James Bulger murderIn 1993, the UK was held in horror by the murder of two-year-old James Bulger. From the scene of his abduction to the youth justice system, the distress still reverberates
In Bootle’s aged shopping centre, billboards promise “there’s something changing at the Strand” but the place feels haunted by the past. The butcher’s shop where two-year-old James Bulger was abducted is long gone, as is the Mothercare where dozens of anxious parents bought 60s-style reins in the days after he was taken. Read More...
TheatreReviewHarold Pinter theatre, London
Arterton plays a former Nasa employee whose astronaut twin descends on her wilderness retreat in Amy Berryman’s intelligent, soulful drama
Twin sisters with a fractious history are planning a reunion at the start of Amy Berryman’s play. “We have to act happy,” says Stella to her fiance before her twin has arrived, and the anxious statement prepares us for the unfolding drama of sisterly competition and grudge. Read More...
CultureObituaryIbrahim FerrerIbrahim Ferrer, who has died in Havana at the age of 78, was one of greatest of all Cuban singers. A charming, remarkably humble man, he was blessed with a voice that could tackle anything from Cuba's romantic ballads, boleros, to the up-tempo improvised "son" dance songs in which he specialised in his early career.
Ferrer established his worldwide reputation late in life after a fairy-tale transformation of fortunes. In the late 1990s, he moved from impoverished retirement, in which he supplemented his pension by earning occasional extra money as an elderly shoe-shine boy or selling lottery tickets, to the concert halls of the world, first as lead male singer with the best-selling Buena Vista Social Club, and then as a soloist in his own right. Read More...