Issue 559

Mary Stuart

Theatre editor Steve Cramer talks to Siobhan Redmo

Steve Cramer I suppose one of the aspects of this new David Harrower version of the text that we might expect is a certain politicality. Siobhan Redmond It’s not the politics but the politicking that goes on that you really notice. All these men are…

Merchant of Venice, The

The Merchant of Venice

CLASSIC Shakespeare’s great commentary on the unease between Christians and Jews has suffered, over the years, with some of the most tortured attempts to make it conform to one thesis or another imaginable. All of his work, of course, has been…

History of the Arches

Underground resistance

The look on Andy Arnold’s face suggests he’s more than a little bit gob-smacked to be sitting in his dapper office, in what could only be described as the cockpit of The Arches, talking about how an idea sparked over 15 years ago has led to an arts…

Autumn music special - your new favourite bands

Dot to Dot sound like the bastard sons of Orange Juice and Lloyd Cole and their aim seems to be to get you dancing. They like their jangle, and they sometimes shamble, but their shows are always worth catching, and with their debut single, ‘Dusty…

Autumn music special - The Fratellis

Rock follies

In the wake of Franz Ferdinand and the Arctic Monkeys it seems that record companies have adjusted their tactics. Every year now sees a selection of hatchling bands being signed, tooled up and sent over the parapet to face the artillery of the Top 40.

Rage

Keep away from my theatre - or else

King’s Theatre, Queen’s Hall, Theatre Royal, Civic Theatre, Citizen’s Theatre, National Theatre, Royal Lyceum... They all sound a bit archaic, part of the Empire, like old English pub names. Why do theatres puff themselves up so much? Far more people…

Autumn music special - Jay-Z

President Carter

1. With more pseudonyms than Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, Sawn Carter’s Jay-Z alias is an abbreviation of his neighbourhood nickname Jazzy, appropriated for his smart dress sense. His Reebok S Carter was the first line of non-athlete training shoe and remains…

TV Round-up

The glacial Tilda Swinton narrates Galapagos (BBC2, Fri 29 Sep, 9pm) with a voice that would suggest she can barely believe her eyes. I know how she feels. The set of islands just off the coast of South America was denounced by early pioneers as a hell…

A personal history of clubbing at the Arches

Arche de Triumphe

I first stepped into the cavernous spaces of the Arches in the year 2000 to hand in an application form for a press position. I remember Andy Arnold taking me on a tour of the building (works) and showing me a massive hole in the floor (the Café Bar…

Autumn music special - Sparklehorse

Why the long face?

It’s been five years since alt.country troubadour Sparklehorse last released a record, the atmospheric genius of It’s a Wonderful Life. Instead of bearing a grudge for the delay, we should be grateful Mark Linkous (for Sparklehorse is he) ever got round…

End of the road for Arab Strap

The party's over

‘Then on Friday night we went through to the Arches... There was only one car going, so some of us had to get the train. We got through quite late. Then we went to a pub to take the gear. There were no problems getting in - we saw some others waiting…

The Monkees: Seasons 1 & 2

DVD review

CLASSIC TELEVISION Nothing cripples the nostalgia-glands more than revisiting a beloved TV favourite from a distance of twenty years. Discovering that The Monkees isn’t as good as you remember is a depressing rites-of-passage through which every…

Torsten Lauschmann

Mary Mary, Glasgow, until Fri 6 Oct

DRAWING, SCULPTURE AND FILM There is something refreshing about an exhibition by an artist that can be read as a strong collection of differing voices and styles, avoiding the rush towards self-branding that most art workers take. Torsten…

Julie

Touring

CLASSIC Each of those cases we read of in the newspapers, where bosses fall in love with their secretaries, teachers with their students and politicians with their junior aides, reinforce our fear of the disruption of hierarchy. Yet, as the…

HIV - The Comeback Tour

All venues, Edinburgh, Glasgow and beyond

HEALTH & RELATIONSHIPS Remember that disease that was big in the 80s? You know - AIDS it was called - all over the telly at the time. They said it would be absolutely massive in the UK, but it never quite happened. You don’t hear much about it now. I…