News about Oscar Wilde

Our friends from across the pond have been known to struggle with British sarcasm on occasion. But improved Anglo-American relations may be on the horizon, as experts have developed a device that can detect when someone is being sarcastic. A team from the University of Groningen have created an algorithm that analyses someone's speech to work out if they are using irony. It works by examining the pitch, talking rate and energy in speech, and then transcribing the speech into text for it to be analysed further for language cues.

Described as 'crumbling, overcrowded and vermin-infested' by Mr Taylor during his last inspection in 2022, things are now even worse, prompting him to issue an 'urgent notification' to ministers warning of the 'ever-present risk' of a 'catastrophe'. On an unannounced visit this month he found eighty per cent of prisoners sharing cells designed for one person, 44 per cent testing positive for drugs and some going without showers for five days. And despite the alleged escape of terror suspect Daniel Khalife last year, he said security remained a 'serious concern', with staff on the 'chaotic' wings frequently unable to accurately account for the whereabouts of their prisoners.

An Antiques Roadshow guest had brought a written and signed sonnet by legendary 1800s author, Oscar Wilde that had been gifted to him by a lady he worked for when he was university. Martin Gammon, an appraiser revealed that the manuscript was Wilde's popular poem, 'The New Remorse' -  written by him in 1891 for his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas and had been written to Christian Gauss. Gauss met Wilde met during the Dreyfus trial between 1894 to 1906

A host of fantastic films, awesome new albums and spectacular stage performances - they are all featured in our critics' picks of the best of film, music and theatre. Our experts have explored all the options for culture vultures to get their teeth into, and decided on the music, plays and movies that are well worth dedicating your weekend to.

After weeks of accolades it was almost inevitable that Sarah Snook might lead the winners as the 2024 Olivier Awards got underway on Sunday evening - and so it proved as the Australian star was named Best Actress, and rightly so. Snook - best known for her starring role in HBO series Succession - scooped the award for her mesmerising one-woman performance in a new West End production of Oscar Wilde's The Picture Of Dorian Gray. The Australian actress takes all 26 roles in the production, among them Basil Hallward, Sibyl Vane and of course Gray himself.

Nicole Kidman and her partner Naomi Watts spent a night on the town to help fellow Aussie Sarah Snook. On Tuesday, Nicole and Naomi took photos of themselves in London as they stepped out to watch Sarah's new theatre performance. The Emmy Award winner is playing in a stage revival of Oscar Wilde's best book, The Picture of Dorian Gray, which has been described as a "astonish piece of theatre."

I heard rumors from a social media acquaintance that made Kate look pitiable and William shady, and then I repeated them twice. It wasn't a lot, and it wasn't the worst, but it didn't turn me off the most believable conspiracy theories. I would have felt no shame in spreading similar rumors about the studs and actresses of showbiz, who have fought for fame so shamelessly, but the Princess is different. This wasn't some reality TV drama being played out for attention; this was someone's life. I was left asking myself, if I was prepared to add to the sorrow of a frail woman of just 42 preparing her three young children for an uncertain future, whose am I not prepared to add to?

The inset of Gaol prison has been open for more than a decade and is best known for housing poet and playwright Oscar Wilde in the 1980s and eliciting paintings by world-renowned artist Banksy (right). Following a failed effort to convert the historic Grade II listed building into an arts and community center, it was sold to the Ziran Education Foundation in January for a £7 million price. Ziran, a charity headquartered in Poplar, London, claims to be a non-profit group established by billionaire Channing Bi (left) and his allies with the same values.' Ziran released a statement today announcing that they intend to convert the prison into a museum and 'art-inspired' hotel, which would include the 'integration of AI technology' and the development of 'robots.'

RIATH AL-SAMARRAI: Raheem Sterling's omissions from Southgate's gatherings are no surprise. We can recall six of them in a row since the World Cup, but they don't really count for news any more. If we buy the Oscar Wilde line, the one in which the only thing worse than being talked about isn't being talked about, then we'll get to the point where we find the Sterling.

Millions of people around the world will be wearing shamrock hats and wearing emerald to celebrate St Patrick's Day on Sunday, from dying the river green in Chicago to a parade on Sydney's streets. Millions of people from the Irish diaspora will drink a pint of Guinness in the United Kingdom, while others in the United Kingdom would go to a pub to get a pint of Guinness. One out of nine pints in London now accounts for one in nine pints, with Europe seeing an unprecedented 19 percent increase last year. But where is the best place to sip on a pint? Femail reveals the best spot to indulge in the Irish dry stout.

Michael Culver, a British actor best known for his cameo appearance in the epic science fiction epic The Empire Strikes Back, has died at the age of 85. Culver's death was announced by his handler on Wednesday, the actor's illness had lasted for a long time. His cause of death has not been identified.

Well, if you thought this was going to be a chance to see Siobhan Roy, or rather the authentic Sarah Snook, unmediated by a film crew (as she is on television's Succession). No, much more exciting than that, it's a chance to see Snook wrestle with a high-tech monster in a daring, visually stunning, and ultimately exhausting adaptation of Oscar Wilde's 19th-century novel. This is a display that is as convincing in its concept as it is in execution, with 26 characters from the book and presenting them in the style of an art gallery video installation.

I am not suicidal. I really don't want to die by myself. However, oh how I wish it was over. Sometimes I long to be in a warm, snug bed, surrounded by my nearest and dearest, quietly chatting away and then drifting away into peace and eternal stillness. My husband and I have been married for more than 40 years with four children and five grandchildren near by. Both the joy and the hard work our children expect from us.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS: Some of the world's tiniest animals produce the most babies relative to their own size. Often twins and triplets, which equals a third of her bodyweight, when synical lizards known as shinglebacks give birth to live young. In the first few days of life, New Zealand's kiwi, on the other hand, lays an egg that supplies all of the yolk needed to sustain her baby. Its weight contributes to a quarter of her bodyweight.

The Reading Prison where the renowned Irish-born wit and playwright Oscar Wilde was imprisoned in January 2014 has been closed to the public since. Celebrities such as Stephen Fry, Kate Winslet, and Dame Judi Dench all paid for a drive to convert the Grade II listed building into an arts and community center. The prison has been sold to the Ziran Education Foundation, according to the Ministry of Justice. The foundation, which gives the charity's Poplar, London, address, is a non-profit group created by Chinese billionaire Channing Bi 'and his allies with the same ideals.' It has been said that it is "dedicated to fostering a compassionate, peaceful, and sustainable world by education."

Older characters in Lord of the Rings or Dumbledore in Harry Potter are usually the wisest, according to a new report, but a new analysis shows that the adage 'with age comes wisdom.' Dr. Judith Glück, a psychologist at the University of Klagenfurt, Austria, has reviewed previous research relating age to wisdom. Despite common misconceptions and representations of popular culture, she found that "statistical correlations between wisdom and chronological age are not strong."

CHRISTOPHER STEVENS: When computer programrs warn of Artificial Intelligence as a threat to humanity, killer drones are exactly the kind of thing they are worried about.

Rep. GALLAGHER: As the California governor swanned around China preaching the gospel of climate change, Gavin Newsom tweeted, 'Divorce is not an option.' A number of D-words have been used to describe changing US-China relations - decoupling, de-risking, diversifying, disentangling - but Newsom's marital metaphor was a new one. Perhaps nuptials were on Newsom's mind when Xi Jinping treated him to a weeklong honeymoon, clearly attuned to Newsom's presidential aspirations and eager for a relationship with a younger, more nave government. I have discussed President Biden's diplomatic aide to Beijing, but Newsom's egregious overseas presence makes Biden's foreign policy seem to be like Bismark-level realpolitik. To believe that the Communist Party of China (CCP) will be a trusted resource on environmental issues is, as Oscar Wilde said about second marriages, the triumph of hope over experience.

RICHARD KAY: From the bedridden crime writer in The Singing Detective whose naked body is slathered in lotion by an alluringly stunning Joanne Whalley to the all-knowing Dumbledore, the wizarding school Hogwarts of the Harry Potter franchise's, to sadistic crime boss Eddie Temple in Layer Cake, his roles were as diverse and obscure as the man himself. He was the master of the disarming one-liner, assuaging one interviewer who wondered if it was difficult to portray the homosexual author Oscar Wilde in a TV film that it was straightforward since he used to be gay himself. "I had to give it up after a dramatic pause," he said. 'It made my eyes water.'

Wilde was arrested after his gay affairs were revealed, according to Reading Gaol, a time when homosexual activity was unlawful. Wilde spent two years at the prison from 1895 to 1897, an event that influenced his last published work, The Ballad Of Reading Gaol. The author, who was left homeless by the event, wrote of 'narrow' cells and the 'fetid breath of life' in the jail. In November 2020, a prison transfer to a property developer collapsed. However, yesterday, activists trying to save the public's prison said they had heard that the Ministry of Justice had agreed to a transfer. When approached by MailOnline, the MoJ denied the allegation but declined to comment on the grounds that the procedure is 'commercially sensitive.' Wilde's cell, top right.

NADINE DORRIES: Governments, and I mean all governments, must refrain from using children as guinea pigs. Anyone who participated in Labour's extensive school experiment in the 1970s would have crept on hearing Bridget Phillipson, the party's shadow education secretary, make the remarks this weekend. Schools must be able to refrain from requiring students to wear branded clothing, such as a school blazer, according to her. Schools could insist on having branded items only as branded products, but Labour would limit three items.

UTLEY: Lorna Rose Treen's pundit was like this (and, no, you shouldn't need to be concerned about any danger of wetting your pants): 'I started dating a zookeeper, but it turned out that he was a cheetah.' This year's champion loses on every count, according to my book. Yes, I can see it in a clunking way, but the mention of the zookeeper's occupation sets up the pun in the punchline. Well, perhaps I'm being unfair on Lorna Rose. I admit that I wasn't in the audience at her Edinburgh show, which received some rave reviews, but I do know that an awful lot comes from timing and delivery.

EastEnders of the BBC is currently telling the tale of a teenager who discovers that selling snaps online is a good source of income. I liked it. 'Life imitates art much more than art imitates life,' Oscar Wilde said, although some at the BBC were unconcerned by scandal.'

I can't remember what I was wearing, but it must have been some kind of party dress because my gay friend said on it and said - in a fruity Oscar Wilde sort of voice - that my breasts looked 'rather magnificent.' Everyone chuckled, even Enfield, who agreed. He then said something along the lines of 'do you mind if I have a go?' They came out, clutching them both hands and jiggling them about with a ferocious enthusiasm that surprised me and everybody else by surprise, but I must confess.