GORDON PARSONS is bowled over by a skilfully stripped down and powerfully relevant production of Hamlet
John Berger and the miners
LYNNE WALSH is stirred by John Berger’s observation that ‘by attacking the demonstration, authority ensures that the symbolic event becomes an historical one’
In which we accompany the Bard into Cymru to meet his musical accomplices, young and old
SUE TURNER is inspired by the example of a librarian’s struggle to confront the book-banning movement
ANDY HEDGECOCK relishes two exhibitions that blur the boundaries between art and community engagement
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews I Am Martin Parr, September Says, The Monkey, and The Gorge
RITA DI SANTO applauds a touching and witty opener that touches a hot topic in Germany: the future of the immigrant population
SIMON PARSONS is discomfited by an unflichingly negative portrait of motherhood and its trials
John Berger, The Underground Sea: Miners and the Miners’ Strike
Edited by Tom Overton and Matthew Harle
Canongate, £16.99
ANY book which owes its existence to the talent and compassion of John Berger should revere and uphold his extraordinary legacy. This one falls short.
Scheduled to mark the 40th anniversary of the miners’ strike, this slight volume may seek to dig deep, yet it barely scratches the surface.
More from this author
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
A landmark work of gay ethnography, an avant-garde fusion of folk and modernity, and a chance comment in a great interview
ANGUS REID applauds the inventive stagecraft with which the Lyceum serve up Stevenson’s classic, but misses the deeper themes
Similar stories
JAN WOOLF applauds art that has not only documented the anti-war and anti-capitalist movement but been an integral part of it
STEVE ANDREW hails a moving and insightful collection of photographs and accounts that document the response of communities in Wales both as class and nation
JAN WOOLF introduces an evening in celebration of John Berger that aims to maintain and extend his influence
Read your free paper and supplement below