To rescue Kahlo from the clutches of the corporate art market, we need to acknowledge the overt and covert political dimensions of the work, demands GAVIN O’TOOLE
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The Straw Chair
SIMON PARSONS welcomes an atmospheric drama about relationships set in the remote Hebrides
If you can see past the relentless commodification you will be rewarded by enormously powerful work, suggests JENNY MITCHELL
CHRIS SEARLE revels in the one-off collaboration between an American polymath and a British Muslim, and detects the presence of their revolutionary forebear
GORDON PARSONS revels in an ebullient production of Shakespeare’s magical comedy
BRENT CUTLER welcomes a thoughtful analysis of the Erdogan regime, viewed through the evolving history of a neighbourhood in Istanbul
GORDON PARSONS regrets the price, but is dazzled by an outstandingly ambitious study of the way art restoration in particular, and culture in general was weaponised by the Nazis
The Straw Chair
Finborough Theatre
INSPIRED by a true, 18th-century story, Sue Glover’s play weaves together the lives of two distinctly different women stranded on the rocky and windswept Hebridean island of Hirta and the strange and dangerous relationship that develops between them.
Lady Rachel Grange has been abducted and held hostage for six years on the island after an acrimonious divorce. Her vicious treatment and isolation has driven her to the point of madness but her fiery spirit is undimmed. The arrival of a puritanical minister, Aneas, and his naive young wife, Isabel, after their recent, unconsummated marriage provides the imperious and blunt-spoken captive with an outlet for her disturbing narrative and candid views on sexuality.
Siobhan Redmond creates an intriguing Mrs Havisham-style creature in Rachel, parading around the barren island in her dishevelled finery, abusing her servant and clinging onto the past with a feverish determination. Her fierce passion, haughty manner and blunt sexual advice soon pull Isabel into her orbit.
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SIMON PARSONS is beguiled by a dream-like exploration of the memories of a childhood in Hong Kong
GORDON PARSONS is disappointed by an unsubtle production of this comedy of upper middle class infidelity
MARY CONWAY is blown away by a flawless production of Lynn Nottage’s exquisite tragedy