STEVE JOHNSON relishes a celebration of the commonality of folk music and its links with the struggles of working people the world over
A shout from without
LYNNE WALSH regrets that unity is denied to a fine cast let down by the baffling spectacle of a poor lead performance
WILL YE STOP OVER-ACTING? Paul Hilton (Joxer Daly) and Mark Rylance ('Captain' Jack Boyle) in Juno And The Paycock
[Manuel Harlan] 
This thriller is a politically charged and morally complex dive into climate activism and police repression, judges JENNY FARRELL
Cat show killer, avenging the pawns, women hunt the Ripper, and running dry in the outback
The Bard reflects on sharing a bed, and why he wont go to Chelsea
MARY CONWAY applauds a new play that foresees the unscrupulous tactics of a future far-right minority government
RON JACOBS is moved to tears by an eloquent journal of heartfelt intensity and human portraiture
ROBERT OVETZ recommends a case study, from the University of Leicester, in their struggle against precarization, AI, privatisation, outsourcing, and work intensification in higher education
Juno and the Paycock
Gielgud Theatre, London
CAN you hear that spinning sound, ma chara? That’ll be the genius playwright Sean O’Casey rolling in his imagined grave.
The cause lies in this latest iteration of his trailblazing work, first performed a century ago.
It should be said that there are some four and five-star performances in this production. Unfortunately, its biggest name, the much-lauded Mark Rylance does not deliver one. Instead, his is a baffling spectacle, a mumbling, eye-rolling extravaganza, manifesting the alcoholic bully “Captain” Jack Boyle as a rather exhausting caricature.
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