culture
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Talk about saving the best until last: it was a heart-stopping and spine-tingling conclusion heavy in blood, revenge and death
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A teary glimpse of the singer behind the star almost breaks new ground for the R&B ice queen
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From trying out the trapeze to finding his own moral compass, the actor on the challenges of playing Shakespeare’s flawed king in the RSC’s history cycle
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There were those who thought Adele’s sombre ballads weren’t enough to carry off a Saturday headline slot. They reckoned without her force of personality
news
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Secret history of ubiquitous war-time slogan
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Nigerian-born author from London wins £1,000 award for warm and clinical vision of dystopia
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Worrell, who announced in early 2016 that he had lung cancer, influenced funk, rock and hip-hop artists
reviews
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Gillies MacKinnon’s remake of the classic postwar Ealing comedy is light on laughs and feels out of place in 2016
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Kevin Spacey plays the president for laughs in a slight but enjoyable imagining of Elvis’s real life meeting with Nixon
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The battle scene in Game of Thrones was bloody brilliant, while a gripping Polish drama proved highly topical
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Sebastian Junger’s lament on the failings of modern western communities suffers from a surfeit of nostalgia and disregard for historical fact
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The private art collections of great painters reveal an enthralling continuity of vision going back centuries
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Robert Lepage pulls no punches as he revisits the notorious marquis in the asylum
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Michael Tippett, long overshadowed by Aldeburgh’s founder, finally got his place in the Suffolk sun
people
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Bernie Worrell was a crucial part of Parliament’s Mothership – and then he went on to help Talking Heads change gear
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The actress talks about her dream role in The Seagull, her debt to Four Weddings… and why we need more working-class writers
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The young UK rapper has burst on to the scene fully formed. She talks guerrilla videos, the new wave of female MCs and taking notes from her cousin Stormzy
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After her debut novel, The Miniaturist, became a bestseller, the author experienced extreme anxiety – a struggle reflected in her new book, The Muse
talking points
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In the years to come, artists and intellectuals will venture across the rift to interpret the two halves of our divided kingdom to one other
critics' picks
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Our writers pick some of the standouts of this year’s festival. Let us know what you’re most looking forward to at Worthy Farm
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Groundbreaking European theatre arrives in Birmingham, Slung Low commune with the fairy world in Stratford-upon-Avon, and 1984 returns to the West End
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Your at-a-glance guide to the next seven days of culture in the UK
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pictures & video
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We celebrate the manuscripts, photos and notebooks being exhibited at the Michael Morpurgo exhibition at Seven Stories in Newcastle, starting in July
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Barcelona-based painter Alejandra Atarés paints herself, her loved ones and celebrities, all with their face turned away
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After Theresa May says Britain should leave the European convention on human rights, Patrick Stewart, Adrian Scarborough and Sarah Solemani expose the problems in the Conservative plan for a UK bill of rights
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Quentin Blake guides us through the remarkable story of his collaboration with Roald Dahl to make The BFG
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The Italian pianist Ludovico Einaudi, renowned for his career composing scores for television and movies, gives a haunting performance among the icebergs of the Arctic
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Axel Scheffler, the illustrator behind the Gruffalo, has created an image for the Guardian to demonstrate his support for Britain remaining in the EU
Shakespeare Solos
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Joanna Vanderham performs Juliet’s speech from the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet
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Samuel West speaks Henry V’s soliloquy on the night before battle, in which he reflects upon the public’s expectations of the king
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Adrian Lester performs Hamlet’s soliloquy in which the prince considers taking his own life
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Daniel Mays speaks Macbeth’s lines from Act II, Scene 1, in which he sees a murder weapon in a hallucination
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Laura Carmichael speaks Portia’s lines from the courtroom scene in The Merchant of Venice, in which she tells the moneylender Shylock to be merciful
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Ayesha Dharker plays Titania, the queen of the fairies, in a scene from A Midsummer Night’s Dream
lists & playlists
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The blistering revenge of a superstar scorned, an anthem to the rise of gender fluidity... Our music writers pick the songs that most reflect the state of music – and the world – right now
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New York City is the perfect place to write in - and write about. Meg Leder, who has done both, picks her favourite books set in the Big Apple
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culture webchats
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Back with a new show at White Cube, modern art's most inseparable duo joined us live from the gallery, to talk about painting, politics and why good things often come in pairs
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Standup, panel-show regular and Stephen Fry's favourite Canadian funnywoman ... on Tuesday, Katherine Ryan will be joining us in the hotseat. From her Comic Relief turn as Nicki Minaj to her Beyoncé obsession, ask her your questions now
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The Mancunian punk poet beloved of Alex Turner and Plan B was with us and answered many of your questions – from his favourite word to his favourite owl, via his admission of a decade-long writers’ block, here are all his brilliant answers
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She’s the soul star loved by everyone from Elvis to Will Oldham, who saw her career resurrected by a song she recorded for a weight-loss documentary. She answered your questions about being an old man’s sweetheart, Beyonce and Elvis.
you may have missed
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He writes, he acts – but the star of The Social Network isn’t comfortable with the fame that followed. How will he handle a gang of fans in a London park?
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The queen of the double act reveals why she never argues, shrugs off failure – and wants more women to do panel shows
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With war ravaging their homeland, the Orchestra of Syrian Musicians has been scattered across the globe. But five years since the violence erupted, the group are reuniting for a cathartic tour – and opening Glastonbury
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The actor on being thrown outside naked, demolition jobs and his sister’s murder
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The author on being distracted by emails and phone calls, and why real people make the worst characters
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As the Oscar winner takes a rare lead turn this week in the charming comedy The Meddler, we look back on her finest big-screen performances
what we're reading
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We’re obsessed with wet weather this week, as the dampness of the Jubilee celebrations winds down and as the rain beats relentlessly against the window. We’ve plenty of tips for rainy camping with kids , but if you want a more general guide or tips on what to bring with you, read on. And as always, plastic resealable bags. Did ...
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How Silicon Valley nails Silicon Valley
Kate AbbottThe absurdly deep research underlying HBO’s satire. -
John Cage’s Intensely Beautiful Love Letters to Merce Cunningham
Ben Beaumont-Thomas“i would like to measure my breath in relation to the air between us.”
popular
the big picture
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The Iraqi artist rewrites his country’s suffering by sketching ‘pink dreams’ over black-and-white photographs of ordinary people
Glastonbury 2016 Five-star Coldplay – "the musical equivalent of a baked potato"
The best of the rest on Sunday LCD Soundsystem, PJ Harvey and more
Glastonbury 2016 Sunday night as it happened
Blind date goes to Glastonbury 'There was a lot of snogging'