Entertainment

Domenique’s family inspiration after landing role in hit new television series

A Spalding actor says her family including her beloved ‘Nonno’ provided inspiration as she was cast in a big budget American TV show that’s hitting British screens next Monday (May 17). Domenique Fragale is staring alongside the likes of Laura Donnelly, Ann Skelly and Nick Frost in the HBO show The Nevers. It’s already attracted 1.4m viewers in America and ...

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Spalding band want Bloodstock billing

A Spalding band are looking to realise the dream of playing at one of the UK’s top heavy metal festivals. Buried By My Heartache are hoping to join the likes of Judas Priest, Skindred and Napalm Death at Bloodstock in August. To do so the five piece are looking to win the Metal to the Masses battle of the bands ...

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Act II shares its view on events of 2020

Spalding based Act II Theatre Company is bringing some welcome festive cheer with the news that their popular annual Revue won’t be falling victim to the COVID-19 cancellation curse. This screwy, satirical look at the year’s news, events, celebrity gossip and political mishaps has been a pre-Christmas fixture since 2013 and regular attendees will be relieved to know that, despite ...

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Review: The Mandalorian (Season 2, chapters 9 and 10)

One of my biggest gripes about the mostly satisfying first season of The Mandalorian was that it took its sweet time actually moving on the story. Don’t get me wrong, as a Star Wars fan I loved all of the world building and nods to the films, but I wanted reasons to be invested in these characters. After finishing well ...

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Horror nights of fun in Spalding

Visitors to the Spalding Sessions House will be in for a horrifyingly good time in the run-up to Halloween. The former courthouse has been transformed into a terrifying experience with ghosts, ghouls and a cast of actors guaranteed to test the bravery of visitors to the event – which is open for bookings. Owner Oliver Sneath has been creating a ...

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Steve’s New Horizons as first novel is published

A retired Crowland man is reaching new horizons himself by landing a publishing deal. Steve Borrett is releasing New Horizons – A Mayson Edmunson Adventure under the pseudonym SteVie May on September 30. The 62-year-old says he always harboured thoughts of writing a book but didn’t have the time until retiring from working in government services. The book takes on ...

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Film review: The New Mutants (15)

More than two years after it was originally scheduled to hit the big screen, The New Mutants (TNM) finally arrived last week. Hit by delays galore, it was feared by many that the X-Men spin-off directed by Josh Boone (The Fault in Our Stars) would be an absolute car crash. I’m here to tell you that it’s not as bad ...

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Film review: Tenet (12A)

Of the many creature comforts we’ve had to give up during the coronavirus pandemic, not visiting the cinema has to be among the biggest misses. In a time when we’ve desperately needed escapism, losing yourself in a new and different world would have been just the ticket for many. With that in mind, what better way to signal the return ...

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Stellar sequel is a contender for game of the generation

How do you follow up arguably the best video game on the previous generation of consoles? If you’re famed developer Naughty Dog the answer, it seems, is ato set about building a bona-fide contender for the top game of the current generation. The Last Of Us Part II, which is once again a PlayStation exclusive, is a remarkable feat in ...

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Band is hitting the right notes

A Spalding-based band hasn’t stopped the lockdown from performing together. The South Lincs Concert Band has still been getting together to create online videos. They’ve published their performances of both Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing and The Beatles’ I Wanna Hold Your Hand online. The band formed nearly three years ago and was joined by a few guest musicians for the ...

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Cliffhanger episode perfectly sets up Mandalorian’s finale

It had to happen sooner or later, but The Mandalorian finally showed its hand and got back on-track with the main story in Chapter Seven. After a number of slowly paced side quests, The Reckoning put all of the pieces together and left us with a cliffhanger ahead of Friday’s season finale. Although the slower paced chapters were largely enjoyable, ...

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Nostalgic Star Wars vibes help ‘filler’ episode hit the right note

Chapter Five of The Mandalorian felt like something of a filler episode – but it certainly succeeded in bringing Star Wars nostalgia to the table. Following last week’s character-building offering, The Gunslinger didn’t really feel like it had advanced the story all that much, but the final scene suggested that this Friday’s chapter will. With that in mind, you can ...

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TV review: The Mandalorian (episode 4)

If the first three episodes of The Mandalorian demonstrated just how effective a bounty hunter the titular character is, Friday’s fourth chapter offered some much-needed character building. Up until now, Pedro Pascal’s so-far faceless hero hadn’t showcased much more than a ruthless streak – although his critical decision to (spoiler alert) rescue Baby Yoda set him off down a path ...

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TV review: The Mandalorian (episodes 1-3)

For many of you, The Mandalorian will be the reason you’ve either signed up for new streaming service Disney+ or are tempted by the idea. The Disney+ original series, created by Jon Favreau, is set after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order in the Star Wars timeline (that’s roughly between Return of The ...

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Film review: Lost Girls (15)

With the cinemas among the first places to be shut down by the coronavirus pandemic, it’s natural that we’ll be turning to the many streaming sites for our film fix over the coming weeks. Lost Girls, based on the true story of the of the investigation surrounding the Long Island serial killer, is the latest offering to be snapped up ...

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Film review: The Hunt (15)

At a time when the world seems a very scary and serious place, The Hunt serves as a very welcome escape from reality. Produced by Jason Blum, written by Lost alumni Damon Lindelof and Nick Cuse, and directed by Craig Zobel, it’s a politically charged action offering that enjoys playing with the audience before reaching a very satisfying conclusion. Feeling ...

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Film review: Sonic The Hedgehog (PG)

Even the most devoted of video game enthusiasts would have to admit that Holywood doesn’t have the best record of transferring stories from our hands to the big screen. As somebody who has a real passion for gaming, I can honestly tell you that some of the best storytelling I’ve ever enjoyed has come from video games. Sure, Assassin’s Creed ...

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Rapunzel fans help homeless

Charitable panto-goers over Christmas have helped Polka Dot Pantomimes raise more than £1,000 for a homeless charity. The company’s version of Rapunzel was the panto on over Christmas at the South Holland Centre in Spalding. A Polka Dot Pantomimes spokesman said: “£1,179.18 was the total amount of donations made by the wonderful audiences who came along to watch Rapunzel at ...

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Film review: Birds Of Prey (15)

If anything good came from the largely disappointing Suicide Squad film back in 2016, it was that Margot Robbie made for a great Harley Quinn. The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) have duly taken note of that relatively small win and thrown her front and centre of their latest offering; Birds Of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn, ...

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Film review: The Personal History of David Copperfield (PG)

As somebody with no prior knowledge of Charles Dickens’ novel David Copperfield, it was certainly interesting to check out Armando Iannucci’s big screen take on the old Victorian tale. It’s fair to say that the works of Dickens and the Victorian era aren’t really my cup of tea when it comes to source material, but it was hard not to ...

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