JENNY FARRELL relishes an intimate memoir about growing up in the household of the great Irish communist and playwright Sean O’Casey
Brilliant exposure of Tory entitlement
PAUL FOLEY relishes a superb production that plays Wilde’s farce as a contemporary dissection of the rich and ridiculous ruling class
RULING CLASS WARRIOR: Abigail Cruttenden as Lady Bracknell and Phoebe Pryce as Gwendolen
[Johan Persson]
SIAN LEWIS relishes a comprehensive account of high rise social housing in Britain by prize-winning social and political historian Holly Smith
SIMON PARSONS feels a little overwhelmed by the joke count of an ebullient production that manages to convey Stoker’s Dracula without corpsing
SYLVIA HIKINS enjoys a varied Scouse alternative to traditional pantomimes
Rereleases from The Pentangle, The Charlie Daniels Band, and Cousins and Willoughby
ANDY HEDGECOCK picks out his cultural highlights of 2025
The Importance of Being Earnest
Royal Exchange Manchester
OSCAR WILDE’s perennial classic, The Importance of Being Earnest is as popular with audiences today as it was back in 1895 (apart from the odd homophobic lord, of course).
Despite Wilde’s wonderful manipulation of language, a wit that cuts to the bone and throwing a satirical punch at the ruling class, does it hold up in today’s fast-moving world? I had my doubts. Surely the absurdities of the ruling class which Wilde so enjoyed poking fun at no longer exist?
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PAUL FOLEY welcomes a dramatic account of the men and women involved in the pivotal moment of the 5th Pan African Congress
MARY CONWAY is stirred by a play that explores masculinity every bit as much as it penetrates addiction
PAUL FOLEY is disappointed by a production that encourages the audience to laugh at rather than with the characters
PAUL FOLEY recommends an extraordinary double bill that packs a punch and leaves you reeling