ANDY HEDGECOCK relishes two exhibitions that blur the boundaries between art and community engagement
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GAVIN O’TOOLE chuckles through a guide to politically correct usage of the literary canon
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You Can’t Say That Any More
Ivor Vertue, Abacus, £14.99
AS Washington rapidly begins to resemble imperial Rome under a power-hungry absolutist, one might be tempted to revisit Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, but those of a delicate disposition should be warned, the language and tone of this 1599 theatrical masterpiece is dangerously outdated — and today may cause offence.
Indeed, this staple of English literature is a prime candidate for a revision that drags it kicking and screaming into a modern era in which we must navigate our narrative universe using a compass of overindulgent hyper-sensitivity.
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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.
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ANGUS REID deconstructs a popular contemporary novel aimed at a ‘queer’ young adult readership
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A landmark work of gay ethnography, an avant-garde fusion of folk and modernity, and a chance comment in a great interview
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ANGUS REID applauds the inventive stagecraft with which the Lyceum serve up Stevenson’s classic, but misses the deeper themes