MICK MCSHANE is roused by a band whose socialism laces every line of every song with commitment and raw passion
Latest editorial
Searching for your inner Arthur Miller
MAYER WAKEFIELD speaks to playwright David Edgar about the political analysis that underlies his two new plays
(L) Shaun Evans as Kazan and Michael Aloni as Miller In David Edgar’s Here In America; (R) David Edgar in rehearsal at the RSC
New releases from Mountain, Soul Asylum and Michael McDermott
ALEX HALL is disgusted by the misuse of ‘emotional narratives’ to justify uninformed geo-political prejudice
SUE TURNER welcomes a thoughtful, engaging book that lays bare the economic realities of global waste management
JOHN GREEN welcomes an insider account of the achievements and failures of the transition to democracy in Portugal
SIMON PARSONS applauds an imaginative and absorbing updating of Strindberg’s classic
PETER MASON is enthralled by an assembly of objects, ancient and modern, that have lain in the mud of London’s river
THE five years since I last spoke to the prolific playwright David Edgar have been a wild ride crammed with war, rising right-wing populism and a global pandemic.
As I sit down to talk to him about two new plays that he currently has in performance, The New Real at the RSC and Here in America at the Orange Tree, there is much to discuss and, as he admits, “it’s difficult to be optimistic.”
The RSC’s production, his tenth at the theatre over almost 50 years, centres on US political consultants “spreading their dark arts across the planet” — something Edgar is very keen to highlight. So much so that he has also co-authored a book on the subject with Jon Bloomfield titled The Little Black Book of the Populist Right.
More from this author
While the group known as the Colourists certainly reinvigorated Scottish painting, a new show is a welcome chance to reassess them, writes ANGUS REID
ANGUS REID recommends an exquisite drama about the disturbing impact of the one child policy in contemporary China
The phrase “cruel to be kind” comes from Hamlet, but Shakespeare’s Prince didn’t go in for kidnap, explosive punches, and cigarette deprivation. Tam is different.
ANGUS REID deconstructs a popular contemporary novel aimed at a ‘queer’ young adult readership
