PAUL DONOVAN is chilled by the contemporary resonance of Harper Lee’s coming of age tale amidst racism and white supremacy in this excellent production
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Book: Clearing the fog of a war
Jonathan Hicks, two-thirds of the way through a trilogy of novels on the first world war, tells Paul Simon why we need new perspectives on the conflict as its 100th anniversary draws near
GEOFF BOTTOMS recommends the unashamedly light-hearted escapism on offer in this stage version of the 1963 film
Full of mysterious religious references and radical sound design, the Scottish duo’s new offering is candidate for album of the year, suggests SIMON DUFF
MARY CONWAY revels in a powerful reminder that human lives are not defined by physical perfection
PAUL DONOVAN recommends the fine performances in this account of the pre-war meeting between the US president and the British king
TECLYN AROD relishes an intimate celebration of jazz improvisation that mixes local and national musicians
As well as being an emerging fiction writer of considerable talent, Jonathan Hicks is also head teacher at a Cardiff comprehensive and a military historian.
As such, he's as well entitled as any to voice his doubts about the perils of next year's centenary marking the start of the conflict.
"I do come across well-intentioned folk who want to turn commemoration and remembrance into something akin to popular entertainment," he tells me.
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MARJORIE MAYO welcomes an account of family life after Oscar Wilde, a cathartic exercise, written by his grandson
WILL DRY speaks to three former members of the armed forces about the political hypocrisy surrounding Armistice Day, how war is a function of class society, and the far right’s use of militarism and nationalism to divide working people
ANDY HEDGECOCK relishes an exuberant blend of emotion and analysis that captures the politics and contrarian nature of the French composer