MICK MCSHANE is roused by a band whose socialism laces every line of every song with commitment and raw passion
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Theatre: A Lesson from Aloes, Finborough Theatre London
Athol Fugard's play is an acute reminder of the horrors of apartheid-era South Africa
Frightened people: Dawid Minnar and Janine Ulfane
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ALEX HALL is disgusted by the misuse of ‘emotional narratives’ to justify uninformed geo-political prejudice
SUE TURNER welcomes a thoughtful, engaging book that lays bare the economic realities of global waste management
JOHN GREEN welcomes an insider account of the achievements and failures of the transition to democracy in Portugal
SIMON PARSONS applauds an imaginative and absorbing updating of Strindberg’s classic
PETER MASON is enthralled by an assembly of objects, ancient and modern, that have lain in the mud of London’s river
THE opening of A Lesson From Aloes lulls you into false sense of security.
Piet and Gladys Benzuidenhouts are having a lazy afternoon in their isolated Port Elizabeth back yard, awaiting a visit from his old friend Steve and his family. There’s talk of sunburn, the resilience of aloes and the significance of names — underlined by a Romeo and Juliet quote — but little more.
Fortunately, when you are in the hands of South Africa’s master dramatist you know you won’t be underwhelmed for long and, slowly, Athol Fugard begins to turn up the heat.
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