ANDY HEDGECOCK relishes two exhibitions that blur the boundaries between art and community engagement
Who’s paying the piano player?
PATRYCJA ROZBICKA surveys the manifestos and is frustrated by the lack of discussion of our music and night-time industries
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
PAUL FOLEY recommends an extraordinary double bill that packs a punch and leaves you reeling
MARY CONWAY is disappointed by a play about AI that results in a deadening disconnect for its audience
SIMON PARSONS applauds an insightful state-of-the-nation play that explores the growing class divide in South Africa
SO far the British 2024 elections have been dominated by discussions on migration and fiscal responsibility. As a result, the space dedicated to arts, culture and music has felt relatively minuscule.
But there are important issues to be addressed in these industries, especially in the face of city councils slashing their culture and heritage budgets — such as Birmingham in February. This has been likened to creating a “cultural wasteland” and causing “cultural deprivation.”
Despite both parties calling the sector “world leading,” Labour and the Conservatives have failed to give any concrete commitments for funding the creative industries.
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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
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