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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Winning X-factors
A new sci-fi drama has all the ingredients for a challenging and innovative night in the theatre, says KATHERINE M GRAHAM
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
X
Royal Court Theatre, London SW1
4/5
ALISTAIR McDowall’s X sees a rag-tag group of British astronauts stuck on Pluto. With no radio responses from Earth — where, apocalyptically, no trees remain — and the failure of the scheduled pick-up to arrive, things start to disintegrate.
The clock begins to malfunction, meaning that the stranded group have no idea how long they’ve been there, plus there might be a little girl outside on the surface...
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ANDY HEDGECOCK is astonished by a portrait of contemporary Greece, complete with political protest, organised crime and people trafficking, told from the point of view of — wait for it — runaway poultry
MARY CONWAY applauds the timely revival of Miller’s study of people fatally deformed by the economics of survival
PETER MASON applauds a stage version of Le Carre’s novel that questions what ordinary people have to gain from high-level governmental spying
CARL DEATH introduces a new book which explores how African science fiction is addressing climate change