Dealing with the past can be a strange undertaking, especially when that past has been shared and interpreted to the point of cliché. Fifties Britain meant different things to different people. To some it was a time of recovery and upward-mobility, to others it was a grim slog through prejudices and pressure to conform. Humour always helps as it keeps us grounded and humble. A fizzy domestic comedy, a vibrant story of immigrant culture or a searingly honest photograph are all legitimate ways of interpreting the past – no matter how difficult.
Initially, no one minds her slightly bonkers obsession with living like Doris Day, but as her husband career falters, things in this cosy bubble start to unravel. Tightly directed and superbly cast, Home, I’m Darling is a withering assessment of gender roles and the tyranny that many women still willingly submit themselves to as they seek to live out the domestic goddess fantasy.
https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/home-im-darling-at-duke-of-yorks-theatre
Small Island traces the journeys and sketches the motives that took Jamaican immigrants to post-war Britain. Broke, exhausted and short of manpower, the mother country needed their labour but shunned their presence. A 40 strong cast of bright, new performers bring this epic book to life on stage.
Always tasteful, always authentic – Bonamassa, like his hero, Clapton has grown as a vocal stylist as well as a guitar gunslinger. Well chosen blues standards are showcased alongside inventive originals and blazing hot fret workouts. A blues legend for our time.
https://www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/events/2019/joe-bonamassa/
Two hundred and fifty photographs are all displayed and include his famous pictures of US marines battling for the city of Hue during the turning point of the Vietnam War. There are also pictures of other conflicts in places like Cyprus and Northern Ireland as well as more idyllic scenes near his house in Somerset.
https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/don-mccullin