NAOMI BAKER introduces a remarkable and courageous account of surviving domestic abuse in the 17th century

JAN WOOLF is beguiled by the tempting notion that Freud psychoanalysed Hitler in a comedy that explores the vulnerability of a damaged individual

Memorable, deeply penetrating and exquisitely performed, writes MARY CONWAY

MAYER WAKEFIELD recommends a musical ‘love letter’ to black power activists of the 1970s

An ambitious and enjoyable inquiry into what we mean by new is marred by a lack of materialist analysis and anti-communist bias, suggest MARTIN HALL

HEIDI NORMAN welcomes a new history of the Aboriginal resistance to white settlers in New South Wales

TONY BURKE reviews new releases from Cheikh Lo, Mishra & Deepa Shakthi, N’Faly Kouyate

by ALI ROWLAND

Gin Lane by William Hogarth is a critique of 18th-century London’s growing funeral trade, posits DAN O’BRIEN

MARJORIE MAYO and MARIA DUARTE review From Ground Zero, The Long Walk, Islands, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues

ANDY HEDGECOCK sees his scepticism lessened by a story is more complex and far-reaching than is initially apparent

JOE GILL appreciates a lucid demonstration of how capital today is an outgrowth of the colonial economy

Reviews of re-releases from The Sex Pistols, A Certain Ratio, and The Fall

by Rose Lennard

ALAN MORRISON introduces a UK poet whose despised daytime occupation provides the subject for his writing

MARK TURNER holds on tight for a mesmerising display of Neath-born ragtime virtuosity

Featuring films with substantial political themes, this year’s festival has ignited a vibrant discussion, suggests RITA DI SANTO

MARK TURNER wallows in the virtuosity of Swansea Jazz Festival openers, Simon Spillett and Pete Long

PAUL DONOVAN recommends three new books that explore the human relationship with nature

Doomed adolescents, when the missing person is you, classic whodunnit, and an anti-capitalist eco-thriller

PAUL DONOVAN recommends an excellent stage adaptation of Stephen King’s classic portrayal of the the injustice of the US prison system

WILL STONE takes a ticket to indie disco heaven, but misses the rarely performed tunes

Reviews of new releases by Jens Lekman, Big Thief, and Christian McBride Big Band

TOM PIERSCIONEK recommends a remarkable series of interviews with those few and brave Israeli citizens who refuse to do military service

MARJORIE MAYO is moved by the clarity with which the FBU call out the true causes of this preventable tragedy

With a new TV film about the Piper Alpha disaster, ANGUS REID points out the enduring class bias of the official version of events

The bard rests on his laurels, and swipes left and right

ANGUS REID and MARIA DUARTE review The Courageous, The Cut, Christy, and On Swift Horses

MARIA DUARTE cherishes the flashes of absurd humour and theme of community healing in a documentary set in a Soviet-era Black Sea sanatorium

TOM STONE sings the praises of one of the oldest open-air festivals in Britain

Chris Searle speaks to accordionist KAREN STREET

DAVID HORSLEY recommends a season dedicated to groundbreaking Chinese-American actor and film maker Anna May Wong

Peace Sonnet Chain: no 2 by ANJA KONIG

MAYER WAKEFIELD speaks to Urielle Klein-Mekongo about activism, musical inspiration and the black British experience

As African novels are being translated to English in a bold new trend, TINASHE MUSHAKAVANHU puts into wider context the publication of Ignatius Mabasa’s The Mad (Mapenzi)

BOB NEWLAND reviews a book that will take many back to the final years of apartheid in South Africa