The shipyard painter, political activist and razor-sharp cartoonist Bob Starrett has just written a new book The Way I See It on his eventful life and times. Below we reprint one of his stories and review an essential read
ENO's production of La Boheme is a triumph,
Star critics cherry-pick some of the best on offer in the weeks to come
Ashford: Music
Sura Susso
Ashford Youth Theatre, Dover Place
May 12
Sura Susso is a jali, a caste of musician-historians common to several African nations, and as a virtuoso kora player, percussionist and singer-songwriter he's made his name promoting traditional music from his griot roots in Gambia as well as absorbing new genres into his own style and his debut album Sila Kang was highly praised in this paper. In this concert he's joined by his sister, the phenomenal vocalist Binta Suso, and Ousman Beyai on guitar.
Croydon: Concert
Guernica Memorial Concert
Friday May 4
Ruskin House, Coombe Road
75 years ago during the Spanish civil war the nazi air force bombed the city of Guernica, killing 1,650. This concert marks that anniversary and pays tribute to the British and Irish volunteeers of the International Brigade and features Bernard Sullivan on Spanish guitar, na-mara - republican songs from the war - and the Hispanic folk group Los Amigos.
Glasgow: Events
May Day
Venues throughout city
May 4-6
The new organisation Glasgow Friends of MayDay is promoting a great range of events in the city to celebrate May Day. They include a major concert of comedy, music and poetry with musicians Arthur Johnstone and Dave Anderson, comedian Bruce Morton, poets Tom Leonard and Marc Livingstone and rising young comedienne Eleanor Morton, above. Other highlights include a Cuban art show, a Northern Soul night, a showing of Ken Loach's previously unreleased Save The Children film and a cultural debate on music and the working class as part of the Morning Star's cultural series. The popular A Play, A Pie And A Pint also features.
www.maydayglasgow2012.eventbrite.co.uk
London: Theatre
Richard III
Globe Theatre, Bankside Pier
April 28 and 29
One of the Bard's most notorious villains Richard III is the Shakespeare play of choice to be performed by the National Theatre of China on their first momentous visit to Britain. The company, which stages work in three different performance spaces in Beijing, works with the finest playwrights and directors in China and their trailblazing productions show the new face of 21st-century Chinese theatre. This production is directed by the theatre's associate director Wang Xiaoying. Highly recommended.
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