The Bard stands with the Reformers of Peterloo, and their shared genius in teaching history with music and song
Latest editorial
Hope springs eternal in affecting drama of small-town lives
Out of the ordinary: Amelia Bullmore (marty) and Anthony Ofoegbu (James)
[Marc Brenner]
SUE TURNER is fascinated by a book that researches who the largely immigrant workforce were that built the Empire State
MARIA DUARTE and MALC McGOOKIN review Sirat, The Testament of Ann Lee, EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, and All You Need Is Kill
STEVE ANDREW recommends a Marxist analysis of the long chains of production that global corporations exploit
MARY CONWAY relishes the period detail but misses the drama in this unsatisfactory dramatisation of the subjugated life of George Eliot
IAN SINCLAIR welcomes a mainstream scholar to the ranks of left-wing critique of US foreign policy
PETER MASON is disappointed that the eponymous Count fails to put in an appearance
Circle Mirror Transformation
HOME, Manchester
ONCE a week for six weeks, five lonely people turn up at the local community hall in a small town in Vermont for drama classes and, over time, the workshops become more therapeutic as each of the characters begins to reveal their past, grapple with their present and work towards a new beginning to their lives.
I can hear the groans rising on a tide of despair at that synopsis, but they would be misplaced. This is a beautifully crafted play that appears to have slipped effortlessly from the pen of the great US playwright Annie Baker.
Similar stories
Although this production was in rehearsal before the playwright’s death, it allows us to pay homage to his life, suggests MARY CONWAY
MARIA DUARTE recommends the ambitious portrait of an agricultural community confronted by the trauma of enclosure
New releases from Ibex Band, Lucy Dacus, and Various Artists
The Star's critics BRETT GREGORY, JOHN GREEN, MICHAEL BONCZA and ANGUS REID review The Stimming Pool, Misericordia, La Cocina, Irena’s Vow, and The End