No excuses can hide the criminal actions of a Nazi fellow-traveller in this admirably objective documentary, suggests MARTIN HALL
Oh, baby!
SIMON PARSONS applauds a new drama that pays tribute to the hundreds of women who volunteered to develop IVF
A TRIBUTE TO COURAGEOUS WOMEN: Bobby Hirston, Adelle Leonce and Bebe Sanders in A Child of Science
PAUL DONOVAN relishes a fascinating exploration of the leading lights of the Labour right in the 1970s
BEN LUNN alerts us to the creeping return of philanthropy and private patronage, and suggests alternative paths to explore
A novel by Argentinian Jorge Consiglio, a personal dictionary by Uruguayan Ida Vitale, and poetry by Mexican Homero Aridjis
MIK SABIERS savours the first headline solo show of the stalwart of Brighton’s indie-punk outfit Blood Red Shoes
New releases reviewed by IAN SINCLAIR
STEVEN ANDREW is moved beyond words by a historical account of mining in Britain made from the words of the miners themselves
A Child of Science
Bristol Old Vic
GARETH FARR’S testimony to the scientists and women who went through years of trials and tribulations in the development of IVF is an enlightening and moving drama that traces not only the scientific problems but also the barrage of conservative, religious and gutter press obstacles and interference they had to overcome.
The unrelenting pursuit of scientist Robert Edwards (Tom Felton) in exploring chromosomal development of early-stage mammal eggs in a culture medium, and his serendipitous relationship with gynaecologist Patrick Steptoe (Jamie Glover) whose his pioneering laparoscopy tackled back-street abortion butchery, along with the essential medical support work of Jean Purdy (Meg Bellamy) are the predictable characters at the core of this play, but not of the drama.
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SIMON PARSONS applauds an imaginative and absorbing updating of Strindberg’s classic
SIMON PARSONS applauds an insightful state-of-the-nation play that explores the growing class divide in South Africa
SIMON PARSONS applauds a moving version of Ishiguro’s vision of a world in which science and ethics have diverged
SIMON PARSONS marvels at a production of Williams’s early masterpiece that transforms the play into a symbolic slow dance of tensions, fears and desires