Copy: Metro 18/01/12 >> Sadly, Metro don’t publish their book reviews online. So here’s my review of ex BBC Sport Editor Mihir Bose’s new book tracking how sport moved from its Corinthian roots to becoming one of the most influential and money-making institutions in the world. The Spirit Of The Game: How Sport Made The Modern World by Mihir Bose (Constable, £18.99) Three stars Sport has become one of the major codifiers of ‘soft power’ – the way in which states and organisations express their global influence outside of traditional military or economic might. Witness, for example, the Chinese efforts to...
TITANIC: A CLIMAX OF DEADLY FOLLY
posted by Ben East
Copy: The National 16/01/12 >> It was truly strange to start last week speaking to the author Richard Davenport-Hines about his book published to coincide with the centenary of Titanic’s demise, and end it talking about a ship sinking off the coast of Italy on Gordon Burns’ excellent BBC Radio Manchester show. I was doing the paper review with Manchester Evening News’ Diary Editor Dianne Bourne, and we were struck by how nearly every front page made some sort of comparison with Titanic. In fact, most of the eye-witness accounts from survivors did too. While I very much doubt whether we’ll be marking 100 years of...
A SENSE OF AN ENDING
posted by Ben East
Copy: The National 12/01/12 >> Really enjoyed Great Expectations on the BBC over the Christmas break, not least because I was intrigued to see how they decided to end it. Would they go with Dickens’ original, or the revised, ‘happier’ version, or their own? In the end...
A TOWERING ACHIEVEMENT
posted by Ben East
Copy: The National 26/12/11 >> I love tall buildings. A few years ago it seemed like every spare plot in central Manchester promised a skyscraper to compete with the peerless Beetham Tower. Buildings like this and this And then the credit crunch hit, and we were left with the slightly...
We wish you a Muppets Christmas
posted by Ben East
Copy: The National 19/12/11 >> If you’re stuck for a movie to get you in the festive mood, look no further than The Muppet Christmas Carol, the felty furry take on Charles Dickens’ classic broadcast tomorrow (Christmas Eve) on Channel 4. Gonzo is Charles Dickens, Kermit is...
REVIEW: COLDPLAY @ MEN ARENA
posted by Ben East
Copy: The National 19/12/11 >> Yes, yes, Coldplay’s date in Manchester was right at the start of December. I know. However, I was covering it for The National, as Chris Martin’s band are playing in Abu Dhabi on New Year’s Eve, and they’ve only just published the...
REVIEW: RED RIDING HOOD @ REX
posted by Ben East
Copy: The Stage 15/12/11 >> If you have any little ‘uns in your life that need entertainments over Christmas, forget the tacky charm of the panto and take them to Horse + Bamboo‘s brilliant 55 minute show Red Riding Hood at The Royal Exchange in Manchester. It really is the...
AUTHOR INTERVIEW: LUCY CALDWELL
posted by Ben East
Copy: The National 15/12/11 >> Lucy Caldwell‘s second book, The Meeting Point, has been one of my favourite finds of this year. And it’s not just me either – last month it beat the likes of Tea Obreht to the Dylan Thomas Prize, the judges calling it ”a...
A Bollywood-infused Christmas
posted by Ben East
Copy: The National 14/12/11 >> The Southbank’s winter festival this year welcomed a Bollywood show to the shores of the Thames. But a Bollywood show with a difference – this was a Danish theatre company who were aiming to mix western theatrical traditions with Indian...
THE SLICK ART OF CRUDE OIL
posted by Ben East
Copy: The National 07/12/11 >> Artist Piers Secunda wanted to chronicle the most important natural resource of our times; oil. But he took his interest to obsessive lengths – he decided he wanted to depict the pioneering age of the petrochemical industry by actually painting in...
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