Reviews of Habibi Funk 031, Kayatibu, and The Good Ones
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Poe classic lost in translation to the stage
Irreverent: Olwen Davies and Ollie Smith
[Andrew Eaton]
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
The Black Cat
Carriageworks Theatre, Leeds/Touring
THE CONSIDERATIONS when adapting a classic book for the stage are much the same as those when covering a much-loved song. The performer can choose a traditional approach, as does Jeff Buckley with Hallelujah or take a more radical one, as in Nirvana's angsty version of The Man Who Sold The World.
Those parallels are repeatedly referenced in this retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's The Black Cat by LaPelles Factory, a two-hander from Olwen Davies and Ollie Smith, with the duo wrangling over how faithfully the macabre short story should be updated.
With irreverent insights into the process of staging and adaptation, the performers deliberately take opposing stances.
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