Arts

When Orson Welles and Macbeth went to Harlem

11 November 2006
For several weeks in 1936, people walking around the Harlem area of New York would have come across the word Macbeth cryptically daubed in glowing paints on every street corner.

Anti-war artwork by Kagan Guner

04 November 2006
The anti-war movement is the inspiration for these artworks by Kagan Guner. "When two million people marched against the war in February 2003, I felt we were one. Nobody was a foreigner in that rally," he told Socialist Worker. His work is part of the exhibition Belonging: Voices of London’s Refugees which brings together the experiences and contributions of refugees in the capital.

Reel News | Discovering Leicester’s Radical Past | The Wind That Shakes The Barley

04 November 2006
Reel NewsDVD out now £6 Powerplay Production has launched a monthly DVD chronicling radical movements.

The State Within: a nightmare for neocons

04 November 2006
The State Within begins at breakneck pace. It cuts between rapid close ups of shrink wrap, wire and explosives leaving the dizzy impression that we’re in for another imitation of the hit US series 24.

As Used on the Famous Nelson Mandela - Mark Thomas | Caroline or Change

28 October 2006
As Used on the Famous Nelson MandelaMark ThomasOn tour until 14 Dec Taking its title from his latest book, Mark Thomas’s stand-up show exposes the arms industry from the inside.

Food and Liquor - Lupe Fiasco | A Life in the Day of B19 - Soweto Kinch | Mujeres - Estrella Morente

28 October 2006
There are two things you need to know about Lupe Fiasco and his new album Food and Liquor.

Director Serge Le Péron on 'I Saw Ben Barka Get Killed'

28 October 2006
The socialist Mehdi Ben Barka was a leading figure in the national liberation movement which won Morocco independence from France in 1956. While in exile in the 1960s he continued to play a role in the anti-colonial movement internationally.

London Film Festival

21 October 2006
The London Film Festival is a great opportunity to see some exciting films from around the world. Most of these will not get a general release in Britain.

Velazquez: painting the life of the Spanish empire

21 October 2006
Diego Velazquez is considered Spain’s greatest painter, "the painters’ painter" as Edouard Manet described him, and his influence on subsequent artists is beyond doubt. Painters as different as Francisco Goya, Salvador Dali, Francis Bacon and Pablo Picasso have paid homage to him and painted their own versions of his masterpieces.

Gillo Pontecorvo, 1919-2006: A director committed to change

21 October 2006
Gillo Pontecorvo, the Italian director of The Battle of Algiers, died last week. Despite the fact his last film came out 27 years ago, the tributes paid have been enormous.

How Many Miles To Basra?

14 October 2006
How Many Miles To Basra? focuses on a unit of four British soldiers in occupied Iraq during the immediate aftermath of the war. This play portrays the moral dilemma facing British soldiers sent to fight in Iraq - how to reconcile doing "your job" with doing "the right thing" when the two are irreconcilable.

René Burri Retrospective | Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk | Metamorphosis

14 October 2006
René Burri Retrospective 1950-2000 Manchester Art Gallery until 12 NovemberAdmission free From the Suez crisis and the Korean War, to Vietnam and Tiananmen Square, René Burri was seemingly on location for almost every major political, cultural and historical event in the second half of the 20th century. Much of his work captures the responses of ordinary people, soldiers, refugees and young people to their surroundings. His scenes of street life in Brazil are rich, expressive and naturally shot. Burri was clearly interested in the possibility of change and looked to the diversity of peoples from across the world to find its spirit. Ove

The Amazing Mrs Pritchard - politics as fairytale

14 October 2006
At the last general election the writer Sally Wainwright, frustrated that all of the political parties were as bad as each other, decided that she would stand for parliament.

Life & Lyrics: ‘a positive film that is close to our lives’

07 October 2006
The new Life & Lyrics film stars Ashley Walter, better known as Asher D of So Solid Crew.

This Robin Hood is a battling rebel

07 October 2006
The new TV series has all the key ingredients of the legend as it has developed over the last two centuries.

Children of Men | Edinburgh Independent Radical Book Fair | Homestead

07 October 2006
Children of MenDirected by Alfonso CuaronIn cinemas now Don’t let the fact that this film is based on a book by the Tory novelist PD James put you off going to see it. I found it incredibly moving.

How To Improve The World - 60 Years Of British Art

07 October 2006
A new exhibition entitled How To Improve The World - 60 Years Of British Art has just opened at the Hayward Gallery in London.

Cézanne in Britain | Pinter: A Celebration | To Kill A Mockingbird | Ta-Dah, Scissor Sisters

30 September 2006
Cézanne in BritainNational Gallery, London, 4 October to 7 January, admission free<a href="http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk" target = "_blank">www. nationalgallery .org.uk</a> This October marks the 100th anniversary of the death of the artist Paul Cézanne. The National Gallery is celebrating with Cézanne in Britain. Cézanne never came to Britain, yet his work has had a remarkable impact here. This exhibition includes 40 works, with paintings, watercolours, drawings and prints, and covers his wide range of subject matter - portraits, still life and landscapes.

In Prison: Afroamerican Prison Music From Blues To Hiphop

30 September 2006
That prison is as big a reference point for black America as basketball or the church tells you a lot about racism in US society.

Love Sheffield Music Hate Racism | Mary Barton | Crazy Itch Radio - Basement Jaxx

23 September 2006
Love Sheffield Music Hate RacismCD out now£8 from various Sheffield music shops and <a href="http://www.lmhrsheffield.co.uk" target="_blank">www.lmhrsheffield .co.uk</a> Sheffield Love Music Hate Racism have put together a double CD of tracks donated by local bands to raise money for the campaign. The 35 tracks include soul, indie, reggae, drum & bass and funk.