49 h. ago Quadrophenia, a Mod Ballet, Edinburgh review: 'brings mods and rockers back to life'

With a talented cast, arresting design and a phenomenal score, this show captures what it was like to be young at an important cultural moment, writes Kelly Apter

Politics

3 d. ago Mario Kart World review – Knockout Tour brings a fresh way to race even if the new world disappoints

Mario Kart World's open-world doesn't work as well as intended, but the new battle royale style Knockout Tour delivers a great new way to play.

Sport

6 d. ago Turnstile review – punk crossover quintet bring the heat to Brooklyn

Under the K Bridge, Brooklyn, New YorkOn the year’s hottest day, the band of the moment celebrated their new album with a buoyant live show featuring a surprise special guestIt’s only fitting that “Turnstile summer” – coined by Charli xcx herself – would kick off on Brooklyn’s hottest day yet. About 9,000 sweaty people crammed Under the K Bridge (yes, it’s literally under the Kosciuszko Bridge) on the 86F day to celebrate the release of the hardcore band’s new album, Never Enough.And there was plenty to celebrate for the Baltimore-based group, who have found themselves on the edge of the mainstream. Following their 2021 album Glow On, where frontman Brendan Yates traded in some screaming for singing over a blend of heavy riffs, soul and even dream pop, Turnstile has picked up three Grammy nominations, opened for Blink-182, received the aforementioned Charli xcx shoutout at Coachella and, this past week, found themselves on Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show to promote Never Enough. Continu...

Politics

9 d. ago Nintendo’s Switch 2 is the upgrade of my dreams – but it’s not as ‘new’ as some might hope

The long-trailed console offers sturdier hardware, improved graphics and seamless online functionality. But it’s more of an update than a revolutionLaunch week is finally here, and though I would love to be bringing you a proper review of the Nintendo Switch 2 in this week’s newsletter, I still don’t have one at the time of writing. In its wisdom, Nintendo has decided not to send review units out until the day before release, so as you read this I will be standing impatiently by the door like a dog anxiously awaiting its owner.I have played the console, though, for a whole day at Nintendo’s offices, so I can give you some first impressions. Hardware-wise, it is the upgrade of my dreams: sturdier JoyCons, a beautiful screen, the graphical muscle to make games look as good as I want them to in 2025 (though still not comparable to the high-end PlayStation 5 Pro or a modern gaming PC). I like the understated pops of colour on the controllers, the refined menu with its soothing chimes an...

Politics

2 w. ago Bring the House Down by Charlotte Runcie review: 'a tale of toxic masculinity, pettiness and hysteria'

In Charlotte Runcie’s new novel, set during the Edinburgh Fringe, an actress takes inventive revenge on a theatre critic who sleeps with her after panning her show. Review by Stuart Kelly

Events

2 w. ago Bring Her Back review – Talk to Me directors return with a film you’ll watch from between your fingers

Sally Hawkins is intensely disturbing as the foster parent from hell, with Jonah Wren Phillips playing a creepy kid for the ages in the Philippou brothers’ new horrorAustralian horror film-makers have spectacularly overdelivered in the last few years, conjuring various nerve-shredding bangers including Late Night with the Devil, You Won’t Be Alone, You’ll Never Find Me, Sissy, Leigh Whannell’s underrated Wolf Man reboot and Talk to Me. The latter – which revolves around thrill-seeking teenagers who converse with spirits instead of taking recreational drugs (kids these days!) – marked the fiendishly good debut of Adelaide-born directors Danny and Michael Philippou.They’re back – or baaa-ack! – with another serving of macabre bravado pulled from the black cauldron. Bring Her Back is lighter on thrills and spills for the midnight movie and heavy with thick, abject horror and despair, featuring an intensely disturbing performance from Sally Hawkins as a foster mother from hell. She play...

Politics

2 w. ago Elden Ring Nightreign review – FromSoftware brings multiplayer mayhem to the Lands Between

FromSoftware/Bandai Namco; PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC Fortnite meets Elden Ring in a matchup where a three-person team faces so many high-speed challenges you may feel distinctly short-handedA standalone spin-off from FromSoftware’s incredibly successful yet mostly single-player dark role-playing game Elden Ring, the multiplayer-oriented Elden Ring Nightreign is a curious beast, often feeling like an amalgamation of several different experiences all at once.Each session begins with players, either solo or in teams of three, dropping into a small but dense world, working to urgently gain as much strength as possible as a rapidly closing ring tightens around them – a very Fortnite experience. Rather than other players, they fight a variety of monsters and explore locations lifted directly from the Elden Ring universe. After each match, they also gain upgrade materials to modify future runs and advance the game’s story, similar to a rogue-like game so it’s a Fortnite/Elden Ring...

Sport

3 w. ago Pete Townshend remakes Quadrophenia for a new generation: ‘The world is a dangerous place at the moment’

It may be set 60 years ago, but a new ballet version of The Who’s rock opera asks questions about youth, society and masculinity that still resonate – and it brought its original creator to tearsDeckchairs fly, arms clash, bodies launch into the air as mods and rockers engage in a fierce Brighton seafront battle. But in this east London dance studio – with Zaha Hadid’s Olympic swimming pool visible through the window – young performers in sports socks, joggers and baggy T-shirts are reimagining the Who’s seminal document of the mid-60s Quadrophenia as ballet.Isn’t this 1973 album an unlikely subject for dance? We’ve recently had Black Sabbath: The Ballet, and Message in a Bottle set to Sting, so why not? After all, Quadrophenia is theatrical at its roots. “The closest thing to a grand opera I’ll ever write,” says the Who’s guitarist and songwriter Pete Townshend. Set in 1965, the story of disaffected young mod Jimmy looking for meaning in life via music, amphetamines ...

Politics

3 w. ago Rachel Fuller on creating the soundtrack for Quadrophenia, a Mod Ballet: 'the whole thing has felt magical'

Rachel Fuller’s moment of epiphany came when she wrote a children’s ballet during lockdown, she tells Fiona Shepherd

Politics

3 w. ago Rob Ashford on directing Quadrophenia, a Mod Ballet: 'the dancers loved it'

Turning The Who’s iconic album into a stage show has required a complex marriage of dance and theatre, director Rob Ashford tells Kelly Apter

Politics