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Dorment: The Whitney’s Bold Biennial

Richard Dorment wasn’t expecting much of this year’s Whitney Biennial after reading all the bad reviews. “Certainly the squalor and violence about which American critics complained is everywhere in evidence, but I can’t think of a greater contrast than between the Whitney’s direct, visceral response to what is happening in America today and the tepid, neoconceptual navel-gazing going on at Tate Britain.”

Iraq Treasure To Tour Starting In DC

A tour of Iraq’s greatest art treasure – the Nimrud gold – will begin an international tour next February in Washington DC. “There are likely to be around ten venues, after Washington, and these will probably include museums in Berlin, London and Paris. The tour of ‘The Gold of Nimrud’ should raise around $10m for Iraq’s National Museum.”

New Guthrie Faces Seating Headache

When Minneapolis’s Guthrie Theater moves into its massive new riverfront digs this summer, it will have by far the best facilities in the Twin Cities at its disposal. It will also have fewer seats in its main theater, and for some longtime Guthrie subscribers, that’s a big problem. “Subscribers have been flooding the theater’s phone lines for the past two weeks, trying to figure out where they’ll be sitting — and why.”

Havana Hardship

Being a serious artist in Cuba is no easy matter, even though dictator Fidel Castro has made a point of using Cuban culture to soften his government’s image abroad. “Throughout the city, museums have been refurbished, and installed with many politically charged works that speak both for and against the revolution, displays that seem to demonstrate the government’s tolerance of dissenting voices.” But beneath the surface, artists struggle for approval of their exhibitions, shows are canceled without warning, and the shadow of El Presidente looms large over every new work.

Best Of All, You Don’t Have To Pay An Actor

Beckett was known for his dialogue, of course, but some of the most intriguing moments of any Beckett play are the silences. Similarly, Beckett’s most fascinating character may have been the one who never appeared onstage. And ever since Waiting For Godot, playwrights have been using the absent character in all sorts of ways. “Godot is the supreme example, but stage-shy characters can take many guises – despite not being there. They can expose hypocritical behaviour or create unease; they can trigger comedy or regret – or even encourage metaphysical speculation.”

Beckett Centenary Includes Some Rarities

Samuel Beckett would have been 100 this year, and in Dublin, the celebrated Gate Theatre is commemorating the occasion by staging a full season of Beckett, including a play originally written for television, but never before seen on stage. “[The Beckett Estate] has intervened to stop certain productions that broke with Beckett’s exceptionally precise instructions, but the Gate has co-operated with it to permit certain changes in a number of Becketts. Taking Eh Joe from film to stage brings this collaboration to a new peak of imagination.”