by Sally Lewis
‘A hugely important play’
PAUL FOLEY highly recommends a play that movingly addresses the fallout from a major industrial employer shutting up shop
VIVID AND TRUE: Fantastic ensemble cast
[Helen Murray] 
New releases from Max Richter, Julius Asal, and Jean-Michel Jarre
RON JACOBS applauds a reading of black history in the US that plots the path from autonomy to self-governance and then liberation
TOM KING relishes an enlightening history of the checkered progress of the war that humanity has waged on bacteria
ANDY HEDGECOCK is intrigued by a scholarly account of how systemic disinformation can exacerbate the perception of threat and foster hatred
New releases from Cuban pianist Aruan Ortiz, trumpeter Kenny Dorham, and London pianist Geoff Castle
SWEAT
Royal Exchange Manchester
WHAT happens to a working-class community when the major industrial employer shuts up shop? The answer is a lot and it’s not good. Lives fall apart and once-solid friendships fray, scapegoats are sought.
All this is devastatingly explored by Lynn Nottage in her Pulitzer prize-winning play SWEAT. A working-class community built around the steelworks in Reading, Pennsylvania, is shattered as the cloud of poverty hangs over them following the outsourcing of their jobs.
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