SCOTT ALSWORTH hears the call to burn down and rebuild the video game industry from the bottom up
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No woman no cry
SIMON PARSONS is discomfited by an unflichingly negative portrait of motherhood and its trials
The Chinese language only introduced a feminine pronoun in the 1920s. Now, it might adopt a gender-inclusive one, suggests JANET DAVEY
ALEX HALL is intrigued by a detailed history of Gaza that demonstrates its historic resilience and changing economy
RON JACOBS welcomes the long overdue translation of an epic work that chronicles resistance to fascism during WWII
MAYER WAKEFIELD is chilled by the co-dependency of two lost souls as portrayed by German communist playwright Franz Xaver Kroetz
The Star's critics BRETT GREGORY, JOHN GREEN, MICHAEL BONCZA and ANGUS REID review The Stimming Pool, Misericordia, La Cocina, Irena’s Vow, and The End
CHRIS MOSS welcomes a radical history that brings marginalised stories and overlooked people and agencies to the centre
(the) Woman
The North Wall Arts Centre, Oxford
JANE UPTON’s unflinching diatribe against motherhood largely takes the form of a series of duologues or hard hitting, humorous sketches about a female playwright facing the physical, emotional and psychological challenges of coping with a baby.
From the sexual strains on her marriage and exhaustion to restrictive social perceptions of motherhood and the impact on her career, (not to mention the physical changes brought on by childbirth), the 100-minute play takes a broad sweep at the often overlooked, lifechanging event of raising a child.
Lizzy Watts plays the sharply spoken, often crude mother with more than her share of attitude, but this slightly unsympathetic portrayal fits the character’s own sense of self-loathing brought on by a minefield of contending emotions and degraded self-image.
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SIMON PARSONS applauds an insightful state-of-the-nation play that explores the growing class divide in South Africa
SIMON PARSONS applauds a tense and thoughtful production that regularly challenges our political engagement and prejudices
SIMON PARSONS questions whether a dark take on Shakespeare’s Seasonal comedy is in harmony with the original text
SIMON PARSONS applauds the psychological study of prisoners dealing with a frighteningly oppressive world endured by far too many
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