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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Resonant reflections of a great man of the left
John Moore reviews The Best of Benn, edited by Ruth Winstone (Hutchinson, £20)
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
This selection of writings and speeches by Tony Benn, skimming the surface of his archives, reveals his eloquent yet plain-speaking style. It’s devoid of personal attacks on his opponents — Benn was only concerned with the issues.
Benn was a “run-of-the-mill Labour MP,” not a radical socialist, when he entered Parliament in 1950. Nevertheless, he resigned from his first government post because he would not support the first-use of nuclear weapons by Britain.
He became postmaster general and then minister of technology in Harold Wilson’s government but moved steadily to the left in the 1960s. He was strongly influenced by the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders sit-in, which he saw as a lesson in industrial democracy as well as an assertion of the right to work.
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