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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Dream of a production
MARY CONWAY sees a gender-bending version of a classic Shakespeare comedy triumphantly reconfigured
Lighting up the stage: David Moorst and Gwendoline Christie
[Manuel Harlan]
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
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
The Bridge Theatre London
THE BAD news is that, as with Brexit, responses to production will fall into two bitterly divided camps. The good, though, is that unlike with those negotiations, this tale of desperate lovers is thrillingly theatrical and worth anyone’s time.
Not only does Nicholas Hytner have a ball, he invites all to join in the unconstrained hedonism of a last blow-out party on the edge of doom. It’s a welcome antidote to the current world at large.
Just as with Hytner’s earlier Julius Caesar at the Bridge, this is a promenade performance where half the audience stand. And the action is everywhere — from high-wire acts, soaring glass booths and ivy-laden brass beds to floating moon balls, glamorous fairies and a gravity-defying Puck.
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Although this production was in rehearsal before the playwright’s death, it allows us to pay homage to his life, suggests MARY CONWAY
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