STEPHANIE BROWN draws attention to the hidden labour of the female embroiderers, and how a 19th century replica made no such error
Approaching Empty
Kiln Theatre, London
THE DEARTH of northern voices, especially authentic working-class ones, on the London stage made the proposition of Ishy Din’s Approaching Empty an appealing one.
His third play, set in a Middlesbrough cab office, draws directly on his experiences as a taxi driver in the city and explores the post-industrial fortunes of middle-aged Asian men against the fitting backdrop of Margaret Thatcher's death in 2013.
It gets off to a lively start, with ruthless entrepreneur Raf (Nicholas Khan) trading blows with his best friend of 40 years and well-meaning assistant Mansha (Kammy Darweish) over the future of the business and the legacy of Thatcher.
MAYER WAKEFIELD has reservations about a two-handed theatrical homage to jazz’s most mercurial musician
PETER MASON applauds a stage version of Le Carre’s novel that questions what ordinary people have to gain from high-level governmental spying
GORDON PARSONS is blown away by a superb production of Rostand’s comedy of verbal panache and swordmanship
MAYER WAKEFIELD is gripped by a production dives rapidly from champagne-quaffing slick to fraying motormouth


