MARIA DUARTE picks the best and worst of a crowded year of films
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Nazi loot
SIMON PARSONS is spellbound by abrupt changes from tragedy to farce in Mayenburg’s dark comedy about the long shadow of German history
12. (L-R) John Heffernan, Dorothea Myer-Bennett, Jenna Augen, Jane Horrocks, Angus Wright in Nachtland
[Ellie Kurttz]
STEVE JOHNSON picks his favourites from the many memorable albums of the year, and one stunning new festival
SIMON DUFF picks his favourites, from radical African-inspired electronic rhythms to improvisations on the organ
For GORDON PARSONS, a dramatic exploration of the abuse of young men at Medomsley Youth Detention Centre trumps Beckett, a couple of Hamlets and a bracing Candide
From feminist manifestos to exiled lovers to mythic islands, LEO BOIX selects the best fiction, poetry and non-fiction
FIONA O’CONNOR picks books and films that show defiance in the face of violence and injustice
Nachtland
Young Vic, London
THIS thought-provoking and highly entertaining play is startlingly original. Employing a broad range of dramatic styles, Marius Von Mayenburg’s German play tackles a range of political and social issues linked by a discussion on the value of art and its relationship to the observer.
Nicola (Dorothea Myer-Bennett) and Philipp (John Heffernan) are in the process of clearing out the worthless contents from the crumbling home of their recently deceased father when they come across a 1920s Viennese watercolour.
Their amusing, childish bickering switches to an argument on the painting’s subject and style before their spouses discover that the picture might have been painted by Adolf Hitler.
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JAN WOOLF is beguiled by the tempting notion that Freud psychoanalysed Hitler in a comedy that explores the vulnerability of a damaged individual
JAN WOOLF doubts that soft-core musical is the best way to transmit an important story of heroism and resistance
MARY CONWAY admires an accomplished drama that explores the consequences of a fatal punch on a desolate housing estate
SIMON PARSONS applauds a tense and thoughtful production that regularly challenges our political engagement and prejudices