Birmingham Rep A boy is bullied when he’s cast as Nancy in the school play – but bland songs and generic characters keep the story stuck in single gear This musical, about a boy’s coming out, has an important story to tell. Adapted from Terry Ronald’s novel, it explores homophobic bullying, racism and same-sex love at a time when it was illegal for teens. Set in late 1970s London, it follows David Starr (Joseph Peacock) as he is bullied by classmates after being cast as Nancy in a school production of Oliver! In the same mould as several successful high-school musicals with vulnerability at their heart, and dealing specifically in sexual identity, it looked a sure-fire hit on paper. But this production, directed by Jerry Mitchell, fails to light. At Birmingham Rep until 2 November Continue reading...

This documentary on the phenomenon of penicide paints a terrible picture – but it could have been far bolder There is a much bolder programme struggling to get out of I Cut Off His Penis: The Truth Behind the Headlines. By and large, it sticks to the traditional format of the behind-the-headlines genre, which is to recap the famous examples of whatever phenomenon is under discussion then add the context, the information that came out later and/or at trial and the distortions and omissions made by the media at the time. Here, we have Lorena Bobbitt, who notoriously dis-membered her husband, John, with a kitchen knife in 1993, and, as she fled the scene, threw the severed appendage out of her car window into a field. She called 911, told them what she had done and where they could find the organ, which was then reattached to John in a nine-hour operation. What came out at her trial, and which she has spoken about in a handful of programmes since and as part of her activist work around domestic violence, were accounts of years of abuse – including rape and beatings, denied by John, who was acquitted of rape – that she says she suffered during her marriage. She was acquitted of assault by reason of temporary insanity, served a mandated 45 days in a psychiatric hospital, which she says now was a welcome refuge from the media attention, then rebuilt her life without him. Continue reading...

Those with pitchforks pointing in the direction of Steve Clarke could barely have enjoyed this. There was no unwanted making of history, no fifth defeat in succession. The run of form extended to one win in 16 games but the attitude displayed by the hosts on Glasgow’s south side was of one fully committed to their manager. Cristiano Ronaldo was denied a 134th international goal. In truth, he never really looked like collecting it. Scotland will take great heart from the small step made here. Not only did they scrap in a form which has made this team so generally successful but had a level of organisation which owes plenty to effective coaching. Clarke’s detractors should take note. Ronaldo left the field in an agitated state. Continue reading...

London film festival Bill Nighy, James Norton and Thomasin McKenzie form the unlikely trio who doggedly, quietly and courageously made the discovery that would change lives around the world There is sympathy, warmth and directness – though perhaps not much in the way of explicit joy – in this intensely English true story that made headlines and changed lives around the world. Screenwriters Jack Thorne, Emma Gordon and Rachel Mason, and director Ben Taylor, dramatise the heartache and strain and triumph that led to the first ever birth of what the press with a mixture of hostility and awe called “a test-tube baby” – that is, a baby conceived through in vitro fertilisation – on 25 July 1978: a little girl called Louise Brown (middle name Joy). Continue reading...

The 3,800-seat Bradford Live to be part of city of culture 2025 activities but NEC Group backed out of deal to run it Bradford council’s leadership has seen off a vote of no confidence amid growing criticism over its handling of Bradford Live, a £50.5m publicly funded venue that has been completed with no operator in place to run it. The 3,800-seat Bradford Live building was due to open in November but performances were cancelled when NEC Group, which runs a number of large venues in and around Birmingham, pulled out of the deal. Continue reading...

US policy in effect from 1994-2011 removed thousands of LGBTQ+ service members, many less than honorably Nearly all US service members who were forcibly separated from the military when the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy was in place have now been honorably discharged, defense department officials announced on Tuesday. The “don’t ask, don’t tell policy, which went into effect on 28 February 1994 during then president Bill Clinton’s administration, barred service members from being openly gay, lesbian or bisexual – otherwise legally defined as those with “a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts”. Under the policy, other service members were also not allowed to ask each other about their sexual orientation. Continue reading...

In often-combative conversation with Bloomberg editor in Chicago, Trump says ‘tariff’ is his favorite word Donald Trump doubled down on his promise to levy tariffs on all imports in a bid to boost American manufacturing, a proposal that economists say would probably mean higher prices for consumers while angering US allies. “To me, the most beautiful word in the dictionary is ‘tariffs’,” Trump said in an often-combative conversation with John Micklethwait, editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News, at the Economic Club of Chicago on Tuesday. “It’s my favorite word.” Continue reading...

Champions League winner is authoritative tactical zealot but narrative has always been that England need a winner Well, at least we know now why Lee Carsley spent last week addressing the nation’s media in the style of a low-comedy adulterous 1950s sales executive explaining in flustered detail exactly why or indeed why not he might or might not be on the verge of finally leaving his wife. The news that the Football Association has been engaged in advanced discussion with Thomas Tuchel over the vacant England head coach role does explain the riddle-me-this tone of their interim choice while discussing the immediate future. Continue reading...

Exclusive: overhaul of system that imposed draconian penalties for innocent and minor errors in benefit claims is expected Draconian penalties levied on unpaid carers who unwittingly rack up “overpayments” running into thousands of pounds after falling foul of benefit rules are to be overhauled, the Guardian understands. The move comes six months after a Guardian investigation revealed tens of thousands of vulnerable unpaid carers were being ordered to repay hefty overpayments – and even threatened with criminal prosecution – over minor breaches of earnings rules. Continue reading...

Rylands Garth accused of multiple breaches of conduct Former prop Will Green says firm ‘behaved appallingly’ The man leading the multimillion-pound brain injury lawsuit representing hundreds of rugby players is under investigation from the Solicitors Regulation Authority after a former England international claimed in a submission to court that he felt pressured to lie about having dementia. In a case this month, that has raised questions over how Richard Boardman recruits players to join the lawsuit brought by his firm, Rylands Garth, against World Rugby, the Rugby Football Union and the Welsh Rugby Union, the former Wasps prop Will Green was unsuccessfully sued for legal and medical costs after refusing to join the group action. Continue reading...

Chancellor’s words will be interpreted as signal she will not give in to ministers over cuts she imposes in budget Rachel Reeves has told the cabinet that the UK still faces a £100bn black hole in the public finances over the next five years amid concerns that ministers are yet to grasp the full scale of the fiscal deficit ahead. At a meeting of the political cabinet, the chancellor said the £22bn gap this year – which the government has blamed on their poor economic inheritance from the Tories – would be a recurring cost each year of this parliament. Continue reading...

Move reignites row over Labour figures with private interests having access to government Who are the key New Labour figures in Keir Starmer’s government? Wes Streeting is to hand Alan Milburn a lead role in the running of his health ministry, in a move that has reignited the row over Labour figures with private interests having access to government. The health secretary is preparing to appoint Milburn, who was a radical reformer of the NHS in his time in that post under Tony Blair, as the lead non-executive director of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). Continue reading...

The PM is surrounded by Blairites, from Pat McFadden and Liz Kendall to Jacqui Smith and Jonathan Powell In the run-up to the general election, Keir Starmer was regularly compared to Tony Blair. When they were highlighted by the left, the parallels were often intended as insults. When they came from the Labour right, particularly after the landslide result, they were compliments. Starmer has mirrored Blair so far in his ruthlessness towards his own party, his efforts to build relationships with business and his pursuit of public service reform. But he is also more cautious, less seduced by glitz and more to the soft-left in his own views. Continue reading...

Defender’s agent warned him over house parties Mendy’s KC says he ‘has already paid a very high price’ The former Manchester City footballer Benjamin Mendy thought he could “ignore all the rules” but his behaviour led to him losing his £500,000-a-month wages, a tribunal was told. Mendy is claiming at an employment tribunal he is owed £11.5m in unpaid salary the club withheld after he was charged with sex offences. The France international and World Cup winner was cleared of all charges after two trials. Continue reading...

Countries that espouse their commitment to the rules-based international order must challenge attempts to weaken the organisation The United Nations is supposed to be above the fray – a forum for and facilitator of peaceful resolutions or, at the least, the minimisation of harms. Yet for the last year, Israel has treated it as an inconvenience at best and adversary at worst. UN peacekeepers are literally in the path of its offensive in Lebanon and are refusing to leave as it has urged. The Israel Defense Forces forcibly entered a base and have repeatedly fired on their positions, injuring five. Nearly 230 aid workers for Unrwa, which supports Palestinians, have been killed in Gaza. Earlier this month, Israel declared the UN’s secretary‑general, António Guterres, persona non grata. In May, its outgoing ambassador to the UN shredded a copy of the charter. Continue reading...

These remarkable fish need clean rivers to breed in. Their decline highlights the collapse of environmental regulation The collapse in the number of wild salmon in England and Wales is deeply dismaying. These fish are widely regarded as wonders of the natural world because of their extraordinary life cycle. This takes them thousands of miles out into the North Atlantic Ocean, before they return to our rivers – swimming and leaping upstream – to spawn. Climate change and failures of marine conservation have contributed to the decline in numbers across their entire range, which extends from Russia to Portugal. But in Britain, the poor state of rivers is another obstacle to the species’ survival. As well as a warning of the global threat to biodiversity, their dwindling numbers are a reminder of the price paid for the repeated breaking of environmental law. Continue reading...

European Commission president cites Italy-Albania deal as possible model for reducing irregular arrivals to Europe The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has called for an exploration of “return hubs” outside the EU in a letter to the bloc’s national leaders on irregular migration, citing a deal between Italy and Albania as a possible model. EU leaders are set to meet on Thursday and Friday for a summit on migration as the commission has said it will propose new measures. Continue reading...

Date for official opening has still not been announced for $1bn-plus mega-project more than a decade in the making Egypt’s vast and much-delayed antiquities museum will partially open its main galleries on Wednesday, including 12 halls that exhibit aspects of ancient Egypt. The Grand Egyptian Museum, a mega-project near the famed Giza pyramids that has cost considerably more than $1bn (£765m) so far, will open its halls to 4,000 visitors as a trial run until the official opening date, which is yet to be announced, according to Al-Tayeb Abbas, assistant to the minister of antiquities. Continue reading...

West Indies, 144-4, beat England, 141-7, by six wickets West Indies will take on New Zealand in semi-final England suffered a shock exit from the T20 World Cup on Tuesday after a rampant West Indies handed them a six-wicket defeat, chasing down their 142-run target inside 18 overs – a margin of victory so substantial that they leapfrogged South Africa on net run rate to top Group B. The win means West Indies progress to Friday’s semi-final against New Zealand at England’s expense, while South Africa will have to do the hard yards against the reigning champions Australia in Thursday’s semi. Continue reading...

PM’s official spokesperson denies any conflict of interest and says decision to offer pop star VIP protection was made by police Downing Street has refused to say whether Keir Starmer met Taylor Swift at one of her London concerts, while denying any link between the prime minister’s free tickets and the decision to grant the pop megastar VIP police protection while in London. Asked if Starmer had met Swift on 20 August, when he and his family saw her perform at Wembley stadium, the prime minister’s official spokesperson declined to comment, saying any meetings would be recorded in the official government register, which is updated every few months. Continue reading...

Labour’s investment summit promoted the idea of a trade-off between regulation and growth. We know where that ends There is a profound yet simple question about investment in our economy that all politicians should be forced to face: who benefits? At this week’s International Investment Summit in London, Keir Starmer offered a worrying answer. He is pledging to “rip out” bureaucracy” and to make his deregulatory agenda a “cross-government priority”. He proceeded to lead a back-slapping discussion with Google’s former boss Eric Schmidt, who joshed that Starmer should appoint a “minister for anti-regulation”. He also sent a warning shot across the bows of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), whose mission is to protect the British public against scams and abuses by monopolists and other nasty global forces. “We will make sure that every regulator in the country, especially our economic and competition regulators, take growth as seriously as this room does.” Taking sides with the monopolists in the room – and against his own regulator. It’s not a good sign. Nicholas Shaxson is co-founder of the Balanced Economy Project, an anti-monopoly NGO Continue reading...

No 9 Alex Mitchell likely to be out for several more weeks Upbeat news from Sale on Tom Curry and George Ford England are still awaiting news on the availability of key individuals as the head coach, Steve Borthwick, prepares to unveil a 36-man-squad for the Autumn Nations Series next month. His first-choice scrum-half, Alex Mitchell, looks likely to be out for several more weeks while the latter’s Northampton teammate Fraser Dingwall aggravated a knee problem at England training last week and will also miss his club’s game against Sale on Friday night. Continue reading...

More than 90,000 days lost across the top five divisions Figure recorded before impact of expanded club calendar Clubs in Europe’s top five divisions lost €732m (£610m) in wages paid to injured players last season, an increase on previous campaigns and a figure recorded before the impact of an expanded club calendar has been felt. Bundesliga clubs dominate the list of those with most injuries, with a total of 90,547 days lost to injury across the top divisions in Germany, England, Spain, Italy and France. The annual Howden’s Men’s European Football Injury Index has disconcerting figures for all those competitions, however, as the debate over fixture congestion and player workload becomes ever more heated. Continue reading...

Mikhail Pichugin survived but the ordeal claimed the lives of his brother and teenage nephew A Russian man survived more than two months drifting in icy seas on an inflatable boat in an ordeal that claimed the lives of his brother and teenage nephew, officials and reports said. Mikhail Pichugin may have survived because of his 100kg (220lb) stature, according to his wife. Media reports said he weighed only 50kg when found on Monday. Continue reading...

Nations League updates from the 7.45pm BST kick-off Live scoreboard | Read Football Daily | And mail Scott The top-line statistic makes for grim reading: Scotland have won just one of their last 15 matches. That solitary victory doesn’t bring much succour either, coming as it did in an extremely unconvincing 2-0 against Gibraltar, a landmass roughly similar in acreage to that infinitely more picturesque rock, the Bow Fiddle, plus neighbouring fishing villages Portknockie, Findochty and Cullen. If that (admittedly delicious) statistic isn’t damning enough, here’s some more context. Derbyshire, who came last in cricket’s County Championship this year, won one of 14 games. Rugby league’s London Broncos, bottom of this season’s Super League, won three of 27 at a rate of one in nine. And the worst team in the NFL, the Carolina Panthers, ended last season 2-15. It doesn’t look good, though at least Scotland didn’t trade away Scott McTominay, Billy Gilmour and Ben Doak for Anthony Ralston. Poor Sir Purr. Continue reading...