Sex Education, Series 2, Netflix review - the teen sex show we deserved

★★★★ SEX EDUCATION, SERIES 2, NETFLIX The teen sex show we deserved

Happy Valentines: this humdrum holiday is the perfect occasion to stream the most affirming sex comedy in years

Netflix’s Sex Education has returned to our screens and streams. The show made waves last year for its refreshing take on the teen comedy-drama. It took on abortion, consent and female pleasure — subjects strikingly absent from our actual high school educations.

Education, Education, Education, Trafalgar Studios review - politics and pupils, mayhem and music

★★★★ EDUCATION, EDUCATION, EDUCATION, TRAFALGAR STUDIOS Politics and pupils, mayhem and music

The future of education seen from 1997 and 2019

It's the 2nd May 1997, the morning after the night that swept New Labour into power. We’re in the staffroom of a school somewhere in Britain and the teachers are jubilant. They've been glued to their TV sets for the results and have shagged and drunk through the night to crawl in with hangovers and pouchy eyes to face the day with a particular brand of frazzled optimism.

Kes, Leeds Playhouse review - seminal Yorkshire story soars

★★★★ KES, LEEDS PLAYHOUSE Seminal Yorkshire story soars

Stripped-down staging of Barry Hines' iconic novella

Robert Alan Evans’ adaptation of Kes is a dark, expressionist reworking of Barry Hines’ novella. It pays lip service to Ken Loach’s iconic film version, and most of the memorable bits are present and correct here: the wince-inducing rant from head teacher Mr Gryce is a highlight, as is the PE teacher’s sadistic insistence that poor Billy has to take a shower. Evans distils the book into just 70 minutes without diluting its anger, the original’s dense narrative reshaped into a series of tiny scenes.

James Graham: 'the country of Shakespeare no longer recognises arts as a core subject'

JAMES GRAHAM: THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ARTS The playwright's passionate speech from the Hospital Club's h100 Awards

Full transcript of the playwright's passionate speech about the importance of the arts at the Hospital Club's h100 Awards

Thank you. It’s an honour to have been asked to speak here today. Although looking at the h100 List this year, I’ve no idea why I’m presumptuously standing here; given the talent, creativity and achievements far surpassing my own within this room. But I’m also excited, and genuinely inspired, to be part of such a group.

I don’t know about you, but I find working in the arts often seriously discombobulating in either being a far-too-lonely and private endeavour one minute; an overwhelming public and intensely populated one the next.

Holy Shit, Kiln Theatre review - what's in a name?

The old Tricycle Theatre is transformed with a name change and a great opening play

Holy shit! After being closed for two long years, the old and battered Tricycle Theatre in Kilburn has been refurbished and relaunched, with a name change and £5.5 million-worth of improvements. It’s now a much more welcoming place, full of light at the front and with an on-street café, as well as easy access to the new plush seats and excellent sightlines.

Dance Nation, Almeida Theatre review - a tarantella through the convulsions of the teenage psyche

★★ DANCE NATION, ALMEIDA THEATRE Tarantella through the convulsions of the teenage psyche

Humour used too often as a substitute for perception

Lycra, jealousy and pubescent ambition are put under the spotlight in Clare Barron’s provocative probe into the American competitive dancing scene. Dance Nation is a tarantella through the convulsions of the teen psyche as its characters respond to the psychological and physical pressures of ambitious parents circling like piranhas, and a dance teacher (Pat) with a dictator complex.