“It seemed that down every other alley, in every little hallway and behind every store there was some quality street art to be found.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
London’s Almeida Theatre Drops Its Opera Festival Because Modern Opera Is Rubbish
“Michael Attenborough, the son of Lord Attenborough, has ditched the annual opera festival that was once a mainstay of the Almeida, the theatre he runs in north London.” Says Attenborough, “Modern opera studiously avoids anything so old-fashioned as melody or emotion, which seems to me a contradiction of what music is all about.”
It’s Final: Court Affirms Fisk-Crystal Bridges Deal Over Stieglitz Collection
“After seven years and several court appeals, the agreement between Fisk University and Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton to sell a half-share of the $60 million Alfred Stieglitz Collection was finalized in Davidson County Chancery Court on Thursday afternoon.”
Obscenity Trial For Burroughs’s Turkish Publishers On Hold For Three Years
“The Turkish publisher facing obscenity charges for releasing a translation of a William Burroughs novel has vowed not to be intimidated by an Istanbul court’s decision to postpone the trial, despite the ‘sword of Damocles’ which now hangs over its head.”
The Bard Of Russia’s Rust Belt
“Before he began appearing at film festivals and collecting literary awards, when he was just another resourceful punk from Russia’s rust belt, Vassily Sigarev had a job delivering prostitutes to their customers in the concrete-slab housing blocks of Nizhny Tagil.”
Why Self-Deception Is A Good And Useful Thing
“Self-deception isn’t just lying or faking, but is deeper and more complicated, says [a UBC researcher] … It involves strong psychological forces that keep us from acknowledging a threatening truth about ourselves.”
How Have The Olympics Affected London’s Arts Venues?
“Some – such as the British Museum, where visitor numbers are down by 25% and some West End theatres down by a third – have seen visitor numbers plunge since the Games started, but others, including the National Theatre, report business as good as last year, with near full houses every night.”
Holland’s Internationaal Danstheater Loses All Government Funding
“On Wednesday, the Netherlands’ Performing Arts Fund, which administers government funding to the fields of dance, theatre and music, announced its allocations and the Amsterdam-based theatre was left empty-handed.”
Raging Bull Sequel No Longer A Sequel (Here Endeth The MGM Lawsuit)
“One of the strangest sequel projects in movie history is no longer a sequel. In a joint statement, MGM Studios and Dahlia Waingort, the producer of the film originally known as Raging Bull II, declared on Wednesday that Waingort’s film now has the working title The Bronx Bull, and is in no way associated with Martin Scorsese’s 1980 film Raging Bull.”
In Praise Of Daredevil Stage Actors
“Let’s begin by acknowledging that all actors, especially stage actors, are brave. … But within that courageous profession, there are those who stand out as particularly fearless. They’re the tightrope walkers, the performers who straddle voids without nets or harnesses, who make you hold your breath in terror and release it in an ecstasy of relief.” Ben Brantley nominates Cate Blanchett and asks readers for their choices.