Kemi’s childish PMQs debut left a lot to be desired
Slightly childish and she didn’t win. That’s how Kemi Badenoch fared during her first bust-up with Sir Keir Starmer at…
Is Coogan’s Dr Strangelove as good as Sellars’s? Of course not
Stanley Kubrick’s surreal movie Dr Strangelove is a response to the fear of nuclear annihilation which obsessed every citizen in…
Rachel Reeves sounded bored by her own Budget
The Tories lied! That was the thrust of Rachel Reeves’s first Budget today. She was very specific about the falsehoods.…
Revenge tragedy for kids: The Duchess [of Malfi], at Trafalgar Theatre, reviewed
The Duchess [of Malfi] has been partially updated by Zinnie Harris in a puzzling modern-dress production. The set by Tom…
Angela Rayner’s drama-queen habit at PMQs
‘The battle of the gingers.’ That’s how Angela Rayner described her tussle with Oliver Dowden at deputy prime minister’s questions…
Almeida’s Look Back in Anger is flawless
Strange title, Juno and the Paycock. Sean O’Casey’s family drama is about a hard-pressed Dublin matriarch, Juno, whose husband Jack…
Keir Starmer is full of bilge
Who runs Britain’s foreign policy? Not the government, that’s clear. At PMQs, Sir Keir Starmer got a monumental roasting from…
Confessions of a political gambler
What could be more exquisite than the life of the professional gambler? I began my career in 2016 with a…
How is Arnold Wesker’s Roots, which resembles an Archers episode, considered a classic?
The Almeida wants to examine the ‘Angry Young Man’ phenomenon of the 1950s but the term ‘man’ seems to create…
Rishi Sunak is the most effective opposition leader since Tony Blair
Rishi Sunak’s fleet-footed performance at Prime Minister’s Questions exposed many of Keir Starmer’s shortcomings as Prime Minister. Sunak is the…
Reform’s new AI ad is dispiriting and strange
Digital modernity has reached the world of political campaigning. Reform’s new video is the first party political broadcast to use…
Inside the Welsh village where English speakers aren’t welcome
On a Saturday morning, no life stirs. The village café is closed and the ancient church of St Beuno’s is…
Faultless visuals – shame about the play: the National’s Coriolanus reviewed
Weird play, Coriolanus. It’s like a playground fight that spills out into the street and has to be resolved by…
The show belongs to Jonathan Slinger and Ben Whishaw: Waiting for Godot reviewed
Waiting for Godot is a church service for suicidal unbelievers. Those who attend the rite on a regular basis find…
A massive, joyous, sensational hit: Why Am I So Single? reviewed
Why Am I So Single? opens with two actors on stage impersonating the play’s writers Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss.…
The rise of soapy, dead-safe drama: The Band Back Together reviewed
The Band Back Together is a newish play, written and directed by Barney Norris, which succeeds wildly on its own…
Has Keir Starmer forgotten that he’s prime minister?
Shortly before noon, Sir Keir Starmer and his closest chums peeped out from behind the Speaker’s chair to see if…
Dazzling: Stoppard’s The Real Thing, at the Old Vic, reviewed
The Real Thing at the Old Vic is a puzzling beast. And well worth seeing. Director Max Webster sets the…
Nothing gives Keir Starmer joy like banning things
Power hasn’t altered Sir Keir Starmer. His frosty and unamused demeanour remains. No hint of warmth or joy has penetrated…
Artistically embarrassing but a hit: Shifters, at Duke of York’s Theatre, reviewed
Shifters has transferred to the West End from the Bush Theatre. It opens at a granny’s funeral attended by the…
How I lost my faith
God used to exist. He doesn’t any more, but back in the early 1970s he was a major presence in…
The cast mistake screaming for comedy: Cockfosters, at Turbine Theatre, reviewed
The Turbine Theatre is a newish venue beneath the railway arches of Grosvenor Bridge in Battersea. The comfy auditorium is…
This Edinburgh Fringe comedian is headed for stardom
Dr Phil Hammond is a hilarious and wildly successful comedian whose career is built on the ruins of the NHS.…
Being mugged changes you forever
Being mugged changes you forever. My encounter with highwaymen occurred three decades ago in a south London street, in the…
Edinburgh has turned into a therapy session
Therapy seems to be the defining theme of this year’s Edinburgh festival. Many performers are saddled with personal demons or…
