The Turn of the Screw review haunting, claustrophobic staging keeps the tension high

 Posted on May 11, 2024  |  3 minutes  |  487 words  |  Aldo Pusey

OperaReviewUstinov Studio, Theatre Royal, Bath Isabelle Kettle’s new production of Britten’s chamber opera works well in the tiny Ustinov studio, blessed with a strong cast and many imaginative touches Isabelle Kettle’s new production of Britten’s 1954 chamber opera for Bath’s Ustinov Studio is properly haunting. Based on Henry James’s novella about orphaned children whose governess believes them to be prey to malign influences, it is a horror story which becomes a tragedy. [Read More]

Wretchedness by Andrzej Tichy review a tornado of voices and timelines

 Posted on May 11, 2024  |  3 minutes  |  595 words  |  Valentine Belue

Book of the dayFictionReviewA Swedish cellist’s encounter with a homeless junkie stirs memories of his own troubled youth in this radical short novel If modernism exposed the ordinary realist novel as a kind of cover-up job on the essential messiness of human consciousness, its aversion to literary norms – chapter breaks, speech marks, tidy syntax and the like – have been debated ever since: even the chair of the Booker jury that gave the prize to Anna Burns’s Milkman suggested readers might find it easier going as an audiobook. [Read More]

Chess: The Musical review Abbas ridiculous cold war musical is absurdly complicated fun

 Posted on May 10, 2024  |  5 minutes  |  934 words  |  Valentine Belue

AbbaReview Natalie Bassingthwaite, Paulini and Rob ‘Millsy’ Mills feature in a serendipitously timed revival of the less than loved musical Regent theatre, Melbourne Despite being around 800 years old, chess – the game – is, improbably, back. Last year, Netflix released The Queen’s Gambit, a seven-part miniseries about a tortured chess prodigy who struggles with addiction while striving to become one of the world’s best players. Set in the 50s and 60s and starring actress and model Anya Taylor-Joy, the show brought clout and glamour back to a tradition sorely in need of it. [Read More]

Largest testicles of any species? That would be the bush cricket | Reproduction

 Posted on May 10, 2024  |  3 minutes  |  512 words  |  Aldo Pusey

Reproduction This article is more than 13 years oldLargest testicles of any species? That would be the bush cricketThis article is more than 13 years oldScientists say the record-breaking testicles may allow the male cricket to mate with several females in quick successionThe animal kingdom has gained a new record holder after scientists declared a species of cricket to possess the largest known testes of any creature in relation to its body mass. [Read More]

Pepsi werent counting on a dreamer like me: the student who sued a soft drink giant for a $

 Posted on May 10, 2024  |  8 minutes  |  1654 words  |  Kary Bruening

Television & radioInterview‘Pepsi weren’t counting on a dreamer like me’: the student who sued a soft drink giant for a $23m fighter jetStuart HeritageWhen the cola brand launched a points-for-prizes scheme in the 90s, John Leonard spotted a loophole and fought for what he saw as rightly his: a Harrier jump jet. A new documentary tells the wild story In 1996, PepsiCo – then known for creating the young, cool, carbonated drink of a generation – made an incredible mistake. [Read More]

Santa Fe monument to controversial frontiersman Kit Carson vandalized | New Mexico

 Posted on May 10, 2024  |  3 minutes  |  448 words  |  Chauncey Koziol

New Mexico This article is more than 4 months oldSanta Fe monument to controversial frontiersman Kit Carson vandalizedThis article is more than 4 months oldMayor denounces ‘cowardly act’ targeting US soldier involved in death of hundreds of Native Americans in 19th century Police in New Mexico’s capital city are investigating the partial destruction of a public monument to a 19th-century frontiersman and US soldier who had a leading role in the death of hundreds of Native Americans during Anglo-American settlement of the American West. [Read More]

The interview: Robert Pirsig

 Posted on May 10, 2024  |  14 minutes  |  2814 words  |  Jenniffer Sheldon

The ObserverBooksReviewThe Seventies bestseller Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was the biggest-selling philosophy book ever. But for the reclusive author life was bitter-sweet. Here, he talks frankly about anxiety, depression, the death of his son and the road trip that inspired a classic.At 78, Robert Pirsig, probably the most widely read philosopher alive, can look back on many ideas of himself. There is the nine-year-old-boy with the off-the-scale IQ of 170, trying to work out how to connect with his classmates in Minnesota. [Read More]

While walking this summer I have passed through many kissing gates. Does anyone know the orign of th

 Posted on May 10, 2024  |  2 minutes  |  271 words  |  Jenniffer Sheldon

THIS SCEPTRED ISLEWhile walking this summer I have passed through many kissing gates. Does anyone know the orign of these gates or where the name comes from. I would love to know as my husband always insists on a kiss as we pass through! Rosemary Pearce, Nantwich, UK I was always lead to believe that these gates were often placed on the entrances to churchyards so that unmarried couples could not pass through. [Read More]

Why shouldnt two opponents kiss each other after a game?

 Posted on May 10, 2024  |  5 minutes  |  1025 words  |  Valentine Belue

Moving the Goalposts newsletterWomen's footballAnna Tamminen and Rosa Herreros received criticism after a Swedish top-flight game but their show of affection shows the women’s game’s inclusivity Moving the Goalposts: sign up for our free weekly newsletter It is a picture of a kiss – an everyday human interaction between partners after 90 minutes on opposing sides. Posted by Football Is Everywhere along with the caption “Football is Love, everywhere”, the photo of the Swedish top-flight players Anna Tamminen and Rosa Herreros is a perfect example of a sport renowned for its inclusiveness. [Read More]