MARIA DUARTE picks the best and worst of a crowded year of films
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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]
STEVE JOHNSON picks his favourites from the many memorable albums of the year, and one stunning new festival
SIMON DUFF picks his favourites, from radical African-inspired electronic rhythms to improvisations on the organ
For GORDON PARSONS, a dramatic exploration of the abuse of young men at Medomsley Youth Detention Centre trumps Beckett, a couple of Hamlets and a bracing Candide
From feminist manifestos to exiled lovers to mythic islands, LEO BOIX selects the best fiction, poetry and non-fiction
FIONA O’CONNOR picks books and films that show defiance in the face of violence and injustice
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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