MARY CONWAY revels in a powerful reminder that human lives are not defined by physical perfection
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The case against the Shakespeare cult
Why do so many worship at the altar of a playwright whose works describe a world that no longer exists? CHRIS JURY thinks he has the answer
Cult worship? An audience at Shakespeare's Globe theatre in London
[Sourav Niyogi/Creative Commons]
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
The missing sister, the vengeful WAG, cruise ship claustrophobia, and reanimated Avengers
Three great releases of lost concerts by Duke Ellington Orchestra, John Taylor & Stan Sulzman, and Joe Henderson
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
MY NOSE was broken in 1981 by a “civilised” Shakespeare lover, who launched himself across the table and set about me simply because I dared to suggest that in 1981 The Clash were more culturally relevant than the Bard.
This pattern has been repeated throughout my life as civilised and sensitive Shakespeare lovers become rabid nut-jobs simply because I say I don’t particularly care for his work.
In middle-class, educated society it's perfectly acceptable to opine: “I don’t like the plays of Christopher Marlowe/Harold Pinter/Jez Butterworth” or whoever, but to say: “I don’t like the plays of Shakespeare” is to condemn oneself as an ignoramus and cultural Philistine. It is simply not acceptable for anyone who claims to be educated or intelligent to say they do not care for the Elizabethan playwright.
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Although this production was in rehearsal before the playwright’s death, it allows us to pay homage to his life, suggests MARY CONWAY