GORDON PARSONS is bowled over by a skilfully stripped down and powerfully relevant production of Hamlet
What happens when the arts are democratised
GORDON PARSONS applauds a history of the US Federal Theatre Project, that brought political theatre to millions in the US
In which we accompany the Bard into Cymru to meet his musical accomplices, young and old
SUE TURNER is inspired by the example of a librarian’s struggle to confront the book-banning movement
ANDY HEDGECOCK relishes two exhibitions that blur the boundaries between art and community engagement
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews I Am Martin Parr, September Says, The Monkey, and The Gorge
RITA DI SANTO applauds a touching and witty opener that touches a hot topic in Germany: the future of the immigrant population
SIMON PARSONS is discomfited by an unflichingly negative portrait of motherhood and its trials
The Playbook
James Shapiro
Faber, £20
IF it is to attract the attention of readers other than those interested in plays and playmaking, Shakespeare scholar James Shapiro’s compelling book certainly needs its subtitle, “A Study of Theatre, Democracy and the Making of a Culture War.”
The author, recognising this, prefaces his opening with dictionary definitions of the term “playbook,” including “A set of tactics frequently employed by one engaged in competitive activity.”
More from this author
The phrase “cruel to be kind” comes from Hamlet, but Shakespeare’s Prince didn’t go in for kidnap, explosive punches, and cigarette deprivation. Tam is different.
ANGUS REID deconstructs a popular contemporary novel aimed at a ‘queer’ young adult readership
A landmark work of gay ethnography, an avant-garde fusion of folk and modernity, and a chance comment in a great interview
ANGUS REID applauds the inventive stagecraft with which the Lyceum serve up Stevenson’s classic, but misses the deeper themes
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A nervous year, showing that the theatre, like the world, stands on a precipice and seems uncertain where to jump
JENNY FARRELL traces the critical role that the CPUSA played in the education of Harlem’s greatest man of letters
ALEX HALL is fascinated by the cosmopolitan life and internationalist values of the black sprinter and humanitarian, Harry Edward