The Critics
A shot of Christmas spirit
The Old Vic’s “A Christmas Carol” is properly affecting
Art of the deal
A simple sale, with money changing hands, was out of the question
One of the greats
Bathos, fatalism, heartbreak: these are the pillars of a MacColl song
Marianna in the trenches
She wants to dive into the murky depths of social media, but her microphone can only scratch the surface
Tawdry tales
The Tales of Hoffmann, Royal Opera House
Back in the arena
If you liked Gladiator, you’ll like Gladiator II
The tragedy of Radio 3
The centenary “celebration” of the BBC Singers summed up everything that has gone wrong
Booze or muse?
Composers have been no slouches when it comes to the sauce
The horror of 7 October on film
The killers’ headset footage, CCTV, interviews with survivors and heart-rending last messages
Shades of Gray
Never underestimate the mysterious yet powerful Sue Gray
From El-Alamein to Ukraine
How has the nature of warfare changed since World War Two?
Confessions of a Melbourne Bus-Fare Evader
I am become bus, destroyer of bourgeois class consciousness
On the awfulness of liberals
The Lords must put the Leadbeater bill to sleep
Patostreamers and the decline of public life
A depressing new trend reflects the impoverished state of social existence
Let’s diversify the curriculum
If we really want diversity, we need to get more traditional
Heroes, villains and lessons in life
Intellectual history, sneered at in Oxford 40 years ago, is all the rage there now
No Kemi, liberalism hasn’t been hacked
Badenoch’s party brought us to this point. It was no accident
Impressive yet unmoving
Franz Schmidt: 4 symphonies (Naxos)
Ministry of Silly Thoughts
Wes Streeting made the grave error of consulting the British people
Don’t marry your cousin
And don’t knock culture wars — they can save lives
Could there be a Reform revolution?
Reform’s Welsh Conference brimmed with optimism — but can that be translated into success?
