ANDY HEDGECOCK, MARIA DUARTE and ANGUS REID review Synthetic Sincerity, Our Hero, Balthazar, Heartstopper Forever, and A Year In London
Feminist Theatre Then & Now
Edited by Cheryl Robson
Aurora Metro, £16.99
MEMORIES of the heady days of women’s theatre in the ’70s and ’80s recall the provocative and edgy nature of the genre.
The clues are in the names of some of the troupes: Sensible Footwear, Cunning Stunts, Scarlet Harlots, Monstrous Regiment, Beryl and the Perils, Theatre of Black Women, Clean Break, Sadista Sisters, Lip Service, and The Chuffinelles. The latter included the late and truly great Linda Smith.
Socialists, feminists and trade unionists gathered in Manchester to launch a network committed to evidence-based activism with a renewed emphasis on class and collective struggle. ANNA BARRETT reports
For generations black women have shaped Britain’s activism, arts and public life despite exclusion and discrimination. ZITA HOLBOURNE pays tribute to these political trailblazers and cultural icons, whose courage continues to inspire
Held at a last-minute undisclosed venue amid fear of disruption, a Women’s Rights Network event brought together authors and activists, offering a day of debate on feminism’s past, present and future. JADE MIDDLETON reports
LYNNE WALSH reports from the Women’s Declaration International conference on feminist struggles from Britain to the Far East


