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Romeo and Juliet

12/02/26

Pleasance Theatre, Edinburgh

EUSC’s Romeo and Juliet sets out to perform the ‘world’s greatest love story’ without resorting to any of the tricks and gimmicks we’ve lately come to expect from such productions. You know the kind of thing. R&J, only it’s set in 1960’s Bradford – or R&J, as envisioned by Sergio Leone – on a trampoline. No, here it’s played completely straight and what’s more, we get the full text, which clocks in at over three hours in duration. There are twenty performers all giving it their best and there’s no faulting the lofty ambition that powers this production.

Of course, there’s also no disguising the fact that of the immortal bard’s many works, this one features one of his battiest ever plots. Welcome to Verona, where two rival families, the Montagues and the Capulets are gleefully slicing chunks off each other at every opportunity. Romeo (Sam Gearing), the son of Montague (Hal Hobson), wanders moodily through the carnage, observing the action but doing very little to help. He’s currently madly in love with Rosaline (Connie Bailie) who – rather awkwardly – is a Capulet, and therefore out of bounds. But after briefly bumping into Juliet (Anya McChristie) at a masked ball, he’s doesn’t hesitate to switch his affections to her instead… but naturally, she’s a Capulet too. Doh!

But why am I telling you all this? Everybody knows the story of the star-crossed lovers and most of us are familiar with the major players in the story. Director Salvador Kent handles all the characters with aplomb, but sometimes Ella Catherall’s sound design swamps important lines of dialogue – and while Jack Read’s lighting is often striking and atmospheric, too often the faces of actors are lost in the gloom as they recite their soliloquies..

I like the fact that the simple but striking set centres on that all-important balcony and I enjoy McChristie’s effusive and optimistic Juliet, who strides fearlessly into each successive plot twist. Rufus Goodman’s Benvolio meets every complication with a weary shrug and Noah Sarvesaran’s super-charged Mercutio is a particular delight, as he leaps and whirls around the stage as though defying gravity itself. (His death at the beginning of the second act makes me wish he could have hung on a bit longer). Hunter King has the necessary gravitas as Friar Laurence to deliver one of history’s most unbelievable plot devices with absolute authority. ‘Just drink this serum that will make you appear to be dead for two and forty hours and all will be well.’ What could possibly go wrong?

The swordplay scenes are a step up from the usual student productions thanks to the fight direction of Rebecca Mahar and Cooper Mortlock – but I’m rather less convinced by a decision to dress both Montague (Hal Hobson) and Capulet (Tai Remus-Elliot) in the same Chaplinesque costumes, their faces smeared with makeup. Is this to suggest that their characters are essentially interchangeable? I’m not entirely sure.

But overall, this is an admirable production that has much to commend it and the story (silly plot twists notwithstanding) is delivered in epic style.

4 stars

Philip Caveney

Lord of the Flies

09/02/26

BBC iPlayer

We rarely review TV shows, but Marc Munden’s four-part series (adapted by Jack Thorne from William Golding’s 1954 novel) is undoubtedly cinematic in scope and, since we binge-watch the entire thing in one day, it seems like a no-brainer to register our reaction. The fact that I’ve been obsessed with the story since childhood is another powerful contributor to the ”yes, we should’ imperative.

I read the source novel in the early sixties when I was sequestered in a boarding school in Peterborough, a setting that felt to me every bit as savage as the one I was reading about. Add to the equation that twice a year I was being flown out to visit my parents in Malaysia (my Dad was in the RAF), and it’s hardly surprising that the idea of a passenger plane crashing and leaving me stranded on a remote island seemed entirely within the realms of possibility.

Of course, Lord of the Flies has been previously adapted, most notably by Peter Brooks in 1963, a stripped-back monochrome version of the story that blew me away on first viewing, and which still remains (in my humble opinion) one of the finest literary adaptations in cinema history. I must also grudgingly mention Harry Hook’s lamentable attempt to update the premise in 1990, which got pretty much everything wrong – and featured a Piggy so obnoxious that I felt compelled to cheer when his skull was crushed by that great big rock. (Surely not the effect that Mr Hook was going for…)

But surely no piece of fiction is so sacred that a newcomer can’t be allowed to have a shot at an adaptation. A recent comment I saw online complaining that remakes are ‘never the same’ struck me as particularly odd. Isn’t that the point? If a director hasn’t got something different to say, then why bother?

Having said that, this new version does retain a lot from the novel. It’s set in the same era and uses plenty of lines of original dialogue. The episodes are each seen from the perspective of one of the key characters. Piggy (David McKenna) sports a Northern Irish accent and has a predilection for quoting Groucho Marx, which instantly endears him to me (another obsession I developed at boarding school was a love of The Marx Brothers). McKenna emphasises Piggy’s vulnerability and his desperation to avoid being bullied, as well as his evident intelligence. Ralph (Winston Sawyers) is instantly likeable and some nicely-integrated flashbacks in his episode reveal aspects of his earlier life that go some way to explain why he is so nurturing to others.

Simon (Ike Talbut), always the most elusive character in the novel, displays elements that help to explain his troubled relationship with Jack (Lox Pratt). And Jack’s innate fear of failure, his rampant desire to be the winner at any cost, is cleverly conveyed. In the story’s latter stages, his ruthless decisions appear to echo the kinds of tyranny we’ve recently seen deployed on the streets of Minneapolis. And Sam ‘n’ Eric (Noah and Cassius Flemyng) surely typify the self-preservationists, who reluctantly go along with heinous events in order to save their own skins.

But the element that really shines in this version of the tale are the depictions of its jungle settings (filmed principally in Malaysia), particularly the night scenes where the surrounding ferns and trees are rendered blood red and occasionally seem to verge on the psychedelic. Likewise, Jack’s ‘hunters’ sport ever more bizarre costumes and adornments, until they begin to resemble creatures from some kind of obscure mythology, looking as if they’ve escaped from the underworld.

Okay, so perhaps this isn’t the perfect adaptation that Brooks delivered all those years ago, but it nevertheless makes for compelling and rewarding viewing. It’s proof, if ever it were needed, that a great piece of literature can always be successfully reinterpreted for a new age.

4.6 stars

Philip Caveney

Don Quixote is a Very Big book

08/02/25

Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh

Don Quixote is a Very Big Book is not just a title – it’s also a fact, as anybody who has ever attempted to read their way through its 1000+ pages will surely attest. Dik Downey, the man behind Opposable Thumb Theatre, has read every single one of them. But, as he happily admits, the main reason he set out to dramatise what’s often hailed as ‘the world’s first novel’ is the fact that he purchased a really great suit of armour (unused!) from some guy on eBay and figured this would be the best use of it.

So here he is, on stage at The Traverse as part of the Manipulate Festival, gamely buckling on said armour (which looks like it weighs a ton) and proudly explaining how he will single-handedly perform the entire book, complete with a horse, a donkey, a faithful squire and a climactic battle with a great big flipping windmill. 

Downey is an affable narrator with a penchant for making quirky puppets, which he utilises to help tell his stories. He openly admits to us that he’s knocking on a bit now and is worried that the piece might be too much for him, but he’s still game for an epic tale that won’t skimp on the details. And as the heavy armour goes on piece-by-piece, we begin to appreciate the tenacity of the man, and the way (rather like Quixote himself) Downey steadfastly refuses to accept that this epic undertaking might be beyond his abilities.

DQIAVBB delivers a charming and gently amusing hour upon the stage. Downey staggers back and forth, interacting with his appreciative crowd, choosing one of them to ‘Knight’ him. When he notices ‘Dulcinea’ siting in the front row, he performs a silly, ramshackle dance for her that soon starts to go wrong and has me laughing out loud. I also find myself admiring the ingenuity of the aforementioned puppets (‘it’s all done with magnets,’ Downey informs us at one point) and there’s a significant moment in the proceedings where Quixote struggles to get back to his feet for a very VERY long time, and I find myself wondering if I should run down the steps to the stage and lend him a hand. Which I suspect may be the point.

While this is an enjoyable and lighthearted performance – I laugh pretty much from start to finish – it’s also tinged with sadness at the iniquities of old age. And if you think that you need a massive special effects budget to depict a mounted knight doing battle with a windmill, think again. It’s amazing what you can do with papier maché and sticky-back plastic. 

Oh, and by the way, back in the day, I did try to read Don Quixote and gave up after a few chapters. This piece is (happily) much more accessible.

4 stars

Philip Caveney

Is This Thing On?

31/01/26

Cineworld, Edinburgh

A man walks into a bar…

Except, it’s not just a bar, it’s a comedy club – and there’s a $15 entrance fee.

Unless you’re there to perform.

It’s been a long and messy night, and Alex Novak (Will Arnett) doesn’t have $15 to hand. But, high on alcohol and edibles, he’s sure his gift of the gab will be enough to get him through a ten-minute open mic spot. Sure enough, although he doesn’t exactly crush it, he does earn a few laughs, and he finds the experience surprisingly therapeutic.

And therapy is just what Alex needs. Recently separated from his wife, Tess (Laura Dern), he’s struggling to cope with living alone in his apartment and being a part-time dad. What’s more, everyone seems convinced that he’s to blame for his marriage breaking down, which he doesn’t think is fair at all. He and Tess have simply grown apart; they’ve split by mutual consent. With friends and family making their disapproval known, the comedy circuit feels like a safe space for Alex to meet people and grapple with his new reality.

Is This Thing On?, directed by Bradley Cooper, is loosely based on the life of British comedian, John Bishop, although the only overt reference to the Merseyside comic is a single scene where Alex sports an incongruous Liverpool FC vest. In his mid-30s, Bishop tried his hand at stand-up while briefly separated from his wife, Melanie; by the time they reconciled, he’d caught the comedy bug and, within a few years, was pursuing a fruitful career as a full-time comic.

Ironically, Bishop’s real-life story is more interesting than the Hollywood version, which is resolutely low-key, and never actually shows us Novak performing a killer gig. In reality, Bishop is hugely successful: he’s a household name in the UK, and his arena tours always sell out. Although Arnett and Dern both perform their roles with consummate skill, there never appears to be much at stake. It would help if we saw Novak’s sets improve, if we could catch a glimpse of the comedic skill that has propelled Bishop into the spotlight.

In addition, the script (co-written by Cooper, Arnett and Mark Chappell) doesn’t flesh out the characters enough: they don’t appear to have lives beyond the scenes we see. We’re told that Novak “works in finance” but we never see the impact of his late-night hobby on his day-job; in fact, he never refers to work at all. He’s a friendly, outgoing character: surely he’d have friends among his colleagues? And the juggling of a demanding job, fatherhood and an all-consuming new passion would make his struggle a lot more compelling.

All in all, this is an enjoyable movie, but not an entirely satisfying one.

3.6 stars

Susan Singfield

Jay Kelly

17/01/01

Netflix

Our Netflix catch-up continues with this whimsical and charming film from Noah Baumbach, clearly influenced by Federico Fellini’s 8½. George Clooney stars as the titular Mr Kelly, a handsome and successful movie star, now forced to contemplate the highs and lows of his career and personal life – and the things he could perhaps have handled better. With his latest film wrapped, Jay has been looking forward to spending time with his daughter, Daisy (Grace Edwards), but she tells him she’s heading off to France with friends.

Then veteran film director, Peter Schneider (Jim Broadbent), the man who gave Jay his first break, unexpectedly dies. After the funeral, Jay bumps into an old college-mate, Timothy (Billy Crudup), and goes for a drink with him – where events take an unexpected turn.

Feeling the need to make himself scarce for a while, Jay instructs his long-suffering manager, Ron (Adam Sandler), to accept an offer on his behalf for a trip to Tuscany to attend a career-tribute award. This is awkward, because Jay has already told them that he’s not interested in attending the event and the trophy has been promised to Jay’s main rival, Ben Alcock (Patrick Wilson). But Ron has spent most of his life dealing with Jay’s unpredictable impulses and manages to persuade the organisers to forge a second statuette, to make it a joint celebration. Jay, Ron and publicist Liz (Laura Dern) set off for Italy, along with a whole entourage of followers.

On the journey, Jay has time to contemplate key events from his past – actually stepping through a series of doors, to revisit them as they happen. It soon becomes apparent that success as a film star comes at a high price. When everyone around you has a stake in your success – even the ever-faithful Ron is taking 15% of everything Jay earns – it’s hard to trust anyone.

And as the prize-giving ceremony looms ever closer, it begins to dawn on Jay that he is in danger of having nobody to share the moment with.

Clooney is the perfect choice for this role – there’s always been something distinctly old-fashioned about his rugged, matinee idol looks – and a final scene where he contemplates different versions of himself from his own stellar career is nicely handled. The film also features some lovely insider details: the shooting of a love scene with Charlie Rowe standing in as the younger JK, reveals how clinical an exercise it is and how the magic is created. Baumbach’s screenplay (co-written with Emily Mortimer) is witty and insightful, while Linus Sandgren’s gorgeous cinematography gives the film a dazzling, sun-drenched sheen.

Some reviewers have been dismissive of Jay Kelly, but Clooney inhabits the lead role with absolute authority. It’s hard to imagine who might have made a better fit. There have been rumours that this could be his final role as an actor (lately he’s been more interested in being on the other side of the camera). Should that prove to be the case, this would seem a fitting way to bow out.

4.2 stars

Philip Caveney

Anaconda

07/01/26

Cineworld, Edinburgh

Christmas 2025 was a pretty fertile period for the cinema, with opportunities to catch plenty of decent offerings and, provided you picked carefully, there was not a turkey in sight. The first days of the New Year were likewise blessed, but eventually a viewer’s luck runs out. I still believe that Anaconda has a decent premise at its heart but, for a whole variety of reasons, it fails to make for satisfying viewing.

Ron Griffin (Paul Rudd) and Doug McCallister (Jack Black) both feel they have made wrong career moves. Ron always felt he was destined to be a movie star but, apart from a few fleeting cameos in various TV shows, he’s failed to make the big time. Doug maintains he is working as a film director – if you count wedding videos as movies – but he also fondly remembers his teenage years, when he and Ron recorded their own no-budget horror movies, making their own props and using their friends as actors. At Doug’s birthday get-together, Ron casually announces that he has managed to obtain the rights to Anaconda – the 1997 movie that was their favourite watch on VHS.

One drunken conversation later, and Ron has managed to persuade his old flame, Claire (Thandiwe Newton), and his hapless pal, Kenny (Steve Zahn), to flex their credit cards and accompany him to Brazil to shoot a reboot. But can they possibly persuade Doug to drop everything and join them as the film’s director? Hey, do giant reptiles live in the jungle? Well, they do of course and, in a brief pre-credit sequence, we’ve already witnessed what happens to people who stand around under trees muttering questions like, ‘What was that noise?’

To be fair, the set-up is decently handled by director Tom Gormican, who co-wrote the script with Kevin Etten. But once in Brazil, he seems unsure which direction to take with the resulting story and throws in a whole bunch of distractions. There’s a young local woman, Ana (Daniela Melchior), who is being pursued by armed men, though for quite a while we’re not entirely sure what they’re after her for. And why she would undertake to pretend to be the captain of a ship and ferry the film crew upriver is anybody’s guess.

Then there’s local snake ‘expert’ Carlos (Selton Mello) who actually owns a decent-sized pet snake and has somehow been brought onto the team as reptile-wrangler – but we’re not troubled with the details of how this came to be.

And of course there’s the titular giant snake, glimpsed only fleetingly at first, but becoming less convincing every time we set eyes on him.

The end result is that the comedy isn’t quite as sharp as it needs to be, while the action sequences are ponderous and unconvincing. Most damning of all, the scenes that (I think) are designed to be scary, really don’t generate enough tension to make me suspend my disbelief. The plot thickens when it turns out that there’s another, bigger crew in the vicinity who really are shooting an Anaconda reboot. This gives Gormican the chance to include a couple of celebrity cameos from Ice Cube and Jennifer Lopez, who, veteran movie fans may remember, starred in the original.

Look, I don’t want to be mean about this, because clearly it was never intended to be anything but a silly bungle in the jungle and I guess, in the end, that’s exactly what you get. And let’s face it, the original film isn’t remembered as being a cinematic masterpiece either. But no matter how slight the central premise, a film needs to convince – and sadly this one fails on that score.

2.8 stars

Philip Caveney

Sentimental Value

05/01/26

Cineworld, Edinburgh

Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Trier reunites with his muse, Renate Reinsve (with whom he made the brilliant The Worst Person in the World), in this affecting tale set mostly within the family home of the Borg family in Oslo. Reinsve plays Nora, an acclaimed theatre actress, who – when we first encounter her – is about to step onstage for the opening night of her latest production. She suffers a sudden, terrifying bout of stage fright and has to enlist fellow actor, Jakob (Anders Danielsen Lie), to slap her face in order to get her to venture out onto the boards.

Nora’s younger sister, Agnes (Inga Ibsdottir Lilleaas), has a much less turbulent life. She’s happily married and has a teenage son, Erik (Øyvind Hesjedal Loven), who seems to share a special bond with Nora. After the death of their mother, Sissel, the sisters are preparing their childhood home for sale, but they are somewhat perturbed to discover that it still belongs to their father, celebrated film director Gustav (Stellan Skarsgård). Since splitting up with Sissel, he has kept a wary distance from his daughters, seeing them only occasionally.

They are dismayed when he turns up out of the blue, with plans to use the house as the set for a new film, based around the wartime exploits of his mother, Karin, who was a member of the Norwegian resistance movement and who committed suicide in one of the rooms. Nora is horrified when Gustav announces that he would like her to play the film’s protagonist and she refuses to even entertain the idea.

Then, whilst attending a film festival, Gustav meets American movie star Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning), whom he manages to persuade to take on the role – which also helps him secure financial backing from Netflix. Rachel travels to Norway to visit the house and starts to prepare, but it soon becomes apparent that she might not be the right fit for a part that was originally created with Nora in mind…

This handsome production shimmers like a precious jewel thanks to the brilliant cinematography of Kasper Tuxen – and the performances are uniformly spot-on. Skarsgård handles his role with particular aplomb, a man beset by the changes of time and struggling to stay in control of a project that seems to elude him at every turn. He and Reinsve make superb antagonists, he totally unable to convey the love he has for her in any conventional sense, she stubbornly resistant to his overtures, unable to countenance them, no matter how hard he pushes her.

Agnes too is conflicted. In her childhood, she had a small but important role in one of Gustav’s early films but, when her father mentions a plan to employ young Erik in a similar way, she doesn’t know how to react. And Rachel – well, suffice to say that Fanning, who so often finds herself in roles that offer her very little to do, acquits herself brilliantly here as it gradually begins to dawn on Rachel that she has wandered into an impossible situation.

There are many moments of deep sadness but, perhaps ironically, it’s the scene were Agnes confesses her undying affection for her older sister that finally coaxes the tears from my eyes. I love too a coda where the house – itself an integral character in this powerful but nuanced story – appears to be undergoing a makeover.

But then the camera pulls back, to reveal something entirely different.

Sentimental Value has been nominated for the Best Foreign Language Oscar and I for one feel it would make a very deserving winner.

4.8 stars

Philip Caveney

Wake Up Dead Man : A Knives Out Mystery

04/01/26

Netflix

Early January is traditionally a time for catching up with those films we didn’t manage to see at the cinema. Wake Up Dead Man, Rian Johnson’s third entry in the Knives Out franchise, has been sitting patiently on Netflix for quite some time, but I’ll confess that I haven’t been in a great hurry to tick it off the list, not having been as enchanted by the two previous instalments as many others. So it’s perhaps inevitable that I enjoy this one more than its predecessors, mostly because of its caustic sense of humour.

Catholic priest, Jud Duplenticy (Josh O’ Connor), is hastily despatched to a rural parish in upstate New York. A former boxer, he has punched out an obnoxious fellow priest in an argument and now needs to keep a low profile. He’s clearly come to the wrong place. The parish is run by Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin), who runs Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude in a dictatorial fashion, though his fire and brimstone approach to sermonsing means that his congregation grows ever sparser.

So perhaps it’s little wonder that it’s Wicks who is mysteriously murdered and Duplenticy who appears the most likely culprit. But of course, after a decent interval, along comes ‘the world’s greatest detective’, Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig), to investigate a story that has more twists and turns than a snake on a bed of itching powder…

All the usual suspects are in place, portrayed by a starry cast of A-listers, this time including Glenn Close, Andrew Scott, Jeremy Renner and Cailee Spainey. I have fun trying to come up with possible solutions to the central mystery even if the story grows ever more unlikely as it progresses. In this endeavour I’m only partially successful – I spot some possibilities but apply them to the wrong suspect. I also think I spy a sizeable plot-hole in there, but perhaps I’m being too picky. I’m suitably entertained by the snarky, anti-Catholic digs and the anti-Trump snipes sprinkled through proceedings .

Will there be more Knives Out films? I hope so. Because, for my money, this is the best of the series so far.

4 stars

Philip Caveney

The Housemaid

28/12/25

Strand Cinema, Rhyl

It’s the dying days of 2025 and, mostly due to an apparent absence of Marty Supreme in Wales, we plump for The Housemaid as our post-Christmas watch. Directed by Paul Feig and adapted by Rebecca Sonnenshine (from Freida McFadden’s 2022 novel), The Housemaid is a twisty-turny sado-thriller, where everything’s dialled up to 11 and any hint of subtlety has gone straight through the nearest attic window. This isn’t necessarily a criticism, so much as an observation.

Millie Calloway (Sydney Sweeney) is desperately seeking employment. Ten years into a fifteen-year prison sentence (it’s a long time before we find out what she actually did to get there), she’s been released on good behaviour and is now living in her car and finding work where she can. When she lands an interview as housemaid at the swanky residence of the Winchester family, she’s desperate to get the job, though her expectations are understandably low.

Her potential employer, Nina Winchester (Amanda Seyfried), seems like the perfect easygoing boss, though Nina’s daughter Cerce (Indiana Elle) gives every indication of being a sour little grump-bucket. Nina’s husband, Andrew (Brandon Sklenar), on the other hand, seems like a regular saint: handsome, ripped and blessed with a perfect grin. But no sooner has Millie landed the job of her dreams than Nina starts to reveal a very different side to her personality. She’s prone to flying into angry fits and taking every opportunity to make Millie look bad in front of her friends.

And then the first of several major plot twists occurs and it becomes clear that nothing in this scenario is quite as straightforward as it initially appears…

Okay, so The Housemaid isn’t destined to win any prizes for nuance, preferring instead to keep upping the ante at every opportunity, joyfully ramping up the anxiety, the sadism and the nasty injury detail. (Delicate viewers may feel compelled to look away at key moments.) The central trio offer colourful interpretations of their roles, with Seyfried in particular revelling with relish in Nina’s unfettered gear changes, and just about managing to stop herself from chewing the scenery.

If some of the story’s later developments test my credulity, well, at least I’m never bored and – as the film thunders into its final furlong – I find myself laughing out loud at its absurdities. Rhyl’s new Strand Cinema offers customers a choice of five crystal-sharp screens with clean, loud Dolby stereo and plenty of legroom. Those looking to blow away the post-prandial fug of too much Xmas excess, may find this to be just the ticket.

3.5 stars

Philip Caveney

Beyond Monet/Van Gogh

23/12/25

Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh

Beyond Monet: The Immersive Experience offers visitors the chance to see “Monet like they’ve never seen him before.” This isn’t quite true for us though: we’ve been to the Carrières des Lumières in Provençe about a dozen times, and – unsurprisingly – many of those exhibitions have focused on the famous impressionist’s work, particularly those pieces that depict the area. So, although we’re keen to see what this travelling showcase has to offer, we don’t really expect images projected onto the interior walls of the Royal Highland Centre – where we went to get our Covid jags – to wow us in the same way as they do in the disused quarry beneath Les Baux’s castle.

We’re pleasantly surprised. Despite the conference-venue vibes of the building, the immersive experience has been so cleverly curated that we soon forget where we are. What we lose in size and majesty, we gain in subtle animation and a clear visual narrative. Beyond Monet is showing ‘in rep’ with Beyond Van Gogh and, in all honesty, we’d have chosen to see Vincent if we could have made the dates work. That didn’t pan out, so we’ve settled for Claude – and we’re delighted with the result.

We already knew we loved Van Gogh, but we’ve tended to dismiss Monet as a bit too pretty, a bit too safe. But under Mathieu St-Arnaud’s creative direction, we see just how transgressive the artist really was, not only for the ‘unfinished’ look of his art, but also in his obsession with painting the same scene over and over, in order to capture it in different weathers, different lights. Seeing the various giant iterations of the Haystacks and the Houses of Parliament – sometimes side by side, sometimes layered over one another – really helps to illustrate his aim of capturing his immediate sensory reaction to a particular scene.

The Waterfall Room, which we enter first, gives us an eight-minute ‘starter’, where we stand, enraptured by the fleeting impressions (sorry!) of what is coming up, with glimpses of Monet’s paintings projected onto the walls and floor. In the Infinity Room next door, people are sitting on benches and cushions, settling in for the ‘main course’ – which runs on a thirty-five minute loop. Combined with Jean-Sébastien Côté’s hypnotic soundtrack, the hallucinatory imagery wraps itself around us, creating an intense auditory and visual experience that keeps us entranced for the whole running time.

Finally, we enter the Reflection Room, which has been mocked up on one side to look like the Giverny gardens, while the other features Van Gogh’s starry night skies looming over a field of giant sunflower sculptures. Like all the best desserts, it’s fun and light – and gives us an opportunity to take a selfie or two.

If it’s showing near you, I highly recommend you visit this extraordinary exhibition – and take the chance to see Claude Monet in an entirely new… ahem… light.

4.5 stars

Susan Singfield