culture
-
From Boyz N the Hood to playing Tina Turner, Angela Bassett has always been a trailblazer. But Close to the Enemy, Stephen Poliakoff’s latest drama about war-ravaged Britain, presented a new type of challenge
-
-
Her Neapolitan novels have made the author a literary sensation. In a new collection of letters and interviews she talks about her compulsion to write – and why she kept her identity secret
-
The actor, 49, on moving to LA, playing tough women and breaking the law when breastfeeding
-
-
news
-
Actress says she repelled advances on The Birds set but film crew dispute story
-
Björk celebrates 20 glorious years of barrier-breaking, Pink Floyd go back in time, and the Afropunks are coming. Plus, Lady Leshurr, Saint Etienne and Jean-Michel Jarre hit the road
-
Will Maxine Peake sizzle as Streetcar’s southern belle? Can Glenda Jackson crack King Lear? And will Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart beat their Beckett?
-
Woody Allen gets cosmic with Miley, Jude Law plays a frisky pope and Netflix takes on the Queen. Here are the ones to watch this autumn
-
John Le Carré reveals his official secrets, Zadie Smith gets swinging, Ali Smith eyes the seasons, and Alan Moore does a Ulysses
reviews
-
This stylish psychodrama is a skilful synthesis of the mood of Hitchock, the skewed reality of Lynch and Kubrick’s obsessive attention to detail
-
Ten years after the original Planet Earth series, it’s back. This week, the theme is islands – starring a lonesome sloth, warring komodos and killer snakes
-
Robbie is reunited with writer Guy Chambers on a camp, entertaining album that eschews modern sounds in favour of 80s funk
-
A fascinating novel sees teenage Jewish twins struggling to get proper treatment in the early days of the NHS
-
Alicia Vikander and Michael Fassbender can’t save this poorly paced version of ML Stedman’s book
-
Franz Xaver Kroetz’s tale of a struggling couple is given added force by Ian Rickson’s staging and PJ Harvey’s music
-
Jackson ends a 25-year absence with a ferocious, unflinching performance that transcends gender and puts her among the best Lears
people
-
The Oscar-nominated actor talks about industry sexism, why she cried on set and the pitfalls of a Hollywood marriage
-
As she takes on three Shakespeare plays set in a women’s prison, the actor reflects on her own time behind bars
-
The actor on Steven Bochco’s biography, a new film, Moonlight, about being black and gay in America, and Ava DuVernay’s shocking documentary about US prisons
-
The novelist has a new book, Swing Time, and a forthcoming BBC version of her acclaimed NW
talking points
-
The depiction of the first world war in Battlefield 1, and a disastrous social media campaign to promote it, raise questions of rules, respect and responsibility
critics' picks
-
David Attenborough returns with a majestic, unmissable follow-up to Planet Earth. Plus the world of Poldark is a mess as the series draws to a close
-
From Coal, a dance piece about the miners’ strike, to monarchy saga The Crown: your at-a-glance guide to the best in culture across the UK
-
A new five-part docuseries on China begins, and could there be another shock exit on The X Factor? Plus: Donald Glover’s great hip-hop comedy kicks off
-
The cultural commentator goes among the bearded ones, Cutting Edge shows the prevalence of firearms in the US, and the ITV thriller’s enquiries go global
pictures & video
-
Milan-based photographer Eleonora Costi spent the past three years travelling across Italy to find unoccupied buildings
-
After its sold-out run in New York, the David Bowie show Lazarus, a sequel to The Man Who Fell to Earth, opens at King’s Cross theatre in London
-
-
Watch a clip from early 60s thriller The Small World of Sammy Lee, a lost gem of British cinema starring Anthony Newley
-
Gal Gadot’s character shows off her superhuman reflexes and indestructible shield in the latest look at the Warner Brothers film based on the DC comic
-
Martial-arts actor and blues guitarist Steven Seagal has been given Russian citizenship by Vladimir Putin – but how did he get here? We trace Seagal’s evolution
Shakespeare Solos
-
Joanna Lumley speaks Viola’s soliloquy from Twelfth Night in which, disguised as a page boy, she wonders whether Olivia has fallen in love with her
-
Eileen Atkins speaks Emilia’s lines from Othello, act IV scene 3. Emilia, Iago’s wife and Desdemona’s maid, counsels Desdemona on marital fidelity
-
Damian Lewis performs Antony’s funeral oration for Julius Caesar in Shakespeare’s tragedy – one of a new set of films to mark Shakespeare 400
-
Camille O’Sullivan plays Constance in King John, who laments the loss of her son, Arthur, but disputes the suggestion that she has gone mad
-
Laura Carmichael speaks Portia’s lines from the courtroom scene in The Merchant of Venice, in which she tells the moneylender Shylock to be merciful
-
Ayesha Dharker plays Titania, the queen of the fairies, in a scene from A Midsummer Night’s Dream
lists & playlists
-
The cosmic Belfast house cadet reveals his favourite dancefloor tunes, including a surprising cover of an indie classic
-
From an incredibly irritating Robin to a lovesick Joker, this extended look at the much-anticipated spin-off suggests a worthy new franchise
-
culture webchats
-
How he built that huge vocabulary to what he had for breakfast: author and journalist Will Self answered your questions in a live webchat. What did he have to say?
-
The singer, author and crowdfunding advocate answered your questions – and played a song in the office
-
The socially conscious comedian was here to answer your questions. Find out her go to karaoke song, her views on electoral reform and, crucially, her thoughts on the Creme Egg scandal here
-
He never listens to music, thinks America has better opportunities for women, and loves a Tesco shortcake. The electropop pioneer was here to answer your questions. Read the answers in full here
you may have missed
-
Human relationships are usually an alien concept in sci-fi films. But two new movies show the genre is journeying into the realms of feelings, romance – and even sex
-
Their seventh album made them superstars, but nearly cost REM their friendships. They discuss legacy, Trump and why they’re still sorry for Shiny Happy People
-
David Tennant’s tender narration murmurs over this double-bill aimed at animals – but Eliot the cat just prowls off to wee on a laundry basket
-
John Lithgow loves Britain, so he was floored to be cast as Winston Churchill. Ahead of The Crown, the beloved actor talks toff-porn, stripping and squirrels
-
The innovative outfit that cultivated talents such as Tim Key and Claudia O’Doherty is no more. So why, during this boom time for comedy, did it fail?
-
The team behind one of fall’s most talked about shows tells the Guardian about being inspired by a Bill O’Reilly interview and how they portrayed black lives
what we're reading
-
Why pop culture just can’t deal with black male sexuality
Kate HutchinsonOn America’s deep and persistent fear of the black penis. -
Young creatives are using social media to shape the culture we consume. But what happens when they don’t own their work?
-
From LSD to Ayn Rand to Satanism, the roots of Marvel’s Dr Strange are a tangle of the American unconscious. John Naughton discovers how “there was an actual Satanist coven in the Marvel office……
-
Bob Dylan, master of change
Peter Bradshaw“I’m a poet, I know it, hope I don’t blow it,” he once sang. He hasn’t.
popular
the big picture
-
Alex Bartsch has cycled around London rephotographing the locations of classic British reggae albums – from back gardens to ruined abbeys
Alicia Keys I want to make sure all the issues about race are addressed