something of a cliché, with its...
by Hannah Kane | Mar 4, 2015 | Culture
Julie Reid finds Marlene Dumas light on hope, heavy on beauty Marlene Dumas, The Image as Burden 1993 © Marlene Dumas. Photo: Peter Cox Once labeled ‘the world’s most interesting figure painter’, Marlene Dumas (b.1953) is famous (although not quite as famous as she...
by Hannah Kane | Feb 20, 2015 | Culture
Julie Reid gets happy…in a tortured sort of way David Beames (Willie) and Juliet Stevenson (Winnie) in Happy Days at the Young Vic. Photo by Johan Persson The Young Vic’s new production opens with Winnie, a middle-aged woman, buried in the ground up to her...
by Hannah Kane | Jan 29, 2015 | Culture
Has the National Theatre’s fine family tragedy missed an opportunity? Vincent Ebrahim as Dara, Prasanna Puwanarajah as Prosecutor Talib and the company of Dara. Credit: Ellie Kurttz Rarely do domestic squabbles and sibling rivalry decide the fate of a nation....
by Hannah Kane | Jan 19, 2015 | Culture
Greg Taylor is feeling mighty sore, but happy The mentor / pupil dynamic is the cornerstone of many a hoary filmic plot, as benign and charismatic teachers inspire their young charges to seize the day, defy the naysayers, strive for greatness and be all they can be....
by Hannah Kane | Dec 19, 2014 | Culture
Yes, it’s a tourist-trap blockbuster and yes, it’s entirely worth it Rain, Steam, and Speed – The Great Western Railway (1844) by J.M.W.Turner When someone throws a party and invites a once-in-a-lifetime guest of honour, even if you’re late, busy or...
by Hannah Kane | Dec 12, 2014 | Culture
Grayson Perry’s latest exhibition begs the question: is identity in the eye of the beholder? Who are you? This is one of the fundamental questions of life, one that has fascinated scholars, philosophers, religious devotees and humanists from the beginning of...
by Hannah Kane | Dec 9, 2014 | Culture
Julian Casablancas & The Voidz The Coronet Theatre, 7th December 2014 ✮✮✮☆☆ Fans of The Strokes should forget what they think they know about Julian Casablancas when they walk through the doors of a Voidz show. The frontman of the band that catapulted to fame in...
