Category : Culture

Foe review – Paul Mescal and Saoirse Ronan can’t lift dull Black Mirror knock-off

The stars try to save a familiar slab of sci-fi pondering involving a robotic replacement for a husband, but it’s not enoughIn the year 2065, water and fertile land are precious resources. The US midwest, ravaged by heat and drought, is sparsely popu...

Rumble in the Jungle Rematch review – immersive recreation aims to leave you reeling

Dock X, LondonThe fight that sealed Muhammad Ali’s fame as the greatest is re-enacted in a London warehouse, complete with David Frost, Don King, music and foodMuhammad Ali’s audacity, as he shocked the world by knocking out George Foreman, his seemi...

Were the Beatles used as propaganda by Greece’s military rulers?

Junta hoped group’s devotion to the country would help offset global condemnation, says veteran journalistIn the summer of love, on a hot July day, John Lennon was sitting by a lake in central Greece. The Beatles were on their way to Delphi, via the...

The Old Oak review – compassionate refugee drama from Ken Loach

A young Syrian woman and a pub landlord join forces to unite two traumatised communities in the north-east in the veteran director’s forthright, hopeful filmPublican TJ Ballantyne (Dave Turner) uses a mop handle to fix the name on the front of his pu...

PJ Harvey review – Dorset ghosts come alive

Barrowland Ballroom, GlasgowThe uncanny world of the singer-songwriter’s first album in six years acquires a more corporeal form on stage, alongside a satisfying deep dive into her back catalogueThe stage for PJ Harvey’s first tour since 2017 is set...

The week in classical: Picture a day like this; Peter Grimes; Carol Williams: Mad Rush – review

Linbury theatre, Royal Opera House; Coliseum; Royal Festival Hall, LondonSparkling musical invention pierces the gloom of George Benjamin’s mysterious new chamber opera; Britten’s masterpiece holds its own at ENO; and one woman, 7,866 pipes and resou...

Tupac Shakur: after 27 years, an arrest in unsolved murder of hip-hop legend

Decades-long inquiry into the 1996 killing aided by gang leader admitting he was in the shooter’s car and provided the gunFor nearly 30 years the killing of Tupac Shakur remained one of the music industry’s most enduring unsolved crimes. His 1996 mur...

‘My father believed the sanctity of my soul was at stake’: Safiya Sinclair on leaving her Rastafari childhood behind

The poet began life in a hidden village by the sea. But then her father became stricter and more suspicious of the corrupting influence of ‘Babylon’ …We lived by the seaside until I was five years old, in our tiny fishing village called White House,...

U2 review – an utterly astonishing, admirably raw Vegas extravaganza

Sphere at the Venetian Resort, Las VegasPlaying Achtung Baby interspersed with other hits, the band use slick LED displays to eye-popping effect while remaining unpredictableU2 have never been a band noted for their love of shy understatement, but ev...

Kermode on… Nicolas Roeg: ‘Nothing is what it seems’

In the first of a new monthly Observer column on his favourite film-makers, Mark Kermode salutes the elliptical vision of the director of Don’t Look Now, Walkabout, Performance and so much moreThis month marks 50 years since the release of Nicolas Ro...

Wednesday’s Child by Yiyun Li review – motherhood as loss

These bruising, beautiful short stories explore the pain of lost children, along with parenthood’s more usual sacrifices – youth, romantic love and a sense of selfWith the title of her new short story collection, the first since 2010’s Gold Boy, Emer...

Boiling Point: this nailbiting kitchen drama is British TV at its finest

A brilliant script, a phenomenal cast and some absolutely beautiful filming – this hugely stressful series is one of the best things on television this yearIf you watched the film Boiling Point, well – sorry to bring it up. You’re probably still feel...

Billy Connolly’s most intimate interview yet (by his wife): ‘Comedians never used to worry about what was correct to say. You said it, and soon found out’

Only one person can get to the heart of who the Big Yin is – his partner and carer, psychotherapist Pamela Stephenson Connolly. He talks about how Parkinson’s has changed him, what he misses from being on tour, and living in a hotbed of Trump support...

Taylor Swift is upgrading Travis Kelce’s fame – and the NFL loves it

America’s latest power pairing benefits both stars and is helping usher in a new audience for footballUnder the bright lights of the gridiron, Travis Kelce plays the part of a particular kind of NFL leading man – a touchdown-scoring party bro whom fa...

‘I came to love David Beckham’: how an Oscar-winning Succession star put Goldenballs’ wild life on screen

He’s most recognisable as the Roy family’s slimy comms chief, but when Leonardo DiCaprio called, Fisher Stevens turned his documentary talents to a footballing legend – and had the time of his lifeFisher Stevens was playing Succession’s most oleagino...