Culture

An imaginative play is a reminder that Newton was as interested in religion as he was in science, says Rob Iliffe

Duncan Wu enjoys some sensitive performances in a Midwest drama about a prison warden's moral crisis

The Bible holds many mysteries, and Gary Day is intrigued by the suggestion that God had a wife

Is the prolific writer and broadcaster Niall Ferguson a 'proper' historian? The Scot tells Matthew Reisz that reaching a mass audience is a serious business - but not as serious as the decline in educational standards that is undermining Western hegemony

An unbelievable, unerotic thriller may still appeal to viewers' sense of silliness, concludes Duncan Wu

Gary Day asks what is meant by the Big Society when the government seems intent on dismantling it

Woody Allen's latest satire has worthwhile things to say of the US. Pity it's set in Britain, says Duncan Wu

'Why are we here? Where do we come from?' Brian Cox has the answers, says Gary Day

From first base to learning space

Clive Bloom ponders the enduring popularity and cultural significance of L. Frank Baum's wonderful world of Oz

Martin Bayly appreciates a timely celebration of Afghan art that allows the country's rich history to speak for itself

Philip Dodd finds arresting beauty in Norwegian Wood, but the novel's interiority is lost on film

Gary Day sees irony in a lament about the death of variety theatre and its larger-than-life characters

A poignant and peerless stage production in a dazzling setting moves Dominic Shellard to tears

All the world might be a stage, but Peter J. Smith finds little wit in Stephen Unwin's latest production

Did Satan, the arch-villain, possess a 13-year-old boy, asks Gary Day, on the tale inspiring The Exorcist

David Walsh, the multimillionaire gambler turned cultural patron, has dug deep for art - literally. Peter Hill descends into the heart of the Museum of Old and New Art in Tasmania

It may be hard to sympathise, but even high-flyers hurt when they hit the ground, Duncan Wu learns

The e-reader cannot surpass the pleasures of the page, says Gary Day, where everything is illuminated

Duncan Wu finds a CIA thriller based on real events in Bush's White House more compelling than fiction

Gary Day worries that the increasing presence of China in Africa might be history repeating itself

A climate-change play at the National fails to either inform or entertain Graham Farmelo despite the cast’s commitment

The film of Barney's Version is bringing the satiric worldview of Canada's literary lion to a new audience, writes Norman Ravvin

Duncan Wu appreciates the Coens' distinctive take on the traditional pleasures of a classic western

Axeing our libraries is lunacy, says Gary Day, who asserts that without the Moon we might not be here

Uta Kornmeier muses on the unexpected unearthing in Berlin of some remarkable survivors of Nazi cultural vandalism

Duncan Wu is impressed by an intelligent, complex murder story that has been poorly received in the US

Gary Day winces at an encounter between Sir Paul Nurse and James Delingpole, where rationality loses

Every marriage is different

A tumultuous exhibition places debates about sculpture's position and possibilities in sharp relief, finds Alex Danchev

Philip Dodd finds Javier Bardem the pivotal centre of a film about our inescapable mortality

Was Hattie Jacques' passion for her driver simply a response to her own self-loathing, asks Gary Day

Malcolm Gillies analyses the rapid rise of James Rhodes, and asks how much is hype and how much is talent

Mordecai Richler is well served by a wry and affecting adaptation of his final novel, Duncan Wu says

Gary Day is startled by an art critic's approach to the work, life and loves of John Constable

Religious diversity in the US is more a force for tolerance than for discord, argues scholar Robert Putnam. Jon Marcus reports

Duncan Wu stares longingly towards the emergency exit during Clint Eastwood's supernatural stinker

Gary Day on the plight of young people in Britain today, protecting the consumer and finding love

Adult puppetry to an aerial exploration of the female condition