Category : Culture

Seafaring strangeness: Mark Power’s enigmatic shipping forecast photographs

The British photographer reflects on trying to capture the mystery of the Radio 4 staple in his classic photobook, now expanded and updatedThough the shipping forecast is still broadcast daily on BBC Radio 4, the strange resonance of what Seamus Hean...

David Bridie: Once in a Lifetime by Talking Heads is the most perfect song of all time

The first single off the US band’s 1980 album Remain in Light inspired a musical awakening in the My Friend the Chocolate Cake singerIn this Guardian Australia series, musicians share their favourite songsTalking Heads’s song Once in a Lifetime is co...

Donatello: Sculpting the Renaissance – a once-in-a-lifetime show

V&A, LondonThe UK’s forthcoming Donatello exhibition will capture the Florentine artist’s revolutionary genius for perspective, male beauty and, above all, empathyA startling figure has arrived in Britain: a man with a gathering frown, sleepless...

Knock at the Cabin review – the holiday from hell courtesy of M Night Shyamalan

Home invaders order a family to sacrifice one of their own to save humanity in the director’s effectively bleak thrillerAn idyllic family vacation is interrupted by four strangers, each armed with an elaborate, medieval-looking weapon. The four deman...

Writer Robert Douglas-Fairhurst: ‘The less the body works, the more you appreciate any bit that still does’

The professor of English literature on the shock of being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, the books he turned to, and the more unexpected ways his life has been transformedIn his new book, Robert Douglas-Fairhurst likens his diagnosis of multiple...

The Whale review – Brendan Fraser is remarkable in knotty drama of self-destruction

The Oscar-nominated star plays a chronically obese man in Darren Aronofsky’s clammy, uncomfortable but ultimately redeeming movieIt’s a slippery thing, the latest film from Darren Aronofsky. And not just because of the air of general clamminess that...

Stolen by Ann-Helén Laestadius review – prejudice and pain suffered by the Sami people

The Swedish YA author’s first novel for adults deals deftly with the fear and guilt felt by a young girl who witnesses a hate crimeSwedish writer Ann-Helén Laestadius’s first fiction for adults opens in a wintry Scandinavian forest as a knife-wieldin...

The week in theatre: Sound of the Underground; Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons – review

Royal Court; Harold Pinter theatre, LondonTravis Alabanza and friends joyously return drag to its radical roots, while Aidan Turner and Jenna Coleman keep it brief in Sam Steiner’s social media allegoryAnyone who thinks theatre costumes are incidenta...

Simona Tabasco: ‘Lucia in The White Lotus is hungry for life’

When the second season of The White Lotus opened its doors, one megawatt actor seemed to bloom before our eyes. Here, Simona Tabasco talks about coping with international adulation and why she’d still love to work on a farmMaybe one day I’ll be a tou...

Sarah Parish: ‘I do get cast as a lot of killers, a lot of tough women’

The actor from Industry, W1A and Mistresses on her return to the theatre, her habit of breaking bones and seeing her husband as Prince AndrewSarah Parish is known for her TV roles, often playing formidable, sometimes chilling, women. In recent times,...

This week in TV: Nolly; Putin vs the West; Emily Atack: Asking for It?; Hotel Portofino

Helena Bonham Carter surprises as Noele Gordon; world leaders recall their encounters with Putin; Emily Atack challenges sexual harassment. Plus, the latest new DowntonNolly | ITVXPutin vs the West (BBC Two) | iPlayerEmily Atack: Asking for It? (BBC...

Dear Carol: I salute your courage. But the wolves are gathering | Carole Cadwalladr

I know what it’s like to try to speak truth to power. The trolls will come after you, like they did for me. But stand firm! You’ve given us all hopeWhat a thrill it’s been watching you tearing strips off everyone from Nadhim Zahawi to Michelle Mone....

‘Terrifying’ cuts are killing creativity in UK arts, warns multiple Oscar winner

Sandy Powell, who will be made a Bafta fellow this month, fears that a cash-starved fringe scene is stifling artistic risksThe multi-Oscar-winning English costume designer Sandy Powell, who will make film history this month when she accepts a prestig...

Italian opera houses plan Verdi shows to help government buy composer’s home

Cities across the country will host concerts to raise funds that will preserve Verdi’s home of 50 years for the nationOpera houses across Italy have come together to help the government meet the shortfall on a bid to save for the nation a country hou...

Artificial intelligence uncovers lost work by titan of Spain’s ‘Golden Age’

Discovery of Lope de Vega play could lead to other important finds, researchers sayLost or misattributed works by some of the finest writers of Spain’s Golden Age could be discovered thanks to pioneering AI technology that has been used to identify a...