MIK SABIERS savours the first headline solo show of the stalwart of Brighton’s indie-punk outfit Blood Red Shoes
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A black and white issue
The word racism doesn't have to be mentioned in a thrillingly explicit exploration of inequality, says MARY CONWAY
SOUL BROTHERS: Daniel Ward (left) and Nigel Taylor in The Canary and the Crow
New releases reviewed by IAN SINCLAIR
STEVEN ANDREW is moved beyond words by a historical account of mining in Britain made from the words of the miners themselves
CAILEAN MCBRIDE welcomes a refreshing and timely study of the way officialdom creates structures that exclude LGBT+ rights and humanity
The bard mourns the loss of comrades and troubadours, and looks for consolation with Black Country Jess
CHRIS MOSS relishes the painting and the life story of a self-taught working-class artist from Warrington
MARY CONWAY is disappointed by a star-studded adaptation of Ibsen’s play that is devoid of believable humanity
The Canary and the Crow
Arcola Theatre, London
THE CANARY and the Crow kicks off with an explosion of heavy hip hop and a challenge from actor Nigel Taylor to clap, stamp, wave our arms and chant. We love it and are undeterred, even when the chanting changes to the rugby favourite “oggy, oggy, oggy.”
It’s unsettling, though, to hear black music accommodate this white man’s chorus. What does it mean? That’s the point of the play, in which The Bird is a deprived black boy who finds himself winning a scholarship to a high-achieving school.
His single mother is ecstatic, while the boy is mystified. He's about to discover that being black and different in a community of patrician boys is a ceaseless struggle. “I see things differently from you,” he says to a largely white young audience. “There is nothing you can tell me about being black.”
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