Monthly culture, April 2026
Wednesday, May 13th, 2026 08:31 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tamaranth03-06APR26:Iridescence (Eastercon 2026) -- Hilton Birmingham Metropole
Generally I had an excellent time, having dressed for the temperature in the hotel! Didn't catch up with as many people as I'd have liked: didn't make it to as many programme items as intended (I enjoyed the Anne McCaffrey Centenary panel, Stealing History for SF, the George Hay Memorial Lecture -- 'Stranger Than Fiction – Creatures of the Deep' -- given by Tasha Phillips, and the BSFA Lecture -- 'From Reel to Real', about film locations and the magic of hiding puffins, given by the excellent Rosemary Alexander-Jones). Was on a panel about the subversiveness of fanfiction. The convention was greatly enhanced, for me, by the presence of Haruhicon, an anime convention, at the other end of the hotel. Lots of fabulous costumes, glitter and exuberance.
09APR26:The Critic (Tucker, 2023) -- Netflix
Set in 1930s London. Sir Ian McKellen plays Jimmy Erskine, an elderly and unpleasant theatre critic; Mark Strong (with an unfortunate moustache) plays Viscount Brooke, the owner of the paper for which Erskine writes; Alfred Enoch plays Tom, Erskine's astonishingly patient secretary/lover; and Gemma Arterton plays Nina, a young (and not very talented) actress caught up in Erskine's nasty vengeance after he's sacked for being caught doing homosexuality. Brilliant depiction of 1930s London, with imminent fascists: general consensus was that Nina should have known better than to trust Erskine. Not a cheering film but excellently acted.
11APR26:Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Hampton, 1985: based on Les Liaisons dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos (1782)) -- National Theatre
Lesley Manville as the Marquise de Merteuil, Aidan Turner as the Vicomte de Valmont. The former is a formidable stage presence, the latter is less compelling but nice to look at. I felt the production had rather too much interpretive dance, and wasn't super-keen on the geometric set design, but it's a splendid and tragic tale with some very funny lines.
16APR26:The Outfit (Moore, 2022) -- Netflix
1950s Chicago. Mark Rylance plays Leonard Burling, an English 'cutter' -- not a tailor, thank you, his skill is in cutting: Zoey Deutch plays his receptionist, Mable; Dylan O'Brien plays her boyfriend Richie, who's the son of the local mob boss Roy Boyle (Simon Russell-Beale). Boyle suspects there's a rat in their organisaton, betraying their secrets to a rival gang. Richie gets shot and bleeds on Leonard's stock. Matters escalate...
I don't usually like Rylance as an actor (possibly something about his face) but he was awesome in this. And the twistiness of the plot, with revelation after revelation delivered without fanfare, was pleasing. It felt like a stage play, every scene set in Leonard's rooms and external events conveyed by dialogue. Mable is excellent, though almost the only female character: this is a film about Men.
17APR26:Rigoletto (Verdi, 1851) -- Royal Opera House
Horrible story, glorious music. Daniel Luis de Vicente sang Rigoletto with more steel in his voice than I recall from other productions: his daughter Gilda was sung by Rosa Feola, and the horrible Duke of Mantua was sung by Liparit Avetisyan. We were right at the back of the amphitheatre but the sound was great, and I was happy not to see the carnage in too much detail.
Guardian review
26APR26:Strictly Ballroom (Luhrmann, 1992) -- Greenwich Picturehouse
I had never seen this classic! I loved it, with the exaggerated ballroom parents and the impingements of Real Life in 1980s Australia. Fran's 'ugly duckling' transformation felt a bit cliched but the dance scenes were (of course) excellent.
Generally I had an excellent time, having dressed for the temperature in the hotel! Didn't catch up with as many people as I'd have liked: didn't make it to as many programme items as intended (I enjoyed the Anne McCaffrey Centenary panel, Stealing History for SF, the George Hay Memorial Lecture -- 'Stranger Than Fiction – Creatures of the Deep' -- given by Tasha Phillips, and the BSFA Lecture -- 'From Reel to Real', about film locations and the magic of hiding puffins, given by the excellent Rosemary Alexander-Jones). Was on a panel about the subversiveness of fanfiction. The convention was greatly enhanced, for me, by the presence of Haruhicon, an anime convention, at the other end of the hotel. Lots of fabulous costumes, glitter and exuberance.
09APR26:The Critic (Tucker, 2023) -- Netflix
Set in 1930s London. Sir Ian McKellen plays Jimmy Erskine, an elderly and unpleasant theatre critic; Mark Strong (with an unfortunate moustache) plays Viscount Brooke, the owner of the paper for which Erskine writes; Alfred Enoch plays Tom, Erskine's astonishingly patient secretary/lover; and Gemma Arterton plays Nina, a young (and not very talented) actress caught up in Erskine's nasty vengeance after he's sacked for being caught doing homosexuality. Brilliant depiction of 1930s London, with imminent fascists: general consensus was that Nina should have known better than to trust Erskine. Not a cheering film but excellently acted.
11APR26:Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Hampton, 1985: based on Les Liaisons dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos (1782)) -- National Theatre
Lesley Manville as the Marquise de Merteuil, Aidan Turner as the Vicomte de Valmont. The former is a formidable stage presence, the latter is less compelling but nice to look at. I felt the production had rather too much interpretive dance, and wasn't super-keen on the geometric set design, but it's a splendid and tragic tale with some very funny lines.
16APR26:The Outfit (Moore, 2022) -- Netflix
1950s Chicago. Mark Rylance plays Leonard Burling, an English 'cutter' -- not a tailor, thank you, his skill is in cutting: Zoey Deutch plays his receptionist, Mable; Dylan O'Brien plays her boyfriend Richie, who's the son of the local mob boss Roy Boyle (Simon Russell-Beale). Boyle suspects there's a rat in their organisaton, betraying their secrets to a rival gang. Richie gets shot and bleeds on Leonard's stock. Matters escalate...
I don't usually like Rylance as an actor (possibly something about his face) but he was awesome in this. And the twistiness of the plot, with revelation after revelation delivered without fanfare, was pleasing. It felt like a stage play, every scene set in Leonard's rooms and external events conveyed by dialogue. Mable is excellent, though almost the only female character: this is a film about Men.
17APR26:Rigoletto (Verdi, 1851) -- Royal Opera House
Horrible story, glorious music. Daniel Luis de Vicente sang Rigoletto with more steel in his voice than I recall from other productions: his daughter Gilda was sung by Rosa Feola, and the horrible Duke of Mantua was sung by Liparit Avetisyan. We were right at the back of the amphitheatre but the sound was great, and I was happy not to see the carnage in too much detail.
Guardian review
26APR26:Strictly Ballroom (Luhrmann, 1992) -- Greenwich Picturehouse
I had never seen this classic! I loved it, with the exaggerated ballroom parents and the impingements of Real Life in 1980s Australia. Fran's 'ugly duckling' transformation felt a bit cliched but the dance scenes were (of course) excellent.
