artswith Music A summer full of festivals On the same day, in Cradley


Heath in the West Midlands, the Chainmakers’ Festival will mark the victory of hundreds of women who went on strike for two months in 1910 over pay and sweatshop working conditions. Led by Mary Macarthur, they


Summer is coming, and with 500 festivals taking place in the UK during June and July, how is a discerning NUJ member to decide what to do with a free weekend? Whether it’s the world-famous


Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Arts (tickets £250; headliners Radiohead, Foo Fighters, Ed Sheeran) or the nascent SODFEST at Chipping Sodbury Town Football Club (tickets £11.50; headliners The Christians), every town seems to have its own event. Among them are three festivals


celebrating trade union victories that changed the world of work for millions of people.


The fifth Matchwomen’s Festival


in London on 1 July will mark the occasion in 1888 when 1,400 women and girls went on strike over management bullying and hazardous working conditions at Bryant & May’s match factory in the East End. They marched to parliament, and won better pay and safer conditions. There will be music organised by


Loud Women and comedy from Hannah Chutzpah. The star turn is shaping up to be shadow attorney general Shami Chakrabarti in conversation with shadow home secretary Diane Abbott. www.facebook.com/ Matchwomen/


20 | theJournalist


used mass meetings and the media – including the new medium of cinema – to tell their story to a wider audience. Their tactics worked, and the employers agreed to pay a minimum wage. The free event includes stalls,


face-painting, circus skills, a funfair, music and theatre, including a re-enactment of Mary Macarthur’s famous “Rouse, ye women!” speech. www.tuc.org.uk/events/ 2017-women-chainmakers- festival-july-1


Over 14-16 July, the Tolpuddle


Martyrs’ Festival will celebrate the lives of the six Dorset farm workers transported to Australia for forming a trade union in 1834 to secure a pay rise. A demonstration in London and a petition signed by 800,000 people persuaded the government to pardon them. They returned as heroes having secured the legal right to belong to a trade union. The weekend is packed with music,


politics, theatre, poetry, cinema and debates, with performances from the Mekons, the Wakes, Francesca Martinez and the Eskies. As Tolpuddle regular Billy Bragg


almost said, why not mix pop and politics this summer, and join in the labour movement festivities? www.tolpuddlemartyrs.org. uk/festival/programme


attitude


by Tim Lezard


Music Green Day June/July Belfast, Dublin, London Sheffield and Glasgow


Nothing elicits cries of “sell out” more than when I admit I like Green Day. As someone who bought 39/Smooth when it came out in 1990, I like to think it’s OK to still enjoy listening to the DIY Berkeley boys who became one of the world’s biggest punk bands, selling 85 million records worldwide.


And when they’re touring with one


of my favourite bands, Rancid, along with gypsy punks Gogol Bordello, I’m almost tempted to fork out the £70. www.greenday.com/tour


La Traviata Until 22 August Glyndebourne Still, £70 seems a bargain compared to the £205 for a restricted-view ticket for Verdi’s opera. Based on the romantic novel La Dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas’s son Alexandre Dumas fils, the work is a moving tale of society and morality, with melodies as familiar as the story of the “tart with a heart”. I guess you’re paying for the experience as much as the performance. Try not to spill your champagne when you singalonga Giuseppe. www.glyndebourne.com


Film


Past Life Released on June 2 Based on a true story, Past Life tracks the daring 1977 trans-European odyssey of two sisters – one a tabloid journalist, the other a classical music


Theatre Life of Galileo Young Vic, London Until July 3 Life of Galileo is regarded as one of Bertolt Brecht’s greatest


composer – as they try to unravel a disturbing wartime mystery. They soon realise that freedom from the shackles of the past requires painful sacrifices, as does the struggle to discover one’s unique voice.


Comedy Some People v Reginald D Hunter Touring UK throughout June The controversial American actor- turned-stand-up returns with a new routine with Donald Trump firmly in his sights. Having spent most of 2016 telling audiences Trump wouldn’t be elected, he feels he needs to explain himself. He also tackles racism on social media and reflects on why the OJ Simpson case is still sending shockwaves through the UK today. www.reginalddhunter.com/ uk-tour-2017/


Phill Jupitus: Juplicity Touring Scotland in July Stand-up and Never Mind the Buzzcocks star Phill Jupitus appears as his word-slinging alter ego Porky the Poet, performing a brand new hour of poetry and chat. This year, his pencil is sharpened in the direction of religion,


dieting, politics, hate, hipsters, love, parenthood, sex, the Clash, baseball, death, Michael Gove and a slew of other vital matters. New work premiered every show. www.ents24.com/uk/tour-dates/ phill-jupitus


Some of the best things to


see and do with a bit of political bite


For listings email: arts@NUJ.org.uk


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