MARIA DUARTE is swept along by the cocky self-belief of a ping-pong hustler in a surprisingly violent drama
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First day nerves
MARIA DUARTE recommends a challenging but honest portrayal of school life and the cruelties of children
A screenshot from Laura Wandel's film, Playground
STEVE ANDREW recommends a lively and often moving guide to once vibrant spaces that have been abandoned or swept away
GEOFF BOTTOMS appreciates the local touch brought to a production of Dickens’s perennial classic
MARY CONWAY is disappointed by a production whose design and cartoonish acting overwhelms the close scrutiny of characters
SUSAN DARLINGTON enjoys the raucous familiarity of a traditional topsy-turvy pantomime
RON JACOBS introduces the latest novel by the best writer of US working-class fiction writing today
Playground (15)
Directed by Laura Wandel
THE humiliation and abuse children can face as they navigate the dangerous jungle of school life is captured to poignant effect in this brutally raw and honest debut feature by Laura Wandel.
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