Saturday Review - New novel by Christos Tsiolkas; Stephen Ward the Musical; Death Comes to Pemberley; Anchorman 2; M R James ghost story
Australian novelist Christos Tsiolkas' previous book The Slap became an international best seller. His latest 'Barracuda' explores the mind of a young competitive swimmer who won't countenance the idea of failure; how does his obsession affect all those around him?
Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Stephen Ward The Musical' tells the story of 1963's Profumo Affair, from the point of view of the man who many believe was scapegoated to protect The Establishment - 50 years later transcripts of the court proceedings are still not available to the public, is a musical the right medium to address a very old miscarriage of justice?
Death Comes to Pemberley- the BBC's sumptuous Boxing Day costume drama - is PD James' detective story based around the characters from Pride and Prejudice. The programme has an ensemble cast and a look to die for, but does it work as a whodunnit for modern TV viewers?
9 years ago the US comedy film Anchorman became a cult hit - fans eagerly repeating phrases voiced by the idiotic characters. And now a sequel Anchorman 2 The Legend Continues returns to Ron Burgundy and his team as they begin work on a brand 24 hour news channel. As Ron says "that is the dumbest thing I ever heard"- could the same be said of this sequel?
The Tractate Middoth is a ghost story written by MR James - the master of the ghost story according to its director Mark Gattis. He has adapted and directed this new TV version as part of "A Ghost Story At Christmas". Does his track record with Dr Who, Sherlock and many many more audience-delighting TV programmes mean he can make this a ratings-grabbing success?
Published on Saturday, 21st December 2013.
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