Stand-up comic Lucy reaches for the gold standard

In their inimitable ways, stand-up shows from Zoe Lyons and Lucy Porter may be hard to swallow – one with its daring jokes and the other offering the chance to eat gold – literally BY BEN McPARTLAND Ever eaten gold before? Well, if not then it might... » MORE

GRAPEVINE with LIZ SAGUES: £7 Aussie fizz wins friends worldwide

Ask Islay Kennedy about the wine project which has succeeded way beyond her wildest expectations and the words bubble out in a glorious stream. That s entirely appropriate: it s all about a £7 fizz which has won Kennedy a lot of friends. And crucially for... » MORE

Restaurant review archive

Wild animal genes brought to surface in Man's Best Friend

By Alison Oldham Jon Buck says his mask-like sculpture Man s Best Friend, with its primitive teeth of nails, is reminiscent of a tribal artefact: The position of the hand so close to those jagged teeth also reminds us that although man s best friend is the old... » MORE

REVIEW: SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION The Old Vic, Waterloo

TWO STAR RATING JOHN Guare s 1990 play won stacks of awards and introduced us to the rather empty pop philosophy that we are all just six removes from everyone on the planet. But despite fine performances,... » MORE

REVIEW: Crouch End Festival Chorus, Haydn s Creation, Barbican

For all that it sounds like something from a Monty Python sketch, the Crouch End Festival Chorus is the most accomplished of the large-scale outer London choirs and flourishing at the moment... » MORE

WHO'S WHO: SUZI MARTIN, singer, songwriter, landlady

Suzi Martin, landlady of the Torriano pub in Kentish Town, is trying to avoid the closure of her business. Singer of The Torrianos, a band composed of herself and of two other staff members, she has written a song in a bid to help to save the pub. She ha... » MORE

Mel Gibson’s latest film takes credibility to the very edge

Review bv Michael Joyce Edge of Darkness (15) Director Martin Campbell Starring Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston, Bojana Novakovic, Shawn Roberts. 116 mins Two star rating Last year it was Russell Crowe in State of Play; this year it is Mel Gibson s turn to make of movie... » MORE

So then, who really wants to change the world

David Crozier looks at some of the best non-fiction books out this month including a look at how we can all change the world – and some conversations with a man who hopes to at least change the curtains at Number 10 WE VE all heard of self-help books – there are thousands of them, largely pointless tomes like Men Are From Mars But Took Ages Getting Here Because They Can t Read Maps And Wouldn t Ask the Way (or some such). My favourite is Ventriloquism For Dummies...... » MORE

No bathtub in sight in Last of the Summer Wine country

Forget the sleepy Sunday television programmes which have come to define the Yorkshire Pennines because there is so much more to enjoy, says Matt Adams who discovers a beautiful yet bustling part of the world THERE were no septuagenarians careering do... » MORE