Our mission
The team
Pitch us
Culture
Politics
Tech
Investigations
Palantir
The Harborne Receipts
Cory Doctorow
Stewart Lee
Sangita Myska
Philippa Perry
Natasha Walter
Deborah Frances-White
The Nerve Q&A
Hotlist
The Recommender
Review of the Week
Weekend Dish
Oct 9, 2026
•
6 min read
We were due a rigorous cultural appraisal of an increasingly mythologised decade. Sadly, Tate Britain's jarring clash of modern masterpieces and glossy-mag photoshoots is not it, writes Nerve art critic Ben Luke. Plus, he picks five shows to see during Frieze month in London
Oct 2, 2026
4 min read
Uniquely talented at turning political history into lively drama, the playwright James Graham’s soulful, timely portrait of economist John Maynard Keynes explores what it means to lead ‘a good life’, writes Dorian Lynskey
Sep 25, 2026
3 min read
A hit at Cannes and reportedly the most expensive Korean film of all time, Na Hong-Jin’s new high-energy creature feature may be slightly unstructured but it’s a wild ride, writes Nerve film critic Ellen E Jones
Sep 18, 2026
A dazzling production, and Josh O’Connor’s star turn as a boxer grappling his way to the top, drag what could have been a faded period piece to the brink of greatness, writes Nerve theatre critic Dorian Lynskey
Sep 4, 2026
Willem Dafoe is outstanding as a minor poet rediscovered, feted – and ultimately intoxicated – by an admiring group of hipsters in Kent Jones’s stylish New York-set film, writes Hanna Flint
Aug 28, 2026
The neo-soul queen is back with her first full-length release in over a decade: a hazy, epic collaboration with the Alchemist that transports you with every listen, writes Kate Hutchinson
Aug 21, 2026
Director Jane Schoenbrun’s dazzling meta-slasher features lesbian lust, KFC, a spear-wielding killer and Gillian Anderson. What’s not to love, writes Nerve film critic Ellen E Jones
Aug 14, 2026
The stage version of George RR Martin’s blood-and-thunder saga is spectacular, serious, surprisingly empathetic – and could turn out to be a blockbuster, writes Nerve theatre critic Dorian Lynskey
Aug 7, 2026
This reappraisal of the Victorian fantasy painter, who spent decades in institutions after killing his father, reveals both his extraordinary technical prowess and his limitations as an artist, writes Ben Luke
Jul 31, 2026
Phelim McDermott’s passion-project tribute to, and collaboration with, the composer Philip Glass may not be for everyone, but its audacity and originality shine through, writes Nerve theatre critic Dorian Lynskey
Jul 24, 2026
The follow-up album to 2024’s zeitgeist-defining Brat is short, sharp and rocky – but also feels like it’s grasping for something that stays out of reach, writes Nerve music critic Kate Hutchinson
Jul 17, 2026
Christopher Nolan’s immersive and beautiful retelling of Homer isn’t just an epic story but an epic achievement – a truly five-star film, writes Nerve film critic Ellen E Jones
Jul 10, 2026
Karim Aïnouz’s stylish, starry satire about a super-rich family indulges our obsession with the depraved excesses of the wealthy, but it’s no Parasite, writes Nerve film critic Ellen E Jones
Jul 3, 2026
The scale is vast, and the message sometimes obvious, but this major exhibition in Manchester shows the celebrated artist can still create genuine intensity, writes Kadish Morris
Jun 26, 2026
Frida Kahlo's image is now so commercialised that her celebrity is in danger of eclipsing her art. The problem with the much-anticipated Tate show about her legacy is that we don’t see enough of her electrifying work, writes Imogen Carter
Jun 19, 2026
Patrick Marber’s daring female reimagining of Mamet’s testosterone-soaked classic shows that capitalism can make a desperado of anyone, writes Dorian Lynskey
Jun 12, 2026
A Spielberg alien movie is not to be missed, writes Ellen E Jones – especially when the extraterrestrials might offer an alternative to our fraught political reality
Jun 5, 2026
Over a foreboding rock soundtrack, the California rapper delivers hard-edged, compelling social commentary on Trump, violence, Black stereotypes and more, writes Nerve music critic Kate Hutchinson
May 29, 2026
Kenneth Branagh’s return to the RSC as Prospero, directed by the great Richard Eyre, might sound like a heritage piece – but this is a production that fizzes with invention, illusion and relevance, writes Claire Armitstead
May 22, 2026
2 min read
The American blues poet’s new album moves from neo-soul to spiky social commentary in a thrilling, sonically inventive mix, writes Jude Rogers
May 15, 2026
Ian McKellen and Michaela Coel make for a gorgeous, if unlikely, double act as a painter and his assistant in Steven Soderbergh’s generation-gap comedy, writes Nerve film critic Ellen E Jones. But is it art?
May 8, 2026
The Spanish star’s multifaith, multilingual live spectacular – featuring saints, sinners, an orchestra, and an incense-burner overhead – would make anyone a believer, writes Nerve music critic Kate Hutchinson
May 1, 2026
Fran Kranz’s play, about two families’ long-delayed reckoning in the wake of a school shooting, is moving and superbly acted but not to be entered lightly, writes Nerve theatre critic Dorian Lynskey
Apr 24, 2026
Cornish auteur Mark Jenkin’s drama about ghost ships and gentrification, all shot on 16mm film, is eerie, disorienting and his most audience-pleasing film to date, writes Ellen E Jones
