The Arts Desk

1 day ago | theartsdesk.com | Aleks Sierz

“They fuck you up your Mum and Dad; they may not mean to, but they do.” These lines from Philip Larkin’s 1975 poem, “This Be the Verse”, sum up the emotional fuel of many recent plays by young writers. They certainly apply to Personal Values, Chloë Lawrence-Taylor’s debut, which is currently running in the studio at the Hampstead Theatre.

1 day ago | theartsdesk.com | Aleks Sierz

“They fuck you up your Mum and Dad; they may not mean to, but they do.” These lines from Philip Larkin’s 1975 poem, “This Be the Verse”, sum up the emotional fuel of many recent plays by young writers. They certainly apply to Personal Values, Chloë Lawrence-Taylor’s debut, which is currently running in the studio at the Hampstead Theatre.

2 days ago | theartsdesk.com | Helen Hawkins

It’s easy to see metaphors about the status of modern Georgia, once again threatened by the Russian boot, in its recent artistic output. So while there are no overt political allusions in director Dea Kulumbegashshvili’s April, at its core you sense a tacit and urgent debate about how to square your conscience with the “rules” that govern the country’s conduct. The heroine of the piece is Nina (Ia Sukhitashvili), an actual heroine of a sort.

3 days ago | theartsdesk.com | Veronica Lee

Greg Davies doesn’t spare himself in his new show, Full Fat Legend, his first tour in seven years after having been busy being mean to celebrities on Taskmaster on Channel 4, and showing his acting chops on the BBC’s dark comedy The Cleaner, among other projects. In a busy 90 minutes he talks about his dodgy prostate, pointless masturbation and his errant "bumhole”, among many other unflattering – but very funny – stories.

5 days ago | theartsdesk.com | Boyd Tonkin

In a programme note for the St John Passion at the Barbican, the Academy of Ancient Music’s chief executive called their Easter performances of Bach’s compressed gospel tragedy a “ritual”. You understand why that word claims its place. However, there’s not much consciously liturgical about the AAM’s musical approach.