ALEX HALL is disgusted by the misuse of ‘emotional narratives’ to justify uninformed geo-political prejudice
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Plotless musical flops
PETER MASON points out that it takes more than a string of poppy power ballads to make a satisfactory drama
CAUGHT IN THE CLUTCHES: John Robyns and Cayleigh Capaldi in Figaro
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
Figaro: An Original Musical
London Palladium
NOTHING to do with The Marriage of Figaro, this new musical tells the story of an impressionable young female singer, Sienna, who is literally and figuratively hypnotised by a controlling, philandering impresario who wants to feature her as the prize act in his travelling show.
It turns out that Figaro – for it is he – has done this kind of thing before. When Sienna eventually twigs that he’s not really in love with her, she tries to release herself from his clutches.
Though a new storyline, it’s a rather confusing one, especially at the end, where we’re not quite sure which bits of it have been real or imagined.
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