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SubscriptionsCategory: Arts
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The UPSIDE DOWN: This Too Shall Pass – What Defoe’s Plague Journal Can Still Teach Us
As the Coronavirus pandemic changes all of our lives, John Mitchinson reflects on how the observations of humanity revealed in such moments of crisis transcend time and place.
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‘Labelled a Black Villain’: Routine Racism and Injustice in Britain
Crime reporter Duncan Campbell shares his thoughts on a republished memoir by Trevor Hercules on life before, in and after prison.
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THE UPSIDE DOWN: Raising Hell – The Long Afterlife of William Blake
John Mitchinson explores the lasting resonance of the works of the English poet and artist who attracted little acclaim during his lifetime.
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‘Misbehaviour’ Misses the Mark
Chris Sullivan reviews a new take on the 1970 Miss World pageant and explores the debate about sex and race which it exposed.
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‘The True Story of Ned Kelly’: Criminal or Freedom Fighter?
Chris Sullivan reviews an adaptation of the Booker Prize-winning novel that explores the boundary between banditry and rebellion.
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Odeon of Death Film of the Month: 28 Kids Later
The Odeon of Death takes a look at the month’s events through the medium of cinema.
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‘Dark Waters’: Bringing A Corporation To Account
Chris Sullivan reviews a new film exploring corporate destruction and greed and the tenacity of lawyers and litigants to achieve accountability and justice.
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‘Greed’ is Good: A Fast, Funny and Infuriating Take on the Emptiness of Acquisition
Chris Sullivan reviews a new comedy drama based on one of Britain’s most controversial modern businessmen.
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THE UPSIDE DOWN: Mongrel Tongue – Is English Really So Special?
John Mitchinson on why we should celebrate the success of the flexibility of the English language which enables its richness.
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‘Cosh Boy’ Review: Gang Culture is the Stuff that Newspaper Sales are Made Of
Chris Sullivan explains how the tabloid panic about knife crime today is a repeat of the 1950s and wonders when we’ll actually do something about the real causes.
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THE IDEA OF EUROPE: A True Story of British Accession
In Part One of his romantic misadventures after the first Brexit Referendum, Peter Jukes and his best friend discover a mysterious dark Continent.
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Hollywood’s Take on Poverty and the Financial Crisis Lacks Political Bite
Jon Bailes considers whether big screen hits such as The Big Short and The Laundromat actually leave viewers inspired to act for political change or informed but pessimistic.
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What Government Can Learn from Bridging the Age Divide
Saba Salman meets those involved with an intergenerational music project in Surrey, which brings together older adults with dementia or a disability and young people with learning disabilities or complex needs.
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‘1917’ Review: Tales my Grandfather Never Told Me
Chris Sullivan rates Sam Mendes’ new war film up with the classics and remembers his grandfather’s survival through the worst of World War One.
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History Isn’t ‘Woke’ – It’s the Best Defence we have Against Tyranny and Hate
Hardeep Matharu explains how Laurence Fox’s myopia about the role of Sikh soldiers in World War One is a wider British problem of imperial amnesia.
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R.I.P. The Great White Man
Bonnie Greer on what Prince Harry and Laurence Fox’s different approaches to the world in which we live tell us about privilege, race and hierarchy – and the distinction between the White Man and the white man.
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Fox in the Coop: The Legacy of Roger Ailes
Ellin Stein reviews two dramatisations of the life and crimes of Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News supremo.
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‘La Dolce Vita’ Review: A Stylish and Thought-Provoking Look at Celebrity Culture and Its Cost
Chris Sullivan reviews the 1960 classic which has left its mark on our culture in many ways, beyond simply its famous title.
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Odeon of Death Film of the Week: Starmer Wars
The Odeon of Death takes a look at the week’s events through the medium of cinema. This week Starmer Wars (2020)
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Harry and Meghan are Taking on the Corporate Press – Fighting for Issues which Should Matter to Us All
Brian Cathcart, Professor of Journalism at Kingston University, on why Britain’s right-wing press will be intent on destroying the marriage of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex now more than ever.
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We are now Living in ‘American Psycho’
Bonnie Greer finds clarity about the desecration of US society under Donald Trump in the premise of Brett Easton Ellis’ famous 1991 novel.
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Odeon of Death Film of the Week: The Maligning
The Odeon of Death takes a look at the week’s events through the medium of cinema. The Maligning (2019) Bad spirits are summoned when a caretaker takes a hatchet to a beloved old institution, in this classic horror starring Jack Nicholson as Jeremy Torrance, the man who puts the Red in Redrum. Can Jess Phillips (Shelley Duvall)…
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‘Citizen K’ Review: A Prescient Warning of Oligarchical State Takeover in Russia
Chris Sullivan reviews the latest documentary from Academy Award-winning Alex Gibney which follows the story of one of Russia’s richest men, now exiled in the UK.
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Odeon of Death Film of the week: Friday the 13th
The Odeon of Death takes a look at the week’s events through the medium of cinema. Friday the 13th (2019) The Odeon of Death can be found on Twitter at, perhaps not altogether surprisingly, @OdeonofDeath.
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A Full Moon Election
Poet Salena Godden with a personal reflection ahead of tomorrow’s General Election.
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Odeon of Death Film of the Week: Raabid
The Odeon of Death takes a look at the week’s events through the medium of cinema. The Odeon of Death can be found on Twitter at, perhaps not altogether surprisingly, @OdeonofDeath.
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‘Motherless Brooklyn’ Review: A Film Noir about Town Planning and Ethnic Cleansing
Chris Sullivan on a sprawling, ambitious tale of murder, blackmail, and corruption in mid-century New York that has dark resonances for London today.
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Odeon of Death: The Grime Singer
The Odeon of Death takes a look at the week’s events through the medium of cinema. The Grime Singer (1927) Michael Gove plays the titular artist whose blackface routine has them stampeding in the aisles. Hits include (Up the) Swanee (with the Tories), Brother, Can You Spare a Dime (No), and We’ve Had Enough of…
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‘The Irishman’ Review: The Power of the Gangster Myth
Chris Sullivan reviews Martin Scorsese’ latest film, The Irishman and explores the history of the cult of Mafia films.
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Odeon of Death: Shite Hawk Down
The Odeon of Death takes a look at the week’s events through the medium of cinema. Shite Hawk Down (2001) The pitiful tale of a helicopter pilot who can’t tell upstairs from downstairs, recognise his own hand, break off friendships with convicted paedophiles, or perspire (even after eating the ‘Diavolo’ with extra Jalapeño peppers at…
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‘Sorry We Missed You’ Review: Ken Loach’s True Story Delivers a Punch
A damning portrait of zero-hours contracts, private debt and public austerity in Brexit Britain.
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Odeon of Death: Noah
Noah (Show-a) (2019) And lo, a great flood came upon the earth, and the Lord said to Noah, Buildeth thou an ark. So he did, and sailed far away, as the people of South Yorkshire cried, “Shit! Come back!” And over the waves the distant strains of Rock the Casbah could be heard… The Odeon…
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Odeon of Death: The Twat in the Hat
(With apologies to Theodor Geisel) Who’s that creeping in the fog?
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Odeon of Death: Halloween
Halloween (2019) Notice: the Odeon regrets to announce the cancellation of tonight’s screening, in which Michael Myers may or may not end up dead in a ditch. The show will be rescheduled for late January 2020. Maybe. The Odeon of Death can be found on Twitter at, perhaps not altogether surprisingly, @OdeonofDeath.
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Prince Harry Hacking: Top Sunday Mirror Private Investigator Targeted Princess Diana
The Sunday Mirror spied on Princess Diana’s private itemised phone bills in the year before she was killed, Byline Investigates reveals
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Spooking the Spooks: Media Complicity and Security Concerns over Lebedev and Johnson
Otto English looks at the relationship between the son of a KGB spy and the Prime Minister and how it raises troubling questions about the closeness between media owners and politicians.
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Meghan Markle Claims Mail Suppressed Key Parts of her Letter to her Father About his ‘Exploitation by UK Tabloid Media’
New details have emerged of the Duchess of Sussex’s legal action against the Sunday tabloid, which published a private letter she sent to her reportedly estranged father.
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Odeon of Death: Interminablenator: Dark Fart
The Odeon of Death takes a look at the week’s events through the medium of cinema. Interminablenator: Dark Fart (2019) The peace and prosperity of the UK is under threat from a new Terminator sent from the future. Skynet’s secret weapon, the D0MCUM-1000, absolutely will not stop, ever, until we are dead. The Odeon of…
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The Curious Tale of the Russian Spy’s Son and the Man who Would Be King of the World
With Rupert Murdoch and the Barclay Brothers pulling out all the stops to back the Prime Minister, one crucial media player with a very interesting background is often overlooked.
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Major James Hewitt Sues Piers Morgan’s Daily Mirror for Phone Hacking
Major James Hewitt is suing the Mirror Group Newspapers for phone hacking, Byline Investigates can reveal
