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Oscar: Christopher Wheeldon’s Breathtaking Ballet Is A Triumph Of Theatrical Storytelling
Translating the life of Oscar Wilde into ballet is no small undertaking. One of literature’s most celebrated wordsmiths, Wilde built his reputation on the precision of his language, the brilliance of his wit, and his ability to expose the hypocrisies of Victorian society. To tell his story without words, therefore, is an ambitious proposition. Yet Christopher…
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Meet The Mind Behind Hit Short Film The Intimacy Coordinator
Close-Up Culture’s Senior Writer Genevieve Dammery sat down with Writer/director/actress Louisa Connolly-Burnham to discuss her latest short film The Intimacy Coordinator, her career, and what it is like to evolve a career from acting into filmmaking. Genevieve: Could you tell me a little bit about the initial idea that became The Intimacy Coordinator, and if there was a particular conversation or experience or observation that sparked…
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The Intimacy Coordinator – Short Film Review
What happens when the person in charge of enforcing boundaries can no longer enforce her own? It is the unsettling premise of Louisa Connolly-Burnham’s thriller short film The Intimacy Coordinator. In the film, Kate, played by Connolly-Burnham herself, has built a career around helping actors navigate some of the most vulnerable moments they can experience…
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Prince: A Darkly Absurd Examination of Grief, Greed, and Possession
A dog inheriting a house is absurd enough. Watching the humans around him descend into desperate attempts to take it away from him is considerably darker. Federico Borgia’s Prince, which has its World Premiere at BFI LFF takes this bizarre idea and turns it into an unexpectedly sharp examination of grief, greed, and the human…
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Rhythm Riot – Ballet Review
Few things are quite as striking as the opening of a Balanchine ballet. As the curtain rises, rows of dancers emerge in perfect symmetry, creating an image that can elicit an almost involuntary gasp from the audience. It was a fitting beginning to English National Ballet’s latest triple bill, Rhythm Riot. Bringing together George Balanchine’s…
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The Devils: When Censorship Becomes Part of the Film
Some films are controversial because of what they contain. Others are surrounded by controversy so inseparable from their identity that it is difficult to imagine one without the other. Ken Russell’s The Devils somehow falls into both categories. More than 50 years after its original release, Russell’s infamous 1971 film is returning to cinemas in a newly restored 4K version. The restoration, released by BFI…
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South London Film Festival 2026: She Owns the Scene Vol. 2 is a Fitting Close to a Triumphant Festival
After three weekends of independent cinema, emerging talent and filmmaker conversations, the South London Film Festival brought its 2026 edition to a close at Brixton’s Picturehouse Ritzy with She Owns the Scene Vol. 2, a celebratory final programme placing women at the centre of the screen. After a tribute to George Major, the Pearly King…
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The Standard of Living – Theatre Review
James Graham’s ambitious new play brings economics, politics, and art together in a beautifully theatrical portrait of economist John Maynard Keynes. What makes a good life? It is the simple question that sits at the heart of Graham’s new play, The Standard of Living. Set against the upheaval of the early twentieth century, Graham asks…
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London Fashion Film Festival 2026 Wrap Up
Fashion and film have always shared a complicated relationship. Both are concerned with image, identity, and transformation and both understand the power of a carefully constructed visual world. That intersection sits at the heart of the London Fashion Film Festival, which returned this September for its 13th edition. Held across two days, this year’s festival…
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Cranes – Theatre Review
At eighteen many of us believe that we can change the world. For Summer, the protagonist of Demi Wilson-Smith’s Cranes, political awakening arrives in the form of a protest. The year is 2010, she has just turned eighteen, and armed with a new camera, her best friend Sasha, and an idealistic belief that history is…
