PAUL DONOVAN is chilled by the contemporary resonance of Harper Lee’s coming of age tale amidst racism and white supremacy in this excellent production
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Theatre Review: Martyrs’ cause a reminder of how status quo can be challenged
We Will Be Free!
The Carriageworks, Leeds
4/5
GEOFF BOTTOMS recommends the unashamedly light-hearted escapism on offer in this stage version of the 1963 film
Full of mysterious religious references and radical sound design, the Scottish duo’s new offering is candidate for album of the year, suggests SIMON DUFF
MARY CONWAY revels in a powerful reminder that human lives are not defined by physical perfection
PAUL DONOVAN recommends the fine performances in this account of the pre-war meeting between the US president and the British king
TECLYN AROD relishes an intimate celebration of jazz improvisation that mixes local and national musicians
The need to revive the Tolpuddle Martyrs’ spirit to fight against today’s wage race to the bottom is continually implied in Neil Gore’s We Will Be Free!
The struggle for higher wages and the six mens’ impact on trade unionism is told through the upheaval caused to Betsy Loveless and the other wives of the farm labourers, who were transported in 1834 to Australia for swearing an oath as members of a secret society.
A two-hander that’s framed by a mummers show, it pitches the martyrs’ fight for fair pay on a par with the epic struggle of Saint George with the dragon. This use of broadly comedic performance, with Gore and Charlotte Powell playing multiple roles, foreshadows the rest of the show.
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