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Same but indifferent: Laughing Boy @JStheatre

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Stephen Unwin's Laughing Boy, adapted for the stage from Sara Ryan's Justice for Laughing Boy, is a powerful and moving story about a mother and a family that keeps asking questions despite the victimisation and harassment from the institution - the NHS - that was supposed to protect her son. It's a moving, celebratory account of a life cut short due to indifference held together by a remarkable performance by Janie Dee as Sara. It's currently playing at the Jermyn Street Theatre .  Sara's son, Connor, is a little different to others. He is fascinated by buses and doesn't like things like loud noises. But as he becomes an adult, his seizures and unexpected outbursts mean the family turn to their local NHS for support. Little did they realise they would receive such little care from a service that was institutionally incompetent and covered up thousands of unexplained deaths of people with disabilities, including Connor's. The search for answers about why he

Previews: It curtains with Ron Arad’s Curtain Call this summer


Bloomberg Summer at The Roundhouse returns for its fifth year this August with Curtain Call by architect and designer Ron Arad.

It is a return performance of this piece after its original outing in 2011. This time around Arad will reinvent the curtain experience by inviting new collaborators to work with him on the 360° immersive installation, alongside returning artists from 2011.

The work will be showcased at the Roundhouse from 6 – 29 August 2016.


Curtain Call provides a canvas for films, live performances and audience interaction. Responding to the main space of the venue, the work is made up of 5,600 silicon rods suspended from an 18 metre diameter ring. This summer, Arad will again invite artists, musicians and friends to create unique works for the installation.

New artists for 2016 include: Kutiman, Marshmallow Laser Feast and Universal Everything. Returning from 2011 will be: Babis Alexia’s; Mat Coleslaw; Ori Gersht; Greenaway & Greenaway; Gabriel & Shira Klasmer; Christian Marclay; Javier Marshal; SDNA and David Shirley.

Photo credit: Stuart Leech

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