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RITA DI SANTO draws attention to a new film that features Ken Loach and Jeremy Corbyn, and their personal experience of media misrepresentation
‘The nearest thing English people have to a religion’
SUSAN DARLINGTON recommends a cautionary tale marking the 70th anniversary of the NHS
JULIA TOPPIN recommends Patti Smith’s eloquent memoir that wrestles with the beauty and sorrow of a lifetime
MARJORIE MAYO welcomes an account of family life after Oscar Wilde, a cathartic exercise, written by his grandson
KEN COCKBURN guides us through a survey of Chekov’s early short fiction, and the groundwork it laid for his later masterpieces
ANDY HEDGECOCK revels in a hugely enjoyable but deadly serious examination of the 1930s, that is an indictment of our own era
The bard distills our hellish times into fiery words
Get Well Soon
Wetherby Whaler, Guiseley/Touring
“WHAT'S the NHS ever done for us?” asks a character at the start of Get Well Soon.
The answer, referencing Monty Python’s sketch about the Romans, is everything from heart transplants, test-tube babies, Aids awareness campaigns and a slot at the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony.
That roll call of achievements is celebrated in Ged Cooper’s cautionary tale for Mikron Theatre, coinciding with the service’s 70th anniversary. Whether it will survive to see its next milestone birthday is never far from the surface of this gently comedic yet pointed piece of theatre with music.
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