12 h. ago Susan Wokoma performs What If This Road by Sheenagh Pugh – video

The Enola Holmes actor shares a poem in memory of her mother. The film is part of a series to mark Celebration Day 2025 – a new annual moment, held on the last bank holiday Monday of May, to honour and celebrate those who have shaped our lives but are no longer with us. Directed by Oliver Parker at Abbey Road Studios, curated by Allie Esiri and published exclusively by the Guardian. On Celebration Day, join in by sharing your memories using #ShareYourStar• ‘He lived inside poetry’: Toby Jones and Helena Bonham Carter perform poems in memory of lost loved ones• Stephen Mangan performs I See You Dancing, Father by Brendan Kennelly – video Continue reading...

Politics

36 h. ago Stephen Mangan performs I See You Dancing, Father by Brendan Kennelly – video

The actor reads a poem in memory of his father: "I like to think of the younger, happier man." The film is part of a series to mark Celebration Day 2025 – a new annual moment, held on the last bank holiday Monday of May, to honour and celebrate those who have shaped our lives but are no longer with us. Directed by Oliver Parker at Abbey Road Studios, curated by Allie Esiri and published exclusively by the Guardian. On Celebration Day, join in by sharing your memories using #ShareYourStar• ‘He lived inside poetry’: Toby Jones and Helena Bonham Carter perform poems in memory of lost loved ones• Helena Bonham Carter performs Don’t Let That Horse by Lawrence Ferlinghetti – video Continue reading...

Culture

60 h. ago Tell us about a poem that reminds you of someone you’ve lost

We would like to hear about the poem that invokes memories of someone you loved and lost• ‘He lived inside poetry’: Toby Jones and Helena Bonham Carter perform poems in memory of lost loved onesIn the Guardian’s new video series “Poems to remember” (published in collaboration with “Celebration Day”, an initiative that honours people who have died), actors including Helena Bonham Carter, Toby Jones, Stephen Mangan have read poems in memory of people they’ve lost. Now we would like to hear from you.You can tell us about a poem that reminds you of someone you’ve lost – and why – below and we’ll include a selection in our Bookmarks newsletter. Continue reading...

Politics

60 h. ago ‘He lived inside poetry’: Toby Jones and Helena Bonham Carter perform poems in memory of lost loved ones

Actors including Asa Butterfield, Stephen Mangan and Susan Wokoma share poems as part of ‘Celebration Day’, a new annual moment dedicated to commemorating family and friends• Helena Bonham Carter performs Don’t Let That Horse by Lawrence Ferlinghetti – video• Tell us about a poem that reminds you of someone you’ve lostHelena Bonham Carter, Toby Jones and Asa Butterfield are among actors performing poems in memory of family members and friends who have died, to mark Celebration Day later this month.The initiative, conceived in 2022 by high-profile figures including Stephen Fry, Prue Leith, film director Oliver Parker and writer and poetry curator Allie Esiri, sets aside a day in the calendar each year to celebrate the lives of lost loved ones, inspired by celebrations such as Mexico’s Day of the Dead. The first Celebration Day was held on 26 June 2022, and now it runs on the last bank holiday Monday in May, which this year will be 26 May. Continue reading...

Politics

8 d. ago New Zealand MPs who performed haka in parliament given unprecedented punishment

Te Pāti Māori co-leaders and youngest member to be temporarily suspended from parliament after performance protesting controversial billThree New Zealand MPs who performed a haka in parliament will be temporarily suspended, in what is believed to be the harshest ever penalty issued to parliamentarians.The co-leaders of Te Pāti Māori (the Māori Party) Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi, and the party’s youngest member, Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, performed the traditional Māori dance during a vote on the controversial Treaty Principles Bill during its first reading in November. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Māori lawmakers who performed a protest haka receive temporary bans from New Zealand's Parliament

Three New Zealand lawmakers from Te Pāti Māori, the Māori Party, will receive temporary bans from Parliament and severe censure, it was announced Wednesday, over their protest of a proposed law by performing a haka, a chanting dance of challenge, directed at their opponents

Politics

1 week ago Britain's Got Talent's Simon Cowell makes a savage dig at Amanda Holden in judges' row as she slates act during live semi

The talent mogul, 65, and Amanda, 54, saw Liverpudlian dance act Harry and Lewis take to the stage to perform a snazzy breakdance mashup in the hopes to reach the final.

Events

2 w. ago Amy Dowden makes Strictly Come Dancing return for special BBC VE Day performance

Amy Dowden reunited with her fellow Strictly Come Dancing professionals for a special performance during the BBC’s VE Day 80 celebrations on Thursday, 8 May at London's Horse Guards Parade.

Politics

2 w. ago Amy Dowden makes special Strictly return for BBC VE Day performance

Amy Dowden reunited with her fellow Strictly Come Dancing professionals for a special performance during the BBC’s VE Day 80 celebrations on Thursday, 8 May at London's Horse Guards Parade.

Politics

2 w. ago ‘Stephen Graham recognised me from Nando’s’: how James Nelson

His role in This City Is Ours has had the Liverpool FC squad perform line dances with him, he’s wowed in Black Mirror and he’s bringing Bez’s life to screen. It’s all down to meeting his hero in a chicken restaurantJames Nelson-Joyce is still buzzing. Two days ago, he not only watched his beloved Liverpool FC clinch the Premier League title but led a celebratory dance with his heroes. “I ended up in the Anfield boardroom after the match, then partied with the team,” he grins. “The DJ clocked that I was there, played Andy Williams’ House of Bamboo and it all went right off.”The 36-year-old Merseysider is now starring in BBC gangland thriller This City Is Ours, in which a local crime family perform a choreographed line-dance to the loungecore classic. “Harvey Elliott and a few other players dragged me on to the dancefloor and made me do it with them,” he chuckles in disbelief. “They all love the show, which is a huge compliment.” Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago ‘It’s Fleabag’s home – the audience is unshockable’: Phoebe Waller

The central London institution champions new talent, amplifies LGBTQ+ voices and always takes risks. With a new outpost opening in Walthamstow, artists discuss how the West End venue is not just a place – it’s a philosophyA fixture on London’s Dean Street for 25 years, Soho theatre has hatched plays that won Oliviers, shows that earned the Edinburgh comedy award and ideas that became TV hits. On any night, across its upstairs studio theatre, its main house and basement cabaret bar, you’ll find plays from new writers, experimentations in clowning, drag performance, standup comedy, or a hybrid of them all.In those rooms, I’ve watched American clown Natalie Palamides giving such a spirited performance that she vomited on stage, dancer and comedian Adrienne Truscott challenging rape jokes, and performance artist Kim Noble pushing audiences beyond comfort. I’ve sung along to ballads with sketch group Daphne, and folk songs with Sh!t Theatre. Continue reading...

Events