Posts by Sarah Birch
Peterdown, David Annand, book review: ‘Captivating parable about how we understand place’
The local author’s 600-page debut novel elevates the abstruse business of council planning into an ‘engrossing’ prod at life’s big questions
Read MorePhotographs by young refugees light up Shoreditch for month-long exhibition
Autograph gallery repurposes electronic billboard on Old Street for illuminating #HackneyIsHome project
Read MoreWomen from Hackney’s History, Hackney Society, book review: ‘Testimony to how high women can rise’
This celebration for the upcoming Women’s History Month delves into the achievements of 113 women with connections to the borough
Read MoreInvisible Ink: A Family Memoir, Martha Leigh, book review: ‘Part love story, part history, part meditation’
The Hackney GP’s journey into the lives of her parents ‘probes with admirable delicacy some of the most pressing questions of our era’
Read MoreHomecoming, Luan Goldie, book review: ‘A subtle and engrossing story’
The Stoke Newington-based author explores, in ‘lyrical prose’, the ‘tangle of contemporary identity’
Read MorePrecious You, Helen Monks Takhar, book review: ‘A great lockdown read to gobble up and ponder’
The Stoke Newington author’s first novel is a ‘gloriously dark parable of envy between generations’
Read MoreSnow White in the Seven Months of Lockdown, Charles Court Opera online, stage review: ‘Classic tale with added spice’
The company’s 14th annual panto goes online this year, but still ‘sets you on a path to feeling festive’
Read MoreErin O’Keefe: Certain Things, Seventeen Gallery, exhibition review: ‘Clean in form but subtle in composition’
The New York-based artist’s first solo show on these shores features ‘beguiling tableaux which repay close attention’
Read MoreEat Hackney Vegan Cookbook, Helena Smith: ‘A smorgasbord of food ideas suitable for everyone’
Try your hand at recipes donated by chefs across the borough in support of local causes
Read MoreYushi Li: Women Act, Men Appear, Union Gallery, exhibition review: ‘Nude men and naked female desire’
The photographer’s reversal of gendered power roles is ‘stimulating and thought-provoking’
Read MoreThe Little History of the East End, Dee Gordon, book review: ‘Ambitious and very readable’
The local writer packs six millennia into fewer than 200 pages filled with ‘fascinating detail and lively prose’
Read More100 Great Black Britons, Patrick Vernon and Angelina Osborne, book review: ‘Inspiring and highly entertaining’
This 400-page volume, based on a 16-year campaign to see eminent Black figures officially recognised, is a ‘valuable historical resource’
Read MoreIn Your Face, Paul Trevor, book review: ‘Up close and personal’
Naturalistic photographs alternating between Brick Lane and the City from the late ‘70s to the early ‘90s, this collection leaves the viewer ‘engrossed in detail’
Read MorePloutos, The Space, stage review: ‘Whimsical romp drawing on Greek folk traditions’
This ‘droll moral parable’ was the first in a series of live plays at the Covid-secure Isle of Dogs theatre
Read MorePublic notice, exhibition review: ‘Impressive collection in the warp and weft of our everyday lives’
Curators Kira Wainstein and Holly Pollard bring the work of 18 emerging artists to shop windows across East London
Read MoreToyin Ojih Odutola: A Countervailing Theory, Barbican, exhibition review: ‘Powerful aesthetic and concept’
The Nigerian-American artist’s first UK show imagines a prehistoric world in which gender expectations are reversed
Read MoreUnstilled Life: Artist Animations 1980-2020, Tintype Gallery, exhibition review: ‘Oneiric and thought-provoking’
The local venue presents 13 animated shorts, available online right now, which are ‘well worth a watch’
Read MoreThe Address Book, Deirdre Mask, book review: ‘Timely and fascinating volume’
The local author’s exploration of the meanings behind our street addresses is a ‘must-read’ for anyone who cares about place
Read MoreNeurodiverse artists star in ‘compelling’ online photography exhibition
Leon Foggitt’s portraits for Submit to Love, a programme run by brain injury charity Headway East London, have been shared by Shoreditch gallery Autograph ABP
Read MorePhotography 2020, London Metropolitan University, exhibition review: ‘Dislocation, distortion and fragmented identities’
The university’s annual showcase of final-year photography projects has ‘glided gracefully online’
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