Tag: reviews

This blog contains all I have to say of the experience of David Hare’s ‘Grace Pervades’ playing at the Haymarket Theatre (seen by me on 9th July at 14.30) and all I have to say about the experience of Simon Stone’s ‘The Oresteia’ playing at the Bridge Theatre (seen by me on 8th July at 19.00) at the moment at least with regard to the last named: for about the latter there will be more. The excuse it addresses is this one: “that since theatre is the basis of theatrical art, no drama in it could ever be anything more nor less than ‘theatrical'”.

July 14, 2026

This blog contains all I have to say of the experience of David Hare’s ‘Grace Pervades’ playing at the Haymarket Theatre (seen by me on 9th July at 14.30) and all I have to say about the experience of Simon Stone’s ‘The Oresteia’ playing at the Bridge Theatre (seen by me on 8th July at … More This blog contains all I have to say of the experience of David Hare’s ‘Grace Pervades’ playing at the Haymarket Theatre (seen by me on 9th July at 14.30) and all I have to say about the experience of Simon Stone’s ‘The Oresteia’ playing at the Bridge Theatre (seen by me on 8th July at 19.00) at the moment at least with regard to the last named: for about the latter there will be more. The excuse it addresses is this one: “that since theatre is the basis of theatrical art, no drama in it could ever be anything more nor less than ‘theatrical'”.

This blog uses Elizabeth Strout (2026) ‘The Things We Never Say’ as a test case for a thesis based on the difficulty of erasing trends from history. In it, the narrator says that Artie Dam, thinks his despair at the ‘state of the world’ relates to the hopeless hope that a dangerous right-wing demagogue does not win an American election fought(and won by the wrong person)  in the background of the narrative yet influential within it. However: ‘because he had studied history. He was aware that in all human existence there had never been a time where people were not killing one another, and why he had not been affected by this as strongly throughout his life as he was these days he could not understand’. As he gets home and removes his sailing boots he suddenly understands that his despair had another more primary cause: ‘It was an accretion of loneliness; …’.

July 12, 2026

This blog uses Elizabeth Strout (2026) The Things We Never Say London, Viking / Penguin as a test case for a thesis based on the difficulty of erasing trends from history. In it, the narrator says that Artie Dam, thinks his despair at the ‘state of the world’ relates to the hopeless hope that a … More This blog uses Elizabeth Strout (2026) ‘The Things We Never Say’ as a test case for a thesis based on the difficulty of erasing trends from history. In it, the narrator says that Artie Dam, thinks his despair at the ‘state of the world’ relates to the hopeless hope that a dangerous right-wing demagogue does not win an American election fought(and won by the wrong person)  in the background of the narrative yet influential within it. However: ‘because he had studied history. He was aware that in all human existence there had never been a time where people were not killing one another, and why he had not been affected by this as strongly throughout his life as he was these days he could not understand’. As he gets home and removes his sailing boots he suddenly understands that his despair had another more primary cause: ‘It was an accretion of loneliness; …’.

I’d tell him: everybody thinks each day full of nothing in particular, but you can construct your day differently! This is a blog on Ira Sach’s Peter Hujar’s Day.

June 16, 2026

I’d tell him: everybody thinks each day full of nothing in particular, but you can construct your day differenly! This is a blog on Ira Sach’s Peter Hujar’s Day The sub-title to Peter Bradshaw’s review in The Guardian of Ira Sach’s masterpiece Peter Hujar’s Day is: ‘Whishaw is not tested by this verbatim retelling of … More I’d tell him: everybody thinks each day full of nothing in particular, but you can construct your day differently! This is a blog on Ira Sach’s Peter Hujar’s Day.

In ‘Grace Pervades’, the character named Henry Irving, based on the great actor-manager says to Ellen Terry, ‘I await eagerly to see what you will do next. It’s always different’. She replies ‘Then how can it always be perfect?’ The answer to that might be the answer to the question: ‘If you could instantly master any skill, what would it be?’

June 14, 2026

In Grace Pervades, the character named Henry Irving, based on the great actor-manager says to Ellen Terry, ‘I await eagerly to see what you will do next. It’s always different’. She replies ‘Then how can it always be perfect?’ The answer to that might be the answer to the question: ‘If you could instantly master … More In ‘Grace Pervades’, the character named Henry Irving, based on the great actor-manager says to Ellen Terry, ‘I await eagerly to see what you will do next. It’s always different’. She replies ‘Then how can it always be perfect?’ The answer to that might be the answer to the question: ‘If you could instantly master any skill, what would it be?’

The French novel always went further than the English novel did, until the latter did it in ‘daring’ pastiche of the French in another art-form. This blog is my preparation to see the National Theatre live- streaming of Christopher Hampton’s ‘Les Liaisons Dangereuse’, adapted from the novel by Choderlos de Laclos written in 1782.

June 6, 2026

The French novel always went further than the English novel did, until the latter did it in ‘daring’ pastiche of the French in another art-form. This blog is my preparation to see the National Theatre live- streaming of Christopher Hampton’s ‘Les Liaisons Dangereuse‘, adapted from the novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos written in 1782. … More The French novel always went further than the English novel did, until the latter did it in ‘daring’ pastiche of the French in another art-form. This blog is my preparation to see the National Theatre live- streaming of Christopher Hampton’s ‘Les Liaisons Dangereuse’, adapted from the novel by Choderlos de Laclos written in 1782.

Relieving a man’s ‘urgent need’ on ‘Love Lane’:  This is a blog about that ‘surprising book’ by Patrick Gale (2026) ‘Love Lane’ London, Tinder Press.

May 8, 2026

Relieving a man’s ‘urgent need’ on ‘Love Lane’:  This is a blog about that ‘surprising book’ by Patrick Gale (2026) Love Lane London, Tinder Press. I have long been a reader and fan of Patrick Gale, though I have only written a blog on one of his novels, Mother’s Boy, a fictional biography of Charles … More Relieving a man’s ‘urgent need’ on ‘Love Lane’:  This is a blog about that ‘surprising book’ by Patrick Gale (2026) ‘Love Lane’ London, Tinder Press.

Making you the man of nerve or nerves you are: from hard resilience to soft and fearful retreat. A case study based on Nicholas Boggs (2026) ‘Baldwin: A  Love Story’ and the import he detects in Baldwin’s role as director of ‘Düşenin Dostu’ (‘Friend of the Fallen’ in English), the Turkish version of John Herbert’s ‘Fortune and Men’s Eyes’ in Istanbul.

April 21, 2026

Making you the man of nerve you are: from hard resilience to soft retreat. A case study based on Nicholas Boggs (2026) Baldwin: A  Love Story and the import he detects in Baldwin’s role as director of Düşenin Dostu (Friend of the Fallen in English), the Turkish version with its tellingly moralistic new Turkish title, of … More Making you the man of nerve or nerves you are: from hard resilience to soft and fearful retreat. A case study based on Nicholas Boggs (2026) ‘Baldwin: A  Love Story’ and the import he detects in Baldwin’s role as director of ‘Düşenin Dostu’ (‘Friend of the Fallen’ in English), the Turkish version of John Herbert’s ‘Fortune and Men’s Eyes’ in Istanbul.

I use ‘social media’ to imagine a void in which a mirror placed therein might be a window or vice-versa and wonder why I talk to what I cannot see in it.

April 17, 2026

I have addressed the cogent reasons for me to use social media in a blog on ‘Why I Blog!’, at this link. But following on from all that is difficult, like driving on through dark empty space and pretending that it can be named as ‘social media’ or some other name that hardly fits the … More I use ‘social media’ to imagine a void in which a mirror placed therein might be a window or vice-versa and wonder why I talk to what I cannot see in it.

How do we travel the distance between us? Seeing the film ‘Midwinter Break’.

March 31, 2026

How do we travel the distance between us? Seeing the film Midwinter Break at the new Reel cinema, Bishop Auckland at 1 p.m. on Monday 30th March 2026. Let’s pause for a moment to acknowledge that the key flashback in Midwinter Break is to a moment in which the Northern Irish troubles hit the lives … More How do we travel the distance between us? Seeing the film ‘Midwinter Break’.

Why we look at a ‘two-dimensional’ picture but watch a picture that contains movement.  The possible role of attentional features of vision.

March 13, 2026

Why we look at a ‘two-dimensional’ picture but watch a picture that contains movement.  The possible role of attentional features of vision. It seems entirely innocent to us to talk about ‘watching’ a film, TV or a ‘movie’ but we don’t often distinguish ‘watxhibg’ from a rather passive act of looking at or gazing at … More Why we look at a ‘two-dimensional’ picture but watch a picture that contains movement.  The possible role of attentional features of vision.

The last thing you learned OUGHT always to be to distrust the learning that refuses to be open to change. Some thoughts about Kirill Serebrennikov’s film ‘The Student’.

March 1, 2026

The last thing you learned OUGHT always to be to distrust the learning that refuses to be open to change. Some thoughts about Kirill Serebrennikov’s film The Student. What if you discovered that every truth you will; ever need, sufficient to contest any other truth, except its own contradictions from the same source, was in … More The last thing you learned OUGHT always to be to distrust the learning that refuses to be open to change. Some thoughts about Kirill Serebrennikov’s film ‘The Student’.

A week of Hamlets: [1] To start, there is a tendency to see Shakespeare’s character Hamlet as a part nightmare dream version of one’s autobiography. Riz Ahmed has won the prize for the finest version of such projects.

February 10, 2026

A week of Hamlets: [1] To start, there is a tendency to see Shakespeare’s character Hamlet as a part nightmare dream version of one’s autobiography. Riz Ahmed has won the prize for the finest version of such projects. For a long time, literary critics have insisted that to see elements of the biographical in the … More A week of Hamlets: [1] To start, there is a tendency to see Shakespeare’s character Hamlet as a part nightmare dream version of one’s autobiography. Riz Ahmed has won the prize for the finest version of such projects.