Students of politics would do well to book a ticket for David Hare’s The Absence of War. Opening at the Crucible Theatre next month ahead of a national tour, this is a Headlong, Rose Theatre Kingston and Sheffield Theatres production, so expect good work from director Jeremy Herrin and his cast and creatives. The play is a prophetic and incisive study of an epic personal struggle set against the high-pressured hysteria of the 1992 General Election, telling the story of George Jones (Reece Dinsdale), the heavy-smoking, Shakespeare-loving Labour leader. He needs to get out of opposition and into Number 10 but, plagued by a hostile media, beset by divisions in his party and haunted by his own demons, George has three weeks to convince the Great British Public that he’s their man. But how much compromise is he prepared to make? Can’t wait! For more details visit www.headlong.co.uk.
Now this oddity landed on my desk: a digital version of Volcano Top Trumps. Created by Prof Jenni Barclay from the University of East Anglia and other scientists from Plymouth and Oxford Universities, this is a great classroom and home resource for children (and errr adults!) learning about the power of volcanoes. The game’s creators have volcanoes based on six categories – explosivity, deadliness, devastation potential, height, unpredictability and wow factor. The pack has both a ‘traditional’ Top Trumps style game but also additional games which extend both the entertainment and the educational value of the game. Prof Barclay said: ‘It’s really exciting that the digital version provides an accessible, free and entertaining way of bringing volcanoes to life. Better still, you can share your scores with volcanophiles around the world!’ See you at volcanoestoptrumps.org/ game/. All profits go to help people affected by volcanic activity and to help people learn more about volcanoes.
The stories of football in No Man’s Land during the Christmas of 1914 belong to the most awe-inspiring of the First World War. Now, in The Christmas Match, Swedish journalist Pehr Thermaenius has traced the remarkable accounts of two real soldiers and footballers who were in units that played a match between the trenches, offering a new and fascinating insight into the event. Using meticulous research, Thermaenius recounts the true narratives of Scotsman Jimmy Coyle and Saxon Albert Schmidt and their battalion and regiment. At Christmas they found themselves on the Western Front in muddy trenches on either side of a field between the French villages Houplines and Frelinghien. Both were keen players: Coyle had played professional football before the war; Schmidt played in the third team for his local club. We know the rest, but not the detail. More than worth a look. Published by Uniform Press, £12.99.