Three great releases of lost concerts by Duke Ellington Orchestra, John Taylor & Stan Sulzman, and Joe Henderson
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Family-friendly fun with this beast of a tale
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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
Beauty and the Beast
Leeds Grand Theatre
4/5
IT’S become something of a tradition for Northern Ballet to stage a production at The Grand over the Christmas period and, while there may be nothing intrinsically festive about Beauty And The Beast, choreographer David Nixon’s adaptation has plenty of fun with the fairytale’s moral about material goods not bringing happiness.
Beauty’s two sisters — socialites who flounce around in costumes that frequently resemble gaudy sweet wrappers — could have stepped right out of Clueless, while the bailiffs quite literally take the clothes off their backs in a ballet-theatre scene that shows the company at its comic best.
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