When Lancashire and Texas united to fashion a modern psychedelic landmark. 2004’s superb These Were The Earlies by The Earlies is reissued for its 21st anniversary (out through @inhousepress.bsky.social). I’ve looked at it today for @theartsdesk.bsky.social: www.theartsdesk.com/new-music/mu...

★★★★ #JenniferFrance @londonphil.bsky.social #EdwardGardner @southbankcentre.bsky.social - The sound of other worlds, from snowbound contemporary classic to #Mahler's folk-tale heaven - @boydtonkin.bsky.social enthralled by #HansAbrahamsen's icily beautiful song-cycle theartsdesk.com/classical-mu...

★★ HAMLET @nationaltheatre.org.uk - Turning tragedy to comedy is no joke, says Demetrios Matheou, and #HiranAbeyeskera’s childlike prince falls flat in a mixed production theartsdesk.com/theatre/haml...

'It’s actually a really weird album, but somehow less fun than that makes it sound' - #TaylorSwift THE LIFE OF A SHOWGIRL - 'This album is impressive', says @joemuggs.bsky.social, but he's swayed by odd times and clunking lines in the superstar's latest theartsdesk.com/new-music/od...

LEE MILLER @tategallery.bsky.social - Fashion photographer, artist or war reporter; will the real Lee Miller please step forward? Sarah Kent on an extraordinary career that remains an enigma, and a show that does not quite catch her elusive essence theartsdesk.com/visual-arts/...

LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE @theroyalballet.bsky.social - #ChristopherWheeldon's version looks great but is too muddling to connect with fully - splendid dancing and sets, but there's too much plot, says Helen Hawkins theartsdesk.com/dance/water-...

LEE @parktheatrelondon.bsky.social - #LeeKrasner looks back on her life as an artist, and it's informative and interesting, though the play's format limits its potential, says @garynaylor85.bsky.social theartsdesk.com/theatre/lee-...

'Bursting with vitality and emotion'★★★★★ ARIODANTE #OpéraGarnier Paris @ensemblepygmalion.bsky.social #RapahëlPichon - A near-perfect night at the opera in this blast of Baroque beauty, says Mark Kidel www.theartsdesk.com/opera/arioda...

The latest #ClassicalCDs from @bernardhughes.bsky.social @seb-scotney.bsky.social @grahamrickson.bsky.social - Voice flutes, flugelhorns and froth in Baroque sonatas, English orchestral music and an emotionally-charged vocal recital www.theartsdesk.com/classical-mu...

What links Francis Poulenc and Cliff Richard? Find out here: www.theartsdesk.com/classical-mu... @bernardhughes.bsky.social @seb-scotney.bsky.social @londonsymphony.bsky.social #MichaelaKoudelková #recorder #holst #poulenc #cliffrichard #vaughanwilliams #dobrinkatabakova #ecm

★★ HAMLET @nationaltheatre.org.uk - Turning tragedy to comedy is no joke, says Demetrios Matheou, and #HiranAbeyeskera’s childlike prince falls flat in a mixed production theartsdesk.com/theatre/haml...

I *attempted*. It's really hard to review Taylor. Opinions just glance off this music!

'It’s actually a really weird album, but somehow less fun than that makes it sound' - #TaylorSwift THE LIFE OF A SHOWGIRL - 'This album is impressive', says @joemuggs.bsky.social, but he's not convinced by odd times and clunking lines in the superstar's latest theartsdesk.com/new-music/od...

'It’s actually a really weird album, but somehow less fun than that makes it sound' - #TaylorSwift THE LIFE OF A SHOWGIRL - 'This album is impressive', says @joemuggs.bsky.social, but he's swayed by odd times and clunking lines in the superstar's latest theartsdesk.com/new-music/od...

LEE MILLER @tategallery.bsky.social - Fashion photographer, artist or war reporter; will the real Lee Miller please step forward? Sarah Kent on an extraordinary career that remains an enigma, and a show that does not quite catch her elusive essence theartsdesk.com/visual-arts/...

LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE @theroyalballet.bsky.social - #ChristopherWheeldon's version looks great but is too muddling to connect with fully - splendid dancing and sets, but there's too much plot, says Helen Hawkins theartsdesk.com/dance/water-...

LEE @parktheatrelondon.bsky.social - #LeeKrasner looks back on her life as an artist, and it's informative and interesting, though the play's format limits its potential, says @garynaylor85.bsky.social theartsdesk.com/theatre/lee-...

★★★★ Journeys into space: star of the console Anna Lapwood takes us on a cosmic dance - Elgar brings us back to earth Hallé, Wong, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester @robertbealemcr.bsky.social reviews theartsdesk.com/classical-mu...

★★★★★ Finghin Collins’ musical rainbow: theartsdesk at the New Ross Piano Festival @davidnice.bsky.social reports theartsdesk.com/classical-mu...

★★★★★ The actors brilliantly make Shakespeare’s characters appallingly 21st century in their deeds and demeanour: this 'problem play' has no problem with relevance says @garynaylor85.bsky.social on Measure for Measure, RSC, Stratford theartsdesk.com/theatre/meas...

★★★★★ A genuine moment in British cinema: Frank Dillane gives a star-making turn in Harris Dickinson’s impressive directorial debut Urchin. Demetrios Matheou reviews a superb homeless drama theartsdesk.com/film/urchin-...

★★★★ A grin and a big beaming smile: Jeneba Kanneh-Mason, Britten Sinfonia, Jacqueline Shave at Milton Court @bernardhughes.bsky.social enjoys Schubert, Mozart and two contemporary pieces theartsdesk.com/classical-mu...

★★★ Death comes to the picturesque village of Champton: Murder Before Evensong is rich in echoes of classic British crime-and-detection stories from way back when writes Adam Sweeting, as the Rev Richard Coles's sleuthing cleric hits the screen on Acorn TV theartsdesk.com/tv/murder-ev...

★★★ John Malkovich makes an unlikely English butler in Mr Blake at Your Service: Markie Robson-Scott reviews this weird comedy directed by novelist Gilles Legardinier theartsdesk.com/film/mr-blak...

theartsdesk Q&A: musician Warren Ellis recalls how jungle horror and healing broke him open. Interview by Nick Hasted theartsdesk.com/film-new-mus...

★★★★ Dazzling and delightful queer fest: West End transfer of National Theatre hit The Importance of Being Earnest stars Stephen Fry and Olly Alexander at Noël Coward Theatre @sierz.bsky.social reviews theartsdesk.com/theatre/impo...

★★★★ A fun and fact-filled trip through Eighties pop: Justin Lewis: Into the Groove is a welcome follow up to 2023’s Don’t Stop the Music writes @bernardhughes.bsky.social theartsdesk.com/books/justin...

★★★★★ #LadyGaga #TheMayhemBall #O2 - One of the year's most anticipated tours lives up to the hype in an epic spectacle that is eye-boggling and full of spirit, says Thomas H Green theartsdesk.com/new-music/la...

★★★★ Embeth Davidtz delivers an impressive directing debut and an exceptional child star in Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight a vivid adaptation of a memoir about a Rhodesian childhood, writes Helen Hawkins theartsdesk.com/film/dont-le...

★★★★ Waylon Jenning’s 'Songbird' raises this country great from the grave writes @timcumming.bsky.social theartsdesk.com/new-music/wa...

★★★★★ #LadyGaga #TheMayhemBall #O2 - One of the year's most anticipated tours lives up to the hype in an epic spectacle that is eye-boggling and full of spirit, says Thomas H Green theartsdesk.com/new-music/la...

★★★★ GET DOWN TONIGHT #CharingCrossTheatre - Glitz and hits from the 70s in a new musical that draws on @kcandthesunshineb.bsky.social's bangers - if you love the songs, Please Do Go!, enthuses @garynaylor85.bsky.social www.theartsdesk.com/theatre/get-...

'Brash comic shows his vulnerable side, in matters of the heart and heavy metal' - NICK HELM #artsdepot - Comedy is strange old thing; it’s supposed to be funny ha-ha, but the laughs can often come from a dark place, and this is one such show, says Veronica Lee www.theartsdesk.com/comedy/nick-...

Great LP. In the Wind of Night, Hard-Fallen Incantations Whisper - the 4th album from  Slovenia’s Širom - opens the door to inner space (out through @ilkamedia.bsky.social). I’ve looked at it today for @theartsdesk.bsky.social: www.theartsdesk.com/new-music/sl...

★★★★★ ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER - #LeonardoDiCaprio #TeyanaTaylor and #SeanPenn star in a rollercoasting political thriller, as #PaulThomasAnderson satirises America's culture wars - 'It might be the best Hollywood film of 2025', says @grahamfuller.bsky.social www.theartsdesk.com/film/one-bat...

As #HereWeAre, five days of free events with all sorts of audiences around #Manchester, starts tomorrow, #ManchesterCamerata's Head of Artistic Planning #ClaraMarshallCawley writes about questioning the classical status quo #FirstPerson theartsdesk.com/classical-mu...

★★★★ GET DOWN TONIGHT #CharingCrossTheatre - Glitz and hits from the 70s in a new musical that draws on @kcandthesunshineb.bsky.social's bangers - if you love the songs, Please Do Go!, enthuses @garynaylor85.bsky.social www.theartsdesk.com/theatre/get-...

'Brash comic shows his vulnerable side, in matters of the heart and heavy metal' - NICK HELM #artsdepot - Comedy is strange old thing; it’s supposed to be funny ha-ha, but the laughs can often come from a dark place, and this is one such show, says Veronica Lee www.theartsdesk.com/comedy/nick-...

★★★★★ ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER - #LeonardoDiCaprio #TeyanaTaylor and #SeanPenn star in a rollercoasting political thriller, as #PaulThomasAnderson satirises America's culture wars - 'It might be the best Hollywood film of 2025', says @grahamfuller.bsky.social www.theartsdesk.com/film/one-bat...

As #HereWeAre, five days of free events with all sorts of audiences around #Manchester, starts tomorrow, #ManchesterCamerata's Head of Artistic Planning #ClaraMarshallCawley writes about questioning the classical status quo #FirstPerson theartsdesk.com/classical-mu...

'Gallery after gallery is filled with pictures that unapologetically embed black people within the canon' ★★★★★ KERRY JAMES MARSHALL: THE HISTORIES @royalacademy.bsky.social - A triumphant celebration of blackness in a show of glorious paintings - review by Sarah Kent theartsdesk.com/visual-arts/...

'A strength-in-depth cast, allied with powerfully atmospheric cinematography, helps stir up a powerful magnetic field' ★★★★ BLACK RABBIT @netflix.com - Grime and punishment in NYC, as #JudeLaw & #JasonBateman tread the thin line between love & hate, says Adam Sweeting theartsdesk.com/tv/black-rab...

★★★★★ Powerful play about the strength of redemption: James Graham's Punch, Apollo Theatre, transfixes the audience at every stage writes @hallibee1.bsky.social theartsdesk.com/theatre/punc...

★★★★ The truth behind the tinsel: appealing performances cut through hyperactive stagecraft in Cinderella/La Cenerentola, English National Opera @boydtonkin.bsky.social reviews theartsdesk.com/opera/cinder...

★★★ Plodding anatomy of twin UK scandals: Jack Thorne's skill can't disguise the bagginess of his double-headed material writes Helen Hawkins on The Hack, ITV theartsdesk.com/tv/hack-itv-...

theartsdesk q&a: Composer Donghoon Shin talks to @hallibee1.bsky.social about his new piano concerto for superstar pianist Seong-Jin Cho, ahead of its debut at the Barbican as part of London's K-Music festival theartsdesk.com/classical-mu...

★★★★ Music of hope from a young composer: an unusual combination of horn, strings and electronics makes for some intriguing listening writes @bernardhughes.bsky.social on Goldscheider, Brother Tree Sound, Kings Place theartsdesk.com/classical-mu...

★★★Will Lord's map of a man with OCD is a promising debut that burdens a fine cast with too much dialogue finds Helen Hawkins: The Billionaire Inside Your Head, Hampstead Theatre theartsdesk.com/theatre/bill...

★★★ Mariah Carey is still 'Here for It All' after an eight-year break finds @joemuggs.bsky.social: Schmaltz aplenty but also stunning musicianship from the enduring diva's new album theartsdesk.com/new-music/ma...

★★★ Funny, flawed but welcome nonetheless: lively star-led revival of Joe Orton’s 1964 debut raises uncomfortable questions writes @sierz.bsky.social on Entertaining Mr Sloane, Young Vic theartsdesk.com/theatre/ente...