GORDON PARSONS appreciates fine performances and a feel for ambiguity, but misses the music of the dialogue
AN EVENTFUL year, with murders, kidnapped children, suicidal depression, lost souls and found loves.
Conor McPherson’s Girl from the North Country won standing ovations at the Old Vic, with its magical use of Bob Dylan’s finest songs.
This took many, including critics, by sweet surprise. There are always cynics claiming McPherson’s work lacks teeth and the hopeless floundering of hapless drifters in the liminal space of a flophouse or bar may not be to everyone’s taste, but this carried an emotional charge reminiscent of a Steinbeck or Miller.
KEITH RICHMOND relishes a superbly conceived modern version of Aeschylus’ drama of murderous family succession
ANGUS REID applauds the potential of an ambitious show about Gaza, and encourages it to keep its nerve
TONY BURKE revels in the publication of previously unreleased tracks by the great US folksinger


