#satire

#satire

Last night's revival at Glyndebourne of Sir Peter Hall's classic 1981 Festival production of Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream' was dreamlike and fantastical. Tonight I'm at the Coliseum for English National Opera's new semi-staged Albert Herring', Britten's lacerating chamber opera satirising English small-town mores. The ENO have had some success with their semi-staged productions including Gloriana', Duke Bluebeard's Castle' and Suor Angelica' and I'm fascinated to see if Albert Herring', directed and designed by multi-awardwinning Antony McDonald, will suit this pared back approach.

On Wednesday, Trump told reporters, "The amazing thing is, you look at Portland and you see fires all over the place. You see fights, and I mean just violence. It's just so crazy." The president went on to compare Portland to a postapocalyptic movie that features "bombed out cities." He added, "I don't know what could be worse than Portland. You don't even have sewers anymore. They don't even put glass up. They put plywood on their windows. But most of the retailers have left."

I'm thrilled to bring this story to life and work with some of the funniest and most brilliant people I know,

On an initial glance, a video that's going viral on social media looks like a typical 1990s TV commercial for a children's toy set of a tropical island: there are palm trees, a waterfall, and - wait a minute - there's also a secret massage room, and even an "Orange Man" action figure who looks exactly like Donald Trump and says "don't release the files" in an ominous voice.

Musk's gaming habits have been continually mocked after he 'rage quit' a Path of Exile 2 livestream in April over his clearly poor performance. In an effort to showcase Starlink's Wi-Fi capabilities, Musk livestreamed the video game while aboard his private jet. The broadcast was brief; however, after the game's chat function was inundated with users mocking Musk, both for his poor gaming skills and for "ruining the [US]" through his political actions while he was head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Pop superstar Taylor Swift has been falsely accused of a laundry list of absurdities: Doing "satanic rituals" at her shows. Being a government "psyop." But this time, the news about her is true: She's engaged to be married. Swift posted a series of photos on Instagram Aug. 26, showing her engagement to Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who is also no stranger to being targeted by misinformation. Even Kelce's father, Ed, has occasionally fallen for false headlines about the couple.

I never felt the influence of Muriel Spark, despite the fact that she was a substantial female figure in British literature. It's a pity, because there was much to learn from her macabre, entirely unsentimental art and its account of the strange violence of living. It was only quite recently, when I came across a new volume of her collected letters (meticulously edited by Dan Gunn), that I first felt confronted by her persona.

Sean "Diddy" Combs and his legal team have reportedly reached out to the Trump administration for a pardon after his conviction on prostitution-related offenses.

I once led a project to completion using only Slack emojis and a positive affirmation that I lifted from somebody's tote bag.

"Before your feminine instinct tells you to destroy this letter." Hearing this opening line decades later left me wondering what the handwritten letter contained.

The use of music in Kyle's short is particularly hilarious - stock, YouTuber-esque music underpins every sad moment with jarringly upbeat vibes, creating a juxtaposition that delivers laughs as well as discomfort.

"A young healthy child well nursed, is, at a year old, a most delicious nourishing and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or broiled," Swift wrote.