JAMES WALSH is moved by an exhibition of graphic art that relates horrors that would be much less immediate in other media
Latest editorial
Wiggle room
MATTHEW HAWKINS appreciates an interpretation in dance of James Baldwin’s landmark novel of doomed homosexual desire
SENSUAL ENLIGHTENMENT: Teige Bisnought and Dylan Springer in Inside Giovanni's Room.
RON JACOBS welcomes the translation into English of an angry cry from the place they call the periphery
GUILLERMO THOMAS recommends a useful book aimed at informing activists with local examples of solidarity in action around the world
HENRY BELL is provoked by a book that looks toward, but does not fully explore the question of who gets to imagine the shapes of cities to come
MATTHEW HAWKINS surveys the upcoming programme of contemporary dance in Glasgow, and picks some highlights
‘Chance encounters are what keep us going,’ says novelist Haruki Murakami. In Amy, a chance encounter gives fresh perspective to memories of angst, hedonism and a charismatic teenage rebel.
Inside Giovanni’s Room
Phoenix Dance Company, Dundee Rep
GIOVANNI’S ROOM is a James Baldwin novel wherein an attractive American in Paris experiences a loving liberation that is only viable within specific hospitality. He is already set to marry. Convention rears its head when his intended turns up. She is anticipating their untrammelled union. In her absence, there’s been physical compulsion: the breaching of societal chasms, in quest of same-sex spasms.
Back in the 1950s many Americans, including writers like James Baldwin, found Paris less repressive than their homelands. The city would form an arena for sensual enlightenment and self-definition. Compromise and casualties could ensue on homecoming.
Inside Giovanni’s Room is now an intrepid full-evening work presented by Leeds-based Phoenix Dance Theatre.
More from this author
MATTHEW HAWKINS surveys the upcoming programme of contemporary dance in Glasgow, and picks some highlights
MATTHEW HAWKINS pays tribute to the performance artist and costumier, Leigh Bowery
MATTHEW HAWKINS is drawn into the everyday lives of women and girls in Muslim communities in southern India
MATTHEW HAWKINS admires a writer with the gumption and wit to extend a transformative experience of autism to the reader
