ALEX HALL is disgusted by the misuse of ‘emotional narratives’ to justify uninformed geo-political prejudice
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A Hunger Artist, Seven Arts Leeds
Opaque exploration of art and the human condition
UNSPOKEN ANGER: Henry Petch (left) in A Hunger Artist
SUE TURNER welcomes a thoughtful, engaging book that lays bare the economic realities of global waste management
JOHN GREEN welcomes an insider account of the achievements and failures of the transition to democracy in Portugal
SIMON PARSONS applauds an imaginative and absorbing updating of Strindberg’s classic
PETER MASON is enthralled by an assembly of objects, ancient and modern, that have lain in the mud of London’s river
MICK McSHANE rubs shoulders with Mod legend Steve Craddock and joins in with the joyous Glasgow choir
DENNIS BROE sifts out the ideological bias of the newest TV series offerings, and picks out what to see, and what to avoid
FRANZ KAFKA’S deceptively straightforward style of writing forces readers to search for deeper meaning. It’s an approach that CVIVarts has sought to emulate in this debut production, an adaptation of his 1922 short story A Hunger Artist, which follows the eponymous protagonist (Henry Petch) from his first to his 40th day of starvation at a circus.
He’s only rarely given his own voice, with his warder (Richard Koslowsky) and the narrator (director Carrieanne Vivianette) interpreting the motivations behind his act.
His unspoken frustrations and anger are instead conveyed through physical movement, choreographed by Phil Sanger, with repeated poses losing their vigour as his act progresses and public interest wanes.
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