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Jan Woolf
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Poetry review / 19 November 2024
19 November 2024
JAN WOOLF relishes a book of poetry that deploys the energy of political struggle, rooted in post-war working class history and culture
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Theatre review / 25 October 2024
25 October 2024
JAN WOOLF marvels at a rich brew of steam-punk Victoriana, homosexual scandal, and contemporary reference
Auerbach
Exhibition review / 13 February 2024
13 February 2024
JAN WOOLF ponders the images of humanity that emerge from the tormented, destructive process of the Kindertransport survivor Frank Auerbach
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Books / 6 February 2024
6 February 2024
JAN WOOLF savours the essays of Hilary Mantel: high calorific brain food that slips down nicely
Woolf
Best of 2023 / 29 December 2023
29 December 2023
JAN WOOLF ponders a year of challenging reviews
Charlie Brown
Theatre Review / 27 December 2023
27 December 2023
JAN WOOLF relishes a seasonal offering of peanuts
deckchair
Theatre Review / 19 September 2023
19 September 2023
JAN WOOLF enjoys an imaginative revival of the Anton Chekhov classic
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Exhibition Review / 1 September 2023
1 September 2023
JAN WOOLF is sucked into a unique vision of the urban US from the perspective of immigrant and queer communities
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Books / 9 June 2023
9 June 2023
JAN WOOLF joins forces with artists and activists who seek to understand and resist corporate capital
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Ballet / 10 February 2023
10 February 2023
JAN WOOLF swoons to a sublime blend of poetry and choreography
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BOOKS LIT / 13 November 2022
13 November 2022
JAN WOOLF reviews the latest title from the 'chronicler of muddle England'
The Facemaker
Culture / 11 July 2022
11 July 2022
Plastic surgery was pioneered on those injured in World War I. JAN WOOLF reads an account of how this technology emerged, written with grace and love
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Theatre Preview / 25 May 2022
25 May 2022
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Exhibition / 19 May 2022
19 May 2022
Walter Sickert’s depictions of the lives and behaviours of ordinary people was ground breaking and free from hypocrisy, contends JAN WOOLF
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Theatre Review / 20 February 2022
20 February 2022
JAN WOOLF recommends a play which is a marvel of ensemble playing, where actors and on-stage musicians are in high-energy harmony
Workers in a factory
Pamphlet Review / 10 January 2022
10 January 2022
JAN WOOLF recommends a new post-Brexit analysis of how Britain can rejuvenate its manufacturing sector
nobodies
Theatre Review / 22 August 2021
22 August 2021
JAN WOOLF is thrilled by the theatre but laments the omission of any reference to collective consciousness in class struggle
BOOKS / 13 August 2021
13 August 2021
Images of life-affirming creativity from iconic women's peace camp
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THEATRE / 19 July 2021
19 July 2021
Mordant critique of an art world infected by neoliberal values
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EXHIBITION / 8 July 2021
8 July 2021
Visceral, confrontational and emotionally charged, the retrospective of scenarios by the great Portuguese artist transfixes JAN WOOLF
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THEATRE / 4 July 2021
4 July 2021
Hugely enjoyable account of a musical genius's domestic life
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THEATRE / 21 June 2021
21 June 2021
Affecting tale of mid-life crises
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BOOKS / 26 May 2021
26 May 2021
Robert Burton’s 1621 epic resonates today both as a literary work and a study in what we now call depression
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BOOKS / 29 April 2021
29 April 2021
Why a thriving fishing industry is so important to an island nation like Britain
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ONLINE PERFORMANCE / 10 June 2020
10 June 2020
Surreal theatrical adventure with moments of magic and mirth from Omid Djalili
SAGE ADVICE: 'We grow old because we stop playing' — Georg
DIARY / 25 May 2020
25 May 2020
Writer JAN WOOLF on the unique opportunity lockdown provides to use our imagination
Ralph Steadman
DIARY / 10 May 2020
10 May 2020
Writer JAN WOOLF muses on propaganda as a virus that infects us all
PIC CAP WRESTLING WITH HER SELF: Julia Gu
DIARY / 4 May 2020
4 May 2020
Writer Jan Woolf reflects on the benefit of talking among your selves during lockdown
PIC CAP CHANNELLING VERA LYNN: The Rolling Stones Photo: Jim
DIARY / 27 April 2020
27 April 2020
Among other things, writer JAN WOOLF reflects on statistics as an anaesthetic, disinfectant as the only Covid joke in town and how 'normal' has become a contentious word
EXCELLENT: Devs
DIARY / 20 April 2020
20 April 2020
Writer JAN WOOLF on delights and dodginess, from Devs to Captain Tom's NHS fundraiser
ENGLAND TILL I DIE: Rafe Spall as Michael Pic: Helen Murray
Theatre / 10 February 2020
10 February 2020
Rafe Spall brilliantly conveys the conflicted mindset of a white working-class ‘loser’
EXCELLENT: Victoria Hamilton as Audrey in Albion Pic: Marc B
Theatre / 9 February 2020
9 February 2020
State of the nation takes root in an English country garden
PIC CAP: Trainspotters: Characters in David Greig’s Europe
Theatre Review / 15 July 2019
15 July 2019
Written 25 years ago, there's an unnerving prescience to this brilliant play in the era of Brexit, says JAN WOOLF
PIC CAP Intense: Jonathan McGarrity and Suzy Whitefield
Theatre Review / 1 July 2019
1 July 2019
Challenging exploration of sex and censorship from Anthony Neilsen
PIC CAP On a mission: Pluto’s managing director Veruschka
Publishing / 27 June 2019
27 June 2019
JAN WOOLF celebrates the forward march of radical publisher Pluto Press, which is about to mark its 50th birthday
Sadie Lee
Exhibition review / 30 May 2019
30 May 2019
Christine Keeler was pilloried by the Establishment and the tabloids but a new exhibition salvages her tarnished reputation in a telling commentary on class, male power and sexual politics, says JAN WOOLF