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
Blues in the Night
Kiln Theatre
HHHHI
Conceived by Sheldon Epps, and staged by Epps and Gregory Hines in New York in 1980, this musical later found its way to London via Donmar Warehouse, Piccadilly Theatre, and now this revival at Kiln.
The set, in which five musicians are embedded, shows us a downbeat Chicago hotel of the 1930s. Directed by Susie McKenna, this is not so much a story but a series of blues songs held together by The Lady’s (a magnificent Sharon D Clarke) spare narration, as three women sing about the same man.
JULIA TOPPIN recommends Patti Smith’s eloquent memoir that wrestles with the beauty and sorrow of a lifetime
WILL STONE applauds a comprehensive survey of love in its many moods and musical forms
MAYER WAKEFIELD relishes a witty and uplifting rallying cry for unity, which highlights the erasure of queer women
CHRIS SEARLE speaks to Ethiopian vocalist SOFIA JERNBERG


