The ISIS review: Copenhagen, , Pilch Studio 19th – 22nd October MT16
Michael Frayn’s Copenhagen revolves around the meeting of Werner Heisenberg and Niels Bohr in September 1941, the words exchanged between them and the race for nuclear fission in the Second World War. The longstanding but now precarious relationship between the two scientists is examined by the ch
Over a week with Jean-Paul Mulot, ex-editor of Le Figaro
In April this year I went to stay with Jean-Paul Mulot and his family on the Île de Ré, a French island off the coast of La Rochelle, famous for its oysters and sweeping light. I was there for a tutoring job, but I took the opportunity over the course of ten days to quiz […]
Berlin and the European Identity
At first glance, Berlin might appear to represent everything that the United Kingdom has chosen to reject. ‘A real Berliner is not a Berliner’ reads the romantic graffiti inscription at Warschauerstrasse S-Bahn station. This graffiti was probably the handiwork of an Italian tourist, but
In Defence of Romantic Comedies
When I watched Bridget Jones’s Diary for the first time, I definitely wasn’t its target audience. As a twelve-year-old, I didn’t exactly identify with Bridget’s madcap single-woman-in-her-thirties antics, including answering the phone to her mum with the opener “Bridget Jones: want
The Embryonic Tale: Hugo, Enjolras and Les Misères
Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables has travelled far from its father’s pen. Eager for material, contemporary culture seems to regularly lead it astray, projecting simplification (or mere fabrication) onto its surface. However, as it rolled from the press in 1862, Hugo’s novel had already strayed fr
“We comfort the afflicted and afflict the comforted”: an interview with David Walsh
“7 X TdF champ.” Lance Armstrong’s Twitter bio bears none of the signs of contrition one might expect from an exposed elite sportsman. Despite world outrage when proof of his drug-cheating was uncovered, Armstrong’s crimes seem to have dipped in significance, and his blatantly incorrect clai
Not an Apology: The Real Housewives and Me
I have, in true Housewives fashion, only one thing to say to you. I regret nothing. This is no cautionary tale. I will make you see the light. Nobody plans on catching The Real Housewives fever. But after a friend showed me an episode one summer day, I got it, and I got it bad. Before […]
“An artist is just a regular person”: An Interview with Koki Tanaka
Koki Tanaka is perhaps the contemporary art world’s quietest radical: a man who, since being selected as Deutsche Bank’s Artist of the Year in 2015, has proceeded to gently undermine the very concept of ‘the artist’ in favour of encouraging collective action and historical re
The Fault, Dear Brutus, is Not in Our Students
First, a confession: I’m a second year English student, but aged sixteen, I couldn’t stand Shakespeare. I know, I know. It’s the kind of blasphemy which ignites witch-hunts and kicks academia into uproar. I’ll hasten to point out that I do like Shakespeare now. And my transformation in opini