'Twelfth Night’ by William Shakespeare
24 August 2009
We made a final visit to this year’s open-air Shakespeare in the gardens of Woburn Abbey last Friday to see ‘Twelfth Night’ performed by The Lord Chamberlain’s Men. It was an excellent production with an exuberant all-male cast holding the attention of a large audience as the sun sank. Seeing the female parts played by men (as they would have been originally) strangely seemed to make more sense of the conceit of girl dressed as boy – perhaps because here the emphasis of the actor playing Viola as ‘Cesario’ was to persuade us that he was female, whereas a female actor has to convince us that Viola is sufficiently masculine to pass as a boy. I’m not sure whether that makes sense but it worked and was a thoroughly enjoyable evening with Shaun McKee as Viola and Joe Marsh as Olivia particularly impressive and Tom Micklem’s Feste had a great singing voice.
Labels: Drama, Theatre
'Rumba'
24 August 2009
We were back at the Rex cinema in Berkamsted last week to see the recent French film ‘Rumba’. Written by, directed by and starring Dominique Abel and Fiona Gordon, ‘Rumba’ tells the story of two schoolteachers who are also award-winning ballroom dancers and their struggles with adversity. It’s a very physical tragic-comedy with hardly any dialogue – very much in the Jacques Tati style. Indeed the scenes on a beach were a clear homage to ‘Mr Hulot’s Holiday’. The film’s cartoon-like surreal world reminded me of the dark comedy of ‘Delicatessen’ or the animated ‘Belleville Rendez-Vous’. The humour is very bleak and often cruel but it maintains an innocent charm and is extremely funny. Variety described it as being “like an episode of "Sesame Street" scripted by Luis Bunuel and helmed by Jacques Tati”. A quirky treat.
Labels: Film
‘The Brutal Art' by Jesse Kellerman
24 August 2009
I’ve just finished reading ‘The Brutal Art’ – an excellent novel by Jesse Kellerman. A clever interweaving of detective story and family saga, I thought it got the balance between predictability and completely unexpected twists spot on. ‘The Brutal Art’ is the tale of a New York art dealer who, through the discovery of an epic work of interlocking cartoon drawings by an unknown artist (the description of which, for me, sounded a lot like the work of Alasdair Gray) is drawn into trying to solve a confusing murder mystery. An intriguing and gripping read.
Labels: Books
‘Si Tu Dois Partir’ by Ruth Notman
14 August 2009
I am grateful to Steve Heap who let me have an advance copy of Ruth Notman’s new single ‘Si Tu Dois Partir’ – a French language cover of Bob Dylan’s “If You’ve Gotta Go, Go Now” which was a hit for Fairport Convention exactly 40 years ago. I loved Ruth’s debut album, ‘Threads’ (reviewed here in February 2008), and while eagerly awaiting the follow-up (due this autumn) I’ve been playing ‘Si Tu Dois Partir’ over and over: the sound of summer 2009. You can download it for just 79 pence from http://www.amazon.co.uk/Si-Tu-Dois-Partir/dp/B002G6HVUI/ref=dm_ap_alb2?ie=UTF8&qid=1247757506&sr=301-2
‘God Help the Girl’
14 August 2009
Another recent near-concept album which I like a lot is ‘God Help the Girl’ – a project created by Stuart Murdoch of Belle & Sebastian. Intended to become a musical film, the album comprises fourteen standalone songs that follow several recurring characters, each sung by a specific singer. The mainly female cast includes Catherine Ireton, Murdoch himself, Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy and internet contest winner Brittany Stallings. This is light, cheerful, pop music which incorporates influences from 1960s girl groups, stage musicals and 1980s indie.
Labels: Albums, Music
‘The Liberty of Norton Folgate’ by Madness
14 August 2009
I’m very much enjoying the new album by Madness, ‘The Liberty of Norton Folgate’. This is the first new recording by Madness for nearly ten years but it’s been acclaimed by many critics as their best work. The songs take us on a tour of London, sailing close to forming a concept album or even a potential rock opera. Catchy tunes, a variety of styles, idiosyncratic lyrics and the unmistakeable voice of Suggs make the album an easy listen that bears repeated listening. The Word Magazine described it as "Peter Ackroyd writing for The Kinks, it's Sherlock Holmes in Albert Square, it's a Mike Leigh movie of Parklife, it's Passport To Pimlico meets Brick Lane, and it is Madness's masterpiece."
Labels: Albums, Music
'Man of the Moment' by Alan Ayckbourn
5 August 2009
We were back at the Royal Theatre in Northampton on Saturday to see the final play in the Royal's 'Ayckbourn at 70' season - the 1988 play 'Man of the Moment' directed by Alan Ayckbourn himself. 'Man of the Moment' is not often performed because it requires a fairly substantial swimming pool on stage. Chekhov famously said "if in Act I you have a pistol hanging on the wall, then it must fire in the last act" and surely any play featuring a swimming pool will inevitably involve someone falling into it: 'Man of the Moment' does not disappoint with a couple of hilarious comic set-pieces and some very wet actors! The play looks at the nature of celebrity and particularly our tendency to turn villains into celebrities (inspired in part by the Great Train Robbers). In 'Man of the Moment' a television crew are filming the reunion, after nearly thirty years, of a violent bank robber turned TV presenter and the have-a-go hero bank clerk who thwarted him. They meet at a villa in Spain in Ayckbourn's only play to date set in a foreign country. The framing device of the TV filming allows Ayckbourn to question the nature of truth and reality. Typically poignant but considerably less bleak than the other plays in the Northampton season, it was a really enjoyable evening and very funny with a great performance by Kim Wall as the unassuming Douglas Beechey.
