Page 86 - Media Coverage Book - 75th Aldeburgh Festival 2024

The author of the megahit romcom Crazy Rich Asians, which was adapted into an
equally successful film of the same name, is treating us to another novel that you’ll
probably see on every sunlounger this summer. Lies and Weddings revolves around the
glitzy world of Rufus, son of a former Hong Kong supermodel and future Duke, who
has managed to run into (a lot of) debt. So, at the instruction of his mother, his sister’s
upcoming wedding is less a cause for celebration and more a chance to seduce any of
the rich women in the room. Expect glorious, salacious fun. AB

20 June (Hutchinson Heinemann, £16.99)

Film

The Bikeriders

A Levi’s ad brought to life, blasting 60s girl groups while leather-jacketed men climb
on motorbikes, The Bikeriders is pure, breezy iconography in motion, and great fun to
watch. Jeff Nichols (director of Loving) tells a story loosely based on real accounts of
the formation of one of the first major biker gangs in mid-century America. Told by a
photojournalist (Mike Faist) who records an oral history of the gang and its
personalities – mainly Kathy, played by a heavily midwestern-accented Jodie Comer –
the film charts the journey from innocence to experience in this counterculture of

working-class men. Also starring Austin Butler as a devil-may-care James Dean type
and Tom Hardy as the gruff, wise leader of the pack, this retro drama is full of wall-to-
wall pleasure. CN

21 June

Visual arts

Ronald Moody: His Universe

The Hepworth Wakefield, Yorkshire

A long overdue exhibition dedicated to the work of the Jamaican-born sculptor. Moody
was a contemporary of Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, and a friend of Jacob
Epstein. I’ve seen his stylised wood figure carvings and portraits displayed individually
in a number of British collections, but they have not been gathered and exhibited

together until now. This show will place Moody’s work and objects from his archive in
context, alongside the work of Moore, Hepworth and Epstein as well as the Caribbean
Arts Movement, of which he was a founding member. HJ

21 June – 3 November (hepworthwakefield.org)

Pop

Robbie Williams