One day 51 years ago, out in the wilds of New Mexico, Kathelin Gray asked a question of her hero, the writer and artist William S Burroughs, whom she had just met. “William, I have read your books and I must know: what is your attitude to women?” The question had been eating away at … Read more
Can you feel it? If you’re paying enough attention, and you have your spirit tuned to the frequencies of the planet, then you’ll be able to sense that the old Avatar machinery is starting to crank up again. The third instalment of the series, Avatar: Fire and Ash, is set for release in December. And … Read more
Michael Sheen, Yulia Navalnaya and Miranda Hart are among those due to appear at the 2025 Hay festival, organisers have announced. The UK’s most famous literary festival has unveiled its 2025 programme, made up of more than 600 events set to take place between 22 May and 1 June in Hay-on-Wye, Powys. The core themes … Read more
A giant herd of puppet animals raising awareness of the climate crisis and artwork inspired by footballers including Eric Cantona are part of the 10th edition of the Manchester international festival (MIF), whose organisers want visitors to have “a moment to reflect”. The former Manchester United footballer Juan Mata and the art curator Hans Ulrich … Read more
Painter Celia Paul has lived in the same flat in Bloomsbury – bought for her by her then lover Lucian Freud – for 40 years. To ascend to it, up the 80 steps to bring you level with the pediment of the British Museum opposite, is to enter a different world. The main room contains … Read more
After Anastacia had a double mastectomy in 2013, she began to joke about it. “It was wild to look at myself. I said: ‘My boobs look like this!’” She peers at me with her eyes screwed shut. We are sharing a sofa in a photographic studio in London. I’m not sure what she means, but … Read more
In Michael Sheen’s Secret Million Pound Giveaway, the Welsh actor Michael Sheen – that is how he says people describe him, so I am merely obliging – is putting his own money on the line to expose the world of high-interest debt and credit. Due to the murky issue of reselling debt, Sheen discovers that it may be … Read more
Wesley Schultz, songwriter, vocals, guitar After growing up in Ramsey, a small town in New Jersey, we moved to New York to try to make it in music but found it a very difficult circuit to break into. Bars would let you play because they wanted your friends to buy drinks, but then they’d kick … Read more
British comedian Dave Gorman joins Grace for another scrumptious helping of Comfort Eating. Across the noughties, Dave took the British comedy scene by storm, and is known for taking the mundane, adding some sparkle and creating an Edinburgh festival fringe show, a UK tour and a book. Now he is back with a reboot of … Read more
Norman Cook can remember the first time he met James Hamilton very clearly. “He was enormous,” he laughs. “Enormous and very well-spoken, called everyone ‘dear boy’, quite camp. He looked so … unlikely. Not a party animal, not into anything apart from dance music and the vibe and the culture of it all. Not interested … Read more