The bard celebrates two other fine practitioners of the art, and laments a lost brewer
Latest editorial
Timely words on the 1992 Los Angeles riots
Nina Bowers maintains a striking intensity throughout Twilight
[Cameron Slater]
This right-wing conspiracy theory is used to justify the coercive measures against gender, race and labour rights that best serve capitalism, attests GAVIN O’TOOLE
KENNY MONROSE recommends a new exhibition that highlights the significance of Black British music
ANGUS REID is bowled over by an exuberant film about the making of Keith Jarrett’s legendary concert
MARIA DUARTE, FIONA O’CONNOR and ANDY HEDGECOCK review Savage House, Enzo, Madfabulous, and Erupcja
CHRIS SEARLE recommends a work of love and deep admiration for a great musician
Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992
Gate Theatre, London
ANNA DEAVERE SMITH’S play brilliantly grasps the power and political impact of those bearing witness to momentous events.
First staged in 1994, this early example of verbatim theatre draws on interviews conducted in the aftermath of the 1992 Los Angeles riots and, in the process, explores the police beating of Rodney King, the killing of Latasha Harlins, the two King trials and race relations in the city.
The fragmented voices we hear provide no straightforward narrative. They are a constellation of disenfranchisement, bordered communities, oppression and violence yet, within that constellation, there are striking resonances.
Similar stories
DENNIS BROE points out that two popular TV series promote police violence and disguise it as ‘fun’
JULIA TOPPIN recommends Patti Smith’s eloquent memoir that wrestles with the beauty and sorrow of a lifetime
There is no doubt that Trump’s regime is a right-wing one, but the clash between the state apparatus and the national and local government is a good example of what any future left-wing formation will face here in Britain, writes NICK WRIGHT