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
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Casting a contemporary eye on Shakespeare
MARY CONWAY recommends a production of Richard II that makes a striking break with tradition
IN THE HERE AND NOW: Ayesha Dharker, Adjoa Andoh and Leila Farzad in Richard II
[Ingrid Pollard]
If you can see past the relentless commodification you will be rewarded by enormously powerful work, suggests JENNY MITCHELL
CHRIS SEARLE revels in the one-off collaboration between an American polymath and a British Muslim, and detects the presence of their revolutionary forebear
GORDON PARSONS revels in an ebullient production of Shakespeare’s magical comedy
BRENT CUTLER welcomes a thoughtful analysis of the Erdogan regime, viewed through the evolving history of a neighbourhood in Istanbul
GORDON PARSONS regrets the price, but is dazzled by an outstandingly ambitious study of the way art restoration in particular, and culture in general was weaponised by the Nazis
Richard II
Globe Theatre online
IN THIS production of Shakespeare’s Richard II, all the roles are played by women of colour and the result is that stereotypes are blown to pieces and the play’s universality and contemporary significance amplified.
In place of the rather constrained view of a single-nation Plantagenet Britain straight from the history books, co-directors Lynette Linton and Adjoa Andoh capture the melange that is the England we know today with its complex ethnic range and cultural heritage.
Designer Rajha Shakiry’s costumes flaunt the purples and magentas, the greens and golds of Africa and Asia and all the characters wear combinations of dresses and trousers that evoke Moroccan bazaars and the exotic East.
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MARY CONWAY becomes impatient with the intellectual self-indulgence of Tom Stoppard in a production that is, nevertheless, total class
Although this production was in rehearsal before the playwright’s death, it allows us to pay homage to his life, suggests MARY CONWAY
MARY CONWAY is blown away by a flawless production of Lynn Nottage’s exquisite tragedy