Why Theatres Keep Messing Up When It Comes To The Working Class

Playwright Adam Hughes: “It seems that a lot of venues and organisations only want diversity when it’s visible and they can clearly highlight the ‘changes’ they are making. … So long as people are seen to be doing something, that is deemed enough. This is why class is constantly ignored – you cannot see it, you can’t easily be called out on it, so it’s not at the forefront of people’s agendas.”

Patti Smith: ‘Little Women’ Was A Guide For My Young Life

“Through the March girls I came to know extreme poverty and the cost of war. I learned from Jo’s example that art is not produced solely by dreaming but through discipline, steadfast and confident application, and the willingness to accept and grow from astute criticism. Jo, as her creator, was always scribing, littering the floor with her failures, until such skins were shed and she connected with the core of self-expression.”

Man At Center Of Nobel Lit Prize Scandal Jailed Pending Verdict In Rape Trial

“Jean-Claude Arnault, a major cultural figure in Sweden and the husband of Swedish Academy member Katarina Frostenson, was on trial for two counts of rape of a woman that allegedly took place in 2011. The accusations against him triggered a crisis within the prestigious academy, with seven members quitting and the body announcing that no prize will be awarded this year.” At prosecutors’ request lest Arnault flee the country, the trial judge ordered him held in custody until the verdict, expected early next week.

Bringing Africa’s Traditional Cultural Practices Into The Digital Age

“In sectors as diverse as finance, fashion, culture, and languages, innovators are stepping in to preserve decades or centuries-old systems for the future. These digitization projects have spawned new collaborative networks, bringing together people from different backgrounds who share similar cultural traits or interests.” Reporters Abdi Latif Dahir and Lynsey Chutel spotlight some examples.

All The Rage: Rebecca Solnit On A Wave Of Books That Embrace Female Anger

“Much of the anger discussed in all these books comes from being thwarted — from the inability to command respect, equality, control over one’s body and destiny, or from witnessing the oppression of other women. One of the pitfalls in trying to establish equality is to confuse gaining power with unleashing rage. For all of us this is the conundrum: How, without idealizing and entrenching anger, can we grant nonwhite people and nonmale people an equal right to feeling and expressing it?”

Pittsburgh Symphony Hangs On To Manfred Honeck For Two More Seasons

“Mr. Honeck’s contract [as music director] was to expire in 2020. He has been with the orchestra since 2008 and has led the PSO to its first Grammy win since 1992. The contract extension” — through the 2021-22 season — covers the orchestra’s 125th anniversary season (the PSO was founded in 1896) and the 50th anniversary of its tenure in Heinz Hall.”