WILL STONE fact-checks the colourful life of Ozzy Osbourne
Light Falls, Royal Exchange Theatre Manchester
Missed opportunity to shed light on complex northern realities
In meltdown: David Moorst as Steven in Light Falls
[Manuel Harlan] 
JAMES CROSSLEY applauds a lucid biography of the German radical preacher who reemerged as a hero in the GDR
Prizes all round: the Bard hands plaudits to the Miners Gala, OT&JC, Joe Solo, Black Sabbath’s frontman and the Lionesses
Star cartoonist JAMIE BRITTON is in awe of a graphic novel of epic proportions that explores class, religion and globalisation via the strange cultivation of Ginseng in the US Midwest
GUILLERMO THOMAS is intrigued by a history of the Middle East that demonstrates how promising post colonial beginnings were snuffed out by Western imperialist interests
MARIA DUARTE recommends the intricate study of a high-performance and highly dysfuntional German family
SIMON STEPHENS’S new play marks the last production from the Royal Exchange’s artistic director Sarah Frankcom before she takes over the reins at LAMDA drama school.
One of the country’s finest directors, she has reshaped the Exchange into a theatre with international renown and over the past decade her innovative work, especially wonderful collaborations with Maxine Peake, have thrilled audiences.
That’s not necessarily the case with Light Falls, inspired by a road trip she took in 2016 with Stephens across the north of England, visiting Warrington, Blackpool, Ulverston, Doncaster and Durham.
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PAUL FOLEY welcomes a dramatic account of the men and women involved in the pivotal moment of the 5th Pan African Congress
PAUL FOLEY picks out an excellent example of theatre devised to start conversations about identity, class and belonging
PAUL FOLEY applauds a faultless musical that tells the tragic real-life story of working-class winners of the football pools
PAUL FOLEY is blown away by a Brazilian band at the top of their game
