Fury In China As Gong Li “Defects” To Singapore

The People’s Republic’s most famous actress, who “embodies Chinese womanhood in the way Helen Mirren sets British hearts racing, or the way Catherine Deneuve is an icon in France,” has taken the citizenship of her Singaporean husband. Her erstwhile compatriots are fuming: “She earned enough money in China, didn’t she? Then she becomes a foreigner! Why do we make her money for her, just so she can take the money and run.”

Who’s Who Of British Writers Protest New Terrorism Legislation

“In an unprecedented outpouring of anger, 42 of the UK’s most celebrated writers will each publish a short story, essay or poem tomorrow attacking the government’s determination to proceed with legislation to hold terrorist suspects without charge for 42 days. The list of writers taking part reads like a literary ‘Who’s Who’ of modern Britain.”

Why British Comedy Has Fallen Behind America

“A great deal of British comedy operates as if it’s 1963 outside and no one has ever heard a willy joke before. There seems to be a kind of complacent conspiratorial fantasy among a generation of comedians that in making mention of sex – in an age of instant-access porn and full disclosure memoirs – they’re in some way handling dangerous or original material.”

How the Fundamentals Of the Art World Are Changing

“The entire industry is forming and reforming by the day like some monstrously engorged digestive tract, in which public and commercial are mulched.What does all this mean for our museums, which are now in direct competition not just with collectors, but with private museums, commercial galleries and even auction houses when it comes to contemporary art?”

Dance Hits the Rails

“Many a New York artist has claimed to be the hardest-working person in showbiz, but David Steele, 30, should make any short list. His many hats include entrepreneur, comedian and manager. But at heart he is a dancer, one who performs at least 30 times in a midday shift, sometimes twice that if he does a night shift. His stage? The steel cars of the New York City subway.”