Reviews of Habibi Funk 031, Kayatibu, and The Good Ones
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Pinpointing Seagull’s universality
MARY CONWAY recommends, with minor reservations, an innovative staging of the Chekhov classic
SINGLE CONCERN: Something about the continuously static state of the actors denies the fluidity of life
[Marc Brenner]
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 Seagull
Harold Pinter Theatre
DIRECTOR Jamie Lloyd is famed for attracting new and diverse audiences to the theatre. And how better to do this than by casting a star of the small screen (Emilia Clarke) in a play written by a theatrical giant (Anton Chekhov), then reworking it for a modern audience through a script by a young, much-celebrated playwright (Anya Reiss)?
If the first night audience of this bold but skeletal West End showpiece is anything to go by – packed as it is with celebrities and eager fans – success is in the bag.
Messing with the work of Chekhov can be perilous, provoking traditionalists to expressions of untold fury. The original Seagull, after all, is adored by the world at large, its greatest productions feasting not only on the profundity of the text and the human truth of the characters, but on the splendour of the rural setting and the originality of the performance style.
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MARY CONWAY recommends a beautifully judged performance that shines a light on the experience of all female war babies and boomers
SIMON PARSONS applauds a tense and thoughtful production that regularly challenges our political engagement and prejudices