Author: INDEPENDENT

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture emailGet the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Wicked star Cynthia Erivo raised eyebrows after initially using an autocue in her performance of Dracula on the West End – but she’s not letting the critics bring her down. Erivo plays 23 characters in the latest adaptation of Bram Stroker’s Dracula at London’s Noël Coward Theatre, tackling it as a one-woman show. However, her performance was overshadowed during early previews after audience members complained that she…

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsStock prices in London closed lower on Thursday as the FTSE 100 broke its winning streak amid a sharp fall for British Gas owner Centrica, though oil majors climbed as Brent surged on uncertainty in Iran.The FTSE 100 index closed down 59.14 points, or 0.6%, at 10,627.04, the FTSE 250 ended down 112.95 points, or 0.5%, at 23,573.49, and the AIM all-share closed down 0.60 points, or 0.1%,…

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsYounger workers are driving jobs growth within the construction and trade industry, as Gen Zs turn to blue-collar work amid rising youth unemployment and the looming threat of artificial intelligence (AI), new data suggests.Data from HR platform Employment Hero showed that the hiring of Gen Z workers significantly outpaced other generations last month.Employment for the age group – incorporating those born between 1997 and 2012 – increased by…

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture emailGet the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Fame and infamy are toxic bedfellows in this gripping psychodrama which explores a famous male actor’s cancellation in a sex scandal, and the subsequent fallout for his family. Spanish Oranges, the debut play by Alba Arikha, the novelist and goddaughter of Samuel Beckett, explores how decent women suffer and perpetuate bad relationships with astonishing patience until the truth is so bad that they snap. Fiona, a novelist…

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsThe John Lewis Partnership has announced a significant 6.9 per cent pay increase for its shop workers, effective from 1 April. The employee-owned retail giant, encompassing John Lewis department stores and Waitrose supermarkets, confirmed the move represents a substantial £108 million investment in its staff.This latest rise outstrips the national minimum wage increase unveiled in last November’s autumn budget. Shop floor employees across both brands will see their…

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsA power firm has announced a multimillion-pound investment in the subsea cable network serving Scotland’s islands, in a move expected to create “thousands of high-quality green jobs”.SSEN Distribution is set to upgrade its network of 113 subsea electricity cables, which provide power to 60 islands, saying it will improve resilience and increasing capacity to meet growing demand.The work is set to support more than 450 specialised jobs each…

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsYouTube sensations The Sidemen have unveiled ambitious plans to expand their Sides fried chicken chain with 15 more restaurants this year.The brand said it plans to commit further to the UK after witnessing “incredible momentum” and open sites in new international markets.The YouTube collective consists of Olajide ‘JJ’ Olatunji (KSI), Harry Lewis (Wroetoshaw), Simon Minter (Miniminter), Vik Barn (Vikkstar123), Josh Bradley (Zerkaa), Ethan Payne (Behzinga) and Tobi Brown…

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture emailGet the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter At the end of CS Lewis’s classic Narnia series [spoiler alert], the children find out that they’ve died in the real world – and that the magical land they’ve been having such wonderful adventures in is actually a version of heaven, where they’ll live for ever. If you find that idea at all disconcerting or mawkish, then don’t dream of setting foot in the heavily moralistic, intensely…

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsThe gender pay gap in the UK is not projected to close for another three decades, according to a new analysis by the Trades Union Congress (TUC). At the current rate of progress, women will have to wait until 2056 for pay parity.The TUC’s findings reveal that the average woman effectively works for 47 days of the year without pay, only beginning to earn from today compared to…

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture emailGet the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter There’s plenty to chew on in the Royal Court’s new play The S***heads – not just raw elk meat and cannibalised brain matter. Though there’s a good amount of that too: for the paleolithic characters that populate Jack Nicholls’ thoughtful debut, acts of barbaric violence are just part of the prosaic everyday.The S***heads (censorship The Independent’s) transports us to the Stone Age, where we meet a three-person…