MIK SABIERS savours the first headline solo show of the stalwart of Brighton’s indie-punk outfit Blood Red Shoes
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Less talk, more action
An explicit take on sexual power games could do with less reliance on arid discourse and more engagement in meaningful drama, says MARY CONWAY
Magnificent: Cate Blanchett (left)
New releases reviewed by IAN SINCLAIR
STEVEN ANDREW is moved beyond words by a historical account of mining in Britain made from the words of the miners themselves
CAILEAN MCBRIDE welcomes a refreshing and timely study of the way officialdom creates structures that exclude LGBT+ rights and humanity
The bard mourns the loss of comrades and troubadours, and looks for consolation with Black Country Jess
CHRIS MOSS relishes the painting and the life story of a self-taught working-class artist from Warrington
MARY CONWAY is disappointed by a star-studded adaptation of Ibsen’s play that is devoid of believable humanity
When We Have Sufficiently Tortured Each Other
National Theatre, London
“EXTREME sex and violence” warns the hype for this new play by Martin Crimp at the National and there’s even a notice on the door about its “shockable” nature as you go in.
So you enter braced for pornography, albeit with a lead performance by none other than the great Cate Blanchett.
And she is magnificent. While displaying all the “infinite variety” of a modern Cleopatra, she holds the attention endlessly, with her face, voice, body and essential substance totally at her command. Sometimes a soft yielding girl, at others she’s the dominant male.
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MARY CONWAY relishes two matchless performers and a masterclass in tightly focused wordplay
