The Critics

Cheer leaders

Opera unswervingly believes in the potential for a divine spark in humans, says Robert Thicknesse

From disaster to opportunity

London’s orchestral rat-race will have fewer runners when musical life returns, says Norman Lebrecht

Fact or Fiction: an introductory guide

As the misrepresentations in The Crown call for historical dramas to be clearer in their creative license, Romeo Coates offers a brieg guide to fact and fiction in drama

Dress sense

The average rock band from the 1980s onwards dressed as if they were going to fix your car, not blow your mind

The universal appeal of self-pity

Zeinab Badawi’s ‘The History of Africa’ (BBC World News)

Learning to love Big Brother

A contemporary political drama uses the double whammy of Covid and Brexit to reanimate older, primeval forces

His own best character

A new Netflix release has been trailed as a masterpiece, with myriad claims to Oscar recognition, says Christopher Silvester

Carving out a new genre

Digital theatre is now beginning to offer stalls-starved audiences the kind of quality work they would have queued to see live

Stars, stripes and dollars

Michael Prodger on the artists who make huge sums for painting the US flag

Tunes of glory

How do you love a song you disagree with?