Reviews of Habibi Funk 031, Kayatibu, and The Good Ones
Latest editorial
Lava, Bush Theatre London
Impassioned exposé of pain and anger wreaked by racism and prejudice
MAGNIFICENT: Ronke Adekoluejo
[Helen Murray]
SIMON DUFF relishes the cross contamination of Damien Hirst’s greatest hits by street artists from France and the US
In view of the grooming gangs inquiry, SIMON PARSONS feels the relevance of this powerful examination of trauma suffered at Medomsley Youth Detention Centre
JOHN GREEN doubts the motivations of a US war photographer who never questions why, or for whom, she is producing images of imperialist conflict
MARIA DUARTE reviews Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, Hedda, The Mastermind, and Regretting You
TONY CONWAY welcomes a thrilling and concise history of Hope not Hate, that is also a manual full of tactical advice
PAUL DONOVAN welcomes an inspiring account of living with deafness that has important lessons for the treatment of deaf people in today’s UK
MORE of a poetic discourse than a play, Ronke Adekoluejo’s monologue, written by Benedict Lombe, follows a young woman’s often happy but sometimes fraught journey from her birthplace in the Congo to South Africa, Ireland and then England.
Lava begins as an entertaining tale with a generous helping of humour. Yet its end is visceral in its challenging conclusions.
The first half is loosely framed around Adekoluejo’s quest to gain a British passport. But when that theme draws to a somewhat tame, if amusing, conclusion the way is paved for a more intense and deliberately disjointed second half.
Similar stories
MAYER WAKEFIELD has reservations about the direction of a play centered on a DVLA re-training session for three British-Pakistani motorists
ALEX HALL recommends a book that places empirical evidence at the heart of understanding racism
MARY CONWAY recommends a beautifully judged performance that shines a light on the experience of all female war babies and boomers
PETER MASON applauds a thought-provoking study of the relationship between a grieving woman and her photographer