judi herman

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Book review: The Shakespeare Flickbook

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Book review: The Shakespeare Flickbook

A visually intriguing gift from the late graphic designer Abram Games for the bard's 454th birthday. In 1975 Abram Games, one of Britain’s greatest graphic designers, was commissioned to make a Centenary Appeal poster for the Royal Shakespeare Company. His brilliant solution was to become known beyond…

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Secret Life of Humans ★★★★

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Secret Life of Humans ★★★★

A beautifully-realised theatrical account of human endeavour. Before Homo sapiens there was Neanderthal man. And before Simon Schama, Mary Beard and David Attenborough, there was Dr Jacob Bronowski. A Polish Jewish refugee, Bronowski became one of the first intellectuals…

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Used to Be Blonde ★★★★

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Used to Be Blonde ★★★★

Tomorrow's dance stars shine in Sharon Eyal's thrilling vision. To watch 41 very young – and very talented – dancers executing Sharon Eyal’s exacting and precise choreography is to share a life-affirming and exhilarating experience with the rest of the audience and the young company themselves…

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Ruthless! The Musical ★★★★

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Ruthless! The Musical ★★★★

Murder, mayhem and musical fun to die for. If backstage musicals featuring mothers who will stop at nothing are your bag, you'll recognise and revel in this no-holds-barred, wildly over-the-top spoof of and homage to the genre. Think Gypsy, think All About Eve…

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Under the Skin ★★★★

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Under the Skin ★★★★

The story of a shocking, seemingly impossible love, vividly told. Anneliese (Ilsa) Kohlmann was a guard in Neuengamme concentration camp, said to have had liaisons with female prisoners. From the few facts that remain, playwright Yonatan Calderon has wrought a short play of shocking beauty…

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Broken Glass ★★★★

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Broken Glass ★★★★

A wonderfully lucid account of Arthur Miller’s powerful psychodrama. In Broken Glass Arthur Miller addresses the fate of Jews in Nazi Germany through the reactions of one New York Jewish family to the news of Kristallnacht in November 1938. Haunted by graphic news images coming out of Germany…

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Kindertransport ★★★★

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Kindertransport ★★★★

Diane Samuels’ landmark drama remains ever powerful in this imaginative anniversary production. It’s 25 years since Diane Samuels’ powerful drama first moved audiences, with something that was new to many. Since then the story of the Kindertransport children has entered public consciousness, thanks to…

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Returning to Haifa ★★★★

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Returning to Haifa ★★★★

A vivid parable personalising the cost of years of conflict. Had he not been killed by a car bomb in 1972, aged just 36, Palestinian intellectual and activist Ghassan Kanafani would have been an octogenarian. What would the highly-respected writer of the novella…

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Smile Upon Us, Lord ★★★★

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Smile Upon Us, Lord ★★★★

Travelling hopefully on a Jewish road trip. Celebrated Lithuanian director Rimas Tuminas grew up alongside Jewish compatriots and his familiarity with Jewish life and custom informs this glorious evocation. Smile Upon Us, Lord, which Tuminas adapted…

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Julius Caesar ★★★★

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Julius Caesar ★★★★

Nicholas Hytner's timely full-blooded production. Julius Caesar is perhaps Shakespeare’s most topical play right now. Nick Hytner’s modern-dress production for The Bridge Theatre, follows the RSC’s 2017/18 Roman-dress version. A populist leader adored by the populace