Audio slideshow: Romeo and Juliet on stilts

Written by Dailynews.vn Wednesday, 23 May 2012 02:43

In the early 1990s, a small and rather poor Brazilian theatre group decided to take up the challenge of finding a new and creative way of telling an old story: William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. And they did it: Grupo Galpao's enactment of the play, which featured actors on stilts, became hugely popular in Brazil. It also made it to several theatres around the world includi...

Two hundred years of nonsense

Written by Dailynews.vn Wednesday, 23 May 2012 02:43

Poet Edward Lear was a genius at writing "nonsense" verse. But the author of surreal limericks was also a serious travel writer, zoological illustrator and landscape painter. Had he been alive today he would have been 200 years old, alongside his great contemporary Charles Dickens. Children's author and laureate Julia Donaldson - writer of The Gruffalo - is among Lear'...

Black Sabbath play homecoming gig

Written by Dailynews.vn Wednesday, 23 May 2012 02:43

Heavy metal group Black Sabbath have played their first show since 2005. Three members of the original line-up - frontman Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, who is battling cancer, and bassist Geezer Butler - performed in their home town of Birmingham. The show at the O2 Academy marked their first concert in the city for 13 years. But original drummer Bill Ward was no...

Rave marks Hacienda anniversary

Written by Dailynews.vn Wednesday, 23 May 2012 02:43

Manchester's famous Hacienda nightclub has been revived for a one-off party to celebrate its 30th anniversary. Ageing ravers attended the event in an underground car park on the site of the venue, which was demolished in 2002. Fans still have "very intense" feelings for the club, said Joy Division bassist Peter Hook, who organised the party. The club becam...

Houston's final record released

Written by Dailynews.vn Wednesday, 23 May 2012 02:43

Whitney Houston's last record - a duet with American Idol winner Jordin Sparks - has been released. The disco-inspired track - Celebrate - came out on Monday ahead of the late singer's upcoming film, Sparkle. Sparkle, which tells the story of three sisters who become Motown stars, is a re-make of the 1976 film of the same name. Houston plays Sparks's mothe...

Orange pulls out of fiction prize

Written by Dailynews.vn Wednesday, 23 May 2012 02:43

Orange has announced that it is to end its sponsorship of The Women's Prize for fiction. The mobile services company, which has sponsored the prize since it was established 17 years ago, is to focus its brand on the film industry. Novelist Kate Mosse, the prize's honorary director, said she was in "active discussions with a number of potential new sponsors". ...

Daltrey and Dion remember Gibb

Written by Dailynews.vn Wednesday, 23 May 2012 02:43

Tributes continue to be paid to Bee Gees singer Robin Gibb following his death on Sunday at the age of 62. Celine Dion, who performed with Gibb and his brothers Barry and Maurice on her 1998 track Immortality, said she was "very sad" to hear of his passing. The Who's Roger Daltrey said Gibb was "a lovely, lovely guy", while Labour leader Ed Miliband said ...

Robo-fish to 'police' the oceans

Written by Dailynews.vn Wednesday, 23 May 2012 01:43

In the shallow waters of Gijon harbour, in northern Spain, a large, yellow fish cuts through the waves. But this swimmer stands apart from the marine life that usually inhabits this port: there's no flesh and blood here, just carbon fibre and metal. This is robo-fish - scientists' latest weapon in the war against pollution. This sea-faring machine works autonom...

Spellcheck reliance 'revealed'

Written by Dailynews.vn Wednesday, 23 May 2012 01:43

Spellcheckers and other technology have created an "auto-correct generation" unable to spell many common words, a survey suggests. The poll of more than 2,000 adults for learning disability charity Mencap claims a third could not spell the word "definitely". While two-thirds picked a wrong spelling for "necessary". Some 96% said spelling wa...

Stepping down from ARM Holdings

Written by Dailynews.vn Wednesday, 23 May 2012 01:43

When Tudor Brown stepped down as president of ARM Holdings earlier this month, he left behind one of Britain's and indeed the world's, most successful technology companies. The designs it produces have been licensed and used to build processors at the heart of many of today's bestselling gadgets. Samsung's Galaxy phones and tablets, Amazon's Kindle e-read...