Plain English

  You have to wonder whether our culture is robust enough to survive the death of Jade Goody. Non-British readers probably need to be told that Ms Goody is the most repulsive, rebarbative result yet thrown up by our oxymoronic "celebrity culture." She's a 27-year-old who, in 2002, became notorious as the youngest contestant on the fatuous TV reality show "Big Brother." Despite the fact that … [Read more...]

  Does London have a category of theatre similar to "Off-Broadway"? I suppose you could argue that any show that doesn't originate in the commercial West End qualifies, except that most plays that begin in the several Arts Council-subsidised companies (whether London-based or regional) almost always have limited runs. So the idea of an Off-Broadway production as a commercial one with a … [Read more...]

  London's only paper, the Evening Standard, recently bought by the ex-KGB Russian billionaire, Alexander Lebedev, has had the prescience to send a reporter to survey the aftermath of the 2004 Olympics in Athens. The journalist found stagnant water and garbage in the diving pool, weeds growing through the walkways and dog mess in the site of the Olympic Village. That is the legacy left to … [Read more...]

  Usually I go to performances on their official opening nights, as they are normally the first time the press is admitted, and often the only performance for which the press office has an allocation of tickets. But sometimes that's not possible because of a clash, and, if you ask nicely, the press officer will find you seats sometime later. I've discovered that, especially in the case of … [Read more...]

This week has pointed up, for me and many of my colleagues, a category of critical judgement that all critics hate, the "oh dear" performance. You know exactly what I mean. It's what you say when someone asks you about a play, opera, ballet or concert for which you had high hopes and, usually, some special incentive to get a ticket - a director, actor, conductor, singer or dancer you rate highly, … [Read more...]

On Tuesday, January 27th, the UK Critic's Circle Drama Awards for last year will be announced. Here's a small, incomplete survey of what's happening on the London stage at the beginning of 2009. … [Read more...]

Michael Holroyd is my friend and, since 1972 (senior) partner in literary crime, when we were appointed co-literary executors of the Strachey estate by Alix, the widow of James Strachey, who was the last surviving sibling of Lytton. I plead my special interest here because I have hugely relished his new book, A Strange Eventful History: The Dramatic Lives of Ellen Terry, Henry Irving and their … [Read more...]

Earlier this week the national British papers, which is to say all of them, as there is only one London paper, The Evening Standard, and all the other big daily and Sunday papers are national (it is, after all, mostly one, fairly small island we're talking about), published the New Year's Honours List. This consists of the several hundred names of those whom the queen has decided to give a "gong" … [Read more...]

The annual UK Critic's Circle drama awards nominating forms arrived (electronically) over the holidays; they always give me pause to reflect, and to re-read (and sometimes re-think) my theatre reviews for the year. The rules are strict: every production nominated must have been new in 2008, not transferred to London from somewhere else; and only one nominee is allowed in each category. I found … [Read more...]

  Does anyone but the odd fundamentalist fruitcake still think of Babylon as a synonym for wickedness? It's surprising now to think what a hold this idea has had over the Western imagination for so long a time - it was still a commonplace, after all, in 1916 when D.W. Griffith made "Intolerance." The whole, weird notion is explored in a show at the British Museum until March 15th . You can … [Read more...]