arts byMark Fisher


Books The Future is Peace Aziz Abu Sarah and Maoz Inon Out now, Canongate Two activists from either side of the Israel/Palestine divide, overcome their personal bereavements to make a joint declaration about the pathway to peace.


The Killing of the Reavey Brothers Eugene Reavey and Ken Murray Out now, Mercier Press Fifty years ago, the Ulster Volunteer Force attacked a house in Whitecross, County Armagh, leading to the deaths


In depth Strikers on stage


It lasted seven months and became an inspiring story of industrial strength. On February 5 1981, the workers at the Lee Jeans factory in Greenock, 25 miles west of Glasgow, locked themselves in. The 240-strong mainly


female workforce had got wind of plans by their bosses to shut down the plant and move production to Northern Ireland. Despite a reasonably


healthy order book, the American Vanity Fair Corporation wanted to cash in on government grants – as it had when it moved to Greenock in the first place. The staff were having none of it. Furious that


management had failed to engage with their compromise proposals,


24 | theJournalist


they barricaded the door with plastic chairs and occupied the building. Unemployment among women in Greenock stood at more than 13 per cent; there was a lot to defend. Their action became a


cause celebre for the labour movement, with everyone from trades unionists to Labour leader Michael Foot rallying to their support – even if the leadership of the National


the culture and politics of Armenia, France and Germany.


Comedy Palestine: Peace De Resistance On tour, May 15–June 27 Sami Abu Wardeh mixes ‘conflict, colonialism and clowning’ in a highly rated polemical show about his Palestinian heritage. “Stories of resistance are more important than ever today,” he says.


of John Martin, and Brian and Anthony Reavey. Their surviving brother, Eugene, has always alleged treachery and collusion. This book, co-written with NUJ member Ken Murray, makes his case.


Beyond the Darkness: Crimes from Another era Mihran Mavian Out now, Gomidas Institute NUJ member Mike Jempson has translated the wartime memoir of an Armenian cobbler who joined the French Resistance and survived three Nazi death camps. The illustrated book is annotated to provide context about


(‘It is in each other’s shadows that we llve’). On show are the winners plus the 30 shortlisted artists.


Lisa Barnard: The Canary and the Hammer The Photographers’ Gallery, London May 8–31 Beauty, greed and politics come into focus as Lisa Barnard, who teaches documentary photography at the University of South Wales, considers the role of gold in a post-financial crisis world. Travelling to four continents, she discovers environmental destruction and human exploitation.


Exhibitions Taylor Wessing Irish Photo Prize Photo Museum Ireland, Dublin Until May 24 In its inaugural year, the prize takes inspiration from the Irish proverb ‘Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine’


Union of Tailor and Garment Workers were ambivalent about such a grassroots rebellion. After a management


buyout, the workers were reinstated and the sit-in ended in August. Now, 45 years later, the


story is being told by playwright Frances Poet and the National Theatre of Scotland in Stand & Deliver: the Lee Jeans Sit-In. Directed by Jemima Levick, the play focuses on real-life shop steward Helen Monaghan and her colleague Maggie Wallace, the worker who climbed


out of the factory to order 240 fish suppers for the hungry strikers. As well as political


intent, the play aims to capture the youthful spirit, humour and imagination of the workers and a period soundtrack is performed by the actor-musicians. Commemorating an


even bigger dispute is NUJ member Ed Waugh, whose show, Centenary, marks the 100th anniversary of the start of the general strike. Staged by Wisecrack


Productions for one night only, the production is a compendium of songs, sketches and stand-up, commemorating the nine-day campaign by 1.7 million workers in 1926.


Stand & Deliver: The


Lee Jeans Sit-In, on tour until June Centenary,


Glasshouse, Gateshead, May 4


Hamza Yassim and broadcaster John Craven, sharing the ‘stories behind the headlines’ from 50 years in the job.


Extraction Jupiter Artland, Edinburgh Until July 26 Group exhibition in an out-of-town gallery considering the optimism and ideologies behind the 19th-century shale oil industry, the 20th-century North Sea petroleum economy and the renewable energy systems of today.


Photo London Olympia, London May 14–17 The UK’s largest photography event moves to bigger premises for a mix of vintage prints, gallery displays and work from today’s leading practitioners, centred on the Photo London Master of Photography award. The event includes a talk by photojournalist Sir Don McCullin, known for his images of war and working-class life.


Festivals Chester Literature Festival May 12–June 14


Among the headliners are historian and journalist Kate Williams, wildlife presenter and cameraman


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