All Consuming: How Shopping Got Us Into This Mess and How We Can Find Our Way Out
by Neal Lawson
Penguin, £10.99
Andrew Marr begins his History of Modern Britain in May 1940, shortly after Winston Churchill became Prime Minister. One of the first decisions his Cabinet had to make was whether or not to try and negotiate a deal with Adolf Hitler. Thankfully, their decision was “no deal”.
Michael Braddick, Professor of History at Sheffield University, has written a splendid new history of the civil wars in Britain in the 1640s. The book is in three parts: what he calls the crisis of the three kingdoms from 1637-42; war from 1642-46; and revolution from 1646-49.
Walking in my Mind: Adventure into the Artist’s Imagination
Hayward Gallery, London
Perhaps it is never a good idea to invite anyone to “walk in my mind”, even if this were possible. The ramble may be disappointingly mundane, depressingly banal, scary or a combination of all three. While Sigmund Freud attempted to explore the deeper recesses of the subconscious, it was intended to be a revelation for the subject rather than a display for public consumption. And so while the idea of Walking in my Mind seems to explore hitherto unknown territory, it might also seem shallow, too personal and enclosed.
“Whatever happened to Leon Trotsky?” wondered the Stranglers on their 1970s hit single No More Heroes. Actually, the prophet lived on among his followers in the Fourth International and the cloud of sects that orbited his memory. They were to be found in all shapes and sizes from Gerry Healy and the Workers Revolutionary Party – a cult that made David Koresh and the Branch Davidians look well adjusted – to the Posadists, my favourites, who called on the Soviet Union to launch a pre-emptive nuclear attack on the West so that a socialist society could emerge from the ashes.
The Importance of Being Earnest
Open Air Theatre, Regents Park, London
This production of Oscar Wilde’s masterpiece, The Importance of Being Earnest, opens not with banter between Algy (Dominic Tighe) and his “perfect pessimist” servant Lane (Christopher Beeny), but instead a four-man band approaching from the aisles. They continue on stage with music that would not be out of place on a wedding day in a southern Italian piazza.
Moon
Director: Duncan Jones
35 Shots of Rum
Director: Claire Denis
Soul Power
Director: Jeffrey Levi-Hinte
Given the current media hoop-la over the 40th anniversary of the Apollo landings, you might think there could be no better time for thoughtful, stimulating science-fiction tale Moon to arrive on our screens. Except that it’ll surely be crowded out of all but the most adventurous multiplexes by those fantasy-genre behemoths, the latest incarnations of Transformers and Harry Potter. The former cost a reported $200 million, with a marketing kitty to match. Moon was shot in 33 days for a paltry $5 million.
Louise Bagshawe, 38, who is the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Corby and East Northants when she’s not knocking out chick lit bestsellers – she proudly tells friends how, when she applied to join David Cameron’s A-list of minor celebrities, she told Central Office: “Look, I’ve sold 2 million books to British women, I know how [...]
David Cameron’s Mandy, former News of the World editor Andy Coulson, resorted to the defence of the indefensible this week when he appeared before the media select committee of MPs. “I have no recollection” is not a lie but it is not a denial either. Meanwhile other tabloid news desks are quaking in fear of [...]
Bloodsports are a peculiarly emotive issue snapping at the ankles of David Cameron – a traditional Tory pretending to be a very modern Conservative. The Bullingdon Boy’s desperate these days to keep buttoned his opposition to the Hunting Act he dismissed in the past as “bonkers” and a “farce”.
About 50 Labour seats are expected to be vacant by the time the party’s conference comes around. At least 24 are currently expecting to lose their MP through resignation and the number is to double as the exodus following the expenses scandal and the imminent regime change looms. A study by Commons Library officials estimates [...]