Reviews of Habibi Funk 031, Kayatibu, and The Good Ones
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Plotless musical flops
PETER MASON points out that it takes more than a string of poppy power ballads to make a satisfactory drama
CAUGHT IN THE CLUTCHES: John Robyns and Cayleigh Capaldi in Figaro
[Fahad Alinizi]
SIMON DUFF relishes the cross contamination of Damien Hirst’s greatest hits by street artists from France and the US
In view of the grooming gangs inquiry, SIMON PARSONS feels the relevance of this powerful examination of trauma suffered at Medomsley Youth Detention Centre
JOHN GREEN doubts the motivations of a US war photographer who never questions why, or for whom, she is producing images of imperialist conflict
MARIA DUARTE reviews Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, Hedda, The Mastermind, and Regretting You
TONY CONWAY welcomes a thrilling and concise history of Hope not Hate, that is also a manual full of tactical advice
PAUL DONOVAN welcomes an inspiring account of living with deafness that has important lessons for the treatment of deaf people in today’s UK
Figaro: An Original Musical
London Palladium
NOTHING to do with The Marriage of Figaro, this new musical tells the story of an impressionable young female singer, Sienna, who is literally and figuratively hypnotised by a controlling, philandering impresario who wants to feature her as the prize act in his travelling show.
It turns out that Figaro – for it is he – has done this kind of thing before. When Sienna eventually twigs that he’s not really in love with her, she tries to release herself from his clutches.
Though a new storyline, it’s a rather confusing one, especially at the end, where we’re not quite sure which bits of it have been real or imagined.
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CHRIS SEARLE speaks to Rwanda-born jazz vocalist INEZA
‘There's outrage aplenty in this production but we never quite get to the dark night of the soul,’ writes WILL STONE