Arts & Culture

Despite what they tell you, it’s surprisingly hard to pass a pleasant evening. You have to be in the mood to go out for theatre and fireworks. You have to be overworked to always stay at home…

The current popularity of the ukulele with everyone from retired Home Counties housewives to uber-cool East London hipsters makes it surprising that the name George Formby remains unknown outside a circle of dedicated fanatics. Once a huge draw at the UK box office, and at one time the highest paid entertainer in the country, Formby and his uke churned out a string of hit records in the 1930s and ‘40s…

The sacrifice would be rejuvenated and joyful after drinking this mixture of blood and chocolate, and dance to his death…

New Zealand filmmaker and activist Gaylene Preston is one of these standouts with amazing longevity. An admired director, she’s championed women and her homeland for the better part of 40 years, and her latest film MY YEAR WITH HELEN…

The title is misleading. The action of the poem is in no way platonic: it’s racy stuff alright. Some other lines include, ‘Explored the adorable masculine tits’…

Open Pen, a free tri-annual short fiction magazine based in London, was founded in 2011. ‘Open’ by design, Preston wanted to “encourage writing from anywhere and everywhere, anyone and everyone”…

We have always been fascinated by bodies that defy categorisation and the terrifying, unknown possibilities that these humanlike inhuman creatures present…

How do you paint a picture of timelessness? How do you capture the feeling of being weightless? Stand before the work of Barbara Cole and you’ll see…