Get Out, Beyonce... Go
If you believe their fans, Beyonce and Jay Z are about to kill real love. Rumour has it that Beyonce and Jay Z will get divorced when they finish their Mr and Mrs Carter world tour. They're travelling...
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Hip-hop Icon Nas Performs His Masterpiece Illmatic at London's Lovebox
Nas Performs His Classic Illmatic at Lovebox. Photos Courtesy Victor Frankowski. As music festivals go, Lovebox isn't really about hard-core music and fans - it's a party, where music is just one of...
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Review: Helen McCrory Stars in Medea, National Theatre
I don't think I've ever been so traumatised by a theatrical production ever. Not that Medea is a happy tale, of course. The story of a jilted wife, who murders her children as a way of revenge against...
View ArticleThe Knife That Killed Me - The Review
I could have posted this review a week ago having been at the Bradford premiere of The Knife That Killed Me. But occasionally it's nice to let the dust settle for a while and then reflect on the...
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A Game of Cat and Mouse: Finding Vivian Maier
©Vivian Maier/Maloof Collection In 2006 I was struggling with a period of the 'baby blues'. My creative outlet was to go around taking photographs of people and places that had nothing to do with...
View ArticleSuck It Up: How to Deal With Your Bad Review
It's almost time for the annual festival of the arts, extreme financial risk and broken dreams called the Edinburgh Fringe. Kicking off at the start of August each year, it can feel like a...
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The Gift of Potential Disaster (Or Preparing For the Edinburgh Fringe)
I find myself on the edge of a cliff, about to jump. I am not a thrill seeker, no friend to a rollercoaster. Growing up, I was a shy, perfectionist control-freak with an overwhelming fear of failure....
View ArticleUtterly Bewitching: The Crucible, The Old Vic Review
Yesterday I headed out to the theatre to see the wonderful Richard Armitage take on the audience at The Old Vic in an atmospheric and ambitious performance of Arthur Miller's 'The Crucible' on a balmy...
View Article'Fifty Shades of Grey' Trailer: First Prize for False Advertising
If there were a competition for false advertising, the much-talked-about trailer for the Fifty Shades of Grey movie would walk away with first prize. The trailer is filled with scenes of wealth - from...
View ArticleReporting Back From Visiting Malian Refugees in Burkina Faso with UNHCR
Last month, I visited Goudoubo camp in Burkina Faso with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. Here I met Malian refugees who fled their country after conflict broke out in the North in early 2012. There are...
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Rocking on Heaven's Door
Over the last few weeks, Steven Gerrard announced his retirement from international football, the Monty Python team performed their last shows at the O2, and The Rolling Stones performed some more gigs...
View ArticleCressida Bonas Chose Her Career Over Being a Princess... A + For That Decision
"Nah, I don't want to be a princess. I've got better things to do." OK, so those are not words Cressida Bonas actually said with her mouth. But they do accurately sum up her decision to break up with...
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From Paul McCartney to Justin Bieber; 'Hey, you can be kind! Catch this!'
A stunning image of a drowning Joaquin Phoenix lands on my desktop, instantly catching my attention. It is a hard hitting PETA video that I know will cause me distress but I cannot help but view it. I...
View ArticleWords of War
War and literature have shaped my life. I have no actual experience of the former owing to my age and to my growing up in London as opposed to, say, Gaza or Kosovo. My father, however, fought in the...
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A New Breed: Lonely the Brave, Samoans and the One Hundred
This is the second in a series of New Breed blogs introducing some of my favourite breaking bands that have captured my ears in 2014. Every summer hails the emergence of a new breed of young, up and...
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Nolan Porter: Bringing West Coast Soul to London's West End
Descend these stairs into the dark chamber beneath one of London's main thoroughfares and upon the red walls you will see hanging the portraits of musical souls on the brink of being forgotten in this...
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Stunning Malevich Exhibition at Tate Modern
In this first ever retrospective of Kazimir Malevich's work for almost 25 years, the Tate Modern has brought together a stunning collection of his work that offers not just an expansive view of this...
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Down and Out in Paris and Kiev
A comedian will tell that timing is everything. This is equally true for musicians, if not quite for the same reasons. Sometimes a musician can be ahead of their time, or even out of it. For acts like...
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AC/DC - One Fan's Front Row Dealings With the Band...
(Photo - AC/DC) FOREWORD: These two short stories were written by Ron Hailes who was heavily involved in the mid 70's music scene in Australia when AC/DC were perfecting their craft and gigging...
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Six Things Every Actress Should Know
My daughter wants to be an actress. Words that should strike fear into the heart of any right thinking parent. I've gently tried to discourage her from what I perceive as a harsh life, but she comes...
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