David Lister

A founder member of The Independent David Lister joined the paper in 1986 as Assistant Home Editor. He became the paper's arts correspondent in 1988 and is now Arts Editor and writes a column each Saturday. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

David Lister: They should put the Bard on the box

Political leaders tend not to speak about the arts. I'm not sure why. Perhaps they fear it looks a little "soft" or peripheral to the "big issues". Whatever the reason, they certainly give the subject a wide berth. We've been bombarded with Barack Obama's collected speeches and philosophy, but I defy anyone to give me chapter and verse on his cultural policy. I'm not sure that I know where Gordon Brown stands on cultural issues either.

Recently by David Lister

David Lister: Stardom is waiting in the wings

Saturday, 22 November 2008

The most heartwarming arts story of the week was the case of the man who phoned up the Welsh National Opera for a ticket and ended up singing the star role. "You're a tenor aren't you?" said the bloke at the box office, vaguely remembering the name of the ticket buyer, who was a music student in his spare time. "I don't suppose you're free tonight? We've got a bit of a problem..."

David Lister: Who cares about yesterday's men?

Saturday, 15 November 2008

Journalists never fare very well with David Hare. The playwright once wrote that "The Independent is staffed by fools who know nothing about art". That was this paper consigned to the cultural dustbin. And in his latest play, the profession as a whole gets short shrift. The token journalist is, as our critic put it, a "slimeball" who sleeps with the home secretary's daughter, when she is only 16.

David Lister: Could O2 stop spoiling my rock gigs?

Saturday, 8 November 2008

I have a bleak vision of becoming the man in the Bateman cartoon next time I go to a rock concert. I'll be ostracised, unable to get a drink, fighting for even the cheapest ticket, and everyone pointing at me in horrified amazement. And all because I do not subscribe to the O2 mobile phone network.

David Lister: Put a stop to this booking fee rip-off

Saturday, 1 November 2008

When the new home in Manchester for Royal Opera House productions was announced this week, there was one aspect that not a single reporter or commentator mentioned. And I'm quite sure that the two guiding spirits behind the scheme, ROH chief executive Tony Hall and Culture Secretary Andy Burnham, never once mentioned it. It is the old saw of booking fees.

David Lister: The Lowry Centre is right to be worried

Tuesday, 28 October 2008

To understand the new "Opera House of the North", look to the arts world's most important northerner. The present Secretary of State for Culture, Andy Burnham, has told me that he believes his own department is too "London-centric", that the arts world can be "patronising to the provinces" and that our national institutions, not least the Royal Opera House, need to start showing their wares outside of the capital.

David Lister: A kiss is just a kiss – even for starlets

Saturday, 25 October 2008

The best story I heard this week was told by Penelope Cruz at the London Film Festival premiere of Woody Allen's latest, Vicky Cristina Barcelona. In the movie, Cruz and Scarlett Johansson share a kiss.

David Lister: Nice festival. Shame about the city

Saturday, 18 October 2008

The London Film Festival started well this week. Frost/Nixon was a first-rate film to open with, showcasing as it does one of our finest actors, Michael Sheen. The gala opening in Leicester Square was followed by a suitably glamorous party in the ballroom of the Hilton Hotel. It was only when I stepped out of the Hilton to go home that I felt something wasn't quite right.

David Lister: Sorry, but comedy can be offensive

Saturday, 11 October 2008

Harry Enfield is in a spot of bother with the government of the Philippines over a sketch in his Harry and Paul show. In that sketch, Harry tried to mate his pet Geordie, played by Paul Whitehouse, with a Filipina maid.

David Lister: The Mobos are past their sell-by date

Saturday, 4 October 2008

Awards ceremonies come and go in the arts, pretty much on a weekly basis. But none can rank with the Mobos. What other awards can manage to be both ludicrous and dangerously divisive at the same time?

David Lister: The stage is set for new audiences

Saturday, 27 September 2008

The other day I stood in the ladies' lavatory of a West End theatre with Sir Cameron Mackintosh, and admired his handiwork. Sir Cameron has been lovingly restoring the theatres he owns, the most recent being the Wyndham's, and increasing the number of ladies' loos has been a priority. He has also smartened them up. I will be demanding equal rights for the Gents.

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