ALEX HALL is disgusted by the misuse of ‘emotional narratives’ to justify uninformed geo-political prejudice
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The poor have got their channels in the bedrooms of the rich
JAN WOOLF marvels at a rich brew of steam-punk Victoriana, homosexual scandal, and contemporary reference
INTERROGATING THE SEX WORKER: Will Bliss (Abberline) and Stefan Race (Henry Newlove) in The Flea
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
The Flea
Yard Theatre, Hackney Wick, London
NAOMI KUYCK-COHEN’s set intrigues as we settle in our seats; surreal furniture for a brothel and a sitting room, a weird Dali-esque desk and chairs on the upper level.
Then come the five actors marching on, their 12 roles named on screens. Costume designer Lambdog1066 seems to have scissored through many charity shop numbers, with mutton leg sleeves on some. What do these mean? Doesn’t matter — they look great. Call it punk Victoriana with a nod to Vivienne Westwood.
This introductory catwalk opens the emotional valves for the true (and embellished) story of the 1889 Cleveland Street scandal that rocked Victorian England, from dirt-poor Bermondsey, London to gold-rich Buckingham palace.
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