arts by Mark Fisher


Books Frankly Nicola Sturgeon August 14, Macmillan The former first minister of Scotland gets introspective as she looks back at her time in politics, from a working-class childhood in Ayrshire to steering a course through an independence referendum, Brexit and the Covid pandemic. It recounts her interactions with figures including Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Donald Trump as well as her falling out with her mentor, the late Alex Salmond. https://tinyurl.com/2xryms5c


In depth The influential Mary Whitehouse


Caroline Bird is flicking through her reading list. She picks up copies of Mightier than the Sword, Quite Contrary and Whatever Happened to Sex?, all of them written by that moral guardian, Mary Whitehouse. It’s an embarrassing


collection, one the playwright keeps out of the sight of visitors. But it is necessary, too, because of her new play, The Last Stand of Mrs Mary Whitehouse. Pivotal is the private


prosecution brought by the Christian activist against Gay News. In 1977, Whitehouse


went to the Old Bailey, accusing the newspaper of blasphemous libel for publishing The Love that Dares to Speak its Name, a


24 | theJournalist


poem by the late James Kirkup. In a blow for press freedom, her prosecution was successful. “It was the perfect


battle for Mary Whitehouse,” says Bird, who wrote the lead role for actor Maxine Peake. “It allowed her to


confirm to the public what she had been trying to impress on them in her books and talks, which was that homosexuality was the


work of the devil and was a mental illness.” It has been tough to


write about a campaigner whose views she detests – “My wife said it was having a weird effect on my psychology” – but, in the interests of drama, she has forced herself to see Whitehouse’s perspective. “This was a far-from-


ordinary woman,” she says. “She was so forensic,


detailed and clever in her ideology against homosexuality. And she had a huge effect on culture and policy. “In order to write a


play, I needed to understand her, what made her so immovable, what formed her beliefs and what she felt she was doing.”


She adds: “If I came to


see a Mary Whitehouse play, I would be expecting to see a simple villain of the piece, but simple villains are easy to vanquish. “Mary Whitehouse


truly believed she was a force for good and that’s what made her so dangerous.” It is striking how


attitudes have changed – and also how they have not, she adds. “I’ve learnt a lot,


but I’ve also been taken aback by how much sounds familiar.”


The Last Stand of Mrs Mary Whitehouse, Nottingham Playhouse, September 5–27, https://tinyurl. com/25rjl6e3


Contested Commons Katrina Navickas September 1, Reaktion Books Subtitled A History of Protest and Public Space in England, this study charts the increasing restrictions on public protest, using examples of marches and rallies by trades unions, suffragettes, anti-fascist campaigners and black rights activists. https://tinyurl.com/22s6xtxu


Comedy Josie Long: Now Is the Time of Monsters September 6–December 12 The Glasgow-based stand-up and


broadcaster tries to reconcile her gift for making people laugh with the threat of climate disaster. Can we stay alive to the wonder of nature without being overwhelmed by the thought of losing everything? www.josielong.com


Rosie Jones: I Can’t Tell What She’s Saying On tour September 9–December 4 With the sitcom, Pushers, now under her belt, the comedian riffs on being single, having to be a spokesperson and, er, gravy. She’ll also be raising the profile of her Rosie Jones Foundation, which provides mental health support for those living with cerebral palsy. https://rosiejonescomedy.com


Exhibitions Lee Miller Tate Britain London October 2–February 15 The photographer, recently celebrated in a film starring Kate Winslet, is given a major retrospective. The 250 images, including some never previously displayed, span her work in fashion, war, travel and surrealist art. https://tinyurl.com/2xnekv52


Steve Pyke: Scribendi Photo Museum Ireland, Dublin, October 9–November 2 Specialising in black-and-white portraits, the Leicester-born photographer has been visiting Ireland since the 1980s, building this collection of 70 images of Irish writers, including Edna O’Brien, Roddy Doyle and Seamus Heaney. https://tinyurl.com/2839o4no


Cecil Beaton’s Fashionable World National Portrait Gallery, London, October 9–January 11 The man known as the king of Vogue is credited for turning fashion photography into an art form. This exhibition celebrates the side of his career that encapsulated everything from the jazz age to the Hollywood glamour of My Fair Lady. https://tinyurl.com/25oh8sxd


Festivals Dublin Festival of History September 26–October 12 The free festival of talks and tours, running at the same time as the Dublin Theatre Festival, brings together Irish and international historians to help make connections between past and present. https://tinyurl.com/2d7kmgou


Liverpool Irish Festival October 16–26 Artists, activists and academics come together to explore the port’s Irish roots with a line-up that stretches from folk sessions to the app-based Liverpool Irish Famine Trail. https://tinyurl.com/2bcvycl7


Films Sorry, Baby From August 14 Getting a wider release after opening the Edinburgh International Film


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