Further to Marcus Williamson's interesting obituary on Vidal Sassoon (11 May), he glosses over perhaps the most important element of how he first got a job in a hairdressing salon, writes Michael S Fishberg.

The brother of a former EastEnders actress was remanded in custody at the Old Bailey today accused of her murder.

The brother of a former EastEnders actress whose headless body was found dumped in a canal has been charged with her murder.

Theatre: I went to see the ENO's 'Tales of Hoffmann'. There's some great singing from everyone. The production was very entertaining and a bit wacky in places, which appeals to me. It's quite a long opera, but Richard Jones's production didn't feel like it. I sat in the dress circle for the very first time – I usually sit in the stalls – and enjoyed champagne in the intervals. I think this production would also appeal to newcomers to opera. It was a worthwhile night out, and nice to be on the other side of the curtain.

Victorian gothic, without the gymnastics

Beyond the overbearing and clunking blockbusters, the year's best shows were far-flung, small and perfectly formed

Sixty people were arrested after far-right demonstrators clashed with police at protests in the capital.

Initially released three years ago, Sea Sew, the debut LP from the Irish indie-folk singer Lisa Hannigan, picked up plaudits, fans and a Mercury Music Prize nomination. Now she returns with the follow-up record, Passenger, to be released on 10 October.

Where have Thomas Struth's 4m-tall, gargantuan-format series been hiding all these years?

The photography of Paul Graham charts all walks of life, from recession-hit Britain to the streets of Tokyo.

Though two million pay homage to this fissured symbol every year, the Liberty Bell is little known in this country. If we know it at all, we tend to claim that it was "cast in Whitechapel".

'Whitechapel' has been commissioned for a new six-part series.

A long overdue retrospective of John Stezaker’s unsettling collages of found images and vintage postcards is a bewitching hit, says Laura McLean-Ferris

Take some old film portraits, cut, and paste together. Hey presto, you've got a cute Hollywood in-joke – and one of the saddest and cleverest shows in town