I bought a bag of lemons, complete with their leaves – lemons so beautiful I kept them in a shallow dish in the kitchen for several days, just to look at them. I often picked them up to squeeze and sniff. I occasionally caught my finger on the sharp barbs that hide on their stems, … Read more
What is the real thing? The question is an ideal subject for the stage, where the actual and the illusory constantly shadowbox. It was tackled in three strikingly different productions last week. G, directed with fluorescent dynamism by Monique Touko, is an encouraging sign that David Byrne’s Royal Court will live up to the theatre’s … Read more
All the recent discussion of the pub garden smoking ban the government says it’s considering reminded me, I was surprised to discover, of Margaret Thatcher. A divisive figure, of course, but slagging her off feels a bit last-millennium. These days most people tend to take more of a “you’ve got to hand it to her” … Read more
America’s New Female Right (BBC Three) | iPlayerSlow Horses (Apple TV+)The Perfect Couple (Netflix)Funny Woman (Sky Max/Now) For a movement built on female ultra-modesty and subservience, “tradwife” has a strong look. Stateside, that look involves flowing mermaid locks, 1970s TV anchor-woman styling and makeup spread as thick as buttercream. The effect is churchgoing Barbie dolls … Read more
Comedian Jamali Maddix, 33, was born in Ilford to Jamaican and British-Greek parents. He studied theatre and performance practice at the University of Salford but dropped out to pursue a career in standup. He is a resident panellist on Sky’s Never Mind the Buzzcocks. Other TV appearances include Taskmaster, regular punditry on Frankie Boyle’s New … Read more
From grassroots initiatives to institutional engagement, Dr. Krishna Udayasankar discusses the Kshetra Foundation’s holistic approach to dialogue-driven social change. 1. What inspired the Kshetra Foundation’s focus on dialogue as a catalyst for social change, and how has your approach evolved over time? Kshetra began its work inspired by the idea that empowering people to drive … Read more
She may not have fired the gun but Mahabubar Rahman knows who killed Shoikot, his beloved only son. “Sheikh Hasina is the criminal responsible for his death,” he said. “She is the one who has shattered us.” Bangladesh’s former prime minister fled the country last month, bringing her 15-year regime, dominated by allegations of tyranny, … Read more
Two new shows by London-based artists tell stories, or imply backstories, through the art of painting. Both feature the same group of characters. And as so often in today’s contemporary art, these characters are all women. The Irish Australian artist Donna Huddleston is best known for her pale and etiolated drawings of posing figures, occasionally … Read more
I hope he enjoyed it while it lasted. From being promisingly positive when he moved into Number 10, Sir Keir Starmer’s personal ratings have soured into the unpleasantly negative. Disapproval of the government as a whole is also sharply up. The surprise is that anyone’s surprised that the Labour honeymoon has been so short. It was … Read more
Thousands rally across Israel in new wave of protest Huge numbers of Israelis again poured into the streets to protest against the government’s failure to secure the return of remaining hostages in Gaza, the Associated Press reports. The new protest came a week after one of the largest demonstrations of the war after the discovery … Read more