Posts by Sarah Birch
The 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’
Read MoreLondonia, Kate A. Hardy, book review: ‘Boisterous humour and quirky invention’
If you think coronavirus feels like an alternate reality, sink into this ‘delicious’ post-apocalyptic thriller set in Hackney
Read MoreEast End Canal Tales, Carolyn Clark, book review: ‘Rare glimpse of a bygone world’
Dozens of photos and snippets from horse-drivers, lock keepers and others feature in this social history of East London’s major waterways
Read MoreDarling, it’s not only about sex, Alain Brémond-Torrent, book review: ‘An idiosyncratic insight into Hackney’s creative scene’
Are you hoping to read more widely during the coronavirus lockdown? Look no further than this self-published local novel
Read MoreCoronavirus: Read your way through the streets of Hackney
With Hackney under lockdown, now is a great time to explore the borough through a good book. Here’s a selection to get you started…
Read MoreSharif Persaud: Have You Ever Had, Autograph ABP: ‘Fake sneezing, gangrene – a fascination with the corporeal’
The autistic artist’s first solo show is the revealing culmination of a three-year project on neurodiversity
Read MoreWe Swim to the Shark, Georgie Codd, book review: ‘Subtle insight into the inner psyche and the natural world’
Part autobiography, part travelogue, this debut by the Hackney-based author sees her attempt to conquer her phobia of fish by swimming with the biggest one of all
Read MoreRadical Figures, Whitechapel Gallery: ‘Anxious interrogation of the 21st-century condition’
A collection of works by ten contemporary painters explores themes such as gender discrimination, racism, violence and dislocation
Read MoreJack Left Town, Rosemary Branch, stage review: ‘Deft, jaw-achingly funny improv’
Four comedians channel Spinal Tap in an unscripted show that is ‘well worth a visit’
Read MoreDialogue in the Dark, Space Studios: ‘An hour in total darkness that helps us appreciate different forms of awareness’
A new immersive exhibition on Mare Street enables sighted people to experience what it is like to live with a visual impairment
Read MoreAn Opinionated Guide to Vegan London, Hoxton Mini Press: ‘Highly informative digest of animal-free eating’
The volume features mouth-watering photos, and the section on east London is ‘by far the bulkiest’
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