STEVE JOHNSON speaks to DJ and singer/songwriter Mark Radcliffe
Latest editorial
Pinocchio perfection
PETER MASON sees a new version of the classic children's story that ticks all the boxes
[Manuel Harlan] 
JAMES WALSH takes advantage of an evening of comedy snippets to pick out which clowns will make it in Edinburgh
MAYER WAKEFIELD is swept up by the tale of the south London venue where music forged alliances across race, class and identity
MAYER WAKEFIELD applauds Rosamund Pike’s punchy and tragic portrayal of a multi-tasking mother and high court judge
FIONA O CONNOR recommends an unflinching depiction of child sexual abuse and its aftershocks, set in a working-class Liverpool family
New releases from Paul Weller, Wet Leg, and Dino Saluzzi
Pinocchio
National Theatre, London
BEAUTIFULLY wrought, and spellbinding in its execution, this Pinocchio reverses expectations.
In this version by Dennis Kelly, Pinocchio is played by a real person and some of the human characters, including Pinocchio’s father Geppetto, are represented by huge-headed puppets, each crafted in the spitting image of the actor who holds them aloft and gives them voice.
It’s a clever trick that allows the audience to focus interchangeably on either the puppet or its human embodiment with no loss of effect or drama.
More from this author
PETER MASON is wowed (and a little baffled) by the undeniably ballet-like grace of flamenco
PETER MASON is surprised by the bleak outlook foreseen for cricket’s future by the cricketers’ bible
PETER MASON is enthralled by an assembly of objects, ancient and modern, that have lain in the mud of London’s river
PETER MASON applauds a thought-provoking study of the relationship between a grieving woman and her photographer
