JENNY MITCHELL, poetry co-editor for the Morning Star, introduces her priorities, and her first selection
Scrounger, Finborough Theatre
Stereotypes sharply challenged in dramatisation of fight against injustice by activist with a disability
DYNAMIC DUO: Athena Stevens (left) and Leigh Quinn
[Lily McLeish]
HENRY BELL is sceptical of the notion that ‘progress’ is an ideology that the ruling class uses exclusively to camouflage appropriation
In search of political understanding, MATTHEW HAWKINS welcomes a critique of anti-semitism as codified by the Israeli state
BEN CHACKO welcomes a masterful analysis that puts class struggle back at the heart of our understanding of China’s revolution
JOHN GREEN is intrigued by the ethereal, ghostly quality of images of a London unobscured by the bustle of humanity
JENNY FARRELL relishes an outstanding Palestinian novel that immerses readers in the sensory reality of Gaza, then and now
AI-induced murder, last rites for the mob-dog, a gullible common herd, and an exemplary Christmas chiller
THE #FINBOROUGHFORFREE initiative continues apace with a show from one of the west London’s theatre’s playwrights-in-residence.
Inspired by a traumatising ordeal in which she was removed from a flight and had her wheelchair damaged beyond repair, Scrounger tells the full story of Athena Stevens’s fight for justice.
Adopting the character of Scrounger, Stevens bounces off her multi-roleing sidekick Leigh Quinn — PA as she is referred to in the cast list.
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MARY CONWAY is disappointed by characters so un-nuanced as to be unreal, a stereotypical plot and a conceptual vampire
SIMON PARSONS is discomfited by an unflichingly negative portrait of motherhood and its trials
MATTHEW HAWKINS pays tribute to the performance artist and costumier, Leigh Bowery
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE is dazzled by an extraordinary performance in a classic Mike Leigh film