Richard D North

Today’s rioters have parents who failed them. So it’s worth looking at what was happening to inner city black and white 10 year olds, in the early and mid 1980s. They were the first fruit of a primary school system which decided to abandon the idea of traditional education. You may say that this did not matter much, since they were about to go into a secondary system which was hardly better. But the rot was in. More »

The reviewers mostly got this right, as to the production. But several missed the main point about the nature of Rattigan’s themes, and especially as we see them at work in this play. More »

This is a wonderful show, and Dominic Maxwell in The Times gets it more right, I think, than Michael Billington in the Guardian. But I would briefly add… More »

The accusations against Rupert Murdoch’s empire have always been numerous. But not all of them stack up. Here goes at unpicking a few.. More »

I’ve been booked for the BBC TV’s Sunday ethics and religion show, and here are some sketches of what I hope to say… More »

The House of Lords works pretty well and arguably most recent reforms have made it a little less good at its work. Making it an elected house might well scupper it. Here is a very brief account of the reforms we need, and those we don’t… More »

John Lloyd (who is one of my moral compasses) writes in his FT TV review (18/19 June 2011) that the BBC’s great prides are “enlightenment values and devotion to impartiality”. But, as he defines them, are these compatible? More »

You expect Tom McCarthy to be marvellous: The Station Agent and The Visitor set a high bar. But this new one can more than hold its own: it has a morally complex story, a real development, lovely acting from everyone. It’s a feel-good piece, but has no hint of vulgarity about it. Apropos the performances, it’s a decent game to work out which one would rate the highest. The lawyer-hero is obviously in with a chance, but his wife may sneak ahead with a masterly understatement. Watch out for the troubled affluent idler: reminiscent of the Ted Danson role in the TV show, Bored to Death. The film has notes of Juno but it will stand well against all those great sports movies as well.

I was ho-hum about The Illusionist and an absolute sucker for Waltz With Bashir. So I was bound to be curious about My Dog Tulip. My first tiny beef is that (like The Illusionist, if I recall) this period piece couldn’t be bothered to get the London taxis half-way right. And I wasn’t at all sure about the accuracy of Ackerley’s Putney flat either. Such things are not small beer, and can mar good work…. More »