live

Follow the build-up, analysis and live text commentary of the first leg of football’s Champions League playoff in Lisbon.

I’ve never dined at local celebrity chef restaurants on my doorstep, including The Fat Duck and The Hand and Flowers, due to the expensive menu prices.

I live mere minutes away from some of the finest eateries in the region, arguably amongst Britain’s best. This encompasses Tom Kerridge’s The Hand and Flowers and Heston Blumenthal’s establishments, yet I’ve remarkably never visited any of them.

Whilst it’s enticing to have such celebrated venues practically on my doorstep, they’re renowned for being rather expensive and upmarket.

Countless diners will journey considerable distances to reach these establishments and boozers, whilst locals such as myself have never crossed their thresholds. The Fat Duck, situated in Bray, Berkshire, is a haute cuisine restaurant owned by Heston Blumenthal.

It boasts three Michelin stars, having maintained them for a 21st successive year as of February 2025, and remains acknowledged as a premier gastronomic destination under the chef.

Marking its 30th anniversary, The Journey menu provides the most comprehensive voyage into “Hestonland and the gastronomic delights that await”. It showcases creations including Bacon & Egg Cereal, Hot & Iced Tea, Beef Royal, Tonic of Botanics and Cheese & Grapes amongst others, reports the Express.

Diners can experience this menu for an eye-watering £350.

Despite residing in and around Bray throughout my existence, there aren’t numerous locals who could manage to eat at The Fat Duck.

The village also houses The Hinds Head, which possesses a Michelin star and belongs to Heston Blumenthal. It’s more reasonably priced, naturally, than The Fat Duck, though still approximately £30 for fish and chips.

A portion of chips alone costs £9, whilst some bay buttered carrots as an accompaniment runs to £7. Nevertheless, it boasts glowing testimonials on TripAdvisor, with one diner visiting earlier this month claiming the dish and chips “didn’t disappoint”.

Another said: “The whole experience was flawless, we have never eaten better food, they listened and remembered my wife’s birthday. If you go, make sure you order the bread and butter with beef dripping sauce. This was outstanding.”

Tom Kerridge also runs a fine dining establishment, a brief journey from Heston’s, The Hand and Flowers, situated in Marlow. It became the first boozer in Britain to receive two Michelin stars.

The chef additionally operates The Coach Marlow, which presents beautifully elevated British gastropub favourites.

The Hand and Flowers maintains two Michelin stars and the establishment sources the finest available produce from independent butchers, fishmongers and greengrocers.

Whilst it comes at a premium, the venue currently offers a midweek lunch promotion where diners can enjoy £25 for two courses, or £32.50 for three from a fixed lunch selection.

Its signature menu is priced at £85 for three courses, Monday to Friday exclusively, or its tasting menu costs a substantial £195 per head. Dishes on the tasting menu feature Cornish halibut, a 30-day-aged beef fillet, and a vanilla crème brûlée for afters.

The menu selections sound mouthwatering, but they come with a hefty price tag.

On Sundays, patrons can also experience the venue’s Sunday lunch offering for £195 per person. The establishment boasts excellent feedback, though one reviewer suggests it ought to be impressive given what it costs.

Another patron praised: “Great night, staff and service, warm atmosphere, the food was out of this world.”

A third customer noted: “It has a fine choice of drinks from well-presented cocktails, beer and fine wines.”

So, whilst all three upmarket venues enjoy glowing testimonials, there’s considerable availability, which might be attributed to the price point.

The smell hits you before you even see the tents. In the al-Taawun camp, wedged between Yarmouk Stadium and al-Sahaba Street in central Gaza City, the line between human habitation and human waste has been erased.

Forced to flee their homes by Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, 765 families have set up makeshift shelters directly on top of and adjacent to an enormous solid waste dump. Here, amid mountains of rotting garbage, they are fighting a losing battle against disease, pests and the psychological horror of living in filth.

Fayez al-Jadi, a father who has been displaced 12 times since the war began, said the conditions are stripping them of their humanity.

“The rats eat the tents from underneath,” al-Jadi told Al Jazeera. “They walk on our faces while we sleep. My daughter is 18 months old. A rat ran right over her face. Every day, she has gastroenteritis, vomiting, diarrhoea or malnutrition.”

Al-Jadi’s plea is not for a luxury accommodation, just a mere 40 to 50 metres (130ft to 164ft) of clean space to live in, he said. “We want to live like human beings.”

‘We wake up screaming’

The sanitary crisis has unleashed a plague of skin infections among the 4,000 residents of the camp. With no running water or sewage system, scabies has spread like wildfire.

Fares Jamal Sobh, a six-month-old infant, spends his nights crying. His mother points to the red, angry rashes covering his small body.

“He doesn’t sleep at night because of the itching,” she said. “We wake up to find cockroaches and mosquitoes on him. We bring medicine, but it’s useless because we are living on trash.”

Um Hamza, a grandmother caring for a large extended family, including a blind husband and a son suffering from asthma, said shame is no longer compounding their suffering.

“We’ve stopped being ashamed to say my daughter is covered in scabies,” she told Al Jazeera. “We’ve used five or six bottles of ointment, but it’s in vain.”

She added that the collapse of Gaza’s healthcare system has left them with nowhere to turn. “The hospitals, like al-Ahli, have started turning us away. … They write us a prescription and tell us to go buy it, but there is no medicine to buy.”

A city drowning in waste

The conditions at al-Taawun are a microcosm of a citywide collapse. Hamada Abu Laila, a university lecturer who helps administer the camp, warned of an “environmental catastrophe” exacerbated by the lack of sewage networks and drinking water across Gaza City.

But the problem goes deeper than a lack of aid. According to Husni Muhanna, spokesperson for the Gaza Municipality, the crisis is man-made. Israeli forces have blocked access to the Gaza Strip’s main landfill in the east, forcing the creation of hazardous temporary dumps in populated areas like Yarmouk and the historic Firas Market.

“More than 350,000 tonnes of solid waste are piling up inside Gaza City alone,” Muhanna told Al Jazeera in January.

He explained that the municipality is paralysed by a “complex set of obstacles”, including the destruction of machinery, severe fuel shortages and constant security risks. With interventions limited to primitive means, the municipality can no longer manage waste in accordance with health standards, leaving thousands of displaced families to sleep atop a toxic time bomb.

Sleeping next to a tank shell

The dangers in al-Taawun are not just biological. Rizq Abu Laila, displaced from the town of Beit Lahiya in the north, lives with his family next to an unexploded tank shell that lies among the rubbish bags and plastic sheets.

“We are living next to a dump full of snakes and stray cats,” Abu Laila said, pointing to the ordnance. “This is an unexploded shell right next to the tents. With the heat of the sun, it could explode at any moment. Where are we supposed to go with our children?”

His daughter, Shahd, is terrified of the pack of wild dogs that roam the dump at night. “I’m afraid of the dogs because they bark,” she whispered.

Widad Sobh, another resident, described the nights as a horror movie. “The dogs bang against the tent fabric. … They want to attack and eat. I stay up all night chasing them away.”

For Um Hamza, the daily struggle for survival has reached a breaking point.

“I swear by God, we eat bread after the rats have eaten from it,” she said, describing the desperate hunger in the camp. “All I ask is that they find us a better place, … a place away from the waste.”

RAPPING legend Cardi B has fallen off a chair during her live Valentines Day weekend concert in Las Vegas.

Dressed in racy red lingerie, Cardi, 33, was performing a rendition of Thotiana but continued singing while lying on the ground.

Megamedia shared the moment on social media and captioned it: “That was the Government.”

During the clip, Cardi flaunted her curves while straddling the back of a white chair.

But as she draped down towards the floor, the chair slipped from under her and she fell to the floor.

Cardi quickly joked off the fall and jumped back to her feet to the crowd’s applause.

INTERFERENCE

Stefon Diggs spotted with model on Super Bowl field after Cardi B ‘split’

BIG DIGG?

Cardi B sparks rumors she’s SPLIT with baby daddy Stefon Diggs as he faces JAIL

As she strutted her stuff along the stage, she said: “That wasn’t me, that was the government.”

Fans flocked to comment on her humour and one wrote: “She kept performing and make a joke about it after she’s having fun I love it.”

A second said: “She so funny, it was the government.”

While a third added: “Damn, she is so hilarious.”

Cardi recently sparked rumours of a split from her baby daddy Stefon Diggs.

The controversial NFL star, who plays for the New England Patriots, lost out during the Super Bowl on Sunday night.

Fans were then quick to spot how they had then unfollowed each other on Instagram after he lost the Super Bowl.

Diggs, 32, and Cardi welcomed their son on November 4.

Most of Diggs’ children were born within a few months of each other in 2025, fuelling intense speculation and online debate. 

An insider told The U.S. Sun that she was fully aware of Diggs’ reputation from the start — and believes he has changed.

“Cardi has known since day one that Stefon had a reputation as a womanizer and had seen multiple women in the past, but her love for him is above all of that,” the source said. 

“She knows he has been faithful since they made things official and that he’s been transparent about his previous relationships, only seeing her since they committed to each other.”

The insider added that while Cardi “hates all the drama,” she admires Diggs’ role as a father.

“She loves that he’s not a deadbeat dad,” the source said. “She believes he’s a present, loving, and supportive father.”

The source also said the New York rapper has been blunt with Diggs, warning him there will be no forgiveness if he crosses the firm line she has drawn.

Follow the build-up, analysis and live text commentary of the game as Madrid have a chance to go top of La Liga.

Explosions are reported in eastern Gaza City, while at least 54 Palestinians are wounded in attacks by Israeli settlers across the occupied West Bank today.

Adams: The Leicester-born 29-year-old has established himself as Clarke’s first pick up front. Since switching allegiances in 2021, he has amassed 45 caps and contributed 11 goals. Formerly of Sheffield United and Birmingham City, he moved to Torino two years ago after featuring in the Premier League with Southampton.

This season, he has scored six goals in 26 appearances, 17 of them starts, for the side sitting 13th of Serie A’s 20 clubs.

Bowie: The Kirkcaldy-born 23-year-old began his career with Raith Rovers before spells with Fulham and on loan to Northampton Town before rising to prominence with Hibernian, his nine goal in 30 appearances this season leading to his January sale to Hellas Verona.

Bowie, who has two Scotland caps, made his debut, and first start, in a 0-0 draw at home to Pisa.

Doig: The Edinburgh-born 23-year-old became a first-team regular for Hibs in the Scottish Premiership before moving to Italy and is already at his second Serie A club. He moved from Verona to Sassuolo in 2024 and won his one and only Scotland cap last year in a left-back role in which he finds himself behind Liverpool’s Andy Robertson and Celtic’s Kieran Tierney.

Doig has made 24 appearances, 20 of them starts, this season for his 11th-placed club side.

Ferguson: Having started his career with local club Hamilton Academical, the 26-year-old spent four seasons with Aberdeen in the Premiership before being sold to Bologna in summer 2022. Ferguson, who has 21 Scotland caps, became captain the following October and led his side to a Coppa Italia final win over AC Milan last year and European qualification.

He has made 29 appearances this season, 21 of them starts for the side sitting eighth.

Gilmour: Irvine-born, the 24-year-old started his career with Rangers but moved to Chelsea while still a youth. He made his senior debut aged 18 but moved to Premier League rivals Norwich City on a season-long loan in 2021.

Transferred to Brighton & Hove Albion the following year, he helped them to a sixth-place finish and qualification for European football for the first time before being sold to Napoli in 2024, on the same day as Scotland team-mate McTominay, and they finished the season with the first league titles of their careers. However, this season he has been limited to 12 appearances, only six of them starts, having been sidelined since November.

McTominay: The Lancaster-born midfielder came through Manchester United’s youth ranks and, although he did not make his first-team debut until aged 21, he went on to make 255 appearances for the Premier League club. After being sold to Napoli, the 29-year-old was nominated for the prestigious Ballon d’Or award last season as his goalscoring feats helped win the league title.

His 14 goals in 67 Scotland appearances include a lauded overhead kick that helped beat Denmark to secure World Cup qualification in November. McTominay has made 34 appearances this season for his club, scoring 10 goals.

Miller: Born in Wishaw, the 19-year-old son of Scotland-capped former striker Lee came through the youth ranks with Motherwell, making his debut just days after turning 16. After 76 appearances for the Premiership club, he was sold to Udinese in August for a Well club record fee, two months after being handed the first of his four Scotland caps.

He has made 14 appearances, six of them starts, so far.

The man I’m talking to tells me he has no name.

“Hey” is what he responds to, and he says he can be best described as a “travel agent,” a designation said with a sly smile to clearly indicate it’s code for something more illicit.

About eight of us are crammed with him into a tiny area tucked in the corner of a nightclub. Normally, perhaps, this is a make-up room, but tonight it’s a hideaway where he’ll feed us psychedelics (they’re just mints) to escape the brutalities of the world. It’s also loud, as the sounds of a rambunctious funk band next door work to penetrate the space.

Celeste Butler Clayton as Ursa Major and Ari Herstand as Copper Jones lead a group of theater attendees in a pre-show ritual.

(Gabriella Angotti-Jones / For The Times)

”Close your eyes,” I’m told. I let the mint begin to melt while trying to pretend it’s a gateway to a dream state. The more that mint peddler talks, the more it becomes clear he’s suffering from PTSD from his days in Vietnam. But the mood isn’t somber. We don’t need any make-believe substances to catch his drift, particularly his belief that, even if music may not change the world, at least it can provide some much-needed comfort from it.

“Brassroots District: LA ’74” is part concert, part participatory theater and part experiment, attempting to intermix an evening of dancing and jubilation with high-stakes drama. How it plays out is up to each audience member. Follow the cast, and uncover war tales and visions of how the underground music scene became a refuge for the LGBTQ+ community. Watch the band, and witness a concert almost torn apart as a group on the verge of releasing its debut album weighs community versus cold commerce. Or ignore it all to play dress-up and get a groove on to the music that never stops.

Audience members are encouraged to partake in a “Soul Train”-style dance exhibition.

(Gabriella Angotti-Jones / For The Times)

Now running at Catch One, “Brassroots District” aims to concoct a fantasy vision of 1974, but creators Ari Herstand and Andrew Leib aren’t after pure nostalgia. The fictional band at the heart of the show, for instance, is clearly a nod to Sly and the Family Stone, a group whose musical vision of unity and perseverance through social upheaval still feels ahead of its time. “Brassroots District” also directly taps into the history of Catch One, with a character modeled after the club’s pioneering founder Jewel Thais-Williams, a vital figure on the L.A. music scene who envisioned a sanctuary for Black queer women and men as well as trans, gay and musically adventurous revelers.

“This is the era of Watergate and Nixon and a corrupt president,” Herstand says, noting that the year of 1974 was chosen intentionally. “There’s very clear political parallels from the early ‘70s to 2026. We don’t want to smack anyone in the face over it, but we want to ask the questions about where we’ve come from.”

This isn’t the first time a version of “Brassroots District” has been staged. Herstand, a musician and author, and Leib, an artist manager, have been honing the concept for a decade. It began as an idea that came to Herstand while he spent time staying with extended family in New Orleans to work on his book, “How to Make it in the New Music Business.” And it initially started as just a band, and perhaps a way to create an excitement around a new group.

Ari Herstand as musician Copper Jones in an intimate moment with the audience.

(Gabriella Angotti-Jones / For The Times)

Celeste Butler Clayton (Ursa Major), from left, Ari Herstand (Copper Jones), Bryan Daniel Porter (Donny) and Marqell Edward Clayton (Gil) in a tense moment.

(Gabriella Angotti-Jones/For The Times)

Yet as the pair became smitten with immersive theater — a term that typically implies some form of active involvement on the part of the audience, most often via interacting and improvising with actors — Brassroots District the band gradually became “Brassroots District” the show. Like many in the space, Herstand credits the long-running New York production “Sleep No More” with hipping him to the scene.

“It’s really about an alternative experience to a traditional proscenium show, giving the audience autonomy to explore,” Herstand says.

Eleven actors perform in the show, directed by DeMone Seraphin and written with input from L.A. immersive veterans Chris Porter (the Speakeasy Society) and Lauren Ludwig (Capital W). I interacted with only a handful of them, but “Brassroots District” builds to a participatory finale that aims to get the whole audience moving when the band jumps into the crowd for a group dance. The night is one of wish fulfillment for music fans, offering the promise of behind-the-stage action as well as an idealized vision of funk’s communal power.

Working in the favor of “Brassroots District” is that, ultimately, it is a concert. Brassroots District, the group, released its debut “Welcome to the Brassroots District” at the top of this year, and audience members who may not want to hunt down or chase actors can lean back and watch the show, likely still picking up on its broad storyline of a band weighing a new recording contract with a potentially sleazy record executive. Yet Herstand and Leib estimate that about half of those in attendance want to dig a little deeper.

At the show’s opening weekend this past Saturday, I may even wager it was higher than that. When a mid-concert split happens that forces the band’s two co-leaders — Herstand as Copper Jones and Celeste Butler Clayton as Ursa Major — to bolt from the stage, the audience immediately knew to follow them into the other room, even as the backing band played on. Leib, borrowing a term from the video game world, describes these as “side quests,” moments in which the audience can better get to know the performers, the club owner and the act’s manager.

“Brassroots District: LA ‘74” is wish fulfillment for music fans, providing, for instance, backstage-like access to artists. Here, Celeste Butler Clayton performs as musician Ursa Major and is surrounded by ticket-goers.

(Gabriella Angotti-Jones / For The Times)

An audience member’s costume.

(Gabriella Angotti-Jones / For The Times)

Yet those who stay in the main stage will still get some show moments, as here is where a journalist will confront a record executive. Both will linger around the floor and chat with willing guests, perhaps even offering them a business card with a number to call after the show to further the storyline beyond the confines of the club. If all goes according to plan, the audience will start to feel like performers. In fact, the central drama of “Brassroots District” is often kicked off by an attendee finding some purposely left-behind props that allude to the group’s record label drama. Actors, say Herstand, will “loosely guide” players to the right spot, if need be.

“The point is,” says Leib, “that you as an audience member are also kind of putting on a character. You can stir the spot.” And with much of the crowd in their ‘70s best and smartphones strictly forbidden — they are placed in bags prior to the show beginning — you may need a moment to figure out who the actors are, but a microphone usually gives it a way.

“They’re a heightened version of themselves,” Herstand says of the audience’s penchant to come in costumes to “Brassroots District,” although it is not necessary.

“Brassroots District,” which is about two hours in length, is currently slated to run through the end of March, but Herstand and Leib hope it becomes a long-running performance. Previous iterations with different storylines ran outdoors, as it was first staged in the months following the worst days of the pandemic. Inside, at places such as Catch One, was always the goal, the pair say, and the two leaned into the venue’s history.

“It’s in the bones of the building that this was a respite for queer men and the Black community,” Leib says. “There’s a bit of like, this is a safe space to be yourself. We’re baking in some of these themes in the show. It’s resistance through art and music.”

Such a message comes through in song. One of the band’s central tunes is “Together,” an allusion to Sly and the Family Stone’s “Everyday People.” It’s a light-stepping number built around finger snaps and the vision of a better world.

“We are stronger when we unite,” Herstand says. “That is the hook of the song, and what we’re really trying to do is bring people together. That is how we feel we actually can change society.”

And on this night, that’s exactly what progress looks like — an exuberant party that extends a hand for everyone to dance with a neighbor.

One Cotswolds village is my favourite and I recommend it to everyone

I’m a regular visitor to the Cotswolds, spending considerable time exploring the area. It’s home to some of England’s most charming villages, yet many remain relatively unknown to British tourists.

From Broadway to Burford, Cirencester to Moreton-in-Marsh, the region offers countless picturesque settlements worth discovering.

While there are certain towns I’ve never felt compelled to revisit, others draw me back almost weekly. Despite being arguably the busiest Cotswolds village, Bourton-on-the-Water offers, in my view, the most attractions and activities.

That’s precisely why I recommend it to everyone.

The village is renowned for its low-lying bridges and classic stone cottages, and it plays host to the Cotswold Motoring Museum, Model Village, and numerous dining establishments, reports the Express.

Built between 1654 and 1911, these bridges are crafted from local Cotswold stone and have earned the village its nickname as the “Venice of the Cotswolds”.

The village’s crowning glory is undoubtedly its stunning river. Beginning its journey near the small village of Taddington, roughly 10 miles distant, the waterway winds 35 miles before reaching Newbridge in Oxfordshire, where it joins the River Thames.

There’s plenty to explore, including Birdland Park & Gardens, which houses over 130 bird species. The attraction also features the UK’s only breeding colony of King Penguins.

Adjacent to Birdland Park and Garden sits The Dragonfly Maze, a traditional garden maze and puzzle that’s perfect for keeping children entertained. Across the way sits the Model Village, a stunning one-ninth scale recreation of this picturesque village.

It features every building from the Old Water Mill, which now houses the Car Museum, right through to the Old New Inn and the ford.

I’ve adored visiting the Model Village since childhood, though the admission price has now risen to £4.75 for adults.

The Cotswold Motoring Museum is essential viewing for anyone exploring the village. It’s crammed with vintage motors, charming caravans and classic motorcycles.

Fans of the BBC series will be delighted to spot Brum, the beloved little yellow car, on display at the museum.

For those who enjoy a spot of retail therapy, Bourton-on-the-Water boasts numerous artisan boutiques and independent retailers, alongside plenty of cafes, pubs and restaurants.

My go-to spots for food include Bakery on the Water and The Den. There’s also a noteworthy confectionery shop called Once Upon a Candy Shop, though I do find the prices rather steep.

It’s an unmissable destination if you’ve never visited, offering plenty of attractions. I’d suggest arriving early, though, as parking spaces become scarce and the village gets extremely crowded, particularly during spring and summer.

The vote is a direct contest between frontrunner Tarique Rahman’s BNP and a Jamaat-e-Islami-led coalition of 11 parties.

Israeli raids and attacks across Gaza and the occupied West Bank have continued as Trump and Netanyahu prepare to meet.

The donkeys are pissed off. Put upon, out of work and victims of decades-long systemic abuse, it’s time, they have decided, to protest.

The donkeys, metaphorically, are us.

At least that’s the premise of “asses.masses,” a video game played by and for a live audience. It’s theater for the post-Twitch age, performance art for those weaned on “The Legend of Zelda” or “Pokémon.” Most important, it’s entertainment as political dissent for these divisive times. Though the project dates to 2018, it’s hard not to draft 2026 onto its narrative. Whether it’s unjust incarceration, mass layoffs or topics centered around tech’s automation of jobs, “asses.masses,” despite generally lasting more than seven hours — yes, seven-plus hours — is a work of urgency.

The audience cheers various decisions made during the playing of “asses.masses” at UCLA Nimoy Theater.

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

And for the audience at the Saturday showing at the UCLA Nimoy Theater, it felt like a call to arms. Citizens executed in the street for exercising their right to free speech? That’s in here. Run-ins with authorities that recall images seen in multiple American cities over the past few months? Also in here, albeit in a retro, pixel art style that may bring to mind the “Final Fantasy” series from its Super Nintendo days.

In a city that’s been ravaged by fires, ICE raids and a series of entertainment industry layoffs, the sold-out crowd of nearly 300 was riled up. Chants of “ass power!” — the donkey’s protest slogan — were heard throughout the day as attendees politely gathered near a single video game controller on a dais to play the game, becoming not just the avatar for the donkeys but a momentary leader for the collective. Cheers would erupt when a young donkey reached the conclusion that “I kinda think the system is rigged against everyone.” And when technological advances, clearly a stand-in for artificial intelligence, were described as “evil, soulless, job-taking, child-killing machines,” there were knowing claps, as if no exaggeration was stated.

“Our theater is supposed to be a rehearsal for life,” says Patrick Blenkarn, who co-created the game with Milton Lim, interdisciplinary artists from Canada who often work with interactive media.

“We grew up in a radical political tradition of theater,” says Patrick Blenkarn, right, who co-created “asses.masses” with Milton Lim.

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

“We grew up in a radical political tradition of theater, where this is where we can rehearse emotional experience — catharsis,” Blenkarn says. “That is what art is supposed to be doing. We have been very interested in the idea that if we come together, what are we going to do and how are we going to do it? What we are seeing in your country, and other countries, is the question of how are we going to change our behavior, and will the people who currently have the controller listen? And if they don’t, what do we do?”

Video games are inherently theatrical. Even if one is playing solo on the couch, a video game is a dialogue, a performance between a player and unseen designers. Blenkarn and Lim also spoke in an interview prior to the show of wanting to re-create the sensation of gathering around a television and passing a controller back and forth among family or friends while offering commentary on someone’s play style. Only at scale. And while I thought “asses.masses” could work, too, as a solitary experience at home, its themes of collective action and reaching a group consensus, often through boos or shouts of encouragement, made it particularly well-suited for a performance.

The UCLA Nimoy Theater played host to “asses.masses” this weekend.

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

Beginning at 1 p.m. and ending shortly after 8 p.m., coincidentally, says Blenkarn, the length or so of a working day, not everyone made it to the “asses.masses” conclusion. About a quarter of the audience — a crowd that was clearly familiar with the multiple video game style represented in “asses.masses” — couldn’t stand the endurance test. But in a time of binge-watching, I didn’t find the length prohibitive. There were multiple intermissions, but those became part of the show as well, as there was no set time limit. Blenkarn and Lim were asking the audience, via a prompt on the screen, to jointly agree upon a length, emphasizing, once again, the importance of collective cooperation.

And “asses.masses” holds interest because it, in part, embraces the animated absurdity and inherent experimentation of the medium. While often in a retro pixel art style, at times the game shifted into a more modern open-world look. And the story veers down multiple paths and side-quests — some requiring wild coordination such as a rhythm game meant to simulate donkey sex, and others more tense, such as “Metal Gear”-like sneaking, complete with the donkeys hiding in cardboard boxes.

Audiences vote, often by cheering or booing, on choices in “asses.masses.”

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

The way “asses.masses” shifted tones and tenor recalled a game such as “Kentucky Route Zero,” another serialized and alternately realistic and fanciful game with political overtones. Other times, such as the surreal world of the donkey afterlife, I thought of the colorfully unpredictable universe of the music-focused game “The Artful Escape,” a quest for personal identity and self-actualization. The donkeys in “asses.masses” are an ensemble, often trying to steer the audience in different directions. As much as some push for a protest as a way for communal healing and progressive action, others take a cynical outlook, viewing that path as “intellectually compromised” by a “commitment to past ideals.”

The goal, says Lim, is to create a sort of game within a game — one that’s being played with a controller and one of debate among a crowd. “It’s not about having a billion endings,” Lim says. “We understand it’s a theater show, and we as writers have objectives for what we want it to go towards. But the decisions people make in the room really matter. The game is half in the room and half on the screen.”

The audience, for instance, can play a role in keeping certain donkeys alive. Or what jobs a group of renegade donkeys may choose. Our audience voted for the donkeys to enter the circus, at least until they were deemed obsolete and sent to detention centers, which felt uncomfortably of the moment. Such topicality is what drew Edgar Miramontes, leader of CAP UCLA, to the show, despite his admittance to being largely unfamiliar with the world of video games.

“It doesn’t shy away from the nuances of when organizing happens and what we’re seeing in our world right now,” Miramontes says. “There are instances in which a donkey may die because, in organizing to achieve their goals, these things happen. We have seen this in our Civil Rights Movement and other movements and the current movement that’s happening right now around ICE.”

The Nimoy event, part of UCLA’s current Center for the Art of Performance season, was the 50th time “asses.masses” had been performed. The show will continue to tour, with a performance in Boston set for this upcoming weekend and it will reach Chicago later this year. Our donkeys on Saturday didn’t solve all the world’s inequalities, but they did live full lives, attending raves, engaging in casual sex and even playing video games.

A player celebrates during “asses.masses,” live action theatrical video game.

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

The show is an argument that progress isn’t always linear, but community is constant. As one of the donkeys says at one point, “If you aren’t doing something that brings you joy, do something different.”

“In case anyone is like, ‘I don’t want to be lectured at,’ or I don’t want to do all this work, it feels like you’re just having fun with friends,” Lim says. “Maybe revolution doesn’t always look like just this. Maybe it’s also this.”

And like many a video game, maybe it’s a chance to live out some fantasies. “We do beat up riot cops in the game,” Blenkarn says, “in case anyone is hoping for that opportunity.”

An Israeli air attack on a residential building in western Gaza City has killed at least four people.

The rules will make it easier for Israeli settlers to buy land in the occupied West Bank and give Israeli officials more powers to enforce its laws on Palestinians in the area.

Follow the build-up, analysis and live text commentary of the football match as Liverpool host City for a crunch game at Anfield.

FOR dolphin spotting, Blue Flag coastlines, and cafés right on the beach, head to Tynemouth.

This pretty town has also just been named one of the best places to live in the North East.

Tynemouth, as its name suggests, is situated right by the mouth of the river Tyne, along the North East coastline.

Now, it’s been named as one of the top places to live in the region by Garrington Property Finders.

Out of 1447 places around the country, Tynemouth in Northumberland ranked at number 85.

However, when totted up with other locations in the North East – it came out sixth.

GO SEA IT

£9.50 holiday spot with shipwrecks, seals offshore & horseshoe-shaped waterfalls

SIGHT SEA

£9.50 holidaymakers’ favourite Skegness activities… away from the beach

Tynemouth sits between Whitley Bay and North Shields and is home to one of the best beaches in the area called Longsands.

The beach has a mile of golden sand, has been awarded Blue Flag status, and is known for having excellent surfing conditions.

One recent visitor wrote on Tripadvisor: “Lovely sand, clean. Plenty of people seen swimming, playing, boarding and walking so it’s popular but not packed.”

Another added: “Beautiful beach that’s dog friendly – loads of nice bars and coffee shops within walking distance. Stunning year around.”

Dogs are generally welcome on the northern end of Longsands beach year-round.

In the summer season between May and the end of September at the southern end of the beach and at King Edward’s Bay restrictions are in place.

Beachgoers regularly spot dolphins offshore from the beach, particularly during summer months.

Aside from spending a day at the seaside, there’s plenty for families to do including heading to the Lost World Adventure crazy golf and the Tynemouth Aquarium.

One of the most popular cafés in Tynemouth is Crusoe’s where visitors can eat right on the sand and take in the seaside view.

You can pick up breakfasts, sandwiches and the classic beach supper, fish and chips from £13.95.

Another fish and chips shop called Marshall’s which is found in the town centre is so busy it usually has customers queueing out the door.

Marshall’s is named after Jimi Hendrix who, according to a blue plaque in the restaurant’s window, ate fish and chips there while playing a show in Newcastle in March 1967.

This summer, the town will hold its annual Mouth of the Tyne Festival between July 9-12.

It’s held within the ruins of the Priory which is on top of the headland and looks over the beach.

Some of the other top places to live in the North East were the village of Wickham in Tyne and Wear and Alnwick in Northumberland.

For more on seaside towns, these are our favourites picked by Sun Travel  – with seal cruises, seafront pubs and secret beaches.

Plus, this pretty village regularly named ‘UK’s most beautiful’ is the perfect spot for a weekend break.