To rescue Kahlo from the clutches of the corporate art market, we need to acknowledge the overt and covert political dimensions of the work, demands GAVIN O’TOOLE
Beauty and the Beast
Leeds Grand Theatre
4/5
IT’S become something of a tradition for Northern Ballet to stage a production at The Grand over the Christmas period and, while there may be nothing intrinsically festive about Beauty And The Beast, choreographer David Nixon’s adaptation has plenty of fun with the fairytale’s moral about material goods not bringing happiness.
Beauty’s two sisters — socialites who flounce around in costumes that frequently resemble gaudy sweet wrappers — could have stepped right out of Clueless, while the bailiffs quite literally take the clothes off their backs in a ballet-theatre scene that shows the company at its comic best.
PETER MASON applauds a stage version of Le Carre’s novel that questions what ordinary people have to gain from high-level governmental spying
JAN WOLF enjoys a British revival of the 1972 come of age farce/panto Pippin
MATTHEW HAWKINS recommends three memorable performances from Scottish dance artists Barrowland Ballet, In the Fields Project, and Wendy Houston
JAN WOOLF finds out where she came from and where she’s going amid Pete Townshend’s tribute to 1970s youth culture


