RUTH AYLETT admires the blunt honesty with which a woman’s experience is recorded, but detects the unexamined privilege that underlies it
Keffiyeh Jazzfolk
WILL STONE relishes the subtle demonstations of political awareness that accompany two standout performers at Brighton’s Mutations festival

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.
More from this author

While the group known as the Colourists certainly reinvigorated Scottish painting, a new show is a welcome chance to reassess them, writes ANGUS REID

ANGUS REID recommends an exquisite drama about the disturbing impact of the one child policy in contemporary China

The phrase “cruel to be kind” comes from Hamlet, but Shakespeare’s Prince didn’t go in for kidnap, explosive punches, and cigarette deprivation. Tam is different.

ANGUS REID deconstructs a popular contemporary novel aimed at a ‘queer’ young adult readership