THE WEEK IN REVIEW

THE PLAY

Light Shining in Bucks.

Overview

Mark Wing-Davey directs Caryl Churchill's neglected play about the pain, politics and passions of the Levellers, Diggers and Ranters of the English Civil War, with the National Theatre education and touring department.

Critical view

Robert Hanks declared it "remarkable... Hard to believe this was written nearly two decades before Tony Blair took over the Labour Party... absorbing." "A startling piece of theatre... Amelda Brown glows with determination and the serenity of faith... a powerful rebuke to our 20th-century cynicism," praised the Telegraph. "If the purpose of an educational tour is to stimulate thought and argument, then the National could hardly have chosen better," admired the Times.

On view

In educational and small-scale venues before playing in rep at the National's Cottesloe theatre (0171-928 2252) from January.

Our view

A typically passionate, clear-sighted play from one of our greatest contemporary dramatists.