MJ the Musical review – sterilised moonwalk through the King of Pop’s life | Musicals
‘I I want my music to stay that way,” Michael Jackson said on MJ the Musical. No surprises there. The musical, set during rehearsals for the 1992 Dangerous World Tour, coincidentally a year before the sexual allegations against Jackson were brought to light, wipes out nearly all of the scandal surrounding Jackson. It seems like […]
Passenger review – this supernatural thriller is scarily fresh | Television
aYou know, former metropolitan detectives who have moved to a quiet town in the north for personal reasons, yearning for the big cases and exciting days of yesteryear. Be careful what you wish for! Detective Lia Ajungwa (Wunmi Mosaku) is our horny gal here in actor Andrew Buchan’s screenwriting debut (no, come back, come back, […]
Duke Bluebeard’s Castle review – erotic, unsettling and beautifully staged | Opera
TThe opening night of English National Opera’s Bluebeard’s Castle (advertised as a “concert quasi-performance,” but is much more than that) was a unique and surprising production, thanks in no small part to unusual circumstances. , it was completely unforgettable. What was surrounding it. Alison Cooke, who played Judith, left the performance later that day due […]
California Connections: Three Pioneering Women review – superb salute to trailblazing trio | Dance
IIf the title of this mixed bill by York Dance Project brings to mind sunshine and cozy vibes, stop there. To mark the 25th anniversary of her company’s founding, Yolande Yorke-Edgier has put together a program celebrating the female dance pioneers of California (as British artistic directors once did). It’s Not All Sunny Weather: The […]
Ganavya: Like the Sky, I’ve Been Too Quiet review – ornate Tamil vocals, flutes and Floating Points | Music
THis complex vocal acrobatics of North Indian classical music have become fertile ground for exciting fusions in recent years. Singer Arooj Aftab’s delicate variations on Urdu poetry provide the perfect accompaniment to the ambient synth soundscapes and expansive strings of 2021’s Vulture Prince and 2023’s Love in Exile. It also provides the perfect accompaniment for […]
Shakira: Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran review – revenge served disappointingly tepid | Shakira
TThe cover of “Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran” features a close-up shot of Shakira crying, her tears turning into diamonds as they stream down her face. This is a nice summary of relatively recent developments in her singing career. Her 2023 single “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol 53” turned the toxic fallout from her breakup with […]
FBI must hand over Nashville Christian school shooter’s manifesto to judge for review
A judge recently ordered the Federal Bureau of Investigation to: hand over the manifesto The Tennessee Star, a local news outlet, reported on the perpetrator of the Covenant School shooting as a lawsuit filed continues. U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger orders the FBI to turn over the suicide note of a 28-year-old transgender woman who […]
Shirley review – Regina King rises above dutiful, by-the-numbers biopic | Regina King
FOr in all its broader ways, Shirley, Netflix’s new biopic about pioneering politician and one-time presidential candidate Shirley Chisholm, has a point. Some things are not subtle. The film begins with a visualization of the House of Representatives in 1968. Of the 435 members of Congress, only 11 were women, only 5 were black, and […]
Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood review – a quiet novel of immense power | Fiction
WWhat are we going to do about global warming, mass extinctions, and rivers? What ability do we have to change things now that so much of the power is in the hands of unaccountable corporations and shameless demagogues? Is there any point in trying it? The narrator of The Stone Yard Devotional, who has worked […]
Internal review shows aggravating factors in NM officer’s deadly shooting
A New Mexico State Police internal investigation into the shooting death of a police officer who unknowingly stopped an armed drug suspect who was being pursued by federal agents as part of a sting operation in February 2021 highlights flawed tactics and poor communication. This was one of the most important survey results. A report […]