SIMON PARSONS is discomfited by an unflichingly negative portrait of motherhood and its trials
Keffiyeh Jazzfolk
WILL STONE relishes the subtle demonstations of political awareness that accompany two standout performers at Brighton’s Mutations festival
PAUL FOLEY recommends an extraordinary double bill that packs a punch and leaves you reeling
MARY CONWAY is disappointed by a play about AI that results in a deadening disconnect for its audience
SIMON PARSONS applauds an insightful state-of-the-nation play that explores the growing class divide in South Africa
MATTHEW HAWKINS pays tribute to the performance artist and costumier, Leigh Bowery
SIMON DUFF reviews a new composition by German composer and pianist Florian Weber that blurs the line between where improvisation ends and composition begins
New releases from The Jim Mullen Quartet, Caroline Kraabel/John Edwards, and Matthew Muneses/Riza Printup
Arooj Aftab + Alabaster DePlume
Chalk, Brighton
“I WAS gonna fight fascism, I was gonna … I was just a bit tired,” sings spoken word poet, activist and saxophonist Alabaster DePlume during his performance as part of Brighton’s Mutations festival. “I was gonna fight fascism … but honestly I just had so much on.”
The hard-hitting tune calling out political apathy in the face of a rising far-right finishes with the cautionary line: “I was gonna fight fascism … but it was too late.”
DePlume, wrapped in a keffiyeh, is not lacking pro-Palestinian sentiment either, reworking his lyrics to People: What’s the Difference? to sing: “People from the river to the sea” amid screeching blows on his sax.
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