Cinema · Observations

Konstantin Khudyakov’s 1984 film “Success” about a new director at a provincial theatre

A new director arrives at a provincial theatre, and from the first minutes a smug, haughty expression never leaves his face: I, of course, know how everything here should be done. Gennady Fetisov is neither shallow nor stupid, and he wants to stage a "Seagull" the like of

NB! · Art · Observations · Mores · Humour

Nineteenth-century memento mori figurines seem to remind us not of death but of the mistaken search for a better half

Art · Museums · Observations · Paris · Humour

Pablo Picasso's 86-year-old daughter Maya Picasso-Widmaier (68-year-old Brigitte Macron stands beside her, please do not confuse the two) has presented her father's museum with a number of memorial items and 6 of his works, including this portrait, in whi

It must be said, a very good likeness: you have scarcely changed, my dear

NB! · Observations · Paris · People · Humour

Claude Debussy, who died as the First World War drew to its close, has a maximally dull grave, and I cannot imagine how Manuel de Falla managed to dedicate music to this resting place, music of which, incidentally, I am not much enamoured either

Art · Monarchies · Observations · Humour

Hairstyle of Empress Julia Domna, wife of Septimius Severus, on a coin

All the best things were invented in antiquity. Take this hairstyle of the Empress Julia Domna, wife of Septimius Severus. I understand that few would expend so much effort on arranging their hair, especially in the absence of slave labour, but it looks positively regal. Incidentally, I commend the maker

Books · Observations

And suddenly summer was plunged into autumn

Oscar Wilde

NB! · Observations · Humour

Good Boots, Worth Having

Books · Observations · Pop Culture

In Agatha Christie's story "Harlequin's Lane" from the collection "The Mysterious Mr Quin", devoted entirely to one of the author's own favourite characters, Mr Harley Quin, there appears a cameo by the Russian ballerina Tamara Karsavina…

While visiting the married couple the Denmans, the conversation turns to Russia. The wife, Anna, is a Russian émigrée who was rescued from the storm of revolution when still very young. Speaking of ballet, she says that she knows everything about it, since she herself once danced. In the denouement

NB! · Observations

There it is, and what is to be done

Architecture · Moscow · Observations · Heritage

Specialists correct the tilt of the pedestals of late Empire style gates

Restorers in the Neskuchny Garden Rescue the Ceremonial Gates of the Alexandrinsky Palace - "Seasons" With time, the pedestals for the statues had leaned badly towards one another and looked alarming. The gates, created in the Late Empire style, are an architectural masterpiece of the mid-nineteenth century, and

Art · Moscow · Observations · Society Pages

Moscow lily by Anna Tagantseva-Kobzeva for 300 euros at the Fabula Moscow-874 stand

And here is my first purchase. A heraldic Moscow lily; a pity it is not a swallowtail. The work of Anna Tagantseva-Kobzeva, who mixes mystical motifs, science, actuarial-network theory and object-oriented ontology. The price of 300 euros is close to archaic cults, and seems to answer the