artswith


by Amy Powell Yeates


Pulitzer prize-winning Suzan Lori-Parks’ award- winning play, two Somalian girls share a painful secret in a play on tour, secrets from the Sicilian sea on show, alternative France, essays inspired by Magna Carta, music and the miners’ strike, and James Foley’s story on film


Theatre


Father Comes Home from the Wars (Parts 1, 2 and 3)


Royal Court Theatre, London 15 September-22 October Although performances don’t start until September, this trilogy by Pulitzer Prize winner Suzan-Lori Parks, directed by US director Jo Bonney, is likely to get booked up early. In 1862 in West Texas, Hero, a slave, is promised his freedom if he joins his master in the ranks of the Confederacy against the Union. In a nation at war with itself, he must work against those striving to abolish slavery. The family he leaves behind debates whether to escape or await his return, and fear that, for Hero, freedom is an empty promise that may come at great cost. The production received critical acclaim in the US. www.royalcourttheatre.com


Cuttin’ It UK tour


Until 30 July


Teenagers Muna and Iqra get the same bus to school but they’ve never really spoken. Muna wears Topshop and sits on the top deck gossiping about Nicki Minaj, while Iqra is alone downstairs in her charity shop clothes. They were both born in Somalia but


22 | theJournalist


come from different worlds. As they get closer, they realise their families share a painful secret. Tackling the urgent issue of female genital mutilation in Britain, this new play by Charlene James, winner of the George Devine Award for Most Promising Playwright and the Alfred Fagon Award for Best New Play, reveals the price some girls have to pay to become women. www.youngvic.org


Exhibitions


Storms, War and Shipwrecks: Treasures from the Sicilian Seas Ashmolean Museum, Oxford 21 June-25 September More than 200 objects rescued from the bottom of the sea are


indepth Red Ladder day


political theatre company in the UK today and certainly one of the most important, taking its work to audiences all over the country. Despite this, Red Ladder had all of


it Arts Council funding cut last year. The company is, however, doing


an admirable job of finding ways to continue creating work; last year, it collaborated with Park Theatre in north London to co-produce two new plays by Avaes Mohammad – Hurling Rubble at the Moon and Hurling Rubble at the Sun. In early 2016, it toured a


The Red Ladder Theatre company was born in 1968 out of agitprop – a radical socialist theatre movement that grew in Britain in an era of demonstrations and revolts. It is arguably the most prolific


production of The Damned United, a stage adaptation by politically focused playwright Anders Lustgarten, based on the novel of the same name by David Peace about football manager Brian Clough’s disastrous tenure at Leeds United. The production was made financially viable by the author donating the stage rights, which


allowed the company to bring a vibrant new production of a known title to audiences. Red Ladder’s latest project will


be performed in June at the Leeds Carriageworks. This involves a community cast of 40 local performers and musicians, who will be joined by the Leeds Rhinos and Great Britain international Rugby League player Jamie Jones-Buchanan for his debut appearance on stage. Leeds Lads is a new play that


celebrates the multicultural city that Leeds has become, and follows the story of Tara, who begins a voyage of discovery about the sacrifice of her forefathers on the day that the city commemorates the Leeds Pals at the Battle of the Somme. Visit Red Ladder’s website to


find out how you can support the company and the work it creates.


www.redladder.co.uk


attitude


shedding light on the past 2,500 years of Sicilian history. Sicily has become one of the major sites of focus for archaeological divers. Among the finds on display are a series of Roman and Carthaginian warship arms, the discovery of which confirmed the location of the Battle of the Egadi Islands in 241BC. The conflict marked a pivotal moment in history, ending the First Punic War and ensuring Rome’s domination of the Mediterranean. www.ashmolean.org


Books


A Guide to Mystical France: Secrets, Mysteries, Sacred Sites By Nick Inman


Findhorn Press, pbk, £14.99


This book by NUJ member Nick Inman (Paris branch) explores France’s lesser known ancient wisdoms and secrets, and can be used as both an alternative travel guide and a history book. Themes include the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela, Black Virgins, prehistoric cave paintings and labyrinths. The backdrops include Chartres, Rennes-le-Château, churches carved out of rock and mountain sanctuaries. The guide also delves into the historical reasons behind the way structures such as Notre Dame cathedral, Mont-Saint-Michel and the


Some of the best things to


see and do with a bit of political bite


For listings email: journalist@NUJ.org.uk


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