MICK MCSHANE is roused by a band whose socialism laces every line of every song with commitment and raw passion
Latest editorial
Story of family Chance a fine thing in thrilling adaptation of Angela Carter novel
Fantastical: Bettrys Jones, Katy Owen and Mirabelle Gremaud in Wise Children
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
Wise Children
The Old Vic, London
ANGELA CARTER’S last novel Wise Children, a blend of magic realism and carnivalesque, sprawls across much of the 20th century as it follows the bizarre theatrical family fortunes of the Chance twins from the perspective of their 75th birthday.
Unacknowledged by their father, a renowned Shakespearean actor-manager, the twin girls are brought up on the wrong side of the tracks in a Brixton theatrical boarding house run by Grandma Chance.
Forced to make their own way, they become chorus girls before weaving a successful career through the latter years of music hall and variety theatre as a song-and-dance duo.
More from this author
SIMON PARSONS applauds an imaginative and absorbing updating of Strindberg’s classic
SIMON PARSONS is discomfited by an unflichingly negative portrait of motherhood and its trials
SIMON PARSONS applauds an insightful state-of-the-nation play that explores the growing class divide in South Africa
SIMON PARSONS applauds a tense and thoughtful production that regularly challenges our political engagement and prejudices
