Lucy Punch, David Harewood and West Side Story

The Independent’s entertainment newsletter [View in browser]( [The Independent]( December 04, 2021 [The Independent]( Written by Alexandra Pollard The IndyArts Newsletter Hello, happy December. Ho-ho-hope you're feeling cultural. Did Father Christmas bring you your Spotify Wrapped this week? Did it confirm to you that you do in fact listen to a lot of the artist that you listen to a lot? If I sound sceptical, I should say that I did enjoy being told I was in the top two per cent of Billie Eilish's listeners – [although my colleague Louis Chilton makes a compelling case against it](. Bah humbug. If you missed Liz Aubrey's compelling, in-depth look at the problem of sexual assaults at gigs and festivals, [I urge you to give it a read.]( "Over 95 per cent of women told us they aren’t reporting these experiences, which would suggest the picture is far worse than the few figures we do have," said Claire Barnett from Safe Spaces Now. "Many say they don’t report it because they don’t believe it will change anything.” Oh, also, [Ed Sheeran and Elton John have a Christmas single out](. Yep. A look at some of the designs for this year's Spotify Wrapped, the music streamer's annual statistical round-up Meanwhile, the first reviews are in for Steven Spielberg's West Side Story, and they're mostly positive – [though our chief film critic Clarisse Loughrey wasn't entirely convinced.]( [She adored C'mon C'mon](, though, and if it's anything like Mike Mills' previous film 20th Century Women, I will too. Tomorrow, look out for my interview with Homeland star David Harewood, who's starring a new play, Best of Enemies. We talked about his psychotic breakdown, the racism – both overt and covert – of the British TV industry, and his desire to change a name he inherited from slave-owners. [The Saturday Interview – Lucy Punch]( [Oscars image]( Lucy Punch: ‘I’ve always liked people just verging on the grotesque. Not to be friends with, of course, but just to observe’ (Shutterstock) The Motherland star has always found hilarity in the moneyed and horrible. As she faces the end of the world in the dark comedy Silent Night, she spoke to Adam White about being drawn to the grotesque, the controversy over voicing Kate Middleton, and the perils of knowing too much about your colleagues. [Oscars image]( Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Lucy Punch, Keira Knightley, Annabelle Wallis and Matthew Goode in ‘Silent Night' Read an extract from our Saturday Interview below… “I’ve played many ugly stepsisters,” Punch boasts from the Hampstead house she’s been put up in while filming the second series of her farcical Sky comedy Bloods. She’s not so much talking as she is beaming, her blonde hair in loose, Stevie Nicks waves and her accent so precise and enunciated that you’d never know she’s lived in Los Angeles for 15 years. Over Zoom, she’s gazing up at the living room ceiling, wondering why she loves playing terrible people. “Smugness and self-satisfaction and ego alongside massive insecurity,” she lists off. “They make an interesting mix. I’ve always liked people just verging on the grotesque. Not to be friends with, of course, but just to observe.” Punch, per tradition, steals the show in Silent Night. She plays Bella, one of a cluster of moneyed flibbertigibbets – Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode and Annabelle Wallis are among the rest – who’ve descended upon a country pile for Christmas. So far, so Richard Curtis. Then, as if Charlie Brooker’s suddenly hijacked the script, they start to address the dystopian elephant in the room: a toxic fog is lurking towards Britain, the end of the world is nigh, and all of them are planning to kill themselves by Boxing Day. “I’ve seen The Road, there is no f***ing way I’m living like that,” Bella insists. “I can’t do post-apocalyptic monochrome.” Punch plays her as a sociopath in a luxe power suit, her pitched-down voice landing somewhere between Patsy from AbFab and a rich girl dying of consumption. [Read the full interview here]( What to binge this week [Oscars image]( [Queer Eye]( The lifestyle makeover show was a huge hit when it was first rebooted in 2018, and though it's been accused in recent years of giving off slightly corporate vibes, it still warms my cockles. For all its frothy exuberance and innate memeability, Queer Eye is endlessly thought-provoking. Dig beneath the concept – five gay men travel across Texas, making over hapless people’s lives – and you’ll find a show that carefully unpacks toxic masculinity, gender, race, sexual identity, and self-worth. The sixth season is out on New Year's Eve, so now's your chance to catch up. Out and about [The Life of Pi]( "The success of Lolita Chakrabarti’s production," writes Annabel Nugent in her four-star review, "is owed first and foremost to Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell, whose menagerie of puppets breathe life into the play’s four-legged beasts." Buy tickets [here](. [String v Spitta, Soho Theatre]( "An hour-long cabaret-esque musical with a premise so ingenious, it’s hard to believe it hasn’t been done before, String v SPITTA is nonetheless reliant on a hefty amount of participation from its audience," writes Isobel Lewis in her five-star review. "It turns out there’s no better way to get a crowd of adults to shout back at you than by treating them like children." Buy tickets [here](. [Best of Enemies, The Young Vic]( Starring Homeland's David Harewood as right-wing political commentator William Buckley Jr, this fiery political play is set during the turbulent run-up to the 1968 presidential election. Buy tickets [here](. Essential reading [25 brilliant films that bombed at the box office]( [25 brilliant films that bombed at the box office]( [Marilyn Manson removed from 2022 Grammys Best Rap Song nomination]( [Marilyn Manson removed from 2022 Grammys Best Rap Song nomination]( [Scream theory: What makes a horror film a horror film?]( [Scream theory: What makes a horror film a horror film?]( If you can spare a minute we’d love your [feedback]( on our newsletters. [The Independent]( Join the conversation or follow us [Facebook]( [Twitter]( Please do not reply directly to this email You are currently registered to receive The Independent's entertainment newsletter. Add us to your safe list of senders. If you do not want to receive The Independent's entertainment newsletter, please [unsubscribe](list_name=IND_Culture_Newsletter_CDP). If you no longer wish to receive any newsletters or promotional emails from The Independent, you can unsubscribe [here](. This e-mail was sent by Independent Digital News and Media Ltd, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5HF. Registered in England and Wales with company number 07320345. Read our [privacy notice]( and [cookie policy](.