SIMON PARSONS is discomfited by an unflichingly negative portrait of motherhood and its trials
Contempt for the warmongers
PAUL FARMER relishes, and recommends a magisterial set from one of the great singer-songwriters
PAUL FOLEY recommends an extraordinary double bill that packs a punch and leaves you reeling
MARY CONWAY is disappointed by a play about AI that results in a deadening disconnect for its audience
SIMON PARSONS applauds an insightful state-of-the-nation play that explores the growing class divide in South Africa
MATTHEW HAWKINS pays tribute to the performance artist and costumier, Leigh Bowery
SIMON DUFF reviews a new composition by German composer and pianist Florian Weber that blurs the line between where improvisation ends and composition begins
New releases from The Jim Mullen Quartet, Caroline Kraabel/John Edwards, and Matthew Muneses/Riza Printup
Richard Thompson Band,
Bristol Beacon
A BRITISH concert by Richard Thompson is an occasion and there was a real feeling of excitement in the wide-open vestibules of this newly refurbished (and renamed) venue.
This powerful performance began with the sinuous Freeze from new LP Ship to Shore, Thompson sporting a fetching pink Stratocaster and his familiar starred beret, alongside Taras Prodaniuk on bass, Zak Dobbs on guitar and mandolin, Zara Phillips on vocals and acoustic guitar and the legendary Dave Mattacks on drums.
More from this author
The phrase “cruel to be kind” comes from Hamlet, but Shakespeare’s Prince didn’t go in for kidnap, explosive punches, and cigarette deprivation. Tam is different.
ANGUS REID deconstructs a popular contemporary novel aimed at a ‘queer’ young adult readership
A landmark work of gay ethnography, an avant-garde fusion of folk and modernity, and a chance comment in a great interview
ANGUS REID applauds the inventive stagecraft with which the Lyceum serve up Stevenson’s classic, but misses the deeper themes
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The clock turns back for TOM STONE as he’s reminded of the splendour of seminal Genesis album The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
STEVE JOHNSON applauds a fascinating transatlantic exploration of English folk songs that migrated to the US and the Caribbean
