To rescue Kahlo from the clutches of the corporate art market, we need to acknowledge the overt and covert political dimensions of the work, demands GAVIN O’TOOLE
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LYNNE WALSH is intrigued by a new play that examines the dilemma of cancel culture on campus
Tanya Franks as Amy and Julian Ovenden as Charles Nichols in Paul Grellong’s Power of Sail
[Manuel Harlan]
If you can see past the relentless commodification you will be rewarded by enormously powerful work, suggests JENNY MITCHELL
CHRIS SEARLE revels in the one-off collaboration between an American polymath and a British Muslim, and detects the presence of their revolutionary forebear
GORDON PARSONS revels in an ebullient production of Shakespeare’s magical comedy
BRENT CUTLER welcomes a thoughtful analysis of the Erdogan regime, viewed through the evolving history of a neighbourhood in Istanbul
GORDON PARSONS regrets the price, but is dazzled by an outstandingly ambitious study of the way art restoration in particular, and culture in general was weaponised by the Nazis
Power of Sail
Menier Chocolate Factory, London
WRITER Paul Grellong has embarked on a precarious voyage with this one-act play. Power of Sail doesn’t quite go aground, rescued by some powerful performances, but there is certainly a bit of a riptide in the narrative arc.
The big issue here has huge resonance with audiences: is our belief in free speech absolute, or are there arguments for deplatforming a speaker?
Benjamin Carver is the archetype at the rotten heart of this controversy. Holocaust-denier and white supremacist, he is the perfect addition to Harvard professor Charles Nichols’ symposium. Carver is never seen, an emblematic figure, the far-right contrarian who sees academia as a slick goose-step away from fame and power.
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GEORGE FOGARTY is captivated by a brilliant one-man show depicting life in HMP Strangeways
MAYER WAKEFIELD is gripped by a production dives rapidly from champagne-quaffing slick to fraying motormouth
DAVID NICHOLSON recommends a dazzling production of Bernstein’s opera set in a world where chaos and violence are greeted by equanimity
April 9 1928 – July 26 2025