Independent 9,867 / Tees

*(ARGONAUTS); “foundered” is anagram indicator; Angostura is an aromatic bitter bark

A to L (=twelve letters, i.e. of the alphabet) + L (=left)

AB (=sailor, i.e. able-bodied seaman) + EAM (MAE=West, i.e. US actress; “turning” indicates reversal)

*(HOMER) in [P ONE (=first page, where p=page)]; “excited” is anagram indicator

<b>EAST (=brute; “oblivious to black (=B)” means letter “b” is dropped) + END (=death)

ER (=hesitation) in DEMIT (=Scots resign, i.e. a Scottish term for resign, relinquish); a demerit is a fault, failing

<r>AMBER<t> (=dance company, i.e. founded by Dame Marie Rambert); “margins vanishing” means first and last letters are dropped; amber should be understood as a traffic light

<con>CUR (=agree); “Tory (=Con)” must leave means letters “con” are dropped

NEAT (=cleverly simple, of e.g. gadget) + H<alifax> (“opener from” means first letter only); Neath is a town in south Wales

*(ASPECT + <see>N); “ultimately” means last letter only; “changing” is anagram indicator; a PET (=Positron Emission Topography) scan is a tool for medical diagnosis

Double definition: a dresser is a person at a theatre who helps to dress performers AND a cupboard, chest of drawers for e.g. clothing

EVER (=always) + GREEN (=environmentalist)

Double definition: sonic means at the speed of sound, hence “extremely fast” AND Sonic Hedgehog is a videogame franchise produced by Sega

DD (=theologian, i.e. Doctor of Divinity) in ALE (=drink)

Double definition: Sheerness is a port in Kent AND the fine quality of e.g. a cloth

[A BAN (=an exclusion)] in HERA (=goddess); the habanera is, quite predictably, a Cuban dance

E.G. (=for example) + RE (=on, regarding) + SS (=steamship)

*(MAY’S) + METRIC (=measuring system, i.e. which replaced the imperial system); “contrived” is anagram indicator

M (=maiden, on cricket scorecard) in DUPED (=deceived)

AV (=Bible, i.e. Authorised Version) in LENDER (=mortgage company); “lavender” seems to mean “gay” in expressions such as “lavender marriage”, i.e. a marriage of convenience used to disguise the fact that one or both spouses are homosexual

I (=one) + AGO (=back, as in 3 years ago/back); Iago is a sinister villain in Shakespeare’s Othello

GOA (=Indian state) in [NO (=drama, from Japan) + RE (=about, regarding) + A]

Hidden (“some”) in “damsEL DESTined”; “succeed” in the definition refers to being an heir, inheriting

*(MOST SENIOR); “perhaps” is anagram indicator; the reference is to Italian physician and educator Maria Montessori (1870-1952)

*(S<om>E + BATHED); “losing heart” means that middle letters are dropped from the anagram, indicated by “strangely”

V (=quintet, i.e. five) in [CON (=study, scan) + ERSE (=language)]

A hard (legal) case would pose a challenge to a legal team!

PRE (REP=agent; “prioritising quiet (=P, for piano)” means that letter “p” moves to the front of the word) + FAB (=marvellous)

Hidden (“keeping”) and reversed (“about”) in “kLEIN ADvised”; The Book of Daniel features in the Old Testament

SUN (=tabloid, in UK) + KEN (=fellow, i.e. masculine forename)

*(S (=sun) + EGO); “shattered” is anagram indicator