WILL STONE fact-checks the colourful life of Ozzy Osbourne
Lusty strokes
Nick Dark paints a full-blooded portrait of 18th-century artist William Hogarth in a double bill of plays, says LYNNE WALSH
Misanthrope: Keith Allen as William Hogarth
[Manuel Harlan] 
JAMES CROSSLEY applauds a lucid biography of the German radical preacher who reemerged as a hero in the GDR
Prizes all round: the Bard hands plaudits to the Miners Gala, OT&JC, Joe Solo, Black Sabbath’s frontman and the Lionesses
Star cartoonist JAMIE BRITTON is in awe of a graphic novel of epic proportions that explores class, religion and globalisation via the strange cultivation of Ginseng in the US Midwest
GUILLERMO THOMAS is intrigued by a history of the Middle East that demonstrates how promising post colonial beginnings were snuffed out by Western imperialist interests
MARIA DUARTE recommends the intricate study of a high-performance and highly dysfuntional German family
Hogarth’s Progress
Rose, Kingston
THIS double bill from Nick Dear is a bawdy romp — a delve into the seething underbelly of 18th-century London, with its buxom wenches and pox-ridden punters.
Here too are venal politicians, brothel keepers, narcissist actors and devoted servants and at the centre artist William Hogarth, who masks self-doubt in braggadocio, craving critics’ approval, and creating a breathtaking legacy.
Dispensing with cliches, the two plays are a nuanced examination of art, its place in people’s hearts and rich men’s wallets. Hogarth’s work remains as a testament to his great desire that his work should last. He was determined that the Old Masters shouldn’t be the only game in town. “What is art?” he spits. “Is it property or communication? Is it to be owned — or understood?”
More from this author
Caroline Darian, daughter of Gisele Pelicot, took part in a conversation with Afua Hirsch at London’s Royal Geographical Society. LYNNE WALSH reports
This year’s Bristol Radical History Festival focused on the persistent threats of racism, xenophobia and, of course, our radical collective resistance to it across Ireland and Britain, reports LYNNE WALSH
LYNNE WALSH previews the Bristol Radical History Conference this weekend
With most of recorded history dominated by the voices of men, LYNNE WALSH encourages sisters to read the memoirs of women – and to write their own too
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