JENNY MITCHELL, poetry co-editor for the Morning Star, introduces her priorities, and her first selection
‘Being disturbed is positive’
ALEXANDER ZELDIN tells Mayer Wakefield what he hopes to achieve with his new play about the impact of austerity on the most vulnerable
Eyes on the margins: Faith, Hope and Charity in rehearsal
[Sarah Lee]
HENRY BELL is sceptical of the notion that ‘progress’ is an ideology that the ruling class uses exclusively to camouflage appropriation
In search of political understanding, MATTHEW HAWKINS welcomes a critique of anti-semitism as codified by the Israeli state
BEN CHACKO welcomes a masterful analysis that puts class struggle back at the heart of our understanding of China’s revolution
JOHN GREEN is intrigued by the ethereal, ghostly quality of images of a London unobscured by the bustle of humanity
JENNY FARRELL relishes an outstanding Palestinian novel that immerses readers in the sensory reality of Gaza, then and now
AI-induced murder, last rites for the mob-dog, a gullible common herd, and an exemplary Christmas chiller
AS AN artist in residence at the National Theatre, Alexander Zeldin is under a certain pressure to create work that speaks to the state of the nation.
But, unlike many playwrights who look to the upper echelons of society to try analyse the state we’re in — look no further than the lauded work James Graham and David Hare have had staged at the National over the years — Zeldin’s gaze is in the opposite direction.
Rather than the corridors of Westminster, Zeldin’s focus is on the margins of society, to examine what he describes as the “the intimate effects of austerity — the defining policy of the last 10 years.”
Similar stories
MAYER WAKEFIELD is gripped by a production dives rapidly from champagne-quaffing slick to fraying motormouth
GORDON PARSONS acknowledges the authority with which Sarah Kane’s theatrical justification for suicide has resonance today
MAYER WAKEFIELD wonders why this 1978 drama merits a revival despite demonstrating that the underlying theme of racism in the UK remains relevant
PETER MASON is moved by a striking production of Noel Streatfeild’s enduringly popular children’s book