KATE HUNTER draws attention to Back to Back theatre, who draw disabled actors, factory workers and cardboard together to create an epic, and double-edged spectacle of warfare

LEAH MACLAUGHLIN recommends the story of a transplant: the quiet choreography that carries a gift of life from one person to another

ALAN MORRISON guides us through the richly descriptive and accessible poetry of a notable British-Irish poet

New releases from Allo Darlin’, Loyle Carner and Mike Polizze

MARY CONWAY applauds the success of Beth Steel’s bitter-sweet state-of-the-nation play

MIKE QUILLE applauds an excellent example of cultural democracy: making artworks which are a relevant, integral part of working-class lives

SALEEM BADAT and VASU REDDY introduce a new book about an outstanding interpreter of the world, and an activist scholar committed to changing society

Warming up for his Durham gig, the bard pays attention to the niceties of language

PAUL DONOVAN is fascinated by a deep dive into contemporary social crises, that examines how they are manipulated by elites

ALEX HALL follows the battered fortunes of Syria, a multi-ethnic country caught in the crossfire of competing imperialist interests

WILL PODMORE peruses a new history of the opening weeks of conflict between Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia

STEVEN ANDREW welcomes a fine introduction to FC United of Manchester, the team set up in opposition to Manchester United

MICHAL BONCZA, MARIA DUARTE and ANGUS REID review The Other Way Around, Modi: Three Days On The Wing Of Madness, Watch The Skies, and Superman

MARIA DUARTE recommends a chilling examination of the influence of Evangelical Christianity over the far right in Brazil

by Widad Nabi

CHRIS SEARLE pays tribute to the late South African percussionist, Louis Moholo-Moholo

MAYER WAKEFIELD relishes a witty and uplifting rallying cry for unity, which highlights the erasure of queer women

BLANE SAVAGE recommends the display of nine previously unseen works by the Glaswegian artist, novelist and playwright

JOHN HAWKINS recommends that you watch on Channel 4 the film that the BBC refused to broadcast

A heatwave, a crimewave, and weird bollocks in Aberdeen, Indiana horror, and the end of the American Dream

DAI O’BRIEN, one of the festival’s DeafZone co-ordinators explains

Re-releases from Bobby Wellins/Kenny Wheeler Quintet, Larry Stabbins/Keith Tippet/Louis Moholo-Moholo, and Charles Mingus Quintet

HENRY BELL notes the curious confluence of belief, rebuilding and cheap materials that gave rise to an extraordinary number of modernist churches in post-war Scotland

MOLLY DHLAMINI welcomes a Pan-Africanist and Marxist manifesto that charts a path for Africa’s resurgence