Reviews
Review of the week: Cry Baby by Vince Staples
Over a foreboding post-punk soundtrack, the California rapper delivers hard-edged, compelling social commentary on Trump, violence, Black stereotypes and more, writes Nerve music critic Kate Hutchinson
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Review of the Week: The Tempest at the RSC
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
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+1
Review of the Week: The Color of Rain by Aja Monet
The American blues poet’s new album moves from neo-soul to spiky social commentary in a thrilling, sonically inventive mix, writes Jude Rogers
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Review of the Week: The Christophers
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?
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Review of the Week: Rosalía at the O2
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
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Review of the Week: Mass at the Donmar
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
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Review of the Week: Rose of Nevada
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
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+2
Review of the Week: The Music Is Black: A British Story at V&A East
An ambitious exhibition launching the V&A's brand new outpost shies away from the hardest parts of the social history behind the tunes, but tells its story with verve, writes music critic Damien Morris
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Review of the Week: Veronica Ryan: Multiple Conversations
The sculptor’s joyous, organic creations, repurposed and reimagined from everyday objects, speak to each other beautifully in her new exhibition, writes Emily LaBarge
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Review of the Week: Romeo and Juliet / Les Liaisons Dangereuses
Two inventive, high-profile openings pay striking testament to the dangerous power of love, writes Dorian Lynskey
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Review of the Week: Sexistential by Robyn
Babies, boobs and pop bangers! The Swedish star is back with a euphoric new album embracing the joy of motherhood and messy, middle-aged desire, writes Nerve music critic Kate Hutchinson
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Review of the Week: Summerfolk at the National theatre
Maxim Gorky’s pre-revolutionary play about wealthy Russians on the brink of chaos is reborn in a five star, distinctly relevant revival, writes Nerve theatre critic Dorian Lynskey
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Review of the Week: How To Make a Killing
John Patton Ford's remake of the Ealing comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets updates the old film for the oligarch era with leading man Glen Powell and some deserving 21st-century victims, writes Nerve film critic Ellen E Jones
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Review of the Week: Lily Allen on tour
The kitsch live version of the singer’s gut-punch breakup album West End Girl feels, appropriately, like theatre, but somehow lacks a joyful climax, writes Nerve music critic Kate Hutchinson
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Review: Rose Wylie: The Picture Comes First at the Royal Academy
The huge, energetic paintings of the unstoppable 91-year-old artist, the first female British painter to have a solo exhibition in the RA’s main galleries, are a remarkable celebration of life and memory, writes Emily LaBarge
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Review of the Week: Dracula at the Noel Coward theatre
Cynthia Erivo is a remarkable presence playing every character in this multimedia gothic revival – even if it feels more like watching an arena concert than a play, writes Nerve theatre critic Dorian Lynskey
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Review of the Week: My Father’s Shadow
British-Nigerian director Akinola Davies Jr's acclaimed debut about an estranged father spending a busy day in Lagos with his sons, is a radiant and moving film about parents and children everywhere, writes Ellen E Jones
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Review of the Week: Our Town
The Welsh National Theatre’s first large-scale production, currently on tour with artistic director Michael Sheen in the lead role, brings a shimmering Celtic quality to Thornton Wilder’s tale of smalltown America, writes Jude Rogers
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Review: World’s Gone Wrong by Lucinda Williams
The high priestess of Americana is getting more and more politically charged as she enters her 70s – with guest collaborators including Big Thief helping her address the moral collapse of the US on her new album, writes Nerve music critic Kate Hutchinson
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Review of the Week: Nan Goldin, The Ballad of Sexual Dependency
The American photographer’s celebrated portrait series, being shown in full for the first time in the UK, is as raw and intimate on its 40th anniversary as it was when it first appeared, writes Nerve art critic Emily LaBarge
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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
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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
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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
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+2
