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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Shakespeare in another space
Northampton’s Royal and Derngate theatre is marking the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death with a production of The Herbal Bed, first produced at the legendary Other Place theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. PETER FROST reports
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 Royal and Derngate’s artistic supremo James Dacre is never predictable and his latest contribution to the Shakespeare commemorations is The Herbal Bed by Peter Whelan, a play exploring the life of Shakespeare’s daughter.
Directed by James Dacre for English Touring Theatre, it is a remarkable production of a remarkable play.
It was written in the 1990s, when the Nolan Committee had laid down some basic principles on standards in public life and just as John Major’s Tory government carried out the most blatant lying whitewash with the Scott report on British arms dealers’ corruption abroad.
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