ALEX HALL is disgusted by the misuse of ‘emotional narratives’ to justify uninformed geo-political prejudice
Latest editorial
Cracking Scouse class comedy
SYLVIA HIKINS appreciates the story of a working-class lottery win that had her laughing from start to finish
DAWNING CLASS AWARENESS: The cast of The Netherly Hillbillies
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
The Netherley Hillbillies
Liverpool Royal Court Theatre
“COME listen to a story ‘bout a man named Jed/ Found it really hard to keep a roof over his head/ Then one day he escaped from being poor/ When the lottery machine spat out six of his balls.”
Our first view of Jed and his family is in their loaded up van, time: 2am, driving off from working-class Netherley, where they have lived, to their new house in Formby bought from the proceeds of a massive lottery win. They all sing “live without a care, be a millionaire.”
More from this author
While the group known as the Colourists certainly reinvigorated Scottish painting, a new show is a welcome chance to reassess them, writes ANGUS REID
ANGUS REID recommends an exquisite drama about the disturbing impact of the one child policy in contemporary China
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
