Theatre and performance
Music
idea
True musical virtuosos are minimalists who put roll before rock
Musicians like Muddy Waters and Charlie Watts played fewer notes than showoffs like Jeff Beck, but they were the right ones
by Mike Edison
Communication and language
idea
Here’s the truth about how to spot when someone is lying
From shifty eyes to fidgeting fingers, there are many folk beliefs about the signs of lying – but what does the science say?
by Tim Brennen & Svein Magnussen
Dance
film
How the acrobat and choreographer Yoann Bourgeois plays with gravity and time
Directed by Raphael Wertheimer
Theatre and performance
idea
Much ado about uncertainty: how Shakespeare navigates doubt
‘I know this sure uncertainty’: how Shakespeare’s vision of an unpredictable world can help us live with doubt and error
by Lorenzo Zucca
Play
idea
What TikTok videos have in common with Victorian parlour games
TikTok and Insta videos are the Victorian parlour games of today, allowing us to share in the emotional benefits of play
by Kim Beil & Ryan Tacata
Dance
film
Exquisite subaquatic choreography stretches the limits of mind and body
Directed by Julie Gautier
Identity
idea
Stanislavski’s revelation: we’re more than the parts we play
Stanislavski taught that performance – on stage as in life – is created by analysing a character’s feelings and objectives
by William Justice Bruehl
History of ideas
idea
Five timeless lessons for life from the Athenian tragedies
In a world filled with grief-fuelled rage, cultivating a tragic mindset can help you to live with grace and dignity
by Andy Owen
Poetry
film
Sail through Shakespeare’s melancholic soliloquy on life’s seven stages
Directed by Jérémie Balais and Jeffig Le Bars