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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Symbolic victims of state brutality
SYLVIA HIKINS wholeheartedly recommends the stage production of Alan Bleasdale’s warm, witty TV classic
BOISTEROUS: (L to R) Mark Womack, Andrew Schofield, Lauren O'Neil, Nathen McMullen, Barry Sloane, Aron Julius
[Jason Roberts]
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
Boys from the Blackstuff
Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool
IN MY hallway hangs a portrait of Yosser Hughes, key player in the iconic 1980s TV series Boys from the Blackstuff, Liverpool playwright Alan Bleasdale’s warm, witty but ultimately tragic look at the way economics and lack of social support affects ordinary people.
Forty years later, in collaboration with writer James Graham, the blackstuff boys Chrissie, Loggo, George, Dixie and Yosser are back on stage in their hometown, Liverpool, retelling their story.
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SYLVIA HIKINS recommends a fascinating, revealing, superbly acted evening of theatre
Although this production was in rehearsal before the playwright’s death, it allows us to pay homage to his life, suggests MARY CONWAY
GEORGE FOGARTY is captivated by a brilliant one-man show depicting life in HMP Strangeways
GORDON PARSONS is blown away by a superb production of Rostand’s comedy of verbal panache and swordmanship