EWAN CAMERON picks out two fascinating music shows, fusing the Korean, and the Celtic, with the modern
Controversial 1891 play in striking new production
A glorious, collaborative piece that must be the standout new show in London at the moment, writes SIMON PARSONS
MEMORABLE: Catherine Cusack (Adult Women), Amara Okereke (Wendla), Laurie Kynaston (Melchior)
[Marc Brenner]
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
Spring Awakening
Almeida Theatre
SATER and Sheik’s multi-award winning musical version of Wedekind’s controversial 1891 play dealing with pubescent sexuality and angst in an uncompromising and authoritarian adult world is revived on stage in this striking new production.
Set around two single sex schools and 13 students, Wedekind’s tragic original script is stripped down and updated with 20 memorable songs but still clearly evident.
Similar stories
Family issues and dragon-fuelled history amount to a vacuous spectacle that ill-fits the theatre, muses SIMON PARSONS
SIMON PARSONS applauds the timely revival of a play about solidarity and betrayal within Britain’s Pakistani community
GORDON PARSONS appreciates fine performances and a feel for ambiguity, but misses the music of the dialogue
MARY CONWAY becomes impatient with the intellectual self-indulgence of Tom Stoppard in a production that is, nevertheless, total class