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The Guardian
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Bring the House Down by Charlotte Runcie review – the joy of the hatchet job
When Jesus is pressed to condemn the woman taken in adultery, he says, 'He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.' No one does, and a lesson in critical generosity is learned. Judge not, that ye be not judged. Is giving an artist a one-star review an act of abuse – casting the first stone? Is it worse when the reviewer is male and the artist female? That's the starting point of this entertaining and very timely debut novel from Charlotte Runcie, an arts journalist who, as a young intern, was lambasted on stage by a successful standup to whom she'd given a bad review. Alex Lyons, chief theatre critic for a national newspaper, is known for his hatchet jobs. It's the Edinburgh fringe, and he's sitting through a one-woman standup show. 'The solo performance artist, Hayley Sinclair, had a lot to say about the climate emergency, the patriarchy, and the looming end of the world, which was fair enough, but unfortunately her show was so terrible that, by half an hour in, Alex had decided that he actually wanted the world to end as soon as possible.' Instead, immediately after bashing out his one-star review, he goes to a bar, encounters an emotionally exhausted post-show Hayley, and invites her back to the flat he is sharing with another journalist, Sophie Ridgen. It is only the next morning that Hayley, after spending the night with Alex, reads the eviscerating, career-ending words he has written about her: 'a dull, hectoring frump, like one of those 1950s cartoons of housewives beating their husbands with a rolling pin'. Alex blithely walks in from his morning shower to find Hayley with his brickbat in her hands. It is a delightfully excruciating scene, setting in motion one of the most enjoyable novels I've read in a long time. Although as a male reviewer of a female artist, for a national newspaper, who by chance read much of the book on the train south from Edinburgh, I experienced moments of very meta-terror and mischief. Wouldn't the most fun review to write, but even more to read, be an absolute slating? Wasn't I, too, being tempted to cast the first stone? Luckily, Runcie's verbal wit, narrative chops and emotional subtlety rendered that impossible. Alongside a fringe festival retelling of the history of the #MeToo movement, we also get a will-they-won't-they plot and an inside account of so-Alex-has-been-publicly-shamed. Because, in reaction to her awful one-star review, and the one-night stand, Hayley transforms her one-woman show into 'The Alex Lyons Experience' – a one-star review of Alex's entire life and an immediate star-making media sensation. She retells the story of her encounter with Alex, then opens the stage for other women to share the appalling things Alex or other Alex-like men have done to them. And as clips from the show go viral, resonating far beyond a small function room below a pub and bringing forth similar stories from thousands of women, it starts to seem as though most men – all men? – are deserving of similar humiliation. And if not that, then a good digital stoning. As the Black Mirror episode Nosedive foretold, these days we are all but forced to participate in a culture of constantly rating one another. Midway through the novel, Sophie finds herself getting self-hatingly drunk at a festival party. There was an interactive customer feedback device propped up on the bar. Tell us what you think of our service, it said, and underneath there were two buttons you could press: an angry red face or a smiling green one. Excellent or worthless, nothing in between. Review your experience, share your thoughts, recommend us to your friends, swipe left, swipe right, leave a comment, have an opinion. Everyone's a critic. But shouldn't we be more forgiving? Like Jesus. When he was born, his father only gave him one star. Toby Litt is Head of Creative Writing at the University of Southampton. Bring the House Down by Charlotte Runcie is published by Borough (£16.99). To support the Guardian order your copy at Delivery charges may apply.
Daily Telegraph
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Telegraph
Sydney Roosters NRL star Angus Crichton lists $2.5 million blue chip home
Sydney Roosters star Angus Crichton has listed his blue chip property ahead of getting married next month and upsizing to a family home. The Roosters backrower and last year's State of Origin man of the series has a $2.5m auction guide for three-bedroom investment property on a 308 sqm block at 73 Onslow St, Rose Bay, which is with Raine and Horne Double Bay's Alex Lyons. It had cost $2.18m in 2018, records show, and he's been collecting $1,650 per week in rent. MORE: Publicans snap up rare $15m penthouse Chrichton, 29, is about to walk down the aisle with Chloe Esegbona, who he proposed to on the steps of Manchester's iconic Midland Hotel during an off-season break in the UK last December. 'Cannot wait to make you my wife,' Crichton told his 94,000 Instagram followers at the time. Esegbona's hen's party made an extended detour on Anzac Day to witness the Roosters big win over the Dragons at Allianz Stadium. The full-brick semi in Onslow St is expected to be popular, being at the end of a tree-lined cul-de-sac in a coveted Rose Bay address. RELATED: Inside the NRL's slickest homes On a single level, it features light and airy interiors with high ceilings and timber floors. The three bedrooms are all a good size with built-in wardrobes and there are two modern fully tiled bathrooms. The main bedroom has an ensuite. RELATED: James Tedesco's home smashes NRL records A streamlined stone kitchen is equipped with Smeg gas appliances, while the living and dining areas open to a side courtyard for entertaining and a child-friendly level backyard. There's a lock-up garage plus a car space. The property goes under the hammer in a month's time. MORE: Aussies' $3k loss could flip script on interest rate cut
News.com.au
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Sydney Roosters NRL star Angus Crichton lists $2.5 million blue chip home
Sydney Roosters star Angus Crichton has listed his blue chip property ahead of getting married next month and upsizing to a family home. The Roosters backrower and last year's State of Origin man of the series has a $2.5m auction guide for three-bedroom investment property on a 308 sqm block at 73 Onslow St, Rose Bay, which is with Raine and Horne Double Bay's Alex Lyons. It had cost $2.18m in 2018, records show, and he's been collecting $1,650 per week in rent. Publicans snap up rare $15m penthouse Chrichton, 29, is about to walk down the aisle with Chloe Esegbona, who he proposed to on the steps of Manchester's iconic Midland Hotel during an off-season break in the UK last December. 'Cannot wait to make you my wife,' Crichton told his 94,000 Instagram followers at the time. Esegbona's hen's party made an extended detour on Anzac Day to witness the Roosters big win over the Dragons at Allianz Stadium. The full-brick semi in Onslow St is expected to be popular, being at the end of a tree-lined cul-de-sac in a coveted Rose Bay address. On a single level, it features light and airy interiors with high ceilings and timber floors. The three bedrooms are all a good size with built-in wardrobes and there are two modern fully tiled bathrooms. The main bedroom has an ensuite. A streamlined stone kitchen is equipped with Smeg gas appliances, while the living and dining areas open to a side courtyard for entertaining and a child-friendly level backyard. There's a lock-up garage plus a car space. The property goes under the hammer in a month's time.
The Age
26-04-2025
- Business
- The Age
Sydney suburbs where houses cost $2 million-plus and are getting cheaper
Some of Sydney's ritziest suburbs have been hit by falls in house prices over the past year, affected by the triple whammy of NSW government rezoning, continued high interest rates and uncertainty in the global economy. Among the most affected has been exclusive Vaucluse in the eastern suburbs, where the median price slumped by 17.2 per cent in the year to March 2025 to settle at $7,322,500, according to the latest Domain House Price Report. Among suburbs with a $2 million-plus median house price, several recorded double-digit price falls. In Glebe in the inner west, house prices have dropped by 14.7 per cent to $2.38 million and Haberfield by 13.1 per cent to $2.7 million. On the northern beaches, Fairlight's median dropped 12 per cent to $3,125,000. 'I think a lot of people thought the government rezonings would never really happen, but they're now a reality,' said Alex Lyons of Raine & Horne Double Bay, who sells regularly in Vaucluse. 'Rose Bay is one of the nominated centres and it's going to change a lot, which obviously puts pressure on residents in Vaucluse too,' he said. 'They know that all the new development is going to mean more traffic and some of the new property could be more attractive than the older-style homes in Vaucluse that might need renovation at a time people are nervous about building costs. Then the uncertainty in the global economy is making people anxious about buying too.' The new zoning policy encourages the development of medium-density housing in nominated town centre and train station neighbourhoods, allowing terraces, townhouses and apartment buildings between two and six storeys.
Sydney Morning Herald
26-04-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Sydney suburbs where houses cost $2 million-plus and are getting cheaper
Some of Sydney's ritziest suburbs have been hit by falls in house prices over the past year, affected by the triple whammy of NSW government rezoning, continued high interest rates and uncertainty in the global economy. Among the most affected has been exclusive Vaucluse in the eastern suburbs, where the median price slumped by 17.2 per cent in the year to March 2025 to settle at $7,322,500, according to the latest Domain House Price Report. Among suburbs with a $2 million-plus median house price, several recorded double-digit price falls. In Glebe in the inner west, house prices have dropped by 14.7 per cent to $2.38 million and Haberfield by 13.1 per cent to $2.7 million. On the northern beaches, Fairlight's median dropped 12 per cent to $3,125,000. 'I think a lot of people thought the government rezonings would never really happen, but they're now a reality,' said Alex Lyons of Raine & Horne Double Bay, who sells regularly in Vaucluse. 'Rose Bay is one of the nominated centres and it's going to change a lot, which obviously puts pressure on residents in Vaucluse too,' he said. 'They know that all the new development is going to mean more traffic and some of the new property could be more attractive than the older-style homes in Vaucluse that might need renovation at a time people are nervous about building costs. Then the uncertainty in the global economy is making people anxious about buying too.' The new zoning policy encourages the development of medium-density housing in nominated town centre and train station neighbourhoods, allowing terraces, townhouses and apartment buildings between two and six storeys.
