STEVE ANDREW enjoys an account of the many communities that flourished independently of and in resistance to the empires of old
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Brothers bereft of context
Wider political and social concerns never intrude on a domestic drama of fraternal discovery, says JOHN GREEN
ONES TO WATCH: Danny Sapani (left) and Anton Lesser
TOM STONE urges you to catch the last dates of a New York singer/songwriter, never afraid to challenge her audiences musically or politically
JAN WOOLF examines work that aims to give viewers a material experience of the environments in the polar north and Britain equally affected by the climate crisis
The bard recalls advice received 50 years ago from his TRB muse, and sorts out appropriate legislation for football club ownership
MICHAL BONCZA and MARIA DUARTE review Facing War, Kontinental ’25, Bugonia, and Relay
MAYER WAKEFIELD is frustrated by a production of Ibsen’s classic study of an anti-heroine that fails to elucidate her motivations
PETER MASON tunes his ear into the domestic affairs of a Carribbean couple with a troublesome son
Hymn
Almeida Theatre, London
THIS two-hander serves up riveting performances by two consummate actors who have had to rapidly adapt from performing in a real theatre with a live audience to an onscreen-only production involving many close-ups.
The lighting and camerawork both work wonders in a very confined space and what is perhaps lost from the theatrical experience is made up for with the bonus of intimacy.
Thirty-something Gil (Anton Lesser) is delivering the eulogy at his father’s funeral when, towards the end of the ceremony, he is approached by Benny (Danny Sapani), who reluctantly reveals that he is Gil’s half-brother, the son of the same father who has just been despatched to the afterlife.
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MARY CONWAY revels in the Irish American language and dense melancholy of O’Neill’s last and little-known play
Odysseus’s homecoming myth is treated as a factual story, with strong resonances for our contemporary world. This is an implicit anti-war film that has an urgent relevance, writes JOHN GREEN
GORDON PARSONS is bowled over by a skilfully stripped down and powerfully relevant production of Hamlet
SIMON PARSONS applauds an expressive and delicate drama that depicts a deaf son’s Hindu funeral ceremony for his father