The Ragged Optimist 45
"My poverty, but not my will, consents"
I’m writing this at the end of a week in Coventry, taking a pause in Ramsgate before heading down to Worthing.
I got to see an interesting production of Romeo and Juliet at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry (until 8th March). Huge cast, community chorus, set inspired by the city’s cathedral, rap scattered amongst the iambic pentameter. Does it work?
Not entirely - there are places when the musical interventions just get in the way, as if the director is trying to compete with rather than complement Shakespeare.
Kyle Ndukuba as Romeo is good, Mia Khan as Juliet is even better - she brings a manic energy and madness to the role that means you can’t take your eyes off her when she’s onstage. But the moment they fall in love is missing (the balcony scene is a mess, mainly because of a strange set design which mean the lovers never see each other, and to not see each other have to actively avoid being in the same space) so you never quite believe the romance.
There are a few things forced in - QR codes, an election subplot (which in fairness is forgotten almost as soon as it’s happened and never referenced again), some projections - that add nothing and should probably be lost.
But overall, it’s an exciting production that never feels boring (and at three hours, it could). The community cast, in TS Eliot style playing the poor people of the city, were great, and gave me a new way of seeing the story (I particularly loved their pre-show and interval work out in the audience). The choir, on a balcony above the action, are entrancing and bring real emotion when they’re used. Natasha Lewis as the Nurse brought real laughs.
And above all, it was great to be in an audience that was diverse, noisy, engaged, and enthusiastic - I can’t remember being in a theatre that felt this excited. Worth seeing for the experience.
In a big win for The Ragged Optimist — because let’s be clear, it’s mainly down to those scrappy screenprinted Free The Beavers posters — the UK government has decided to allow beavers to be released into the wild. Until now, they’ve all (er, officially) been in enclosures. There will now be licenced reintroductions of beavers into the wild, and an acknowledgment of the free-living populations that already exist in several parts of England.
Meanwhile, there are plans at Cors Dyfi Nature Reserve near Machynlleth in Wales to build a new hide for watching beavers.
And otters have been seen for the first time in seventy years at Ewhurst Park, a 1000-acre estate near Basingstoke. A mother and baby have been seen at the former shooting estate, which has been rewilded since it was bought by Malaysian-born actor Mandy Lieu in 2020.
A big global day of action — called Sun Day — will be a celebration of the fact that we can now run this world without fossil fuels. It will happen on the weekend of the autumnal equinox, 20th and 21st September. Imagine EV and e-bike parades, green lights in the window of every solar-powered home, big concerts and rallies, joyful ceremonies as new solar farms and wind turbines go on line.
The University of Sussex will introduce the UK’s first undergraduate degree focused on climate justice. The BA course, called ‘Climate justice, sustainability and development’, will begin in 2026.
In Syria, UNESCO’s ‘Revive The Spirit of Mosul’ project has restored 124 historical homes, renovated 404 classrooms, and created more than 7700 local jobs, while supporting the recovery of Mosul’s cultural and intellectual life. By giving Mosul back its ‘spirit’, UNESCO has proved that culture can play an essential role in post-conflict reconstruction and the promotion of peace. Of course it also shows that international aid can help avert war.
An all-pink set of bone china tableware, slip-cast inside hand-carved plaster moulds. "It's crockery, but pink," the designer said. "It's just a great colour, especially when made to look like rock. Like soft rock. Like sugary rock, like Blackpool rock."
Urban Think Tank Empower (UTTE) are building dignified, safe and sustainable affordable housing across South Africa, with a target of 1000 homes. They’re working in an incredibly gentle way, replacing lean-to houses and shacks with new, modular yet adaptable homes - and as their Instagram account shows, they’re including schools, shops, daycare centres, and other community infrastructure as they go. I’d love to see them work in the UK.
Cohousing strengthens social ties, enhances well-being, and reduces the burden on health and social care services. Cohousing Ireland is a new not-for-profit organisation which has been established by a group of like-minded people aged 55+ who are looking to their futures. “We say it is now time for Ireland to rethink how we live and age and make cohousing a cornerstone of both our housing and social policies.”
Talking Birds in Coventry are hosting a Clothes Repair Skill Share - bring along your clothing items in need of repair, and find ways to mend them. The space will be held by fab textile artist and all-round lovely person Julia O’Connell.