The Week - UK (2022-02-19)

ARTS 29

19 February 2022 THEWEEK

The List

Showingnow

Oliver Mears’sacclaimed productionof

Rigolettoreturns to Covent Garden following

its Septemberdebut. Until 12 March, Royal

OperaHouse,LondonWC2 (roh.org.uk).

While some criticshavequibbled overjusthow

“immersive” it reallyis, theBobMarley One

LoveExperiencetakes visitors through aseries

of themedroomsexploring thereggae legend’s

life and legacy throughmemorabilia,

installationsand music–“onefor music lovers

of alltypes”(Times). Until 18 April, Saatchi

Gallery,LondonSW3(saatchigallery.com).

Booknow

Hollywood star AmyAdams makes her West

Enddebut in this much-anticipated production

of Tennessee Williams’sclassicTheGlass

Menagerie.2 3May-27August, Duke of

York’sTheatre, LondonWC2 (theglass

menageriewestend.com).

BarryHumphries –the manbehind Dame Edna,

SirLes Patterson, andsomethingof alegendin

hisown right –goesontourwithanewshow,

The Man Behind theMask,inwhich he tells

colourful storiesfromhis long career.7April-

1JuneinNottingham, York,Bath and beyond

(manbehindthemask.co.uk).

Historian andbroadcasterDavid Olusogaand

Radio4Today’sJustin Webbare amongthe

speakersattheBudleighSalterton Literary

FestivalSpring Weekend.1 1-12 March,

St Peter’sChurch, Budleigh Salterton,Devon

(budlitfest.org.uk).

TheWealthof Nationsby

AdamSmith,1776 (Penguin

£9.99). No discussion of

modern capitalismcan be

hadwithoutreference to this.

Everybrilliant partofit

(globalisation, comparative

advantage)is mentionedhere,

as arethe downsideswestill

complain abouttoday (price

fixing, monopolies andsoon).

Abestseller in its time–andan

easier read than youthink.

Woke,Inc:Inside the

Social Justice Scamby

VivekRamaswamy, 2021

(Swift Press£20). Theworld is

full of calls forcompanies to

thinkmore about stakeholders

–suppliers, staff andcommun-

ity groups–and lessabout

shareholders.Sounds good.But

theresultisbig firmsinterfer-

inginpolitics and democracy.

Ramaswamy makes a

convincingcasefor old-school

shareholdercapitalism.

Youthquake:WhyAfrican

Demography Should Matter

to theWorldby Edward

Paice,2021 (Apollo £25).

Populations arefalling in many

countries,but in much of

Africa they arestill soaring.

That’s going to mean change

for us all.Intensely researched

–and very important!

EmptyPlanetby Darrell

Bricker andJohn Ibbitson,

2019 (Robinson£10.99). The

otherside of thedemography

story. Mostpeopleworry

about global population

explosion.Infact, fertility

trends suggest theglobal

populationwillpeakearlier

andatamuch lowerlevelthan

previously thought.Quitesoon

our problemgloballywillbe

not too manypeople, but too

few. Also very important.

More: the10,000 Year Rise

of theWorldEconomyby

Philip Coggan, 2020

(Economist Books £10.99).

Would theworld be better if

everyonestoppedstrivingwhen

they hadenough?Coggansays

no. To drive theinnovation

that gives us growth –and

better lives –history tells us we

need people whoalwayswant

more. An unfashionable but

excellent call forgovernments

to leavecapitalismalone.

Bestbooks...Merryn Somerset Webb

Thecommentatorandeditor-in-chiefofMoneyWeekchoosesfivebookson

latecapitalism.HerbookShare Power: HowOrdinaryPeopleCan Change

the WayThat Capitalism Works –and MakeMoneyToois outnow

The Week’sguideto what’sworthseeing

RigolettoattheRoyalOperaHouse

Television

Programmes

Imagine...Profileof Wayne

McGregor,the moderndance

pioneerand resident

choreographerat the Royal

Ballet,followinghim as he

rehearsesanew workat the

RoyalOperaHouse.Mon

21 Feb, BBC122:35(60mins).

Kate Garraway:Caring for

DerekThe TV presenterand

her husband,whowas

criticallyill withCovid-19,talk

aboutCovid’seffecton their

lives,and the challengesof the

socialcare system.Tue 22 Feb,

ITV121:00(60mins).

Mission:Joy–With

Archbishop DesmondTutu

andthe DalaiLama

Upliftingdocumentaryfilmed

overfive daysin 2015

revealingthe closefriendship

betweenthe two religious

leaders.Wed23 Feb, BBC4

22:00(80mins).

Films

BohemianRhapsody(2018)

Biopicof FreddieMercury,

whichreceivedmixedreviews

but near-universalpraisefor

RamiMalek’sportrayalof

Queen’slegendaryfrontman.

Sat 19 Feb,C421:00(160mins).

TheProgram(2015)

StephenFrears’stense

dramatisationof cyclistLance

Armstrong’sspectacularfall

fromgrace.Sun 20 Feb, BBC1

23:30(95mins).

BlacKkKlansman(2018)

SpikeLee’sOscar-winnertells

the unlikelytrue storyof a

blackdetectivewhoinfiltrated

the Ku KluxKlan.Wed23 Feb,

Film423:20(160mins).

I, Tonya(2017) Darklyfunny

mockumentaryaboutthe

notoriousUS figureskater

TonyaHarding,starring

MargotRobbie.Thur24 Feb,

BBC422:00(111mins).

Titlesin printare availablefromThe WeekBookshopon 020-31763835.For out-of-printbooksvisit biblio.co.uk

Newto subscriptionTV

InventingAnnaNewseries

about thecon artist Anna

Sorokin,who scammed

hundreds of thousands of

dollars by posing as awealthy

heiress andinfiltrating New

York society.OnNetflix.

The Marvelous Mrs Maisel

The comedy-dramaabout a

1950shousewife turned

stand-upcomicreturnsfora

new series. On AmazonPrime.

The Archers:whathappenedlast week
Phoebetells Kateabouther job in Scotland;thoughsad at first,Kate’sgladfor Phoebe.Alicetells
Amyand Fallonthat she feelslike apropermumafterthe weekwithMartha,but Chrisis rudeto
themlaterwhentheyreportbackon Martha.Tom’sworriedaboutannouncingthe pregnancyon
the anniversaryof the babyhe and Kirstylost. At Natasha’surging,he tells Kirsty,and laterthey
go to the RemembranceGardenwhereKirstyscatteredtheirson Wren’sashes–it’s ahealing
moment.Phoebeintendsto continuewiththe rewildingfromScotland,but Peggyadvisesher to
moveon fromAmbridge,and find someonenew to helpRex.Amydropsin on Chrisand he
apologisesfor beingshortwithher. Kirstytells Phoebeaboutthe visit to the gardenand latervisits
Natasha,bringingsomeof Wren’sblankets.Natashaassuresher the twinswill knowabouttheir
brother.ChrisinvitesAmyfor atakeaway.She tells him whatan amazingdad he is, and he
complimentsher. Fallonremarksshe doesn’tknowwhatChrisand Alicewoulddo withoutAmy.
©ELLIE

KURTTZ