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James Runcie: 'I want a cross between the Open University and a party'

Mon, 20 May 2013 00:04:56 GMT

Seven months ago, James Runcie found himself inextricably double-booked: as the outgoing artistic director of the Bath Literature Festival, he was expected to pack his swansong with fireworks, while as the incoming director of the London Literature Festival, which opens tonight, he was under pressure to begin with a bang.

Ariadne auf Naxos, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, East Sussex

Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:25 GMT

Glyndebourne productions which put Glyndebourne itself on stage are nothing new, but for Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos director Katharina Thoma has harnessed a strand of history which has hitherto gone unremarked. In 1940, with opera off the menu, Glyndebourne became a reception centre for evacuee children.

The Weekend's Viewing: Melancholy Isaacs prevents a case of cosiness

Sun, 19 May 2013 23:01:41 GMT

Never work with children or animals, said W C Fields.

Heavenly Bodies: Michael Landy's artistic marriage made in heaven... and hell

Sun, 19 May 2013 23:01:17 GMT

The master of destruction meets the martyrs of Faith.

Heavenly Bodies: Michael Landy's artistic marriage made in heaven...and hell

Sun, 19 May 2013 23:01:17 GMT

The master of destruction meets the martyrs of Faith.

Heavenly Bodies: Michael Landy's artistic marriage made in heaven

Sun, 19 May 2013 23:01:17 GMT

The master of destruction meets the martyrs of Faith.

Matt Butler: Now Strauss is making history in the commentary box

Sun, 19 May 2013 21:53:04 GMT

History was made on Friday, with the first televised crap at Lord's. Sorry, history was made on Friday, with the first televised "crap" at Lord's. And it was uttered by none other than a former England captain.

Cannes Film Festival: First-time director Paul Wright puts tensions of village life in close focus with 'For Those in Peril'

Sun, 19 May 2013 20:23:01 GMT

British talent is thin on the ground at this year’s Cannes festival, but one first-time feature film director, from a small village in Scotland, has been making waves.

Film Review: Inside Llewyn Davis, The Cannes International Film Festival

Sun, 19 May 2013 20:16:05 GMT

The Coen brothers are in vintage form in their new feature Inside Llewyn Davies. What is most impressive about the film (a premiere in the Cannes competition at the weekend) is the sure-footed way the Coens combine comedy, music and brooding film noir elements. This is ostensibly a film about the Greenwich Village folk music scene in the early 1960s, just before the coming of Bob Dylan, but it is far richer than such a description might suggest.

Cannes Film Festival 2013: Jackie Stewart backs Roman Polanski, saying: 'He will always be a friend'

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:57:58 GMT

Sir Jackie Stewart has defended his long-standing friendship with Roman Polanski ahead of the controversial director’s appearance at the Cannes Film Festival this week. In an interview with The Independent, the Scottish Formula One racing champion told how he had stood by the film-maker throughout his court cases concerning his unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.

'Time' is kind to Rod Stewart as rocker scores his first number one album since 1979

Sun, 19 May 2013 18:57:01 GMT

Rod Stewart has scored his first number one since 1979 with an album that marks an artistic breakthrough for the singer at the age of 68.

Eurovision: At least Graham Norton's a winner

Sun, 19 May 2013 18:46:57 GMT

Ever since Sir Terry Wogan handed over the baton in 2009, there has never been any doubt that Graham Norton and the Eurovision Song Contest are a perfect match. Making his fifth appearance as BBC 1’s resident commentator – this year in the Swedish city of Malmo – Norton once again played the role of mischievous gatecrasher, taking delicious aim at the array of hopefuls, presenters and merry idiots on Saturday night.

'Let's go Bulworth...': If Barack Obama wants to act like a cinema president, which films should he copy?

Sun, 19 May 2013 18:35:28 GMT

In the 1998 movie Bulworth Warren Beatty played a senator who, about to lose an election, arranges – or tries to – his own assassination. Then, knowing he was soon to be dead both politically and physically, Beatty’s character begins to do the last thing you’re supposed to do in politics: speak his mind, often in raps.

The benefits of an open relationship (for TV watching): The rise of box set cheating

Sun, 19 May 2013 18:29:28 GMT

You’re definitely cheating on your girlfriend (or boyfriend) if you get drunk at a party and snog an old flame, but what if you betray their trust by watching the latest House of Cards on Netflix without them?

'Pop pensioners' are scuppering Radio 1’s bid to get down with the kids as over-55s refuse to switch stations

Sun, 19 May 2013 17:17:36 GMT

They are the pop pensioners who have gate-crashed Grimmy’s party and are ruining it for the kids. A hard core of listeners over the age of 55 are threatening Radio 1’s reinvention as a cool “youth” brand by refusing to switch off the station.

Yeezus! Has Kanye West's Messiah complex got out of hand? His new album title suggests yes

Sun, 19 May 2013 16:39:39 GMT

Anyone who believed Kanye West was suffering from a mild messiah complex may have new evidence to back up their claim.

Yeezus! Has Kanye West's Messiah complex gone out of control? His new album title suggests yes

Sun, 19 May 2013 16:39:39 GMT

Anyone who believed Kanye West was suffering from a mild messiah complex may have new evidence to back up their claim.

Good Life actress Felicity Kendal: 'I had affairs when I wanted'

Sun, 19 May 2013 14:58:21 GMT

The Good Life actress Felicity Kendal has boasted of having affairs “when I wanted”, claiming she’s nothing like her famous character in the 70s sitcom.

Prize-winning author Alice Walker gives support to David Icke on Desert Island Discs

Sun, 19 May 2013 14:47:42 GMT

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker has voiced her support for the work of controversial British conspiracy theorist David Icke on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs.

Prize-winning author Alice Walker voices support for David Icke on Desert Island Discs

Sun, 19 May 2013 14:47:42 GMT

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker has voiced her support for the work of controversial British conspiracy theorist David Icke on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs.

Britain’s Got Talent tops Saturday ratings beating Eurovision

Sun, 19 May 2013 11:37:35 GMT

Britain’s Got Talent beat the Eurovision Song Contest in last night’s TV ratings battle, according to early data.

Eurovision Song Contest: Bonnie Tyler totally eclipsed by winners Denmark

Sat, 18 May 2013 23:02:40 GMT

She fared better than Engelbert Humperdinck’s miserable 12 points last year, but even the super Welsh lungs of Bonnie Tyler couldn’t blow away the Eurovision curse that has bedevilled the United Kingdom’s chances for 16 years.

Justin Bieber's unfinished monkey business

Sat, 18 May 2013 23:00:42 GMT

Very few who arrive in Europe on a private jet in the company of a global superstar end up as asylum seekers, but this weekend that appears to be the fate of Justin Bieber's pet monkey.

Portfolio: Jan Brykczynski

Sat, 18 May 2013 23:00:00 GMT

Two hundred miles north of Reykjavik lies Arnes, an isolated region in Iceland's Western Fjords. It is populated by more than 2,700 sheep – and just 38 people.

Coming soon: 3D film reaches new heights as latest technology brings Sir Edmund and Tenzing Norgay's historic 1953 Everest ascent to life

Sat, 18 May 2013 23:00:00 GMT

As extreme film shoots go, Beyond the Edge takes the Kendal mint cake. A crew is hanging off the Lhotse Face of the world's highest mountain, filming a 3D thriller re-creating Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay's 1953 ascent of Mount Everest.