Rage, white supremacy and roses: the art that sums up the Trump era

CocoRosie’s call to arms, a mauling from Michelle Wolf, Arthur Jafa’s white supremacy montage and Melania Trump’s gardening … Guardian writers pick the moments that encapsulate Trump’s reign Since he’s a former real-estate tycoon, it seems fitting that…

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This week’s best culture, from Beckett to Scottish Ballet

The Observer’s critics recommend the best new arts in galleries, on air and onlineBeckett double billTrevor Nunn’s sell-out productions of Krapp’s Last Tape, starring James Hayes, and The Old Tune, with Niall Buggy and David Threlfall, opened in Januar…

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From Acorn Antiques to Funny Girl: the most hilarious songs for women

Vikki Stone and Natasha Barnes’s new show celebrates comic songs for actresses – here are their favourites from musicalsFrom Sweeney Todd by Stephen SondheimMrs Lovett is the sort of role that every actress (including me) hopes they’ll play one day. Th…

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From Acorn Antiques to Funny Girl: the most hilarious songs for women

Vikki Stone and Natasha Barnes’s new show celebrates comic songs for actresses – here are their favourites from musicalsFrom Sweeney Todd by Stephen SondheimMrs Lovett is the sort of role that every actress (including me) hopes they’ll play one day. Th…

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Fight a pigeon for your seat! Unforgettable theatre encounters

Susan Wokoma recalls plays backed by birdsong, Tallulah Brown found a fairytale in the reeds and Gregory Doran takes a trip back to LancasterRead the rest of our series on the theatres that made us Tallulah Brown’s play When the Birds Come was at the E…

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Edinburgh festival fringe sets stage for summer of online shows

Organisers prepare for ‘weird’ visitor-free season including weekly variety performanceEdinburgh festival fringe is preparing for a “weird” visitor-free summer with a package of online initiatives including variety shows streamed every Friday.The world…

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Tim Minchin: ‘Closest brush with the law? Nude run, 1996’

The Australian comedian and musician on social media, the anxiety of love and Abba hitsBorn in Western Australia, Tim Minchin, 44, began his career as a comedian, winning the 2005 Perrier best newcomer award at the Edinburgh festival fringe. In 2009, t…

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Can I go clubbing? Only in New Zealand! Your guide to easing and the arts

Are seatless, stroll-through shows the future of theatre? Can one-way dancing save nightclubs? Could budding indie bands storm Wembley stadium? Scientists imagine the arts after Covid-19The day before museums began closing in Britain, I saw Aubrey Bear…

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This week’s best culture at home, from Paul Weller to a new Rite of Spring

The Observer’s critics recommend the best art, theatre, music and more on TV and online this weekMusicPaul WellerDelayed by the pandemic, On Sunset finally comes out this week, offering both familiarity and experimentation from the restless, evergreen …

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‘There’s no such thing as a socially distanced mosh pit’: artists on the thrill of the crowd

Poet laureate Simon Armitage and comedian Lolly Adefope love the buzz of performance. Here’s what we’re all missingReady, steady… Oh: Olympics, Glastonbury and Euro 2020 stars on the summer we’ve lost There can be no such thing as a socially distance…

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