28 m. ago Into the Woods review, Bridge Theatre – Stephen Sondheim revival is a thing of lush and arresting beauty

A lavish production that plays to the musical’s strengths

Events

29 m. ago Crowborough residents are taking the government to court over plans to house 600 adult male migrants in army camp

Crowborough Shield, a community-led campaign group, has lodged an application for a full judicial review of the decision to place more than 500 asylum seekers at the camp.

Events

49 m. ago From scarves to socks: The cosiest cashmere accessories under £100 that make for perfect last

From scarves to socks, these under-£100 cashmere accessories are the sort of last-minute presents that still feel incredibly considered.

Economics

95 m. ago Michael Smith reveals what shocked him at Ally Pally as he makes winning start to World Championship title bid

Bully Boy makes winning start to his title bid and was thrilled with one feeling that he got as he beat Lisa Ashton

Events

98 m. ago Terminator 2D No Fate review – a brilliant bit of fan service all

Bitmap Bureau's run-and-gun adaptation of the James Cameron hit should have been an ardent fan's dream, but most iconic moments are more fun to watch than play.

Politics

2 h. ago The Red Shoes review, Sadler’s Wells – Matthew Bourne conjures the impassioned, hothouse world of ballet

This richly realised production packs a wealth of ballet history into deft parodies

Politics

2 h. ago Joyride by Susan Orlean review – an extraordinary, curious life

An exuberant, inspiring memoir from the New Yorker writer and author of The Orchid ThiefIn 2017, 10 years after Susan Orlean profiled Caltech-trained physicist turned professional origami artist Robert Lang for the New Yorker, she attended the OrigamiUSA convention to take Lang’s workshop on folding a “Taiwan goldfish”. I was with her, a radio producer trying to capture the sounds of paper creasing as Orlean attempted to keep pace with the “Da Vinci of origami”, wincing when her goldfish’s fins didn’t exactly flutter in hydrodynamic splendour.It was Orlean in her element: an adventurous student, inquisitive and exacting, fully alive to the mischief inherent to reporting – and primed to extract some higher truth. “When we first met you said something to me I’ve never forgotten,” Orlean told Lang. “That paper has a memory – that once you fold it, you can never entirely remove the fold.” Was that, she wondered, an insight about life, too? Continue reading...

Politics

2 h. ago As the UK looks to invest in nuclear, here’s what it could mean for Britain’s environment

In this week’s newsletter: The government’s bid to speed up nuclear construction could usher in sweeping deregulation, with experts warning of profound consequences for nature• Don’t get Down to Earth delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereWhen UK prime minister Keir Starmer announced last week that he was “implementing the Fingleton review”, you can forgive the pulse of most Britons for failing to quicken.But behind the uninspiring statement lies potentially the biggest deregulation for decades, posing peril for endangered species, if wildlife experts are to be believed, and a likely huge row with the EU.2025 ‘virtually certain’ to be second- or third-hottest year on record, EU data showsJust 0.001% hold three times the wealth of the poorest half of humanity, report finds‘Even the animals seem confused’: a retreating Kashmir glacier is creating an entire new world in its wake Continue reading...

Events

2 h. ago Exactly what products Taylor Swift used on The Era's Tour and they're cheaper than you think

Fans of Taylor Swift have identified the haircare products spotted in her new Disney+ documentary The End of an Era, and they're more affordable than you'd think

Politics

2 h. ago Review: Jason Manford in Robin Hood delivers panto magic at Manchester Opera House

You're guaranteed a belly-clutching night of laughs with Jason Manford and silly sidekick Ben Nickless back in panto action, reports Dianne Bourne.

Society

3 h. ago Hask Argan Oil review: affordable haircare that feels premium

It turns out you don’t need expensive salon products to get glossy, healthy-looking hair — this affordable range might be all you need

Politics

4 h. ago ‘I live for playing cops and robbers!’ Martin Compston on love, Las Vegas and the new Line of Duty

He’ll soon be going back on the hunt for bent coppers – but not before a wild revenge tale of divorcees going rogue. The star talks feeling inferior to Meera Syal, his life in the US and why he’s thrilled to be typecastWhile we embark on the inhumanly long wait for the new season of Line of Duty, which starts shooting in January, you’ll see Martin Compston – the show’s hero and true north – a number of times. Twice as you’ve never seen him before, and once, in Red Eye, in the form that you’ve come to know and love him: brisk and taciturn, brave and speedy, the man you’d trust to save the world while the dopes all around him can’t even see it needs saving.But first, The Revenge Club, in which he is a revelation. The setting is a support group for divorcees, a ragtag gang united by nothing but the fact that they’ve been summarily dismissed by their spouses. “There’s no other reason for these characters to be in each other’s lives,” Compston says from his home in Las Vegas (more on tha...

Society

5 h. ago Why is Trump going after Venezuela? His administration has so far floated these three reasons for its pressure campaign

Trump said that “other things are happening” in addition to the U.S. military’s seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker

Politics

6 h. ago New free schools announced by the Tories to be junked by ministers

The Department for Education said that proposals for 28 out of 44 new free schools were likely to be junked following a review.

Politics

7 h. ago Putin phones Venezuelan president to offer Russia's support after Trump seizes oil tanker off coast

Putin called Maduro a day after United States forces seized control of an oil tanker in Venezuela as part of an escalation in tensions between the Trump administration and Maduro's government.

Politics

7 h. ago Trump expands Venezuela sanctions as Maduro decries new ‘era of piracy’

Six more oil supertankers added to sanctions list, as well as members of Maduro’s extended family, amid rising tensions following tanker seizureDonald Trump has exerted more pressure on Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro, expanding sanctions and issuing fresh threats to strike land targets in Venezuela, as the South American dictator accused the US president of ushering in a new “era of criminal naval piracy” in the Caribbean.Late on Thursday, the US imposed curbs on three nephews of Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, as well as six crude oil supertankers and the shipping companies linked to them. The treasury department alleged the vessels “engaged in deceptive and unsafe shipping practices and continue to provide financial resources that fuel Maduro’s corrupt narco-terrorist regime”. Continue reading...

Politics

8 h. ago Half of all secondary school pupils have skipped class in the last year because they're too anxious, study finds

The survey of 2,000 pupils found 49.5 per cent said they had missed or avoided school because of feeling anxious at some point in the last academic year.

Politics

8 h. ago New free schools announced by the Tories to be junked my MPs

The Department for Education said that proposals for 28 out of 44 new free schools were likely to be junked following a review.

Politics

8 h. ago US ‘prepares to board more Venezuela oil tankers’ as White House ‘won’t watch them sail the seas’ & sanctions 6 more

US officials are reportedly preparing to storm and seize more tankers transporting Venezuelan oil to put pressure on dictator Nicolás Maduro. Tensions between Washington and Caracas escalated when rifle-wielding US troops rappelled from helicopters to raid an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. Stunning footage showed commandos sweeping through the ship as they executed...

Events

9 h. ago The Playboy of the Western World: A strong turn from Nicola Coughlan

The Bridgerton star plays a feisty barmaid in this revival of JM Synge’s 1907 comedy that once caused riots

Politics