MAYER WAKEFIELD has reservations about the direction of a play centered on a DVLA re-training session for three British-Pakistani motorists
Controversial 1891 play in striking new production
A glorious, collaborative piece that must be the standout new show in London at the moment, writes SIMON PARSONS
awakening
New releases from Steve Knightley, Jupiter & Okwess, Jason Palmer, Lisa Knapp and Gerry Driver, Kin'Gongolo Kiniata, Ingrid Laubrock/Tom Rainey, Dan Sealey, Simin Tande, PAZ
JOHN GREEN relishes photography that unfolds a longstanding and poetic relationship with Leeds
A uncomfortably misogynistic authorial voice that sometimes seems to lack insight troubles FIONA O’CONNOR
MARY CONWAY is disappointed by a production that panders – if inadvertently – to Western prejudice against China
JOHN GREEN is fascinated by a history that excavates the enormous role played by agricultural workers in recent times
ALEX HALL recommends a book that places empirical evidence at the heart of understanding racism
Spring Awakening
Almeida Theatre
SATER and Sheik’s multi-award winning musical version of Wedekind’s controversial 1891 play dealing with pubescent sexuality and angst in an uncompromising and authoritarian adult world is revived on stage in this striking new production.
Set around two single sex schools and 13 students, Wedekind’s tragic original script is stripped down and updated with 20 memorable songs but still clearly evident.
More from this author
SIMON PARSONS is discomfited by an unflichingly negative portrait of motherhood and its trials
SIMON PARSONS applauds an insightful state-of-the-nation play that explores the growing class divide in South Africa
SIMON PARSONS applauds a tense and thoughtful production that regularly challenges our political engagement and prejudices
SIMON PARSONS questions whether a dark take on Shakespeare’s Seasonal comedy is in harmony with the original text
