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The critics

Rose Wylie's playful genius

At 91, the artist who paints the world with a childlike sense of fun becomes the first female painter to have a solo exhibition at the RA

Saturday, 7 March 2026

Broken Glass at the Young Vic: did we really need another Arthur Miller?

The dramatist’s late play about persecution only fully comes into focus at the end

Saturday, 7 March 2026

Víkingur Ólafsson's tribute to Kurtág

The Icelandic pianist captured the spirit of the 100-year-old Hungarian Composer in a masterful, intimate celebration. Plus, a virtuosic performance by Behzod Abduraimov

Sunday, 8 March 2026

Ballet Black revives one of its most powerful works

The innovative company marked its 25th anniversary with Mthuthuzeli November’s piece about suffering and resistance during the 2012 South African miners’ strike

Saturday, 7 March 2026

The Manningtree Witches is a stage adaptation meant for the screen

Ava Pickett, the young playwright behind the Olivier-nominated 1536, reimagines AK Blakemore’s witchy historical novel in a punchy but patchy production

Saturday, 7 March 2026

Don’t Say A Word doesn’t say enough

Nicky Campbell’s BBC 5 Live podcast avoids hard conversations about the knotty subject of what we can and can’t say today. Plus, Radio 1’s nice but nauseating Novel Idea

Sunday, 8 March 2026

Albums of the week: Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, War Child, Joshua Idehen, Shabaka

Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy sings of dread and how to remedy it in his latest album. Plus, one to watch Kidwild

Sunday, 8 March 2026

Wendy Ide’s pick of other films: Hoppers, Sound of Falling, Peaky Blinders, Mother’s Pride

Pixar’s inventive eco-adventure is savagely funny - and a true delight

Saturday, 7 March 2026

Olivier awards 2026: it’s the year of the musical

Into the Woods and Paddington have 11 nods each for the 50th anniversary accolades

Friday, 6 March 2026

Inside the Operation Mincemeat machine

How a second world war caper went from fringe theatre to a $40m run on Broadway

Friday, 6 March 2026

The Bride! is an oddly beautiful collision of ideas

Is Maggie Gyllenhaal’s take on Frankenstein a work of misguided hubris or deranged genius?

Friday, 6 March 2026

On his new album, Harry Styles is living his best life

Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally finds an ever-evolving artist musing on fame and romance. It is flirtatious, fun – and confusing

Wednesday, 4 March 2026

Trevor Nunn’s deft, delightful Noël Coward revival

Easy Virtue at the Arts Theatre Cambridge skewers upper-middle-class morals with a witty, well-balanced cast

Saturday, 28 February 2026

Home listening: sopranos in the spotlight

The best classical picks on CD, on air and online

Saturday, 28 February 2026

Benjamin Britten’s pioneering pacifist opera

Guildhall School of Music & Drama present a skilful production of Owen Wingrave

Saturday, 28 February 2026

My day with Munya Chawawa’s Black Boys Theatre Club

Teenagers get a front-row experience as part of the comedian’s scheme to open up the world of the stage

Saturday, 28 February 2026

How Maggie’s built a place of greater sanctuary

A newly extended centre in Cheltenham provides spaces of calm for cancer patients

Saturday, 28 February 2026

Albums of the week: Gorillaz, Lala Lala, Buck Meek, Katherine Priddy

Gorillaz’s spiritual album grapples with gods and gurus with elegance and verve. Plus, one to watch Shy One

Sunday, 1 March 2026

Shadow World looks into the lives destroyed by a dopamine drug

Noel Titheradge’s series hears from those affected by gambling and other addictions after taking prescription medicine

Sunday, 1 March 2026

Wendy Ide’s pick of other films: The Testament of Ann Lee, All You Need Is Kill, Molly vs the Machines and more

Mona Fastvold’s unconventional, unquestioning film about a religious fanatic is itself an act of devotion

Saturday, 28 February 2026

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