The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE recommends an impressive impersonation of Bob Dylan
Dr Strangelove and the Seven Dwarves of Armageddon
MATTHEW ALFORD questions the establishment-pleasing politics that underlie so-called ‘political satire’
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews Here, Vermiglio, William Tell and Wolf Man
New releases from Thorpe and Morrison, Daria Kulesh, and Will Finn and Rosie Calvert
RINA ARYA confronts the brutal operation of Francis Bacon’s approach to portraiture
Emphasising his continuous engagement in labour movement struggles, ALISTAIR FINDLAY salutes John Foster’s contribution as activist, strategist, intellectual and defender of the Morning Star
ANDY MIAH advocates the use of AI to assist people by expanding access to global literature and culture
EWAN KOTZ relishes a veteran Glasgow band that have lost none of their verve for live performance
IS ARMANDO IANNUCCI a national treasure? He should be. But for entertainment — not political satire.
In a West End stage adaptation of Armando Iannucci and Sean Foley’s Dr Strangelove, an insane US commander orders a nuclear strike on Russia. Both sides flounder to prevent apocalypse.
The original film was Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece, skewering Cold War archetypes from subservient RAF pilot to drunk Russian premier. Iannucci’s adaptation, also set in the ‘60s, has the Russian dictator modelled on Vladimir Putin, labelled in a punchline as “cold-blooded, neurotic — and short!”
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MATTHEW ALFORD considers the principal four reasons there wasn’t a nuclear exchange this year, despite the Ukraine war, the carnage in the Middle East, the provocations over Taiwan — and his best predictions
No matter how black our satire, the government goes blacker – as shown in the WikiLeaks founders’ case, says MATTHEW ALFORD
MATTHEW ALFORD asks how innocent the arts and the celebrities who front them up really are
As a civilisation we are in thrall to and infantilised by our own righteousness, while ignoring the corporate interests that make war miserably predictable, writes MATTHEW ALFORD
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