Exhibition: Tutankhamun deserves more showbiz

The Independent (Tim Lubbock)

This article offers a rather different take on the exhibition, supporting the blockbuster approach:

The rumour was that, compared to the scholarly British Museum exhibit of a generation ago, Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs was going to be a much more showbiz affair – not so much Tutankhamun as Tutankhabut.

Would that be so wrong? The ancient Egyptians obviously believed in the power of bling. So do we still.

Besides, Tutankhamun was always a glamorous pharaoh. A very minor king in his time, he owes all of his celebrity to the glories of his tomb, and its much-publicised discovery, perfectly intact, in 1922.

I remember that I was taken to that show as a child, and being told that it was very important. But of the show itself I remember absolutely nothing.

And when I think of all the parties of kids who are going to be marched off to see this new one, I can only feel that, far from being too showbiz, the O2 show isn't nearly showbiz enough.