Fruits of Blair’s Britain still echo through pop culture, from music and fashion to TV, books and even food

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Things could only get better back in 1997: British music had a swagger and charm seen in acts ranging from Oasis and Blur to the Spice Girls.

In some ways, 1997 has never been more relevant: listen and look hard enough and you’ll find references from that era everywhere. It’s not just someone blasting D:Ream’s New Labour anthem outside a soggy Downing Street; spend any time on Depop and you’ll see 90s sartorial choices that take their cues from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Clueless littering the shopping baskets of gen Z.

Children’s experiences form basis of play that weaves 150 years of care system history into narrative

When theatre-makers Matt Woodhead and Helen Monks gathered with a small group of children in a theatre in Essex five years ago, the plan was simple: discuss the care system.

Woodhead and Monks are co-directors of Lung Theatre, a company that has made a name for itself by tackling weighty subjects, such as the Chilcot inquiry, housing evictions and, most recently, the spate of self-inflicted deaths at Woodhill HMP, that are often investigative verbatim pieces.

The Children’s Inquiry runs 8 July to 3 August at the Southwark Playhouse