Arts & Entertainment
The latest arts and entertainment highlights, previews, reviews, music and film features and opinion pieces from The Skinny writers.
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ComedyNoel Fielding on his stand-up return
It's ten years since Noel Fielding's androgynous elf Vince Noir first baffled our screens in cult TV hitThe Mighty Boosh. He speaks to us about getting back to stand-up, and why he's quite happy to be the eccentric old guy kids point at in the street Read more »| 05 Nov 2014 -
TheatreBarnum @ Palace Theatre, Manchester
Serving stints as a politician, writer and businessman, it is fair to say that P.T. Barnum led a busy and colourful life – but among his many ventures ... Read more »| 05 Nov 2014 -
Film
Leviathan
Andrey Zvyagintsev's Leviathan is a film hunting big game. His fourth feature presents modern Russia as a country rotten to its core – corrupt, hypocri... Read more »| 05 Nov 2014 -
MusicDan Bodan – Soft
Before a breathily sighed note’s been uttered, Berlin-based Canadian Dan Bodan has set the tone for his debut full-length by titling it Soft, drawing i... Read more »| 05 Nov 2014 -
Music
Slice of Life – Love and a Lamp-Post
A change of pace from the turbulent mind of Steve Ignorant. 2011 saw him resurrecting Crass material under the moniker The Last Supper, which largely served ... Read more »| 05 Nov 2014 -
Books
The Land Agent by J. David Simons
The Land Agent is a story of diaspora. In 1919, a young Polish Jew named Lev flees persecution while an idealistic Scottish woman looks to begin again. Like ... Read more »| 05 Nov 2014
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ClubsIs That Door Alarmed? Krystal Klear warms up for his Labour of Love party
Manchester-based, Dublin-born producer Krystal Klear talks to us about his upcoming Labour of Love party at Soup Kitchen, and “hitting the bollocks out of it” the night before visiting Nile Rodgers' home studio Read more »| 04 Nov 2014 -
Film
Naked City
Jules Dassin’s absorbing 1948 potboiler The Naked City is sometimes billed as a film noir. It’s actually much more concerned with the nitty-gritt... Read more »| 04 Nov 2014 -
Film
Hide Your Smiling Faces
Death is introduced early in this US indie, with an opening shot that features a snake ingesting its prey. Its presence then lingers through every frame that... Read more »| 04 Nov 2014 -
FilmYouth of the Beast
In 1968, Japanese director Seijun Suzuki saw his long-standing contract with the Nikkatsu studio terminated for repeatedly turning routine potboiler scripts ... Read more »| 04 Nov 2014 -
Books
The American Nightmare: An interview with James Ellroy
The L.A. Confidential author and 'demon dog of American crime fiction' discusses his new book Perfidia, alongside kilts, addictions, Beethoven, and exactly why James Franco will not be adapting his work for the big screen. Read more »| 04 Nov 2014 -
Theatre
The Events
For a seemingly small play – two actors, 90 minutes, no interval – David Greig's The Events has a big reputation. Premiered at the Edinburgh Frin... Read more »| 04 Nov 2014 -
Film
From SNL to Sibling Hell: Craig Johnson on The Skeleton Twins
During their stints on SNL, Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig proved themselves expert comic performers. In The Skeleton Twins they reveal substantial dramatic chops too. The film's writer-director, Craig Johnson, discusses channeling their dark sides Read more »| 04 Nov 2014 -
Art
Not So Tatty: Playtime at Cornerhouse
Playtime marks the end of Cornerhouse and the beginning of HOME. The Skinny caught up with Cornerhouse's curator – and new Professor at Manchester School of Art – Sarah Perks, to find out what's planned for the exhibition and her thoughts on the future... Read more »| 04 Nov 2014 -
Music
Wu-Tang Clan unleash 'Ruckus In B Minor' from new album A Better Tomorrow
After a troubled genesis, the Wu-Tang Clan have released the soul-inflected single 'Ruckus in B Minor' from A Better Tomorrow, their first new studio LP... Read more »| 04 Nov 2014