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
Latest editorial
Mental health check
A stunning new play on a young woman battling her inner demons raises some acute questions, says PAUL FOLEY
Almighty conflict: Julie Hesmondhalgh and Norah Lopez Holden
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 Almighty Sometimes
Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester
AS THE epidemic of childhood mental illness threatens to overwhelm an increasingly tenuous NHS provision, Katy Rudd's production of Kendall Feaver’s perceptive, shocking and beautifully crafted play is timely and urgent.
It not only unravels the severe impact of mental illness on an adolescent on the cusp of adulthood, it also reveals the damage such a profound illness has on carers.
Anna has carried her mental illness like a rusty anchor from her early childhood. Renee, her frightened and anxious mother, tries to “edit” her daughter's life by intervening and directing every important decision.
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JULIA TOPPIN recommends Patti Smith’s eloquent memoir that wrestles with the beauty and sorrow of a lifetime
Although this production was in rehearsal before the playwright’s death, it allows us to pay homage to his life, suggests MARY CONWAY
MARIA DUARTE and ANGUS REID review Friendship, Four Letters of Love, Tin Soldier and The Ballad of Suzanne Cesaire
PAUL FOLEY welcomes a dramatic account of the men and women involved in the pivotal moment of the 5th Pan African Congress