Reviews of Habibi Funk 031, Kayatibu, and The Good Ones
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Strange tales, then and now
Separated by centuries and countries of origin, ANGUS REID sees two quirky plays with a common thread in confronting social and political issues
LIGHT TOUCH: Luna Dai and Robin Khor Yong Kuan in Strange Tales.
[Tommy Ga-Ken Wan]
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
Strange Tales
★★★
I Can Go Anywhere
★★★★
Traverse Theatre Edinburgh
WHILE other theatres offer panto, the Traverse is serving up two helpings of bold new writing that chime as much with the political season as with Christmas.
What can you do when a man has no heart? is a topical question to ask about any number of Tories and it comes to mind watching GridIron Theatre’s adaptation of Pu Songling’s 17th-century Strange Tales, which gives a Chinese twist to this Dickensian dilemma.
What is done to resolve it here is to seek out the poorest and most despised beggar on the streets, prostrate yourself, endure their insults and eat their phlegm.
Similar stories
ANGELA COBBINAH applauds the success of a tribute in drama by a daughter to her immigrant mother
MARY CONWAY applauds a brilliant theatrical adaptation of Sam Selvon’s classic 1950s novel of oppression, betrayal and resilience
MAYER WAKEFIELD salutes a fresh angle on the conflicted soul that led the civil rights movement
ANGUS REID applauds the inventive stagecraft with which the Lyceum serve up Stevenson’s classic, but misses the deeper themes