Esteemed Canadian physician, Gabor Mate has studied the causes of addiction for decades, and written numerous books on the subject. His conclusions can possibly be distilled into one simple statement: in most cases, the root of addiction is nearly...
The trouble with zeitgeist drama is it goes out of date rather quickly. Right now, David Hare is probably in the middle of an earnest drama about the fallout of Brexit – but is that what people want from a night at the theatre? Given the current...
Hard to believe, but Sheffield based provocateurs Forced Entertainment have been pushing at the boundaries of the theatrical form for almost 35 years now. No band has lasted this long, at least not without splits, reformations and changing line-ups...
‘I’ve never known anyone in my life who was so easily wounded’, wrote novelist Doris Lessing about Playwright and occasional actor John Osborne. Like a 1950’s version of Morrissey, Osborne was bitter, resentful and had a tendency to nurse grudges...
Less of a drama and more an exercise in pop culture storytelling, Rick Kids: A History of Shopping Malls in Tehran is, in the words of writer/performer Javaad Alipoor, partly about ‘rich people acting like dicks.’ But these aren’t ordinary rich...
Director William Friedkin is often portrayed as an erratic genius. He’s made some amazing films (The French Connection, To Live and Die in LA) and some outright turkeys (Jade, The Guardian). But the film which most people associate with his name is...
‘Fringe theatre’ is a nebulous term that most people will be familiar with but perhaps struggle to define. Usually it conjures up images of a group of ex drama students, gamely staging a piece of new writing – on a zero budget – in a pub back-room...
The first thing that strikes you about this National Theatre of Scotland production is Simon Kenny’s set, the centrepiece a 30-foot high wooden picture frame, with the top corner a wild, untreated tree branch. Initially, this appears to be something...
Playwrights are a funny lot: Many are reticent to reveal their precise dramatic intentions. ‘I meant what I said’, was the best Samuel Beckett could offer. Harold Pinter was similarly cryptic, describing himself as ‘the weasel behind the...
One of the most remarkable theatre productions I’ve seen in recent years was Feelgood Theatre’s Macbeth, staged in Heaton Park 10 years ago, and which coincided with a week of torrential rain; performing in a muddy pool in damp costumes sorely...
Steve Timms