The latest production at Northern Stage, Newcastle, is an ambitious presentation of Khaled Hosseini’s masterpiece, ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’. It takes a brave playwright to take on such a powerful novel which takes place over more than two decades and encompasses several life stories within. Ursula Rani Sarma has achieved a remarkable result which isn’t… Read More Theatre Review: A Thousand Splendid Suns at Northern Stage
Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier My rating: 3 of 5 stars I know the opening pages of Daphne du Maurier’s classic novel extremely well having used the opening for several years with my GCSE English students. It was an extract given in a past paper and I found it served wonderfully well as a… Read More Book Review: Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier
By Ken Powell A shorter version of this interview was published here for Lancashire Life magazine. This is the interview in full. Charlotte Keatley wrote the play ‘My Mother Said I Never Should’ in 1985 aged just 25. The play has gone on to be the most performed play by a female playwright and translated… Read More An Interview with Charlotte Keatley
By Ken Powell The contemporary ballet group, Phoenix Dance Theatre, performed ‘Left Unseen’ and Igor Stravinsky’s classic ‘The Rite of Spring’ at Keswick’s Theatre by the Lake on Wednesday 8 May, and gave the audience a thing of beauty which was hard to define. Stravinsky’s musical work famously supposedly caused a riot in Paris when… Read More Theatre Review: The Rite of Spring by Phoenix Dance Theatre
The New Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan My rating: 4 of 5 stars I am a definite fan of Peter Frankopan. His original book ‘The Silk Roads’ I consider one of the best books I’ve ever read, of any kind. Certainly the best introduction to history in terms of readability and brilliant insight. ‘The New… Read More Book Review: The New Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan
The economics of arrival: Ideas for a grown-up economy by Katherine Trebeck & Jeremy Williams My rating: 5 of 5 stars I have followed the writings of Jeremy Williams for many years. His articles on environment, technology, architecture and a host of other areas concerned with stepping us ‘back from the brink’ have been inspiring… Read More Book Review – The Economics of Arrival by Katherine Trebeck & Jeremy Williams
The English Touring Theatre (ETT) have just completed their time at Newcastle’s Northern Stage before continuing on to a run at Guildford performing Peter Shaffer’s ‘Equus’. It is a superb production. The subject matter is dark and based on an actual real event – a boy blinds several horses with a poker in a single… Read More Theatre Review: Equus by Peter Shaffer at Northern Stage, Newcastle
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