MICK MCSHANE is roused by a band whose socialism laces every line of every song with commitment and raw passion
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Tony’s Last Tape, Omnibus Theatre, London
The rare integrity and political conviction of Tony Benn shines through a remarkable dramatisation of his diaries
On a journey: Philip Bretherton as Tony Benn
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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
“NO-ONE ever told me there was so much potassium in a banana,” recalls Tony Benn, to much amusement, as he records his final diary entry.
Though the man himself has been dead for five years and wasn’t prone to recording his innermost thoughts in front of a live audience, this engaging and immersive theatrical conceit, the brainchild of director Andy Barrett and director Giles Croft and based on Benn’s diaries, sees Philip Bretherton don a dressing gown, spark up a pipe and embark upon a remarkable performance as the formidable parliamentarian.
The challenges are obvious. Bretherton is over 20 years Benn’s junior, doesn’t immediately resemble the Labour Party stalwart and has to deliver a monologue, complete with those mellifluous intonations and Bennite mannerisms, for over an hour.
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