In The Collapse of Parenting Sax outlines, as his subtitle suggests, ‘How we hurt our kids when we treat them like grown-ups.’ 1 Despite insisting that there are specific challenges facing parents in the USA that are not faced – at least, not to the same extent – as parents elsewhere, I have certainly seen an increase of these in the UK in both my personal life and my role as a teacher: in particular, the growing lack of respect of children towards adults; the increase in parents to protect children from difficulty or challenge (what Dr Sax calls ‘soft parenting’); and the over-scheduling of children’s time which detracts from quality parent-child interactions
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Category: Reviews
Don Juan in Soho
I was immensely fortunate to be given tickets to see Don Juan in Soho as a Christmas present. Being a fan of Renaissance and Restoration drama – as well as having something of a man-crush on DT – it had the potential to be a perfect gift. So nearly five months to the day since Christmas, up I went to Wyndham’s Theatre with my partner in tow (perhaps even more of a DT fan) and waited with baited breath…
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Branagh’s Romeo and Juliet – A Jacobian Triumph
The Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company’s residency of The Garrick Theatre is drawing to a close. Early on, I was exceptionally fortunate to see their production of A Winter’s Tale; though not a favourite play of mine, I thought the production was excellent and the acting – especially of Sir Branagh himself – enthralling.
It was with great anticipation, then, that I made my way back to the Garrick last month to watch Kenneth Branagh and Rob Ashford’s production of Romeo and Juliet. Having been bowled over with The Winter’s Tale, I expected the same from this production, especially with Derek Jacobi as Mercutio and the much-lauded pairing of Richard Madden and Lily James in the eponymous roles. Continue reading “Branagh’s Romeo and Juliet – A Jacobian Triumph”
An Inspector Calls (BBC, 2015)
Having recorded Drama Republic‘s 2015 adaptation of J.B. Priestley’s An Inspector Calls when it aired on the BBC in September, I finally got around to watching it this Easter. Having been a set GCSE text since I started teaching, I am pretty familiar with the play. This production has a great number of strengths, though I must admit to having had somewhat mixed feelings by the time the credits rolled. Continue reading “An Inspector Calls (BBC, 2015)”
Jonny English 