If you missed the shows choreographed by Akram Khan that toured France last year, there is another chance to catch Chotto Desh between now and December, in Paris, Enghein, Dijon, Lyons and Grenoble. Khan is a British-born Bangladeshi dancer and choreographer, whose work fuses classical Indian dance and stories with contemporary dance. His shows Until … Continue reading “Bangladeshi Dance Touring France”
The sixth edition of the This is England Festival will take place from 13-18 November. If you are in the Rouen area, sign your classes up now for screenings, and download the teaching packs for collège and lycée. Short films are a brilliant way to introduce British culture to language learners, as is an exhibition … Continue reading “This Is England Short Films Festival in Rouen”
The 2017 Man Booker Prize, the UK’s most prestigious literary award, has been awarded to a first novel by American short-story writer George Saunders for Lincoln in the Bardo. Saunders is a veteran author but up till now he has specialised in short stories – Time magazine declared him the best short-story writer alive today. … Continue reading “Experimental Novel about Abraham Lincoln Wins 2017 Booker Prize”
Worldwide, we send 6 billion emojis a day to accompany or replace text in messages. So it was only a matter of time till someone made a film in which emojis come to life. The Emoji Movie is based on the idea that each emoji can only have one facial expression and one tone. Smiler’s … Continue reading “Emoji Speak”
Many in the U.S. consider Thanksgiving the most American of holidays. The feast appeals to every religious and ethnic group, honours a turning point in American history, and encourages a spirit of good will. Plus, Thanksgiving offers one of the best meals of the year! In 1620, a group of 102 British people men, women … Continue reading “Thanksgiving”
On 13 October 1362 the English Parliament was opened for the first time in English rather than Latin or Norman French. Which is why The English Project charity promotes 13 October as English Language Day. Their aim is to celebrate English as a living, evolving language spoken as a first or second language by 2 … Continue reading “Happy English Language Day!”
As media headlines around the world once again proclaim a new record of horror in Las Vegas — the most deadly mass shooting in U.S. history — Gary Younge asks us to stop and consider the terribly banal everyday reality of guns in America. An average of seven children and teenagers is shot dead every … Continue reading “Gun Violence in the U.S.A.”
Twenty years after Mrs Brown, Judi Dench returns to cinema screens as Queen Victoria, in another true story of the Queen’s friendship with one of her servants: Abdul Karim. The story of the widow Victoria’s relationship with John Brown was well documented. He was the gamekeeper on her beloved Scottish Highland estate where she spent … Continue reading “Victoria and Abdul”
The 2017 Nobel Prize for Literature has been awarded to British-Japanese novelist Kazuo Ishiguro whose work includes The Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go. A more conventional choice than the 2016 winner, singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. Ishiguro, 62, was born in Nagasaki, Japan, but arrived in Britain at the age of five. His … Continue reading “Nobel Prize for Novelist Kazuo Ishiguro”
Until January 21st, 2018, the American Pop Art movement has taken up residence in the Musée Maillol in Paris. For the first time in France, you can see more than sixty works from the collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. This is a rare opportunity to discover key pieces of the … Continue reading “POP ART – Icons That Matter”