Latest news with #DavidJonsson
Scotsman
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Edinburgh Fringe theatre reviews: Paldem Punch, Drunk, Brain Damage
Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Paldem ★★★★ Summerhall (Venue 26) until 25 August The actor and writer David Jonsson is a rising star of British theatre, film and television; and his play Paldem, at Summerhall, is a brave and complex one-hour drama about an interracial relationship cracking and straining under the pressures of a society still reluctant to confront the realities of racism, and now further confused and corrupted by the impact of online pornography and dating culture. Paldem | greyarea Megan and Kevin - powerfully played by Tash Cowley and Michael Workeye - are friends who once had a brief relationship. She is white, he is black; and when they accidentally record themselves in a boozy sex-with-the-ex session after attending a wedding together, Megan can't help noticing how good they look on camera, and how much potential those images might have on an internet hungry for interracial porn. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad In no time, the two build up a huge following on their chosen paid-for social network; we even get to meet one of the couples who come to their flat, all the way from France and Germany, to join them in one of their sessions. What's missing, though - in their edgy conversations, riddled with fashionable Gen Z street-speak - is any real acknowledgment of, or language for, the special quality of the bond between them. He speaks, once, of the strength of his feeling for her, his love for her body; she avoids the subject, and takes up with a wealthy white boyfriend she met at the fateful wedding party. The story, in other words, doesn't end well. And what it leaves behind is an aching sense of loss; as if, for a whole generation, the culture surrounding sex has become so loveless, so transactional, so bereft of magic and corrupted by the pornographic gaze, that it's almost impossible for them to treat their own bodies with any respect, never mind anyone else's, or to avoid reinforcing old patterns of exploitation, in a world without moral limits. And although Jonsson's bleak vision can't and doesn't tell the whole story of 21st century sex, it has enough force, in Zi Alikhan's powerful production, to haunt the mind, long after the play is over. Joyce McMillan Punch, Drunk, Brain Damage ★★★★ Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Laughing Horse @ The Raging Bull (Venue 332) until 24 August In the basement of a New Town pub, at the Free Fringe, Yekwang Robert Jung's rattling storytelling mimics his early life, having left Korea at the age of four, growing up in England, Turkey and Germany. But this show isn't about that; it's about what happens when, aged 23 and back in Korea, he's speeding down a freeway on his motorbike and wakes up in hospital before finding out in the most unideal circumstances that he has a rare, almost-certainly terminal brain tumour with only a 5% chance of survival if he has a nine-hour operation. Through an open and observational narration, he immerses us in the alien world of a Korean medical institution, where the only bed available costs £500 a night and the second-best doctor in the country is also not exactly known for his bedside manner. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Now 36, Robert looks back sagely on the horrors of that time and calmly conveys the significant effects it's had on his mental health, eloquently describing his struggles with alcohol and his increasingly unregulated emotions, which leave scars on his mental health that far outlast the fifty stitches in his head. From being high on morphine, floating outside of his body, to turning back to his former life of partying, to creating this idiosyncratic show, he captures not only the psychedelic strangeness of his experience but also, what's talked about less, the psychological effects of going through such a huge operation and facing his mortality. Based an autobiography that he's writing, it deliberately breaks down the boundaries between show and chat and, tonight, for the first time, includes a rap. It's the format of a work-in-process but turned into something more theatrical. Finally, at the end he focuses on what he wants to do, rather than what happened to him in the past: be an actor. And so here he is now. It's as simple and as complicated as that. Sally Stott Big Little Sister ★★★ ZOO Playground (Venue 186) until 24 August Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Big Little Sister examines Holly Gifford's relationship with her older brother, Patrick, who has severe learning disabilities. Using the concept of the Glass Child (a child whose needs and emotions are overlooked due to an overwhelming focus on a sibling experiencing challenges such as chronic illness or disability), the narrative is refracted through the prism of Gifford's memories, showing her unique perspective. Guided by the voice of Patrick's communication aid, Gifford moves from 1999 to the present day. Visual aids and animations are used throughout, creating a narrative that is layered, textured, and affecting. She provides insight into the state of the current social care sector in the UK – particularly, its embedded biases and stereotypes – and dramatizes encounters with social workers and strangers that are informed by her family's experience. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Patrick's aid poses a randomised Q&A to Gifford, asking her to consider her future role in the life of her brother, and crucially, how this aligns or diverges from what she wants for herself. It is a powerful moment that could perhaps be used as a frame to hold, witness, and honour the varying narrative and technical strands that occur in this play, which at present risk overwhelming one another. Josephine Balfour-Oatts 16 Summers ★★★ theSpace on the Mile (Venue 39) until 22 August When actor and writer Ayindé Howell was young, his late father wanted to teach him lessons about vision, faith and patience. Yet all the young lad wanted to do over the summer of 1992, the era of Rodney King and crack cocaine in Los Angeles, was masturbate as much as he could, something his dad called 'messin' around with the black dot'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Howell (who goes by just Ayindé professionally) never did figure out what that meant. This is the first of Ayindé's many very frank and amusing vignettes about growing up and discovering his own masculinity, particularly as a black man, which coalesce and callback together into a thoughtful and very relevant new solo play. When he eventually moved to New York in 2007 to fulfil his dreams of becoming the new Pharrell Williams, he says he was 'manifesting like a motherfucker', but an encounter with a famous, unnamed film director who wouldn't employ him put paid to that. Acting gigs have followed, but this work is more of a collision of spoken word, beat poetry and rap than straight narrative performance. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Through powerful pieces about the Iraq War, the deployment of the 'N' word and his own loss and grief, however, Ayindé's warmth and honesty shepherds a compelling thread together about what it means to be a man. David Pollock Growing Pains ★★ Paradise in the Vault (Venue 29) until 24 August There's certainly hints of promise in this comedy-drama by Fionnuala Donnelly, but it's buried in a baggy structure and an unnecessarily long running time of nearly 90 minutes. Tessa (Donnelly) is a failed playwright now teaching a GCSE drama class, who supports her useless boyfriend — another aspiring writer. Donnelly is fine — though given to throwing away some serviceable jokes by rattling through her dialogue. She would be better advised to trim her own script as — while the classroom scenes are well-handled and her pupils are engaging — most of the domestic moments with her partner could be profitably excised. Rory Ford A Gerry Christmas Carroll ★★ Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Just the Tonic at The Mash House (Venue 288) until 24 August It really does come earlier every year. Don't be misled by the pun in the title, this is a straightforward retelling of Dickens' A Christmas Carol by venerable Fringe veteran Gerry Carroll. Undoubtedly, Carroll's name suggested the show but there's evident affection here for the tale and — apart from a couple of gentle asides — there's nothing added to the story. Although hardly a particularly compelling storyteller, Carroll seems a personable — if eccentric — sort and while this is unlikely to fill you with the Christmas spirit in August it does at least demonstrate an admirable simplicity. Rory Ford
Forbes
05-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
‘Alien: Earth' Is The Best-Reviewed ‘Alien' Entry In 40 Years
Well, I wrote this article last year, but as it turns out, we have a new contender for the best Alien franchise installment since 1986. That would be Noah Hawley's Alien: Earth show. Incidentally, the only actual TV show made in the Alien series, alongside nine total movies. As it stands, Alien: Earth is the third best-reviewed Alien piece of media, behind only 1986's Aliens and 1979's Alien. Here's how the new list breaks down with Alien: Earth's Certified Fresh 90% critic score: Of note, before Alien: Earth, the last Alien movie, Alien: Romulus, reviewed quite well in 2024, the Cailee Spaeny /Isabella Merced feature that mainly featured a truly standout performance from David Jonsson as a synth. This is the first TV show attempt for the franchise, and it will air on Hulu on August 12. Noah Hawley, you may recall, is the mind behind other FX/Hulu projects Legion and Fargo, both rather iconic in their own ways. Now, given a storied franchise, it appears he's done great work here. A sampling of reviews: I don't know how much more praise you can get, and this is definitely more than we saw for Alien: Romulus, despite its reviews. There has been a recent surge in interested in the combined Alien and Predator franchises. Predator just got an amazing animated Hulu film, Killer of Killers, and is about to get a new movie, Predator: Badlands, which will star Elle Fanning as a Weyland-Yutani android and is out this November. Yes, Alien's Weyland-Yutani. Is this all leading up to more Alien vs. Predator? If so, hopefully it can improve its quality by about 500%. Here's the synopsis of Alien: Earth if you're curious where things are going this time: It feels like these series are now both being taken more seriously than they've been in the past with thoughtful projects that don't come off as cash-ins. I believe that Alien: Earth will do well on Hulu, and I don't want to wait a week to watch it. Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
The Guardian
03-08-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Paldem review – Industry's David Jonsson brings the sexual tension in OnlyFans drama
Kevin and Megan are friends who reap the benefits when a one-night stand is accidentally caught on camera. It captures them at it and she (Natasha Cowley) likes the outcome. 'We're hot,' she says to him (Michael Workeye), watching back the footage. So their pornographic OnlyFans account is born, providing homemade sex videos and an income stream. Written by David Jonsson, an actor and Bafta Rising Star who has appeared in Industry and Rye Lane, this debut is one of the most anticipated offerings of the fringe. Directed by Zi Alikhan, who has also worked on Industry, it is an adventurous setup but its central sexual drama does not quite come off. Part of the problem is that it is handled too gingerly rather than fully penetrated, as it were. So it is too restrained, its drama and ideas not fully realised. The dialogue is vibrant but unnatural as the couple repartee in witty one-liners. There are growing tensions in their relationship but you do not access its emotional complexity – need, desire, resentment, maybe even love. There is not enough context either and too much is left unspoken: Kevin is a photographer but beyond that we learn little about him, and even less about Megan. The OnlyFans storyline in itself has potential but goes nowhere. The set looks like a living room cum photographic studio, with a screen on which videoed images are projected. There is a strange kind of sterility when the sex scenes are enacted. It is maybe an encapsulation of the awkwardness of homemade pornography. Still, we are told that this couple has great sex yet there are few fireworks between them. Things become more amusing when another couple joins the fray but this also flips the tone into satire, so it seems. There are a few other illuminating glimmers: Kevin says he enjoys watching Megan watching him enjoying himself on screen ('circles of desire'). It is a good observation. But not enough is carried through. Racial tensions between the couple come flooding in at the end, too late and truncated. There is great potential here nonetheless. If this play could find a better focus, it might just have something. At Summerhall, Edinburgh, until 25 August All our Edinburgh festival reviews
Scotsman
26-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Alien star David Jonsson on bringing his debut play Paldem to the Fringe: 'Theatre is everything'
One of Britain's brightest young film stars tells David Pollock why he's bringing his debut play to the Edinburgh Fringe Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... 'I've been using this term, and I kind of wish I'd never said it, but I'm saying it now,' explains David Jonsson. 'This is an anti-romantic comedy. It's one hundred percent meant to be funny, and there's definitely a great element of romance in there, but the anti part comes from all the bits that are knotty and taboo. I guess people will be confused by that description, but you have to come and see it to get it.' David Jonsson in rehearsals for his debut play, Paldem, ahead of its premiere at the 2025 Edinburgh Fringe. | Contributed As an actor, 31-year-old Londoner Jonsson is one of the hottest young talents in Britain at the moment – from his breakout role as hotshot financier Gus Sackey in the first two series of the BBC/HBO banking drama Industry, to recent film roles in Rye Lane and Alien: Romulus – and he has the BAFTA Rising Star Award to prove it. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe has already played a part in his story, and this year he's returning with Paldem, his full-length playwriting debut. It's a grown-up comedy about sex, friendship and modern online life. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'I did a National Youth Theatre show called Pidgeon English a very long time ago in Edinburgh, just before I went to drama school,' remembers Jonsson, referring to an adaptation of Stephen Kelman's novel - 'a very long time ago' means 2013, emphasising his youth. 'It was my first show, I was 18 at the time and I got my agent from there. It was absolutely the making of me, I've got a real special place for Edinburgh because of that. There's no place like it.' Jonsson verbally kicks himself here, noting this all happened in the same year and at the same venue that Fleabag premiered. Offered the chance to see it for free, he decided he wasn't a big fan of one-person plays and politely declined: 'And it ended up becoming f***ing Fleabag! That's why Edinburgh's an electric place, you never know if the next thing you see is the next big thing. I love it, I still come up frequently to visit and have a drink with mates.' Jonsson says he's 'always been writing. I've been waiting for the right time to express myself, but sometimes it's out of your reach, isn't it? It's like the chicken and the egg, you need one thing (acting success) for the other (interest in his writing) to happen. I've always felt an affinity to telling stories I know to be true or that say something about the world, but timing is everything and now feels like the right time for this one.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Which brings us onto Paldem, a play which Jonsson doesn't actually summarise. 'I can't put it into a blurb, I'm sorry,' he smiles, but he says the gist I've picked up from press releases is correct. It's about two old friends, Kevin and Megan, who find themselves in an unexpected one-night stand which is inadvertently caught on camera, leading them to consider the world of amateur online porn. According to the blurb, it 'crosses the murky lines of interracial dating, fetishisms and hook-ups in the digital age'. 'Essentially it's a play about relationships, and how do we love the people that we love?' says Jonsson. 'I've always been really interested in people, in when we get it right, when we get it wrong and how we navigate someone in their whole entire self, as opposed to what we think is them. It's a tricky thing, especially today, where I think we have the most empathy we've ever had, yet we can put our foot in it quite a bit. This play is funny and silly and a bit offbeat, and you probably shouldn't be laughing, but you do. Then underneath it all you have something that feels extremely raw, that's what I'm really interested in.' Jonsson is on a Zoom link from a rehearsal room near London Bridge, on a break from first day's rehearsal. He's flanked by the play's actors Tash Cowley and Michael Workeye and its director Zi Alikhan, who he worked with on Industry, and although he's the star name attached, there's a real sense of collaboration in the air as the quartet figure the play out. 'If somebody's looking at Kevin and Megan's value system from a generation above, they'll be like, 'I do not understand the way they make decisions',' says Workeye, who met Jonsson at an audition for an as-yet-unreleased short film directed by the latter. 'But what's interesting is, we're of that generation and even as the actor I'm going, 'I don't understand these decisions!' There's something about these two people that teeters on the edge of amorality, and this process for me is about understanding their communicative style and how much easier it is for them to lead with their bodies than their words.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'There are really interesting moments between them, where they move from emotional intimacy to physical intimacy and back again,' says Cowley, who met Jonsson in drama school. 'These people live in each other's pockets, but you question how much they really see and hear each other. They're best friends, but it always feels that there's something teetering on the edge. They both end up in a very different place to where they started, and that's fundamental with friendships, with any relationships – you either grow together through the movement of your life, or you grow apart.' 'I keep thinking about the difference between shock and taboo,' says Alikhan. 'When we see something with shock value, the experience feels so far away. You think, 'oh, I would never do that, that would never happen to me'. What's titillating about something taboo is it's about what we don't want people to see that we do, and what makes this play special is, it really penetrates everybody. It's about our sexuality, our identity, everything, and it manages to really make you feel a delightful discomfort, then to get on the other side of that and have new ideas about it.' The ingredients are all there for a Fringe hit, not least the sheer enthusiasm and engagement from all involved. Yet in the nicest possible way, I wonder, why is Jonsson doing this now and what does he want from it, just as his acting career is beginning to explode? 'I'll do my best to answer that, because I guess I'm still figuring it out,' he smiles. 'I think about Gary Oldman, who I love and idolise, having an amazing screen career and then making Nil By Mouth because he just had to. It was something he had to say about the world at the time, and maybe there's an echo of that here. Theatre is everything to me, the Fringe was literally one of my first experiences of finding community, and you have to be able to pull back into that, but only if you've got something worthwhile to say. I'd like to think maybe I do. We'll see.'
Vogue
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Vogue
Why Sydney Sweeney's 2025 Met Gala Look Paid Homage to Kim Novak
Sydney Sweeney seems to have a particular penchant for biopics. Her film chronicling the life of boxing champion Christy Martin was announced last year, and we've seen the actor in various stages of intense training for the role. Then, in October, another exciting project profiling a just as fascinating life was revealed, a biopic based on the life of actress Kim Novak and directed by Colman Domingo. Titled Scandalous, the film will focus on the classic American screen star's romance with '50s singer and Rat Pack legend Sammy David Jr, to be played by Industry actor David Jonsson. It will be marked as Met Gala 2025 co-chair Domingo's directorial debut. Giving us something of a preview to her role and the glamorous, era-appropriate fashions the film will exult, Sydney Sweeney appeared at the Met Gala 2025 in a shimmering black Miu Miu gown that paid homage to Kim Novak. The dress, which features an elegant circular neckline and brooch detail, is a direct reference to what Novak wore in Robert Aldrich's 1967 film The Demon of Women. Even back then, the look Novak wore was a reflection og the sparkly dress and brooch look that one Joan Crawford had worn in the film The Bride Wore Red (1937). According to Variety, Domingo hopes to shoot his new project this year, after Sweeney's completion of Euphoria season 3.
