After the leaks, "certain incidents began occurring that resembled the fictional action. ... A fight broke out during the mixed doubles tennis tournament. ... There were rumours of marital affairs. A complaint was made that the tennis players were too 'cosy' with yacht club members." - The Guardian (UK)
"The beauty of going to the movies was never just about the films on the screens — it was about the way we all gathered to watch them." - The New York Times
In the nineteenth century, "The tears were a form of praise. The femaleness of response, though, became a negative." Until the trauma plot, and the meme "Do you even cry, bro?" - LitHub
"Yet despite these (shrinking) numbers, subscriptions are here to stay, say Bay Area theater leaders, partly because the basic numbers don't tell the whole story." - MSN (San Francisco Chronicle)
"In the post-pandemic era, Philadelphia’s cultural districts often look like the good old days: streets and sidewalks crosshatched with arts patrons animating the city's parking garages, restaurants, theaters, and bars. On other nights: crickets." - MSN (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
"After filing for bankruptcy protection in 2020, Cirque decided it had to be more than just a circus. It wanted to be a brand, something that could sell perfumes, sunglasses, tote bags and video games. So over the past year the circus brought in consultants ..." - The New York Times
Nielsen Audio ratings indicate that, over the past two years, market share and estimated listener numbers have fallen at an alarming rate at KQED in San Francisco (traditionally public radio's strongest market), WBEZ in Chicago, WNYC in New York, and KCRW and KPCC/LAist in Los Angeles. - Three Things
"'It’s impossible not to be distraught about the state of the field,' said Christopher Moses, an artistic director of the Alliance Theater in Atlanta. 'It’s clear this is the hardest time to be producing nonprofit theater, maybe in the history of the nonprofit movement.'" - The New York Times
An app is coming to your rescue (surely it will be banned soon as well). Digital Public Library of America officials say they use "GPS-based 'geo-targeting' to show readers the books that have been banned in their area, with e-book versions available to borrow digitally." - Publishers Weekly
"The earliest of Matthews’s Shakespeare workshops for fellow cast members was in 2001, for ... Romeo and Juliet in Los Angeles. He also held the classes for the Broadway production of To Kill a Mockingbird and has led them for the Actors Center in New York." - The New York Times
"Of the 184 cultural organisations surveyed, and 1,011 individual responses from those working within arts organisations, more than half the respondents conceded they had made little or no changes to their programming or outreach programs to attract audiences from different cultures, age groups, geographic locations and gender identities." - The Guardian
The streaming company added 5.9 million new paid subscribers during the second quarter of 2023, the first period after instituting what it calls its "paid sharing" strategy. - The Hollywood Reporter
Never fear, Europe. Though the language itself seems to have invaded every corner of France, an announced focus on English this summer at the Avignon (theatre) Festival turned out to be mildly interesting at best. - The New York Times
"To watch a show the customer has to insert their phone into the VR device. Once the phone is place, the users strap the box, effectively a pair of cardboard goggles, around their head and plug in their own headphones. The app then streams a recorded performance." - BBC
"Staff apparently turned up for work at branches on Friday to find notes on windows explaining they were closing down." This leaves Sunderland (yes, the town of Roy Kent's first team) and Wigan suddenly without large cinemas. - BBC
