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John Wilmot, the Second Earl of Rochester, was, to use a modern phrase, a bit of a lad. Drinking in excess, staying out all hours with his ‘merry gang’ and sleeping with anyone he wished to have his wicked way with. Dominic Cooper’s ridiculous good looks and swagger make him almost perfect for a role … >
Five years ago Charlie Brooker unleashed the dystopian future-tech world of Black Mirror onto our the screens. With no new episodes since Christmas 2014, the anthology series has jumped ship from Channel 4 to the international streaming shores (and bigger budgets) of Netflix. As we prepare to have our minds blown by six brand new episodes this Friday, … >
Happy Valley is one of the best television programmes ever made. We always knew that following up the first season of Sally Wainwright’s impeccable series was going to be a tall order, but over the last six weeks we have been pushed through a gamut of emotions that has equalled anything the first year could … >
Poor Darryl isn’t so poor after all! Yet again, Sally Wainwright’s immaculately written series has pulled out another stonker of an episode. When looking back over an episode to review it we realise just how much is crammed in, yet in such an effortless ‘nothing is really happening’ kind of way. So let’s start with … >
“Nothing is illegal. That’s just a word people use to control other people.” We’re convinced that Tommy Lee Royce may be one of the best television villains ever created. The first season showed us his brutally sadistic side and this year, castrated in a prison cell, his only tools are manipulative words and his Scottish … >
This week’s episode opened a fortnight on from the events of last week, with Catherine sat opposite a therapist being asked to recap what had led to her being in the session. We could happily watch an entire episode of just Sarah Lancashire’s character being dissected in an attempt to better understand her (what a … >
Well, that’s a shame – Vicky didn’t last long… It’s the day of two matriarchal funerals: the passing of Ann’s much-loved mother and colleague of Clare who was battling cancer during her daughter’s kidnap last season contrasts cleverly with Tommy Lee Royce’s murdered mummy. Whilst the Gallaghers have a full and joyous turnout, Royce only … >
Wow. What have we just witnessed? For the next six weeks we’ll be reviewing the sophomore season of BBC One’s least accurately titled drama, Happy Valley. We’re going to assume that you’ve already seen it (the first season was on top of many people’s list of top telly back in 2014), but if you haven’t … >
For over thirty years, Canadian company Cirque du Soleil have been wowing audiences around the globe with their stunning acrobatics and modern take on the travelling circus. Celebrating twenty years of performances at London’s prestigious Royal Albert Hall, Cirque du Soleil bring 2012’s Amaluna to the UK for the first time. Based loosely on Shakespeare’s … >
Lewis Carroll’s classic Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland has long been ripe material for modernisation and adaptation, from horror action video games and graphic novels to more faithful television and film renditions. The most recent of these is this new musical from Blur frontman Damon Albarn, writer Moira Buffini and incumbent National Theatre creative director Rufus … >