Theatre
Right Welcome
Those of us given to complaining about the lack of good new political plays, and the lack of plays that are not predictably left-wing, will now have to stop, if only for a while. The Royal Court, home to everything that is bien-pensant and right-on, has, rather surprisingly, given a world première to a new political play - Christopher Shinn's Now or Later - which is unusually independent in spirit. To many theatre-goers it must seem far from predictably left-wing, and possibly rather predictably right-wing. It is also very good, with a central performance by Eddie Redmayne that is absolutely exceptional. One should see the play for that alone; without him it might not have been so convincing.
Previous columns
Numb and Number
MINETTE MARRINOctober 2008
Two new plays lack nothing in ambition but ultimately fail to engage
Feminism Made Funny
JONATHAN FOREMANSeptember 2008
Germaine Greer has got it wrong: everyone should see The Female of the Species
Musical Theatre Is A Matter Of Taste
MINETTE MARINAugust 2008
Slick and professional popular productions have many merits, but the gap between Les Mis and opera is very wide
Hitting the Boundaries of Polite Society
MINETTE MARINJuly 2008
A new play, The English Game, brings social issues alive by creating characters, not mouthpieces
What is the Matter with the London Stage?
MINETTE MARRINJune 2008
The Left has lost its monopoly, but new political plays like Brenton’s ‘Never So Good’ still reveal a tin ear for language
