I Am the Wind - theatre review

 Posted on April 27, 2024  |  3 minutes  |  431 words  |  Aldo Pusey

TheatreReviewYoung Vic, London You can't beat a pre-emptive strike. Both Jon Fosse and Patrice Chereau, the Norwegian author and French director of this strange piece, have said in advance they expect to be critically slaughtered. Yet just as, in opposition to the majority, I admired Fosse's Nightsongs and The Girl On The Sofa, so I found myself absorbed by this 70-minute play; and, whatever it may mean, there is no denying the production's visual bravura. [Read More]

Kirstie Alley obituary | US television

 Posted on April 27, 2024  |  6 minutes  |  1218 words  |  Jenniffer Sheldon

US televisionObituaryKirstie Alley obituaryAmerican actor known for her roles in the hit TV sitcom Cheers and many popular films including the Look Who’s Talking seriesFive years into the hit sitcom Cheers, set in a homely neighbourhood bar in Boston, its female lead Shelley Long, who played the prim waitress Diane, quit the series. This left Sam (Ted Danson), the self-obsessed bar-owner, no one to spar with, and risked depriving the show of its screwball-style sexual tension. [Read More]

Peaky Blinders recap: series three, episode two enter Paddy Considine the creep

 Posted on April 27, 2024  |  8 minutes  |  1505 words  |  Kary Bruening

Father John Hughes, played by Paddy Considine – a man who can raise the hairs on your neck with one slow smile. Photograph: Robert Viglasky/BBC/Caryn Mandabach/Tiger AspectFather John Hughes, played by Paddy Considine – a man who can raise the hairs on your neck with one slow smile. Photograph: Robert Viglasky/BBC/Caryn Mandabach/Tiger AspectPeaky Blinders: episode by episodePeaky BlindersThe devil wears a dog collar and despoils children … did Tommy Shelby just meet his ultimate adversary in Considine’s Father John Hughes? [Read More]

Singer, musician, sex offender: lets remember the whole Chuck Berry | Hadley Freeman

 Posted on April 27, 2024  |  5 minutes  |  883 words  |  Valentine Belue

Chuck Berry in 1968. Photograph: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty ImagesChuck Berry in 1968. Photograph: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty ImagesHadley Freeman's Weekend columnLife and style This article is more than 6 years oldSinger, musician, sex offender: let’s remember the whole Chuck BerryThis article is more than 6 years oldHadley FreemanWhy do we turn a blind eye to Berry’s convictions, but not Roman Polanski’s? When Chuck Berry died last weekend the obituaries spoke as one – he was an extraordinary talent who had lived an extraordinary life – and everyone from Barack Obama to Mick Jagger rushed to tweet their unqualified admiration. [Read More]

What is the origin of the Jacobs join dinner party?

 Posted on April 27, 2024  |  1 minutes  |  166 words  |  Valentine Belue

Notes and queriesFoodReaders answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific conceptsI have tried for many years to discover the origin of the term “Jacob’s join”. It is a phrase used in Lancashire and Cumbria for each guest bringing a plate of food to a party. The party will be either in a hall or in a host’s house, who is relieved of the food preparation. [Read More]

Woman found dead after apparent grizzly bear attack near Yellowstone national park | US news

 Posted on April 27, 2024  |  2 minutes  |  330 words  |  Kary Bruening

US news This article is more than 5 months oldWoman found dead after apparent grizzly bear attack near Yellowstone national parkThis article is more than 5 months oldBear tracks found at scene investigators say, as Montana sees increase in grizzly sightings A woman has been found dead in Montana after coming into contact with a grizzly bear on a trail west of Yellowstone national park. The state’s fish, wildlife and parks department said the woman was found deceased on Saturday on a trail near West Yellowstone, a Montana town nestled in the Custer Gallatin national forest just west of Yellowstone national park. [Read More]

Actor Emile Hirsch pleads guilty to assaulting female studio executive | Utah

 Posted on April 26, 2024  |  3 minutes  |  536 words  |  Chauncey Koziol

Actor Emile Hirsch pleads guilty to assault at Sundance film festival – link to video GuardianUtah This article is more than 8 years oldActor Emile Hirsch pleads guilty to assaulting female studio executiveThis article is more than 8 years oldAs part of a plea deal, the Into the Wild star will serve 15 days in jail, pay a $4,750 fine and do community service – and then the charge will be dismissed [Read More]

Doctor Who Christmas special review Ncuti Gatwa is so charismatic you want to leap into the TV w

 Posted on April 26, 2024  |  5 minutes  |  890 words  |  Valentine Belue

TV reviewDoctor WhoReviewThis exhilaratingly fun adventure features CGI goblins and Davina McCall, but it’s the raw magnetism of the new Doctor that’s the real joy. He’s astoundingly, knee-weakeningly smooth The Doctor can be many things. They can change race, gender, age and even be from Salford, but one thing has to remain for each version to be convincing. They have to be so charismatic that their companion would undoubtedly leave their life behind to follow them through space and time. [Read More]

Love poems: writers choose their favourites for Valentine's Day

 Posted on April 26, 2024  |  29 minutes  |  6114 words  |  Jenniffer Sheldon

PoetryIs there a perfect love poem? Authors and poets choose those verses that have special meaning for themA new poem by Carol Ann DuffyNear (for N.D.) Far, we are near, meet in the rain which falls here; gathered by light, air; falls there where you are, I am; lips to those drops now on yours, nearer … absence the space we yearn in, clouds drift, cluster, east to west, north, south; [Read More]

Poem of the week: Words by Edward Thomas | Edward Thomas

 Posted on April 26, 2024  |  7 minutes  |  1300 words  |  Jenniffer Sheldon

Carol Rumens's poem of the weekEdward ThomasPoem of the week: Words by Edward ThomasThis loose-limbed lyric on the elemental power of language seems rooted in a distinctly Welsh landscapePoets choose their words with the utmost care, don't they? "The best words in the best order" and all that? In this week's poem, "Words", Edward Thomas echoes John Keats rather than Coleridge, calling on words to choose him. This is perhaps extreme negative capability. [Read More]