As she takes on the icon in musical drama End of the Rainbow, Monsoon recalls a childhood spent watching Wizard of Oz on repeat – and explains why audiences are ready for trans performers in non-trans roles If these are strange times in America, they are particularly strange for Jinkx Monsoon, the 38-year-old actor, singer and drag artist who, since winning RuPaul’s Drag Race in 2013 and Drag Race All Stars in 2022, has become a huge breakout star. Monsoon, who has the white-lead-and-vinegar glamour of a 1930s movie star, has appeared on Broadway, at Carnegie Hall and in countless viral clips from Drag Race – and in other words is widely well known. And yet, she says, when she walks down the street in certain American cities, it is in a state of “not knowing if someone’s going to recognise me and be excited to see me, or recognise something about me and be hostile. It’s a really interesting dichotomy.” She lets out a huge laugh. “But it also keeps me humble, I gotta say.” We are backstage at the Soho Theatre in London’s Walthamstow, where Monsoon is shortly to appear in End of the Rainbow, Peter Quilter’s musical drama about Judy Garland, set in 1969 in the last months of the icon’s life. It’s a great role for Monsoon, whose impersonation of Garland on Drag Race was so spot-on the clips are still doing the rounds (although for my money, her Little Edie Beale was even better and funnier). But the show isn’t being played for laughs. Monsoon, who had a stellar run as Mama Morton in the Broadway production of Chicago three years ago, is increasingly leaning towards dramatic roles and, like Garland herself, is comfortable with the tragi-comic. “She’s a pillar, and an institution,” she says of Garland, in whom she became interested after watching the Wizard of Oz on repeat as a child. And because, she laughs, “my ex was obsessed with her”. Continue reading...

Member of army squad sent with medics to assist suspected hantavirus patient recounts descent to remote island The hardest part of the parachute jump, according to Capt George Lacey, is falling backwards through the air. It is Saturday and Lacey, and his squad of six plus two medics, have just leapt out of an RAF transport, 2,500 metres over the south Atlantic. “The parachute can only go forward so quickly,” he says, meaning that it has to be pulled at precisely the right moment. “So you have to turn into the wind and basically fly backwards, which is a very weird sensation, as you can imagine.” Continue reading...

Reform UK leader records video with Essex pastor to support his battle against council banning order Nigel Farage has been criticised for giving his full support to a Christian church leader who preached that homosexuality was an “abomination” and would lead to eternity in hell. The Reform UK leader recorded a video with Stephen Clayden after Colchester council applied for a banning order to limit his street preaching. Continue reading...

Ronan Corrigan levels up a thoroughly beta-tested narrative in this efficiently executed hacker-turned-thief split-screen thriller This debut feature from Irish web-and-zeitgeist-surfer Ronan Corrigan continues its producer Timur Bekmambetov’s interest in fashioning entire movies out of virtual space, collaging as it does the screens of phones, laptops and PCs. Narratively, it plays like a web 2.0 update of Iain Softley’s 90s cult film Hackers: a quartet of heavily vaping, tech-savvy gamers decide to take their nightly shitposting to the next level by robbing an obnoxious crypto billionaire (Charlie Creed-Miles), whose motto is “I’m CEO, cunt”. Corrigan’s secret weapon is that his plot points have already been beta-tested offline, so what we’re watching is at source an old-school heist thriller with especially open coding. Corrigan does, however, commit far more forcefully than any of his predecessors to this accelerationist digital aesthetic. He casts newish faces with the air of habitual phonecheckers; he establishes their innate restlessness and distractibility in frantically scrolling between tabs; and he pumps the leads’ squabbling banter through the same headset-filter one might strap on to play Call of Duty. Though the script – co-written by the director with Hope Elliott Kemp – wisely renames a bluff podcaster as “Joe Brogan”, these frames-within-frames resemble the real thing: the film’s meme game is strong (if that’s any kind of commendation for a motion picture), and there are no Google substitutes called ridiculous things like Search Rhino or InfoBuzz. Continue reading...

It was the birthplace of the liberal tradition, but also the incubator for Nazism – what can this historic city tell us about democracy? ‘Weimar is Germany in a nutshell,” 1990s president Roman Herzog once quipped: “a town in which not only culture and thought were at home but also philistinism and barbarism.” The small city (population 65,000) sits at the heart of the nation and acts as a shrine to its sons Goethe, Schiller and Nietzsche. In 1919 the country’s first democratic constitution was promulgated in its national theatre. It was chosen as the site of Germany’s rebirth precisely because its aura of refined culture contrasted so sharply with the “Prussian militarism” of Berlin. From 1919-1925 it hosted the Bauhaus School, led by Walter Gropius, placing it at the forefront of art and design. Yet, starting in the mid-1920s, Weimar, which is also the state capital of Thuringia, became pivotal in the rise of the Nazi party and its first, regional, experiments in government. After 1933 it competed with Bayreuth for recognition as the “spiritual home of Nazism”. Continue reading...

The Guardian’s David Levene braved two-headed worms, Pussy Riot protests and a tank of urine to bring you this photographic extravaganza from the celebrated arts festival Continue reading...

US’s apparent decline has fuelled growing Chinese nationalism while US president has lost his novelty value Trump in Beijing – latest updates Five key issues for Xi-Trump summit. Yaoji Chaogan, a no-frills canteen next to Beijing’s historic Drum and Bell towers, once proudly displayed photographs of Joe Biden, who visited the restaurant when he was US vice-president in 2011. Biden’s visit went viral in China, with media praising his “noodle diplomacy” (one of the dishes that Biden ordered was zhajiang mian, a traditional style of Beijing noodles with bean paste). But evidence of Biden’s visit was removed when the restaurant was redecorated a few years ago. A visit from a US leader is no longer something to boast about. Continue reading...

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, including the UK’s latest GDP report The Iran war, and the resulting jump in borrowing costs, is dampening the UK housing market. My colleague Tom Knowles reports: Fears of higher mortgage rates and rising inflation as a result of the Middle East conflict are leading to a subdued and downbeat housing market, according to estate agents. Demand from potential homebuyers across England and Wales has shown a “noticeable softening” recently, according to a monthly survey of estate agents by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). Continue reading...

Senator Ronald dela Rosa is wanted by the ICC for his alleged role in country’s deadly anti-drug crackdown that saw thousands killed Philippine authorities are seeking to confirm reports that a lawmaker wanted by the international criminal court (ICC) secretly left the Senate premises where he had spent days evading arrest, an official said. Presidential communications undersecretary Clare Castro told a press conference that authorities were trying to confirm the whereabouts of senator Ronald dela Rosa, after reports suggested he had slipped out of the heavily guarded building undetected before dawn. Continue reading...

Channel 5’s likeable version of Downton Abbey returns for a second season. Plus: a lost episode of Marecambe and Wise. Here’s what to watch this evening 9pm, Channel 5 This attempt to create a class-hopping version of Downton Abbey is generic but still very likable. As the second season begins, the working-class Hardacres are wondering how much longer they’ll be able to afford their country pile as a recession hits their business. Meanwhile, next door, the old money is struggling too, as Emma receives a visit from her formidable mother, Lady Imelda (Michele Dotrice). Whatever will she make of the upstart new neighbours? Phil Harrison Continue reading...

If I were in government I’d propose a very different response to the challenges we face – starting with protecting people from the cost of living David Blunkett was Labour home secretary from 2001 to 2004 While I welcome many measures in the king’s speech, an alternative might look something like this. My lords, and members of the Commons: my government is committed to winning back the support of the British people and demonstrating that they are “on the side” of those who are working – or who have worked – hard to make ends meet. David (Lord) Blunkett was Labour home secretary from 2001 to 2004 Continue reading...

A deliciously rustic, risotto-style pasta using seasonal spring veg and finished with butter, parmesan and lemon zest I am in more or less the same position as with last week’s recipe, only this time the pods contain broad beans, which are slightly easier to read than peas. This is because the pods are longer and become softer and floppier as they age, so you can see and feel if the beans inside are large and hard, which, like peas, is because their sugar has turned to starch, and which makes them more suited to longer cooking. The other thing about broad beans is their opaque jackets, which thicken as the beans age and get more bitter, but they can be removed by picking them off with a nail, or by dunking the beans in hot water for a minute, then in cold water and squeezing the jackets off and across the worktop. Even older, larger beans can be enjoyed raw or lightly cooked; they are brighter, too, like green tiddlywinks. As well as dealing with pods, I have been reading about broad beans in recipe books and stories, looking out in particular for references to how they are consumed in spring, which in Italy is often alongside young sheep’s cheese – a great combination, as is broad beans and lancashire cheese. It turns out, though, that the mentions I have enjoyed most are to be found in England, and in George Eliot’s Adam Bede. One instance is when Adam, having walked past the leafy walls of scarlet beans, late peas and bushy filberts, strides over a “superfluity of broad beans” in Mrs Poyser’s garden; another when he eats cold broad beans out of a large dish with his pocket knife, and finds a flavour that he would not exchange for the finest pineapple. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Demand for blood to treat the rare disorder has soared by 132% in 10 years Demand for blood needed to treat rare disorders such as sickle cell has soared by more than 130% in 10 years, forcing the NHS to ask for more donors to come forward. Requests for haemoglobin S (HbS)-negative blood, the type most used in blood transfusions for sickle cell anaemia patients, stood at 82,181 units in 2015. But last year, more than 191,000 units were needed, a 132% increase. Continue reading...

Painting that inspired depiction on £20 note more likely the work of John Opie, says Romantic artist’s biographer In 2020, Tate Britain hosted the launch of a new £20 banknote bearing representations of The Fighting Temeraire by JMW Turner and the artist’s most famous self-portrait. Now a leading expert has said the latter work, part of the Tate collection, is not by Turner at all. Dr James Hamilton, who has published books on Turner and staged exhibitions at museums and galleries nationwide, said that while the painting does depict the English Romantic painter, it is likely to be the work of his contemporary, John Opie. Continue reading...

Woodland Trust also finds significant north-south divide in tree cover, leaving many people at risk of poor health Nigel Farage’s constituency of Clacton-on-Sea is a “tree desert”, leaving people more exposed to air pollution, poorer health, lower life expectancy and the impact of rising temperatures, according to a new report. The Essex town is rated the worst-performing for equal access to trees in England, with the highest proportion of urban residents – 98.2% – living in neighbourhoods with critically low access to trees. Continue reading...

There are few places where history can be felt more powerfully than these pathways, walked by explorer, author and TV presenter Nicholas Crane How often do you look down and wonder who created the path your feet are following? Or ask the cause of its curves and dips? Formed over thousands of years, paths form an “internet of feet” – a web of bridleways and hollow ways, drove roads and ridgeways, coffin tracks, pilgrimage trails and city pavements. Whether you’re hiking a National Trail or pottering along a National Trust footpath, there’s a good chance you’re following ancestral steps. It’s thoughts like these that led me on a journey to track the evolution of British paths for my book, The Path More Travelled. Eleven thousand years ago ice age hunter-gatherers arrived from Europe’s heartlands, moving through the wilderness along broad “routeways”, that later widened to tracks when horses and then wheels were adopted in the bronze age. For more than 2,000 years, traffic moved no faster than the speed of a horse, until the internal combustion engine drove pedestrians off the road just over a century ago. Continue reading...

Test yourself on topical news trivia, pop culture and general knowledge every Thursday. How will you fare? Welcome to the Thursday news quiz, where curiosity is in full bloom thanks to our illustration by Anaïs Mims. Even the most carefully arranged facts can contain a hint of uncertainty, so beware the rogue question marks popping up among the petals of knowledge. Fifteen questions on topical news, pop culture and general knowledge await. There are no prizes, but we always enjoy hearing how you got on in the comments. Allons-y! The Thursday news quiz, No 247 Continue reading...

After Reform politicians were cheered and progressive rabbis booed at rally against antisemitism, some fear longstanding alliances are fracturing Rabbi Charley Baginsky, the co-leader of Progressive Judaism, admitted she felt apprehensive before speaking at last weekend’s central London rally against antisemitism. As she addressed the crowd, there were some boos. It wasn’t the first time – last year, on a similar stage outside Downing Street, Baginsky and her fellow co-lead, Rabbi Josh Levy, were jeered off stage. Continue reading...

Exclusive: former deputy prime minister says investigation ‘clipped my wings’ as she settles £40,000 in unpaid stamp duty Angela Rayner has been cleared by HMRC of deliberate wrongdoing or carelessness over her tax affairs, the Guardian can reveal, paving the way for a potential leadership bid as Keir Starmer’s grip on power unravels. The former deputy prime minister has settled £40,000 in unpaid stamp duty after initially paying the lower rate, but has not paid any penalty as a result of the investigation. HMRC was also satisfied there was no tax avoidance. Continue reading...

In 2024, when she filmed a quick video in her car on a work break, she thought nothing of it. But in days she had become a meme. What followed was excitement, opportunity and a crushing pressure ... Jools Lebron was in her car, taking a break from her job in a supermarket, when she posted the TikTok video that would change her life. “You see how I do my makeup for work?” she told her followers that day in August 2024. “Very demure, very mindful … A lot of you girls go to the interview looking like Marge Simpson and go to the job looking like Patty and Selma. Not demure.” “At first, it was like any other video,” she says, on a video call from her home in Chicago. “A few likes, a couple of comments. But then I started noticing the numbers moving faster than usual – faster than anything I had seen before. I remember refreshing my phone and just staring at it like: ‘Wait … what is happening?’” Continue reading...

Two mothers fought British bureaucracy to obtain lifesaving cannabis medicines for their children. But most patients are having to go private – at huge cost In the summer of 2012, Britain was in a festive mood. It was the year of the queen’s diamond jubilee and the London Olympics, and the country was celebrating. But for former hairdresser Hannah Deacon and her young family in Warwickshire, it was a summer of ambulances, hospital wards and doctors rushing in and out of emergency rooms. Eight months earlier, Deacon had given birth to a healthy baby boy named Alfie. The early months of his life had been challenging for her and her partner, Drew, as they are for any first-time parents, but by the summer, Alfie was sleeping and feeding well, and it felt like the family was settling into the new rhythm. However, one night the couple woke up to find their baby’s little body gripped by a paralysing seizure. Continue reading...

John Lithgow plays the gay and often nude septuagenarian father of Colman’s character in this bombshell-laden story of intergenerational queerness. She explains why her own dad would have ‘sat and cried all the way through it’ In Jimpa, Olivia Colman plays a woman called Hannah who leaves Adelaide with her husband and 16-year-old child to visit her father in Amsterdam. This is Jimpa – the word sticks better once you know it’s a compound of Jim and grandpa. At the airport, the teenager, Frances, who’s trans, drops a bombshell: they want to move to the Netherlands and finish their schooling there. Hannah and her husband, Harry, respond thoughtfully, not freaking out. But once they arrive in Amsterdam, Jimpa, played by John Lithgow, brings enough drama for everyone – something he’s been doing for 40 years, since he left his family for a fuller queer life than Australia at the end of the 20th century could offer. The film revels in revealing the sort of lifestyle he enjoyed instead. Continue reading...

Millions of documents chronicling generations of trauma saved from Gaza and East Jerusalem in 10-month Unrwa operation East Jerusalem to Amman should have been an easy trip: a short drive down to the Dead Sea, across the border checkpoint and swiftly on to the Jordanian capital. But in the early summer of 2024, the distance appeared an almost insurmountable obstacle to humanitarian workers from Unrwa (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees), as they sought to safeguard huge quantities of archival documents vitally important to decades of recent Palestinian history. Continue reading...

King Arthur is said to have transformed into a chough when he died, its red feet and beak representing his bloody end Decades after disappearing from the jagged cliffs around Tintagel Castle on the coast of north Cornwall, a bird with legendary connections to the area has returned. The custodian of Tintagel, English Heritage, and local ornithologists have declared that choughs – charismatic corvids with red beaks and feet – are back. Continue reading...

Ahmed al-Doush’s health said to be in sharp decline since his arrest in 2024 in relation to social media posts The wife of a British national who has been imprisoned in Saudi Arabia since 2024 for social media posts, has pleaded for his release as his wellbeing declines. In November, the UN working group on arbitrary detention found Ahmed al-Doush was being detained arbitrarily under international law and recommended his immediate release, as well as the payment of compensation. The findings followed its eight-month inquiry Continue reading...