WILL STONE fact-checks the colourful life of Ozzy Osbourne
Choosing to thrive not just survive
MAYER WAKEFIELD recommends a 1970s US theatre classic that has lost none of its relevance
KEEPING THE AUDIENCE HOOKED: The Company
[Manuel Harlan] 
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
Jitney
Old Vic
AUGUST WILSON’S Jitney is unique within his American Century Cycle as the only one of the 10 plays to be written and performed in the same decade – the 1970s.
But as with most of them, it’s set in the Hill District of Pittsburgh where Wilson was raised, on this occasion in an unlicensed cab rank owned by Jim Becker (Wil Johnson) where all the action occurs.
It’s an office buzzing with activity as Wilson’s patchwork of nine personalities orbit in and out, taking on journeys in an area where official taxis refuse to go. Despite that, the city authorities want to “tear down the whole block” and replace it with new housing. They are given just a few weeks’ notice before they must close. It’s a now familiar tale which will resonate with many in modern Britain.
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MAYER WAKEFIELD relishes a witty and uplifting rallying cry for unity, which highlights the erasure of queer women
MAYER WAKEFIELD laments the lack of audience interaction and social diversity in a musical drama set on London’s Underground
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MAYER WAKEFIELD wonders why this 1978 drama merits a revival despite demonstrating that the underlying theme of racism in the UK remains relevant
