A painting by Adolf Hitler is to be exhibited at a theatre in Tokyo in conjunction with a film about the dictator’s life. “The showing of the watercolour is meant to back up the message of the film – to show that Hitler had a human side to him and that is all the more reason why he is terrifying because a despot could be born again.”
Tag: 02.03.04
Lingua Franca – Suing Freelance Writers For Sport And Money
The hearings drag on for freelance writers who are being sued by the trustee for the Lingua Franca bankruptcy. The trustee is going after writers for fees paid to them for stories they wrote in the last three months of the magazine’s life. But there are indications that the judge hearing the case isn’t taking the claims for payment very seriously…
Star Struck
A few weeks ago playwright David Hare blasted The Guardian for topping its critics’ reviews with stars. Now readers weigh in about the shorthand practice…
UK Circus Performers Protest Licenses
Circus owners in the UK are protesting a new law that will require them to get licenses for every place that they perform. “Licences, which could cost up to £500 each, will be needed when the Licensing Act 2003 comes into force in April. The act is designed to ensure public safety and has already prompted outrage from other performers, including folk singers and Punch and Judy operators.”
The Weight Of Success On Thomas Ades
Thomas Ades is the latest British composer to burst on the scene carrying the hopes of British music. “He’s been acclaimed as a pianist, and as a conductor of his own music with (among others) the BBC Symphony Orchestra. For several years he was musical director of Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and is currently artistic director of the Aldeburgh Festival. Then there’s the string of prizes he’s been awarded; the biggest is the Grawemeyer Award, normally given to composers with decades of achievement behind them.” The question is – can he live up to the hype and deliver?
Saving The English National Opera
“It is easy, when meeting Seán Doran, to grasp why English National Opera sees him as its potential saviour. He only has to open his mouth and you feel he has the gift of the blarney. When you listen to him expounding, in a lilting Irish accent, his visions for the future of opera, the least you can do is nod and agree…”