The BBC’s Drama Programming Is Built On The Back Of Theatre, So It Should Damn Well Provide Decent Theatre Coverage

Lyn Gardner: “At a time when newspapers are facing financial disaster and theatre coverage is one of the first casualties, the BBC should step up to the plate in a way it has neglected in the past. … If Radio 5 Live can have sports news every half-hour, why can’t it have a few minutes of arts news too? Just as many people would be interested to know about the casting of Follies or National Theatre Wales’ plans to make a show about the NHS as would want to know who is in the England cricket team.”

Top Posts From AJBlogs 09.25.17

So You Think You Know Zurbarán?
The Meadows Museum at Southern Methodist University is currently exhibiting Zurbarán: Jacob and His Twelve Sons, Paintings From Auckland Castle, a noteworthy exhibition for a couple of reasons. First, the paintings are totally fresh to the … read more
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts Published 2017-09-25

Higdon on Cold Mountain
Opera lovers can be forgiven for imagining the works they love were born in a flash of inspiration.  Sometimes the journey is a bit more arduous. The UNCSA Composition Department met with Jennifer Higdon via … read more
AJBlog: Infinite Curves Published 2017-09-25

 

US Interior Secretary Mounts Attack On Antiquities Act

In his recommendations, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke isn’t simply calling on Trump to unilaterally shrink national monuments and weaken protections on hundreds of thousands of acres of public land. He is also exhorting the president to team up with Congress to undermine the Antiquities Act itself. And, indeed, a legislative assault on the law is already underway.

The Turner Prize Once Celebrated Shock. Now It’s Become Diverse

In the past, the Turner Prize has been famed for works like Damien Hirst, with his cow in formaldehyde, Tracey Emin’s unmade bed, and Martin Creed’s The Lights Going On and Off. Only artists under 50 have been eligible before – but this year, Anderson, 52, and Himid, 63, have taken their places in the nominees’ exhibition after the age restriction was lifted. They are the bookies’ favourites to win.

One Of China’s Most Popular Directors, On A Pre-Release Victory Tour, Sees His Film Abruptly Canceled

Did Feng Xiaogang delay the film – a romance set against the Cultural Revolution and China’s brief war against Vietnam – himself, because of poor ticket sales, or did party officials make a decision to delay it in advance of the Communist Party congress? Probably the latter: “Youth had already passed the scrutiny of Chinese censors, and was shown at the Toronto Film Festival this month. But the memories and themes evoked by the film may have prompted senior officials to reverse approval for its release during this sensitive political season.”