Paddington x The Queen = sobbing

The Independent’s entertainment newsletter [View in browser]( [The Independent]( September 10, 2022 [The Independent]( Written by Jessie Thompson   The IndyArts Newsletter   There we all were, thinking [spit-gate]( was going to be the biggest story of the week. Nothing shakes you out of psychoanalysing the minutiae of a dysfunctional celebrity press tour ([thanks for the memories Don’t Worry, Darling]() like the death of [our country’s longest-reigning monarch](. Tributes have been paid from [across the world of arts and culture](, The Crown has reportedly [postponed filming for series six](, and no one can watch the [Queen’s Platinum Jubilee tea with Paddington]( without getting a bit misty-eyed. We’re living through history. [Even Kanye knows it](. The Queen's sketch with Paddington for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations   This week’s news comes at a torrid time for the nation. There was an understandable condemnation of a crass segment on This Morning, in which [prize money was offered to pay for people’s energy bills](; Louis Chilton hits the nail on the head in [his column about how daytime TV needs to serve its viewers better in the cost-of-living crisis](. I also nodded with fervent agreement to Amanda Whiting’s piece on [the self-congratulatory, irrelevant feminism]( in Hillary Clinton and Meghan Markle’s new respective TV and podcast projects. I’m eager to get down to see the Barbican’s exhibition of performance artist Carolee Schneemann, who got naked and rolled around in paint a lot. In his review, [Mark Hudson says it’s an emotionally draining but awe-inspiring experience](. Sign me up. I also loved Nick Duerden’s [interview with AM Homes](, who seems able to predict in her novels whatever mad thing is going to happen next in America. And the [Booker shortlist was announced this week](. Personally, I found it underwhelming – my pick of the longlist, Audrey Magee’s The Colony, didn’t make the cut. What did you make of it? Tweet me @jessiecath so we can pow wow about books.   [The Saturday Interview – Laura Whitmore]( [Oscars image]( Laura Whitmore makes her West End stage debut this week Finally! An opportunity to combine my appreciation for theatre with the many hours I’ve spent watching Love Island. For this week’s Saturday Interview, [I caught up with Laura Whitmore]( to ask why she quit the ITV2 show this summer and find out more about her West End debut in the spooky stage hit 2:22 A Ghost Story. [Oscars image]( Whitmore stars in '2:22 A Ghost Story' at the Criterion Theatre Read an extract from our Saturday Interview below… It’s hard to imagine how, in the age of social media, any person now copes with hosting such a high-profile show. It’s certainly not for the faint-hearted: the online opprobrium can be constant. The landscape has changed significantly since Whitmore started her career as a presenter on MTV News. “When I was first started doing MTV, if someone had an issue with you, you didn’t really know about it, you’d just carry on and do your job,” she says. But it’s everywhere. “The more successful you are, you get it more. I only get a tiny bit of it, but you look at people like Olivia Wilde, and people like that – what she’s got the last week – it seems the more successful you get or the more you do, the more people want to talk about you, the more they’ll throw negativity your way.” People do seem fascinated with Whitmore’s earnings, though. She made a TikTok correcting some of the criticisms she received on Love Island, including about her salary. “People care a lot about how much money I make,” she says – and she hasn’t observed the same focus on the earnings of her male counterparts. “Even today I saw in the press about how much money I’m apparently making in the West End. I’m like, I don’t know if they did that about [previous 2:22 A Ghost Story star] Tom Felton?” [Read the full interview here]( [What to binge this week]( Huw Edwards has won praise for his broadcasting this week (BBC) [Huw Edwards on the BBC]( Let’s be honest. The only thing any of us will be binge-watching over the next seven days is [Huw Edwards](. He’s getting a lot of love right now – correctly, in my opinion – for his masterly broadcasting on the day of Her Maj’s death. I’ll never forget watching him deliver the news – he heard something in his ear, looked down, took a breath, and then looked right down the camera to all of us at home. He was calm but you could feel the gravity of the moment. All hail Huw. The BBC's coverage of the Queen's death is ongoing, find out [more about the schedule here]( Out and about The Glass Menagerie - Royal Exchange Holly Williams headed to Manchester this week to see Atri Banerjee’s much-awaited production of The Glass Menagerie at the Royal Exchange. It sounds absolutely gorgeous. [Read the review]( Who Killed My Father – Young Vic Edouard Louis has been proclaimed the enfant terrible of French literature by many. One of his books, about his relationship with his father, has been adapted for the stage by trendy Belgian director Ivo van Hove. Read our review in tomorrow’s Week on Stage column. [Buy tickets here]( Silence – Donmar Warehouse At the Donmar Warehouse, a docu-play about the 1947 Partition of India is woven together with testimonies from survivors. It’s an important watch, but only on for a short run, so see it while you can. Our verdict can be found in tomorrow’s Week on Stage column. [Buy tickets here](   INDYBEST / [BEST BUYS](   Stranger Things and Quiksilver launch an Eighties-inspired collection that’s worn by the cast in season 4 As the second half of series four unfolds, inject some retro style into your wardrobe [Read more](   Essential reading [The 17 absolute worst sex scenes in movie history]( [The 17 absolute worst sex scenes in movie history]( [Meet the lifelong Harry Potter fan mistaken for Hermione Granger’s double]( [Meet the lifelong Harry Potter fan mistaken for Hermione Granger’s double]( [The 17 absolute worst sex scenes in movie history]( [The 17 absolute worst sex scenes in movie history](         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. 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