Front Row

Joseph O’Connor, whose book Star of the Sea was critically acclaimed and a global bestseller, talks about his latest novel Shadowplay. Taking the well-known presumption that Bram Stoker based the character of Dracula on the Shakespearean actor Henry Irving, Shadowplay is about the close collaboration and intense friendship between Stoker, Irving and his famous acting partner Ellen Terry. Portuguese-born artist Dame Paula Rego's work across paint, pastel, etching and fabric is often based on children's folktales. But the animals and people that populate her work convey tough political messages. A new exhibition at the recently extended and remodelled MK gallery in Milton Keynes offers an edited retrospective of the 84 year old artist's substantial body of work. Art critic Louisa Buck reviews. Pauline Kael was a film critic renowned for her personal writing style that combined scathing wit and passion. In the week she would have turned 100, film critics Tim Robey and Gavia Baker Whitelaw consider her work, wha