GORDON PARSONS is bowled over by a skilfully stripped down and powerfully relevant production of Hamlet
Virtuoso exposure of colonialism
DAN GLAZEBROOK recommends an outstanding one-man show that explores the colonial history of Sierra Leone
In which we accompany the Bard into Cymru to meet his musical accomplices, young and old
SUE TURNER is inspired by the example of a librarian’s struggle to confront the book-banning movement
ANDY HEDGECOCK relishes two exhibitions that blur the boundaries between art and community engagement
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews I Am Martin Parr, September Says, The Monkey, and The Gorge
RITA DI SANTO applauds a touching and witty opener that touches a hot topic in Germany: the future of the immigrant population
SIMON PARSONS is discomfited by an unflichingly negative portrait of motherhood and its trials
Coleridge-Taylor of Freetown
Rotunda Theatre, Brighton
TAYO ALUKO’s third one-man play tackles the life of George Coleridge-Taylor, Sierra Leonean diplomat and nephew of black Victorian superstar composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.
More from this author
The phrase “cruel to be kind” comes from Hamlet, but Shakespeare’s Prince didn’t go in for kidnap, explosive punches, and cigarette deprivation. Tam is different.
ANGUS REID deconstructs a popular contemporary novel aimed at a ‘queer’ young adult readership
A landmark work of gay ethnography, an avant-garde fusion of folk and modernity, and a chance comment in a great interview
ANGUS REID applauds the inventive stagecraft with which the Lyceum serve up Stevenson’s classic, but misses the deeper themes
Similar stories
SIMON PARSONS questions whether a dark take on Shakespeare’s Seasonal comedy is in harmony with the original text
Asexual tenderness, Mad Maxine, fake hitmen and time-travel: The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews Slow, Furiosa, Hit Man and The Present
SIMON PARSONS relishes the revival of a highly original play that explores the reinvention of a family that rejects traditional gender roles