Reviews of Habibi Funk 031, Kayatibu, and The Good Ones
Latest editorial
Promising take on Thatcher's legacy runs out of gas
Spot on: Rina Fantania in Approaching Empty
[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
Approaching Empty
Kiln Theatre, London
THE DEARTH of northern voices, especially authentic working-class ones, on the London stage made the proposition of Ishy Din’s Approaching Empty an appealing one.
His third play, set in a Middlesbrough cab office, draws directly on his experiences as a taxi driver in the city and explores the post-industrial fortunes of middle-aged Asian men against the fitting backdrop of Margaret Thatcher's death in 2013.
It gets off to a lively start, with ruthless entrepreneur Raf (Nicholas Khan) trading blows with his best friend of 40 years and well-meaning assistant Mansha (Kammy Darweish) over the future of the business and the legacy of Thatcher.
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