The Critics
Soothing sounds in time of war
There are expectations going back to 1948 that musicians turn up to provide relief
The curious case of the “Gaylor” affair
Whatever the framing, the sexuality is the story
A night of spectacle and special effects
Stranger Things: The First Shadow designers aren’t afraid to raid the treasure trove
High art or high camp?
Elektra, Royal Opera House
Row, row, row your boat
“The Boys On The Boat” is wholesome but unconvincing
Goodnight Vienna
A new Austrian musical taps dark material to produce a brilliant, unsettling and darkly funny exploration of the Anschluss
The imagination of Ensor
The great Belgian painter could enliven the most mundane scenes
Behind the scenes at the museums
The exhibits missing from the globe’s galleries and museums
The geopolitical prescience of Handel
On opera’s flirtation with current affairs
Retro Rodrigo is primo
A new nostalgia listening to GUTS
Sports inequity
Modern academia wants us to believe six impossible things before breakfast
How long can Ireland’s gender equality hold?
A gender divide in voting is not as clear as in other countries — but that could change
A beguiling star who loved melodrama
Taylor’s hunger for money, flashy gizmos and flashier gewgaws found its echo in Burton’s need to forsake the classics
Reaping a bitter harvest
Labour are struggling to justify their own policies
Labour’s economic policies are incoherent
Labour risks collapsing under the weight of its own inner economic contradictions
October letters
Misquoting Shakespeare and a rounded sense of humour
Doublespeak about assisted suicide
The campaign for assisted suicide is distinctly Orwellian
Death by a thousand cuts
The near-invisibility of the Proms on BBC TV is a symptom of the collapse of public service broadcasting in Britain
The 300 Years’ War
How conflict over land ownership shaped conflict over Ireland
In defence of the stiff upper lip
Emotional reserve in public does not mean neglecting our interior lives, it means being serious about them
Nigel’s knees-up
Can Reform become a serious contender for power?
