John Nathan

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Theatre

Shucked, review: ‘Not quite the cream of the crop’

This is an entertaining musical comedy, and its corny gags are fun, but only fleetingly does it soar

2 min read

Cord-fed wordplay: the cast of Shucked ultimately failed to raise the roof at the Open Air Theatre in London's Regent Park

Symmetrical shot: Benico del Toro and Mia Threapleton in a scene from director Wes Anderson's The Phoenician Scheme

The Phoenician Scheme, review: ‘Wes Anderson’s latest absurd comedy’

1 min read

Mission Impossible – the Final Reckoning, review: ‘Tom Cruise takes action to the next level’

1 min read

I spy: Charlie Russell in A Comedy about Spies (Photo: Mark Senior)

A Comedy about Spies, review: ‘an irresistible comedy of chaos’

1 min read

The film-maker revered by Hitler...and Quentin Tarantino

The director of a new documentary about the Nazi propagandist Leni Riefenstahl explodes the myth that she was more than a mere witness to Third Reich crimes

5 min read

May 15, 2025 10:46

In the frame: stills from Andres Veiel's new film Riefenstahl

Hallow Road, review: ‘Rosamund Pike and Matthew Rhys in car-crash nail-biter’

Babak Anvari’s psychological thriller is shot almost entirely from within the confines of a car

1 min read

May 14, 2025 15:25

Hallow Road, review: ‘Rosamund Pike and Matthew Rhys in car-crash nail-biter’

Here We Are, review: ‘this Sondheim musical feels like unfinished business’

The composer’s swansong is best described as a play with some music

1 min read

May 14, 2025 15:09

Eerily modern: the cast of Here We Are on stage at the National Theatre (Photo: Marc Brenner)

Thunderbolt review: ‘not even Florence Pugh can fire this up’

The action sequences are excellent, but this film is proof that Marvel’s glory days are over

1 min read

May 8, 2025 16:30

Up Hamas, down sense: The music industry’s moral failure

The growing support for Kneecap despite their pro-Hamas comments reflects the culture of self-righteous ignorance that dominates the anti-Israel position.

3 min read

May 7, 2025 14:33

Mo Chara (left) and Moglai Bap from Northern Irish hip hop trio Kneecap perform onstage during the 2025 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (Image: Getty)

Giant review: ‘Dahl – a very poisonous national treasure’

The children’s author’s deep-seated loathing of Jews is slowly and shockingly revealed in this West End transfer of Mark Rosenblatt’s award-winning play

1 min read

May 7, 2025 14:12

Tense: John Lithgow as Raold Dahl and Elliot Levey as his agent Tom Mascher (Photo: Johan Persson)

Motel Destino review: ‘sordid thrills in Brazil’

An unflinchingly seedy thriller set under a bleaching sun

1 min read

April 30, 2025 16:38

Love hotel: Nataly Rocha and Iago Xavier

My play about being young, gay and strictly Orthodox

A formerly frum writer on how he hopes his ex-community will watch his new work

5 min read

April 30, 2025 14:18

Leap of faith: Clara Francis, Ilan Galkoff and Ben Caplan. Inset: Shimmy Braun (Photos: Michael Wharley, Ryan Howard)

Dealer’s Choice review: ‘male inadequacies laid bare’

Set around a poker table, this play anchors on a painful father-son relationship and shows that the stake are always higher than the amount of cash on the table

1 min read

April 29, 2025 16:27