Does France Need A Second Louvre?

The French government wants to build a “second Louvre” museum in the north of France. “Louvre II, conceived to display some of the main gallery’s vast unseen collection while bringing some of the nation’s finest heritage to one of its more dilapidated provinces, epitomises the French government’s drive towards decentralisation. For many, it is an absurd and amateur proposal born more out of political correctness than common sense.”

Of Playwrights And Politics

In the UK, playwrights have been energized by politics. “It is a remarkable moment for political theatre. Not only have 9/11, the Iraq war and the Bush administration energised playwrights, the acoustic has never been so good. People want from political theatre a clarity they are not getting from politicians. Harold Pinter claims: ‘We live in a country the government of which is totally discredited, in a poisonous atmosphere in which everyone is under the weather’.”