News

Road movie of loneliness and loss in small town US

Great performances and a solid plot make Lean on Pete an enjoyable film that rotates on the myths of the American frontier

Kathe Kollwitz—powerful images of loss and struggle

KAthe Kollwitz (1867-1945)lived through some of the most turbulent years of the 20th century. They were years of great hope and terrible tragedy.

Education farce is at its best when it’s at its least serious

Some important issues are glossed over in a new play. But that does not stop the gags and performances from landing home, writes?Sam Lorde

Blackfish City is a gripping climate cliffhanger

This dystopian fable has been warmly received by science fiction and fantasy writers, and could be of interest to many socialists too.

What we know, and what we mustn’t forget, about Stephen Lawrence’s murder

A new documentary about the death of Stephen Lawrence and the 25 year fight for justice airs on BBC1 this week. Hassan Mahamdallie watched it

Hope to Nope at the Design Museum—graphics overload without context

Hope to Nope looks at political graphics in the tumultuous decade since the crisis hit

The Island and the Whales—a noble and melancholy tale of sea and whaling

The poisoned legacy of capitalism and pollution on the Faroe Islands is told in story-like fashion in new documentary film

Shakespearean drama meets Thomas Sankara in new play

Ricky Dujany’s ambitious debut play looks at a major figure in the 1980s battle for African liberation. It raises important questions, writes?Jay Williams

Defend Frankenstein and his monster from the snowflake haters

Readers of Socialist Worker probably aren’t avid readers of The Sun newspaper. If they were they may have seen that a couple of weeks ago it was irate at “snowflake students complaining that Frankenstein’s monster was misunderstood”.

Ready Player One a nostalgic homage to culture of 1980s

Spielberg’s latest blockbuster is designed to take people on a nostalgia trip back to the 1980s. But?Sasha Simic says that it doesn’t quite hit the mark

The Cherry Orchard’s 21st century comedic update

Chekhov’s classic tragedy gets a fresh reworking for modern audiences in Bristol.Sophia Beach says the quality performances make it one to see

Hackney’s Hamlet seeks to answer questions of today

The Royal Shakespeare Company’s current production of Hamlet breathes fresh air into the play.

Ruben Ostlund's latest film squares off against cultural elite

The Square is both hilarious and deeply unsettling.

Second season of Jessica Jones doesn’t pull punches

The first season of Jessica Jones was praised by critics for being a feminist story which faced the truths of surviving sexual assault.

Turmoil and foreboding on Picasso’s road to Guernica

The Tate Modern’s Picasso 1932 is a must-see exhibition that reflects the artist’s personal turmoil amidst growing storm cloud of fascism, writes?Andy Brown

Rare glimpses of Another Kind of Life

This exhibition is one that leaves you questioning the world from the first room and long after you have left it.

Tate Britain’s new exhibition fails to push at an open door

Over 100 years of figurative painting could have provided a rich seam of content for the Tate’s latest blockbuster, but it left?Ben Windsor feeling flat.

Reviews round-up: The Land We Live In, The Land We Left Behind exhibition

Plus British Socialism: The Grand Tour and WOW festival

Art exhibition that shows how another world can be made possible

A collection from dozens of artists range from the inspiring to the baffling. Richard Rose explains how it seeks to look beyond the walls of the gallery