Category Archives: Culture

Chechnya bans dance music that is either too fast or too slow

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Ruling means music in Russian republic must ‘conform to Chechen mentality and sense of rhythm’

The Russian republic of Chechnya has banned dance music it deems either too fast or too slow, in an attempt to quash a “polluting” western influence on the conservative majority-Muslim region.

Musa Dadayev, the culture minister, said “all musical, vocal and choreographic works should correspond to a tempo of 80-116 beats per minute” to make music “conform to the Chechen mentality and sense of rhythm”, according to the Russian news agency Tass.

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Billy Dee Williams says actors ‘should’ be allowed to wear blackface

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Star Wars actor says he believes actors should be free to ‘do anything you want to do’, in a discussion about Laurence Olivier’s performance in Othello

Billy Dee Williams has said that actors should be able to perform in blackface, with the Star Wars actor revealing that he believes, “If you’re an actor, you should do anything you want to do”.

Speaking to Bill Maher on the Club Random podcast, the 87-year-old actor recalled laughing while watching the 1965 film Othello, where the titular character played by Laurence Olivier is in blackface. Williams said he thought the performance was “really interesting”.

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Susan Sarandon, Olivia Colman and Paul Mescal join star donors of Cinema for Gaza auction

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Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn gives jam as swathe of film and TV celebrities add support, including Zone of Interest’s Jonathan Glazer and Thor’s Tessa Thompson

A host of film directors and stars, including Susan Sarandon, Paul Mescal and Olivia Colman, have added their names to those offering time and memorabilia to a Cinema for Gaza auction that is raising funds for humanitarian relief in Palestine.

Joining the celebrities is the former Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn – billed as the star of Sumotherhood, thanks to his cameo in last year’s Adam Deacon urban thriller – who is donating a Zoom poetry reading and a selection of homemade jam.

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Jonathan Majors sentenced to probation but no prison time for assaulting ex-girlfriend

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Creed III star faced up to a year in prison after he was convicted of misdemeanor assault in December of 2023

Actor Jonathan Majors was sentenced to probation but avoided prison time Monday for assaulting his ex-girlfriend in a high-profile case that derailed the once-promising star’s career.

The 34-year-old star of Creed III and other films had faced up to a year behind bars after he was convicted of misdemeanor assault by a Manhattan jury in December.

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‘All the romance of film-making is gone’: Woody Allen hints at retirement – again

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The 88-year-old director says he is ‘on the fence’ about making another film due to the work needed to get distribution and financial backing

Woody Allen has once again hinted at his retirement from film-making, saying that he is “on the fence” about making another film after the US release of his latest, Coup de Chance.

In an interview with Air Mail, the 88-year-old director was asked whether the French-language erotic thriller Coup de Chance would be his final film.

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Pat Sajak to take final spin as host of Wheel of Fortune on 7 June

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Sajak, 77, announced last summer he was ready to retire as host, marking the end of a four-decade gig on venerable gameshow

Pat Sajak will take his final spin on Wheel of Fortune on 7 June, marking the end of a four-decade gig as host of the venerable gameshow.

Sajak, 77, announced last summer that he was ready to retire as host from the show, which features contestants guessing letters to try to fill out words and phrases to win money and prizes. Deadline confirmed his final date on air on Friday.

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UK churches keen to host heavy metal bands after duet with organist is a hit

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After ‘bonkers gig’ at Huddersfield town hall paired doom metal bands with pipe organist, churches are keen to get in on the act

It was a “bonkers gig”, pairing heavy metal with a pipe organ – a musical curiosity that the bands thought would surely seldom be repeated, if ever.

But Pantheïst and Arð, the doom metals bands who performed the concert at Huddersfield town hall last year, have been inundated with requests to repeat the performance – with churches leading the way.

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Lynne Reid Banks, author of The Indian in the Cupboard, dies aged 94

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Writer was one of the first female news reporters on British TV, interviewing stars including Charlie Chaplin and Audrey Hepburn

The author Lynne Reid Banks has died at the age of 94.

The novelist, known for writing books including the children’s story The Indian in the Cupboard, died of cancer “peacefully with her family around her” on Thursday afternoon, her agent, James Wills, said.

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The Picture of Dorian Gray’s Kip Williams steps down as Sydney Theatre Company artistic director

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Williams, who directed the play, leaving company to prepare for its potential Broadway season following acclaimed West End run starring Sarah Snook

The Sydney Theatre Company artistic director, Kip Williams, who steered the theatre to new heights with the global success of his one-woman production the Picture of Dorian Gray, has announced he is stepping down after 13 years with the company.

Williams was the youngest artistic director of the STC when he was appointed at the age of 30 in 2016. He will finish his tenure at the end of 2024 after eight years, in anticipation that The Picture of Dorian Gray will head to Broadway next year. In its recent run in London’s West End, Succession star Sarah Snook played all 26 roles to huge acclaim. The role was first performed by Eryn Jean Norvill in multiple sell-out runs across Australia.

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Manchester theatre restores cancelled Palestinian event after artists protest

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Home theatre apologises for upset caused by cancelling of Voices of Resilience

The organisers of a Palestinian literature event cancelled by a Manchester theatre last week, say they are “hugely grateful” the venue has agreed it can go ahead after a surge of support.

Home theatre apologised for the upset caused by cancelling Voices of Resilience, due to be held on 22 April, citing “recent publicity” and safety concerns for the organisers and those attending.

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Alexis Wright nominated for $60,000 Stella prize for second time

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Judges have described the Waanyi writer’s fourth novel Praiseworthy as ‘a canon-crushing Australian novel for the ages’

Stella prize winner Alexis Wright has been nominated for the $60,000 award a second time, for her 700-page “canon-crushing” novel Praiseworthy.

The Waanyi writer won the Stella prize, intended to reward the work of Australian women and non-binary authors, in 2018 for her biography Tracker.

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Surge of interest in Ethiopian culture boosts case for return of treasures, says Sissay

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Poet who is curating country’s first Venice Biennale pavilion says ‘part of the heart’ of the country was looted and is being held in museums

An Ethiopian cultural surge – including a first national pavilion at the Venice Biennale and the rise of stars such as Ruth Negga and The Weeknd – is making the country’s calls for restitution of looted colonial-era artefacts harder to ignore, according to Lemn Sissay.

The poet and author, who is curating the country’s inaugural Biennale pavilion, where Tesfaye Urgessa’s work will be on show, said the event would be part of a significant cultural push from the east African country and its diaspora over the last two decades.

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‘I wanted to end my life’: ‘Bookseller of Kabul’ rebuilds destroyed business

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Shah Muhammad Rais was devastated when Taliban destroyed his shop, but now he is sending books to Afghanistan via the internet

Shah Muhammad Rais first opened his bookshop in the Afghan capital in 1974. By 2003, when his story was made famous by the bestselling book The Bookseller of Kabul, the business had collected about 100,000 books, in different languages, about literature, history and politics. The collection included works of fiction and nonfiction, with everything from richly illustrated children’s tales to dense academic tomes.

After the Taliban stormed Kabul in 2021, Rais fled to the UK, telling the Guardian last year that he feared the group would destroy his cherished business. His fears came true.

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John Barth, American postmodernist novelist, dies aged 93

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The author of Giles Goat-Boy and The Sot-Weed Factor was part of a wave of writers in the 1960s who challenged standards of language and plot

John Barth, the playfully erudite author whose darkly comic and complicated novels revolved around the art of literature and launched countless debates over the art of fiction, has died aged 93.

Johns Hopkins University, where Barth was an emeritus professor of English and creative writing, confirmed he died on Tuesday. No cause of death was given.

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Artists call on Manchester venue to reinstate event celebrating Palestinian voices

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More than 300 artists and cultural workers write open letter to Home venue over cancellation of Voices of Resilience event

More than 300 cultural workers, theatre and film artists, including Maxine Peake and Asif Kapadia, have called for a Manchester arts venue to reinstate an event celebrating Palestinian voices.

Home Manchester last week cancelled the Voices of Resilience evening, scheduled for 22 April, citing “recent publicity” and safety concerns for audiences and artists.

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Ukrainian sculptor who fled Kyiv accepted into Royal Society of British Artists

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Alex Lidagovsky was forced to leave Ukraine with his family when his studio was bombed during the Russian invasion

A Ukrainian sculptor who fled to the UK when his studio was destroyed has been accepted into the Royal Society of British Artists.

Alex Lidagovsky was forced to leave Kyiv with his wife, Dasha Nepochatova, and 16-year-old stepdaughter after the Russian invasion began on 24 February 2022.

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Collection of unreleased Marvin Gaye songs found in Belgium

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Questions surround ownership of demo tapes reportedly left by soul artist as a thank-you to his Ostend hosts

A collection of cassette tapes containing a host of unreleased Marvin Gaye songs has been found in the Belgian city of Ostend.

It has potentially lain hidden in Belgium for over 40 years, according to the BBC.

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Photography bursary launched in memory of Guardian’s Eamonn McCabe

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Royal Photographic Society says award reflects the support and encouragement McCabe showed for aspiring photographers

A bursary focusing on the theme of sporting endeavour and designed to help talented young photographers has been launched in honour of the memory of the award-winning Guardian and Observer photographer Eamonn McCabe.

The bursary, established by The Royal Photographic Society (RPS), The Guardian and Observer and McCabe’s family will give £3,000 to a photographer aged 25 or under to produce a project.

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British Museum investigated over Ethiopian artefacts hidden from view for 150 years

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Watchdog examining claims key details have not been disclosed about altar tablets it is facing calls to return

The British Museum is being investigated by the information watchdog over claims it has been overly secretive about some of the most sensitive items in its collection – a group of sacred Ethiopian altar tablets that have been hidden from view at the museum for more than 150 years.

The 11 wood and stone tabots, which the museum acknowledges were looted by British soldiers after the Battle of Maqdala in 1868, have never been on public display and are considered to be so sacred that even the institution’s own curators and trustees are forbidden from examining them.

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Chance Perdomo, star of Gen V and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, dead at 27

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Television star was killed in a motorcycle accident that involved no other parties, representatives say

Chance Perdomo, the British American actor who starred on the television shows Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Gen V, has died in a motorcycle accident. He was 27.

Nobody else was involved in the accident, his representatives said in a statement. No details on the location or date of the accident were shared.

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