TALKING POINTS
A kaleidoscope of cuteness at Somerset House, featuring Louis Wain’s feline friends. Plus: shining a light on Thomas Hardy’s women; six debuts from first-rate female novelists; and the actress Indira Varma shares what it takes to become Lady Macbeth
EXHIBITIONS THE SWEET SPOT
Be prepared for a pastel-hued onslaught of pets, bows and hearts at ‘Cute’, the latest landmark show at Somerset House. Within this riotous dissection of the way whimsy has woven its way into film, music, books and pop culture, cats play a central role. First, seek out Louis Wain’s wonderfully characterful, anthropomorphised illustrations that changed the country’s perception of these creatures forever, and helped turn us into a nation of cat-lovers. Next, make a beeline for a rather different kind of feline: Hello Kitty, the iconic animated fluff-ball who turns 50 this year, and is celebrating with an immersive disco and video arcade within the exhibition. Other highlights include a bold new installation from the multidisciplinary artist Hannah Diamond, which will combine visuals with music from artists such as Charli XCX, and a rare opportunity to see sketchbooks and figurines from Tokyo’s Yayoi Kusama Museum, as well as toys, memes and sweets as far as the eye can see. marie-claire chappet
‘Cute’ is at Somerset House (www.somersethouse. org.uk) from 25 January until 14 April.
THEATRE SHAPE SHIFTER
There are 26 characters in the director Kip Williams’ stage adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Sarah Snook is taking them all on. In a production that blends video footage with live performance, the Succession star will engage in the retelling of a cautionary tale about the perils of pursuing eternal youth. BT‘
The Picture of Dorian Gray’ (www.doriangrayplay.com) is at Theatre Royal Haymarket from 6 February until 11 May.
FILM
Harriet Griffey salutes the pioneering sexual anthropologist Shere Hite
LONG BEFORE I MET HER, I WAS INTRIGUED BY
Shere Hite. She was an American researcher whose anonymous surveys about female sexuality kicked off what the press called ‘a revolution in the bedroom’, and who then faced a monumental backlash and was, in today’s parlance, cancelled.
When she died in 2020 and a national newspaper published my tribute, I was contacted by four separate female filmmakers. They were all astonished that they had never heard of her seminal book, The Hite Report: A Nationwide Study of Female Sexuality, or its radically feminist, fiercely charismatic author, and were keen to produce a documentary about her.
Four years on, the awar
