Directed by Oliver Parker Accountant Eric (Rob Brydon) is facing a mid-life crisis; he finds his work pointless and is at cross-purposes with his wife (Jane Horrocks) who is enjoying her new career in politics, while he feels stagnant and old. When Eric joins a group of male synchronised swimmers, he discovers that making patterns…
Theatre review: Miss Nightingale
Miss Nightingale is set in London in 1942 and the theatre location of the glitzy casino London Hippodrome in Leicester Square, where the audience sit at cocktail tables assembled around the stage, lends the production an authentic music-hall feel. It’s an energetic show where the small cast of just six people carry the narrative, while also accompanying…
Film review: Finding Your Feet
Directed by Richard Loncraine With a stellar cast of much-loved British actors, this heartwarming film shows it’s never too late for a second chance at life. When judgmental snob Sandra (Imelda Staunton) discovers her husband (John Sessions) has been having an affair with her best friend, she runs to her estranged sister, Biff (Celia Imrie)…
Theatre review: The Best Man
Years before the Trump versus Clinton debates, American writer Gore Vidal’s play The Best Man takes a satirical and acerbic look at US politics, spotlighting the party convention – the event where presidential hopefuls go head-to-head to ensure the backing of their parties. In 2016, this happened between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders; in 1960 when the…
Interview with debut author Fliss Chester
Snowballs! Winter Fun On The Slopes (Orion, £7.99) is Fliss Chester’s debut novel – in her words: ‘it’s a fun romp through the mountains, based on a group of friends who go skiing together – there’s flirting over the fondue, sexy French ski instructors and devilishly handsome men in hot tubs – true bonkbuster stuff!’ And it…
Theatre review: Fiddler On The Roof
The anticipation of knowing you will soon be seeing a live performance of one of your favourite musicals of all time; watching talented actors and listening to their strong voices belt out those much-loved tunes with the catchy, moving orchestral score… it’s almost the best part of an outing to the theatre. Almost. But then…
Interview with actress Tracy-Ann Oberman
Tracy-Ann Oberman admits she is lucky to have had such a varied career. From a familiar face on the small screen in EastEnders and Dr Who, plus more recent comedies Toast of London and Friday Night Dinner, to theatre work with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and more recently, the stage show Stepping Out, her career has been nothing…
Theatre review: Hamlet
Despite studying English Literature at GCSE, A-level and at degree level, I somehow managed to avoid focusing on Hamlet. I much preferred the comedies: Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing, All’s Well That Ends Well, A Midsummer Night’s Dream… all those obviously light-hearted stories that had a hint of darkness underneath it all, but were…
Film review: Hampstead
Recently widowed Emily (Diane Keaton) lives on the top floor of a beautiful converted building in the desirable north London suburb of Hampstead, with a view over the Heath. She volunteers at a charity shop, has a doting adult son and a group of friends who also live in her block. But her philandering husband…
Restaurant review: The Old Brewery
The Old Brewery, The Pepys Building, The Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, London SE10 9LW www.oldbrewerygreenwich.com With a brewing history dating back 350 years and once supplying the Royal Hospital’s Pensioners with their three-pints-a-day ration, Young’s has reinvented The Old Brewery, overlooking the river behind the elegant façade of Sir Christopher Wren’s Royal Naval College in Greenwich. The pub/restaurant has relaxed…
Film review: Viceroy’s House
Directed by Gurinder Chadha With a stellar cast, soaring soundtrack and beautiful imagery, Viceroy’s House tells the true story of the final months of British rule in India and the subsequent independence and creation of Pakistan (The Partition). Lord and Lady Mountbatten (Hugh Bonneville and Gillian Anderson) arrive in India with good intentions to give…
Film review: Jackie
Danielle Woodward reviews Jackie, starring Natalie Portman as Jacqueline Kennedy From the start of this film, with its soundtrack of soaring violins that start off tuneful but soon go off-key creating a feeling of a perfect world going off-kilter, you are in the tumultuous world of the First Lady in the immediate aftermath of the assassination of her…
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