‘The storm for Lear is inside him’: Crossing choppy seas to bring Shakespeare to Isles of Scilly

RSC touring troupe stage King Lear in a school hall on St Mary’s before continuing to the Isle of Wight“Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage! Blow!” King Lear, Act III, Scene 2A fierce wind and strong swell had turned the Atlantic into a rollercoaster and when the troupe made landfall on the Isles of Scilly, several members felt rather wobbly and looked a little green around the gills.The life of a touring actor is not always glitz and glamour, but the first visit of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) to Scilly – to perform King Lear – got off to a particularly rocky start.“It was a rough crossing,” said Oliver Senton, who plays Lear, as the 15-strong cast and crew recovered on the harbourside of St Mary’s, the largest of the islands, 30 miles off the south-west coast of mainland Britain. “We’re more used to being in a van or train when we’re going place to place. But it’s wonderful to be here, breaking territory, bringing theatre to new places

Seth Meyers: ‘Trump clearly has no answer to Putin’s aggression’

As several late-night hosts take a break for the Emmys – which went to the Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Sunday night – Seth Meyers looked into Donald Trump’s lack of international leadership.On Monday’s Late Night, Meyers pointed out the hypocrisy behind the Trump’ administration’s foreign policy agenda. “Trump and the GOP spent years whining that Democrats were supposedly leading from behind, and have now declared that America will be setting the world’s agenda,” he explained. “No more waiting for other countries to act – America acts first and other countries follow us. You got that, world?”Except earlier this week, Trump announced on Truth Social that he was ready to enact sanctions against Russia for flying drones into Poland’s airspace … but not until all Nato nations had agreed to stop buying oil from Russia

What do the circus and US politics have in common? Ask these Black and brown circus artists

International Black Indigenous Circus Week in Philadelphia brings together artists specializing in aerial, juggling clowning and more for various panels and showsIn an industrial building in north Philadelphia, teal and red fabric used for aerial tricks dangled from the high ceiling. Alyssa Bigbee, the co-founder of the Philadelphia-based International Black Indigenous Circus Week, called on five performers to circle around for the first rehearsal of their circus show titled The Rebellion: Anarchy. “Remember to breathe. Remember to pace yourself,” Bigbee told the group of mostly Black and brown artists. “Lean on each other and feed off of each other in terms of energy

‘We were being watched by the KGB’: how Scorpions made Wind of Change

‘A guy from our record company told me to take out the whistling. I said no way. When the song went through the roof, he came to me, bent over and said, “Kick my ass!”’Being a West German band made playing the Soviet Union in the late 1980s particularly special. We’d grown up in a divided country and had tried many times to play in East Germany, but they would never let us in. When we did our first gig in what was then Leningrad, the atmosphere was a bit grey, not very colourful or rock’n’roll – but hearts started opening up over the course of the 10 gigs we did in the city

Josh Pyke: ‘I turned around and throat-punched the guy – and the whole gig stopped’

Your EP Feeding the Wolves turns 20 this year. Have you ever fed a wolf?I’ve never fed a wolf. But I have fed a fox once. When I used to tour the UK, I’d always try and go for runs to stay fit on the road. We’d usually end up staying in these industrial areas just outside of town

My cultural awakening: a Bastille show helped me get over my crippling Covid-era anxiety

I was afraid to be near people for two-and-a-half years, but then I got a chance to meet the band I loved – and the experience changed everythingI have always had a degree of health anxiety, but when Covid hit, it really spiked. At home with the family, I made sure we washed all our food and even then I didn’t feel safe eating it. I would bring in the post and then be worried about touching the front door. I’d shower for ages, trying to wash the virus away.I’m a journalist, so before the anxiety set in I was a pretty outgoing and adaptable person