STEVE ANDREW enjoys an account of the many communities that flourished independently of and in resistance to the empires of old
Latest editorial
Traverse stays true to form as it serves an mouth-watering oeuvre
TOM STONE urges you to catch the last dates of a New York singer/songwriter, never afraid to challenge her audiences musically or politically
JAN WOOLF examines work that aims to give viewers a material experience of the environments in the polar north and Britain equally affected by the climate crisis
The bard recalls advice received 50 years ago from his TRB muse, and sorts out appropriate legislation for football club ownership
MICHAL BONCZA and MARIA DUARTE review Facing War, Kontinental ’25, Bugonia, and Relay
MAYER WAKEFIELD is frustrated by a production of Ibsen’s classic study of an anti-heroine that fails to elucidate her motivations
PETER MASON tunes his ear into the domestic affairs of a Carribbean couple with a troublesome son
THREE Traverse productions stood out for their acute dialogue and superb performances. Mouthpiece, Kieran Hurley’s two-hander has Libby (Neve McIntosh), a fortyish word-blocked writer, saved from suicide by Declan (Lorn Macdonald), a young down-and-out with an unrecognised artistic talent.
As Libby becomes increasingly interested in his life, she begins to see a play emerging. Throughout Libby informs the audience of how drama works. Declan, at first flattered and warming to her attention, realises that he is being used – a subject rather than a person.
A stunning dramatic climax is set in The Traverse itself — a play within a play — where Libby, at the question and answer session after the premiere of her successful production, faces a semi-hysterical but cruelly articulate Declan whose life she realises she has stolen.
Similar stories
SIMON PARSONS is beguiled by a dream-like exploration of the memories of a childhood in Hong Kong
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews I Am Martin Parr, September Says, The Monkey, and The Gorge
ANDY HEDGECOCK recommends two collections of short stories that use a single location to connect the narratives, and explore the limits of our ability to understand the world