ALEX HALL is disgusted by the misuse of ‘emotional narratives’ to justify uninformed geo-political prejudice
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Mansfield Polak
In communities where exploitative warehouses have replaced coal mines, Beth Steel has fashioned an uproarious state-of-the-nation comedy, says MARY CONWAY
DEVASTATING: Sinead Matthews (Sylvia), Lorraine Ashbourne (Aunty Carol), Lisa McGrillis (Maggie) and Lucy Black (Hazel) in Till the Stars Come Down at the National Theatre
SUE TURNER welcomes a thoughtful, engaging book that lays bare the economic realities of global waste management
JOHN GREEN welcomes an insider account of the achievements and failures of the transition to democracy in Portugal
SIMON PARSONS applauds an imaginative and absorbing updating of Strindberg’s classic
PETER MASON is enthralled by an assembly of objects, ancient and modern, that have lain in the mud of London’s river
MICK McSHANE rubs shoulders with Mod legend Steve Craddock and joins in with the joyous Glasgow choir
DENNIS BROE sifts out the ideological bias of the newest TV series offerings, and picks out what to see, and what to avoid
Till the Stars Come Down
NT - Dorfman
TO watch the National Theatre embracing a play set in Mansfield feels like the nearest thing we’ve seen to levelling up in a long time. And it’s a beautifully crafted piece.
This world premiere by Beth Steel is real, deeply engaging and so uproariously funny that when the hard truth bubbles intermittently to the surface, its devastating and hyperbolic impact hits with exaggerated force.
The play takes place at a family wedding between Sylvia and local Polish worker, Marek.
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