Must reads

Tom Hiddleston’s history show is unintentionally hilarious and I can’t stop shrieking

Truth be told, I was probably never going to watch Tom Hiddleston’s new technology-enhanced Pompeii documentary, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying Adam White’s thoughts on both the doc and the cringe-ification of the actor at its centre. I doubt this show, in which Hiddleston stops and rewinds time using the magic of his hands, is going to help him beat the cheeseball allegations...

Trainspotting the Musical is depressing, misjudged, and deeply weird

Question: how do you adapt one of the most seminal, surreal explorations of heroin addiction for the stage? Answer: you don’t. Or if you do, you shouldn't do it like this, writes our theatre critic Alice Saville, who was less than impressed by the new musical take on Irvine Welsh’s classic. “One hell of a bad trip,” she writes. 

Burnham is our most well-read PM – the signs of Shakespeare are everywhere

Among the qualities that mark our new UK prime minister out from his predecessor is his cultural background: Andy Burnham is in fact the first PM to hold an English degree. Robert McCrum digs into the Bard's influence on Burnham, and what exactly his literary side portends. 

THE SATURDAY INTERVIEW

Regina Hall

The first time I saw Regina Hall on screen, she was running away from a skeleton in Scary Movie. Her role as the foul-mouthed and fearless Brenda Meeks in the horror parody franchise remains iconic nearly three decades on, but it wasn’t until her prestige turns in films like Support the Girls (brilliant!) and Black Monday that critics started paying attention. Her performance in Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another was worthy of an Oscar.

Adam White speaks to Hall for this week's Saturday Interview. The star is in a pensive mood here as she reflects on the totality of her career, and her latest project Five Star Weekend, a breezy limited series that co-stars Jennifer Garner.

She has a way with words, and this is a deft interview with an actor who's always seemed slightly underappreciated. “It’s kind of like I’m just over here surviving the human experience and trying to make my lemonade,” she says at one point. “Some days it’s sweeter than others, you know?”

I’ve had heartbreak and disappointments, and joy and peace and laughter

Stop scrolling, do this

Louis Chilton

See... Sweeney Todd at Birmingham Repertory Theatre

I schlepped from London to Birmingham one evening this week to see Sweeney Todd, and boy, am I glad I did. Stephen Sondheim's musical is a work of utter genius, and this new revival, directed by Joe Murphy, is a great interpretation. The staging is sparse but atmospheric, placing focus predominantly on the songs and performances, which are stellar across the board. Ramin Karimloo is excellent as Sweeney, the murderous demon barber, all sorrow and restraint until he's finally allowed to let loose. Mrs Lovett, the conniving baker who cooks Sweeney's victims into pies, is often the trickier role to nail – many is the Sweeney Todd production that has been sunk by the wrong measure of shrill mockney. Here, she's is played by Australian cabaret star Meow Meow, who is perfectly pitched, and deeply funny. 

Tickets available here until 15 August

Ava Doherty

See… In Bloom at The Ashmolean, Oxford

An exhibition that has considered sustainability from inception to delivery, In Bloom reimagines how we engage with the natural world. Drawing upon Oxford University’s extensive collections, this offers not just a look behind some of Britain’s plant-based national treasures, from the classic English Rose to peonies, but also provides context to the global trading relationships that made such botanical development possible. With the show featuring over 100 artworks and objects including rare prints and ceramics, I found In Bloom to be unmissable and inclusive.

Tickets available here until 16 August

Adam White

Listen to... Music Fashion Film by Charli xcx

It’s rarely a compliment to claim an artist sounds exhausted on their new album. But Charli xcx has always existed outside of convention – craving affirmation when it seemed so out of reach, rejecting it when it’s handed to her on a plate. Music Fashion Film, her seventh album, is the sound of a woman at the end of her tether and existing in her head far too much. Recorded in a mad rush of inspiration at the end of last year, this doubles down on the sullen vocals and diaristic, deadpan soul-baring of 2024’s Brat, but swaddles it not in dancefloor ferocity but distorted guitars, droning synthlines and, occasionally, the sparkly glitchiness of Y2K teen-movie indie pop. It won’t be for everyone. I’m one more “I love Charli xcx – me, for The Independent” piece away from a restraining order, and I’m not sure it’s for me, either. But its boldness is striking, its utter sadness incredibly affecting. I’d suggest she take a long break after this, but who am I kidding?