Jez ButterworthReviewRoyal Court, LondonI spy a danger for the theatre in a new form of chic exclusivity. Because everyone wants to see Jez Butterworth's first new play since Jerusalem and because space is limited at the Theatre Upstairs, tickets are hard to come by. You either have to go online or queue at the box office first thing. Although that may preclude potential customers, Butterworth's play undeniably gains from intimacy. At 80 minutes, it is strange, eerie, tense and, on a single viewing, slightly unfathomable. Read More...
The ObserverAutobiography and memoirReviewThe half-Ukrainian, half-Russian Belim offers a personal perspective on the region’s recent history while circling around a family mystery
Anyone wanting to understand the geopolitical background of the current conflict in Ukraine will probably have found their head spinning at the complex history of occupation, independence and ethnic, linguistic and political divisions in this contested “borderland” region. As Victoria Belim writes in her memoir: “Ukraine, with its key position between Russia and western Europe, was always going to be a battleground for Russian imperial ambitions. Read More...