'Please, please remain': Bernard-Henri Lévy performs one-man Brexit play
French showman-philosopher begs London audience to save the European project
French showman-philosopher begs London audience to save the European project
It was, said audience member Anne von Bennigsen afterwards, “really very French. Fascinating, but just not very ... practical. Nothing particularly concrete. Still, he’s a French intellectual, I suppose. And that’s how he came across.”
Poking fun at Bernard-Henri Lévy may be a national sport in France, but a bemused audience of nearly 1,000 packed Cadogan Hall in London on Monday to hear the 69-year-old philosopher plead with Britain to remain in Europe, in English.
BHL, as he is almost always known, has been a fixture on France’s TV screens for decades, the flamboyance of his intellect matched only by the unshakability of his self-confidence and the whiteness of his carefully unbuttoned shirts.
British rap music has triumphed at the 2018 Ivor Novello songwriting awards, with Stormzy and Dave picking up prestigious prizes.
Ed Sheeran was named songwriter of the year, but lost the album prize to Stormzy, with another rapper, Dave, winning best contemporary song for Question Time
Dave, the Streatham rapper who at just 19 has already guested with US superstar Drake, was awarded best contemporary song for Question Time, a seven-minute hip-hop track that criticises Theresa May over lack of NHS funding, military involvement in Syria, wage stagnation and more. The track also castigates David Cameron over Brexit (“You fucked us, resigned, then sneaked out the firing line”) and ponders whether Jeremy Corbyn can be an effective, honest politician.
One particularly heartfelt verse attacks May over her handling of the Grenfell Tower disaster.
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