Monet’s masterpiece flees the National Gallery, Marc Quinn plants himself in Kew and the Tate honours female artists – all in your weekly dispatchNational Treasures As part of celebrations for its bicentenary, masterpieces from the National Gallery hang in museums across the UK including Vermeer in Edinburgh, Caravaggio in Belfast and Botticelli in...

Standup has enjoyed a rapid rise in India over the last decade, and now its leading lights are conquering the Edinburgh fringe and packing out the Royal Albert Hall. Where better to take aim at the legacy of Empire …In the summer of 2010, Anuvab Pal was writing an article about the opening of the Comedy Store in Mumbai, impresario Don Ward’s attempt...

Summer’s would-be blockbuster has hit a brick wall – did it simply typify everything the public hate about Hollywood or does it belie broader box office blight?On paper, it couldn’t fail. The Fall Guy was a lock as this summer’s first – and possibly biggest – box office smash. It had it all. Action, comedy, romance. Record-breaking stunts. Two of the...

Is it all about having a great gimmick – or touching hearts? Ahead of this year’s song contest, Eurovision hitmakers from Bucks Fizz to Käärijä reveal the tricks of the trade, from free saunas and milkmaids to writing your tune in half an hourYou’re representing your country in Eurovision. You’ve got a great pop song complete with choreography you’ve...

According to a Variety interview, yes. But is this part of the director and Taxi Driver writer’s self-mythologising? The American Kennel Club might have the answerStephen Rodrick’s interview with Paul Schrader in Variety is a thing of great heft. Over the course of the piece, Schrader grapples openly with the looming spectre of death, contacts Kevin...

This face-to-face with the real-life ‘Martha’ made for queasy viewing. It’s hard not to feel that the world would be a better place if it hadn’t happened. What horrible turn will this story take next?Has any television programme ever had such a dramatic off-screen arc as Baby Reindeer? Dropped on to Netflix without expectation or warning a month ago,...