'The Winter's Tale' by William Shakespeare
27 November 2015
On Thursday I was at Leighton Buzzard Theatre to see the live screening of the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company production of 'The Winter's Tale' from the Garrick Theatre in London. It was great to see Branagh on stage again: his performance as Leontes reminded me of seeing him in Chekhov’s ‘Ivanov’ (reviewed here in September 2008). He is a very physical performer, his whole body crumpling as he discovers the devastating news of his son's death. It was also wonderful to see Judi Dench as Paulina, exuding a moral authority but also a mischievous humour. Kenneth Branagh and Rob Ashford previously co-directed the 2013 Manchester International Festival production of Macbeth (reviewed here in July 2013). Their 'Winter's Tale' felt like a fairly old-fashioned production, without many bells and whistles, with the focus on the acting – which was of a universally high standard. And the 'exit pursued by a bear' – so often a risible moment – used video projection to make it savagely frightening.
Labels: Drama, Film, Theatre
Bellowhead
27 November 2015
As a result of the recent attacks at the Bataclan in Paris, we arrived at the Riverside Theatre in Aylesbury on Sunday to discover a massive queue down the street, waiting to go through newly introduced security checks to get into the Bellowhead concert. This was my last chance to see Bellowhead, now well into their farewell tour before disbanding after 12 years together. I have written often here about English folk music's unique 'big band' and it was wonderful to see them one last time on Sunday. Support was provided by Keston Cobblers Club – a great young band who sound a lot like Beirut (reviewed here in November 2006 and October 2007). Bellowhead were on top form, playing for more than an hour and half, with the audience eating out of their hands. They sounded magnificent and all eleven musicians looked like they were having a ball. The recent English folk music revival has been strongly influenced by many musicians whose parents were part of the last great folk revival in the 1960s, and who have grown up in folk music families whilst assimilating a wide range of pop and rock music. When the duo Spiers and Boden, themselves already established folk music stars, invented a folk big band which brought together musicians from folk, classical and jazz backgrounds they created a unique sound. They may not always have pleased folk purists but when we look back on this golden period in English folk music I suspect Bellowhead will be remembered as its iconic band and I will be proud to be able to say I saw them.
Labels: Concerts, Music
Bedford Choral Society concert
27 November 2015
On Saturday I was at Bedford Corn Exchange for my first concert with the Bedford Sinfonia, accompanying Bedford Choral Society in a programme of music by Mendelssohn. Mendelssohn's 'Symphony No 2, Hymn of Praise (Lobgesang)' is a mammoth work in eleven movements – a hybrid symphony-cantata. The movements vary in style and musical forces, featuring three vocal soloists and passages of recitative. We also played 'Die erste Walpurgisnacht' – a later Mendelssohn cantata with a similar structure. Conductor Ian Smith very effectively corralled the orchestra, chorus and soloists and the tenor Ben Thapa stood out with a particularly expressive performance.
Labels: Concerts, Music
Northampton Symphony Orchestra concert
18 November 2015
When the programme was originally chosen, no-one could have anticipated the poignancy our Northampton Symphony Orchestra French-themed concert was going to have last Saturday – less than 24 hours after the Paris attacks. Our new regular conductor, John Gibbons, introduced the concert by asking for a minute's silence to reflect on the devastating events in France. Emerging from the silence, the pianissimo side drum rhythm at the start of Ravel's 'Bolero' can never have sounded so eerie and Andrea Patis's opening flute solo was particularly moving. The concert showcased some magnificent flute playing, with former NSO member Jenny Dyson appearing as the soloist in the 'Flute Concerto' by Jacques Ibert. Jenny gave a stunning performance of this fiendishly difficult piece in which she always appeared totally in command. Sadly the orchestra's leader, Stephen Hague, was unable to play in the concert as the result of an accident but this meant that the duet between the solo flute and violin in the slow movement of the concerto featured our former leader, Trevor Dyson, beautifully accompanying his own daughter. Ravel was the main focus of the concert with 'La Valse' closing the first half, followed after the interval by Ravel's orchestration of Mussorgsky's 'Pictures at an Exhibition'. 'La Valse' is an amazing piece which uses the Viennese waltz as the basis for a complex, playful and dizzying whirl towards an abrupt conclusion. 'Pictures at an Exhibition' included excellent solos by players throughout the orchestra, led by Nick Bunker's opening trumpet 'Promenade'. The finale, 'The Great Gate of Kiev', was a brilliant, powerful ending to an emotional concert.
Labels: Concerts, Music
'The Phantom of the Opera'
9 November 2015
On Sunday we were at The Stables in Wavendon to the 1925 silent film of 'The Phantom of the Opera' accompanied with live music from the group Minima. This event was part of the national BFI initiative 'LOVE: Films to Fall in Love With… Films to Break Your Heart'. Minima is a four-piece rock band that specialises in writing and performing new scores for silent films. It was fascinating to see this classic horror film, featuring an iconic performance by Lon Chaney, on a big screen with live music. The film has an odd feel for a modern audience: the changes in our attitudes to mental illness and facial disfigurement since 1925 make the plot more uncomfortable than intended but also the exaggerated acting style of silent movies appears unintentionally comic now. The incredibly abrupt ending of the film left the audience more amused than shocked. But there were some truly scary moments: the scene where a giant chandelier falls from the theatre ceiling to crush members of the opera audience felt shockingly real. And the artistic use of shadows in the cellars of the opera house was very effective. Visually the film is stunning, with some amazing crowd scenes. And the Paris Opera itself is the star of the show – a beautiful building, lovingly presented on screen. The black and white film had later been 'colourised' with successive scenes tinted in different colours to emphasise the change of location and mood. But apparently, when the film was originally released in 1925, it contained 17 minutes of colour footage – an early example of Process 2 Technicolor (a two-colour system). The surviving two-colour scene (the Bal Masqué) has a peculiarly psychedelic look that fits the growing panic and hysteria of the plot.
Labels: Film, Music, Theatre
'Slade House' by David Mitchell
9 November 2015
David Mitchell's crazy, brilliant, ridiculous and wonderful book, 'The Bone Clocks' (reviewed here in October 2014) was my Pick of the Year 2014. It was a wonderful surprise therefore to discover, a couple of weeks ago, that David Mitchell was about to publish another new novel so soon after 'The Bone Clocks' – and a delight to learn that 'Slade House' returns to the same (parallel) universe of that previous novel. 'Slade House' (which I read as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Tania Rodrigues and Thomas Judd) is a short ghost story for Halloween 2015 that acts as a bonus DVD extra for fans of 'The Bone Clocks' or a taster for those who haven't read the earlier book. It recounts five episodes, each nine years apart, beginning in 1979 and finishing on 27 October 2015. It was a pleasure to be immersed in David Mitchell's rich prose again. He paints a host of characters, through first person narration, that are each quickly distinct and believable. And he renders each historical period with deft touches and avoidance of cliché. 'Slade House' is a macabre tale that still manages to be engaging and funny. Mitchell is a playful writer, disguising a range of cultural references within the text and reintroducing characters from his previous novels. 'Slade House' contains elements of 'Alice in Wonderland' and Kazuo Ishiguro's evocation of dreaming, 'The Unconsoled'. It's a slight novel and the plot structure is fairly predictable but there was one great twist that I really didn't see coming. It was very enjoyable to return to the world of 'The Bone Clocks' but I hope David Mitchell's next novel will take us into new territory.
Labels: Books
'Gaslight' by Patrick Hamilton
5 November
For those of obsessed by 'The Archers' on BBC Radio 4, the excruciating Rob Titchener's ever-increasing control over his new wife, Helen, is one of those storylines that feels both unbearable and completely compelling drama. So it was intriguing, this week, to see a famous precursor of Rob's psychological marital manipulation in Patrick Hamilton's 1938 play 'Gaslight' – which gave its name to a scientific phenomenon. 'Gaslighting' is defined as “manipulating a person by psychological means into questioning his or her own sanity”. The play is set in 1880 and paints a harrowing picture of the power of the Victorian husband. Lucy Bailey's new production, which we saw at the Royal Theatre in Northampton on Tuesday, uses an exaggerated perspective set by William Dudley to frame a modern take on a very old-fashioned play (owing something, perhaps, to Stephen Daldry's famous production of 'An Inspector Calls'). The inventive use of projection to create an apparently never-ending staircase spiralling high above the stage echoed the sense of panic and entrapment that Bella Manningham feels in her house and in her marriage. An excellent cast (Jonathan Firth, Tara Fitzgerald, Alexandra Guelff and Paul Hunter) was augmented by members of local amateur theatre companies (now, wonderfully, a standard practice at the Royal & Derngate). 'Gaslight' is a disturbing play but avoids descending into melodrama and The Royal & Derngate production is very impressive.
Labels: Drama, Theatre
The Unthanks
5 November 2015
On Saturday we were at The Stables in Wavendon to see The Unthanks. Now celebrating their tenth anniversary, the folk group built around sisters Rachel and Becky Unthank, draws on traditional Northumbrian folk tunes and styles to create beautiful, delicate hybrid music which often feels more like contemporary classical chamber music than folk. Originally known as Rachel Unthank and the Winterset, the band are serial collaborators and have been involved in an impressive list of innovative projects. These include: 'Songs from the Shipyards' – a soundtrack to accompany a documentary film by Richard Fenwick about the history of shipbuilding on the Tyne, Wear and Tees; an album of songs by Robert Wyatt and Antony & The Johnsons; and a UK tour with the Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band. It was fascinating to see them performing live last weekend: their quiet, gentle music definitely benefits from the concentration you more naturally give to a live concert. There was a very high quality of singing and playing and Adrian McNally's arrangements are clever and effective. While their songs demonstrate a wide variety of styles, I did find myself yearning for a few faster tunes amongst the predominantly slow, sad numbers. So it was wonderful to both sisters putting on their clogs for a more upbeat finale. I look forward to seeing watching The Unthanks' second decade.
Labels: Concerts, Music
Tom Robinson
5 November 2015
Last summer's one-off gig by Tom Robinson (reviewed here in August 2014) reminded me how much I like his music. It also reminded him how much he likes performing. After a break of more than ten years Tom Robinson is now touring again, to promote his first new album in twenty years – 'Only The Now'. The 'Mighty Sword Of Justice' tour is also supporting mental health charities including the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM – see:
https://www.thecalmzone.net/) and the Samaritans, who were collecting donations at Tom Robinson's concert at the Public Hall in Harpenden which we were at last Friday. It was great to see Tom performing new material again (as well as his greatest hit). 'Only The Now' contains some wonderful new Tom Robinson songs that demonstrate his experience and skill as a songwriter. The tango which opens the album, 'Home in the Morning' feels instantly like classic Tom Robinson and 'Never Get Old' is a poignant anthem for his return to the rock and roll stage at the age of 65
(“Did you think we'd never get old? Take a good look at me now.”). A range of illustrious friends have contributed to the new recordings. Alongside long-time collaborators Adam Philips and Lee Forsyth Griffiths, 'Only The Now' features appearances by Billy Bragg, Martin Carthy, John Grant and Ian McKellen. Friday's gig drew a large, enthusiastic audience that clearly knew Tom Robinson's back catalogue well but also gave a warm welcome to the new songs. As he did at the Jazz Cafe gig last summer, Tom looked like he was having a ball and seemed genuinely moved by the reception his music received and the affection of the audience. Great to see him back.
Labels: Albums, Concerts, Music
