'The Ninth Life of Louis Drax' by Liz Jensen
31 May 2013
There's
a rich dramatic sub-genre based within the mind of someone suffering
from a coma. The dreamlike possibilities have inspired surreal worlds
between the living and the dead, for example in 'A Matter of Life and
Death' or 'Life on Mars'. One of the best of these coma-dramas is
'Vent' – a dark radio comedy by Nigel Smith which ran for three
series on BBC Radio 4 between 2006 and 2009. 'Vent' is a wonderfully
inventive, poignant, funny and moving drama with an excellent cast,
including Neil Pearson, Fiona Allen, Josie Lawrence and Leslie Ash.
The use of sound-effects, music, flashbacks and dream sequences
create an experience that could only have been achieved on radio. And
the fact that Nigel Smith was writing from his own experience of
being in a coma makes the whole thing even more fascinating. 'Vent'
is currently being repeated on BBC Radio 4Extra. I was reminded of
'Vent' while reading Liz Jensen's novel 'The Ninth Life of Louis
Drax' – an enjoyable macabre psychological thriller. As well as
exploring the possibilities of a character in a coma, Liz Jensen uses
sections of first person narration in the naïve voice of a young boy
which made me think of Mark Haddon's 'The Curious Incident of the Dog
in the Night-time' but she combines this with a chilling plot that
explores the relationship between a mother and her son that also
reminded me of 'We need to talk about Kevin' by Lionel Shriver
(reviewed here in August 2006). 'The Ninth Life of Louis Drax' is a
clever, gripping and sinister thriller.Labels: Books, Comedy, Drama, Radio
Freiburg Baroque Orchestra concert
21 May 2013
A
heart-meltingly exquisite rendition of the final gentle aria from
Handel's oratorio 'Il trionfo del Tempo e della Verità' was a
sublime way to end a lovely concert at St John's Smith Square in
London last Saturday. This was the encore by soprano Carolyn Sampson
with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, directed from the violin by Anne
Katharina Schreiber, at the end of a concert of music by Vivaldi,
Handel and Telemann with a seagoing theme. The concert was the final
event in this year's Lufthansa Festival of Baroque Music. The
Freiburgers play standing up and were fascinating to watch – their
choreography demonstrating the excitement of baroque music that can
sometimes seem too restrained. Carolyn Sampson is a stunning singer –
particularly in the quieter arias – and got a rapturous reception
from a packed and knowledgeable audience. Labels: Concerts, Music
‘Little Shop of Horrors’ by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman
16 May 2013
Wikipedia
describes ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman as a “comedy
horror rock musical” – which, if you examine the links closely is actually two
genres “comedy horror” and “rock musical”, each of which have their own
Wikipedia entries. I’ve always had a soft spot for ‘Little Shop of Horrors’,
having discovered it while at university, when the 1986Frank Oz film came out.
It was ‘The Rocky Horror Show’ for those who were uncomfortable without the overt
sexuality and transvestism. It was ‘Sweeney Todd’ with catchy 1960s girl group songs.
So I was looking forward to seeing the new production of ‘Little Shop of
Horrors’ by our award-winning local amateur theatre group, TADS, in Toddington
last weekend and I wasn’t disappointed. I think the two lead actors were both
new to TADS and I suspect they had been headhunted for this production. Barry
Hyde made Seymour a suitably nerdy, naïve and sympathetic hero and Leanne White
was excellent as Audrey – with an impressively consistent over-the-top New Yoik
accent. But the star of the show was Audrey II – the man-eating, soul-singing
flytrap – constructed for Sue Sachon’s TADS production by Jake Dudley, David
Sachon and Gobstoppers in Berhamsted, operated by Mark Normoyle and voiced by
Jonathan Alexander Sachon. Remember, “whatever they offer you, don’t feed the
plants!”.Labels: Musicals, Theatre
Brussels
16 May 2013
We had a
lovely few days in Brussels last week. Our hotel was a few minutes’ walk from
the Grand Place – the historic centre of the city. The narrow lanes and enclosed
arcades around the Grand Place are very pretty and contain a host of very
expensive chocolatiers. I particularly enjoyed the Musical Instrument Museum
which is housed in a wonderful Art Nouveau former department store on the Mont
des Arts. The museum provides infra-red headsets which allow you to hear each
of the historic instruments playing as you approach them. I was fascinated by
the bizarre seven-bell trombone created by Adolphe Sax (see: http://www.mim.be/sites/default/files/instruments/trombone%20sax%201288.jpg)
. We also visited the magnificent
Museum des Beaux Arts which boasts an
extensive collection of 17th and 18th century Flemish
paintings including works by Brueghel and Hieronymus Bosch. Brussels is
renowned for its restaurants and we had some wonderful meals. Labels: Exhibitions, Holidays
Milton Keynes Sinfonia workshop - 'The Rite of Spring' by Igor Stravinsky
3 May 2013
Stravinsky’s ‘The
Rite of Spring’ may no longer shock in the way it did at its first performance
(almost exactly one hundred years ago, on 29 May 1913) but it is still a
powerful and emotional work whose supreme challenges attract orchestras like
the Matterhorn attracts mountaineers. It is rare for an amateur orchestra to
have the opportunity to scale such perilous peaks so it was great to discover
that Milton Keynes Sinfonia was planning a one-day Rite of Spring workshop.
Last Sunday morning I was among nearly one hundred amateur musicians who assembled
in the Hub Theatre in the Open University campus in Milton Keynes to spend a
very enjoyable day trying to conquer Stravinsky’s complex and confusing
rhythms. ‘The Rite of Spring’ requires a mammoth orchestra including 8 horns, 2
Wagner tubas, 6 trumpets, a bass trumpet, alto flute, 2 contra-bassoons and all
manner of unusual percussion instruments. Starting with a nervous ‘play-through’
at 10.30 am, by 4.00 pm we were ready for a complete ‘performance’ which went
surprisingly well. This is a great tribute to the skills of our conductor,
David Knight, whose enthusiastic and encouraging coaching pulled all the
strands together. Labels: Concerts, Music
