'An Intervention' by Mike Bartlett
22 April 2014
I
worried a little when I discovered that Mike Bartlett's new play 'An
Intervention', which we saw at Watford Palace Theatre last Saturday,
runs without an interval, takes place mostly in front of curtains
(“like Morecambe and Wise or Abbott and Costello”) and has just
two characters, designated 'A' and 'B' – who “can be played by
actors of any age, gender or ethnicity”. But 'An Intervention' is a
very accessible, clever and impressive piece of theatre. It's a
funny, thought-provoking and disturbing two-hander – excellently
acted by Rachael Stirling and John Hollingworth in a Paines Plough
and Watford Palace Theatre production, directed by James Grieve. We
last saw Rachael Stirling in Mike Bartlett’s contemporary version
of ‘Medea', also at Watford Palace Theatre (reviewed here in
November 2012), and she is a wonderful stage actor. 'An Intervention'
looks at what happens when you hate your best friend. Can friendship
survive when one of you supports the proposed military intervention
in a Middle East conflict and the other is on the anti-war protest?
And how much of the ensuing argument is really personal rather than
political? Mike Bartlett's play has plenty of dark humour and a
contemporary everyday ordinariness that reminded me of Patrick
Marber's 'Closer', but it is a serious work that looks at its themes
in a very theatrical way. Intriguing and entertaining – an
excellent production.Labels: Drama, Theatre
Feydeau's 'Every Last Trick' in a new version by Tamsin Oglesby
22 April 2014
I first encountered the inspired lunacy of Spymonkey through their wonderfully silly stage show 'Oedipussy' (reviewed here in February 2012). Last Friday I was back at the Royal Theatre, Northampton, to see two of the four members of Spymonkey tackling a classic Feydeau farce in a new version by Tamsin Oglesby. 'Every Last Trick' was a Royal and Derngate production, directed by Told by an Idiot's Paul Hunter. It was a very impressive combination of physical theatre, clowning, dancing and singing. There were some incredibly funny moments (and some hilarious corpsing!). But 'Every Last Trick' felt a little like a work in progress and I wonder whether there were simply too many creative cooks involved in its preparation. The strict rules of farce seemed to get a bit lost along the way. Nevertheless, it was a very enjoyable experience which was rapturously received by a packed audience.
Labels: Drama, Theatre
'Longbourn' by Jo Baker
17 April 2014
Jane
Austen's novels must have generated more sequels, prequels, parodies
and imitators than any others, but Jo Baker's wonderful novel
'Longbourn' stands out from the crowd. 'Longbourn', which I have just
finished reading as an unabridged audio book narrated by Emma
Fielding, revisits characters and scenes from 'Pride and Prejudice'
from the point of view of the Bennetts' servants. As with Tom
Stoppard's 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead', for everyone
familiar with the original, there is great pleasure to be had from
discovering what happened in between the bits we know. And Jo Baker
is very good at demonstrating how little those below stairs notice or
understand about events which appear so momentous in Austen's story.
But 'Longbourn' succeeds so well because it is a complete novel in
its own right, with a self-contained plot – an achingly painful
love story – that would make it an enjoyable and satisfying read
even if you had never heard of 'Pride and Prejudice'. 'Longbourn' is
a very modern novel, but completely true to its period setting. It is
beautifully written, without succumbing to the temptation to imitate
Austen's prose style. Jo Baker evokes the harsh realities of a
servant's life and explores some of the darker questions beneath the
polite society of Jane Austen's world. Revealing that Mr Bingley's
wealth comes from sugar, she explores the role of slavery – which
makes for interesting comparisons with those in service in England.
The arrival of the army in Meriton takes us on a journey into the
horrors of an ordinary soldier's experiences in the European wars.
But all this is done without any knowing, contemporary sneering:
'Longbourn' tells it how it was and allows the readers to draw their
own conclusions. One of the most intriguing revelations concerns the
relationship between Mr and Mrs Bennett. From 'Pride and Prejudice'
(and more so in many of its film and TV adaptations) Mr Bennett
appears to be a saint, while his wife is an incredibly irritating
comic character. It is tempting to wonder how they ever got together.
Jo Baker paints a much more sympathetic portrait of Mrs Bennett and
shows a darker, but sadly believable, side to her husband.
'Longbourn' is a clever, fascinating and moving novel – highly
recommended. Labels: Books
Northampton Symphony Orchestra concert
11 April 2014
Accompanying a soloist in a concerto is always a difficult discipline for an orchestra. Maintaining balance often requires considerable restraint from the orchestra and the need to follow the soloist's fluctuations of speed can be a significant challenge for the conductor. In the Northampton Symphony Orchestra's concert last Saturday we had the privilege of accompanying the amazing violinist Clare Howick in a performance of Elgar's 'Violin Concerto'. Less well-known but very similar to the Elgar Cello Concerto, this romantic and dramatic work twists and turns the tempo in almost every bar. Clare Howick gave a stunning performance, and it was very exciting to accompany her, but the concentration required throughout the concerto (which lasts nearly 50 minutes) was exhausting. In the second half of the concert we performed Brahms' 'Symphony No. 1', a very 'classical' symphony that feels like supercharged Beethoven. There is a deceptive simplicity to the piece which reveals more and more as you get to know it and builds to a very exciting finale. I think we gave a very strong performance and it was an extremely enjoyable concert.
Labels: Concerts, Music
Milton Keynes Sinfonia workshop - ''Sinfonietta' by Leoš Janácek
3 April 2014
As regular readers may remember, I first came across the 'Sinfonietta' by Leoš Janácek in 2007 (reviewed here in October 2007). Last weekend I finally got the opportunity to play the Sinfonietta, in a workshop day at the Open University, organised by Milton Keynes Sinfonia. Following the success of last year's workshop on 'The Rite of Spring' (reviewed here in May 2013), players from Milton Keynes Sinfonia and other local orchestras gathered on Sunday morning to tackle the very different demands of the Janácek work, under the guidance of conductor David Knight. It was a very enjoyable and sociable day – with plenty of tea and cake! - and it was lovely getting to know this wonderful piece of music better by playing it. We finished the afternoon with a very passable informal performance of the Sinfonietta. I'm looking forward to the next MKS workshop.
Labels: Concerts, Music
The Lake District
3 April 2014
We had a lovely week in the Lake District. The weather was cold but mostly sunny and we enjoyed some stunning walks. We were staying in a cottage in the village of Uldale, near Caldbeck, North of Keswick, so we mainly explored the Northern parts of the Lake District. We walked around Buttermere and up Sale Fell, overlooking Bassenthwaite Lake. We did a coastal walk at Silloth and visited the popular tourist haunts of Grasmere and Rydal. We particularly enjoyed driving over the spectacular Honister and Kirkstone passes. We also enjoyed some wonderful meals and would recommend the Quince & Medlar vegetarian restaurant in Cockermouth and the Overwater Hall Hotel restaurant near Ireby.
Labels: Holidays
'Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities’ adapted by Mike Poulton
18 March 2014
On Saturday
we were at the Royal Theatre in Northampton to see 'Charles Dickens’ A Tale of
Two Cities’ – a new adaptation by Mike Poulton, with incidental music by Rachel
Portman. This was the first production we have seen directed by the Royal &
Derngate’s new Artistic Director, James Dacre, and it was great to see him
building on some of the key characteristics of his illustrious predecessors –
creating a set which appeared to have escaped from the stage and started to
colonise the auditorium (much like Rupert Goold might have done), and using a
‘community cast’ of local students and amateur actors to provide crowds and
extras to support the professional leads (a feature of many of Laurie Sansom’s
Northampton productions). ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ was impressive, effective and
enjoyable – whipping through the story at a rapid pace with a swagger and
well-judged humour that never detracted from the seriousness of the situation. I
particularly liked the sinister appearance of Mairead McKinley’s Madame Defarge
in one of the theatre’s boxes, overlooking events on the stage, and knitting
furiously throughout.Labels: Drama, Theatre
St Albans Symphony Orchestra concert
13 March 2014
I've played 'An Alpine Symphony' by Richard Strauss twice - in a workshop day with the Northampton Symphony Orchestra and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in 2000 and last year in a workshop in Bedford (reviewed here in October 2013) but I've never seen the piece performed. This is hardly surprising, given the gargantuan forces the symphony requires. It's an incredibly ambitious undertaking for any orchestra, so I was intrigued to see how the St Albans Symphony Orchestra would cope with the challenge in St Albans Abbey last Saturday. The concert opened with 'From the Apocalypse' - a dramatic piece based on 'The Book of Revelation' - by Anatoly Liadov, a Russian composer who was a pupil of Rimsky-Korsakov. We were then treated to a stunning performance of Mendelssohn's 'Violin Concerto' by the exciting young violinist Charlotte Scott, who brought a mixture of passion and delicacy to the concerto. In the loudest passages she arched her back and leaned her head back in the manner of the lead guitarist in a rock band with one foot on the amp. And in the fiendishly difficult quiet waterfalls of notes she bent forward over her violin in intense concentration, her bow bouncing across the strings in perfect metronomic rhythm. The second half of the concert saw the stage packed with extra players for ' An Alpine Symphony'. Merely scaling Strauss's mountain of a symphony and descending again safely without having to stop and restart would represent a considerable achievement. This was a very impressive performance which built to several jaw-dropping climaxes at which it must have been amazing to be conductor Bjorn Bantock, with both arms aloft, unleashing an avalanche of sound. I naturally took a particular interest in the orchestra's horn section and I was very impressed by the principal horn player, Stephen Orriss, who played the impossibly high solo lines wonderful, even towards the end of this mammoth work.Labels: Concerts, Music
'Piano Trio in E minor' (Op 118) by Edwin York Bowen
7 March 2014
This
week I have been playing Brahms and listening to York Bowen – and
being struck by the similarities. The Northampton Symphony Orchestra
has started to rehearse Brahms' 'Symphony No 1', which we are to
perform in Northampton at the beginning of April. I'm enjoying the
final movement horn solo and practising hard to ensure I am ready for
it. I've long had a soft spot for the chamber music of the early 20th
century English composer Edwin York Bowen, perhaps because he played
the horn (among other instruments). His 'Quintet in C minor for Horn
& String Quartet' is a lovely piece – gentle, romantic and
tuneful. This week I have been listening to his splendid 'Piano Trio
in E minor' (Op 118) (from the album York Bowen Chamber Works Volume 2 by Endymion) which has touches of both Brahms and
Rachmaninov. Labels: Music
