MIK SABIERS savours the first headline solo show of the stalwart of Brighton’s indie-punk outfit Blood Red Shoes
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No real catharsis offered
This production’s bland ‘let’s not offend anybody’ approach could not be less appropriate in a work with such piercing and targeted acumen, writes MARY CONWAY
(L to R) Sophia Brown (Tituba), Fisayo Akinade (Rev. Hale), Alastair Parker (Thomas Putnam), Martin Johnston (Ensemble) and Zoe Aldrich (Ann Putnam)
New releases reviewed by IAN SINCLAIR
STEVEN ANDREW is moved beyond words by a historical account of mining in Britain made from the words of the miners themselves
CAILEAN MCBRIDE welcomes a refreshing and timely study of the way officialdom creates structures that exclude LGBT+ rights and humanity
The bard mourns the loss of comrades and troubadours, and looks for consolation with Black Country Jess
CHRIS MOSS relishes the painting and the life story of a self-taught working-class artist from Warrington
MARY CONWAY is disappointed by a star-studded adaptation of Ibsen’s play that is devoid of believable humanity
The Crucible
National Theatre
PLAYWRIGHT Arthur Miller is a towering figure of the 20th century. The Crucible is one reason why.
Written in 1953, the play transports us to late 17th-century Massachusetts and the infamous Salem witch trials. It’s a magnificent tale, rooted in those early years of the American dream when the quest for religious tolerance and individual freedom clashed with the tyranny of the big idea and the spawning of new authority figures. The quintessential struggle between those who would impose order and obedience and those who instinctively fragment it is the source of all frenzy here.
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MARY CONWAY relishes two matchless performers and a masterclass in tightly focused wordplay
