GORDON PARSONS admires a version of Marlowe’s grim tragedy that strips it down to its gay essentials
Error message
An error occurred while searching, try again later.Plague Songs by Martin Rowson and Jon Tregenna
Hammering home the reality of the pickle into which we have been summarily purloined by a cabal of crooks, liars and thieves, writes Tom King

SHAKESPEARE apparently made the most of plague-induced quarantine to write King Lear, which certainly puts my own productivity these past nine months into rather dire perspective.
Nor is it helped by Martin Rowson, irreverent cartoonist and jobbing poet, who took the opportunity over lockdown to pen an almost-daily torrent of stanzas in which he cast his impudent, ribald, deeply unsentimental gaze over the unfolding catastrophe.
More from this author

TOM KING marvels at the insights into the lived reality of the legionaries of the Roman empire revealed by 2,000-year-old artefacts

Playwright MARK RAVENHILL talks to Tom King about how the lockdown and its impact on care homes has been the catalyst for his new radio play

TOM KING recommends a groundbreaking performance of Handel's Messiah

We should still celebrate the achievements of those who helped defeat fascism in 1945, despite the jingoism of the VE day celebrations, writes TOM KING