Steven Soderbergh's new film 'too gay' for Hollywood; revolution in programmes at the Shed

Alice Jones' Arts Diary

Michael Douglas plays the pianist Liberace opposite Matt Damon in Steven Soderbergh's film Behind the Candelabra

In what may be the shortest retirement of all time, Steven Soderbergh is heading back to the cinema.

In January, the director declared that Side Effects (released last month in the UK) would be his last movie. “I won’t be directing ‘cinema,’ for lack of a better word.” he told New York Magazine. “The tyranny of narrative is beginning to frustrate me... I’m convinced there’s a new grammar out there.”

Now Behind the Candelabra, starring Michael Douglas as Liberace and Matt Damon as his lover, will open in UK cinemas on 14 June.

The film will premiere on HBO in the US, having been turned down by every Hollywood studio for being “too gay” , according to Soderbergh. So it’s not a film in the movie theatre sense, although thanks to a deal with Entertainment One, it will be treated as such in UK.

Will this one really be his last? “Apparently!” I’m told.

Programme revolution

The National Theatre Shed, a temporary replacement for the Cottesloe space on the South Bank, is starting a revolution – in programmes.

The slim, stylish pamphlet for its first show Table has a note from the venue director, a mini-essay by the playwright and a family tree of the characters plus photographs and biographies of the cast and crew. All for £1.

Makes those £5 West End glossies stuffed with adverts and ancient theatre history look even poorer value for money.

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