Reviews

Lost in a labyrinth of social and political catastrophes

27 November 2018
A profound sense of injustice and chaos grips visitors to a new exhibition about identity at Manchester’s Castlefield Gallery, writes?Molly Docherty

Philippines political travel book is a punishing read

20 November 2018
Is Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte—“The Punisher”—part of the global rise of the racist right? Or is his rule a distinct, grotesque weirdness all of its own?

Captivating film exposes the complexity of ‘mundane’ life

20 November 2018
A story based around a writing group in a small French town reflects on a radical history of struggle and the threat of racism, says Sadie Robinson

Exhibition shines a light on the art of the ‘dark ages’

12 November 2018
The artefacts of six hundred years of Anglo-Saxon rule on display at the British Library provide a unique insight into history, writes Camilla Royle

Reviews round-up—All We Wanted Was Everything

12 November 2018

I’m Not Running

05 November 2018
Plays about the plight of the Labour Party must be in vogue.

Explosive war caper lords it over zombies and Nazis

05 November 2018
As a cult subgenre, Nazi zombie films have their own conventions and cliches to follow. Producer JJ Abram’s Overlord works because it does them so well.

Widows is a heist film that pushes at the genre’s limits

05 November 2018
Steve McQueen’s new film couldn’t be more different to his past work. It’s strength is in nuanced, powerful points about US society, says?Julia Ryder

The workers who sabotaged Pinochet’s murder machine

30 October 2018
A new film tells how engineers in East Kilbride refused to work on the Chilean regime’s jet engines. Dave Sherry spoke to one of those workers, John Keenan

Death of a Salesman - chasing dreams in a society that produces nightmares

19 October 2018
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller has always been a very popular play.

Peterloo film brings a class revolt to life

18 October 2018
Watching Mike Leigh's film makes you feel like you were actually there on the day the massacre took place in Manchester in 1819.

Modern Couples’ relationships influence artistic work

16 October 2018
Over 80 artists’ work from the early 20th century are collected here. They were each in relationships with at least one other featured artist.

History of making things skips over some inconvenient truths

16 October 2018
A new six-part series on the BBC looks at the history of manufacturing in Britain. It glosses over the crucial dynamic—class, argues?Blythe Taylor

Reviews round-up: The Burning Tower

25 September 2018
Burning Tower makes a case for investment in social housing.

The Captain film points a finger at trappings of authority

25 September 2018
It’s two weeks before the end of the Second World War and the German army is disintegrating.

Shakespearean roles turned on head in Queen Margaret

25 September 2018
Gender roles and how they shape society are explored in an innovative new play set in the world of William Shakespeare’s plays, says Pat Clinton

Inspiring anti-racist message from 1978

11 September 2018
The Northern Carnival against the Nazis—a rally and concert held on 15 July 1978 in Moss Side, Manchester—was a defining moment in establishing anti-racism in the city and beyond.

The Seagull can't rise above period drama convention

11 September 2018
Anton Chekov made his name casting a critical eye on the Russian middle class in the twilight years of Tsarist rule.

Dissent reinterpreted in new exhibition curated by Hislop

11 September 2018
Powerful pieces are on display at British Museum’s latest big show but its eclecticism means their context is lacking, argues Hassan Mahamdallie

14 August 2018
“Revolutions would be a lot more successful if we could make them with the people of the future, not the flawed, self-centred specimens we have now,” says Bolshevik soldier Pavel in Alan Gibbons’s fictional account of the Russian Revolution.