MICK MCSHANE is roused by a band whose socialism laces every line of every song with commitment and raw passion
Latest editorial
Making a drama out of a crisis
Playwright MARK RAVENHILL talks to Tom King about how the lockdown and its impact on care homes has been the catalyst for his new radio play
(L to R) Angela Ravenhill in 2005; (top right) Mark Ravenhill; (Bottom right) Ravenhill as a baby in 1967 with his mother Angela and his father Ted
New releases from Mountain, Soul Asylum and Michael McDermott
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
THEATRE remains in crisis. Some have maintained an online presence through streamed and distanced productions but most have remained closed for over a year.
Even when the Luftwaffe was carpet-bombing London, intrepid theatregoers embodied the “blitz spirit” by attending productions frequently interrupted by air-raid sirens. But that threat — albeit severe — was from without and easy to identify. Now, invisible, it is among us.
When I spoke to playwright Mark Ravenhill, whose new production Angela has just been launched as a radio drama, he pointed out that the last time venues in the capital were shut for such a long time was in 1665, when the Great Plague was tearing through the city.
More from this author
As the Establishment stokes a culture war against gender recognition — not in favour of it — the left must unite in support of the trans community, says TOM KING
TOM KING marvels at the insights into the lived reality of the legionaries of the Roman empire revealed by 2,000-year-old artefacts
A play about choral singing, hedge funds and dementia proves to be an intricate exploration of family relationships and the redemptive power of music, says TOM KING
TOM KING recommends a groundbreaking performance of Handel's Messiah
