Leading biologist dampens his ‘smoking gun’ Covid lab leak theory [The Guardian] (www.theguardian.com)
FYI, this US Nobel Laureate was one of the originators of the China lab conspiracy theory, debunked last year, and failed to be revived this year.
Hong Kong democracy leaders found guilty over peaceful 2019 protest (www.theguardian.com)
Monash University research finds Bing and Ecosia delivered substantially more professionally produced news in the top 50 results compared with Google (www.theguardian.com)
The director of the Climate Change Communication Research Hub, Associate Professor David Holmes, said the results demonstrated the importance of news media to search engines, with the top search terms clearly reflecting that people were trying to learn more about current affairs topics. “It is in the interests of search...
Theatregoers to be petitioned outside Australian venues amid ongoing actors’ pay dispute (www.theguardian.com)
Theatregoers can expect to be leafletted by union delegates outside Australian performance venues in the new year, in a campaign to lift the pay of about 6,000 actors and dancers....
Sheridan Smith to star in Rufus Wainwright West End musical Opening Night (www.theguardian.com)
Sheridan Smith is to star in a musical by Rufus Wainwright based on John Cassavetes’ 1977 film Opening Night, about an actor struggling with her new stage role. Directed by Ivo van Hove, whose book accompanies Wainwright’s music and lyrics, the show will open at the Gielgud theatre in London in March....
Two Nicole Scherzinger interviews on Sunset Boulevard and more (www.theguardian.com)
Nicole Scherzinger is currently starring in the London revival of Sunset Boulevard, which is about to open, so the PR machine has pushed out a couple of interviews, one with the Guardian and another with The Sunday Times....
Oscar-nominated romance Cold War to have London stage adaptation by Conor McPherson and feature songs by Elvis Costello (www.theguardian.com)
London’s Almeida theatre has announced a stage adaptation of the Oscar-nominated romance Cold War, a postwar tale of two musician lovers whose passion is disrupted by the privations of the eastern bloc. Cold War earned three Oscar and four Bafta nominations....
Christie Whelan Browne brings lawsuit against Oldfield Entertainment, alleging victimisation after she complained of alleged harassment (www.theguardian.com)
Australian musical theatre performer Christie Whelan Browne (who has starred in shows including Xanadu, Muriel's Wedding and Britney Spears The Cabaret) has brought a lawsuit against Oldfield Entertainment, alleging victimisation after she complained of alleged harassment by Craig McLachlan, her castmate in a 2014 production of...
My Brilliant Career to be adapted into a pop-rock musical as part of Melbourne Theatre Company’s 2024 lineup (www.theguardian.com)
Stella Miles Franklin’s pioneering 1901 novel My Brilliant Career is getting its first musical adaptation, in a production that will cap off Melbourne Theatre Company’s 2024 season....
Kate Miller-Heidke’s next musical asks: can a punk band thrive as a children’s act? (www.theguardian.com)
The team behind Muriel’s Wedding The Musical – the singer, her husband Keir Nuttall and star Max McKenna – have reunited for Bananaland, a musical inspired by watching a lot of Wiggles.
Bernadette Peters: ‘Sondheim’s music is about the big, important things’ (www.theguardian.com)
The American film and stage actor, renowned for her roles in the composer’s musicals, on making her West End debut in Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends, a celebration of his music....
Data leaks have given Irish republican groups ‘upper hand’ against police, analysts warn (www.theguardian.com)
Breaches hurt police morale and may help republican paramilitaries intimidate officers and their families
Kokomo City director D Smith: ‘A lot of trans documentaries are snoozefests’ (www.theguardian.com)
Twitter threatens to sue Meta over Threads app – report (www.theguardian.com)
Attackers use Deepfake of "Kidnapped" Daughter, Demand Ransom (www.theguardian.com)
After being scammed into thinking her daughter was kidnapped, an Arizona woman testified in the US Senate about the dangers side of artificial intelligence technology when in the hands of criminals....