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Birmingham Rep Rae Mainwaring’s award-winning drama about a young woman with multiple sclerosis is given a playful production This play’s title refers to the patches of an MRI scan that indicate multiple sclerosis but Rae Mainwaring’s play crackles with bright places of its own. Based on her experience of having the degenerative condition since she was 23, it is funny as well as reflective, raucous as well as sad. Tessa Walker’s playful touring production for Carbon Theatre picks up on the youthful energy of the script, winner of a Peggy Ramsay/Film4 award. For the character in Bright Places, MS strikes at a time of dating, dancing and forging a career. At Birmingham Rep until 2 November. Touring until 13 December Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/maMfWsv

The chancellor played to packed Labour benches as the party relished its first budget in 15 years It was quite the moment. The first Labour budget in 15 years. The first ever UK budget delivered by a woman. Labour backbenchers had been queueing up since 8.30am to get their place in history. The moment the doors were opened three hours later, they dashed for their seats. Within minutes even the standing room was gone. The Tory MPs, not so much. Ten minutes before the largely pointless prime minister’s questions began there were still plenty of seats free on the opposition side of the chamber. One of the upsides of having only 121 MPs is that there is no premium on space these days. Up in the gallery above, Theresa May sat impassively apart from the odd shake of the head. The Maybot never gives much away. She inhabits a world of her own. Taking the Lead by John Crace is published by Little, Brown (£18.99). To support the Guardian and Observer, order your copy at guardianbookshop.com ....

Maybe my own childhood with a narcissistic, abusive, seductive father was what gave me eyes to see Trump for what he is I went to the Trump rally at Madison Square Garden on Sunday. Or I tried to. I wanted to see it, to feel it, to know it. I spent two hours smushed in a crowd of thousands, waiting in the cold, unable to move, in the midst of belligerent conversations, alcohol consumption, rantings and racist posturings. There were older Jewish men, Black families, Asian couples and young Latina women. I heard south Asian men calling Kamala Harris hateful slurs, others saying women needed to just shut up and listen to men. I saw working men showing off their jackets with artistic renderings of Trump as bullfighter slaying the deep state dragon. What I mainly heard and felt was grievance. I’ve always thought America was a mean place. And what I mean by that is that it’s structured for meanness. It’s a place of winners and losers, people who matter and those who can be disposed of, a c...

Badenoch and Jenrick appeal to worst instincts of Tory members, though few seem to care about what is clearly a temporary appointment First the good news. In just a few days time you won’t be subjected to a constant stream of unconsciousness from Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick. Now the bad news. In just a few days time, either KemiKaze or Honest Bob will become the new Tory leader and you will get yet more white noise from one of them. Most likely Kemi. It’s enough to turn anyone to drugs. There again, maybe you’re the type of person who can easily zone out the moment certain annoying sound frequencies kick in. Clearly you’re not alone. The more KemiKaze and Honest Bob battle for headlines, the greater the indifference. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/tH5uJbL

The Democrat’s cozy chat with the vulnerability expert was largely apolitical – which could play well with a key demographic In the quest to win over white female voters – 53% of whom showed up for Donald Trump in 2020 – Kamala Harris made her case on a podcast hosted by one of their beloved avatars, the vulnerability researcher Brené Brown. The episode, released on Monday, was a mostly fluffy discussion about leadership, trauma and the notion of voting as agency in an uncontrollable news cycle. Brown, a University of Houston professor and bestselling author who has spent two decades studying social sciences, became an overnight celebrity after giving a 2010 Ted Talk called “the power of vulnerability”. One could argue the talk, which birthed Brown’s Oprah-approved speaking empire, also spawned our culture’s current obsession with therapy-speak. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/WdXxrzQ

Erroneous announcement traced back to briefing note prepared by Treasury officals, ahead of PM’s Samoa trip When Keir Starmer announced a shake-up in his No 10 operation last month he hoped to put an end to the missteps of his first few months in office. But an embarrassing error by Downing Street this weekend demonstrates how many pitfalls there are for a new government still learning the ropes. In a press release on Friday, Downing Street said five new freeports would be announced in the budget. The Guardian and other outlets covered the news , which was given first to reporters who had travelled with Starmer to Samoa for the Commonwealth summit. Both the prime minister and his aides answered questions on the policy they had unveiled. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/jH6O9lb

Manager questions process after West Ham’s late penalty ‘Three times this season we feel injustice’ Erik ten Hag cried injustice after a controversial video assistant referee decision led to a 2-1 defeat for Manchester United against West Ham at the London Stadium. United were left seething when Michael Oliver, one of the game’s senior and most respected officials, instructed David Coote, the on-pitch referee, to review a collision in the area between Matthijs de Ligt and the West Ham striker Danny Ings. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/9E7klNo