Culture

Culture

Jan 9, 2026

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6 min read

Review of the Week: Hamnet

Chloé Zhao’s Bard drama with its powerhouse lead performance from Jessie Buckley is hotly tipped for success. But is it just a deluxe version of Shakespeare in Love? writes Ellen E Jones

Ellen E Jones

Culture

‘At 18 I was standing outside theatres begging for money.’ Actor Denise Gough on poverty, Palestine and the joy of nesting

Jan 6, 2026

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9 min read

‘At 18 I was standing outside theatres begging for money.’ Actor Denise Gough on poverty, Palestine and the joy of nesting

About to open in the stage version of the western High Noon, opposite Billy Crudup, and in the film of H Is for Hawk, the star of Andor answers the Nerve Q&A

Jude Rogers

Culture

Jan 6, 2026

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8 min read

The Nerve Hotlist

The best culture to enjoy this week – from a pitch-perfect performance by Ben Whishaw to a huge UK tour of The Red Shoes – all seen and chosen for you by our team of editors and writers

Culture

Jan 2, 2026

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14 min read

The Nerve 2026 Culture Preview

From a new Maggie O’Farrell novel and a retrospective of Frank Bowling’s ethereal paintings to Adele’s acting debut – our critics each share five things they’re really excited about in the year ahead

Culture

The Nerve New Year's Eve quiz of the year

Dec 30, 2025

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8 min read

The Nerve New Year's Eve quiz of the year

What can you remember about the big news stories and culture moments of 2025? Our quiz has got something for everyone with rounds on food, film, music, fashion and this year's best memes... (link to answers at the end of the page)

Culture

Dec 23, 2025

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6 min read

Review of the Week: Marty Supreme

Timothée Chalamet’s propulsive energy lights up Josh Safdie’s new film about a table tennis hustler who’s on his way to the top, writes Ellen E Jones

Ellen E Jones

Culture

Cover-Up filmmaker Laura Poitras: ‘What do I always carry with me? An escape plan’

Dec 19, 2025

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9 min read

Cover-Up filmmaker Laura Poitras: ‘What do I always carry with me? An escape plan’

As her film about trailblazing reporter Seymour Hersh hits Netflix, in the week it made the Oscar documentary shortlist, the director answers the Nerve Q&A - on troublemakers, optimism and her ‘hippie’ schooling

Guy Lodge

Culture

Review of the Week: Oh, Mary! at Trafalgar theatre

Dec 19, 2025

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6 min read

Review of the Week: Oh, Mary! at Trafalgar theatre

A huge hit on Broadway, Cole Escola’s history-busting comedy about Mary Todd Lincoln - Abraham’s wife - is wild, subversively queer and riotously funny, writes Dorian Lynskey

Dorian Lynskey

Culture

Dec 16, 2025

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9 min read

The Nerve Hotlist

The best culture to enjoy this week – from Will Sharpe as Mozart to Hockney's moon paintings – all seen and chosen for you by our team of editors and writers

Culture

Martin Parr was a joy to work with. He also helped me to understand the dangerous moment we’re living through

Dec 12, 2025

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7 min read

Martin Parr was a joy to work with. He also helped me to understand the dangerous moment we’re living through

When Carole Cadwalladr met the photographer 17 years ago in Moscow, they were both curious about the same things: Russia, wealth, the oligarchs. Following his death last weekend, she remembers the man who taught her how to ‘look harder’

Culture

Philippa Perry: My 10 rules for a happier Christmas

Dec 9, 2025

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8 min read

Philippa Perry: My 10 rules for a happier Christmas

Dreading the post-turkey singalong? Haunted by spirits of the past? It’s time to step back and think about how your rituals could become truly festive again, says the Nerve's cultural agony aunt

Culture

‘I’m interested in humour!’: How Isobel Waller-Bridge made her new album with Hoovers, shoes and balls

Dec 9, 2025

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8 min read

‘I’m interested in humour!’: How Isobel Waller-Bridge made her new album with Hoovers, shoes and balls

The film and classical composer talks to Kate Hutchinson about avant-garde music, ASMR and the whirlwind experience of working on Fleabag

Kate Hutchinson

Culture

Dec 5, 2025

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20 min read

The Nerve's Best Books of 2025

From a moving rumination on class to a gripping novel about desire, our team of writers and editors each recommend a title they’ve loved over the past 12 months – and one they’re hoping to get for Christmas

Culture

Review of the Week: It Was Just an Accident

Dec 5, 2025

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6 min read

Review of the Week: It Was Just an Accident

The extraordinary new film by dissident Iranian auteur Jafar Panahi is a thriller, a fable about state repression and a road movie all at once, writes Nerve film critic Ellen E Jones

Ellen E Jones

Culture

Dec 5, 2025

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6 min read

The Recommender: Bel Powley

The actor on her latest art and culture discoveries

Culture

Dec 2, 2025

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10 min read

The Nerve Hotlist

Great culture to check out this week – from a BBC dramatisation of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s hostage ordeal to Kayvan Novak’s hilarious new podcast – all recommended by our team of editors and writers

Culture

Dec 2, 2025

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9 min read

Musician Richard Hawley: ‘I'd abolish the role of prime minister. I'm half serious!'

The Sheffield rocker, in rehearsal for his homecoming tour, answers the Nerve Q&A - on songs, socialism, swearing ... and the joy of dogs

Culture

Nov 28, 2025

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6 min read

The Recommender: Derek Owusu

The fast-rising British novelist on his latest art and culture discoveries

Culture

Nov 28, 2025

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6 min read

Review of the Week: All My Sons

Ten years after his first triumph with an Arthur Miller play, director Ivo Van Hove has returned to the American dramatist and produced another masterpiece that feels startlingly current, writes Dorian Lynskey

Dorian Lynskey

Culture

Is the current generation of leading men our best ever?

Nov 28, 2025

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6 min read

Is the current generation of leading men our best ever?

No longer dreaming of playing Bond, today’s group of young British and Irish actors are fun, reflective and helping to redefine masculinity. I'm all for it, says Nerve film critic Ellen E Jones

Ellen E Jones

Culture

Rachel Reeves: please stand up for the arts!

Nov 25, 2025

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10 min read

Rachel Reeves: please stand up for the arts!

This week the chancellor delivers her much-leaked budget. Will funding for the UK arts sector be upped or slashed once again? We asked figures from the world of culture, including Khalid Abdalla, Ali Smith, Rachael Stirling and Hak Baker, for a call to arms

Culture

Nov 25, 2025

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9 min read

The Nerve Hotlist

The best culture to enjoy this week – from a feisty Taipei-set family drama to a bumper celebration of UK rave culture – all seen and chosen for you by our team of editors and writers

Culture

Review of the week: Wes Anderson: The Archives at the Design Museum

Nov 21, 2025

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6 min read

Review of the week: Wes Anderson: The Archives at the Design Museum

Our art critic Emily LaBarge is charmed by a deep dive into the pastel-hued world of the American film director, through costumes, props, scripts and more

Emily LaBarge

Culture

Nov 21, 2025

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5 min read

The Recommender: Oyinkan Braithwaite

The award-winning author of My Sister, the Serial Killer shares her latest cultural discoveries