Reviews of Habibi Funk 031, Kayatibu, and The Good Ones
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Best of 2019: Performance
EARTHBOUND MOVEMENT: Dada Masilo's Giselle
[John Hogg]
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
INVENTIVE adaptations of old favourites were the order of the year, perhaps in response to political and social uncertainties.
Wise Children, the new company set up by Kneehigh's Emma Rice, was responsible for two of the year's highlights, with Malory Towers (York Theatre Royal) turning Enid Blyton's somewhat dated story about a girls' boarding school into an uplifting piece of musical theatre that addressed bullying and the value of community with humour and a big heart.
Those elements were also present in the company's production of Angela Carter's Wise Children (HOME, Manchester). A love letter to the theatre, it used bawdy comedy, song and dance and puppetry to address heavyweight subjects and emotions.
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ANDY HEDGECOCK relishes an exuberant blend of emotion and analysis that captures the politics and contrarian nature of the French composer
JAN WOOLF finds out where she came from and where she’s going amid Pete Townshend’s tribute to 1970s youth culture
GAVIN O’TOOLE chuckles through a guide to politically correct usage of the literary canon
SIMON PARSONS questions whether a dark take on Shakespeare’s Seasonal comedy is in harmony with the original text