Category : Culture

Hottest front-room seats: the best theatre and dance to watch online

From live-streams of new plays to classics from the archive, here are some of the top shows online now or coming soon – this page is updated daily Continue reading...

The week in radio and podcasts: The Archers – Ambridge in lockdown shock

With the cast now recording at home, something is badly missing. And the lacklustre writing doesn’t helpThe Archers (BBC Radio 4) | BBC SoundsBack in late March, lockdown caught many of us on the hop. The changes to work and life were swift and devas...

Only the Animals – slippery, satisfying French-African mystery

Dominik Moll keeps the surprises coming in this twisting tale of a woman’s disappearance that unwinds between France and the Ivory CoastThis slippery tease of a movie opens with a shot of a man weaving through the traffic on a bike in Abidjan, Ivory...

One to watch: Coach Party

Poppy, witty and experimental, the Isle of Wight indie rock quartet are far more interesting than a cursory listen suggestsCountless islands make up the United Kingdom, and the Isle of Wight might be the most misunderstood of them all. It’s never jus...

Coriky: Coriky review – keeping it hardcore

(Dischord) Former members of Minor Threat, Fugazi and the Evens deliver a bracing blast of moral, melodic US punkIt’s difficult to overstate the significance of Fugazi. An American art-rock institution, they provided a slinky, authoritative moral rac...

Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition review – we're all Homs now

The invading Mechon acquire new significance in this HD re-release of Nintendo’s 2009 game-changerWe seem predisposed to find themes and ideas in our stories that relate to our immediate circumstances. The teenager experiencing the first blush of inf...

Elgar & Beach: Piano Quintets review – the Takács and Garrick Ohlsson in a passionate embrace

(Hyperion)Ohlsson joins the Takács Quartet to delve deep into Elgar’s intimate 1918 work, alongside restless Amy Beach“Wood magic, so elusive and delicate,” was Lady Elgar’s description of her husband’s new composition for piano and string quartet, w...

Rose Byrne: ‘You understand why feminists are furious – we’re still talking about this?’

For the Bridesmaids star, playing Gloria Steinem in her 1970s battle for women’s rights has been a reminder that the same arguments are raging todayA few days before New York locked down and Broadway closed indefinitely, Rose Byrne was on stage in Br...

Keith Lemon's Fantastical Factory of Curious Craft: a banter Willy Wonka

Contestants create crafts for a celebrity guest, then Lemon’s mother comes out with a tea trolley. Is this a fever dream? I was wondering when the robots would take over, and it is apparently now. The Fantastical Factory of Curious Craft (Sunday, 8....

Viral marketing: the very worst lockdown-themed adverts

The pandemic has unleashed a series of earnest, grating TV ads, from grandiose tinfoil-hattery to a chilling Maltesers mysteryModern Toss on cheesy lockdown advertsYou have to pity British Airways. The airline has always sold itself to us with a simp...

'This man knows he's dying as surely as I do': a doctor's dispatches from the NHS frontline

As lockdown is relaxed, many in the NHS are left reeling. Palliative care doctor Rachel Clarke shares her experience working with coronavirus patients, and her fears of a second wave Death has been headline news for so long now, I am beginning to fee...

R&B star Kehlani: ‘You can’t believe that everybody means what they say about you’

With fans including Cardi B, Jay-Z and, er, Piers Morgan, Kehlani is the most in-demand name in R&B. She reflects on online abuse, motherhood and her love of Star WarsJust before lockdown, Kehlani had a meeting with the head of her label. Her sec...

Watch Anansi the Spider Re-Spun, episode one – video

The Guardian and the Unicorn theatre present a fun series of 15-minute performances, created in lockdown, for children aged three to eight. Brother Anansi and Brother Snake is available from 11am on 30 May until 8pm on 20 June Continue reading...

Martin Scorsese in lockdown: an auteur's eye view of house arrest

The 77-year-old director’s thoughtful movie dispatch from his New York study for Mary Beard’s TV culture show is an affecting treat, and an honest reflection on ageingMartin Scorsese’s Zoom call to the world is a marvellous coup for Mary Beard’s BBC...

Noel Clarke: I was left off Fisherman's Friends poster – and none of the cast spoke up

Clarke has tweeted his dismay at his lack of inclusion on the promo for the hit 2019 comedy – despite his name being featuredThe actor Noel Clarke has spoken out about a failure to include his image on the poster for hit comedy Fisherman’s Friends. T...