culture
-
London’s V&A, Natural History Museum and Science Museum fulfil the visions of their founders in fine style. But the Victorians valued regional museums tooLondon's big three museums exhibit Victorian era values
-
-
As it happenedThe Orange Is the New Black actor and star of The Maids answered your questions about racial stereotyping on TV, how she gets into character and which underrated talent she wants everyone to know about -
The 90s comic that's bang up-to-date on Donald TrumpWarren Ellis’s series is 20 years old, set 200 years in the future – and tells you everything about the 2016 US presidential race
-
-
news
Shakespeare Solos
-
Thou art not holyCamille O’Sullivan plays Constance in King John, who laments the loss of her son, Arthur, but disputes the suggestion that she has gone mad
-
Upon the kingSamuel West speaks Henry V’s soliloquy on the night before battle, in which he reflects upon the public’s expectations of the king
-
Are you meditating on virginity?In a speech taken from the first scene of All’s Well That Ends Well, Sacha Dhawan’s Parolles stresses the importance of losing one’s virginity
-
Is this a dagger which I see before me?Daniel Mays speaks Macbeth’s lines from Act II, Scene 1, in which he sees a murder weapon in a hallucination
-
I left no ring with herJoanna Lumley speaks Viola’s soliloquy from Twelfth Night in which, disguised as a page boy, she wonders whether Olivia has fallen in love with her
-
Our revels now are endedDavid Threlfall speaks Prospero’s speech in which the sorcerer contemplates the end of life – and the playwright, perhaps, considers the end of his career
reviews
-
Hobson's Choice – Martin Shaw is Brighouse's bootmaker in lively revivalThis sly portrait of a cobbler and his class-conscious daughters is shown to be way ahead of its time in Jonathan Church’s handsome staging
-
The Iranian Feast – charming show about the soup of human kindnessAudience participation is a key ingredient of this touring regional theatre piece about cooking, community and life in Tehran
-
Ady Suleiman – spiky singing punctures the piña colada sheenThe Nottingham singer radiates the sleepy charm of a beach-bum surfer but there’s a stirring lyrical frankness to his infectious music
-
Iphigénie en Tauride – fierce passion, pity and terrorEnglish Touring Opera’s production of Gluck’s tragedy is terrific, with Catherine Carby’s Iphigénie a standout
-
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew DesmondThis first-hand account of the harsh realities of the American rental housing market is bleak and salutary
-
Pretentiousness: Why It Matters by Dan Fox – what’s wrong with being a great pretender?This shrewd book argues that pretentiousness is central to our progress and our individuality
people
-
Good horror is taking a look at what’s dark in humanitySet in 1630s New England, Robert Eggers’s film is redefining the horror genre with its period detail and scares. It’s the stuff of real nightmares, he tells us
-
Mezzo soprano Sarah Connolly on her favourite musicThe mezzo soprano on her musical loves, from Mahler to Britten, and Handel to Elvis
-
I was an outsider. I came to New York and I was cleaning toiletsFive decades after The Graduate made him a superstar he talks about racism and the movies, how Tootsie made him a feminist and why he wishes he was Jack Nicholson
-
Financing a film as crazy as this takes good castingAs his adaptation of JG Ballard’s 1975 sci-fi novel High-Rise is released, the director talks about his love of uncompromising films
talking points
critics' picks
-
Plan your week’s theatreVanishing Point’s The Destroyed Room opens in Edinburgh, the Hear Me Roar! festival of feminism begins in Lancaster and Jinny, a response to Look Back in Anger, premieres in Derby
-
Featuring Grimes, Rob Delaney and the Coen brothersGrimes goes on tour, Rob Delaney airs his filthy comedy and the Coen brothers say Hail, Caesar! All this week’s cultural highlights
-
Five movies to look out for at the Human Rights Watch film festivalFrom child marriage to refugees, human rights issues are at the core of a forthcoming international film festival. We run the rule over five of the best
-
Our writers' favourite album artBest Art Vinyl awards has chosen David Gilmour’s Rattle That Lock as the best artwork of 2015. To mark the occasion, our writers choose their favourite sleeves
pictures & video
-
Cassandra Clare's guide to runesShadowhunters author Cassandra Clare tells us about the significance of the runes that run through her Mortal Instuments, Infernal Devices, Bane Chonicles, Shadowhunter Academy and now new Dark Artifices series
-
Fantasy film posters from your snapshotsEver looked at a picture of your cat and imagined it as an uber-villain? Reddit user Your_Post_as_a_Movie turns users' photographs into fantasy film posters
-
Nature's hidden landscapesThese extraordinary images from inside the human body and the natural world are all finalists in this year’s awards
-
Jill Murphy's Five Minutes' PeaceJill Murphy’s much-loved character Mrs Large searched for an elusive five minutes’ peace from her adorable but demanding little brood. On Mother’s Day, discover the story behind the book
-
-
Epic in scale, inconceivable until you witness itBooker prize winner Richard Flanagan visits Lebanon, Greece and Serbia to report on the plight of the 5 million fleeing Syrians
lists & playlists
-
I like to binge-watch Mission: ImpossibleThe US procedural drama stalwart on Daredevil, Thunderbirds and Batman
-
12 things today's gamers don't remember about old gamesWe look back on video game history with rose-tinted nostalgia, but some things tend to get overlooked amid those misty-eyed tales of gaming yore
-
you may have missed
-
From Rosemary's Baby to Bridget JonesFor years, pregnant women on film have either been neurotic, placid or walking grossout gags. Alice Lowe, who directed and starred in her own horror film at seven months, says we should expect more
-
Doctor Thorne gets the Julian Fellowes treatmentSuffering from severe Downton Abbey withdrawal? Its creator Julian Fellowes returns with another prescription of bonnets in this Anthony Trollope adaptation
-
Dressing well is almost part of the DNA in the black communityThe author and professor owes her fascination with black style to her sharply dressed father, who arrived from Jamaica in the 50s
-
The most controversial magazine of the 60s goes onlineEverything the establishment hated most was in Oz, the enfant terrible of the underground press. Now, 45 years after its famous obscenity trial, the entire archive has been published on the web
-
The dark side of Beatrix PotterA puppet musical show co-written by Alan Ayckbourn will bring out the villainy in a nursery classic as part of celebrations to mark the 150th anniversary of Potter’s birth
-
Liverpool’s finest on childhood ambition, the perils of being a father, playing the bad guy, and his love for his hometownEvery actor gets insecure. It feeds creativity
what we're reading
-
You might feel better spending time with the newly earnest Underwoods this weekend than watching to see which insult comic wins the Kansas caucus.House of Cards season four is less vulgar than real politics
-
A statuette from the John HustonâHumphrey Bogart classic The Maltese Falcon is one of the most recognizable, and sought-after, pieces of movie memorabilia in history.The Mystery of the Maltese Falcon, one of the most valuable movie props in history
-
Bieber gives a candid and wide-ranging interview to Caity WeaverJustin Bieber would like to reintroduce himself
-
The self-styled tech broad wants to disrupt the tampon industry, turn your time of the month into a cause, and make a lot of money in underwear.Miki Agrawal – the entrepreneur behind 'period underwear'
the big picture
-
Mini masterpieces of bubblegum artNew Jersey artist Michael Massaia’s masticated sculptures of sea creatures, flamenco dancers and space helmets are made entirely from spat-out gum
-
Bring foreign tourists to museums with a great marketing strategyThe seven institutions of National Museum Wales have witnessed a huge jump in visits from overseas – here’s how we did it
-
Want to work in art and design? Follow this checklist firstFrom remembering less is more when promoting your work – The Dots founder Pip Jamieson details the steps to take for a career in design
-
From Lion King to Harry Potter: tips for making a career in film animationAnimator Alex Williams on his work, London’s VFX industry and what it takes to make it big in the movies
-
Could music projects cut the cost of dementia care?Manchester Camerata orchestra is pioneering music projects in care homes; now academics are to study whether the sessions do more than just entertain participants
Trapped The Icelandic thriller that's the unexpected TV hit of the year