To rescue Kahlo from the clutches of the corporate art market, we need to acknowledge the overt and covert political dimensions of the work, demands GAVIN O’TOOLE
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The bitter laughs of Marcelo dos Santos
MARY CONWAY applauds a mind-blowing monologue that explores the private niggling hell of being young
IMMACULATE: Samuel Barnett in Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible Is Going To Happen
[The Other Richard]
If you can see past the relentless commodification you will be rewarded by enormously powerful work, suggests JENNY MITCHELL
CHRIS SEARLE revels in the one-off collaboration between an American polymath and a British Muslim, and detects the presence of their revolutionary forebear
GORDON PARSONS revels in an ebullient production of Shakespeare’s magical comedy
BRENT CUTLER welcomes a thoughtful analysis of the Erdogan regime, viewed through the evolving history of a neighbourhood in Istanbul
GORDON PARSONS regrets the price, but is dazzled by an outstandingly ambitious study of the way art restoration in particular, and culture in general was weaponised by the Nazis
Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible Is Going To Happen
Bush Theatre, London
FEELING Afraid As If Something Terrible Is Going To Happen — with its exquisite script and immaculate solo performance — feels like a masterclass in stand-up comedy.
Following an award-winning run at the Edinburgh Festival, this 65-minute monologue features actor Samuel Barnett as our entertainer for the night. As an audience he makes us laugh to order, manipulates us with sudden changes of tone and easy self-mockery, and delivers bombshells of lines you just don’t see coming.
His body language speaks volumes while his voice coos and charms, the occasional wail testifying to a deeper, inner anguish that makes us laugh all the more.
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