Dr Kate Maltby
@katemaltby.bsky.social
weekly at the i newspaper (news column) monthly at Prospect & at The Stage (on theatre) often at FT & Observer (books, culture) also Deputy Chair, Index on Censorship; Co-Chair, Critics' Circle (Drama); Senior Research Associate, Jesus College, Cambridge
Today’s column for @theipaper.com - on Charles’ speech, monarchy and dictatorship, with a dash of analysis of the 1689 Declaration of Rights.
The i Paper @theipaper.com · 3mo agoOpinion | "Charles was sent to Congress to signal that these transatlantic liberal frameworks may yet endure in America. Yet, it may be that the warning should be understood in the reverse direction," writes Kate Maltby trib.al/daf77kh
Theatre folk / Irish culture vultures: what theatre should I catch while I'm in Dublin over the long weekend?
And this weekend’s column in @theobserveruk.bsky.social looks at The Devil Wears Prada’s millennial heroine - and how Andy Sachs might have fared if she’d been born in Generation Z observer.co.uk/news/opinion...
The Devil Wears Prada plot is an impossible dream for job...
The sequel to the glossy office tale about the rewards of hard graft now feels out of reach for young adults in an age of AI and economic stagnation
observer.co.uk
And for @ftweekend.com, I very much enjoyed reviewing Daniel Hahn's exhaustive study of Shakespeare in translation, If This Be Magic www.ft.com/content/50ac...
If This Be Magic — the rich and strange art of translating Shakespeare
Daniel Hahn’s chatty, cheerful book explores the challenges — and pitfalls — of matching the bard’s linguistic virtuosity whether in Thai or Tamil
ft.com
In yesterday's Observer: my column on Hungary, and how Orbán blurred the lined between mafia state and democracy. observer.co.uk/news/opinion... (No, contrary to a line now circulating from his MAGA defenders, the fact he conceded defeat in an election doesn't make him 'a good democrat' after all.)
I watched as Orbán schmoozed Jewish voters in a synagogue...
His defeat ends an era for Hungary, but not the system he built: patronage networks and alliances with neighbours will test his successor
observer.co.uk
Tudor Contemporary recommended on BBC Radio 4 Front Row! Described by @katemaltby.bsky.social: "the best time I've had in an art gallery recently ... a wonderful collection of contemporary & cutting edge works of art that take their inspiration from Tudor art" www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/... at 40:17
Front Row - Review: Is it ok to film theatre curtain calls on your phone? - BBC Sounds
Reviewing new work from Francois Ozon, Amitav Ghosh and Jim Jarmusch.
bbc.co.uk
A lot of Orbán's American fans are saying that this election proved he was never an authoritarian in the first place. This is completely wrong — and, in fact, betrays a complete misunderstanding of both Hungarian politics and modern authoritarianism. Here's why.
Delicious irony that Orbán, who rose to prominence in the movement to kick out the Russian Soviet occupiers, was finally kicked out by his own people because of his craven obeisance to another aggressive Russian regime.
Looks like we'll have lots to talk about on Tuesday evening at @indexoncensorship.org's Hungarian election debrief!
Index on Censorship@indexoncensorship.org · 4mo ago#Hungary: Polls are open, already with a record turnout. The result could shape not just Hungary, but Europe’s political future. What happens next for Orbán’s illiberal democracy? Join us this Tuesday at Pushkin House for a post-election debrief ⬇️ www.pushkinhouse.org/whats-on/eve...
Perhaps now is a good time to share the @financialtimes.com investigative series on Viktor Orban. To start with here’s the one we sent a reporter up in a plane for … (300 free clicks) as.ft.com/r/8cd54659-d...
The riches of Viktor Orbán’s home village
[FREE TO READ] Hungary’s longtime leader is trailing in the polls ahead of April’s election, as the opposition alleges widespread corruption
as.ft.com
I can't quite express the joy of seeing Viktor Orbán, the man who took my grandparents' native land to the brink of dictatorship, concede power after 16 years of autocracy and corruption. This is personal.
Is Lesley Manville right that taking photos at a curtain call is insulting? @katemaltby.bsky.social and I argue the case while excellent @murielzagha.bsky.social Tahmima Anam & @tds153.bsky.social discuss films by Francois Ozon and Jim Jarmusch and Amitav Ghosh’s novel. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Front Row - Reviewing new work from Francois Ozon, Amitav Ghosh and Jim Jarmusch - BBC Sounds
Reviewing new work from Francois Ozon, Amitav Ghosh and Jim Jarmusch.
bbc.co.uk
I'm not posting here as regularly as I should, but away from the headlines about Keir Starmer's fate, here's a smaller story about the Westminster Epstein fallout you may have missed. This isn't just a Mandelson scandal - it's about women's bodies and how we treat them observer.co.uk/news/opinion...
It’s years too late, but at least Ed Davey is learning fr...
The Lib Dem leader has finally taken action against a peer who was at the centre of 2013 inquiry involving complaints by four women
observer.co.uk
Ed Davey has finally taken action against Lord Rennard - after @aligoldsworthy.bsky.social asked him to "apply the same rules to your party", after his condemnation of Mandelson this week Very important story by @katemaltby.bsky.social observer.co.uk/news/opinion...
It’s years too late, but at least Ed Davey is learning fr...
The Lib Dem leader has finally taken action against a peer who was at the centre of 2013 inquiry involving complaints by four women
observer.co.uk
Conquest’s Second Law tells us to treat any bureaucracy as if controlled by a cabal of its enemies. I know it’s supposed to be a joke, but if you were a hostile nation trying to inflame British streets, this is exactly what you’d dream of doing.
The i Paper @theipaper.com · 10mo agoBREAKING: An asylum seeker hotel resident who sparked nationwide protests after sexually assaulting a woman and a 14-year-old girl has been released from jail accidentally
“So this is how a celestial series ends: not with a bang, but with a whimper.” The final part of Philip Pullman’s Book of Dust is out today. A real honour to write about it for @ftweekend.com: a real disappointment to the soul to come to this conclusion. www.ft.com/content/cb18...
Philip Pullman’s The Rose Field — the Book of Dust series ends with a quest for the source of imagination
The final part of a second trilogy by the author of ‘His Dark Materials’ follows an adult Lyra in her alternate world of daemons and angels
ft.com
You don’t actually have to both sides this. The Jewish community in the UK is not the Israeli government. You can just condemn the murder of two British Jews killed in their place of worship and you don’t have to say a single other thing.
Kneecap trades on the disapproval of its institutional elders, writes @katemaltby.bsky.social ➡️ Read more: inews.co.uk/opinion/knee...
Today's column in @theipaper.com. Catholicism teaches that you can't opt out of a vocation, so the papacy is for life. But questions will haunt the coming conclave about whether Popes can or should retire. What does that mean for Rome's wider attitudes to life & death? inews.co.uk/opinion/pope...
Pope Francis' death brings a difficult issue to the fore for the conclave
There will be mumblings about the need to elect a Pope young enough to postpone awkward questions
inews.co.uk
As many of you know, this weekend marked the last edition of the old Observer as a publication of the Scott Trust. It was a honour to have a column in the final edition, on Medea, Snow White, and the inevitable witchiness of wicked stepmothers. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Stepmothers, relax, you’ll always be wicked but true love is worth it | Kate Maltby
Two new surveys confirm that women who take on children from an earlier marriage will almost always be seen as witches
theguardian.com
It is a truth universally acknowledged that the boiler and the electrics will blow on the Easter weekend.
Latest column for The Stage: Broadway critics can be a vital counterpoint to West End groupthink. (Or why Jesse Green was right about Sarah Snook in The Picture of Dorian Gray.) www.thestage.co.uk/opinion/over...
Kate Maltby on Broadway transfers and the value of outside perspectives
Broadway's frosty reception to some West End hits is not simply down to a "lack of taste", says Kate Maltby, with foreign critiques offering a useful corrective
thestage.co.uk
This week’s column @theipaper.com (which I actually wrote last week.) A painful piece to write and not done lightly. inews.co.uk/opinion/isra...
Israel has become impossible for me to defend
Day by day, its claims to function as an open and liberal democracy ring more hollow
liveapp.inews.co.uk
Hungarian lawmakers are voting today on a constitutional amendment that would ban #Pride and legally recognise only two sexes, among other measures. We condemn this as a blatant violation of human rights in #Hungary: www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...
Hungary poised to adopt constitutional amendment to ban LGBTQ+ gatherings
The controversial amendment also recognises only two sexes, providing a basis for denying other gender identities
theguardian.com
New research shows the growing problem of censorship in school libraries, following my @indexoncensorship.org investigation. This problem isn’t going away. Currently, there’s no requirement for schools to even have libraries, let alone policies to support librarians.
The Guardian@theguardian.com · last yr.Librarians in UK increasingly asked to remove books, as influence of US pressure groups spreads
In case you’re listening to the BBC Today Programme on Radio 4, I’ll be on at about 8.45 to talk about… Katy Perry going into space with Jeff Bezos’ fiancée. (And why it may not be exactly a feminist achievement.)
“The question of who controls the soundscape at any collective experience is a question about who has power; who feels untouchable.” (Chicken Jockey!) www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
There’s a place for audience participation, but ‘chicken jockey’ chaos takes it too far | Kate Maltby
Barrages of popcorn and even live poultry are featuring at screenings of A Minecraft Movie
theguardian.com
