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 dailyLockdown laughs: where to watch online comedyThe National Theatre at Home initiative has reached a huge...

The eerie beauty of Britain's deserted playgrounds – in pictures

Ciaran McCrickard began photographing abandoned playgrounds in England at the start of lockdown. “Parks that would have been well-loved and well maintained by local authorities suddenly looked forlorn, unkempt, forgotten,” says the photographer. “At...

Mulatu Astatke & Black Jesus Experience: To Know Without Knowing review – an absorbing ride

(Agogo)The Melbourne ensemble reunite with the father of Ethio-jazz for a driving Cuban, funk, reggae workoutLike one of its sinuous melodies, Ethiopian jazz continues to take unexpected turns. Melbourne’s Black Jesus Experience are one such, an ecle...

On my radar: Rachel Parris on her cultural highlights

The comedian and Mash Report star on Lemn Sissay’s memoir, Tank and the Bangas’ mindblowing hip-hop, and a very weird podcastComedian and musician Rachel Parris was born in 1984 in Leicester. She stars in BBC Two’s satirical news show The Mash Report...

Family Romance, LLC review – Werner Herzog's moving rent-a-family tale

Herzog tells the story of a Tokyo company that offers stand-ins for absent family and admirers in this thought-provoking tragicomedy shot like a documentaryAccording to its director, Werner Herzog, this surreal, strangely moving tragicomedy, based on...

One to watch: Remi Wolf

With nods to Prince and Anderson .Paak, the Californian’s funky soul-pop is as lurid as her videosWhile she begrudgingly refers to her trippy, kaleidoscopic musical melange as “funky soul pop”, 24-year-old California musician Remi Wolf isn’t a huge f...

Paul Weller: On Sunset review – a mellower modfather

(Polydor)The Changingman reveals his spiritual side on his funky, shimmering 15th solo albumWhen you think of Paul Weller, you do not picture him on Hollywood’s notorious Sunset Strip. Baked either by the sun or lurid neon, a tourist hell trading on...

Books to transport you: the best travellers' tales for troubled times

From Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s flights over deserts to Scott’s last expedition to the Antarctic, Sophy Roberts picks her favouritesIn times like these, I’m drawn towards short stories, novellas and pithy memoirs with a powerful sense of far-flung pl...

Through the Darkest of Times review – join the anti-Nazi resistance

(Paintbucket Games/HandyGames; PC, Mac, iOS, Android)This captivating game, in which you coordinate a group of anti-Nazi activists in 1930s Berlin, is an essential reminder of how fascism takes root and growsThe full and final exposure of atrocities...

Classical home listening: of love and death and snails

The Navarra String Quartet cover all bases, from Schubert to A Bullfighter’s Prayer. Plus, Nicholas Maw and a new opera with a cause• The title Love and Death (Orchid Classics) could incorporate nearly all music ever written. The Navarra String Quart...

‘I don’t know if I’ll ever get over it’: how it feels to make a TV flop

For every Game Of Thrones, there’s a Marco Polo. What are the human costs of a show that disappears without trace?John Fusco has been writing scripts for 34 years. In that time, he’s seen his work brought to life by stars including Jackie Chan and Wo...

George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces: Grand Designs with a smile on its face

Nine series in and Clarke’s self-build makeover show remains the happy alternative to Kevin McCloud’s wry forebear My favourite thing about George Clarke, a strong set of teeth with a man from Sunderland wrapped round it, is that he laughs on camera....

Love beyond sex, money and property: a case for friendship

Reading novels about groups of friends can be an emotional lifeline in times of isolation – from pandemic lockdown to the aftermath of divorce From Donna Tartt to Irvine Welsh: 10 great novels about friendship What claims do friendships retain, as fa...

‘We’re the explicit Vengaboys’: meet Bad Boy Chiller Crew, Bradford's bassline stars

Their songs of ‘bikes, jewellery and JD Sports’ have made the West Yorkshire rappers an underground hit. Now they’re aiming for the mainstreamIt is a sweltering afternoon in Minsk, Belarus, yet Bad Boy Chiller Crew are looking decidedly, well, chille...

Reel challenge: what will cinema look like after lockdown is relaxed?

Blockbusters such as Tenet and Mulan are slated for a summer release, but the future of film is shrouded in uncertaintyModern Toss on cinemas reopening from 4 July ...Cinema is back at last! Less with a big, cannonball splash off the high board than...