Bronx Gothic, Young Vic review - fervid intensity

★★★★ BRONX GOTHIC, YOUNG VIC Okwui Okpokwasili’s solo is an astounding piece of theatre

Okwui Okpokwasili’s solo performance piece is an astounding piece of theatre

It’s hard, and finally fruitless to attempt to describe Okwui Okpokwasili’s Bronx Gothic in conventional terms of genre: combining elements of dance and theatre, this visceral solo performance transcends both.

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.

Superhoe, Brighton Festival 2019 review - a darkly vital one-woman show

★★★★ SUPERHOE, BRIGHTON FESTIVAL 2019 A darkly vital one-woman show

Nicôle Lecky's raw, persuasive play about sex work, social media and female empowerment

Tonight comes with a caveat, delivered before proceedings begin by the one-woman show’s writer and performer Nicôle Lecky, who’s sitting in a chair centre-stage. She damaged her foot during Sunday’s matinee at the Brighton Festival, dancing about, and has since had to do the whole thing seated.

The Firm, Hampstead Theatre review - ferociously funny exploration of gang culture

★★★★ THE FIRM, HAMPSTEAD THEATRE Ferociously funny exploration of gang culture

Roy Williams revival looks beyond the headlines to see the codes, complexity and camaraderie of crime

We are living in a time when gang culture rips and roars its way down London streets, and through newspaper headlines, at increasingly alarming levels. Recent news reports revealed how a surge in knife and gun crime is leading to more young black men being murdered in the capital than anywhere else in the country, with problems increasingly amplified by social media and drugs money.

10 Questions for actress and playwright Nicôle Lecky

10 QUESTIONS Rising star of stage and screen Nicôle Lecky talks grime, feminism, sex work and more

The rising star of stage and screen talks grime, feminism, sex work, Nicki Minaj and SENSE8

Nicôle Lecky’s one woman show Superhoe has added fire to the reputation of an already fast-rising actress and writer. Based around Sasha, a Plaistow girl who aspires to pop stardom, it’s a clear-eyed, very modern play, filled with its central character’s motor-mouthed bravado and examining the Instagram generation’s relationship with sexual objectification. It comes to the Brighton Festival in May.

Us review - can Jordan Peele deliver the thrills again?

★★★★ US No shortage of cinematic fireworks in Jordan Peele's follow up to Get Out

No shortage of cinematic fireworks in this follow up to Get Out

Us is Jordan Peele’s much-anticipated follow-up to his 2017 horror film, Get Out, which won the first-time writer-director an Oscar for best original screenplay. A lot has been riding on this, Peele’s sophomore film with questions being raised over whether he would succumb to the pressures of a bigger budget and make a far more obviously commercial movie. So far Peele is riding the wave, Us has already broken records in the USA where it’s had the highest grossing opening weekend for an R rated film ever.

Yxng Bane, Brixton Academy review - all the fam on stage

★★★★ YXNG BANE, BRIXTON ACADEMY Lit gig from star on the rise

Lit gig from star on the rise

There’s a wolf howl and Yxng Bane (pronounced Young Bane) jumps off a block on stage and his furry hooded coat flies open and the arena erupts in screams. The pit is filled almost exclusively with seventeen year old girls, excellently contoured and sporting chunky trainers and crop tops like it’s the early 2000s all over again, and he’s wearing nothing underneath except many hours at the gym.

Brighton Festival 2019 launches with Guest Director Rokia Traoré

BRIGHTON FESTIVAL LAUNCHES WITH GUEST DIRECTOR ROKIA TRAORÉ South-coast's arts extravaganza reveals its 2019 line-up

The south-coast's arts extravaganza reveals its 2019 line-up

The striking cover for the Brighton Festival 2019 programme shouts out loud who this year’s Guest Director is. Silhouetted in flowers, in stunning artwork by Simon Prades, is the unmistakeable profile of Malian musician Rokia Traoré.