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

The Guide #208: How theatre is holding its own in the age of artificial intelligence

Last year, more than 37 million people settled their behinds into the red-velvet upholstery, plastic chairs or wooden “I’ll only tolerate this because it’s the Globe” benches of a theatre. West End attendance has reportedly grown by 11% and regional audiences have increased by 4% since 2019 – pretty impressive amid a cost of living crisis and after a pandemic that had us all locked in our houses.The increase in attendance can be chalked up to all sorts of reasons: the post-Covid return of tourists to the UK, schemes offering more reasonably priced tickets, and big films such as Wicked leaving people wondering what that Defying Gravity note sounds like live. But I’d throw another contender into the mix: the rise of AI.For some, AI’s arrival has been exciting or, at the very least, handy – who doesn’t want to outsource life’s grunt work, or get an expert photo editor/nutritionist/therapist for nothing? For others, it feels bleak and bewildering

From Spinal Tap II to Ed Sheeran : your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead

Spinal Tap II: The End ContinuesOut nowFollowing up one of the greatest comedies ever made is a tough act, but here come Rob Reiner et al to have a bash at rekindling the magic. Luckily the subject matter of an ageing band still determined to take it to 11 has plenty of real-world touchstones to keep this particular parody relevant.From Ground Zero: Stories from GazaOut nowTwenty-two directors come together via producer Rashid Masharawi and exec producer Michael Moore to create this documentary about Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, which – as reported by a UN special committee, Amnesty International and Médecins Sans Frontières – has created the largest group of child amputees per capita in history and created a deliberate man-made famine, among other violations of international law.The Long WalkOut nowIn a version of the United States ruled by a fascist regime, a group of young men take part in a contest where they must always walk a speed of at least three miles per hour or be shot by their military chaperones. So it’s got a Squid Game meets Hunger Games vibe, based on the 1979 novel by Stephen King

Seth Meyers on Charlie Kirk shooting: ‘Political violence is abhorrent to the highest ideals of this country’

Late-night hosts reacted to the assassination of the rightwing activist Charlie Kirk and decried the rising tide of political violence in the US.Seth Meyers opened Thursday’s Late Night with a separate segment on the Kirk assassination. “We are horrified by this grotesque tragedy and our condolences go out to his family and loved ones,” he said. “It should never be a matter of political ideology to mourn and to extend our fullest and deepest empathy to those who are suffering.“Political violence is abhorrent and anathema to the highest ideals of this country,” he continued

Shrinking audiences, a cash crisis and rivals on the rise: what’s gone wrong at Tate?

When a national institution starts to sound like Spın̈al Tap, you know it’s in trouble.Recently, Tate channelled the mythic rock band’s claim that its audience was not shrinking, just “becoming more selective”. In response to a decline in visitor numbers and a cash crisis leading to redundancies, the museum group emphasised “record numbers of young visitors” to Tate Modern (who cares about all those uncool visitors above the age of 35?).Yet in the summer, Tate’s director, Maria Balshaw, blamed the group’s problems on a dearth of 16-24-year-old visitors from continental Europe. So they appeal to youth, but the wrong youth?This week, Tate Modern will open a blockbuster show that may attract paying adults

Protesters target Royal Opera House over performance by ‘Putin’s diva’

Dozens of protesters have gathered outside the Royal Opera House to demonstrate against an eminent Russian opera singer nicknamed “Putin’s diva” who performed on the opening night of Tosca.Anna Netrebko, 53, one of the world’s best-known sopranos, who draws full houses for her performances at leading opera houses globally, has denied being an ally of the Russian leader.She was ostracised by most major opera houses in the months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, despite releasing a statement unequivocally condemning the conflict.Netrebko, who has not performed in Russia since 2022, was given a People’s Artist award in 2008 by Vladimir Putin. The crowd of about 50 protesters congregated outside the central London venue included Natalia Filatova, 48, who was wrapped in the Ukrainian flag