STEVEN ANDREW is moved beyond words by a historical account of mining in Britain made from the words of the miners themselves
Latest editorial
Classy formula entrances Christmas audience
CAILEAN MCBRIDE welcomes a refreshing and timely study of the way officialdom creates structures that exclude LGBT+ rights and humanity
The bard mourns the loss of comrades and troubadours, and looks for consolation with Black Country Jess
CHRIS MOSS relishes the painting and the life story of a self-taught working-class artist from Warrington
MARY CONWAY is disappointed by a star-studded adaptation of Ibsen’s play that is devoid of believable humanity
GORDON PARSONS is fascinated by a unique dream journal collected by a Jewish journalist in Nazi Berlin
Borrowed Time: Lennon’s Last Decade, Parthenope, Where Dragons Live and Thunderbolts* reviewed by MICHAL BONCZA and MARIA DUARTE
Albion Christmas Band
Kings Place, London
THERE can be few better ways to usher in the festive season than an evening in the company of the Albion Christmas Band, who have been warming up audiences ahead of yuletide for 18 years now, though with a changing line-up over time.
This incarnation — featuring the combined folk talents of Simon Nicol, Kellie While, Simon Care and the band’s founder, Ashley Hutchings — has been one of its longest running, and has honed its traditional offering of Christmassy tales and readings, seasonal songs and amusing chat to perfection.
It’s a simple idea but one that’s finely executed. In the wrong hands many of the non-singing exploits might drop on stony ground — Simon Nicol’s humorous “drunken” reading of a Keith Floyd recipe for Christmas pudding, for instance, could easily have fallen flat, but he pulled it off with actorly aplomb.
More from this author
PETER MASON is enthralled by an assembly of objects, ancient and modern, that have lain in the mud of London’s river
PETER MASON applauds a thought-provoking study of the relationship between a grieving woman and her photographer
PETER MASON is moved by a striking production of Noel Streatfeild’s enduringly popular children’s book
PETER MASON reckons the NYT’s production of Shakespeare’s comedy is the pick of the Christmas shows on offer in London
Similar stories
MICK McSHANE rubs shoulders with Mod legend Steve Craddock and joins in with the joyous Glasgow choir
Modern Christmas as we know it, with its trees, dinner menu, cards and time off from work, only dates back to the early days of modern socialism as we know it, writes KEITH FLETT, checking in on Marx, Engels and the Chartists in the 1800s
PETER MASON reckons the NYT’s production of Shakespeare’s comedy is the pick of the Christmas shows on offer in London
DAVID NICHOLSON, eight-year-old BEHATI and nine-year-old SKYLAR applaud a hilarious production that doesn’t ignore the social message