"Shakespeare and Shakespeare's Globe will always be viewed by some as fundamentally conservative because, on one level, they exist as symbols of England's past glory. The fact (that) it is a forward-looking modern theatre therefore inevitably comes into conflict with its existence as a patriotic symbol." - The Stage
"The rampant and cruel misinformation that has spread about (Naomi's) death, and about our relationships with her, ... will only worsen if the details are disclosed by the Tennessee law that allows police reports, including family interviews, from closed investigations to be made public." - The New York Times
"'I agree with the defense that the statute is facially invalid,' said retired judge Pamela S. Baskervill (about the) Virginia law that a Republican legislator used in his attempt to declare Maia Kobabe's graphic memoir Gender Queer and Sarah Maas's fantasy romance A Court of Mist and Fury 'obscene for minors.'" - Slate
"Unionized workers ..., in talks since October of 2020 on their first labor contract with museum management, voted Tuesday night to authorize a strike should leaders deem it necessary." The vote count was 164 to 0 with one abstention. - MSN (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
"On Wednesday ... Matt Shakman announced he will step down from his role in February (and) will program the company's 2023-24 season before he departs. He ... said it was getting trickier to balance his work in theater with his film and TV endeavors." - Yahoo! (Los Angeles Times)
"Ministers had hoped that the festival would attract 66 million people, but with just over two more months to go, four of the events have so far only drawn 238,000 visitors, according to official figures." The problem: people perceive it as a Festival of Brexit. - The Guardian
Its inaugural edition happened in 2019, when four artists and students in a visual arts class were selected to cover the 400-square-foot blank “canvases” with images of sanitation workers, recycling, and flowers. Almost 100 artists applied, and Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia at the time called the designs “truly … works of art.” - Hyperallergic
We already have abundant material rebutting creationism on scientific grounds, but the Trollingers explicitly refrain from discussing the science. What they do instead is much more interesting. In an extended and detailed analysis, they apply the Museum’s own criteria to the Museum’s own display. It does not fare well. - 3 Quarks Daily
How does a debut novel go from a “very messy” draft on a writer’s desk to a published book, on display in bookstores around the country? - The New York Times
One aspect of Rachmaninoff’s legacy that deserves greater scrutiny is his peculiar resonance with early-twentieth-century American pop music. George Gershwin, the son of Russian immigrants, could not have composed “Rhapsody in Blue” without the example of the Rachmaninoff concertos. - The New Yorker
Indigenous dance is always a way to share knowledge and teachings across generations, a way to know and express who you are, and who your relations are, past and present. For a small group of First Nations and Métis dancers on Canada’s west coast, tapping into cultural traditions has provided a powerful place from which to develop their own...
My mind wanders back to a final stroll I took through my parents’ library just before the home was sold—acres of empty shelves, a breath-catching sight. A quiet library is quieter when the books are gone. But those books are noisy somewhere, on new shelves, in new hands. - The Wall Street Journal
A South African actress who began modeling at age 6, she played the assassin Syonide in the DC Comics TV series Black Lightning and had her first big-screen leading role in director Ruben Östlund's award-winning film, alongside Harris Dickinson and Woody Harrelson. - Variety
I can think of no recent novel or film that provoked passionate debate. Public arguments people do have about art — about appropriation and offense, usually — have grown stale and repetitive, almost rote. - The New York Times
"Onstage and off, Schumer is uncommonly open. Money, I.V.F., adolescent shoplifting, alcohol-induced blackouts, attending the Met Gala high on mushrooms, pooping her pants: all the things that most people keep desperately private, Schumer airs with no evident discomfort." - The New Yorker
