Saturday Review - 26/06/2010

Tom Sutcliffe and guests review the week's cultural highlights including the World Premiere of Moira Buffini's new play Welcome To Thebes directed by Richard Eyre at the National's Olivier Theatre in London. Starring David Harewood and Nikki Amuka-Bird, the play gives a modern spin on Greek myth in which Ancient Thebes is reimagined as present day African state. Francis Ford Coppola's new film Tetro - his first original screenplay since The Conversation in 1974. From the director of the Godfather and Apocalypse Now comes this low budget, self financed and semi- autobiographical exploration of a relationship between two long lost brothers. Set in Argentina, 17 year old Bennie seeks to find out why his elder brother Tetro, played by Vincent Gallo, disappeared so mysteriously many years before. Laurie Anderson's first albumn Homeland in 8 years returns to familiar territory - it is a series of witty and ironic ruminations and observations on her native land, America. Including a guest performance from her husband Lou Reed, Anderson unveils a male alter-ego, Fenway Bergamot, performing "audio-drag" - a vocal distortion and one of Anderson's signature performance tricks. Bafta award winning writer / director Dominic Savage's two part drama "Dive" provides a sensitive portrayal of teenagers in crisis. Lindsey McCallum is a talented and ambitions diver - with the 2012 Olympics a real possibility - when her family life itself takes a dive. And Turner prize winner German photographer Wolfgang Tillmans has his first major exhibition in London since 2003. Having made his name photographing the club scene for style magazine, this new exhibition revisits well known territory - portraiture and still life as well as personal and documentary images. Producer: Hilary Dunn.