The Substitute review - a Buenos Aires 'Blackboard Jungle'

★★★★ THE SUBSTITUTE A teacher marshals his inner-streetfighter to protect endangered students

A teacher marshals his inner-streetfighter to protect his endangered students

If, as a teacher newly hired to instil an appreciation for literature in underprivileged high-school kids who think it’s useless, you don’t march into their classroom and try to ram Jorge Luis Borges down their throats. That’s one lesson learned by Lucio Garmendia (Juan Minujín) in Diego Lerman’s The Substitute

Iphigenia in Splott, Lyric Hammersmith review - raises as many questions as answers

★★★ IPHIGENIA IN SPLOTT, LYRIC HAMMERSMITH Timely revival of Gary Owen's solo play

Timely revival of Gary Owen's solo play

It’s hard to keep up with what terms are in vogue amongst those who insist on classifying and vilifying young people, but one that you don’t hear so often these days is NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training). Back in 2015 when Gary Owen's lauded monodrama Iphigenia In Splott premiered, Effie was a NEET, and a proud one to boot.

Album: Hudson Mohawke - Cry Sugar

★★★★★ HUDSON MOHAWKE - CRY SUGAR An apocalyptic masterpiece from the Glaswegian dance pioneer

An apocalyptic masterpiece from the Glaswegian dance pioneer

The journey of Ross “Hudson Mohawke” Birchard has been truly one of the most extraordinary in modern music. From teenage scratch DJ champion and happy hardcore raver in some of Glasgow’s more feral club environments, in the late Noughties he quickly moved through making rhythmically fractured hip hop.

Glastonbury Festival 2022: an unexpurgated odyssey around the best party on the planet

★★★★★ GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL The biggest, wildest, most extensive 2022 report of them all

The biggest, wildest, most extensive Glastonbury 2022 report of them all

Last days of June 2022, I sit in my writing hut. My liver is radioactive jelly, my nose reinforced concrete, my leg muscles marathon-cramped, and poisoned perspiration rolls down my forehead, stinging my eyeballs.

The Night Doctor review - down and out in Paris

★★★ THE NIGHT DOCTOR Elie Wajeman's feature film is atmospheric but disappointing

Elie Wajeman's feature film is atmospheric but disappointing

Elie Wajeman’s moodily lit film noir is, among other things, a great advertisement for the French healthcare system. Doctors in Paris do home visits! Even at night, and even for minor troubles such as a painful leg or stomach upset. It costs slightly more than going to the surgery, but t’inquiète pas, you’ll be reimbursed. Just don't lose your insurance card.

Dopesick, Disney+ review - the harrowing inside story of America's OxyContin scandal

★★★★ DOPESICK, DISNEY+ How corporate greed rode roughshod over regulatory oversight

How corporate greed rode roughshod over regulatory oversight

“Drug companies are supposed to be honest,” says a lady from the Department of Justice, explaining why the US Food and Drug Administration had been treating the pharmaceutical industry with a light, indeed barely detectable, regulatory touch.

10 Questions for Bobby Gillespie of Primal Scream

10 QUESTIONS FOR BOBBY GILLESPIE On concept albums and his new music with Jehnny Beth

The singer talks concept albums, Mary Chain days, and his new music with singer Jehnny Beth

Bobby Gillespie (b 1962) is best known as the lead singer and driving force of rock band Primal Scream. He was born and raised in Glasgow and met future Creation Records boss Alan McGee at school. The pair would later move to London and, after a brief period drumming for The Jesus & Mary Chain (he played on their influential Psychocandy album), Gillespie signed Primal Scream to the nascent Creation in 1985.

An Oral History of Glastonbury Festival 1992

AN ORAL HISTORY OF GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL 1992 A 29 year time-trip back with those who were there

Take a 29 year time-trip back to the world's greatest festival with those who were there

There is never one Glastonbury Festival. There are as many Glastonbury Festivals as there are people who attend. Thus it ever was, even back in 1992 when the capacity was only 70,000 (plus multitudinous fence-jumpers!). What follows, then, is a cross section of memories, from bands, performers, journalists, rave crews, and those behind the scenes.