ANDY HEDGECOCK is entertained by a playful novel that embeds a fictional game at its heart
AN EVENTFUL year, with murders, kidnapped children, suicidal depression, lost souls and found loves.
Conor McPherson’s Girl from the North Country won standing ovations at the Old Vic, with its magical use of Bob Dylan’s finest songs.
This took many, including critics, by sweet surprise. There are always cynics claiming McPherson’s work lacks teeth and the hopeless floundering of hapless drifters in the liminal space of a flophouse or bar may not be to everyone’s taste, but this carried an emotional charge reminiscent of a Steinbeck or Miller.
TONY BURKE revels in the publication of previously unreleased tracks by the great US folksinger
JAN WOOLF finds out where she came from and where she’s going amid Pete Townshend’s tribute to 1970s youth culture
GORDON PARSONS joins a standing ovation for a brilliant production that fuses Shakespeare’s tragedy with Radiohead's music
SUSAN DARLINGTON is bowled over by an outstanding play about the past, present and future of race and identity in the US



