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Sarah Birch

King Lear, Almeida Theatre, stage review: ‘Ramped-up, sexed-up take on the Shakespeare classic’

Yaël Farber’s adaptation keeps the audience ‘gripped throughout’

By Sarah Birch

/ 19 Feb 2024

King Lear, Almeida Theatre, stage review: ‘Ramped-up, sexed-up take on the Shakespeare classic’

Unravel, Barbican, exhibition review: ‘Expands our appreciation of textiles as art’

Protest and subversion are stand-out themes of a show that features 50 artists from around the world

By Sarah Birch

/ 19 Feb 2024

Unravel, Barbican, exhibition review: ‘Expands our appreciation of textiles as art’

Coming Unstuck, Joe Cullen, book review: ‘An object lesson in how to get out of a rut’

The first prose book by the man known as the Bard of Dalston is a ‘very personal foray into the undergrowth of Cool Britannia’

By Sarah Birch

/ 14 Feb 2024

Coming Unstuck, Joe Cullen, book review: ‘An object lesson in how to get out of a rut’

One Girl Began, Kate Murray-Browne, book review: ‘These women’s lives are all heroic in a small way’

The local author’s new novel explores the lives of three women at different junctures in Hackney’s history

By Sarah Birch

/ 22 Jan 2024

One Girl Began, Kate Murray-Browne, book review: ‘These women’s lives are all heroic in a small way’

One Last Song, Nathan Evans, book review: ‘A delicately oblique love story’

This debut novel by an accomplished poet and performer will have you ‘giggling while reaching for the tissues’

By Sarah Birch

/ 8 Jan 2024

One Last Song, Nathan Evans, book review: ‘A delicately oblique love story’

The Lost Library of Spitalfields Market, Greenhouse Theatre, stage review: ‘A seasonal fairy tale for all ages’

This Christmas play at the UK’s first zero-waste theatre is a ‘perfect antidote to hibernal chill’

By Sarah Birch

/ 6 Dec 2023

The Lost Library of Spitalfields Market, Greenhouse Theatre, stage review: ‘A seasonal fairy tale for all ages’

1984, Hackney Town Hall, stage review: ‘Timely reminder of just how thuggish servants of the people can be’

The borough’s municipal heart is a fitting place for this immersive take on Orwell’s famous novel

By Sarah Birch

/ 28 Oct 2023

1984, Hackney Town Hall, stage review: ‘Timely reminder of just how thuggish servants of the people can be’

Hackney Scars, Eddie Plex, book review: ‘Local spirit of anarchic quirk’

Photographer and multimedia artist Plex offers up a ‘very personal interpretation’ of the borough

By Sarah Birch

/ 23 Oct 2023

Hackney Scars, Eddie Plex, book review: ‘Local spirit of anarchic quirk’

The Disappearance Boy, Neil Bartlett, book review: ‘Utterly compelling’

Bartlett’s tale of illusion and love ‘keeps the reader thoroughly engrossed’

By Sarah Birch

/ 2 Oct 2023

The Disappearance Boy, Neil Bartlett, book review: ‘Utterly compelling’

Street Cries and Traders, Homerton Hospital, exhibition review: ‘Picturesque images of local life’

This selection of 13 images from the London Picture Archive are ‘well worth a peek’

By Sarah Birch

/ 4 Aug 2023

Street Cries and Traders, Homerton Hospital, exhibition review: ‘Picturesque images of local life’

we are a group of people composed of who we are, Peer Gallery, exhibition review: ‘Sure to capture the imagination’

This new show in Hoxton explores the grassroots culture of collective work in Hackney in the 70s and 80s

By Sarah Birch

/ 23 Jun 2023

we are a group of people composed of who we are, Peer Gallery, exhibition review: ‘Sure to capture the imagination’

Osvaldo Licini: Rebellious Angel, Estorick Collection, exhibition review: ‘Playful, whimsical and very moving’

The first UK show dedicated to the 20th-century painter offers visitors a ‘flight of fancy’

By Sarah Birch

/ 14 Jun 2023

Osvaldo Licini: Rebellious Angel, Estorick Collection, exhibition review: ‘Playful, whimsical and very moving’