arts byMark Fisher


Books > How to Save the Amazon:


a Journalist’s Deadly Quest for Answers


Dom Phillips and contributors May 27, Manilla Completed after the journalist’s murder, this is the book Dom Phillips was working on with Bruno Pereira in June 2022 when the two men were shot dead in the Brazilian rainforest. What remains is a manual for fighting ecological destruction.


We Were There: How Black Culture, Resistance and Community Shaped Modern


In depth Finding a way and football


NUJ life member Jeff Brown might have stood down from his role as BBC Look North presenter last year, but he has not settled for the quiet life. In January, he launched


the first series of Jeff Brown’s Sporting Greats, a podcast on BBC Sounds (series two is already under discussion), and is now looking forward to a tour of The Bench, his play about love, loss and football. Back after an acclaimed


run at the Customs House in South Shields, the play is about a single mother and a newly signed footballer who meet by chance on a park bench. Despite their differences – Vicky is a hard-up carer with a terminally ill mother, Adi is a high-flying Afro-French


24 | theJournalist


sportsman – they find they have much in common. “It’s a love story but it’s


about poverty, racism and trying to find your way in the world,” says Brown, whose the play is touring the north east and Cumbria. Interested in the


pressures faced by young people, Brown took inspiration from his role as patron of Sunderland Carers. “I hear a lot of stories about youngsters caring for their mums and


dads,” he says. “Also, your background as a journalist means you’re always researching stuff, so getting all that in and finding the interesting bits and pieces was fascinating.” He modelled Adi partly


on Britt Assombalonga, the Congolese player who joined Middlesbrough in 2017 after stints with several UK clubs. Brown also consulted his friend Gary Bennett who, in 1984, became only the


former pianist who takes drastic action against her husband’s infidelity after they have upped sticks to Dublin for his work. https://tinyurl.com/23ck74vf


Comedy> Jonny and the Baptists: the


Britain Lanre Bakare April 17, Bodley Head The Guardian arts correspondent looks beyond the capital to tell the story of black Britain from the 1970s to 1990s in towns such as Liverpool, Cardiff, Birmingham and his native Bradford – a history that for too long has been unknown and unexplored.


The Marriage Vendetta Caroline Madden April 24, Bonnier Books The Irish Times journalist branches into fiction with a novel about a


second black footballer to play for Sunderland. “I spoke to him about his


experiences of being, at the time, one of the few black faces in what was overwhelmingly a white community,” says Brown. The charity Show


Racism the Red Card will be present at every performance and will help with a schools programme. “Being a football fan


all my life, you hear that undercurrent of racism from the terraces. It isn’t as bad as it used to be, but it still bubbles under. “To think the play


might have a wider impact on the community is mind-blowing.”


The Bench, on tour, May 22–June 21, https:// tinyurl.com/2bbfmnv


Jeff Brown’s Sporting Greats, BBC Sounds, https://tinyurl. com/22vf2gh9


Films > And an Army of Women


General release, April 25 Julie Lunde Lillesæter’s inspiring documentary tells the story of a group of women in Austin, Texas, who joined forces to challenge the police and judicial system that had allowed their


Happiness Index On tour, May 17–June 21 The personal and political come together – as do music and laughs – in an attempt to measure the nation’s happiness not quite in the manner envisaged by David Cameron. Dates in Oxford, Glasgow, Norwich and elsewhere. https://tinyurl.com/29wsyuk4


Nish Kumar: Nish, Don’t Kill My Vibe On tour, May 12–24 Returning to the UK after gigs in North America and Australasia, the TV regular shares his latest thoughts on climate change, income inequality and the political state of the world. https://tinyurl.com/2ao47wwf


Exhibitions > Emma Spreadborough: You


Mustn’t Go Looking Photo Museum Ireland, Dublin, April 29–June 29 The photographer’s first Irish solo show considers the changing face of religion and politics in Northern Ireland, taking inspiration from a Brian Friel play, Dancing at Lughnasa. https://tinyurl.com/2ywg3rkp


Małgorzata Mirga-Tas The Whitworth, Manchester, Until September 7 The Roma-Polish artist reflects Romany culture and history in textiles and fabrics with strong story-telling content. https://tinyurl.com/22w2xceu


Festivals > Knockengorroch Festival


Galloway, May 22–25 Survival is the theme of this year’s event with a line-up of roots and dance-music artists who embody “resilience, innovation and a deep connection to land and culture”. Names include Kinnaris Quintet, Mungo’s Hi Fi Soundsystem, Moxie and Omega Nebula. https://tinyurl.com/2bmhe4c8


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28