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☆ Palestinian Flags Fly at Protests Worldwide. They Won’t Be at Eurovision.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Alex Marshall | More About Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Protesters are waving Palestinian flags on American college campuses and in cities around the world to put pressure on Israel to end the war in the Gaza Strip. But there is one place where that symbol will be absent next week: inside the Eurovision Song Contest. Ticket buyers at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest are allowed to bring and display only flags representing the 37 participating countries, the spokesperson said in an email. The only exceptions are rainbow and pride flags representing L.G.B.T.Q. The spokesperson said although the flags policy was reviewed every year, it had not changed since the last edition, held in Liverpool, England.

Organizations: Hamas, European Broadcasting Union, Israel Locations: Israel, Gaza, Malmo, Sweden, Liverpool, England

☆ ‘Sunset Boulevard,’ Heading to Broadway, Wins Big at Olivier Awards
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-14 | by ( Alex Marshall | More About Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A reimagining of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Sunset Boulevard,” starring Nicole Scherzinger as Norma Desmond, the long forgotten silent movie star who descends into madness, was the big winner at this year’s Olivier Awards, Britain’s equivalent of the Tonys. The musical, which will open at the St. James Theater on Broadway this fall, was honored Sunday during a ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall in London with seven awards, including best musical revival, best actress in a musical for Scherzinger, best actor in a musical for Tom Francis, as the screenwriter who falls for Desmond’s charms, and best director for Jamie Lloyd. The number of awards was hardly a surprise. After the musical opened last fall, critics praised Lloyd’s stark production, especially highlighting its contemporary twists that included using cameras to zoom in on characters’ faces, then beam their emotions onto a screen at the back of the stage. Matt Wolf, writing in The New York Times, said that Lloyd’s production belonged firmly “to the here and now.” With this show, the director “takes an established musical by the scruff of the neck and sends it careering into the modern day,” Wolf added.

Persons: Andrew Lloyd Webber’s, ”, Nicole Scherzinger, Norma Desmond, Olivier, James, Scherzinger, Tom Francis, Jamie Lloyd, Matt Wolf, “, ” Wolf Organizations: St, James Theater, Broadway, Royal Albert Hall, New York Times Locations: London

For the past two years, Greece’s government has conducted delicate negotiations with the British Museum over the future of the Parthenon marbles, the ancient Greek antiquities brought to Britain in the early 19th century by Lord Elgin. Now, Britain’s prime minister, Rishi Sunak, appears to be throwing cold water on those discussions. On Monday evening, Mr. Sunak abruptly canceled a planned wide-ranging meeting with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of Greece, which had been scheduled for Tuesday. Mr. Mitsotakis said on the BBC television program that sculptures had been stolen and needed to be reunified in Athens. Mr. Mitsotakis has made similar comments throughout his terms in office, and Mr. Sunak has also repeatedly stated he would not change British law to allow the sculptures, sometimes known as the Elgin Marbles, to leave the British Museum permanently.

Persons: Lord Elgin, Rishi Sunak, Sunak, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Mitsotakis, ”, Mona Lisa Organizations: British Museum, BBC, Acropolis Museum, Elgin Marbles Locations: Britain, Greece, Athens, “, London

The upheaval at Documenta is just one example of how Europe’s art world is being torn by debates about Israel and Gaza, as some institutions have moved to postpone the shows of artists who have criticized Israel. Documenta was initially staged in 1955 as the first large-scale exhibition in West Germany of the art of the European avant-garde. It was a direct response to the Degenerate Art Show, the denunciatory exhibition of modern art staged by the Nazis in Munich in 1937. Although the mural was taken down, it set off a monthslong debate in Germany’s art world about antisemitism, Palestinian activism and Germany’s relationship to formerly colonized countries. Hoskote said Documenta was one of the art world’s greatest events, partly because it had always been a forum for new ideas.

Persons: Documenta’s, — Simon Njami, Gong Yan, Kathrin, Inés Rodríguez, —, ”, Bracha Lichtenberg Ettinger, Ranjit Hoskote, Anaïs Duplan, Ai Weiwei, ” Ai, Ai, Galerie Max Hetzler, Lisson’s, Claudia Roth, Documenta, Hoskote Organizations: Venice Biennale, Folkwang, Israel, Art Newspaper, Galerie Max, Berlin, Die Locations: Israel, Kassel, Germany, Gaza, Venice, India, Essen, Haitian, United States, B.D.S, London, Lisson, New York, Paris, West Germany, Munich, Nazi, Indonesia

☆ ‘The Crown’: Behind the Photo of an Embrace That Changed Princess Diana’s Life
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Alex Marshall | More About Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As he got closer, he was stunned to realize it was the princess. Brenna was successful, Malka added, because he had spent so many years working in the region. After spotting the couple, Brenna said he spent the next few days stalking the boat, including climbing a cliff to get a better view. From that elevated position, about 400 meters away from Diana, he took several photos of Diana and Dodi in an embrace. The shots were almost blurred, Brenna said, because the heat haze meant he struggled to get the pair in focus.

Persons: Brenna, Bruno Malka, Diana, Dodi, Malka, he’d, ” He’d, ”, “ Organizations: Paris Match

☆ BBC Says It Received 5 Complaints About Russell Brand
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Alex Marshall | More About Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The BBC, Britain’s public broadcaster, announced on Tuesday that it had received five complaints about “inappropriate behavior” by the comedian Russell Brand during a period when he was working on its radio shows. The investigation also included other claims about Mr. Brand’s behavior in the workplace. The night before the investigation was published, Mr. In its first update on its inquiry, the BBC said two people had complained about Mr. Another complainant contacted the BBC in 2019, and two other individuals had done so in recent months, it said in a news release.

Persons: Russell Brand, Brand’s, Brand Organizations: BBC

☆ Climate Protesters Damage a Celebrated Velázquez Painting in London
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Alex Marshall | More About Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When the suffragist Mary Richardson walked into the National Gallery in London with a concealed hatchet in March 1914, she headed for the “Rokeby Venus,” one of Diego Velázquez’s most celebrated paintings, and slashed it repeatedly. Now, over a century later, Velázquez’s nude appears to have been damaged again. Just before 11 a.m. on Monday, two climate activists belonging to Just Stop Oil, a British group that wants to prevent new oil and gas licensing, struck the glass that protects the painting 10 times with emergency hammers. It was initially unclear whether they had damaged the painting. Over the past year and a half, Just Stop Oil has made headlines through attention-grabbing stunts in British museums, including protests in which members glued themselves to John Constable’s “The Hay Wain” and threw tomato soup over Vincent van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” — two other artworks in the National Gallery collection.

Persons: Mary Richardson, Rokeby, Diego Velázquez’s, ” —, John Constable’s “, Hay Wain ”, Vincent van Locations: London, British

☆ Four Men Charged in the Case of the Missing Golden Toilet
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Alex Marshall | More About Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Four years ago, a fully functioning 18-karat gold toilet was stolen from an art exhibition at Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Winston Churchill. On Monday, Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service announced that it had authorized charges against four men in connection with the theft of the golden loo — an artwork by the Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan, titled “America,” which had been on display as part of an exhibition at the palace, which is in Oxfordshire, England. The Crown Prosecution Service said in a news release that it had charged James Sheen, 39, with burglary, conspiracy to transfer criminal property and transferring criminal property; Michael Jones, 38, with burglary; and Fred Doe, 35, and Bora Guccuk, 39, with conspiracy to transfer criminal property. The four men will appear at a court in Oxford, England, on Nov. 28 for the first stage in potentially lengthy criminal proceedings. Britain’s courts system has a severe backlog in cases.

Persons: Winston Churchill, Maurizio Cattelan, James Sheen, Michael Jones, Fred Doe, Bora Guccuk Organizations: Prosecution Service, Crown Prosecution Service Locations: Blenheim, Italian, Oxfordshire, England, Oxford

☆ Poland’s Art World Awaits a Culture War Counteroffensive
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Alex Marshall | More About Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Just weeks after becoming Poland’s culture minister, in 2015, Piotr Glinski began a yearslong effort to shift his country’s cultural life toward the political right. He ousted liberal museum directors, replacing them with conservatives. He created new institutions to celebrate traditional culture and nationalist heroes. Many artists and cultural leaders opposed Glinski’s actions, and there were protests throughout his term, including outside Poland’s National Museum after a leader he had appointed removed sexually suggestive artworks from the walls. Pawel Sztarbowski, the deputy director at the Powszechny Theater, in Warsaw, said that Glinski had tried to “return Poland to an imaginary past.”

Persons: Piotr Glinski, Sztarbowski, Glinski, ” Organizations: Law, Justice, Roman Catholic Church, Poland’s Locations: Warsaw, Poland

☆ West End Theatergoers Grumble as Prices for the Best Seats Surge
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Alex Marshall | More About Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When hundreds of playgoers lined up outside Wyndham’s Theater in London this week, the mood was excited. West End prices, Hooper said, were “out of control.”Another audience member, George Butler, 28, said that he was overjoyed to have secured two tickets for 20 pounds, or about $24, each, even if they were in the nosebleeds. “Theater is becoming very elitist,” Butler said. “The minute there’s a well known person in a play, it’s unaffordable.”London’s theater world is increasingly simmering with complaints over soaring ticket prices, and a perception that they are creeping closer to Broadway levels. Even as producers insist that a fraction of tickets must be sold at steep prices to offset cheap seats for low earners, concern is growing that a night at the theater is becoming an unaffordable luxury.

Persons: Kenneth Branagh, “ King Lear, Alan Hooper, Hooper, George Butler, ” Butler, “, it’s, ” Organizations: Wyndham’s, “, Broadway Locations: London

☆ Marina Abramovic Relents and Adapts a Provocative Piece for Today
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Alex Marshall | More About Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In June 1977, visitors to the Gallery of Modern Art in Bologna, Italy, were met with a shocking sight: Marina Abramovic, the Serbian performance artist, and her partner, Ulay, standing in the museum’s doorway, completely naked. The only way inside was to squeeze between the couple. Abramovic and Ulay remained in place for three hours, staring intently into each other’s eyes, as a stream of visitors pushed through and sometimes stepped on their toes. This fall, Abramovic, now 76, is restaging that work, “Imponderabilia,” at the Royal Academy of Arts, in London, as part of a major retrospective of her work that runs through Jan. 1, 2024. Since Abramovic no longer performs the work herself, and Ulay died in 2020, she has recruited younger performers to take part — and there is another major difference from the 1977 piece.

Persons: Marina Abramovic, Ulay, “, ” Organizations: Modern Art, Royal Academy of Arts Locations: Bologna, Italy, Serbian, Abramovic, London, Jan

☆ YouTube Blocks Russell Brand From Making Money Through Its Platform
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Alex Marshall | More About Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

YouTube suspended the comedian and actor Russell Brand on Tuesday from making money from videos posted to the social media platform, three days after British news organizations published an investigation in which several women accused Mr. The channel is a potentially significant source of income for Mr. Brand, who was earning money through advertisements and paid promotions. A spokeswoman for YouTube said in an email that Mr. Brand, whose channel on the platform has 6.6 million subscribers, was suspended for violating YouTube’s “creator responsibility policy.”“If a creator’s off-platform behavior harms our users, employees or ecosystem, we take action to protect the community,” the spokeswoman said.

Persons: Russell Brand, Mr, Brand Organizations: YouTube

☆ Russell Brand’s Timeline of Scandal and Controversy
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Alex Marshall | More About Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

But after The Mail on Sunday newspaper wrote about the calls, thousands of irate callers flooded the BBC switchboard and the incident became a political storm. Brand was forced into an apology, but Greenslade said that incident didn’t affect Brand’s popularity among fans as it played into his “bad boy” image. With those videos, Monbiot said, Brand engaged young and disenfranchised voters in a way that actual politicians had struggled to do. Over time, the tenor of the Brand’s videos changed, and became filled with conspiracies and conservative talking points, including vaccine skepticism. Throughout his career, Brand — a self-described narcissist — had sought attention and on YouTube, it was right-wing talking points that got the most likes and shares.

Persons: Andrew Sachs, Manuel, Brand, Jonathan Ross, Greenslade, ” Greenslade, Sarah Marshall ”, he’d, George Monbiot, Brand’s, Monbiot, Ed Milliband, “, Rupert Murdoch, Anthony Fauci, ” Monbiot, —, Ron DeSantis Organizations: BBC, Labour Party, YouTube Locations: Britain, Spanish, ”, United States, British

☆ Russell Brand Cancels Comedy Dates After Sexual Assault Allegations
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Alex Marshall | More About Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Russell Brand postponed the remaining dates of a comedy tour on Monday, two days after British news organizations published an investigation in which several women accused him of sexual assault. Brand was scheduled to perform two shows as part of his “Bipolarisation” tour of Britain this week. Brand on Tuesday, the comedian’s promoters said the tour’s remaining dates would not go ahead. Brand denied what he called “serious criminal allegations” against him in a video posted to his YouTube channel. That statement was released shortly before three British news organizations published an investigation in which four women accused him of sexual assault, including one accusation of rape.

Persons: Russell Brand, Brand Organizations: Theater Royal Windsor, YouTube Locations: Britain

☆ A Theater Troupe That’s Also a Support Network for Exiles
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Alex Marshall | More About Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When the two founders of the renowned Belarus Free Theater claimed political asylum in Britain in 2011, they found themselves homeless, with few possessions and facing a bureaucratic labyrinth before they could work. Twelve years later, the company’s founders, Natalia Kaliada and Nicolai Khalezin, are using that experience to help other artists fleeing political repression. The Belarus Free Theater’s political productions have often criticized Lukashenko’s authoritarian leadership and its troupe was long at risk of arrest. But as repression increased, the company decided it was no longer feasible for its other members to remain in Minsk. Since then, Kaliada said, she and Khalezin had been helping the actors to find housing, therapy and visas.

Persons: Natalia Kaliada, Nicolai Khalezin, Ukraine —, Aleksandr G, Lukashenko, Vladimir V, Putin, Kaliada, Khalezin Organizations: Belarus Free Theater, Skype, Belarus —, Belarus Free Locations: Belarus, Britain, British, Minsk, Belarus’s, East, Russia, Ukraine

☆ This Museum Has 300 Tanks and Over 100 Million YouTube Views
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Alex Marshall | More About Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

“You really have to admire the bravery and tenacity of the guys who worked in these conditions,” he said. The popularity of the museum’s videos have given the presenters a taste of the influencer life — both positive and negative. Less endearingly, he added, “Russian bots” appeared to be targeting the museum’s clips on tank use in Ukraine, spamming the videos with negative comments. At a time when many museums in Britain are struggling to cope with inflation and falling government subsidies, Wyness said that the YouTube clips had proved a financial boon. Willey, said that, thanks to YouTube, he was educating more people about tanks than he had ever expected.

Persons: clambered, ”, Willey, Wyness, Copson, Paul Famojuro Organizations: YouTube Locations: Ukraine, Britain, Bovington

4, he’s missing, he’s up there. Jagger told The Los Angeles Times in October 2021 that “Hackney Diamonds” would have been finished long ago if not for the coronavirus pandemic. Last month, the Stones teased the album via an advertisement for a fake glass repair company, called Hackney Diamonds, that appeared in a London newspaper. The ad’s text referred to several of the band’s well-known songs: “Our friendly team promises you satisfaction. That was “typical Stones’s fakery,” Norman said, because the band had no previous association with Hackney.

Persons: Richards, “, he’s, ”, Watts, Steve Jordan, ” Jagger, —, Jagger, Fallon, ” Philip Norman, ” Norman Organizations: Los Angeles Times, Hackney Locations: Hackney, London, London’s trendiest

☆ A Scandal and Its Fallout Compound the British Museum’s Woes
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Alex Marshall | More About Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Visitors to the British Museum this week could be forgiven for thinking it was business as usual. In the museum’s Egyptian galleries, tourists jostled to get a closer look at the Rosetta Stone. Nearby, a teenager posed for a photo in front of a huge statue from Easter Island. Since news broke in August that an employee had been fired over the theft of potentially thousands of items from its storerooms, the British Museum has struggled to deal with the fallout, which is exacerbating challenges it already faced. At a time when it needs leadership most, the museum is rudderless, after its director, Hartwig Fischer, resigned on Aug. 25.

Persons: jostled, Hartwig Fischer, Tom Jamieson, shutdowns Organizations: British Museum, Rosetta, The New York Times Locations: Easter

☆ British Museum Director Resigns After Worker Fired for Theft
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Alex Marshall | More About Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Just days after the British Museum announced that it had fired an employee who was suspected of looting its storerooms and selling items on eBay, the museum’s director announced Friday that he was resigning, effective immediately. Hartwig Fischer, a German art historian who had led the world renowned institution since 2016, said in a news release that he was leaving the post at a time “of the utmost seriousness.”Mr. Fischer said that it was “evident” that under his leadership the museum did not adequately respond to warnings that a curator may be stealing items. “The responsibility for that failure must ultimately rest with the director,” Mr. Fischer said. The crisis became public when the British Museum announced last week that items had been stolen from its collection. The museum did not say how many items were taken, but said that the missing, stolen or damaged pieces included “gold jewelry and “gems of semi-precious stones and glass” dating from as far back as the 15th century B.C.

Persons: Hartwig Fischer, Mr, Fischer, ” Mr Organizations: British Museum, eBay

☆ British Museum Was Warned Gems Were Being Sold on eBay, Emails Show
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Alex Marshall | More About Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In 2021, British Museum officials were alerted to a potential thief in their ranks. That year, Ittai Gradel, a Denmark-based dealer in ancient gems, contacted the august London institution with evidence that he said showed that three gems from the museum’s collections had been offered for sale on eBay. Museum officials were already aware that something was up with one of those artifacts. Another dealer, Malcolm Hay, had gotten in touch to say he had bought one of the gems but was concerned it was stolen. The thief must have been someone inside the institution, Mr. Gradel said in an email to the British Museum that has been obtained by The New York Times.

Persons: Ittai, Malcolm Hay, Gradel, untoward Organizations: British, eBay ., British Museum, The New York Times, The Times Locations: Denmark, London

☆ British Museum Fires Worker Accused of Stealing Gold and Gems
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Alex Marshall | More About Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The British Museum has fired a staff member on suspicion of looting jewels from a storeroom and started a review of its security practices, the museum announced Wednesday. The worker, who has not been named, stole or damaged items including gold jewelry and “gems of semi-precious stones and glass” dating from the 15th century B.C. to the 19th century A.D., the museum said in a news release. The museum said that the majority of the items were small pieces kept in a storeroom. None had recently been on public display, the museum said, adding that “they were kept primarily for academic and research purposes.”

Organizations: British

The two-time Oscar winner Kevin Spacey said last month that he was ready to return to acting after years in the wilderness following sexual assault allegations. “I know that there are people right now who are ready to hire me the moment I am cleared of these charges in London,” Mr. Spacey told a German magazine, referring to accusations that he had assaulted four men. “The second that happens, they’re ready to move forward.”Mr. Spacey was right in several ways: A British jury found him not guilty of nine counts of sexual assault this week, nearly a year after a federal jury in Manhattan cleared him of battery in a civil case filed by the actor Anthony Rapp. And he has two small projects awaiting release, with directors who could not be more publicly supportive. But the starry Hollywood roles, like Spacey’s conniving politician in “House of Cards” and droll advertising executive in “American Beauty,” may not come back anytime soon, if at all.

Persons: Kevin Spacey, “, ” Mr, Spacey, Anthony Rapp Locations: London, Manhattan, “

☆ Sinead O’Connor’s Death Is Not Suspicious, Police Say
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Alex Marshall | More About Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Sinead O’Connor was found dead in a private home in London, the city’s police said on Thursday, a day after the provocative Irish singer’s death was announced. While few details have been released about the death, the police said that it was not being treated as suspicious. Ms. O’Connor, best known for her rendition of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U,” was 56. Her family confirmed Ms. O’Connor’s death in a short statement. “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinead,” the statement said.

Persons: Sinead O’Connor, O’Connor, ”, O’Connor’s, Sinead, “, Ms Locations: London

☆ Britpop’s Back. But What Happened to Cool Britannia?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Alex Marshall | More About Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The comebacks have received euphoric reviews, but they are occurring at a starkly different moment for British pop music, compared with the ’90s. In 1996 Newsweek declared London the world’s coolest city. Instead, news articles about the country’s music scene are more likely to touch on venues shuttering — at a rate of one a week this year, according to the nonprofit Music Venue Trust — or the country’s bands, DJs and rappers struggling to tour abroad after Brexit brought in a tangle of red tape. Local news outlets have also lamented the British government’s cuts to arts funding, and warned about the decline of music teaching in schools. Sitting in his West London recording studio recently, Albarn said some things hadn’t changed since Britpop’s heyday.

Persons: ”, Ed Sheeran, Adele, Harry Styles, Brexit, Albarn, hadn’t, “, ” Chuva Organizations: Newsweek, Yorker, shuttering Locations: United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, Europe, London, Britain, West London, Portuguese

☆ Kevin Spacey Found Not Guilty of Sexual Assault
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Alex Marshall | More About Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Shortly after the verdict, Mr. Spacey walked out of the courthouse — shaking the hands of several jurors on the way and kissing two security guards on the cheek — and gave a brief statement to a throng of waiting reporters. During the almost monthlong trial in London, the court heard from four men who said that Mr. Spacey assaulted them between 2001 and 2013. One complainant told the British police that Mr. Spacey touched him multiple times without his consent. During the trial, Mr. Spacey — who appeared under his full name, Kevin Spacey Fowler — said that the pair had a consensual “naughty relationship.” The actor added that he felt “crushed” by the complainant’s characterization of their encounters. Elton John, giving evidence for Mr. Spacey’s defense, said that Mr. Spacey only attended his ball once, in 2001, several years before the complainant said he was groped.

Persons: Spacey, “, ”, Old, Elton John’s, Ball, Spacey —, Kevin Spacey Fowler —, Elton John Organizations: British Locations: London

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