“Hollywood may forever think of Foote as the Oscar-winning screenwriter of the original ‘Tender Mercies’ and the adapted ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ but his stature within theatrical circles has soared in his ninth decade.” – Los Angeles Times
Author: Douglas McLennan
WHAT’S HAPPENED TO ‘BLACK’ THEATRE?
“It seems that black theater has become less mainstream now than it was 30 years ago. And partly this is because of a polarization anticipated by the very term ‘black theater.’ Today, black theater is like women’s theater or gay theater – almost a species more than a variant, virtually a political statement rather than an artistic style.” – New York Post
BOOM TIMES FOR PHILLY THEATRE
Philadelphia has had another record theatre season at the box office. A boom economy and popular plays are given credit. – Philadelphia Inquirer
WE ARE THE WORLD
“The one discipline you might expect to be free of such internecine squabbling is the big tent of World Music, a generic term used to describe just about anything outside the mainstream. But even here the canvas is being rent, as rival interests – from different continents to distinct countries to particular regions (or, if you’re part of Morocco’s notoriously fractious Master Musicians of Jajouka, individuals) – fight for the right to partake in what is, following the success of Buena Vista Social Club, a veritable pot of gold.” – The Sunday Times (UK)
A DOORSTOP OF A BOOK
Jacques Barzun’s new 900-page history of the last 500 years looks formidable on the bookshelf. But it’s a kind of history seldom seen: a “technicolor, wide-screen, multi-media epic in print of what you missed while suffering through Western Civ. 101. Here is an intellectual Dr. Seuss: ‘Oh, the Places You’ll See! The People You’ll Meet!’ – The Idler
THE NEXT BIG THING
“Why should anyone be surprised to learn that a Western nation of 18-odd million people has among it some novelists, poets and playwrights whose work is wondrous and breathtaking and reaches into all the dark corners where only art can go?” Commemorating Australia’s 100th anniversary of nationhood, London hosts a weekend-long Australian writing festival with many of the country’s literary lights in attendance. – The Telegraph (UK)
A NEW “NEW TESTAMENT”
The first version of the Bible to be reproduced in English – a 1526 “New Testament” translated from the Greek – has been fully reprinted for the very first time by the British Library. – Times of India (AP)
A SINGULAR DIRECTION
Zhang Yimou is revered in the West as one of China’s greatest filmmakers. But his name is still inseparable from that of Gong Li, his partner for eight years and the star of the cycle of six Zhang films. Most were historical dramas with strong political undertones. Now that the pair has split, Zhang’s last two films have none of the lush sense of historical sweep we associate with his name, and you couldn’t imagine Gong Li playing in either of them. – The Age (Melbourne)
TELL ME MORE
Tate Modern has been harshly criticized by the director of another London museum for relying on insider jargon, failing to coherently contextualize its work, and explaining very little in fact about modern art. “I went to Tate Modern as someone who knows very little about modern art but is keen to learn. I left in exactly the same state. Why doesn’t Tate Modern try to help its visitors learn techniques for assessing a piece of modern art instead of plonking the art in a gallery and hoping for the best?” – The Independent (UK)
EVERYONE LOVES A WINNER
The Art Gallery of Windsor in southern Ontario made a deal with the provincial casino. In return for renting the museum’s old space, the casino paid $8 million in rent and built the museum a new $20 million home. Now the city council, eyeing the museum’s good fortune, wants to discontinue the museum’s annual $500,000 city support. – CBC