Skip to main content
Lynne Walsh's theatre of the year

AN EVENTFUL year, with murders, kidnapped children, suicidal depression, lost souls and found loves.

Conor McPherson’s Girl from the North Country won standing ovations at the Old Vic, with its magical use of Bob Dylan’s finest songs.

This took many, including critics, by sweet surprise. There are always cynics claiming McPherson’s work lacks teeth and the hopeless floundering of hapless drifters in the liminal space of a flophouse or bar may not be to everyone’s taste, but this carried an emotional charge reminiscent of a Steinbeck or Miller.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
More from this author
Lynne Walsh piece webpic.jpg
Features / 22 April 2025
22 April 2025

LYNNE WALSH previews the Bristol Radical History Conference this weekend

REMARKABLE: The Danish writer Karen Blixen as a recipient of
International Women's Day 2025 / 8 March 2025
8 March 2025
With most of recorded history dominated by the voices of men, LYNNE WALSH encourages sisters to read the memoirs of women – and to write their own too
International Women's Day 2025 / 8 March 2025
8 March 2025
LYNNE WALSH attempts to unravel the latest advice from local authorities on tackling violence against women and girls
A unit of the Bulgarian International Brigade, 1937
Features / 25 January 2025
25 January 2025
Anti-fascists from around the world will soon be travelling to Spain to commemorate the International Brigades and walk in the footsteps of the bravest of their generation, writes LYNNE WALSH
Similar stories
Jasmine Blackorow (Miss Bauer) and Michael Aloni (Art) in Da
Theatre Review / 26 September 2024
26 September 2024
MARY CONWAY feels the contemporary resonance of a new play set amid the manic and self-destructive patriotism of the McCarthy era
BACK ON TOUR: Newfoundland folkies, Rum Ragged
Music / 16 September 2024
16 September 2024
STEVE JOHNSON, CHRIS SEARLE and KEVIN BRYAN review new releases from Brooks Williams and Aaron Catlow, Kris Davis Trio, PP Arnold, Rum Ragged, David Virelles, Mark Harrison Band, Linda Moylan, Catriona Bourne, Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & The Trinity
DANCE ME: Jo Fong and George Orange in The Rest of Our Lives
Theatre Review / 13 June 2024
13 June 2024
LYNNE WALSH relishes a sweetly anarchic hour of dance and acrobatics, underscored by a big theme 
Rebecca Hyde in The Last One by Zoe Alker, 2024
Books / 6 June 2024
6 June 2024
LYNNE WALSH deplores how laudable commitments to battling discrimination have displaced the fight against women's sex-based oppression