GORDON PARSONS is bowled over by a skilfully stripped down and powerfully relevant production of Hamlet
I gotta get to hurtin’
PAUL STEPHEN ADEY explores how rap can create catharsis for both artists and fans
In which we accompany the Bard into Cymru to meet his musical accomplices, young and old
SUE TURNER is inspired by the example of a librarian’s struggle to confront the book-banning movement
ANDY HEDGECOCK relishes two exhibitions that blur the boundaries between art and community engagement
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews I Am Martin Parr, September Says, The Monkey, and The Gorge
RITA DI SANTO applauds a touching and witty opener that touches a hot topic in Germany: the future of the immigrant population
SIMON PARSONS is discomfited by an unflichingly negative portrait of motherhood and its trials
I HEARD a rapper’s verse a while ago that stopped me in my tracks. The artist was Kemba and the song, Daemons, featured on the posthumous album Bad Vibes Forever (2019), by the conflicted and gifted artist XXXTentacion.
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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ADAM DE PAOR-EVANS remembers MC Duke: a pioneering British rapper more people should know about
ANDY HEDGECOCK explores the implications of a recent statistical study of music lyrics that highlights the role of monopoly capital in silencing complexity
SIMON DUFF admires new work at the LSO Jerwood Composer + Showcase that employs rap, sampling and live music to explore unashamedly political themes