The Week UK – 23 August 2019

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24 August 2019 THE WEEK

The List

Last chance

Lee Krasner: Living Colourat the Barbican,

London EC2 (barbican.org.uk).Aretrospective

for one of the 20th century’s great expressionist

artists, who was often eclipsed by her marriage

to Jackson Pollock. Ends1September.

Showing now

Kiss Me, Kateat the Watermill Theatre,

Newbury, Berkshire (watermill.org.uk). With

its Cole Porter score and choreography by

Strictly’s Oti Mabuse, this romantic musical

comedy about the theatre is “a joy” (Times).

Ends 21 September.

Cut &Paste: 400 Years of Collageat the

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art,

Edinburgh (nationalgalleries.org). This

“digressive, wry and surprising” exhibition tells

the story of collage from 18th century “paper-

mosaicks” to Peter Blake, via Picasso and Fuzzy-

Felt (Sunday Times). Ends 27 October.

The Doctorat the Almeida Theatre, London

N1 (almeida.co.uk). Robert Icke writes and

directs his final play as the Almeida’s associate

director. Juliet Stevenson stars in this very loose

adaptation ofProfessor Bernhardi,Arthur

Schnitzler’s 1912 comedy, which explores anti-

Semitism in Austria. Ends 28 September.

Just out in paperback

21 Lessons for the 21st Centuryby Yuval

Noah Harari (Vintage £9.99). TheSapiens

author’s latest, “a self-help manual for

mankind”, has had mixed reviews, but the

lessons themselves are “illuminating” (Times).

The Alexiadby Anna

Komnene (Penguin £16.99). A

history written byaByzantine

princess in Constantinople in

the 12th century. Sparkling,

witty andadelight from start

to finish.Ispent days, weeks

and years studying this text

–and found something new

each timeIread it.

Fathers and Sonsby Ivan

Turgenev, 1862 (OUP £7.99).

Turgenev is one of my

favourite novelists, and

Bazarov one of my favourite

characters.Iread this when

Iwas 15 and it madeabig

impression on me. It opened

anew world of activism,

nihilism and, above all,alife-

long love of Russia and

Russian literature.

The Fall of Rome and the

End of Civilizationby Bryan

Ward-Perkins, 2006 (OUP

£12.99).Agem ofabook that

Ialso return to time and again.

Most scholars don’t think too

much about what happened in

Western Europe in the

centuries that followed the fall

of Rome–but this account is

brilliant, informative and witty.

History writing and first-class

scholarship at their best.

Commodity and Exchange

in the Mongol Empireby

Thomas T. Allsen, 1997 (CUP

£29.99). This did more

than perhaps any other book

to change my ideas about

the past. Far from being the

violent hordes of popular

imagination, the Mongols were

in fact highly sophisticated and

impressive empire-builders.

Allsen, who died recently, was

agenius.

Home Fireby Kamila

Shamsie, 2017 (Bloomsbury

£8.99). Shamsie is a

breathtakingly good author. I

love her work.Home Fireis a

cracker ofanovel, reworking

the story ofAntigonein a

contemporary context.

Wisden Cricketers’

Almanackedited by Lawrence

Booth (Wisden £55). I’ve

always loved playing and

reading about cricket. IfIhad

time, I’d spend days reading

Wisden each year. I’m

determined to make an

appearance in it one day.

Best books... Peter Frankopan

The writer and historian picks his six favourite books. His latest,The New

Silk Roads(Bloomsbury £8.99)–the follow-up to 2015’s prizewinning

The Silk Roads(Bloomsbury £11.89)–isout now in paperback.

The Week’s guide to what’s worth seeing and reading

Juliet Stevenson in The Doctor

Television

Programmes

Peaky BlindersThe Shelby

family is back forafifth series

of the hugely popular period

gangster drama, with Cillian

Murphy and Helen McCrory.

Sun 25 Aug, 21:00; with

episode2onMon 26 Aug,

21:30; BBC1 (60mins).

ABlack and White Killing:

The Case that Shook

AmericaThe story of Larnell

Bruce, whose murder by a

white supremacist in 2016 was

captured on CCTV footage that

went viral. In this two-part

documentary, Bafta-winning

journalist Mobeen Azhar

unpicks events from every

angle. Sun 25 Aug, BBC2

21:00 (60mins).

SanditonJane Austen’s final,

unfinished novel gets the

Andrew Davies treatment in

ITV’s new eight-parter. Young

Charlotte Heywood arrives in

the fishing village of Sanditon,

and is soon being courted. Sun

25 Aug, ITV1 21:00 (60mins).

The Great British Bake Off

It’s that time of year again, as

13 hopeful amateur bakers

compete for their place in the

big white tent. Tue 27 Aug, C4

21:00 (90mins).

China:ANew World Order

Three-part documentary

charting the extraordinary rise

and controversial rule of Xi

Jinping. Thur 29 Aug, BBC2

21:00 (60mins).

Films

Viceroy’s House(2017)

Gurinder Chadha directs this

lavish Partition drama starring

Hugh Bonneville as Lord

Mountbatten, India’s last

viceroy. Sat 24 Aug, BBC2

21:00 (105mins).

Sing Street(2016) Boy

meets girl (and startsaband)

in this coming-of-age story set

in 1980s Dublin. Mon 26 Aug,

Film4 23:40 (130mins).

Titles in print are available from The Week Bookshop on 020-3176 3835. For out-of-print books visit biblio.co.uk

New to Sky

SuccessionThe “clever and

vicious” drama aboutamedia

dynasty returns forasecond

season, offering “the blackest

of black humour” (Guardian).

With Matthew Macfadyen and

Brian Cox. On Sky Atlantic.

BrassicNew comedy about

agroup of Northern working-

class friends, withafocus on

mental health. Co-created by

This Is England’s Joe Gilgun,

who also stars. On Sky One.

The Archers:what happened last week
Still hurt after her clash with Clarrie, Susan tries to coax Emma out of her room, to no avail. Shula
tells Freddie and Kenton about her interview for ordainment. To Lynda’s horror, Tracy ends up
getting the receptionist job at Grey Gables. Tracy succeeds in getting Emma out forawalk, and
they bump into Will. Later, Emma drops in some lotion for Poppy’s suspected chickenpox and Will
confesses to feeling guilty about Ed’s job loss. Emma says she doesn’t hold it against him. Jazzer
admits to Jim and Alistair that he’s been talking to Harrison about Jim’s plight, to Jim’s distress.
Susan and Clarrie’s row spills over into work, with Helen having to intervene. Will rushes Poppy to
A&E. Kate and Jakob unwittingly end up onadate, arranged by Alice. Tracy plansagirls’ night to
cheer Emma up, but achieves the opposite. Jazzer consults Shula in his continuing efforts to seek
justice, making Shula late for her ordination interview. Susan is angered by the news of Ed’s new
job, and on the verge of taking action she is stopped by Neil, who offersafew home truths.
©J

ONATHAN RING; MANUEL HARLAN