education
Admissions, Trafalgar Studios review - topical and whiplash-smartWednesday, 13 March 2019
Joshua Harmon knows how to stir and excite an audience and does that and more with Admissions, newly arrived in the West End as part of the ongoing tsunami of American theatre across the capital just now. Opening the same day as news reports of... Read more... |
Kes, Leeds Playhouse review - seminal Yorkshire story soarsWednesday, 30 January 2019
Robert Alan Evans’ adaptation of Kes is a dark, expressionist reworking of Barry Hines’ novella. It pays lip service to Ken Loach’s iconic film version, and most of the memorable bits are present and correct here: the wince-inducing rant from head... Read more... |
James Graham: 'the country of Shakespeare no longer recognises arts as a core subject'Thursday, 20 September 2018
Thank you. It’s an honour to have been asked to speak here today. Although looking at the h100 List this year, I’ve no idea why I’m presumptuously standing here; given the talent, creativity and achievements far surpassing my own within this room.... Read more... |
Holy Shit, Kiln Theatre review - what's in a name?Tuesday, 11 September 2018
Holy shit! After being closed for two long years, the old and battered Tricycle Theatre in Kilburn has been refurbished and relaunched, with a name change and £5.5 million-worth of improvements. It’s now a much more welcoming place, full of light at... Read more... |
Dance Nation, Almeida Theatre review - a tarantella through the convulsions of the teenage psycheThursday, 06 September 2018
Lycra, jealousy and pubescent ambition are put under the spotlight in Clare Barron’s provocative probe into the American competitive dancing scene. Dance Nation is a tarantella through the convulsions of the teen psyche as its characters respond to... Read more... |
theartsdesk at bOing! International Family Festival - the best of European children's theatreTuesday, 28 August 2018
Theatre for children can often be dismissed – a box to tick for parents who want to keep up with cultural practices; a job for actors who haven't quite made it in the mainstream; theatre that mums and dads want to see that works for their little... Read more... |
Pin Cushion review - a twisted fable of daydreams and bulliesTuesday, 10 July 2018
On the surface, Pin Cushion is a whimsical British indie, packed with imagination and charm. But debuting director Deborah Haywood builds this on a foundation of bullying and prejudice, creating a surprisingly bleak yet effective film.Teenager Iona... Read more... |
The King and I, London Palladium review - classic musical reborn with modern sensibilitiesWednesday, 04 July 2018
Shall we dodge? (One, two, three) No, the brilliance of Bartlett Sher’s Tony-winning Lincoln Center revival – first on Broadway in 2015, now gracing the West End, with its original leads – is that it faces the problematic elements of Rodgers... Read more... |
Wonder review - sweet and smart but sometimes also schmaltzyThursday, 30 November 2017
Genuine emotion does battle with gerrymandered feeling in Wonder, which at least proves that the young star of Room, Jacob Tremblay, is no one-film wonder himself. Playing a pre-teen Brooklynite who yearns to be seen as more than the facial... Read more... |
Educating Greater Manchester, Channel 4 review - a study of hope, humanity and heartFriday, 01 September 2017
Cast your minds back, if you will, to 2011. Remember Jamie Oliver’s Celebrity Fight School? I think that was the title… in any case, it was an astonishing vanity project which seemed to suggest that the reason so many kids were being failed by... Read more... |
No More Boys and Girls, BBC Two – baby steps lead to great leaps for childrenThursday, 17 August 2017
Whether it’s the £400,000 that separates Mishal Husain from John Humphrys, or the 74 million miles between the metaphorical markers of Venus and Mars, there is a gulf between the genders. Despite legislation to enforce equality, the reality is... Read more... |
The Beguiled review - silly but seriously well-madeFriday, 14 July 2017
An isolated girls' school finds its hermetic routine shattered by the arrival of Colin Farrell, who wreaks sexual and emotional havoc as only this actor can. Playing a Civil War deserter with a gammy leg, Farrell's Corporal McBurney is at first... Read more... |
