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Ryan Murphy鈥檚 new film starring Meryl Streep, James Corden and Nicole Kidman, reviewed

Ryan Murphy鈥檚 new star-studded film, The Prom reviewed. Comic strip, Our Plague Year, set in the 17th century, commenting on today. London's Almeida theatre's post-Lockdown show.

Ryan Murphy鈥檚 new film, The Prom, bursts into song and dance as four down-on-their-luck Broadway stars descend on a small Indiana town in support of a girl who just wants to go to the high school Prom with her girlfriend. The cast includes Meryl Streep, James Corden and Nicole Kidman and the critical reception in the US has been polarised; what does our reviewer Karen Krizanovich make of it?

When theatre director Rebecca Frecknall and playwright Chris Bush began rehearsals for the show that would re-open London's Almeida Theatre after lockdown they had the title, Nine Lessons and Carols, but nothing else. They talk to Kirsty about creating a production, from scratch, with a cast that must maintain social distance; a show that addresses these dark times, but warmly welcomes an audience back to the theatre with lights, sound, and stories.

A comic strip 鈥淥ur Plague Year鈥 by artist and illustrator Nick Burton, conceived in collaboration with HOME in Manchester, draws parallels between the Great Plague which struck England in the 17th century and the current Coronavirus epidemic. Set in the Derbyshire village of Eyam which, when The Plague took hold, famously chose to cut off all contact with the outside world to stop the contagion spreading. But it鈥檚 not just doom gloom and death, the strip is full of dark humour and makes readers wonder whether human society has really changed all that much between then and now.

Presenter: Kirsty Lang
Producer: Julian May

Available now

29 minutes

Ryan Murphy's The Prom

Ryan Murphy's The Prom
certificate 12A is in selected UK cinemas from 04 December, and is available to stream from Netflix from 15 December 2020.聽 聽聽
Images: Main image above: Andrew Rannells, James Corden, Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman in The Prom.聽 聽 聽聽
Image to the left: Jo Ellen Pellman and Ariana DeBose in The Prom.Images credit: Melinda Sue Gorman/Netflix.

Nine Lessons and Carols

Nine Lessons and Carols
is at the Almeida Theatre, London until 09 January 2021.聽 聽Image: Nine Lessons and Carols cast members: from Left: Toheeb Jimoh, Naana Agyei-Ampadu, Elliot Levey, Luke Thallon & Katie Brayben.聽 聽 聽
Image credit: Helen Murray


Nick Burton

Nick Burton
Nick Burton's Our Plague Year is at HOME, Manchester, which is聽currently closed due to Covid regulations, but the exhibition will reopen as soon as conditions allow.
Subscribe on HOME's聽聽聽to receive a weekly edition of聽the Nick Burton comic strip by email.
Image: s Our Plague Story

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