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EWAN CAMERON picks out two fascinating music shows, fusing the Korean, and the Celtic, with the modern
The Meaning of Zong
Giles Terera's debut play on the intentional drowning of 132 slaves in 1781 has a grim resonance today, argues SIMON PARSONS
BENJAMIN POTHIER suggests that Palaeolithic cave paintings in Spain point to the ceremonial use of hallucinogenic flora
The bard confirms that the right has a humour bypass, and replays the English Revolution on period instruments
MARIA DUARTE and ANDY HEDGECOCK review Sunny Dancer, Tony, Songs of Forgotten Trees, and The End of Oak Street
JOHN GREEN relishes a powerful and moving drama that explores the lived realities of west London’s Punjabi community
MARTIN HALL welcomes a plea for greater compassion between believer and non-believer via the framework of philosophical enquiry
The Meaning of Zong
Bristol Old Vic
ANOTHER long awaited production rewards both Bristol’s commitment to the project and Giles Terera’s determination to tell this vital story that looks to the past to illuminate the present.
Although the barbaric details of the intentional drowning of 132 slaves in 1781 for the sake of an insurance claim has been the subject of various films and books, its savagery is often viewed in historical isolation or as an example of the worst horrors of the slave trade. Terara’s debut play has tried to show its relevance today, especially for black identities.
The connections across time are highlighted by the largely modern idiom used to explore the historical material and the contemporary bookshop setting that frames the action as well as some interactions having direct current parallels.
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ELLIS RAE recommends a stunning history of the active role played by the British monarchy in establishing and profiting from slavery
SIMON PARSONS applauds an artist who rescues and rehumanises stories of women, the victims of violence, from a feminist perspective
MARY CONWAY becomes impatient with the intellectual self-indulgence of Tom Stoppard in a production that is, nevertheless, total class