Monks from China’s Shaolin Temple stand perched on tall wooden boxes. Swaying from side to side, they rock the crates until they fall, leaping free at the last moment. Famous for their warrior skills, in Sutra the monks are both movers and pieces in a puzzle, setting up patterns or standing inside the boxes as they fall like dominoes.

i Newspaper
 
TheIPaper
The Independent around the web
E-break Time
Independent Crossword

Observations: I made a tree because Beckett means a lot to me

In a place by a road, undifferentiated, save for a Tree. How could I not accept this invitation to make a place identified by a Tree, especially for a production of Waiting for Godot destined to be staged on the Nullarbor Plain of Western Australia?

In the spotlight: a selection of products from the Louis Vuitton Yayoi Kusama collection

Louis Vuitton and Kusama: Spot The Difference

Louis Vuitton's dotty collaboration with Yayoi Kusama combines the best of both the luxury brand and the eccentric artist

Paul Vallely: Big trouble hits British asparagus

Cooks must make do with... foreign brands
Kissing policemen by Banksy

Turner, Bacon, Freud, Constable? No, Britain is Banksy country

A thousand artists were asked to name the work best expressing national identity. Their choice was surprising

Crisis Commission exhibition at Somerset House

The Crisis Commission exhibition sees some of the most celebrated artists unite to bring major new works to Somerset House.

The cast of Geordie Shore

The boat comes in for Geordie Shore as tourism booms

Despite fears that the North-east series was a freak show, hotels are busy and the diary is full

Up on the roof: Stephen Bayley

Le Roi des Belges: Set sail for the Southbank

A boat-shaped holiday let on the roof of the Queen Elizabeth Hall is a bold addition to London's landmarks, says Stephen Bayley.

Survivor, Barbican Theatre

We all know what a Gormley looks like: gazing straight ahead with his arms limp by his sides, he’s been placed by his creator on bleak seashores, on the roofs of high buildings, and anywhere else you’d least expect to find him, so it was no surprise to be confronted by the back view of a Gormley who remained motionless at the front of the Barbican stage for so long that one was driven out of boredom to read the programme.

Ed Vaizey's championing of new art isn't matched by funding

Ed Vaizey, the Minister for Culture, Communi-cations and Creative Industries, has a conscience. He apologised at the private view of hundreds of artworks generated by youngsters involved in the National Art and Design Saturday Clubs for the lack of government cash for artists manque. The show at London's Somerset House eventually attracted 3,300 visitors – he even arranged an intern stint at the DCMS for one of the young artists.

A whole new ball game: NBA star buys himself a stake in Liverpool

One of the largest and most controversial stars in American sport is coming to Anfield – and it's bad news for whoever is sitting behind him.

A Serpentine Gesture and Other Prophecies

An exhibition of contemporary art featuring the work of Werner Herzog and Antony Gormley opens at a gallery in Metz, France later this month.

Errors & Omissions: The battle against 'iconic' continues, as does the defence of Gateshead

Evidently, this column needs to reopen its campaign against the empty vogue-word "iconic". Here is the opening sentence of an article about large-scale works of public art, published on Wednesday: "It started with The Angel of the North, Antony Gormley's iconic steel sculpture which looms over the A1 and put Gateshead on the map for the right reason."

Career Services

Day In a Page

Independent Travel Shop See all offers »
India and Shimla
14 nights from only £1899pp Find out more
Prague city break
Three nights from £199pp Find out more
4* Soreda hotel break, Malta
Seven nights all-inclusive from £399pp Find out more
California and the golden west
14 nights from £1,499pp Find out more
Venice city break
Two nights from only £199pp - third night free on selected dates Find out more
Blu St Lucia, St Lucia, Caribbean
Up to 42% off
OFFER ENDS 26 MAY Find out more
Hotel Savoy, Rome, Italy
Up to 61% off
OFFER ENDS 26 MAY Find out more
Spa day at Nutfield Priory Hotel, Redhill, Surrey
Up to 30% off
OFFER ENDS 26 MAY Find out more
National archives: Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them

Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them

Newly unearthed papers reveal a shocking extra dimension to the constitutional crisis over monarch’s abdication
Sent down at the Old Bailey: A tour of the world's most famous court

Sent down at the Old Bailey

A tour of the world's most famous court
Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness

Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness

The Hangover actor Zach Galifianakis’s date for his movie premieres isn’t arm candy  – it’s his 87-year-old friend who he saved from homelessness
British football scores an own goal

British football scores an own goal

Many managers barely survive a year in post. Martin Baker talks to experts who make a case for clubs using forensic business skills to find the best staff
James Lawton: Sergio Garcia cracks as major fault line opens up again

James Lawton

Sergio Garcia cracks as major fault line opens up again
Dylan Hartley: Northampton have spent the season proving all our critics wrong

Dylan Hartley talks tough

Northampton have spent the season proving all our critics wrong
Watch out Watford: Here comes the secretive Bilderberg Group

Watch out Watford: Here comes the secretive Bilderberg Group

A meeting of global power brokers in a Hertfordshire hotel is exciting conspiracy theorists, but what are they really about?
'The ultimate all-in-one home entertainment system': Microsoft finally unveils its Xbox ONE console

'The ultimate all-in-one home entertainment system'

Microsoft finally unveils its Xbox ONE console
Plenty of Fish dating site founder pulls 'Intimate Encounters' option to ward off sleazy men

Plenty of sleaze

Dating website pulls intimate 'hook-up' section to curb harassment
Inferno author Dan Brown 'honoured' to be invited to join the Freemasons

The Freemasons’ Code

Dan Brown reveals the message that told him door to the lodge is open
Not secure any more: G4S boss heads for exit at last

Not secure any more: G4S boss heads for exit at last

Nick Buckles survived the Olympics débâcle and a £5bn bid fiasco but a profit warning finally triggered his downfall
How to say ‘I’m a sellout’: Tumblr’s David Karp’s message of reassurance to his staff sounded very familiar

How to say ‘I’m a sellout’

Tumblr’s David Karp’s message of reassurance to his staff sounded very familiar
Why clubs are keen to take a stand

Why clubs are keen to take a stand

There's a real desire around the grounds for safe standing. But will the authorities listen?
In the end the fans decided Tony Pulis had made a pig's ear of the job at Stoke City

In the end the fans decided Tony Pulis had made a pig's ear of the job at Stoke City

Disillusion with a siege mentality and negative playing style made change inevitable
James Lawton: The James Hunt I knew is the subject of a new F1 movie

James Lawton: The James Hunt I knew is the subject of a new F1 movie

British driver was fascinating man whose epic duel with Niki Lauda in 1976 was typical of an era of glamour and glory – but also the ever-present threat of death