David Lister



Profile:
Full name: David Lister

Area of interest: Arts

Journals/Organisation: The Independent

Email: [mailto:david.lister@independent.co.uk david.lister@independent.co.uk]

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Website: http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/columnists/david-lister

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Career: Joined The Independent in 1986 (as a founder member) in the position of assistant Home Editor, became Arts correspondent in 1988 and then media and culture editor Current position/role: Arts editor


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Viewpoints/Insight: Press Gazette: A working week in the life of David Lister, 21st August 2003

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Awards/Honours: Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts

Scoops:
 * With the headline "Some of the biggest names in the art world have been the victims of a literary hoax", revealed that abstract expressionist painter Nat Tate never existed (in fact being a hoax perpetrated by novelist William Boyd with the help of David Bowie)
 * 1) A ‘creative’ biography didn't foresee plot of British giggles (Washington Post, 1998)
 * 2) Bowie and Boyd "hoax" art world (BBC News, 7th April, 1998)

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The Independent:
Column name: The Week in Arts

Remit/Info: Arts

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Role: Arts Editor

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Email: [mailto:david.lister@independent.co.uk david.lister@independent.co.uk]

Website: http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/columnists/david-lister

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Day published: Saturday

Regularity: Weekly

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Articles: 2012

 * Artists must take a stand against ticket booking fees that add insult to injury - 12th May
 * All this culture was going on anyway. So why make an Olympiad out of it? - The Cultural Olympiad fascinates me. There it is in all its multi-million-pound glory, its London 2012 festival officially launched to tremendous fanfare a matter of days ago - 5th May
 * Why it's time for venues to put great British acting names back in the spotlight - A new theatre is to be built in the West End of London, the first for many years - 28th April
 * Well done the Proms for showing you don't have to genuflect to the Olympics - This was the big week. The countdown to the event of the summer, with every newspaper along with TV and radio doing some version of the story. Yes, the Proms is just around the corner - 21st April
 * One language, two cultures – but not everything needs to be translated for America - A joy of theatre, and perhaps most especially comedy, is being on a journey of discovery - 14th April
 * I've had enough of the critics who insist on telling the world what is and isn't art - What is it about art? Not art generally, as in culture, but art in particular, the visual arts. What is it about the visual arts that make people feel entitled to decree on behalf of the rest of the population what can and cannot be art? - 7th April
 * Don't bother appointing a new boss at the Arts Council – just abolish this quango - The arts, I would say especially the arts, need to be run in a democratic and accountable way - 31st March
 * Mad Men's lesson for British TV drama – viewers get the era without a sledgehammer - The writers do not take the British television drama way of hitting you over the head with current affairs and making the characters (usually a convenient cross-section of period stereotypes) fit into that framework - 24th March
 * If opera is going to reflect everyday life, it needs to get rid of the stereotypes - When Kasper Holten, the Dane who is now running the Royal Opera House, gave his first press conference this week, he said he would learn from the success of TV dramas like The Killing, "not go for short-term gratification" and take ROH audiences "out of their comfort zone" - 17th March
 * The Royal Court wants new short plays? Here are two on what's wrong with theatre - It's a fine idea of the Royal Court theatre to ask the public for plays of 100 words or fewer, plays that won't necessarily be staged but will be stuck up on the walls of the venue, in the bars, even in the toilets - 10th March
 * Carry on booing – and let the drama continue right to the end of the curtain call - Not for the first time, a performance of an opera was met with furious booing this week. This has certainly happened in London before - 3rd March
 * Sky Arts is showing how to do culture on television – can the BBC please take note? - It is not exactly fashionable to recommend praise for James Murdoch, as the hacking problems of News International continue, but with the announcement this week by Sky Arts of a big budget increase, new programming, apps and the rest, he at least deserves a favourable mention - 25th February
 * Muses deserve some sort of credit, but not always of the financial kind - Much discussion surrounded the remarks of Adele after her Grammys triumph, namely that she was taking a break to concentrate on enjoying and developing her current relationship - 18th February
 * You want to thank your mum and dad, but we want to hear a decent acceptance speech - There are evenings, there are long evenings, and there are the Bafta awards - 11th February
 * Is this a case of a great but troubled ballet star being wronged? I don't think so - it was reported that Sergei Polunin, the Royal Ballet star who dramatically quit the company a week ago, has now lost his work permit. It would take a hard-hearted person not to feel sympathy with the brilliant 22-year-old. So, call me hard-hearted, because I'm afraid I don't - 4th February
 * How can you celebrate great literature while preventing the freedom of expression? - The spectre of the most scandalous and depressing episode in recent literary history raised its head this week. Salman Rushdie once again had his safety and his life threatened over his book The Satanic Verses, and was unable to show his face - 28th January
 * Jay-Z might be rethinking his degrading lyrics, but why do women in hip-hop stay silent? - Some of the world's best-known rappers – and none is better known than Jay-Z – have had bitch (or its even less pleasant cousin "ho") as a sine qua non of lyrical composition for some time - 21st January
 * When will David Cameron make a song and dance about song and dance? - When did a British prime minister last make a speech about dance? - 14th January
 * Ageing British rock bands never die. They just end up performing in the Kremlin - it's heart-warming to learn that there is a career trajectory for ageing bands - 7th January



Articles: 2011

 * There should be room in the arts world for people of all political persuasions - I don't really want to end the year by blowing Tracey Emin's trumpet, as she's no slouch when it comes to doing that for herself - 31st December
 * So if there was an award for Arts Personality of the Year, who would we honour? - As I watched the BBC Sports Personality of the Year the other day, I felt that something was wrong - 24th December
 * In a warren of tunnels under Waterloo station, a revolution in classical music is stirring - It's not what you do, it's the place where you do it - 17th December
 * Biting the hand that feeds you isn't clever – even if you are an award-winning poet - And off they stomp. Hell clearly hath no fury like a poet in danger of being associated with a hedge fund - 10th December
 * Here's a sacrilegious thought: maybe charging for museum entry would be a good thing - I have in my life met many, many people who have been to Paris and visited the Louvre and loved the experience. I have never in my life met anyone who has come back and complained about paying to get into it - 3rd December
 * Internet reviewers shoot from the hip – but there's one moral code even they accept - Like many of you reading this, I shall be watching the second series of The Killing this weekend, and every weekend right up until Christmas - 26th November
 * Audiences would soar if classical music concerts were more like rock gigs - I'm always a little suspicious of the frequently expressed concern that audiences for theatre and classical music are dying - 19th November
 * Art galleries should be like cinemas – open to audiences every night of the week - When Neil MacGregor was head of the National Gallery, and there were threats that public galleries might have to sell pictures, he rightly made play of the fact that the paintings there belong to the nation - 12th November
 * A surreal ending to pop's most extraordinary life story - This was not a typical, domestic life of a rock star because nothing about Jackson was typical - 8th November
 * If you really want to pay tribute to Amy Winehouse, give the profits to charity - So, there is to be a posthumous Amy Winehouse album - 5th November
 * Sport and the arts can live together happily – yes, even during the Olympics - The British Film Industry is in a lather. It is worried that next year could be one long disaster movie, with film fans deserting the cinema for the Olympics, the Euro 2012 football championship and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations - 29th October
 * Might someone pay millions for a Nat Tate painting just to avoid looking ignorant? - 22nd October
 * If a knighthood is good enough for Brucie, then why not other entertainers? - It may or may not have been a case of "Nice to see you, to see you nice" when the Queen knighted Bruce Forsyth this week. But it was certainly a case of "Significant to see you, to see you significant" - 15th October
 * all these unnecessary award shows, the Mobos are the worst'' - The arts world may be short of money but it is never short of awards ceremonies - 8th October
 * The Tories say they love the arts but the evidence is lacking - But how exactly does one define being passionate about the arts? - 1st October
 * The award for most grotesque acceptance speech goes to... - The latest in the great tradition of grotesque thespian acceptance speeches awards came from Kate Winslet at the Emmys in New York this week - 24th September
 * After Lloyd Webber, will other impresarios liberate schools? - Andrew Lloyd Webber gave a present to the nation's schools this week. Schools will now be able to perform two of his musicals, Cats and Phantom of the Opera for the first time - 17th September
 * Giants whose names should live on in our concert venues - Watching the US Open tennis on TV, I always do a bit of a double take when the announcer says who is playing on Louis Armstrong. At Wimbledon we have Centre Court, and after that it's courts one to 18 - 10th September
 * Bullying, 'efficiency' cuts – not your average year at the Tate - What is going on at one of my favourite arts institutions? - 3rd September
 * David didn't meet David – and why he should have done'' - I'm looking forward to David Hare's drama Page 8 which is being screened on BBC2 tomorrow night - 27th August
 * booking fees please, Mr Anschutz'' - Theatre-goers, music lovers and sports fans should take an interest in the news that Philip Anschutz and his AEG company are to take on the ticketing agency Ticketmaster with a rival ticketing service, AXS - 24th August
 * doesn't travel... you need to be in the room to get it'' - The apocryphal story has a dying actor surrounded by his friends. "What is it like to die?" they ask. "It's hard," he replies, "but comedy's harder." - 20th August
 * need the comedic voice of Edinburgh now more than ever'' - The comedian Dave Gorman, writing in The Independent, said that performers at Edinburgh take on debts that would scare Greece, and maybe that's why they call the city the Athens of the North - 13th August
 * is a genius, but not as an anti-piracy spokesman'' - The nation's record companies are feeling very pleased with themselves. In their battle against music "piracy" they have enlisted the services of a global superstar - 6th August
 * creative types have their uniforms just like everyone else'' - When it was reported this week that the London club Soho House had turned away a man for wearing a suit, it seemed laughably odd - 30th July
 * encourage politicians who want to be film buffs'' - Never mind solving the problems of Greece and the eurozone – Nicolas Sarkozy has learned a far more valuable lesson in life: if you want to impress as a human being, hold forth on films - 23rd July
 * Proms have broken many barriers, but a few still remain'' - The biggest music festival in the world started last night - 16th July
 * Nicole? Which screen redhead will play Rebekah?'' - The veteran Watergate journalist Bob Woodward said on Thursday that there would probably be a book about the News of the World hacking scandal - 9th July
 * all fictional detectives have to have parent problems?'' - English National Opera's new piece Two Boys about a chatroom murder is one of the most exciting evenings I have spent in any theatre for some time - 2nd July
 * Lloyd Webber couldn't fight the power of the blogger'' - The early closure of an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical after just a year is newsworthy in itself - 25th June
 * audience participation resembles sexual harassment'' - When it comes to a night out at a show, the words that make me reach for my gun are audience participation - 11th June
 * least truly execrable art can make you laugh'' - The first big mistake in the arts is to assume that because something is high-profile, highly publicised, and endorsed by a world-renowned organisation, it is going to be good - 6th June
 * Experience: The Movie: the start of something big'' - Who says work experience doesn't pay off? - 28th May
 * best performances at Cannes are at the press conferences'' - In previous visits to the Cannes Film Festival I have been as entertained by the daily press conferences as by the films. Film writers from across the world manage to put on a display of sycophancy like you have never seen - 21st May
 * may not talk a good game, but the emotion's a real winner'' - I've said before how strange it is that no one in EastEnders ever watches EastEnders. That, for me, stops it from being a totally realistic slice of life - 14th May
 * Cleese's comic genius has gone the way of his marriages'' - 'Don't mention the war!" was probably the phrase most associated with John Cleese. Somehow that has turned into "Don't mention the wife!" - 7th May
 * is an essential part of the serious business'' - The story is told of a British film producer trying to get into a swish party in Cannes. The man at the door told her she could not come in because she was wearing leggings. The enraged woman pointed at a French counterpart, also wearing leggings, who was being allowed in. "Oui," shrugged the doorman, "mais elle a du style." - 5th May
 * when was it wrong to talk about 'classical' music?'' - The Classical Brits, which will be televised on prime-time TV, have been renamed. This year and henceforth they will be known as the Classic Brits. So what's two little letters between friends? - 30th April
 * Tate shouldn't shun Lowry just because it doesn't rate him'' - Poor old Lowry. It was pointed out this week that Tate Britain, the gallery that tells the story of British art, has 23 paintings by the artist and has only ever displayed one of them – briefly - 23rd April
 * day life on screen is too rare – maybe women can help?'' - The film Meek's Cutoff, which was released yesterday, is that rare thing: a western told from the woman's point of view - 16th April
 * lucrative business of being a nearly-man of rock music'' - There must be no end of nearly-men: a stray Arctic Monkey, a forgotten ninth or 10th member of Arcade Fire, a hidden Jedward triplet whose hair wouldn't comb into a sufficiently ridiculous shape - 9th April
 * helps if those running the show are straight with their audiences'' - Two wildly different areas of the arts struck me this week as being economical with the truth - 2nd April
 * alternative guide for the cultural all-rounder (aged 11)'' - Why is it always books? Whenever there is talk of how much schoolchildren should achieve culturally, it is invariably in terms of reading - 26th March
 * that shop and go back to doing what you do best, Lily'' - A bit of fun was had this week at the expense of Lily Allen. And, to be fair, she had it coming - 19th March
 * theatre receives a timely boost'' - Spare a thought for the losers. Andrew Lloyd Webber's latest musical drew a blank at last night's ceremony, a rarity for him - 14th March
 * F Scott and the Marx Brothers? That'd be a good party'' - One of the better TV chat show responses came when an old and ailing Groucho Marx was interviewed. "Do you still chase girls?" he was asked. "Only when they're running downhill," was the lightning response - 12th March
 * this urge to stage arts events alongside the Olympics?'' - A quiz question: when England won the World Cup in 1966, what were the main cultural shows of the year? - 5th March
 * raise a toast to the role of the drinking hole in artists' lives'' - How do we commemorate our artists? Usually it is by a blue plaque outside their home - 26th February
 * need to mind your Ps and Qs at the opera – just the high Cs'' - Looking up the award-laden film The King's Speech on the Odeon website, I was intrigued by a warning accompanying it - 19th February
 * up alone won't turn Meryl into Margaret'' - 12th February
 * defence of a supposedly philistine Prime Minister'' - Could there be a more black and white case, a more amusing story, a more comforting tale for the cultured than this week's report of the Booker Prize winner Yann Martel sending a hundred books to the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to encourage a man not known for reading to extend his imaginative powers with a novel or two, or even a hundred? - 5th February
 * ticket prices are the best way to tempt punters to the ballet'' - It's a tricky thing, getting new audiences into the so-called high arts. But the quest is never ending - 29th January
 * encounter with the charming Mr Keys'' - Hearing both footballers and football commentators off-screen can be a shock to the system. I was present at a charity dinner in 2009 at which the speakers were various Sky Sports figures including Richard Keys - 25th January
 * rage is just the start. There's movie rage, concert rage...'' - A new term was coined this week – gallery rage, to describe the anger of art lovers at Tate Modern who had to fight their way through the crowds to get anywhere near the actual paintings at the popular Gauguin exhibition - 22nd January
 * it, Kanye: you're just not that outrageous any more'' - Your heart has to go out to Kanye West. The rapper had a risqué cover photograph shot for his latest album, a picture of said Mr West having sex with a naked female angel - 15th January
 * can be even tougher than Chelsea, Mr Abramovich'' - When watching the performances you must not wear your enigmatic football-watching face. Anything less than rapturous applause will have the cast seeking psychoanalysis - 8th January
 * new era for Desert Island Discs?'' - A cultural institution might just have undergone an alarming change - 1st January



Articles: 2010

 * have all the protest songs for protesting students gone?'' - 18th December
 * fans can choose you – but you can't choose your fans'' - 11th December
 * five-point guide to keeping the actor sitting next to you happy'' - 4th December 2010
 * shouldn't be horrified by a change of direction'' - Prepare to be shocked if you go to the English National Opera at the moment - 29th November
 * attack on musical legends strikes the wrong chord'' - 27th November
 * still acting even when they break into song'' - 20th November
 * the Brit Awards really run out of lifetime achievers?'' - 13th November
 * upstages the BBC in what the corporation used to do best'' - 6th November
 * if Pink Floyd auditioned for Cheryl'' - The X Factor's relationship to music was only ever a distant one - 30th October
 * there was a price to pay for free love after all – right, Keith?'' - 23rd October
 * the Royal Ballet can tour in Japan, why not Manchester?'' - 16th October
 * there's love, there's material for stand-up comics'' - 9th October
 * minister's gone native, but the cuts will still hurt'' - 2nd October
 * the art form, it's an obscene amount to pay'' - Suddenly the Royal Opera House looks downright cheap. Britain's biggest rock venue, the O2, is charging up to £400 for a pair of "Platinum" seats to see bands like Simply Red or Supertramp - 29th September
 * Dench 'better' than Olivier? How can you even ask?'' - 25th September
 * priceless drama archive that puts our TV executives to shame'' - 18th September
 * not be afraid to recognise this outbreak of patriotism'' - 11th September
 * can't pick and choose the people who like their work'' - 4th September
 * thing we can all agree on is that we can't agree on comedy'' - 28th August
 * authors' musings should be treasured, not thrown away'' - 21st August
 * Allen is the ideal person to turn parenthood into pop'' - 7th August
 * quickly holier-than-thou turns into dog eat dog'' - 31st July
 * another reason for comedians to be miserable'' - 24th July
 * thinking is needed if you want to avoid the chop'' - 17th July
 * reclusive authors really know how to live'' - 10th July
 * two ought to be starring in 'Les Misérables' themselves'' - 3rd July
 * expect more culture from the BBC, not just digital trickery'' - 26th June
 * dramas that always have to contain a lesson'' - In the final episode of the first series of Glee last Monday, it was revealed that the bitchy teacher Sue Sylvester was writing a memoir called I'm a Winner, and You're Fat. I'd like to think that it was this sort of acerbic humour that has made this series so compelling - 19th June
 * The end of the age of innocence'' - It was the year of the Ford Cortina, Gay Pride and power cuts. But when Bloody Sunday tore through 1972, Britain changed: the Sixties were finally over - 16th June (Comment)
 * was not Corden's stomach you could see. It was the generation gap'' - Something very unusual happened at an awards ceremony this week. There was a moment of genuine drama. At the Glamour Women of the Year evening, Sir Patrick Stewart turned on the host James Corden accusing him of discourtesy, and the two actors then verbally slugged it out - 12th June
 * artists tell their stories. But if only we could hear the other side'' - I was never quite able to feel Louise Bourgeois's pain - 5th June
 * something a classic often enough and it becomes one'' - 29th May
 * much was missing from the Culture Secretary's first speech'' - 22nd May
 * fees, transaction fees, web fees – the injustice goes on'' - 15th May
 * is finally ready for a black Bond'' - It is a huge advance on the attitudes of even a decade ago - 8th May
 * years of Tate Modern – and the challenges are just beginning'' - 1st May
 * must it be a culture-free election?'' - What about the state of TV, public libraries, museums or ticket prices? - 24th April
 * was Jonathan Ross worth it?'' - Much hangs on how quickly Jonathan Ross is offered another job - 10th April
 * another door shuts on dramatists'' - When Steven Spielberg was about to make the movie Empire of the Sun, he telephoned Tom Stoppard and asked him to write the screenplay. Stoppard initially declined, saying he was working on a play for the BBC. Spielberg couldn't believe his ears. "But that's just television," he exclaimed. "Actually," replied Stoppard, "I'm doing it for the radio." - 3rd April
 * another door shuts on dramatists'' - There was a time when great dramatists saw radio as a home for their work - 3rd April
 * alternative cultural manifesto'' - There seemed to be something missing from the cultural manifesto, launched on Thursday by the great and the good of the arts world at the British Museum - 27th March
 * alternative cultural manifesto'' - A manifesto should not be solely about proclaiming how well you are doing - 27th March
 * false start for the Cultural Olympiad'' - If there is nothing ready to announce in March 2010, is a wealth of top talent suddenly going to be available for July 2012? - 20th March
 * on, campaign on culture, Mr Brown'' - Test will be if the arts get so much as a single mention from the party leaders - 13th March
 * are not so precious'' - Comment is free, but in the case of an Andrew Lloyd Webber show it can prove very expensive - 10th March
 * ICA has lost its cutting edge'' - Whatever the allegations of fear and loathing in Downing Street, Gordon Brown must in his darkest hours take comfort from the fact that he does not run the Institute of Contemporary Arts - 6th March
 * Garden does the decent thing'' - It was the one cast change that the Royal Opera didn't want to happen - 27th February
 * BBC is too cowardly for Carmen'' - I have always had mixed feelings about BBC4, the corporation's arts and culture channel. There's no arguing about the excellence of much of its output, but its existence can be and is an excuse for the BBC to rein in the number of arts programmes on its mainstream channels. Culture becomes a niche market -20th February
 * and pop culture rarely mix'' - My advice to MPs, prospective or otherwise, is to avoid cultural quizzes - 13th February
 * theatre where new writing has flourished'' - Individual theatres fall in and out of vogue and usually not too much can be read into a flurry of award nominations for any one playhouse - 9th February
 * the way he tells it'' - Last Tuesday I think I saw the future. At least, I hope I did. In a sensational evening at the Royal Festival Hall, I watched Daniel Barenboim play Beethoven's third piano concerto and conduct Schoenberg's notoriously difficult Variations for Orchestra Op 31. That in itself was stunningly good, but it was the third element of the evening that turned it into a sensation - 6th February
 * will fight for the arts on ITV?'' - ITV should be ashamed of its treatment of the South Bank Show - 30th January
 * questions, but still no answers'' - In the midst of world-shattering events and important political debates, a little-noticed but fascinating question was asked in the House of Commons the other day. The Labour MP Tom Watson asked the arts minister which private members' clubs used by Arts Council staff and board members are funded by the council - 23rd January
 * is the Tate risking our cash?'' - I was assuming they were putting it towards discovering the next Picasso - 16th January
 * Charming turns panto villain'' - There was a story reported this week which must surely make a footnote in theatrical history - 9th January
 * Hugh, you are invited to the theatre...'' - Hugh Grant's outburst is depressing and depressingly familiar - 2nd January



Articles: 2009

 * daddy of all that divides the sexes'' - Van Morrison has proudly announced on his website the birth of a son, George Ivan Morrison III - 31st December
 * makes great television'' - It's Boxing Day and so you might think it's not a day when you are going to see something wildly innovative and mould-breaking in the arts world - 26th December
 * against being told what to do'' - For the first time in years I am interested in what will be the Christmas number One - 19th December
 * of London's heritage has been lost'' - Alarm bells first rang when I picked up a leaflet saying Transport for London was "changing the direction of the Circle line". Rubbish as I always have been at geometry, even I felt that you couldn't change the direction of a circle - 15th December
 * many popstars, not enough singers'' - Cultural events are taking place all over the country this weekend, and there is a plethora of arts programmes on BBC4 and Sky Arts. Yet there is no doubting that the finals of ITV's The X Factor over two nights will be the most watched and most talked-about arts event of the weekend - 12th December
 * Jackie, and questions never asked'' - Bennett said he was sure Cook was having an affair with Jackie Kennedy - 8th December
 * Strictly's upset a professional dancer'' - Let's see some proof there is audience movement from these events to a wider interest in the art form - 5th December
 * does not make art – it takes originality'' - As a debate, "what is art" prefigures most art. France's celebrated prehistoric cave paintings probably had assorted cavemen raising their clubs as they declared: "I may not know much about art but I know what I like." - 1st December
 * Conservatives bearing cash'' - 28th November
 * can they not love Lily?'' - It is the season of lists. Best of the Year/ Decade. Worst of the Year/ Decade. Most Beautiful of the Year/Decade. I'd like to introduce a "Mildly Enjoyable Night Out But Nothing To Write Home About of The Year/Decade", because that is also a large part of the cultural experience. But for the moment we'll have to make do with the best-of category - 21st November
 * writers don't need a helping hand'' - There's an unusual story about the new Alan Bennett play which opens at the National Theatre next Tuesday - 14th November
 * pulsating battle to rule the arts'' - Who should be the next chairman of the London Regional Arts Council? There's a question that invites the reader to turn the page. But this seemingly arcane question has become intriguing, controversial even - 7th November
 * need a PhD for a night at the opera'' - They're expensive and often of little use, yet they are the one part of the cultural experience that rarely provokes comment. Why can't the programmes on sale at concerts, theatres and operas be better? - 31st October
 * perils of being friends with the boss'' - The editor on my first newspaper had a habit of standing behind you as you were writing. Eventually, unnerved by his presence, you would stop writing. "What are you doing?" he would ask, amazed. "I'm thinking," the hapless reporter would answer. "Don't think! Write!" he would bark, emphasising the point with a jab of his finger between the shoulder blades - 27th October
 * get your (politically correct) gun'' - I was sure that the score also contained a song called "I'm an Indian Too" - 24th October
 * not time to junk the breeches and bonnets'' - The death of the costume drama on the BBC has been declared before. By the BBC. In the Eighties the Corporation decided that the public no longer had an appetite for it, and barely made any, denying a generation adaptations of the classics - 22nd October
 * £250k (gift)'' - There's no need for me to comment on the quality of Damien Hirst's new paintings at London's Wallace Collection. The art critics have delivered their verdict - 17th October
 * seek to understand David Hare'' - There's something that disturbs me about the subtitle David Hare has given to his new play The Power of Yes. It is "A dramatist seeks to understand the financial crisis - 10th October
 * to ditch these meaningless awards'' - Who exactly is exempt from playing music of black origin? - 3rd October
 * should watch its back'' - I've never known a time when the BBC had so few friends in the main political parties. Ben Bradshaw, the Culture Secretary and Jeremy Hunt, his Conservative shadow, seem to be vying with each other to be the more antagonistic to the corporation - 26th September
 * refreshing week for our new students'' - Freshers' Week: You can look on it in a number of ways - 25th September
 * is no time to be utilitarian'' - When the Prime Minister admitted to the TUC this week that there would be public spending cuts, he used a word which should strike fear into everyone connected with the arts - 19th September
 * should stick to the script'' - The New York Times ran an interview this week with Jude Law. The actor is about to appear in New York in the compelling Michael Grandage production of Hamlet. I thought Law's performance extremely moving when I saw it in London, and I suspect there is every chance of him causing a stir on Broadway - 12th September
 * class divide still distorts the Proms'' - The BBC has its faults, many of them, but those who advocate replacing it should have to answer one question... - 9th September
 * Robert Peston for the arts? Not quite'' - The BBC has been toying for a long time with the idea of having a Robert Peston of the arts. It's some months since the director-general himself said he wanted to transform the BBC's arts coverage by appointing a journalistic arts supremo to beef up its arts news and be the corporation's face of the arts - 5th September
 * BBC does not have to pay the going rate'' - Director of TV defends salaries by saying it is a matter of the market - 2nd September
 * Street personified – and that was the problem'' - Long before Jonathan Ross there was a BBC TV presenter whose ego blazed through the screen and who embarrassed the corporation because of his salary. Simon Dee may well have a claim to be the first of the television superstar presenters. But in his Sixties heyday, the BBC was tougher, and it never caved in to his salary demands, "letting him go" instead - 31st August
 * why the rape joke, Ricky?'' - There can be boundaries even in comedy and even with Ricky Gervais - 29th August
 * is cricket's turn to take centre stage'' - The last time I met Sam Mendes he didn't talk about Oscars, movies, plays, or even Kate Winslet. He talked about cricket. Like many in the arts, he is a cricket nut, though probably not as much as the late Harold Pinter - 26th August
 * time the joke's on Brüno'' - The diminishing importance to box-office takings of stars and critics is of some interest, though I suspect the next cycle will find both back in vogue. What struck me of far greater, and more lasting, importance concerned the fate of our very own Sacha Baron Cohen's film, Brüno - 22nd August
 * an album shouldn't kill you'' - Creative hoo-ha is what artists have to deal with. It goes with the territory - 15th August
 * sex, shame about the play'' - People have been spotted "pleasuring" one another in the audience at theatres - 8th August
 * your way to sporting failure'' - Cricketers intent on sharing their musings are just asking for trouble - 5th August
 * can learn from theatre'' - I would like to take the people behind the remake of the film The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 to the Donmar Warehouse theatre in London to see A Streetcar Named Desire - 1st August
 * a funny old job but someone's got to do it'' - The new Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw was spotted at the Latitude festival last weekend, dancing to Grace Jones - 25th July
 * the funny yummy mummy?'' - When the history of this newspaper comes to be written, which I hope won't be for quite a while yet, one item sure to be counted among the glories will be Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones column - 18th July
 * forget Monterey...'' - It was the music festival that not only summed up the Sixties but also is acknowledged as setting the template for all future music festivals. Hundreds of thousands of people attended to watch stars such as The Who and Jimi Hendrix give unforgettable performances - 11th July
 * our museums and galleries free'' - Free admission to national museums and art galleries is a jolly good thing and people who get in free are very happy with the situation - 4th July
 * should give women a break'' - What was the biggest event in theatre this week? It was all set to be Nicholas Hytner's excellent initiative in beaming Helen Mirren's performance in Phèdre to cinemas around the world. But the National Theatre's artistic director has been upstaged by the arts minister, Barbara Follett - 27th June
 * no need to make a song and dance about arts in the North'' - Well, it sounded good. An opera house for the North. A good old anti-elitist, anti-London gesture to bring some of the best of the Royal Opera House's London performances to Manchester, and produce some work there too. It sounded good, but it was never properly thought out - 25th June
 * in thought over the thinker in residence'' - An intriguing appointment has been made, I hear, at London’s South Bank Centre, or Southbank Centre, as they annoyingly insist on being called - 20th June
 * shouldn't have to explain themselves'' - In the midst of the Venice Biennale opening celebrations, an odd exchange took place. Steve McQueen, Britain's representative, was giving a press conference about his artwork, a short film depicting the setting of the Biennale after the glamorous art world had left - 13th June
 * Sky's the limit for 3D drama'' - Rupert Murdoch, patron of the arts. It still has a most unlikely ring to it. But it has to be said that the investment of Sky television in culture is proving quite impressive - 6th June
 * transport blues'' - The workings, or non-workings, of the London Underground system at weekends are discussed far too seldom - 30th May
 * can't copyright a hero'' - I have a vision. And I'm guessing I can say that without being sued. Were I to say "I have a dream" then I might need to seek legal advice - 23rd May
 * stand the heat? Lower the price'' - Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group has admitted that people are having to walk out of Oliver! at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, because it is "insufferably hot" in the balcony - 16th May
 * and McCartney don't mix'' - This collaboration of legends may not be such a good idea. But it's no surprise that it is generating excitement. It's that dreaded word "collaboration". It has become the holy grail of the arts world - 9th May
 * will be a poorer place without him'' - The first South Bank Show had Paul McCartney, plain Mr then, talking about his new song "Mull of Kintyre". Yes, it was a long time ago. But since that first airing in 1978 it has been ITV's flagship arts programme, and there were times when the BBC was in the cultural doldrums and before Sky Arts was conceived, when Melvyn Bragg's baby was the cultural flagship for television generally - 7th May (see: Curtain falls on 'South Bank Show')
 * pianist doth protest too much'' - The renowned Polish pianist Krystian Zimerman was about to play the final piece in his recital at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. He sat silently for a moment, then turned to the audience and said he would never play again in America, as its military wanted to control the whole world - 2nd May
 * or not, it's best to keep quiet'' - When Laurence Olivier and Marilyn Monroe starred in a film together, Monroe took particular exception to Olivier, who was also directing, saying to her before a scene: "OK, Marilyn, be sexy." The suggestion that her greatest natural asset was a mere technique that any decent actress could turn on did not go down well - 25th April
 * a risk: let us watch rehearsals'' - Gustavo Dudamel and his 100-plus youth orchestra from Venezuela were the biggest noise in town this week, but I was enthralled not just by the evening's performance at the Royal Festival Hall on Tuesday, but by an event that took place in the morning – an open rehearsal of the orchestra - 18th April
 * Arts Council has sex on the brain'' - Do you want to be on the board of an arts organisation? Well, first of all, disclose whether you are straight or gay - 11th april
 * all the noise is about the novelties – not the classics'' - I have a dream that one day the Proms programme will be announced, and among the headlines the next day will be words like Beethoven, Brahms, Rattle, Barenboim - 9th April
 * no arts supremo, Mrs Darling'' - Somewhat overshadowed by the G20, the arts have been having their own powwow - 4th April
 * Poet Laureate should work harder'' - Who'd be the Poet Laureate? They have to write verse about those increasingly unfashionable and largely unpoetic royal occasions, births, marriages and birthdays. They traditionally receive a quantity of sherry for their pains, but no actual dosh - 28th March
 * don't need a Cultural Olympiad'' - £5m is to be given to artists, writers and composers to come up with sculptures, symphonies, plays and other works for the Cultural Olympiad. And that's only a fraction of what has already been promised- 21st March
 * does an actor become a star?'' - 14th March
 * rhyme or reason to booking fees'' - There is widespread and justifiable anger at West End theatres and rock concert venues adding a charge to the ticket price for reasons too linguistically obscure – handling charge, transaction fee – to understand - 7th March
 * should no longer be an issue'' - Ballet Black. Why does that name make me feel a little uncomfortable? - 28th February
 * only rock’n’roll, but I don’t like it'' - It was a glamorous, glitzy affair. Duffy’s smoky soul songs triumphed. The crowd went crazy - 21st February
 * off screen and into the provinces'' - There's a small revolution taking place in the British arts scene at the moment. Our national powerhouses are filming some of their productions and releasing the "movies" in cinemas across the country - 14th February
 * us at the Baftas, please'' - These award ceremonies are drawn out and boring. The only chance of a little light relief is an honest-to-God, toe-curling, embarrassing acceptance speech - 7th February
 * secret is out of the bag'' - Can anything in our cultural affairs be more important than the fact that we are living in an age of self-censorship and, presumably, fear by those who put on plays and films, write comedies, and publish books? - 31st January
 * pay top price for a rehearsal?'' - put actors on a stage and they need weeks to develop their performance before a first night - 24th January
 * BBC flies in the face of accuracy'' - But if it gets viewers viewing, is accuracy that important? Apparently not, according to the new head of BBC drama - 17th January
 * – or inspired casting?'' - Usually at the end of the cultural week, it is a great performance that lingers in the mind. But this week there are two images that are playing in my head, and they keep playing there because they are so improbable - 10th january
 * back the art blockbusters'' - they attract a new audience into a gallery, an audience which is tempted by the buzz around an exhibition, and might just wander off to see, and be entranced by, paintings in the permanent collection - 3rd January



Articles: 2008

 * don't do enough to honour our playwrights'' - The naming of West End theatres is a pretty rum business. Even the most avid theatregoers are unlikely to be certain which Majesty it was that Her Majesty's Theatre is named after, likewise the Queen's. Likewise the Prince of Wales, likewise the Duke of York - 27th December 2008
 * Arts Council has had its day'' - There are also the absurd regulations for those seeking money from the council. They now have to disclose their sexual orientation – bisexual, gay, heterosexual, lesbian, and even "not known" - 20th December 2008
 * dream, perchance to get a refund'' - It's always difficult for theatre companies to know what to do about refunds when a star drops out - 13th December 2008
 * prefers showbiz over substance'' - 6th December 2008
 * should put the Bard on the box'' - Reports from the Royal Shakespeare Company say that half of teachers on their practical courses designed to enthuse pupils about Shakespeare have cancelled since SATs for 14-year-olds in English were scrapped last month - 29th November 2008
 * is waiting in the wings'' - The most heartwarming arts story of the week was the case of the man who phoned up the Welsh National Opera for a ticket and ended up singing the star role - 22nd November 2008
 * cares about yesterday's men?'' - Journalists never fare very well with David Hare. The playwright once wrote that "The Independent is staffed by fools who know nothing about art" - 15th November 2008
 * O2 stop spoiling my rock gigs?'' - 8th November 2008
 * a stop to this booking fee rip-off'' - 1st November 2008
 * kiss is just a kiss – even for starlets'' - 25th October 2008
 * festival. Shame about the city'' - I haven't done any sort of scientific survey, but I do wonder how many Londoners know they are currently in the middle of a film festival - 18th October 2008
 * but comedy can be offensive'' - Harry Enfield is in a spot of bother with the government of the Philippines over a sketch in his Harry and Paul show - 11th October 2008
 * Mobos are past their sell-by date'' - 4th October 2008 (MOBO Awards)
 * stage is set for new audiences'' - finding new theatre audiences is essential - 27th September 2008
 * whingeing about your fans, Annie'' - So what sort of story ideas, pornish and otherwise, have they been sending to Annie Proulx? - 20th September 2008
 * no joke when a comedian gets angry'' - 13th September 2008
 * poor audiences at the RSC'' - 6th September 2008
 * fans short-changed by trailer trash'' - 30th August 2008
 * Do an artist's crimes reflect on their art?'' - 23rd August 2008
 * human beings behind the batons'' - Let's take a look at the least understood of all artistic skills - 16th August 2008
 * triumph'' - 9th August 2008
 * A chorus of dissent, but do lyrics really matter? - 2nd August 2008
 * When Nigel speaks, people should listen (Nigel Kennedy) - 26th July 2008
 * Heath was good but Germaine could do better - 19th July 2008
 * The Hollywood inquisition can be painful - 12th July 2008
 * If reality TV sells out theatres, I'm all for it - Wednesday 9th July 2008
 * Look back in approval at colour-blind casting - 5th July 2008
 * How to look after those bums on seats - 28th June 2008
 * Why Andy Burnham should be a bit bolder - 21st June 2008
 * Music belongs to everyone – even politicians - 14th June 2008
 * The midnight hour is the time for culture - 7th June 2008
 * Make Hay indeed – and forget about literature - 31st May 2008
 * It's time to deliver greatness across the nation - 24th May 2008
 * Behold a natural wonder - film buffs in full flight - 17th May 2008
 * Shakespearean tragedy or cultural paranoia? - 10th May 2008
 * Where are the playwrights in this hour of need? - 3rd May 2008
 * Would you keep your Elvis moment a secret? - 26th May 2008
 * A defence minister defends opera? Surely not - 19th April 2008
 * Director's troubles are partly self-inflicted (English National Opera) - Wednesday 16th April 2008
 * Such a radical approach to classical music - 12th April 2008
 * At last ... proper praise for a lost comic genius - 5th April 2008
 * The end of the Edinburgh Fringe is nigh - 29th March 2008
 * The vanishing world of the cheap seat - 22nd March 2008
 * The playwright is a complex creature, not just a guy on a soapbox - Thursday 13th March 2008
 * Memories fade but the myths still linger (the 1960s) - 15th March 2008
 * Even wild men of rock like to do the ironing - 8th March 2008
 * The end of the blockbuster? Not very likely - 1st March 2008
 * The curtain goes up on Sunday theatre at last - 23rd February 2008
 * ...What should be in the rock music museum planned for London's O2 centre - 16th February 2008
 * A seat with a restricted view should be free - 9th February 2008
 * Keegan has scored a theatrical own goal - 2nd February 2008
 * If the star goes missing, I'd like my money back - 26th January 2008
 * The quiet artists who miss out on the awards - 19th January 2008
 * Free for a week? Why not affordable all the time? - 12th January 2008
 * Why can't politicians enthuse about the arts? - 5th January 2008

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