The Critics
Beneath Disney’s Hood
Robin Hood marked the beginning of a steep decline for the much-loved brand
Palin was a rare Radio 4 treat
The triumph of Michael Palin’s Book of the Week and the tragedy of Radio 4 comedy
Divine trickery
Jephtha, Royal Opera House
Passionate subjectivity
La traviata, ENO, Coliseum
Resurrecting Lavery
The decline of Sir John Lavery’s reputation was undeserved
Does the Turner Prize still matter?
This year’s exhibition offers a diversity of style if not of ideology
Have I seen the future of music?
On a performance in three dimensions for all five senses
Missing the point
Why opera needs fictional dead women
Rock benediction
Make-Up gig is a matter of performance
A novel collector
The legacy left by art collector and novelist Hugh Walpole
Keir’s comms catastrophe
Labour’s goal is clear but its messaging is anything but
Libyans, Parisians and London Irish
Dry-ish, spare, clear-eyed — rare in a world of literary bloat, sentiment and overstatement
Up-and-down towns
The rise and fall of English towns in the 1960s and 80s
America will be fine
The American system is far more resilient than it looks
There is no “Woke Right”
A new attempt to delineate the boundaries of acceptable opinion has failed
Was the Budget stupid or malicious?
It is going to fuel youth unemployment
Must-Miss TV
Your regular Critic round-up of the hottest shows and films.
A real plan for growth
A series of simple economic blunders has led to self-defeating policies that strangle any chance of prosperity for all
End of the Long Peace?
Our technological and institutional sophistication will not eliminate conflict
The Lost Gardens of London
The war between city and greenery is eternal; the concrete and asphalt seeks open land to engulf
On the King’s Road to ruin
The decline of commerce on Chelsea’s celebrated street is a worrying sign for London
