Saturday, January 28, 2006

Shakira: Rhythm queen

Shakira learnt belly dancing at the age of four, signed with Sony records at 13 and these days counts Gabriel Garcia Marquez among her closest friends. Fiona Sturges meets Latin America's biggest star. Read more...

Friday, January 20, 2006

The White Devil, Pavilion Theatre, Brighton

You'd be hard-pushed to find a more bloodthirsty tale of betrayal and savagery than The White Devil. This contemporary reworking of John Webster's revenge tragedy, which takes in strangling, garrotting, poisoning, stabbing and shooting, comes from Brighton's newest company, Inservice Productions, formed by five local actors with stints at the National and the RSC behind them. Read more...

Saturday, January 07, 2006

Big Sur

North America is, of course, all about the road trip, nowhere more so than in California where, if you put your foot down, you can go from balmy beaches to snow-capped mountains to unrelenting desert in the space of a day. But there's a lot to be said for staying within the speed limit and really looking at the landscape. The Pacific Coast Highway between Los Angeles and San Francisco is one of the most stunning drives in the world, taking you out of the city and deep into the wilderness, with the ocean glistening over your shoulder. Read more...