Swinging London’s cultural melting pot was channelled into vibrant jazz by John Surman, Alan Skidmore and others – and it has inspired the resurgent scene of todayIt was in the dusty depths of Birmingham record library in 2000 that Shabaka Hutchings fi…
Harry Hill on Sean Lock: ‘The comedian’s comedian who took us all by surprise’
Sean’s crazily funny gags reminded me why I got into comedy – his dry humour was always balanced with his wide-eyed wonder at the world• Comedian Sean Lock dies aged 58Sean was maybe a year ahead of me on the London comedy club scene and already had a …
Jade Hackett on hip-hop dance: ‘Black joy is just as powerful as protest’
The choreographer felt the urgent need to bring happiness and relentless fun to the weekender she has curated for the Southbank Centre’s Summer Reunion series‘With the year we’ve had, we just needed people to have insanely, intensely engrossing, almost…
Top 10 books about family life | Stephen Walsh
From parents who meddle in their children’s relationships to ex-wives who loom over second marriages, families in fiction can be just as complicated as they are in real lifeUncomplicated, happy families are not to be found in most books – no more than …
Over 65s: what do you make of TV streaming services?
We would like to hear from older people about what they’re watching and what they think of streaming servicesNetflix has seen a rise in the number of over 65s tuning in to TV streaming as older people adopted more technology during the pandemic.We woul…
‘It felt like heaven’: friends, family and the American road – in pictures
Judith Black spent her summers criss-crossing the US with her family, stopping at friends’ places and capturing the freedom and joy along the way Continue reading…
Car crash TV: why Simon Cowell’s take on Top Gear is the last thing we need
With The X Factor now consigned to the dustbin of television history, Cowell is said to be releasing his inner Jeremy Clarkson with a motoring show. Haven’t we suffered enough? Simon Cowell and Jeremy Clarkson. Sneery Si and shouty Jezza. Together they…
Dragons and Mythical Beasts review – watch out for the tooth fairy!
Regent’s Park Open Air theatre, LondonPuppeteers subtly animate a range of folkloric beasties, including a magical unicorn and screechingly strange fairy, in this comical, spellbinding showSomething miraculous is happening. The sun is shining and the k…
Lina from Lima review – funny, sultry film about a plucky economic migrant
Upending arthouse tropes with musical numbers and lashings of sex, this witty debut about a Peruvian domestic worker refuses to see its heroine as a victimWriter-director María Paz González’s first feature takes a well-worn miserabilist trope out of th…
Crossword blog: a crossword can be 30 worlds in miniature
I can recommend two books, which have reminded me to slow down and savour my crosswordsA little sentence can hold a world. Continue reading…