Mark Valencia
Bio
Mark has worked in arts journalism for more than thirty years, initially as a broadcaster; then in print and later online as a writer and translator for magazines, record companies and arts websites. Mark's background is in education - teaching drama and directing. His passion for music and theatre in all their forms has led him to collaborate with a number of composers on lyrics and librettos.
latest in today
Dismemberment is a key motif in the writer-director Simon Stone’s The Oresteia. It reflects the treatment of two of the piece’s several…
Ana Mendieta’s work gives me the creeps. This is a deeply unfashionable view, so much so that I may well be cancelled for it. Mendieta is…
There’s a long and rich tradition of scabrous indie rock lyricism from Yorkshire. Sheffield’s Jarvis Cocker and Alex Turner tend to get the…
The first word of The Iliad is “war”; the first word of The Odyssey is “man”. After that, the twists and turns of Homer’s epic poems veer…
In a similar vein to 2024’s Mercury-nominated album Silence is Loud, Nia Archives' latest offering is an appealing blend of jungle and pop…
It is never a great sign when a local authority is forced to comment on a music festival. The opening night of the In The Park series of…
Buxton International Festival, long known for its explorations of some of the less well-known parts of the opera repertoire, this year…
Everything I Ever Saw continues The Menzingers’ tradition of heartfelt storytelling through their signature Americana punk rock style. It's…
Reviewing The Clash’s 27 October 1976 appearance at Birmingham’s Barbarella’s, UK music weekly Sounds detected a particular, unique,…
“Trump Arrangement Syndrome”, my propensity to see the world refracted through the lens of the omnipresent ogre’s cult, raised its head…