MAYER WAKEFIELD has reservations about the direction of a play centered on a DVLA re-training session for three British-Pakistani motorists
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The Sisters of Mercy, The Roundhouse, London
Curmudgeon-in-chief Andrew Eldritch is as ever the charismatic focus of the goth-rock veterans
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
MASSED crowds, primarily dressed in black, eagerly gather at the Roundhouse for goth-rock pioneers The Sisters of Mercy and the audience’s expectation is testament to the band’s reputation, anthemic back catalogue and the rarity of their live shows.
[[{"fid":"16437","view_mode":"inlineright","fields":{"format":"inlineright","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Centre of attention: Andrew Eldritch Pic: Mendor","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false},"link_text":null,"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"inlineright","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Centre of attention: Andrew Eldritch Pic: Mendor","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false}},"attributes":{"alt":"Centre of attention: Andrew Eldritch Pic: Mendor","class":"media-element file-inlineright","data-delta":"1"}}]]This is the first of just two headline gigs in Britain this year and a cheer erupts as the house lights dip, dry ice envelops the stage and the monotonous, repetitive beat of a drum machine booms starkly.
The bass kicks in, a gothy guitar trips over the top and out of the fog emerges lead singer, original surviving member and curmudgeon-in-chief Andrew Eldritch.
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