San Francisco theatre company Word for Word is back for its annual French tour. This year their show is a coming-of-age story by Mexican-American writer Octavio Solis, Retablos: Stories from a Life Lived Along the Border. They will perform it in Nancy, Paris, Angers and Lyon. For 25 years, Word for Word has been taking … Continue reading “Tales of the US Border in Theatres Around France”
A new film tells the true story of a battle against endemic racism in the American justice system. It’s based on a memoir by Bryan Stevenson, a lawyer in Alabama, and tells the story of his firm’s battle to prove the innocence of Walter McMillian, who was condemned to death for a murder he didn’t … Continue reading “Just Mercy”
The British have their pet bugs about the French language and culture, and the French feel much the same about les Rosbifs. Paul Taylor enjoys laughing at both, and he’ll have audiences rolling in the aisles as he tours France with his new show “So British ou presque.” Taylor has binocular vision when it comes … Continue reading “Bilingual Comedy All Around France”
In an exhibition in Bordeaux, a British artist pulls African characters from the background of European paintings and puts them centre stage. Lubaina Himid was born in Zanzibar, Tanzania but brought up in England. She was a leading figure of the Black British Art Movement in the 1980s and won the prestigious Turner Prize in … Continue reading “Bringing African Faces to the Foreground”
Greta Gerwig’s new adaptation of the classic coming-of-age story Little Women retells the story of the novel in parallel with the life of its author, Louisa May Alcott. Alcott wrote the novel in 1868. She had been writing stories commercially for several years when a publisher asked her to write a novel for girls. Alcott … Continue reading “Little Women: Big Film”
What does it mean to be British, French or European? In the light of Brexit, journalist Alex Taylor will discuss this thorny question in a free talk at the British Council on Thursday 5 March. Taylor is proudly bi-national, bi-cultural and multilingual. A convinced European, he has been reporting on Europe, and Britain, in France … Continue reading “Alex Taylor on What it Means to Be British”
It’s one of those ideas that seem so obvious you can’t imagine why someone has already had it. A Christmas movie inspired by one of the most perennially popular (though bittersweet) yuletide pop songs: “Last Christmas” by George Michael. The 1984 song, a hit for Wham!, is a sad love song about heartbreak at the … Continue reading “Last Christmas: Rom-com with a Message”
Anyone who has read The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings knows that JRR Tolkien was a past master at creating astonishing worlds and civilisations. A new exhibition in Paris shows that his published work was merely the tip of the iceberg. Detailed maps, chronologies, and dozens of illustrations give a glimpse of the … Continue reading “Tolkien’s World”
The This is England short films festival is returning to celebrate British films in Rouen. The expanded version runs from 16 to 24 November. Short films are a brilliant way to introduce British culture to language learners, and special schools screenings and teaching packs are provided to spread the message. Many of this year’s films … Continue reading “This is England… in Rouen”
The 2019 Booker prize has been awarded to two authors: the established star Margaret Atwood for The Testaments and the first ever black woman winner Bernardine Evaristo for Woman, Girl, Other. Atwood’s long-awaited sequel to A Handmaid’s Tale seemed a shoe-in for the prize (although another literary icon, Salman Rushdie was also on the short-list). … Continue reading “Two Books for the Booker”
