Reviews of Habibi Funk 031, Kayatibu, and The Good Ones
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J'Ouvert, Harold Pinter Theatre London
The Notting Hill Carnival's been cancelled but the exhilarating J'Ouvert is a pretty good alternative
SIMON DUFF relishes the cross contamination of Damien Hirst’s greatest hits by street artists from France and the US
In view of the grooming gangs inquiry, SIMON PARSONS feels the relevance of this powerful examination of trauma suffered at Medomsley Youth Detention Centre
JOHN GREEN doubts the motivations of a US war photographer who never questions why, or for whom, she is producing images of imperialist conflict
MARIA DUARTE reviews Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, Hedda, The Mastermind, and Regretting You
TONY CONWAY welcomes a thrilling and concise history of Hope not Hate, that is also a manual full of tactical advice
PAUL DONOVAN welcomes an inspiring account of living with deafness that has important lessons for the treatment of deaf people in today’s UK
JUST hours after the 2019 election results were announced, Michael Gove made a vitriolic boast that “both the Durham Miners’ Gala and the Notting Hill Carnival will take place in seats held by Conservative MPs.” That remark reflects the contempt that the Tories have for these two unique festivals of resistance and their deep-rooted political significance.
A telling riposte is Yasmin Joseph’s J’Ouvert and its breakneck excursion around Carnival and boy, does it do it well.
We’re led around the sweaty Notting Hill streets by twenty-something best friends and life-long Carnival goers Jade (Sapphire Joy) and Nadine (Gabrielle Brooks). Looking resplendent in carnival costume and “worshipping at the altar of soca music” they run the full gamut of all the highs and lows a Carnival Monday has to offer.
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DAVID HORSLEY reminds us of the roots and staying power of one of the most iconic festivals around
PETER MASON is wowed (and a little baffled) by the undeniably ballet-like grace of flamenco
It’s tiring always being viewed as the ‘wrong sort of woman,’ writes JENNA, a woman who has exited the sex industry