MARIA DUARTE recommends a remarkable study of the friendship between a Palestinian and a Pakistani, broken by a hostile state
Latest editorial
Selling Scotland
FRANCESCA SOBANDE watches the HBO drama series Succession and how it reflects the way external business interests have driven notions of Scottish identity
British Rail Poster, cca 1950 and Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY from the exhibition Tartan at V&A, Dundee; Brian Cox, the Dundonian star of HBO series Succession
[Louie Banks Courtesy of V&A Dundee; Dmitry Rozhkov/CC]
MATTHEW HAWKINS rakes through un-fancy words and flair-free summaries to find who and what might be flamboyant
PETER MASON is exhilarated by an exciting, well-considered and historically minded tribute to the great Trinidadian instrument
Reducing historical lives to ‘male’ and ‘female’ roles, we lose the nuance of those lives and a clearer understanding of past societies, suggests CLAIRE ISABELLA GILMOUR
CHRIS SEARLE relishes the genius of pianist Alexander Hawkins, his many ensembles, and his new album
ONLY one episode of Succession is directly set in Scotland (Dundee, season two, episode eight), yet shadows and symbols of the country are threaded throughout the show. Whether that’s through the Roy siblings’ horror at stepmother Marcia’s (Hiam Abbass) plan to bury Logan “in a kilt like a fucking Bay City Roller,” or youngest son Roman Roy (Kieran Culkin) hilariously buying his father “The Hearts” football team by mistake – Logan’s actual team is their arch rivals, Hibernian.
Succession follows the sparring Roy family and their eccentric partners. Siblings Connor (Alan Ruck), Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman and Shiv (Sarah Snook), vie for their father Logan’s (Brian Cox) approval and his leadership role in the family’s global media entertainment conglomerate, Waystar Royco. That is, until he dies unexpectedly in the third episode of the final season.
The power and talent of the cast is undeniable, but the show’s portrayal of places and their pasts is also part of its irresistible on-screen chemistry.
Similar stories
DOMINIC O’KEY recommends Arundhati Roy’s study of troubled mother/daughter relations
ANGUS REID, ANDY HEDGECOCK and MARIA DUARTE review On The Sea, A Useful Ghost, Brunello: The Gracious Visionary, and Pinocchio Unstrung
DIANE WATT argues that while evidence of sex is not there, a 16th‑century lesbian poet could be Scotland’s answer to Gentleman Jack
MATTHEW HAWKINS recommends three memorable performances from Scottish dance artists Barrowland Ballet, In the Fields Project, and Wendy Houston