Ben Cowles speaks with IAN ‘TREE’ ROBINSON and ANDY DAVIES, two of the string pullers behind the Manchester Punk Festival, ahead of its 10th year show later this month
Slice of life
MARY CONWAY recommends a play that has autism, race and dysfunctional public agencies at its centre
kiln
PAUL FOLEY is disappointed by a production that encourages the audience to laugh at rather than with the characters
Odysseus’s homecoming myth is treated as a factual story, with strong resonances for our contemporary world. This is an implicit anti-war film that has an urgent relevance, writes JOHN GREEN
The Star's critics ANDY HEDGECOCK, MARTIN HALL, MICHAL BONCZA, ANGUS REID reviews Holy Cow, One to One: John and Yoko, King of Kings, Panda Bear in Africa
PATRICK JONES recommends a vital anthology from Afghan and Iranian poets where the political and personal fuse into witness-bearing and manifesto-making
WILL STONE is impressed by Hania Rani who is already making a name for herself in the male-dominated world of modern classical music
MIK SABIERS enjoys the theatrical feminist six piece who have a lot of fun that the audience feeds off as the set rolls on
The Darkest Part of the Night
The Kiln
ANOTHER world premiere at the Kiln before a diverse and powerfully engaged audience confirms this theatre’s serious bid in the cultural leadership stakes. Storytelling is the name of their game, and though The Darkest Part of the Night feels less like a constructed narrative and more like a slice of life, its authenticity is its outstanding feature.
In fact, so convincing is the detail that you imagine the writer, Zodwa Nyoni, must be recalling her own personal past.
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MARY CONWAY relishes the revival of two classics for the naked expression of truthful thoughts and class anger