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'The Winter's Tale' at The Lion and the Unicorn Theatre, 29th December 2014
I've got to admit, the prospect of a "steampunk reimagining of Shakespeare" filled me with a cold sense of dread. For those not down with geeky subcultures, steampunk is essentially Victorian...
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'American Sniper' (2014) directed by Clint Eastwood
The most positive thing I can say about American Sniper is that it's at least up front about being military propaganda. There's none of the crypto-intellectual ideological obfuscation of Zero Dark...
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'The One Festival: Programme A' at The Space, 7th January 2015
Over the next couple of days I'm going to see 17 small plays at the One Festival. From what I gather these are going to be monologues; bite-sized portions of new drama of varying subject matter and...
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'Testament of Youth' (2014) directed by James Kent
With the economy in the shitter, the dismemberment of the public sector, the stage-managed collapse of the NHS and the revelation that the Britain military didn't so much fail in Afghanistan and Iraq...
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'The One Festival: Programme C' at The Space, 9th January 2015
Another day, another round of monologues at The One Festival. These performances are theatre stripped right down to the bone: just a human being, a stage and a story to tell. I'm loving the process...
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'SuicideGirls: Blackheart Burlesque' at the Electric Ballroom, 10th January 2014
I try keep a cool, analytical mind at every event I attend, but there's only so much my brain can cope with when I'm presented with strobe lights, billowing clouds of dry ice and sexy girls in ape...
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'The One Festival: Programme D' at The Space, 10th January 2015
Tackling The One Festival has proved to be deeply enjoyable. Though The Space theatre is way down in the depths of the Isle of Dogs, it's friendly, open and helpful. I'm even enjoying the cycle ride...
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'Bat Boy the Musical' at the Southwark Playhouse, 14th January 2014
Forget war in Yugoslavia, presidential elections and economic turmoil, in 1992 one headline stood head and shoulders above the rest: 'BAT CHILD FOUND IN CAVE'. The front page showed a screaming,...
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'Dante's Inferno: A Modern Telling' at the Rag Factory, 15th January 2015
What happens when Dante Alighieri meets Russell Brand? Dante's Inferno: A Modern Telling is what, and boy oh boy it's a tricky one to review. You see this, unlike so much of the mindless rubbish...
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'Whiplash' (2014) directed by Damien Chazelle
There's something extraordinarily satisfying about watching Whiplash. As soon as its over you realise that you've seen the best film about drumming ever. Yep, in the entire 120-odd years of cinema...
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'The One Festival: Programme B' at The Space, 16th January 2015
This was my second stab at visiting Programme B. Last Sunday evening I turned up at The Space Arts Centre, notebook in hand and an expectant look on my face. Opening the door I was greeted by silence...
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'The Quentin Dentin Show' at Rich Mix, 17th January 2015
Any show that ends with a dead angel splattered with raw mince is basically alright in my book. That's the concluding image of The Quentin Dentin Show, a strange little musical amuse-bouche that dances...
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'Big Hero 6' (2014) directed by Don Hall & Chris Williams
Peeling back the mirror-polished carbon-fibre shell of Big Hero 6 reveals a bustling throng of fascinating influences. At its most basic level Disney's latest is a superhero origin tale via Japanese...
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'Kingsman: The Secret Service' (2015) directed by Matthew Vaughn
Mid-way through Kingsman Colin Firth and Samuel L Jackson mutually bemoan the death of the "gentleman spy movie". In 2015 the three JBs, James Bond, Jason Bourne and Jack Bauer, staked out a common...
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'The Tea and Crumpets Filmcast Episode 13'
My appearance on episode 13 of the Tea and Crumpets Filmcast. Dominic Mill and Liam Dunn host, together with Dr Lindsay Hallam, Matthew Lee and myself. On the chopping block this week: Whiplash,...
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'New Atlantis' at The Crystal, 20th January 2015
In 1627 Francis Bacon published his utopian novel New Atlantis. Here he laid out an optimistic vision of humanity's future where "generosity and enlightenment, dignity and splendour, piety and public...
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'Theatre Ad Infinitum: Light' at the Barbican Centre, 21st January 2015
Dystopian cyberpunk mime theatre? Sign me the hell up. When I read about Light, described as "blending anime-style storytelling and a pulsating soundscape"" I couldn't get a ticket fast enough. I...
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'The Lark' at The Rose Playhouse, 22nd January 2015
As much archaeological dig as theatre, The Rose Playhouse isn't the cosiest space to spend a January night. Nestled underneath a skyscraper, it's unheated and cavernous, the air rapidly chilling to a...
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'Mortdecai' (2015) directed by David Koepp
In the absence of press screenings (always a worrying sign) I trooped up to Angel and forked up for a ticket. At the Islington Vue they directed me to a tiny screen I'd never even noticed before,...
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David Elms at the Pleasance Theatre, 25th January 2015
From December to February, The Pleasance Theatre is transforming into a laboratory. Clad in surgical whites, clipboard in hand, comedians are playing scientist; experimenting with new material,...
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