Beat Generation
Betjeman the beat poet
Recalling a thrilling collaboration between the poet and a group of oddball musicians
On and off the road
Jack Kerouac’s reputation should rest on his whole oeuvre — not just his most famous novel
Two cheers for Trump on free speech
The President-elect cannot just protect speech that he likes
A captivating northern star
If Lise Davidsen sneezes, the opera world shuts down
Why the Conservatives will be anti-woke
Standing up to the thought police is key to making change
Kemi Badenoch won’t save the Conservatives
Her radical credentials are based on pure PR
The self-destruction of the centrists
Chaos looms for the Conservative Party
Francis Bacon’s visceral language
Pain and pleasure are never far away in these portraits
Reparate good times, come on!
The Critic’s Extremely Factual Guide to Slavery Reparations the UK Most Definitely Owes
Labour’s economic policies are incoherent
Labour risks collapsing under the weight of its own inner economic contradictions
Leave our pubs alone
New public health proposals are missing the pint
Dancing with Beethoven
Beethoven: String Quartets, vol.2 (Chandos)
Gothic staging
The Turn of the Screw, Coliseum
