Published in The Observer May 31, 2021
Within a neat 100 pages, Natasha Brown’s precise, powerful debut novel says more about Britain’s colonial legacy and what it’s like trying to exist within that as a black British woman than most could achieve with three times the space.
Continue reading “Review: Assembly, Natasha Brown”Diversity has become a buzzword in the entertainment industries – and if there’s still debate about how much things are really changing, or if moves towards greater representation are too often mere lip service or box ticking, the diversity conversation is at least being had. Do badly, and it will get called out.
Continue reading “Will disabled people ever get the stories they deserve?”When Chipo Chung last saw Christopher Marlowe’s Dido, Queen of Carthage, she didn’t understand it. Now, she’s about to play the queen herself at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Perhaps surprisingly, it’s the first time the company has staged the tragedy. Continue reading “Chipo Chung: I had to go round the houses to get into theatre”
The action outside the Print Room proves considerably more lively and vital than what’s on stage: on press night, a substantial protest was held against the casting of white actors in Chinese roles in Howard Barker’s play. The issue of ‘yellowface’ was raised when the casting was announced, prompting the Print Room to release an astonishingly tangled and tone-deaf statement. Continue reading “Review: In the Depths of Dead Love, The Print Room”
His face may not be familiar, but there’s a good chance you’ve seen one of Jack Thorne’s TV programmes – Skins, Glue, This is England ’86, (and ’88 and ’90 come to that), The Fades – or maybe his hit stage version of vampire movie Let the Right One In, or council budget-cuts drama Hope, which played at the Royal Court. Continue reading “Jack Thorne on staging disability and transporting Harry Potter to the West End”
Following the #Oscarssowhite controversy, the issue of diversity in the arts has never been more high-profile. It’s just as much – if not more – of an issue in the UK: actors from Idris Elba to Lenny Henry have publically mourned a lack of opportunity for BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic) actors, who often leave to pursue careers in America. Continue reading “Dawn Walton on what needs to be done to fix British theatre’s race problem”