A mix of Tartuffe and Miss Trunchbull … Tamsin Greig as Malvolia (right), with Doon Mackichan as Feste, in Twelfth Night at the Olivier, London. Photograph: Marc BrennerA mix of Tartuffe and Miss Trunchbull … Tamsin Greig as Malvolia (right), with Doon Mackichan as Feste, in Twelfth Night at the Olivier, London. Photograph: Marc BrennerNational TheatreReviewOlivier, London
Simon Godwin’s inventive gender-fluid production of Shakespeare’s most perfect comedy has a vital elan and some great performances Read More...
SEMANTIC ENIGMASWhere does the expression 'Holy Mackerel' come from? Batman? Harry, Bristol, Britain
Another google search lead me to the following, but thanks for making me smile: holy mackerel - exclamation of surprise - A blasphemous oath from the same 'family' as goddam and darn it, etc. Holy Mackerel dates back at least 200 years and is one of very many blasphemous oaths with the Holy prefix. Holy Mackerel was almost certainly a reference to Catholics eating fish on Fridays (rather like Holy Cow is a reference to Hindus, and Holy Smoke is a jibe at incense burning and funeral pyres; also Holy Moses - shortened to the rhyming Holy Moley or Holy Moly - the way that the words trip of the tongue is very significant in how these expressions become widely used and adopted, and Holy Mackerel does have a certain ring to it, in a way that Holy Skate, or Holy Cod do not. Read More...
Literary tripsDuring the decade our writer lived in BA, he got to grips with its streets through the verse of Jorge Luis Borges – and is now revisiting the city via his poetry
Lockdown has made me nostalgic – not about travelling so much as about places. It’s no surprise the focus of some of my fondest remembering has been the world capital of looking back: Buenos Aires. The reasons behind this are many and complex. Read More...
