~theguardian-world | Bookmarks (25)

Doctor Who star will play Algernon in the ‘hilariously subversive’ comedy, said artistic director Rufus NorrisDoctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa is to make his debut at the National Theatre in London in Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest.Gatwa will play hedonistic bachelor Algernon Moncrieff in Wilde’s “trivial comedy for serious people” this winter. It marks his first major role in a theatre production...

New album The Tortured Poets Department flies off the shelves as Swift breaks record for most Spotify streams in a single dayTaylor Swift fans joined queues outside vinyl shops yesterday for the annual Record Store Day in the hope of securing a limited edition note from “the desk of Taylor Swift”.The “handwritten” note came with a limited number of copies of the musician’s latest...

Myra Carvalho sentenced to 14 weeks’ imprisonment and banned from seeing singer performA woman who stalked Harry Styles has been jailed and banned from seeing him perform.Myra Carvalho, who appeared at Harrow crown court sitting at Hendon magistrates court in London, was said to have stalked the singer by sending him 8,000 cards in less than a month. Continue reading...

Despite his lack of faith, the author believes ‘something happened that was not supposed to happen’ on the day he was attackedSalman Rushdie has revealed an abiding sense that his survival after a brutal knife attack two years ago was a miracle, in spite of his lack of spiritual faith. “I do feel that something happened that was not supposed to happen and I...

Alex Lidagovsky was forced to leave Ukraine with his family when his studio was bombed during the Russian invasionA Ukrainian sculptor who fled to the UK when his studio was destroyed has been accepted into the Royal Society of British Artists.Alex Lidagovsky was forced to leave Kyiv with his wife, Dasha Nepochatova, and 16-year-old stepdaughter after the Russian invasion began on 24 February 2022....

Maxine Peake and Sarah Schulman among signatories of open letter asking singer to withdraw from contest More than 450 queer artists, individuals and organisations have called on the UK’s Eurovision contestant, Olly Alexander, to boycott this year’s competition in solidarity with Palestine.The actor Maxine Peake and the novelist and playwright Sarah Schulman are among the signatories of the open letter calling on the singer...

Insight report based on data from UK Musicians’ Census also found 33% said they had been sexually harassed in the industryMore than half of women have experienced gender discrimination while working as a musician, with a third reporting being sexually harassed, a report has revealed.Female musicians are more than eight times more likely to have experienced gender discrimination than their male colleagues, at 51%...

From expensive rent to efforts to keep up with fashion, a young man’s missives on display in Cumbria are relatable to todayWhen Ben Browne set off on horseback from his small village in the north of England for the bright lights of London in 1719, his concerns were not so different from those of today’s young people. Mainly: please send money, everything is so...

Imogen Wade’s The Time I Was Mugged in New York City impresses judges for ‘lyricism in the account of an abduction’• Scroll down to read the winning poemA poem inspired by the author’s experience of being mugged has won the first prize of £5,000 in the National Poetry Competition.The Time I Was Mugged in New York City by Imogen Wade tells the story of...

Figures show many still ‘out of the habit’ of visiting museums, galleries, cathedrals, castles and country housesVisitor numbers to the UK’s museums, galleries, cathedrals, zoos, castles and country houses are increasing but remain stubbornly below pre-pandemic levels, with a significant number of people still “out of the habit” of having a day out.Figures released by the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA) on Monday...

London mayor’s office hopes works for Trafalgar Square will continue tradition of fostering debate over artA bronze sculpture paying homage to a woman of colour; and a hollow, lifesized person on a horse cast in a slime-green resin will be the next two artworks installed on Trafalgar Square’s fourth plinth.The works by Tschabalala Self and Andra Ursuța were selected from a shortlist which included...

Guy Chambers says future albums may need disclaimers about how they were made amid rise of AI’s use for writing songsThe songwriter behind hits for Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue has described the acceleration in use of artificial intelligence in the music industry as “terrifying” because of its potential to replace songwriters.Guy Chambers, who has collaborated with Williams over more than two decades, said:...

Entertainment company pays tribute to performer’s ‘impeccable dancing’ and ‘vibrant spirit’The former Strictly Come Dancing professional Robin Windsor has died at the age of 44.He most recently appeared in the stage show Come What May, a tribute to Moulin Rouge. Continue reading...

Public encouraged to comment on seven artists’ proposals for ephemeral pedestal in Trafalgar SquareA sweet potato island; a hollow, lifesized person on a horse cast in slime-green resin; and a golden bronze sculpture of a woman whose features have been amalgamated are among the shortlisted ideas for the next fourth plinth commission in Trafalgar Square.Organisers of the contemporary art installation announced on Monday seven...

Price says the number of exhibitions focused on black artists has ‘set a new standard’ for representation in the UKThe British art world can no longer ignore or marginalise black artists, according to the sculptor Thomas J Price, who believes black British culture is finally being absorbed into the mainstream.Price said the large number of exhibitions featuring black British artists – such as Entangled...

Creator of Spamalot says he sold home last year and that comedy troupe he co-founded in 1969 ‘is a disaster’The Monty Python star Eric Idle has said that he has continued to work at the age of 80 for financial reasons.The comedian and actor, known for his role as Sir Robin the-not-quite-so-brave-as-Sir-Lancelot in Monty Python and the Holy Grail and for many other characters...

Abstract painter hopes to inspire young people with fine art after government cuts made it the ‘preserve of the elite’Sir Frank Bowling, one of Britain’s most celebrated abstract painters, is selling prints of his work to help fund art supplies for 100 primary schools in England as part of a project that he hopes will be a “gamechanger” in art education by making state...

The literary department at the London theatre is renowned for taking risks with untried playwrights, but is now under threatThe Royal Court is known for putting the names of emerging playwrights up in lights for the first time, but is the voltage now dimming for Britain’s best known path into theatre writing? The Royal Court’s literary department is struggling to survive as the venue...

Actor says seats costing £150 are driving away young people and risk keeping theatre ‘elitist’Actor Andrew Scott has suggested cheap theatre tickets should be put on a “sale rack” so that young people can see West End productions without having to spend £150.The actor, known for television roles such as the “hot” priest in Fleabag and Moriarty in Sherlock, has won two Olivier Awards...

Singer told to rest for two weeks, forcing him to cancel gigs in California and Los AngelesThe singer Morrissey is being treated for “physical exhaustion” after cancelling a number of dates on his current tour.His tour manager said on Saturday he had been told to rest for two weeks. Continue reading...

The Smiths guitarist and co-songwriter says ‘consider this shit shut right down right now’ after seeing footage of rally in South DakotaThe Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr has signalled that he will move to stop Donald Trump’s presidential campaign from using the band’s music at his rallies.Marr responded on X after a user shared footage of a Trump rally in South Dakota in 2023 in...

June Givanni founded London archive documenting Pan-African cinema over 40 yearsA pioneering curator, writer and programmer of African film is to receive Bafta’s outstanding British contribution to cinema award.June Givanni is the founder of a London archive that has amassed more than 10,000 items – including films, ephemera, manuscripts, audio, photography and posters – documenting Pan-African cinema over 40 years. Continue reading...

Theatreland is taking a gamble on a wave of quirky little shows to challenge the big but tired box office beasts A fresh kind of musical theatre show, set apart by having started life on the fringe or in a small-scale provincial production, is challenging the established order in London’s West End this season.A wave of new, quirky productions will be taking their places...

British singer says ‘I am proud of my physicality’ after advert is banned by Advertising Standards AuthorityFKA twigs has defended a Calvin Klein advertisement she featured in that was banned earlier this week by the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).The singer appeared in the poster ad dressed in a shirt held across her semi-nude body. Following two complaints from the public, the ASA said...