WILL STONE fact-checks the colourful life of Ozzy Osbourne
By the people, for the people
MARY CONWAY is inspired by a community theatre project that explores the remarkable life of Ada Salter
(left) Ada opens a playground by planting a tree, Alfred is on her left
[(L to R) Grahamcoleridge/CC and public domain] 
JAMES CROSSLEY applauds a lucid biography of the German radical preacher who reemerged as a hero in the GDR
Prizes all round: the Bard hands plaudits to the Miners Gala, OT&JC, Joe Solo, Black Sabbath’s frontman and the Lionesses
Star cartoonist JAMIE BRITTON is in awe of a graphic novel of epic proportions that explores class, religion and globalisation via the strange cultivation of Ginseng in the US Midwest
GUILLERMO THOMAS is intrigued by a history of the Middle East that demonstrates how promising post colonial beginnings were snuffed out by Western imperialist interests
MARIA DUARTE recommends the intricate study of a high-performance and highly dysfuntional German family
Bermondsey Revolution
Southwark Playhouse Elephant
Until January 28
COMMUNITY theatre at its most dynamic is a profoundly transformative experience as Bertolt Brecht has vouched. And it bodes well for the future that the spanking, brand new Southwark Playhouse Elephant theatre has kicked off with this hugely relevant offering from director John Whelan’s splendid brainchild: People’s Company.
To watch this project at work is to experience at first-hand something of the reformative zeal the play aims to capture. And it’s by watching the faces of the wonderfully diverse, volunteer cast – drawn entirely from the locality – that the soul of this artistic venture is realised.
Ada Salter – iconic social activist and central figure in this play – would have approved.
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