No excuses can hide the criminal actions of a Nazi fellow-traveller in this admirably objective documentary, suggests MARTIN HALL
Tear the house down
SIMON PARSONS relishes the revival of a highly original play that explores the reinvention of a family that rejects traditional gender roles
Simon Startin as Arnold, Felicity Huffman as Paige and Steffan Cennydd as Isaac in Taylor Mac’s Hir
PAUL DONOVAN relishes a fascinating exploration of the leading lights of the Labour right in the 1970s
BEN LUNN alerts us to the creeping return of philanthropy and private patronage, and suggests alternative paths to explore
A novel by Argentinian Jorge Consiglio, a personal dictionary by Uruguayan Ida Vitale, and poetry by Mexican Homero Aridjis
MIK SABIERS savours the first headline solo show of the stalwart of Brighton’s indie-punk outfit Blood Red Shoes
New releases reviewed by IAN SINCLAIR
STEVEN ANDREW is moved beyond words by a historical account of mining in Britain made from the words of the miners themselves
Hir
Park Theatre
TAYLOR MAC’s highly original play establishes a surreal, darkly comic tone from the outset. We find the man of the house in a pink nightdress and clown’s make-up sitting docilely beneath a hippy-like banner with an 11-letter acronym for diverse sexual identities in what looks like a trashed kitchen.
But the play does much more than simply question traditional sexual identities.
Returning from Afghanistan suffering with a form of PTSD, ex-marine Isaac (Steffan Cennydd) is faced with a home in chaos. His mother Paige has seized on her husband’s mentally incapacitating stroke as the chance for personal freedom and reinvention. Rejecting traditional, stereotypical female values and revelling in her daughter’s hormone-induced gender realinement, she is on a tumultuous quest to find a fresh, non-materialistic identity while keeping her husband drugged up and in fancy dress.
Similar stories
SIMON PARSONS applauds a tense and thoughtful production that regularly challenges our political engagement and prejudices
MARY CONWAY admires a vivid, compassionate portrait of a father and daughter pinioned in the criminal underclass
SIMON PARSONS salutes drama that registers how the impact of the sexual assault ripples out through every element of a family’s existence
SIMON PARSONS recommends a musical retelling of the Old Testament story of the sexual awakening of a young childless bride