On making The Left Behind: 'We've plugged into the mains'

THE LEFT BEHIND The director of Killed By My Debt introduces his new BBC drama about a hate crime

The director of Killed By My Debt introduces his new BBC drama about a hate crime

The Left Behind is a television drama marinated in real-world research. It tells the story of a young man unable to break free from his bullshit job, zero-hour existence, thrown out of his family home when the council decide that as a single man with no dependents he isn’t a housing priority. He is seduced by a far-right, anti-migrant explanation for his plight and eventually drawn into a sickening hate crime.

Seven Methods of Killing Kylie Jenner, Royal Court review - memes, memories and meanings

★★★★ SEVEN METHODS OF KILLING KYLIE JENNER, ROYAL COURT Bright new two-hander about an internet troll

Bright new two-hander about an internet troll is intelligent, provocative and funny

Few theatres have done as much to promote new young talent as the Royal Court; few theatres have done as much to stage plays about the pains and pleasures of the digital world; few venues have tackled the themes of race and gender in contemporary society more effectively. Now, once again, it's time for a young writer to make their debut in the upstairs studio space.

King Hedley II, Theatre Royal Stratford East review - concentrated, enveloping drama

★★★★ KING HEDLEY II, THEATRE ROYAL STRATFORD EAST Concentrated, enveloping drama

Lenny Henry tops a strong cast in August Wilson’s 1999 play of African American identity

The huge achievement of the last two decades of August Wilson’s life, right up to his death in 2005, was his “American Century Cycle”, in which he charted the African American experience over that time frame decade by decade, its action set largely in the downtown Hill District of Pittsburgh where the playwright grew up.

salt., Royal Court review - revisiting the Atlantic slave trade

One woman's journey to explore the slave trade is both personal and provocative

Most of the facts about the Atlantic slave trade are well known; what is less easily understood is how history can make a person feel today. A question which invites an experimental approach in which you test out emotions on your own body. In 2016, the artist Selina Thompson did just that. Along with a filmmaker friend she made a boat trip from Britain to Ghana, then travelled to Jamaica, then back again.

The Specials, Margate Winter Gardens review - ska legends passionate and on-point

★★★★★ THE SPECIALS, MARGATE WINTER GARDENS Ska legends passionate and on-point

Two Tone stars relevant and fired up as they tour their new album

Here they come again – the band most adept at capturing the mood of an era in catchy, critical three-minute songs. Just at the very point we need them most, the original ska-punk popsters surface and their message is as deeply relevant as it was four decades ago. But is this a 40th anniversary or a number one album tour? Or both?

Ain't Misbehavin', Southwark Playhouse review - a jazz-hot musical revue

★★★★ AIN'T MISBEHAVIN', SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE A jazz-hot musical revue

Dancing, singing and plenty of swinging in this joyful tribute to Fats Waller

The joint is jumpin’ at Southwark Playhouse, now hosting an irresistible Fats Waller-inspired, Manhattan-set musical revue (a co-production with Colchester’s Mercury Theatre, where it opened last month).

Mo Amer and Guz Khan, Leicester Square Theatre review - racism examined from both sides of the Atlantic

Energetic double bill feels like a hip-hop gig

Well this is a nice change from the standard stand-up fare. Not many comics have a DJ introduce them with a cracking set of his own, and even fewer tour as part of a double bill with material that moves seamlessly from one set to the other as they dig down into race and ethnicity from either side of the Atlantic.

Blood Knot, Orange Tree Theatre review - defining apartheid-era drama delivers afresh

★★★ BLOOD KNOT, ORANGE TREE THEATRE Defining apartheid-era drama delivers afresh

Athol Fugard's seminal 1961 play hasn't lost its potency

London's impromptu mini-season devoted to the work of Athol Fugard picks up real steam with Blood Knot, Matthew Xia's transfixing take on one of the benchmark titles of the apartheid era and beyond.