London’s Royal Court Theatre At 60

“London’s powerhouse of new writing is celebrating its 60th birthday. Explore some of the Sloane Square theatre’s key productions through extracts from the Guardian and Observer archive, alongside new recollections from Wole Soyinka, Ann Jellicoe, Amanda Redman, Sally Hawkins and others.”

Does Language Create Ideas Or Merely Describe Them?

“Language, like everything else that matters to human beings, cannot be understood as a kind of semantic Lego, where we acquire individual words with firm, clear shapes and string them together to form sentences, paragraphs, essays and books. Language is shaped by the culture that has produced it, which means that it, in turn, shapes those who go on to use it.”

The Political Novel For The Age Of Trump

Terry Teachout: “When you consider how completely the pundit class failed to get the primaries right, I’d be more inclined to seek political wisdom in the pages of a novel written by a poet-professor who looked 70 years into the future and foretold the coming of a populist demagogue who spoke the language of the plain people.”

Joe Garagiola, Sportscaster And TV Host, Dead At 90

After a mediocre career as a Major League Baseball player, “Garagiola called games at NBC for a quarter-century and served as a host on the Today show from 1967-73 and 1991-92. The likable St. Louis native sat in at times for Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show and hosted a number of game shows, including Joe Garagiola’s Memory Game, Sale of the Century, To Tell the Truth and Strike It Rich.”

New York City Ballet Finally Commissions Some Dances From Women

“New York City Ballet announced Thursday that it would focus on new and recent works next season, with a spring festival dedicated to dances it has commissioned in recent decades, world premieres by Alexei Ratmansky and Justin Peck, and, after a notable absence of new works by women in recent seasons, premieres by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and Lauren Lovette.”

Top Posts From AJBlogs 03.24.16

Max Facts: How Hollein Straddles the Divides Between Contemporary/Historic, Tech/Traditional
When I interviewed him more than a year ago over lunch in New York, Frankfurt museum director Max Hollein and I were obsessed with technology. I was then working on this Wall Street Journal article … … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2016-03-24

Nuzzling Brussels: The Musical Instruments Museum Tweets Through the Tears
Horrified, as we all were, by the news from Brussels, I surfed yesterday to the website of a museum there that I’d always wanted to visit — the Musical Instruments Museum. My jaw dropped when I saw … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2016-03-24

Despite AA – Don’t Avoid People, Places & Things
The National Theatre and Headlong’s production of Duncan Macmillan’s new play, People, Places & Things, has got a well-merited transfer to the West End at Wyndham’s Theatre, with … read more
AJBlog: Plain English Published 2016-03-24

Garry Shandling, Influential Comedian And TV Writer, Dies Suddenly At 66

“His death is a tragically sudden end to a storied career that more than once redefined comedy: He was best known as the creator and star of the surreal 1986 sitcom It’s Garry Shandling’s Show, which ran for four seasons on Showtime, and the landmark HBO series The Larry Sanders Show, a spoof of late-night talk shows that pioneered an age of darker, more adult humor on television and inspired a new generation of comedians.”

English National Opera’s Dire Straits (Is This The End?)

“If ENO is to survive, it must do so in reduced circumstances. It is an understandable impulse for the company’s defenders to decry any cut or any change. But it must change. Its history is full of change. It moved to the Coliseum only in 1968, for example. At the same time the question of what ENO is – what it is in its bones and sinews – must be cherished and protected.”