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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The darkness before dawn
GEORGE FOGARTY applauds a brilliant one-man version of Robert Tressell’s classic of working-class literature
REMARKABLE: Neil Gore in The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists
[Townsend Productions]
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
The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists
Townsend Productions,
Old Fire Station, Oxford
Townsend Productions have made a well-earned name for themselves as purveyors of working-class history of the finest calibre. Their previous work has dramatised some of the most important moments in British labour history, including the Tolpuddle martyrs, Red Clydeside and the Grunwick strike.
Indeed, tonight’s performance (a one man show performed by Neil Gore) is something of an anomaly in that it is based on a novel rather than a true story.
The original story follows a group of painters and decorators in the fictional town of Mugsborough, selflessly dedicating their lives to the enrichment of their employer, Mr Rushton.
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PETER MASON is gripped by a novel that confronts corporate callousness with those prepared to act to bring about change
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