19 December 2017
I’ve just finished watching ‘Dark’ – the first German language commission from Netflix. This 10-part TV serial is a science-fiction thriller set in a small town in southern Germany. Superficially it has a lot in common with that other Netflix hit ‘Stranger Things’ (reviewed here in August 2016 and November 2017) but ‘Dark’ is much, well, darker. ‘Dark’ is written by Jantje Friese and directed by Baran bo Odar. It soon becomes clear that this is a time travel tale with an incredibly complex plot. To follow it you need to piece together a jigsaw involving three family trees over at least three generations, as you encounter many of the family members at several points in their lives – but not in the order you would expect. This family saga aspect, set in a small German town, reminded me of Edgar Reitz’s epic ‘Heimat’ films. ‘Dark’ also has elements of ‘Back to the Future’ and Steven Moffat’s brilliant 2007 Doctor Who episode, ‘Blink’ (starring Carey Mulligan). I really enjoyed the challenge of trying to unpick the complicated plot and it was terribly satisfying to work out some of the connections and twists just before they were revealed. The acting is great and the casting of the younger and older versions of each character is amazing. Highly recommended, with two caveats: don’t be tempted to binge-watch – you will need time between episodes to process what on earth is going on!; and make sure you select the original German-language version with subtitles rather than suffering the dubbed American voices.
Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Wednesday, December 13, 2017
'Antony & Cleopatra' by William Shakespeare
13 December 2017
On Tuesday I was at the Barbican in London to see the Royal Shakespeare Company production of ‘Antony & Cleopatra’ starring Antony Byrne and Josette Simon. Incredibly, I last saw Josette Simon on stage in 1995 as Katherina in Mihai Maniutiu’s brilliant production of ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ at Leicester Haymarket. 22 years later, she is still a striking, mercurial performer, playing a capricious Cleopatra with a childlike playfulness and petulance. I had never previously seen ‘Antony & Cleopatra’. It’s one of those Shakespeare plays that relies on people immediately and unquestioningly believing the word of a messenger who arrives to tell them someone has died – without any evidence of the veracity of the message. But the central relationship between Mark Anthony and the Queen of Egypt is very believable and well played in Iqbal Khan’s production. I also liked Ben Allen who plays Octavius Caesar as a public schoolboy who feels upset and disappointed when his opponents won’t play fair. The original music, composed by Laura Mvula, is an interesting mix of rock, folk and classical which uses a worldless female singer (Zara McFarlane) to create a mystical, ancient world feel.
On Tuesday I was at the Barbican in London to see the Royal Shakespeare Company production of ‘Antony & Cleopatra’ starring Antony Byrne and Josette Simon. Incredibly, I last saw Josette Simon on stage in 1995 as Katherina in Mihai Maniutiu’s brilliant production of ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ at Leicester Haymarket. 22 years later, she is still a striking, mercurial performer, playing a capricious Cleopatra with a childlike playfulness and petulance. I had never previously seen ‘Antony & Cleopatra’. It’s one of those Shakespeare plays that relies on people immediately and unquestioningly believing the word of a messenger who arrives to tell them someone has died – without any evidence of the veracity of the message. But the central relationship between Mark Anthony and the Queen of Egypt is very believable and well played in Iqbal Khan’s production. I also liked Ben Allen who plays Octavius Caesar as a public schoolboy who feels upset and disappointed when his opponents won’t play fair. The original music, composed by Laura Mvula, is an interesting mix of rock, folk and classical which uses a worldless female singer (Zara McFarlane) to create a mystical, ancient world feel.
Milton Keynes Sinfonia concert
13 December 2017
There was much disappointment last Sunday when the annual Northampton Symphony Orchestra Christmas Cracker concert had to be cancelled because of the snow. It’s the first time in the 17 years I have played in the orchestra that we have cancelled a concert. A great shame for everyone who had been looking forward to dressing up as their favourite hero or villain (the members of the orchestra as much as the children in the audience!) Fortunately the snow arrived on Sunday morning and didn’t affect the Milton Keynes Sinfonia concert which I was playing in on Saturday evening. I made one of my occasional appearances with Milton Keynes Sinfonia in a popular programme which included the Sibelius Violin Concerto, played by the exciting young soloist Charlotte Moseley, and Tchaikovsky’s ‘Symphony No 5’. I was ‘bumping’ the 1st horn part to allow the Principal Horn player, Kate Knight, to concentrate on a beautiful performance of the big horn solo in the slow movement of the symphony. Tchaikovsky 5 is a very exciting piece to play but must be one of the most exhausting works in the repertoire: by the end of the last movement I was relying on Kate to support me as my stamina waned. It was a lovely concert and it was great to see a packed audience at the Church of Christ the Cornerstone in Milton Keynes.
There was much disappointment last Sunday when the annual Northampton Symphony Orchestra Christmas Cracker concert had to be cancelled because of the snow. It’s the first time in the 17 years I have played in the orchestra that we have cancelled a concert. A great shame for everyone who had been looking forward to dressing up as their favourite hero or villain (the members of the orchestra as much as the children in the audience!) Fortunately the snow arrived on Sunday morning and didn’t affect the Milton Keynes Sinfonia concert which I was playing in on Saturday evening. I made one of my occasional appearances with Milton Keynes Sinfonia in a popular programme which included the Sibelius Violin Concerto, played by the exciting young soloist Charlotte Moseley, and Tchaikovsky’s ‘Symphony No 5’. I was ‘bumping’ the 1st horn part to allow the Principal Horn player, Kate Knight, to concentrate on a beautiful performance of the big horn solo in the slow movement of the symphony. Tchaikovsky 5 is a very exciting piece to play but must be one of the most exhausting works in the repertoire: by the end of the last movement I was relying on Kate to support me as my stamina waned. It was a lovely concert and it was great to see a packed audience at the Church of Christ the Cornerstone in Milton Keynes.
Thursday, December 07, 2017
'Symphony No 4' by Sergei Taneyev
7 December 2017
I am grateful to Lee Dunleavy for recommending, on FaceBook, the 4th Symphony by Sergei Taneyev which I have been listening to this week (in the Naxos recording by the Novosibirsk Academic Symphony Orchestra conducted by Thomas Sanderling). I must admit I had never heard of Taneyev, a Russian composer born in 1856 who died in 1915. He he studied piano at the Moscow Conservatory with Rubinstein and composition with Tchaikovsky, who became a close friend. Taneyev later taught at the Conservatory himself, where his pupils included Rachmaninov. He wrote four symphonies, although the first three were not published until long after his death. Symphony No 4 was published in 1901 (as No 1) is a powerful, romantic work which shows the influence of Tchaikovsky and also reminded me of another Russian work, ‘Symphony No 5 (The Heroic)’ by Alexander Glazunov which I played with Northampton Symphony Orchestra earlier this year (reviewed here in March 2017). I am definitely going to listen to more Taneyev.
I am grateful to Lee Dunleavy for recommending, on FaceBook, the 4th Symphony by Sergei Taneyev which I have been listening to this week (in the Naxos recording by the Novosibirsk Academic Symphony Orchestra conducted by Thomas Sanderling). I must admit I had never heard of Taneyev, a Russian composer born in 1856 who died in 1915. He he studied piano at the Moscow Conservatory with Rubinstein and composition with Tchaikovsky, who became a close friend. Taneyev later taught at the Conservatory himself, where his pupils included Rachmaninov. He wrote four symphonies, although the first three were not published until long after his death. Symphony No 4 was published in 1901 (as No 1) is a powerful, romantic work which shows the influence of Tchaikovsky and also reminded me of another Russian work, ‘Symphony No 5 (The Heroic)’ by Alexander Glazunov which I played with Northampton Symphony Orchestra earlier this year (reviewed here in March 2017). I am definitely going to listen to more Taneyev.
Wednesday, November 29, 2017
'Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz' by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman
29 November 2017
Some time in 2001 I heard someone on the radio talking about a novel that was going to tell the story of the childhood of the Wicked Witch of the West from L Frank Baum’s ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’. Even though the book had not yet been published in the UK, I was hooked by the concept. During a trip to Seattle in 2002 I bought a copy of 'Wicked' by Gregory Maguire at the wonderful Elliot Bay Book Company store and I loved it. It has since become a bestseller and spawned a Broadway musical, which has now been running at the Apollo Victoria in London for 11 years. Last Saturday I finally got around to going to see it. I think I had been put off by the initial critical reviews and worried that the show wouldn’t live up to Gregory Maguire’s novel – an incredibly complex tale which is both an exercise in magical realism and (strangely) believably realistic. (As is his other novel 'Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister', reviewed here in March 2008.) ‘Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz’, directed by Joe Mantello, is great fun: an impressive spectacle with an amazing set (by Eugene Lee), stunning lighting (by Kenneth Posner) and a huge cast. It’s a rock musical with solid music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. But it’s really worth seeing for three reasons: 1. it is rare to see a mainstream musical with two strong female leads (it would definitely pass the Bechdel test) – Alice Fearn as Elphaba and Sophie Evans as Glinda are the stars of the show; 2. the book by Winnie Holzman is brilliant – incredibly witty, quickly pricking any emerging pomposity, with some beautifully hidden references to lines from ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and many laugh-out-loud quips; and 3. anyone who grew up watching the 1939 MGM film will love this reverential ‘Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead’ alternative viewpoint on some of the key events in the original story.
Some time in 2001 I heard someone on the radio talking about a novel that was going to tell the story of the childhood of the Wicked Witch of the West from L Frank Baum’s ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’. Even though the book had not yet been published in the UK, I was hooked by the concept. During a trip to Seattle in 2002 I bought a copy of 'Wicked' by Gregory Maguire at the wonderful Elliot Bay Book Company store and I loved it. It has since become a bestseller and spawned a Broadway musical, which has now been running at the Apollo Victoria in London for 11 years. Last Saturday I finally got around to going to see it. I think I had been put off by the initial critical reviews and worried that the show wouldn’t live up to Gregory Maguire’s novel – an incredibly complex tale which is both an exercise in magical realism and (strangely) believably realistic. (As is his other novel 'Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister', reviewed here in March 2008.) ‘Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz’, directed by Joe Mantello, is great fun: an impressive spectacle with an amazing set (by Eugene Lee), stunning lighting (by Kenneth Posner) and a huge cast. It’s a rock musical with solid music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. But it’s really worth seeing for three reasons: 1. it is rare to see a mainstream musical with two strong female leads (it would definitely pass the Bechdel test) – Alice Fearn as Elphaba and Sophie Evans as Glinda are the stars of the show; 2. the book by Winnie Holzman is brilliant – incredibly witty, quickly pricking any emerging pomposity, with some beautifully hidden references to lines from ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and many laugh-out-loud quips; and 3. anyone who grew up watching the 1939 MGM film will love this reverential ‘Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead’ alternative viewpoint on some of the key events in the original story.
Thursday, November 23, 2017
'La Belle Sauvage' by Philip Pullman
23 November 2017
Searching back through my blog, I was pleased to discover that when I wrote here about Susanna Clarke’s brilliant novel ‘Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell’ (reviewed here in April 2008) I noted the similarity between Clarke’s parallel universe and those of Philip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials' novels. While ‘His Dark Materials’ was inspired by Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’, Philip Pullman’s new trilogy of young adult novels, ‘The Book of Dust’, take Spenser's ‘The Faerie Queene’ as its underlying theme. And in the first of these new novels, ‘La Belle Sauvage’ (which I have just finished reading as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Michael Sheen), Pullman’s characters’ initial encounters with the fairy world are very reminiscent of ‘Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell’. It was great to return to Philip Pullman’s alternative Oxford – a contemporary world that feels strangely old-fashioned, where familiar places are populated by people with animal daemons. ‘La Belle Sauvage’ is a prequel to ‘Northern Lights’ – the first ‘His Dark Materials’ novel – and shows us that novel’s hero Lyra Belacqua as a baby, given sanctuary in Godstow Priory to hide her from the Magisterium. This tale is told through the eyes of an eleven-year-old boy, Malcolm Polstead, who lives with his parents at the Trout Inn, across the river Thames from the Priory. It’s more than 15 years since I read the ‘His Dark Materials’ novels and reading ‘La Belle Sauvage’ was like re-encountering an old friend. I had forgotten how good Philip Pullman’s writing is and how genuinely thrilling he makes his stories. ‘La Belle Sauvage’ is incredibly scary and exciting (particularly with Michael Sheen’s dramatic narration). These novels are aimed at children but deal with some very serious themes. Ultimately they seem to be very well observed, sometimes funny, sometimes painful, reflections on the process of growing up. This new Philip Pullman novel was a real treat and I can’t wait for the next two books in the series.
Searching back through my blog, I was pleased to discover that when I wrote here about Susanna Clarke’s brilliant novel ‘Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell’ (reviewed here in April 2008) I noted the similarity between Clarke’s parallel universe and those of Philip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials' novels. While ‘His Dark Materials’ was inspired by Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’, Philip Pullman’s new trilogy of young adult novels, ‘The Book of Dust’, take Spenser's ‘The Faerie Queene’ as its underlying theme. And in the first of these new novels, ‘La Belle Sauvage’ (which I have just finished reading as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Michael Sheen), Pullman’s characters’ initial encounters with the fairy world are very reminiscent of ‘Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell’. It was great to return to Philip Pullman’s alternative Oxford – a contemporary world that feels strangely old-fashioned, where familiar places are populated by people with animal daemons. ‘La Belle Sauvage’ is a prequel to ‘Northern Lights’ – the first ‘His Dark Materials’ novel – and shows us that novel’s hero Lyra Belacqua as a baby, given sanctuary in Godstow Priory to hide her from the Magisterium. This tale is told through the eyes of an eleven-year-old boy, Malcolm Polstead, who lives with his parents at the Trout Inn, across the river Thames from the Priory. It’s more than 15 years since I read the ‘His Dark Materials’ novels and reading ‘La Belle Sauvage’ was like re-encountering an old friend. I had forgotten how good Philip Pullman’s writing is and how genuinely thrilling he makes his stories. ‘La Belle Sauvage’ is incredibly scary and exciting (particularly with Michael Sheen’s dramatic narration). These novels are aimed at children but deal with some very serious themes. Ultimately they seem to be very well observed, sometimes funny, sometimes painful, reflections on the process of growing up. This new Philip Pullman novel was a real treat and I can’t wait for the next two books in the series.
Friday, November 17, 2017
'Follies' by Stephen Sondheim
17 November 2017
Stephen Sondheim’s 1971 musical ‘Follies’ is rarely performed, largely because it requires an enormous cast. Laurie Sansom’s splendid 2006 production at the Northampton Royal & Derngate (reviewed here in November 2006) cast local amateurs as the ageing Follies girls, with a professional cast playing the leads and the ‘ghosts’ of their younger selves. Dominic Cooke’s new production at the National Theatre (which we saw as a NTLive broadcast at the Odeon at Milton Keynes Stadium on Thursday) uses a cast of 37, plus a 21-strong orchestra. It’s a stunning production with Vicki Mortimer’s massive set showing the crumbling carcass of a condemned theatre constantly rotating on the huge stage of the Olivier. ‘Follies’ is a bitter-sweet show, full of set-piece songs in which the older women each reprise the hits of their youth. Sondheim’s songs are pastiches of the style of those early 20th century Follies shows, but with more knowing poignancy. Dominic Cooke’s production is of the highest quality with great music and dancing. The singing, in particular, is excellent – from the operatic contributions of Josephine Barstow and Bruce Graham, to musical standards by Di Botcher (‘Broadway Baby’) and Tracie Bennett (‘I’m Still Here’), to brilliant song and dance numbers by Dawn Hope (‘Who’s That Woman? (Mirror Mirror)’) and the wonderful Janie Dee (‘The story of Lucy and Jessie’). And it felt impossible not to cry at Imelda Staunton’s heartbreakingly beautiful performance of ‘Losing My Mind’ – the melancholic climax of the evening. The nature of the show, with its roll call of solos by each of the characters, invites audience adulation throughout and the reaction of the audience at the National Theatre on Thursday seemed to grow more exuberant with each number. It’s always a slightly-detached experience sitting in a cinema watching the relay of a live show, but on this occasion the final curtain prompted spontaneous applause from everyone at the Odeon Milton Keynes – and, on screen in the Olivier auditorium, the audience were all on their feet for the most enthusiastic standing ovation I have seen for years. This was a brilliant production of ‘Follies’ and it is amazing for it to be playing in London at the same time as Christopher Wheeldon’s production of ‘An American in Paris’ (reviewed here in April 2017) and Mark Bramble’s production of ‘42nd Street’ (reviewed here in August 2017). All three could make a strong case for being the best musical you will ever see: we are so lucky to have seen them all this year.
Stephen Sondheim’s 1971 musical ‘Follies’ is rarely performed, largely because it requires an enormous cast. Laurie Sansom’s splendid 2006 production at the Northampton Royal & Derngate (reviewed here in November 2006) cast local amateurs as the ageing Follies girls, with a professional cast playing the leads and the ‘ghosts’ of their younger selves. Dominic Cooke’s new production at the National Theatre (which we saw as a NTLive broadcast at the Odeon at Milton Keynes Stadium on Thursday) uses a cast of 37, plus a 21-strong orchestra. It’s a stunning production with Vicki Mortimer’s massive set showing the crumbling carcass of a condemned theatre constantly rotating on the huge stage of the Olivier. ‘Follies’ is a bitter-sweet show, full of set-piece songs in which the older women each reprise the hits of their youth. Sondheim’s songs are pastiches of the style of those early 20th century Follies shows, but with more knowing poignancy. Dominic Cooke’s production is of the highest quality with great music and dancing. The singing, in particular, is excellent – from the operatic contributions of Josephine Barstow and Bruce Graham, to musical standards by Di Botcher (‘Broadway Baby’) and Tracie Bennett (‘I’m Still Here’), to brilliant song and dance numbers by Dawn Hope (‘Who’s That Woman? (Mirror Mirror)’) and the wonderful Janie Dee (‘The story of Lucy and Jessie’). And it felt impossible not to cry at Imelda Staunton’s heartbreakingly beautiful performance of ‘Losing My Mind’ – the melancholic climax of the evening. The nature of the show, with its roll call of solos by each of the characters, invites audience adulation throughout and the reaction of the audience at the National Theatre on Thursday seemed to grow more exuberant with each number. It’s always a slightly-detached experience sitting in a cinema watching the relay of a live show, but on this occasion the final curtain prompted spontaneous applause from everyone at the Odeon Milton Keynes – and, on screen in the Olivier auditorium, the audience were all on their feet for the most enthusiastic standing ovation I have seen for years. This was a brilliant production of ‘Follies’ and it is amazing for it to be playing in London at the same time as Christopher Wheeldon’s production of ‘An American in Paris’ (reviewed here in April 2017) and Mark Bramble’s production of ‘42nd Street’ (reviewed here in August 2017). All three could make a strong case for being the best musical you will ever see: we are so lucky to have seen them all this year.
Tuesday, November 14, 2017
Northampton Symphony Orchestra concert
14 November 2017
Northampton Symphony Orchestra’s 2017-18 season features music inspired by the visual arts. The opening concert, at Spinney Theatre in Northampton last Saturday, included William Walton’s overture ‘Portsmouth Point’, inspired by Thomas Rowlandson’s 1872 satirical print of the same name. Rhythmically, it’s a fiendishly difficult piece to play with constant changes of time signature and syncopated figures which create an exciting depiction of the bustling port. ‘The Frescoes of Piero della Francesca’ by Bohuslav Martinu presents similar challenges to the orchestra, with few downbeats coming where you expect them. It’s a lovely three-movement work which creates a shimmering sound-world capturing the atmosphere of Piero della Francesca’s paintings. Ralph Vaughan Williams’ ‘Job: A Masque for Dancing’ is a rarely performed one act ballet, loosely based on William Blake’s ‘Illustrations to The Book of Job’. I'm still finding it hard to believe it is more than 32 years since I last played ‘Job’ – in a series of 3 staged performances by the Manchester Youth Orchestra at the Royal Northern College of Music in January 1985. When we started rehearsing the piece for this NSO concert memories came flooding back of that seminal musical experience and I was amazed how well I remembered the detail of the horn parts. Our performance on Saturday featured wonderful solos by Stephen Hague (violin), Sarah Mourant (oboe), Naomi Muller (clarinet) and Graham Tear and Helen Taylor (flutes). I don’t think anyone would dispute, however, that the concert was dominated by Dinara Klinton’s amazing performance of the ‘Piano Concerto for the Left Hand’ by Maurice Ravel. Written for the Austrian pianist Paul Wittgenstein who lost his right arm during the First World War – by Ravel who had been an ambulance driver on the other side in the war – it was a poignant piece to play on 11 November. The concerto is a dark, brooding work which opens with a menacingly deep contrabassoon solo – beautifully played by Frank Jordan. Listening to a recording it seems impossible that the piano is being played with only one hand. It was fascinating to see the young Ukrainian pianist Dinara Klinton making the seemingly impossible not only possible but musically stunning. I can confidently say that no-one who was at the concert will ever forget her performance. Dinara Klinton gave herself the luxury of using both hands for her encore – one of Liszt’s ‘Transcendental Studies’ (the full set of which she recorded for Genuin Classics in 2016: you can watch her playing them at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDHZC7b4u4I). The NSO negotiated these four unfamiliar and challenging pieces very impressively (though with much furrowed brow concentration!) to present an intriguing and unusual concert which was a tribute to Music Director John Gibbons’ inventive programming and effective conducting.
Northampton Symphony Orchestra’s 2017-18 season features music inspired by the visual arts. The opening concert, at Spinney Theatre in Northampton last Saturday, included William Walton’s overture ‘Portsmouth Point’, inspired by Thomas Rowlandson’s 1872 satirical print of the same name. Rhythmically, it’s a fiendishly difficult piece to play with constant changes of time signature and syncopated figures which create an exciting depiction of the bustling port. ‘The Frescoes of Piero della Francesca’ by Bohuslav Martinu presents similar challenges to the orchestra, with few downbeats coming where you expect them. It’s a lovely three-movement work which creates a shimmering sound-world capturing the atmosphere of Piero della Francesca’s paintings. Ralph Vaughan Williams’ ‘Job: A Masque for Dancing’ is a rarely performed one act ballet, loosely based on William Blake’s ‘Illustrations to The Book of Job’. I'm still finding it hard to believe it is more than 32 years since I last played ‘Job’ – in a series of 3 staged performances by the Manchester Youth Orchestra at the Royal Northern College of Music in January 1985. When we started rehearsing the piece for this NSO concert memories came flooding back of that seminal musical experience and I was amazed how well I remembered the detail of the horn parts. Our performance on Saturday featured wonderful solos by Stephen Hague (violin), Sarah Mourant (oboe), Naomi Muller (clarinet) and Graham Tear and Helen Taylor (flutes). I don’t think anyone would dispute, however, that the concert was dominated by Dinara Klinton’s amazing performance of the ‘Piano Concerto for the Left Hand’ by Maurice Ravel. Written for the Austrian pianist Paul Wittgenstein who lost his right arm during the First World War – by Ravel who had been an ambulance driver on the other side in the war – it was a poignant piece to play on 11 November. The concerto is a dark, brooding work which opens with a menacingly deep contrabassoon solo – beautifully played by Frank Jordan. Listening to a recording it seems impossible that the piano is being played with only one hand. It was fascinating to see the young Ukrainian pianist Dinara Klinton making the seemingly impossible not only possible but musically stunning. I can confidently say that no-one who was at the concert will ever forget her performance. Dinara Klinton gave herself the luxury of using both hands for her encore – one of Liszt’s ‘Transcendental Studies’ (the full set of which she recorded for Genuin Classics in 2016: you can watch her playing them at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDHZC7b4u4I). The NSO negotiated these four unfamiliar and challenging pieces very impressively (though with much furrowed brow concentration!) to present an intriguing and unusual concert which was a tribute to Music Director John Gibbons’ inventive programming and effective conducting.
Friday, November 10, 2017
'Twelfth Night' by William Shakespeare
10 November 2017
“What country, friends, is this?” It is Illyria and we’ve been here before. I think I have seen ‘Twelfth Night’ more times than any other Shakespeare play. I’ve seen the play interpreted in many different ways but it always seems to work. On Thursday we were at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon to see Christopher Luscombe’s new RSC production of ‘Twelfth Night’. Luscombe’s 2014 RSC production of ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ (reviewed here in November) felt like a cosy, crowd-pleasing version but had some subtle, serious touches (such as Dogberry’s shellshock). His ‘Twelfth Night’ has a similar feel. It’s a play famous for its songs but, in this production, composer Nigel Hess creates additional songs based on fleeting references in the text, making it feel almost like ‘Twelfth Night: The Musical’. Luscombe sets the play in the 1890s, bringing a late Victorian decadence with hints of Oscar Wilde and Aubrey Beardsley. There’s a beautifully lavish set by Simon Higlett and steam trains, music hall and top hats. Though he is far from being the main character of the play, it is traditionally Malvolio who gets the top billing and Adrian Edmondson gave an impressively restrained and touching performance, managing to be both obnoxious and sympathetic with a charming twinkle in his eye. (I last saw Adrian Edmondson on stage 25 years ago, when he starred with Rik Mayall in ‘Waiting for Godot’ at the Queen’s Theatre in London.) But unusually for Shakespeare, ‘Twelfth Night’ gives two female actors the lead roles: Dinita Gohil’s Viola and Kara Tointon’s Olivia were both excellent as the emotional heart of the play.
“What country, friends, is this?” It is Illyria and we’ve been here before. I think I have seen ‘Twelfth Night’ more times than any other Shakespeare play. I’ve seen the play interpreted in many different ways but it always seems to work. On Thursday we were at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon to see Christopher Luscombe’s new RSC production of ‘Twelfth Night’. Luscombe’s 2014 RSC production of ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ (reviewed here in November) felt like a cosy, crowd-pleasing version but had some subtle, serious touches (such as Dogberry’s shellshock). His ‘Twelfth Night’ has a similar feel. It’s a play famous for its songs but, in this production, composer Nigel Hess creates additional songs based on fleeting references in the text, making it feel almost like ‘Twelfth Night: The Musical’. Luscombe sets the play in the 1890s, bringing a late Victorian decadence with hints of Oscar Wilde and Aubrey Beardsley. There’s a beautifully lavish set by Simon Higlett and steam trains, music hall and top hats. Though he is far from being the main character of the play, it is traditionally Malvolio who gets the top billing and Adrian Edmondson gave an impressively restrained and touching performance, managing to be both obnoxious and sympathetic with a charming twinkle in his eye. (I last saw Adrian Edmondson on stage 25 years ago, when he starred with Rik Mayall in ‘Waiting for Godot’ at the Queen’s Theatre in London.) But unusually for Shakespeare, ‘Twelfth Night’ gives two female actors the lead roles: Dinita Gohil’s Viola and Kara Tointon’s Olivia were both excellent as the emotional heart of the play.
Wednesday, November 08, 2017
'Stranger Things 2' by The Duffer Brothers
8 November 2017
The essential viewing this week was clearly ‘Stranger Things 2’. Released on Netflix just in time for Halloween, the second series of the Duffer Brothers’ homage to 1980s sci-fi/horror is a darker, more violent sequel to last summer’s big hit (reviewed here in August 2016). Set one year on from the events of the first series, ‘Stranger Things 2’ returns to Hawkins, Indiana, where a growing sense of dread suggests that everything is by no means back to normal. Once again the kids are the stars of the show, forming a brilliant ensemble cast whose interactions are touching, believable and very funny. There is a knowing, meta-textual feel to the sequel which answers some of the puzzling questions, loose ends and ‘deliberate mistakes’ from the first series, almost as if the characters have all now watched ‘Stranger Things’. There is also some great 1980s period detail and music and plenty of reverential nods to 1980s films. We devoured all nine episodes within a week: it’s really enjoyable, thrilling and genuinely scary.
The essential viewing this week was clearly ‘Stranger Things 2’. Released on Netflix just in time for Halloween, the second series of the Duffer Brothers’ homage to 1980s sci-fi/horror is a darker, more violent sequel to last summer’s big hit (reviewed here in August 2016). Set one year on from the events of the first series, ‘Stranger Things 2’ returns to Hawkins, Indiana, where a growing sense of dread suggests that everything is by no means back to normal. Once again the kids are the stars of the show, forming a brilliant ensemble cast whose interactions are touching, believable and very funny. There is a knowing, meta-textual feel to the sequel which answers some of the puzzling questions, loose ends and ‘deliberate mistakes’ from the first series, almost as if the characters have all now watched ‘Stranger Things’. There is also some great 1980s period detail and music and plenty of reverential nods to 1980s films. We devoured all nine episodes within a week: it’s really enjoyable, thrilling and genuinely scary.
Friday, November 03, 2017
'Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine' by Gail Honeyman
3 November 2017
I’ve just finished reading Gail Honeyman’s novel ‘Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine’ (as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Cathleen McCarron). It’s an intriguing and inspiring tale which demonstrates the too often overlooked joy of normality. Eleanor Oliphant is an intelligent, capable 30-year-old who works in an office but seems to have minimal social skills. Through Eleanor’s precise, unemotional first-person narration we gradually piece together traumatic childhood events which have left her scarred (physically and emotionally) and suppressed memories that are preventing her from leading a normal life. Her naive, literal, narration – from which the reader is left to deduce things that Eleanor herself doesn’t fully understand – reminded me of Mark Haddon’s ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time’. Eleanor’s gradual emergence from the protective shell of her lonely routine existence is genuinely heart-warming.
I’ve just finished reading Gail Honeyman’s novel ‘Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine’ (as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Cathleen McCarron). It’s an intriguing and inspiring tale which demonstrates the too often overlooked joy of normality. Eleanor Oliphant is an intelligent, capable 30-year-old who works in an office but seems to have minimal social skills. Through Eleanor’s precise, unemotional first-person narration we gradually piece together traumatic childhood events which have left her scarred (physically and emotionally) and suppressed memories that are preventing her from leading a normal life. Her naive, literal, narration – from which the reader is left to deduce things that Eleanor herself doesn’t fully understand – reminded me of Mark Haddon’s ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time’. Eleanor’s gradual emergence from the protective shell of her lonely routine existence is genuinely heart-warming.
Friday, October 27, 2017
'Fargo' by Noah Hawley
27 October 2017
I’ve just finished watching the third season of ‘Fargo’, Noah Hawley’s superlative TV series inspired by the 1996 Coen Brothers film. [Excessive hyperbole warning: readers who feel that my reviews are too often overly enthusiastic may want to look away now.] I love ‘Fargo’: it’s a televisual work of art – gripping, funny, bleak, beautiful, clever and playful. The male characters tend to be weak and foolish while the women are intelligent and strong. In this third series Ewan McGregor is great as both of the warring brothers at the centre of the story and David Thewlis is an incredibly creepy villain, but the female leads – Carrie Coon as Police Chief Gloria Burgle and Mary Elizabeth Winstead as ex-convict and semi-professional bridge player Nikki Swango – are truly magnificent. I appreciate that ‘Fargo’ may not be to everyone’s taste: the plot is deliberately confusing, with occasional surreal digressions and some brutal violence. But it is a beautifully constructed show, visually stunning and with a wonderful use of music. Season 3 has a running musical theme of New Orleans brass bands, featuring tracks by Minor Mishap Marching Band, Rebirth Brass Band, Youngblood Brass Band and Galactic. But then, for no particular reason, one episode uses Prokofiev’s ‘Peter and the Wolf’, musically labelling each of the main characters as Peter, the bird, the cat, the wolf etc. ‘Fargo’ is a very black comedy drama – excruciating, surprising, hilarious, thrilling and terribly satisfying.
I’ve just finished watching the third season of ‘Fargo’, Noah Hawley’s superlative TV series inspired by the 1996 Coen Brothers film. [Excessive hyperbole warning: readers who feel that my reviews are too often overly enthusiastic may want to look away now.] I love ‘Fargo’: it’s a televisual work of art – gripping, funny, bleak, beautiful, clever and playful. The male characters tend to be weak and foolish while the women are intelligent and strong. In this third series Ewan McGregor is great as both of the warring brothers at the centre of the story and David Thewlis is an incredibly creepy villain, but the female leads – Carrie Coon as Police Chief Gloria Burgle and Mary Elizabeth Winstead as ex-convict and semi-professional bridge player Nikki Swango – are truly magnificent. I appreciate that ‘Fargo’ may not be to everyone’s taste: the plot is deliberately confusing, with occasional surreal digressions and some brutal violence. But it is a beautifully constructed show, visually stunning and with a wonderful use of music. Season 3 has a running musical theme of New Orleans brass bands, featuring tracks by Minor Mishap Marching Band, Rebirth Brass Band, Youngblood Brass Band and Galactic. But then, for no particular reason, one episode uses Prokofiev’s ‘Peter and the Wolf’, musically labelling each of the main characters as Peter, the bird, the cat, the wolf etc. ‘Fargo’ is a very black comedy drama – excruciating, surprising, hilarious, thrilling and terribly satisfying.
‘Luminate Short Encounters’
27 October 2017
On Wednesday afternoon I was at the WHALE Community Cinema in WHALE Arts Centre, Wester Hailes, Edinburgh, to watch ‘Luminate Short Encounters’ – a series of seven short documentary films dealing with various aspects of ageing. These included one of the excellent 'Directed by North Merchiston' films by Duncan Cowles that were commissioned by Luminate in 2016. Each of the seven films were fascinating in very different ways. I particularly enjoyed ‘Bacon and God’s Wrath’ – a Canadian film by Sol Friedman which shows how a 90-year old Jewish woman, Razie Brownstone, having reached a new chapter in her life, begins to question her religion and decides to take the significant step to eat bacon for the first time. And I was gripped by ‘Nae Pasaran’ – a film by Chilean director Felipe Bustos Sierra which reunites three of the Scottish factory workers who, in 1974, refused to carry out repairs on war planes used in the violent military coup in Chile in an expression of solidarity with the Chilean people. ‘Luminate Short Encounters’ was a surprising and thought-provoking collection of short films and, in common with all the Luminate Festival events I have visited this week, was presented by WHALE Arts with a very warm, friendly welcome and copious amounts of free refreshments.
On Wednesday afternoon I was at the WHALE Community Cinema in WHALE Arts Centre, Wester Hailes, Edinburgh, to watch ‘Luminate Short Encounters’ – a series of seven short documentary films dealing with various aspects of ageing. These included one of the excellent 'Directed by North Merchiston' films by Duncan Cowles that were commissioned by Luminate in 2016. Each of the seven films were fascinating in very different ways. I particularly enjoyed ‘Bacon and God’s Wrath’ – a Canadian film by Sol Friedman which shows how a 90-year old Jewish woman, Razie Brownstone, having reached a new chapter in her life, begins to question her religion and decides to take the significant step to eat bacon for the first time. And I was gripped by ‘Nae Pasaran’ – a film by Chilean director Felipe Bustos Sierra which reunites three of the Scottish factory workers who, in 1974, refused to carry out repairs on war planes used in the violent military coup in Chile in an expression of solidarity with the Chilean people. ‘Luminate Short Encounters’ was a surprising and thought-provoking collection of short films and, in common with all the Luminate Festival events I have visited this week, was presented by WHALE Arts with a very warm, friendly welcome and copious amounts of free refreshments.
‘When We Were Young’
27 October 2017
Also on Wednesday morning I visited the Scottish National Portrait Gallery photography exhibition ‘When We Were Young’ which uses photographs drawn from the National Galleries of Scotland collection to explore various aspects of childhood. It documents the experience and representation of childhood to coincide with Scotland's Year of the Young Person 2018. The exhibition is divided into thematic sections on Family, School, Work and Play and includes some amazing black & white photos from the 1840s through to contemporary digital photography. There are many stunning photos on display but my favourite was the enormous print of Wendy McMurdo’s 199 picture ‘Girl with Bears’, which you can see online at: https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/57370/girl-bears-royal-museum-scotland-edinburgh
Also on Wednesday morning I visited the Scottish National Portrait Gallery photography exhibition ‘When We Were Young’ which uses photographs drawn from the National Galleries of Scotland collection to explore various aspects of childhood. It documents the experience and representation of childhood to coincide with Scotland's Year of the Young Person 2018. The exhibition is divided into thematic sections on Family, School, Work and Play and includes some amazing black & white photos from the 1840s through to contemporary digital photography. There are many stunning photos on display but my favourite was the enormous print of Wendy McMurdo’s 199 picture ‘Girl with Bears’, which you can see online at: https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/57370/girl-bears-royal-museum-scotland-edinburgh
‘Step into My Parlour’ by Michelle Burke
27 October 2017
On Wednesday morning I was at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh for ‘Step into My Parlour’ – a dementia-friendly event as part of the Luminate Festival. The singer Michelle Burke and pianist James Ross performed songs celebrating the theme of childhood, linked to the Scottish National Portrait Gallery’s photography exhibition ‘When We Were Young’. Inspired by photographs and documents found in Michelle’s grandparents’ house in County Cork, it was a lovely show which gently prompted the audience’s own memories of childhood. Michelle sang a mixture of Irish folk songs and singalong standards. She has a beautifully clear voice with a strong Irish accent, and reminded me of my favourite Nottingham folk singer, Ruth Notman (albeit with a different accent). There is a real skill in working with an audience with wide-ranging and inconsistent levels of understanding but Michelle managed to keep everyone enthralled. Most of the songs she performed are on her album ‘Step Into My Parlour’ (which features some impressive musical guests): https://open.spotify.com/album/6JXgn1qDq8aul8DdTBYHSL. You can also see more about the ideas behind ‘Step Into My Parlour’ in this promo film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyoHhBFkYNQ.
On Wednesday morning I was at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh for ‘Step into My Parlour’ – a dementia-friendly event as part of the Luminate Festival. The singer Michelle Burke and pianist James Ross performed songs celebrating the theme of childhood, linked to the Scottish National Portrait Gallery’s photography exhibition ‘When We Were Young’. Inspired by photographs and documents found in Michelle’s grandparents’ house in County Cork, it was a lovely show which gently prompted the audience’s own memories of childhood. Michelle sang a mixture of Irish folk songs and singalong standards. She has a beautifully clear voice with a strong Irish accent, and reminded me of my favourite Nottingham folk singer, Ruth Notman (albeit with a different accent). There is a real skill in working with an audience with wide-ranging and inconsistent levels of understanding but Michelle managed to keep everyone enthralled. Most of the songs she performed are on her album ‘Step Into My Parlour’ (which features some impressive musical guests): https://open.spotify.com/album/6JXgn1qDq8aul8DdTBYHSL. You can also see more about the ideas behind ‘Step Into My Parlour’ in this promo film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyoHhBFkYNQ.
‘Appalachian Autumn’ by Kick the Cat
27 October 2017
On Tuesday evening I was at Dean Bowling Club in the Comely Bank area of Edinburgh to take part in ‘Appalachian Autumn’ – a clog dancing workshop organised as part of the Luminate Festival by Kick the Cat, Scotland's only Appalachian dance group. Kick the Cat meet every Tuesday at the Bowling Club but opened their doors this week for a beginners’ workshop and demonstration. Appalachian dancing is a fascinating missing link between folk dance and tap. Scottish and Irish immigrants brought their clog dancing traditions to the new world and gradually assimilated influences from Native American and African American culture. The clogs were replaced by formal shoes with metal taps on the toes and heels and the dancing became more performance than social, leading to the development of tap dancing. The Appalachian dancing practised by Kick the Cat is a curious hybrid of recognisable tap steps (shuffles, step-ball-changes and heel taps) in a ceilidh format, dancing with a partner and progressing around a circle. Kick the Cat demonstrated some amazing routines and we all then had a go at a sequence of steps, reassuringly titled ‘Dead Easy’. It was great fun in a really friendly and welcoming atmosphere. I’m only sorry I can’t return next Tuesday.
On Tuesday evening I was at Dean Bowling Club in the Comely Bank area of Edinburgh to take part in ‘Appalachian Autumn’ – a clog dancing workshop organised as part of the Luminate Festival by Kick the Cat, Scotland's only Appalachian dance group. Kick the Cat meet every Tuesday at the Bowling Club but opened their doors this week for a beginners’ workshop and demonstration. Appalachian dancing is a fascinating missing link between folk dance and tap. Scottish and Irish immigrants brought their clog dancing traditions to the new world and gradually assimilated influences from Native American and African American culture. The clogs were replaced by formal shoes with metal taps on the toes and heels and the dancing became more performance than social, leading to the development of tap dancing. The Appalachian dancing practised by Kick the Cat is a curious hybrid of recognisable tap steps (shuffles, step-ball-changes and heel taps) in a ceilidh format, dancing with a partner and progressing around a circle. Kick the Cat demonstrated some amazing routines and we all then had a go at a sequence of steps, reassuringly titled ‘Dead Easy’. It was great fun in a really friendly and welcoming atmosphere. I’m only sorry I can’t return next Tuesday.
WeCAN workshops
27 October 2017
On Tuesday afternoon I was in The Studio at Edinburgh Festival Theatre for two WeCAN workshops as part of Luminate 2017 - Scotland's creative ageing festival. WeCAN Edinburgh is made up of a group of organisations who deliver creative activities for people with dementia and their carers. The organisations include: Alzheimer Scotland, Festival Theatre, Art in Healthcare, Hears and Minds, Dance Base and Music in Hospitals. On Tuesday the Festival Theatre hosted two dementia-friendly workshops delivered by Dance Base and Art in Healthcare. I joined a group of about 20 people with dementia and their carers for a session of seated dance moves, which proved to be a surprisingly rigorous workout that was great fun. We then moved to tables in the bar area to explore visual art techniques involving chalks, watercolours and pencils – responding to the inspiration provided by an exhibition of works from the Art in Healthcare collection. It was a lovely afternoon, with lunch and afternoon tea laid on by the Festival Theatre, and it was great to see people getting over their inhibitions and expressing themselves creatively in a variety of ways in a very friendly and supportive environment.
On Tuesday afternoon I was in The Studio at Edinburgh Festival Theatre for two WeCAN workshops as part of Luminate 2017 - Scotland's creative ageing festival. WeCAN Edinburgh is made up of a group of organisations who deliver creative activities for people with dementia and their carers. The organisations include: Alzheimer Scotland, Festival Theatre, Art in Healthcare, Hears and Minds, Dance Base and Music in Hospitals. On Tuesday the Festival Theatre hosted two dementia-friendly workshops delivered by Dance Base and Art in Healthcare. I joined a group of about 20 people with dementia and their carers for a session of seated dance moves, which proved to be a surprisingly rigorous workout that was great fun. We then moved to tables in the bar area to explore visual art techniques involving chalks, watercolours and pencils – responding to the inspiration provided by an exhibition of works from the Art in Healthcare collection. It was a lovely afternoon, with lunch and afternoon tea laid on by the Festival Theatre, and it was great to see people getting over their inhibitions and expressing themselves creatively in a variety of ways in a very friendly and supportive environment.
Tuesday, October 24, 2017
'The Caretaker' by Harold Pinter
24 October 2017
On Saturday we were at the Royal Theatre in Northampton to see Christopher Haydon’s production of ‘The Caretaker’ by Harold Pinter – a joint production by Bristol Old Vic and the Royal & Derngate, Northampton. I had only seen ‘The Caretaker’ once before, many years ago, but the play’s three characters were still very familiar. I was struck by the similarities with Samuel Beckett’s ‘Waiting for Godot’ which premiered (in English) in 1955, five years before ‘The Caretaker’, and has a similar sense of ennui (and a similar fascination with the importance of a good pair of shoes). Christopher Haydon’s production features an all-black cast, led by Patrice Naiambana as Davies, which lends a particular frisson to that character’s casual racism. The movement of all three actors was particularly impressive, with each adopting a very distinctive physical style. And Oliver Townsend’s wonderful set focuses the action around a circular stage with floorboards emanating outwards from a central point and an array of oddments of furniture and other collected junk hung vertiginously around the space like a frozen explosion in Steptoe & Son’s yard. ‘The Caretaker’ is a strange play, with little plot but a series of fascinating exchanges and a nagging, sinister atmosphere. This was a very impressive production: you can get a brief flavour of it at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=69&v=T7MqziZl1Vw
On Saturday we were at the Royal Theatre in Northampton to see Christopher Haydon’s production of ‘The Caretaker’ by Harold Pinter – a joint production by Bristol Old Vic and the Royal & Derngate, Northampton. I had only seen ‘The Caretaker’ once before, many years ago, but the play’s three characters were still very familiar. I was struck by the similarities with Samuel Beckett’s ‘Waiting for Godot’ which premiered (in English) in 1955, five years before ‘The Caretaker’, and has a similar sense of ennui (and a similar fascination with the importance of a good pair of shoes). Christopher Haydon’s production features an all-black cast, led by Patrice Naiambana as Davies, which lends a particular frisson to that character’s casual racism. The movement of all three actors was particularly impressive, with each adopting a very distinctive physical style. And Oliver Townsend’s wonderful set focuses the action around a circular stage with floorboards emanating outwards from a central point and an array of oddments of furniture and other collected junk hung vertiginously around the space like a frozen explosion in Steptoe & Son’s yard. ‘The Caretaker’ is a strange play, with little plot but a series of fascinating exchanges and a nagging, sinister atmosphere. This was a very impressive production: you can get a brief flavour of it at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=69&v=T7MqziZl1Vw
Wednesday, October 18, 2017
Dancing at Blackpool Tower Ballroom
18 October 2017
On Saturday we made our third annual visit to Blackpool to dance in the Tower Ballroom. Once again, a group of us from Milton Keynes Dance Centre joined more than 500 dancers at the Wembley Stadium of ballroom dancing for an evening organised by Philip Hurst. I have enjoyed these dances more each year – familiarity helping us to know how to pace ourselves through five hours of dancing. Trying to get into Blackpool on a Saturday evening while the Illuminations are on is a major challenge but there is nothing quite like dancing in the ridiculous grandeur of the Tower Ballroom.
On Saturday we made our third annual visit to Blackpool to dance in the Tower Ballroom. Once again, a group of us from Milton Keynes Dance Centre joined more than 500 dancers at the Wembley Stadium of ballroom dancing for an evening organised by Philip Hurst. I have enjoyed these dances more each year – familiarity helping us to know how to pace ourselves through five hours of dancing. Trying to get into Blackpool on a Saturday evening while the Illuminations are on is a major challenge but there is nothing quite like dancing in the ridiculous grandeur of the Tower Ballroom.
Friday, October 13, 2017
'Madness is Better Than Defeat' by Ned Beauman
13 October 2017
Ned Beauman's novel 'The Teleportation Accident' (reviewed here in July 2013) was the best book I read in 2013 (indeed it was my overall cultural Pick of the Year). His new novel, ‘Madness is Better Than Defeat’ (which I have just finished reading as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Eric Meyers) is definitely in the running for a similar accolade at the end of 2017. After setting his previous novel, ‘Glow’ (reviewed here in June 2014), in contemporary London, ‘Madness is Better Than Defeat’ returns Beauman to the kind of historical 20th century setting that seems to suit him best. It tells the tale of two ill-fated American expeditions which arrive simultaneously at a recently discovered Mayan temple in the jungle of Spanish Honduras in 1938 – one party intent on dismantling the temple and transporting it back to New York, while the other had planned to use the temple as the backdrop for a Hollywood film, ‘Hearts of Darkness’. A stand-off in the jungle ensues – and lasts for the next 20 years! But, of course with a Ned Beaman novel, it’s much more complicated than that. He presents at least four explanations for the bizarre events in the jungle, constructing an incredibly complex nest of narratives and never quite explaining who or what we are expected to believe. Like each of his previous books, ‘Madness is Better Than Defeat’ is clever, surprising, baffling, hilarious, and completely bonkers. Beauman writes beautifully witty similes and metaphors: “overhead there flew a macau with prismatic feathers, like an advance scout for a rainbow”. The plot is deliberately confusing but what this book is really about is the process of narrative. ‘Madness is Better Than Defeat’ takes the idea of an unreliable narrator to new extremes (even offering a rational explanation, of sorts, for the presence of an omniscient third-person narrator). This a jigsaw puzzle tale, told by someone who wasn’t present at most of the events that are recounted. And the timeframe jumps backwards and forwards between 1938 and 1959, only very gradually (and partially) filling in huge gaps in the story. Many of the characters have plenty to say about way you should construct a story – creating a meta narrative about the way the book itself is built. If that sounds perplexing, it is – but in a very entertaining way. This is ‘Citizen Kane’ plus ‘Lord of the Flies’ and ‘Treasure Island’ reimagined by Graham Greene. I loved it.
Ned Beauman's novel 'The Teleportation Accident' (reviewed here in July 2013) was the best book I read in 2013 (indeed it was my overall cultural Pick of the Year). His new novel, ‘Madness is Better Than Defeat’ (which I have just finished reading as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Eric Meyers) is definitely in the running for a similar accolade at the end of 2017. After setting his previous novel, ‘Glow’ (reviewed here in June 2014), in contemporary London, ‘Madness is Better Than Defeat’ returns Beauman to the kind of historical 20th century setting that seems to suit him best. It tells the tale of two ill-fated American expeditions which arrive simultaneously at a recently discovered Mayan temple in the jungle of Spanish Honduras in 1938 – one party intent on dismantling the temple and transporting it back to New York, while the other had planned to use the temple as the backdrop for a Hollywood film, ‘Hearts of Darkness’. A stand-off in the jungle ensues – and lasts for the next 20 years! But, of course with a Ned Beaman novel, it’s much more complicated than that. He presents at least four explanations for the bizarre events in the jungle, constructing an incredibly complex nest of narratives and never quite explaining who or what we are expected to believe. Like each of his previous books, ‘Madness is Better Than Defeat’ is clever, surprising, baffling, hilarious, and completely bonkers. Beauman writes beautifully witty similes and metaphors: “overhead there flew a macau with prismatic feathers, like an advance scout for a rainbow”. The plot is deliberately confusing but what this book is really about is the process of narrative. ‘Madness is Better Than Defeat’ takes the idea of an unreliable narrator to new extremes (even offering a rational explanation, of sorts, for the presence of an omniscient third-person narrator). This a jigsaw puzzle tale, told by someone who wasn’t present at most of the events that are recounted. And the timeframe jumps backwards and forwards between 1938 and 1959, only very gradually (and partially) filling in huge gaps in the story. Many of the characters have plenty to say about way you should construct a story – creating a meta narrative about the way the book itself is built. If that sounds perplexing, it is – but in a very entertaining way. This is ‘Citizen Kane’ plus ‘Lord of the Flies’ and ‘Treasure Island’ reimagined by Graham Greene. I loved it.
Thursday, October 12, 2017
Tom Robinson
12 October 2017
Regular readers will know I am a big fan of Tom Robinson who we saw perform many times across the country in the 1990s. After twelve years of ‘retirement’ from touring, it was wonderful to witness his return with a one-off gig at the Jazz Cafe (reviewed here in August 2014). Following a tour to promote a new album in 2015 (reviewed here in November 2015), Tom Robinson is now touring again to mark the 40th anniversary of his first hit single ‘2-4-6-8 Motorway’. With a new band, featuring Adam Phillips, Andy Treacey and Jim Simmons, he is performing the whole of the first Tom Robinson Band album ‘Power in the Darkness’ which was released in 1978 (including some songs the Tom Robinson Band never performed live because they were too difficult!). We were at The Stables in Milton Keynes on Wednesday for the second date in the tour and it was a fantastic evening. Tom Robinson has such a big back catalogue that his concerts usually provide a richly varied mix of musical styles, but this performance of songs from a single album (plus the EP that immediately followed it) strangely felt more satisfying, giving a coherence and consistency to the music. And there are some great songs on ‘Power in the Darkness’ which opens with a brilliant rock number in ‘Up Against the Wall’ and closes with the title track – here updated to comment on the crazy politics of 2017. Tom Robinson was on great form: now 67 years old he needed a little more recovery time between songs but showed no lack of energy in performance. And the band were incredibly impressive. With support from the wonderful Lee Forsyth Griffiths – who we first saw supporting Tom Robinson at The Stables in 2001 – and a rapturous reception from a sold-out audience, it was a magnificent gig.
Regular readers will know I am a big fan of Tom Robinson who we saw perform many times across the country in the 1990s. After twelve years of ‘retirement’ from touring, it was wonderful to witness his return with a one-off gig at the Jazz Cafe (reviewed here in August 2014). Following a tour to promote a new album in 2015 (reviewed here in November 2015), Tom Robinson is now touring again to mark the 40th anniversary of his first hit single ‘2-4-6-8 Motorway’. With a new band, featuring Adam Phillips, Andy Treacey and Jim Simmons, he is performing the whole of the first Tom Robinson Band album ‘Power in the Darkness’ which was released in 1978 (including some songs the Tom Robinson Band never performed live because they were too difficult!). We were at The Stables in Milton Keynes on Wednesday for the second date in the tour and it was a fantastic evening. Tom Robinson has such a big back catalogue that his concerts usually provide a richly varied mix of musical styles, but this performance of songs from a single album (plus the EP that immediately followed it) strangely felt more satisfying, giving a coherence and consistency to the music. And there are some great songs on ‘Power in the Darkness’ which opens with a brilliant rock number in ‘Up Against the Wall’ and closes with the title track – here updated to comment on the crazy politics of 2017. Tom Robinson was on great form: now 67 years old he needed a little more recovery time between songs but showed no lack of energy in performance. And the band were incredibly impressive. With support from the wonderful Lee Forsyth Griffiths – who we first saw supporting Tom Robinson at The Stables in 2001 – and a rapturous reception from a sold-out audience, it was a magnificent gig.
Wednesday, October 11, 2017
'Promise and Promiscuity' by Penny Ashton
11 October 2017
‘Promise and Promiscuity’ is “a new musical by Jane Austen and New Zealand’s Penny Ashton” which we saw at the Stantonbury Theatre in Milton Keynes on Tuesday. In this one-woman fringe show, Penny Ashton creates a mock Jane Austen tale, combining elements from ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and ‘Sense and Sensibility’ with contemporary references and some songs. It’s a very entertaining performance and Ashton is an excellent performer. Her physical movement is particularly impressive and helps her to switch rapidly between multiple characters without the need for props or costumes. In her wordless curtain calls as the main characters we instantly knew who each was meant to be. ‘Promise and Promiscuity’ is clearly a labour of love and demonstrates Penny Ashton’s affection for Jane Austen’s novels, while gently poking fun at them. At times I felt it fell somewhere between satirising Austen and simply re-creating an Austen story – not as cheekily postmodern as the improvised ‘Austentatious’ (reviewed here in August 2012) but not quite straight Jane Austen either. Nevertheless it was great fun and Penny Ashton is a very likeable performer.
‘Promise and Promiscuity’ is “a new musical by Jane Austen and New Zealand’s Penny Ashton” which we saw at the Stantonbury Theatre in Milton Keynes on Tuesday. In this one-woman fringe show, Penny Ashton creates a mock Jane Austen tale, combining elements from ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and ‘Sense and Sensibility’ with contemporary references and some songs. It’s a very entertaining performance and Ashton is an excellent performer. Her physical movement is particularly impressive and helps her to switch rapidly between multiple characters without the need for props or costumes. In her wordless curtain calls as the main characters we instantly knew who each was meant to be. ‘Promise and Promiscuity’ is clearly a labour of love and demonstrates Penny Ashton’s affection for Jane Austen’s novels, while gently poking fun at them. At times I felt it fell somewhere between satirising Austen and simply re-creating an Austen story – not as cheekily postmodern as the improvised ‘Austentatious’ (reviewed here in August 2012) but not quite straight Jane Austen either. Nevertheless it was great fun and Penny Ashton is a very likeable performer.
Tuesday, October 03, 2017
'Searching for Dr Branovic' by David Tristram
3 October 2017
We first encountered the blissfully silly plays of David Tristram at the TADS Theatre in Toddington in 2009 when the TADS Theatre Group presented his surreal murder mystery ‘Inspector Drake and the Black Widow’ (reviewed here in April 2009). We returned to TADS to see the other two Inspector Drake plays (reviewed here in July 2010 and April 2011) and thoroughly enjoyed them. So it was a treat to discover a new David Tristram play at TADS last Saturday. ‘Searching for Doctor Branovic’ is a very clever farce which is set in a more realistic universe than Inspector Drake but still has some of the same ridiculous but consistent internal logic and a good line in running jokes. The cast in David Sachon’s production were all great but David Hillman as the exasperated Detective Inspector Munroe stood out and Chloe White stole the show as the bewildered widow whose husband appears to be less dead than initially thought.
We first encountered the blissfully silly plays of David Tristram at the TADS Theatre in Toddington in 2009 when the TADS Theatre Group presented his surreal murder mystery ‘Inspector Drake and the Black Widow’ (reviewed here in April 2009). We returned to TADS to see the other two Inspector Drake plays (reviewed here in July 2010 and April 2011) and thoroughly enjoyed them. So it was a treat to discover a new David Tristram play at TADS last Saturday. ‘Searching for Doctor Branovic’ is a very clever farce which is set in a more realistic universe than Inspector Drake but still has some of the same ridiculous but consistent internal logic and a good line in running jokes. The cast in David Sachon’s production were all great but David Hillman as the exasperated Detective Inspector Munroe stood out and Chloe White stole the show as the bewildered widow whose husband appears to be less dead than initially thought.
Wednesday, September 27, 2017
'Nocturnes' by imitating the dog
27 September 2017
On Tuesday we were at the Stantonbury Theatre in Milton Keynes to see ‘Nocturnes’ - a new play by ‘imitating the dog’ which is on tour following a run at the Edinburgh Fringe in August. Written and directed by Andrew Quick and Pete Brooks, ‘Nocturnes’ is an exploration of the relationship between film and stage. A black & white film noir – a spy story set in Berlin in 1956 – is shown on a large screen, beneath which three actors stand at microphones on the stage, speaking the lines of dialogue for the film. Initially this appears just to be a very impressive gimmick: the lip-synching with the film is spot-on and it’s difficult for the audience to know whether to watch the film or the live actors. But gradually you realise something more clever is going on. As the two lead actors attempt to deviate from the written script with the occasional improvisation, the third person on the stage forces them back onto the proper text. Meanwhile the film begins to jump and distort in response to the disruptions on the stage. And the audience begins to realise that every line of dialogue can be taken either as part of the filmed story or as a comment on what is happening on stage. This ambiguity is strangely unsettling. Indeed the whole performance is a very strange experience. Like Pirandello’s ‘Six Characters in Search of an Author’, the characters Harry and Amy (played on stage and screen by Laura Atherton and Matt Prendergast) are aware they are trapped in a drama and become desperate to escape. ‘Nocturnes’ is an unusual and compelling theatrical experience.
On Tuesday we were at the Stantonbury Theatre in Milton Keynes to see ‘Nocturnes’ - a new play by ‘imitating the dog’ which is on tour following a run at the Edinburgh Fringe in August. Written and directed by Andrew Quick and Pete Brooks, ‘Nocturnes’ is an exploration of the relationship between film and stage. A black & white film noir – a spy story set in Berlin in 1956 – is shown on a large screen, beneath which three actors stand at microphones on the stage, speaking the lines of dialogue for the film. Initially this appears just to be a very impressive gimmick: the lip-synching with the film is spot-on and it’s difficult for the audience to know whether to watch the film or the live actors. But gradually you realise something more clever is going on. As the two lead actors attempt to deviate from the written script with the occasional improvisation, the third person on the stage forces them back onto the proper text. Meanwhile the film begins to jump and distort in response to the disruptions on the stage. And the audience begins to realise that every line of dialogue can be taken either as part of the filmed story or as a comment on what is happening on stage. This ambiguity is strangely unsettling. Indeed the whole performance is a very strange experience. Like Pirandello’s ‘Six Characters in Search of an Author’, the characters Harry and Amy (played on stage and screen by Laura Atherton and Matt Prendergast) are aware they are trapped in a drama and become desperate to escape. ‘Nocturnes’ is an unusual and compelling theatrical experience.
Tuesday, September 26, 2017
Heliotrope Chamber Ensemble concert
26 September 2017
Performing a large chamber work with the Heliotrope Chamber Ensemble has become an annual treat, with last Saturday’s ‘Monumental Chamber Music’ concert, at Abington Avenue United Reformed Church in Northampton, marking my fourth appearance with the ensemble. After playing the 'Sonatina no. 2 for 16 Winds' by Richard Strauss ('From the Happy Workshop') last year (reviewed here in April 2016) I was really looking forward to tackling the Strauss ‘Sonatine no. 1 (‘From an Invalid’s Workshop’)’. It’s a similarly entertaining work with another incredibly challenging first horn part – brilliantly played by Meghan McCrimmon. The concert also included the ‘Divertissment’ for wind dectet by the French composer Emile Bernard, conducted by Catherine Rose, which featured a beautiful unaccompanied bassoon solo by Frank Jordan at the opening of the slow movement. But, for me, the highlight of the evening was a performance of Aaron Copland’s ballet suite ‘Appalachian Spring’ in its original scoring for flute, clarinet, bassoon, piano, double string quartet and double bass. Copland is one of a small number of composers whose style is so distinct you can identify a piece as one of his from hearing the merest fragment of a bar. ‘Appalachian Spring’ is peak Copland, creating an eerie, sparse beauty. Conducted by Stephen Bell (who also led the Strauss) the Heliotrope performance was delicate and haunting with particularly beautiful playing by Mara Griffiths (flute) and Michelle Yates (clarinet). It was another great Heliotrope chamber concert.
Performing a large chamber work with the Heliotrope Chamber Ensemble has become an annual treat, with last Saturday’s ‘Monumental Chamber Music’ concert, at Abington Avenue United Reformed Church in Northampton, marking my fourth appearance with the ensemble. After playing the 'Sonatina no. 2 for 16 Winds' by Richard Strauss ('From the Happy Workshop') last year (reviewed here in April 2016) I was really looking forward to tackling the Strauss ‘Sonatine no. 1 (‘From an Invalid’s Workshop’)’. It’s a similarly entertaining work with another incredibly challenging first horn part – brilliantly played by Meghan McCrimmon. The concert also included the ‘Divertissment’ for wind dectet by the French composer Emile Bernard, conducted by Catherine Rose, which featured a beautiful unaccompanied bassoon solo by Frank Jordan at the opening of the slow movement. But, for me, the highlight of the evening was a performance of Aaron Copland’s ballet suite ‘Appalachian Spring’ in its original scoring for flute, clarinet, bassoon, piano, double string quartet and double bass. Copland is one of a small number of composers whose style is so distinct you can identify a piece as one of his from hearing the merest fragment of a bar. ‘Appalachian Spring’ is peak Copland, creating an eerie, sparse beauty. Conducted by Stephen Bell (who also led the Strauss) the Heliotrope performance was delicate and haunting with particularly beautiful playing by Mara Griffiths (flute) and Michelle Yates (clarinet). It was another great Heliotrope chamber concert.
Friday, September 22, 2017
'The Box Garden' by Carol Shields
22 September 2017
I had forgotten how much I like the work of the Canadian novelist Carol Shields. Very much like Anne Tyler, Carol Shields (who died in 2003) wrote domestic dramas where something threatens to disrupt the pattern of day-to-day family life forcing the main character to reflect on her life and her future. I have just read ‘The Box Garden’ - a 1977 novel by Carol Shields which I found in a charity shop and it has rekindled my enthusiasm for her books. It is a very subtly but cleverly plotted novel. You are not sure where it is going to take you but by the time something dramatic happens to challenge the status quo the various members of the family at the heart of the story have been so well drawn that you can predict how each of them will react to the situation. It’s a beautifully written tale and has made me want to return to some of my favourite Carol Shields novels such as ‘Larry’s Party’ and ‘The Stone Diaries’.
I had forgotten how much I like the work of the Canadian novelist Carol Shields. Very much like Anne Tyler, Carol Shields (who died in 2003) wrote domestic dramas where something threatens to disrupt the pattern of day-to-day family life forcing the main character to reflect on her life and her future. I have just read ‘The Box Garden’ - a 1977 novel by Carol Shields which I found in a charity shop and it has rekindled my enthusiasm for her books. It is a very subtly but cleverly plotted novel. You are not sure where it is going to take you but by the time something dramatic happens to challenge the status quo the various members of the family at the heart of the story have been so well drawn that you can predict how each of them will react to the situation. It’s a beautifully written tale and has made me want to return to some of my favourite Carol Shields novels such as ‘Larry’s Party’ and ‘The Stone Diaries’.
‘Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World’ by Haruki Murakami
22 September 2017
Regular readers will know I am a big fan of the Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami. Earlier this year I spotted a couple of early Murakami novels I hadn’t read in a charity shop in Great Malvern. One of these was his 1985 novel ‘Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World’ which I have just finished reading. This book has all the usual Murakami elements – a contemporary real-world Japan setting into which magical realism starts to intrude, a parallel fantasy world and a host of Western cultural references. Murakami is probably an acquired taste – particularly in relation to his reluctance to tie up the loose ends of his incredibly weird plots. ‘Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World’ resolves more satisfyingly that many of his books but it’s still a very peculiar plot. I love the quirkiness and unpredictability of a Murakami novel and the seriousness with which he, and his characters, take their musical references – in this case, for example, discussing the merits of various different recordings of the ‘Brandenburg Concertos’. But if you are new to Haruki Murakami I would still suggest starting by reading 'Kafka on the Shore' (reviewed here in October 2006).
Regular readers will know I am a big fan of the Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami. Earlier this year I spotted a couple of early Murakami novels I hadn’t read in a charity shop in Great Malvern. One of these was his 1985 novel ‘Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World’ which I have just finished reading. This book has all the usual Murakami elements – a contemporary real-world Japan setting into which magical realism starts to intrude, a parallel fantasy world and a host of Western cultural references. Murakami is probably an acquired taste – particularly in relation to his reluctance to tie up the loose ends of his incredibly weird plots. ‘Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World’ resolves more satisfyingly that many of his books but it’s still a very peculiar plot. I love the quirkiness and unpredictability of a Murakami novel and the seriousness with which he, and his characters, take their musical references – in this case, for example, discussing the merits of various different recordings of the ‘Brandenburg Concertos’. But if you are new to Haruki Murakami I would still suggest starting by reading 'Kafka on the Shore' (reviewed here in October 2006).
Canary Islands Cruise
22 September 2017
We had a lovely cruise on the new P&O ship Britannia, visiting Spain, Madeira and the Canary Islands. We enjoyed lovely weather and fairly calm seas. Lanzarote was our favourite of the islands we visited but the highlight of our holiday was a return to the lovely city of Cadiz, which we visited last year on our previous cruise. On board the ship we did a lot of ballroom dancing: it’s wonderful to be able to dance to an excellent live band every night. And I took my first ever tap dancing lessons – something I have wanted to do for years and really enjoyed.
You can see a selection of my holiday photos at: https://culturaloutlook.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/CanariesSept2017
We had a lovely cruise on the new P&O ship Britannia, visiting Spain, Madeira and the Canary Islands. We enjoyed lovely weather and fairly calm seas. Lanzarote was our favourite of the islands we visited but the highlight of our holiday was a return to the lovely city of Cadiz, which we visited last year on our previous cruise. On board the ship we did a lot of ballroom dancing: it’s wonderful to be able to dance to an excellent live band every night. And I took my first ever tap dancing lessons – something I have wanted to do for years and really enjoyed.
You can see a selection of my holiday photos at: https://culturaloutlook.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/CanariesSept2017
Friday, September 01, 2017
'Stay With Me' by Ayobami Adebayo
1 September 2017
It was interesting to see ‘Yerma’ in the week I finished reading Ayobami Adebayo’s novel ‘Stay With Me’ (which I read as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Adjoa Andoh). This is another story of a couple’s desperation to have children – but in a very different context. Set in Nigeria in the 1980s and 1990s, ‘Stay With Me’ reveals a society which feels shockingly alien. The gender divide is stark, with polygamy the norm – and the reason for a husband to take multiple wives is entirely about providing the family with sufficient offspring. ‘Stay With Me’ tells its family saga through first person narration from the point of view of both Yejide and her husband Akin. It’s not a happy story – and it is set against a backdrop of military coups and armed robberies. But it provides a fascinating insight into what feels like a very old-fashioned, family focussed society but is actually a fairly recent period in Nigeria’s history.
It was interesting to see ‘Yerma’ in the week I finished reading Ayobami Adebayo’s novel ‘Stay With Me’ (which I read as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Adjoa Andoh). This is another story of a couple’s desperation to have children – but in a very different context. Set in Nigeria in the 1980s and 1990s, ‘Stay With Me’ reveals a society which feels shockingly alien. The gender divide is stark, with polygamy the norm – and the reason for a husband to take multiple wives is entirely about providing the family with sufficient offspring. ‘Stay With Me’ tells its family saga through first person narration from the point of view of both Yejide and her husband Akin. It’s not a happy story – and it is set against a backdrop of military coups and armed robberies. But it provides a fascinating insight into what feels like a very old-fashioned, family focussed society but is actually a fairly recent period in Nigeria’s history.
'Yerma' by Simon Stone after Federico García Lorca
1 September 2017
On Thursday we were at Leighton Buzzard Theatre to see the live screening of Simon Stone’s production of ‘Yerma’ from the Young Vic in London. Adapted by 31-year-old Australian director and writer Simon Stone from the 1934 play by Federico García Lorca, this ‘Yerma’ is set in contemporary London and features an amazing performance by Billie Piper. The play tells the story of a young couple (played by Billie Piper and Brendan Cowell) trying to start a family. We piece together their journey through a rapid series of short scenes, each separated by a passage of time (48 hours, a few months, two years) indicated by captions in a way that reminded me of Harold Pinter’s ‘Betrayal’. The dialogue is smart, hip and often overlapping and it took me a while to ‘tune in’ but the effect is very realistic. Indeed Stone does a remarkable job of making an old-fashioned brutal tragedy completely believable in this modern context. The set, by Lizzie Clachan encases the stage in a massive glass box, giving the impression that we are watching specimens in some scientific experiment and creating spooky effects with multiple reflections of the actors in the glass – in a similar way to the set for Polly Findlay's RSC production of 'The Merchant of Venice' (reviewed here in August 2015). The acting is excellent throughout: I particularly enjoyed Maureen Beattie as the unemotional, determinedly rational mother. The script is incredibly witty and the play is often very funny but, ultimately, it tells a grim tale. And Billie Piper, on stage for almost every minute of the play, gives an achingly real portrayal of a life gradually falling apart.
On Thursday we were at Leighton Buzzard Theatre to see the live screening of Simon Stone’s production of ‘Yerma’ from the Young Vic in London. Adapted by 31-year-old Australian director and writer Simon Stone from the 1934 play by Federico García Lorca, this ‘Yerma’ is set in contemporary London and features an amazing performance by Billie Piper. The play tells the story of a young couple (played by Billie Piper and Brendan Cowell) trying to start a family. We piece together their journey through a rapid series of short scenes, each separated by a passage of time (48 hours, a few months, two years) indicated by captions in a way that reminded me of Harold Pinter’s ‘Betrayal’. The dialogue is smart, hip and often overlapping and it took me a while to ‘tune in’ but the effect is very realistic. Indeed Stone does a remarkable job of making an old-fashioned brutal tragedy completely believable in this modern context. The set, by Lizzie Clachan encases the stage in a massive glass box, giving the impression that we are watching specimens in some scientific experiment and creating spooky effects with multiple reflections of the actors in the glass – in a similar way to the set for Polly Findlay's RSC production of 'The Merchant of Venice' (reviewed here in August 2015). The acting is excellent throughout: I particularly enjoyed Maureen Beattie as the unemotional, determinedly rational mother. The script is incredibly witty and the play is often very funny but, ultimately, it tells a grim tale. And Billie Piper, on stage for almost every minute of the play, gives an achingly real portrayal of a life gradually falling apart.
Thursday, August 24, 2017
'42nd Street' by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble with songs by Harry Warren and Al Dubin
24 August 2017
‘42nd Street’ was a 1933 film directed by Lloyd Bacon with songs by Harry Warren and Al Dubin, and choreography by the inimitable Busby Berkeley. It was the classic feelgood backstage musical about the chorus girl who steps in for an indisposed leading lady and becomes a star – designed to cheer up depression-era America. ‘42nd Street’ didn’t become a stage musical until 1980 when the producer David Merrick commissioned a book by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble and added more Warren & Dubin songs (originally written for other films). The show was a hit and the subsequent London West End production, in 1984, is famous for life imitating art as the teenaged Catherine Zeta-Jones actually had to stand in when both the actor playing Peggy Sawyer and her understudy were taken ill, and was then cast permanently in the role, launching her professional career. I saw that West End production when it toured to the Opera House in Manchester in the late 1980s and I can remember being bowled over from the start of the show when the current rises to reveal row upon row of people tap dancing to the title song. So I was looking forward to seeing whether the show was as good as I remembered when we went to see the latest West End revival, directed by the show’s author Mark Bramble, with choreography by Randy Skinner, at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, last Saturday. It was brilliant! Even that opening moment didn’t disappoint as the curtain rose a few tentative inches and paused to show forty pairs of tap dancing feet, before completing its ascent to reveal the whole massive stage of the Theatre Royal. ‘42nd Street’ is a delightfully old-fashioned musical: there is very little plot but the dialogue is snappy, the songs are wonderful and the dance numbers are truly amazing. This production has a cast of 55 people on stage (plus 19 musicians in the pit) and provides an endless supply of big dance numbers, including a typical Busby Berkeley circle of dancers lying on the stage with a huge overhead mirror to show the audience the kaleidoscopic patterns they create. The star name in the cast is Sheena Easton as awkward diva Dorothy Brock: I was particularly impressed by her singing in the challenging chromatic intervals of ‘About a Quarter To Nine’. But the show definitely belongs to the dancers: Clare Halse as Peggy Sawyer and Stuart Neal as Billy Lawlor were both incredible. With tap dancing there really is nowhere to hide – it’s audibly obvious if you put a foot wrong. And the increasingly ambitious tap routines create a thrilling, breath-holding fascination before delivering beautifully every time. By the final spectacular ensemble dances I had tears in my eyes from the sheer joy of this stunning live entertainment. ‘42nd Street’ is still a feelgood show for depressing times – go see it.
‘42nd Street’ was a 1933 film directed by Lloyd Bacon with songs by Harry Warren and Al Dubin, and choreography by the inimitable Busby Berkeley. It was the classic feelgood backstage musical about the chorus girl who steps in for an indisposed leading lady and becomes a star – designed to cheer up depression-era America. ‘42nd Street’ didn’t become a stage musical until 1980 when the producer David Merrick commissioned a book by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble and added more Warren & Dubin songs (originally written for other films). The show was a hit and the subsequent London West End production, in 1984, is famous for life imitating art as the teenaged Catherine Zeta-Jones actually had to stand in when both the actor playing Peggy Sawyer and her understudy were taken ill, and was then cast permanently in the role, launching her professional career. I saw that West End production when it toured to the Opera House in Manchester in the late 1980s and I can remember being bowled over from the start of the show when the current rises to reveal row upon row of people tap dancing to the title song. So I was looking forward to seeing whether the show was as good as I remembered when we went to see the latest West End revival, directed by the show’s author Mark Bramble, with choreography by Randy Skinner, at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, last Saturday. It was brilliant! Even that opening moment didn’t disappoint as the curtain rose a few tentative inches and paused to show forty pairs of tap dancing feet, before completing its ascent to reveal the whole massive stage of the Theatre Royal. ‘42nd Street’ is a delightfully old-fashioned musical: there is very little plot but the dialogue is snappy, the songs are wonderful and the dance numbers are truly amazing. This production has a cast of 55 people on stage (plus 19 musicians in the pit) and provides an endless supply of big dance numbers, including a typical Busby Berkeley circle of dancers lying on the stage with a huge overhead mirror to show the audience the kaleidoscopic patterns they create. The star name in the cast is Sheena Easton as awkward diva Dorothy Brock: I was particularly impressed by her singing in the challenging chromatic intervals of ‘About a Quarter To Nine’. But the show definitely belongs to the dancers: Clare Halse as Peggy Sawyer and Stuart Neal as Billy Lawlor were both incredible. With tap dancing there really is nowhere to hide – it’s audibly obvious if you put a foot wrong. And the increasingly ambitious tap routines create a thrilling, breath-holding fascination before delivering beautifully every time. By the final spectacular ensemble dances I had tears in my eyes from the sheer joy of this stunning live entertainment. ‘42nd Street’ is still a feelgood show for depressing times – go see it.
Tuesday, August 15, 2017
'Golden Hill' by Francis Spufford
15 August 2017
I last encountered the historical writer Francis Spufford through his excellent BBC Radio 4 mini-series about HG Wells’ ‘The War of the Worlds’, ‘Following the Martian Invasion’ (reviewed here in March 2017). Spufford brings an historian’s touch to his first novel ‘Golden Hill’, which I have just finished reading (as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Sarah Borges). ‘Golden Hill’ is a brilliant tour de force. Set in Manhattan in 1746, when New York City has a population of 7,000 and feels like a frontier town, ‘Golden Hill’ is written in the style of novels of that period – a ‘Joseph Andrews’ for the New World. As a contemporary novel written in an historical style, it reminded me of Jo Baker's 'Longbourn' (reviewed here in April 2014), 'The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet’ by David Mitchell (reviewed here in August 2011) and 'The Luminaries' by Eleanor Catton (reviewed here in December 2013). ‘Golden Hill’ grips from the start as a mysterious young man arrives on a ship from London with a bill of exchange for an unbelievable amount of money. The novel is beautifully written, historically fascinating with wonderfully drawn characters and a mesmeric plot. It manages to be a very funny comic novel without reducing its protagonists to caricatures. And there is a final satisfying twist which is achieved without any damage to the believability of the story. ‘Golden Hill’ is one of the best novels I’ve read in years – very highly recommended.
I last encountered the historical writer Francis Spufford through his excellent BBC Radio 4 mini-series about HG Wells’ ‘The War of the Worlds’, ‘Following the Martian Invasion’ (reviewed here in March 2017). Spufford brings an historian’s touch to his first novel ‘Golden Hill’, which I have just finished reading (as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Sarah Borges). ‘Golden Hill’ is a brilliant tour de force. Set in Manhattan in 1746, when New York City has a population of 7,000 and feels like a frontier town, ‘Golden Hill’ is written in the style of novels of that period – a ‘Joseph Andrews’ for the New World. As a contemporary novel written in an historical style, it reminded me of Jo Baker's 'Longbourn' (reviewed here in April 2014), 'The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet’ by David Mitchell (reviewed here in August 2011) and 'The Luminaries' by Eleanor Catton (reviewed here in December 2013). ‘Golden Hill’ grips from the start as a mysterious young man arrives on a ship from London with a bill of exchange for an unbelievable amount of money. The novel is beautifully written, historically fascinating with wonderfully drawn characters and a mesmeric plot. It manages to be a very funny comic novel without reducing its protagonists to caricatures. And there is a final satisfying twist which is achieved without any damage to the believability of the story. ‘Golden Hill’ is one of the best novels I’ve read in years – very highly recommended.
County Wicklow
15 August 2017
Earlier this year my brother and his wife moved to the Republic of Ireland and last week we visited them in their new home in the beautiful Wicklow Mountains, South of Dublin. We had a lovely week exploring County Wicklow – walking part of the Wicklow Way with stunning views of the Great Sugar Loaf mountain, walking the spectacular coastal path from Bray to Greystones and looking down on the dramatic valley of the two lakes, Glendalough. We visited the stately homes of Castletown and Powerscourt and enjoyed a brilliant concert by the Chamber Philharmonia Cologne in Wicklow Town. We also visited the mediaeval town of Kilkenny on the opening day of the Kilkenny Arts Festival. And we were very lucky with the weather – hardly any rain and plenty of glorious sunshine. You can see a selection of my photos of Wicklow at: http://culturaloutlook.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Wicklow2017
Earlier this year my brother and his wife moved to the Republic of Ireland and last week we visited them in their new home in the beautiful Wicklow Mountains, South of Dublin. We had a lovely week exploring County Wicklow – walking part of the Wicklow Way with stunning views of the Great Sugar Loaf mountain, walking the spectacular coastal path from Bray to Greystones and looking down on the dramatic valley of the two lakes, Glendalough. We visited the stately homes of Castletown and Powerscourt and enjoyed a brilliant concert by the Chamber Philharmonia Cologne in Wicklow Town. We also visited the mediaeval town of Kilkenny on the opening day of the Kilkenny Arts Festival. And we were very lucky with the weather – hardly any rain and plenty of glorious sunshine. You can see a selection of my photos of Wicklow at: http://culturaloutlook.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Wicklow2017
Tuesday, August 01, 2017
WOMAD 2017
1 August 2017
I have been writing here about my annual visit to the WOMAD Festival every year since 2006, so regular readers will be expecting a list of my key highlights, a boast about how many bands I saw and some comments on the weather – and I don’t plan to disappoint you! This year it was good to get the chance to see again some old favourites as well as some great new discoveries. It was WOMAD 2009 when I last saw the great Wassalou singer from Mali, Oumou Sangaré (reviewed here in July 2009 and March 2009), and it was wonderful to see her on great form again on the Open Air Stage this weekend. I wrote here in January 2016 about ‘Junun’ – the wonderfully hard-to-categorise album of music by the Israeli composer Shye Ben Tzur, recorded with a troupe of Sufi qawwali musicians and Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood – and it was great to get the chance to see this music performed live by Shye Ben Tzur & Rajasthan Express on Friday. One of the most bizarre moments of the weekend was watching Dorit Chrysler and Charlie Draper from the New York Theremin Society performing a mixture of classical, jazz and contemporary music on the original electronic instrument – I want a theremin! Talking of bizarre, it was a joy to discover the brilliant Spooky Men’s Chorale from the Blue Mountains of Australia. As their own publicity says “Men. Singing Songs. Some of them are funny.” Their idiosyncratic mixture of dead-pan comedy, pathos and beautiful harmonies felt like a combination of the amazing Chumbawamba performance at WOMAD 2010 (reviewed here in July 2010) and the legendary Flying Pickets. Here’s a flavour of the Spooky Men’s Chorale: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiFJL4IrH7Y. And another standout moment in an increasingly bizarre weekend was watching a 28-piece brass band playing Mike Oldfield’s ‘Tubular Bells’. Tubular Brass, arranged and conducted by Sandy Smith, also accompanied the young electronic music experimentalist Hannah Peel in her new work ‘Mary Casio’. But my favourite performances from WOMAD 2017 were all from the Baltic. Estonian fiddler Maarja Nuut and the Estonia folk trio Trad.Attack! both create very modern music from traditional folk sources. It has been eleven years since I last saw one of my favourite bands, the great Finnish folk/rock band Värttinä, live (reviewed here at WOMAD in August 2006) and it was fantastic to see their three female vocalists performing as Värttinä Vocal Trio on Saturday. They were joined by the English folk star Eliza Carthy for a wonderful English/Finnish version of ‘Three Drunken Maidens’. But my favourite song was the beautiful ‘Emoton’ which you can hear at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjsSMIXOnn0. For the record I beat last year’s tally of 22 bands, seeing 23 performances in total last weekend. And the weather was a mixed bag this year – hot, sunny, cold, wet, windy and very muddy by the end of the weekend. You can see a selection of my WOMAD 2017 photos at: https://culturaloutlook.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/WOMAD2017.
I have been writing here about my annual visit to the WOMAD Festival every year since 2006, so regular readers will be expecting a list of my key highlights, a boast about how many bands I saw and some comments on the weather – and I don’t plan to disappoint you! This year it was good to get the chance to see again some old favourites as well as some great new discoveries. It was WOMAD 2009 when I last saw the great Wassalou singer from Mali, Oumou Sangaré (reviewed here in July 2009 and March 2009), and it was wonderful to see her on great form again on the Open Air Stage this weekend. I wrote here in January 2016 about ‘Junun’ – the wonderfully hard-to-categorise album of music by the Israeli composer Shye Ben Tzur, recorded with a troupe of Sufi qawwali musicians and Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood – and it was great to get the chance to see this music performed live by Shye Ben Tzur & Rajasthan Express on Friday. One of the most bizarre moments of the weekend was watching Dorit Chrysler and Charlie Draper from the New York Theremin Society performing a mixture of classical, jazz and contemporary music on the original electronic instrument – I want a theremin! Talking of bizarre, it was a joy to discover the brilliant Spooky Men’s Chorale from the Blue Mountains of Australia. As their own publicity says “Men. Singing Songs. Some of them are funny.” Their idiosyncratic mixture of dead-pan comedy, pathos and beautiful harmonies felt like a combination of the amazing Chumbawamba performance at WOMAD 2010 (reviewed here in July 2010) and the legendary Flying Pickets. Here’s a flavour of the Spooky Men’s Chorale: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiFJL4IrH7Y. And another standout moment in an increasingly bizarre weekend was watching a 28-piece brass band playing Mike Oldfield’s ‘Tubular Bells’. Tubular Brass, arranged and conducted by Sandy Smith, also accompanied the young electronic music experimentalist Hannah Peel in her new work ‘Mary Casio’. But my favourite performances from WOMAD 2017 were all from the Baltic. Estonian fiddler Maarja Nuut and the Estonia folk trio Trad.Attack! both create very modern music from traditional folk sources. It has been eleven years since I last saw one of my favourite bands, the great Finnish folk/rock band Värttinä, live (reviewed here at WOMAD in August 2006) and it was fantastic to see their three female vocalists performing as Värttinä Vocal Trio on Saturday. They were joined by the English folk star Eliza Carthy for a wonderful English/Finnish version of ‘Three Drunken Maidens’. But my favourite song was the beautiful ‘Emoton’ which you can hear at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjsSMIXOnn0. For the record I beat last year’s tally of 22 bands, seeing 23 performances in total last weekend. And the weather was a mixed bag this year – hot, sunny, cold, wet, windy and very muddy by the end of the weekend. You can see a selection of my WOMAD 2017 photos at: https://culturaloutlook.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/WOMAD2017.
Thursday, July 27, 2017
'GLOW' by Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch
27 July 2017
I’ve just finished watching the excellent new Netflix comedy drama series ‘GLOW’. The Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling was a real 1980s TV franchise from which Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch have created this fictionalised show about the development of the show. Alison Brie plays Ruth – an aspiring actor struggling to land a serious role who comes to see the schlocky world of wrestling as a chance to perform. There is a great ensemble cast, including British pop singer Kate Nash making an impressive acting debut. ‘GLOW’ is very funny but ultimately succeeds because it really makes you care about the characters – as well as actually persuading this sceptic about the value of the staged sport it portrays. There is lots of 1980s period detail. And standup comedian Marc Maron steals the show as the sleazy director trying to bring a disparate group of women together to wrestle on camera.
I’ve just finished watching the excellent new Netflix comedy drama series ‘GLOW’. The Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling was a real 1980s TV franchise from which Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch have created this fictionalised show about the development of the show. Alison Brie plays Ruth – an aspiring actor struggling to land a serious role who comes to see the schlocky world of wrestling as a chance to perform. There is a great ensemble cast, including British pop singer Kate Nash making an impressive acting debut. ‘GLOW’ is very funny but ultimately succeeds because it really makes you care about the characters – as well as actually persuading this sceptic about the value of the staged sport it portrays. There is lots of 1980s period detail. And standup comedian Marc Maron steals the show as the sleazy director trying to bring a disparate group of women together to wrestle on camera.
Friday, July 21, 2017
Northampton Symphony Orchestra concert
21 July 2017
The last concert of each Northampton Symphony Orchestra season is always a private performance for the Friends of the Orchestra - a chance to say thank you for their support and an opportunity for the orchestra to explore repertoire that might not fit into one of our main concerts. This year's NSO Friends' Concert, last Sunday, concluded our season of Fifth Symphonies with Beethoven's 'Symphony no 5'. With such a famous piece of music it is easy to take it for granted and assume you know it all. So it was good to have the opportunity, over the past few weeks, to really get to grips with the symphony and to appreciate why it is such a successful and well known work. During 2016-17 we have played the fifth symphonies by Shostakovich, Glazunov, Sibelius, Alwyn, Mendelssohn and Beethoven. It has been a really enjoyable and interesting season of concerts, cleverly programmed by NSO Conductor, John Gibbons. But I'm not sure whether we really identified any particular characteristics of fifth symphonies. It is interesting that for many composers the fifth symphony seems to be a particularly significant work but, beyond the fact that getting as far as writing five symphonies is likely to indicate a maturing of the composer's skill, I don't think we noticed any other common features.
The rest of our programme on Sunday included Sullivan's overture to 'The Yeomen of the Guard' and Handel's 'Music for the Royal Fireworks'. But the star attraction was the return of the brilliant young saxophonist, Jess Gillam, who played John Williams' 'Escapades' with the NSO at our February 2017 concert. Jess is due to make three appearances at this year's BBC Proms, starting with the John Williams Prom this Thursday (which is being shown on BBC4 on the evening of Friday 21 July). She joined us again on Sunday to try out some pieces by Chick Corea that will form part of one of her Proms performances. Jess Gillam is an amazing performer and it was a privilege to see her in action again.
Sunday's concert also marked a final appearance with the NSO by my fellow horn player, Ian Frankland. Ian has been with NSO for 19 years and we have played alongside each other since 2000. We've had a great time and played in some amazing concerts together. I'll really miss Ian and wish him well for his forthcoming move to Copenhagen.
The last concert of each Northampton Symphony Orchestra season is always a private performance for the Friends of the Orchestra - a chance to say thank you for their support and an opportunity for the orchestra to explore repertoire that might not fit into one of our main concerts. This year's NSO Friends' Concert, last Sunday, concluded our season of Fifth Symphonies with Beethoven's 'Symphony no 5'. With such a famous piece of music it is easy to take it for granted and assume you know it all. So it was good to have the opportunity, over the past few weeks, to really get to grips with the symphony and to appreciate why it is such a successful and well known work. During 2016-17 we have played the fifth symphonies by Shostakovich, Glazunov, Sibelius, Alwyn, Mendelssohn and Beethoven. It has been a really enjoyable and interesting season of concerts, cleverly programmed by NSO Conductor, John Gibbons. But I'm not sure whether we really identified any particular characteristics of fifth symphonies. It is interesting that for many composers the fifth symphony seems to be a particularly significant work but, beyond the fact that getting as far as writing five symphonies is likely to indicate a maturing of the composer's skill, I don't think we noticed any other common features.
The rest of our programme on Sunday included Sullivan's overture to 'The Yeomen of the Guard' and Handel's 'Music for the Royal Fireworks'. But the star attraction was the return of the brilliant young saxophonist, Jess Gillam, who played John Williams' 'Escapades' with the NSO at our February 2017 concert. Jess is due to make three appearances at this year's BBC Proms, starting with the John Williams Prom this Thursday (which is being shown on BBC4 on the evening of Friday 21 July). She joined us again on Sunday to try out some pieces by Chick Corea that will form part of one of her Proms performances. Jess Gillam is an amazing performer and it was a privilege to see her in action again.
Sunday's concert also marked a final appearance with the NSO by my fellow horn player, Ian Frankland. Ian has been with NSO for 19 years and we have played alongside each other since 2000. We've had a great time and played in some amazing concerts together. I'll really miss Ian and wish him well for his forthcoming move to Copenhagen.
Friday, July 14, 2017
'Alan Partridge: Nomad' by Alan Partridge with Rob Gibbons, Neil Gibbons and Steve Coogan
14 July 2017
When I reviewed the Alan Partridge ‘autobiography’, ‘I, Partridge: We Need to Talk About Alan’ (in May 2012) I was particularly taken with how it managed to replay many of the best known Partridge moments (from radio and TV series going back more than 20 years) without making the book feel like a ‘greatest hits’ exercise, merely replaying old jokes, but actually adding a further layer of hindsight humour by re-telling the various incidents in exactly the way Alan himself would. The ‘sequel’, ‘Alan Partridge: Nomad’ by Alan Partridge with Rob Gibbons, Neil Gibbons and Steve Coogan (which I have just finished reading as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Alan Partridge) cleverly extends this technique. In this diary of Alan’s ill-fated attempt to get a TV commission for a celebrity walking series (in the style of Julia Bradbury or Clare Balding) by embarking on an emotional trek across East Anglia in the footsteps of his father, he includes his reflections on almost everything that has happened to Alan Partridge since the publication of ‘I, Partridge’. This includes telling us about the events that form the plot of Declan Lowney’s excellent 2013 film ‘Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa’. The whole Alan Partridge canon has become increasingly meta-textual. Rob Gibbons and Neil Gibbons are genuine Partridge fans who have turned their obsessively pedantic (Patridgean?) attention to detail regarding Alan’s history to superb effect in the books.
When I reviewed the Alan Partridge ‘autobiography’, ‘I, Partridge: We Need to Talk About Alan’ (in May 2012) I was particularly taken with how it managed to replay many of the best known Partridge moments (from radio and TV series going back more than 20 years) without making the book feel like a ‘greatest hits’ exercise, merely replaying old jokes, but actually adding a further layer of hindsight humour by re-telling the various incidents in exactly the way Alan himself would. The ‘sequel’, ‘Alan Partridge: Nomad’ by Alan Partridge with Rob Gibbons, Neil Gibbons and Steve Coogan (which I have just finished reading as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Alan Partridge) cleverly extends this technique. In this diary of Alan’s ill-fated attempt to get a TV commission for a celebrity walking series (in the style of Julia Bradbury or Clare Balding) by embarking on an emotional trek across East Anglia in the footsteps of his father, he includes his reflections on almost everything that has happened to Alan Partridge since the publication of ‘I, Partridge’. This includes telling us about the events that form the plot of Declan Lowney’s excellent 2013 film ‘Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa’. The whole Alan Partridge canon has become increasingly meta-textual. Rob Gibbons and Neil Gibbons are genuine Partridge fans who have turned their obsessively pedantic (Patridgean?) attention to detail regarding Alan’s history to superb effect in the books.
'Respectable' by Lynsey Hanley
14 July 2017
Since the EU referendum in June last year, I’ve been thinking a lot about the class divisions that were highlighted by the vote in so many communities that clearly felt disconnected from, and disillusioned with, Government and the ‘metropolitan elite’. In September 2016 I saw the Guardian journalist Lynsey Hanley give a brilliantly entertaining and provocative presentation about class and culture at the Creative People and Places conference in Doncaster. Lynsey Hanley’s book ‘Respectable: Crossing the Class Divide’ has been my timely, inspiring and challenging companion over the past few months. It has made a significant impression on my thinking in a very similar way to ‘Welcome to Everytown’ – Julian Baggini’s exploration of mainstream culture (reviewed here in April 2008). So it was particularly interesting to discover a reference in ‘Respectable’ to ‘Welcome to Everytown’ – especially as I hadn’t come to this reference when I met Julian Baggini for the first time in February and encouraged him to read ‘Respectable’. Lynsey Hanley uses her own experience of social mobility as a platform to explore and explode many middle class assumptions about working class people and culture. It is an important and fascinating book – highly recommended.
Since the EU referendum in June last year, I’ve been thinking a lot about the class divisions that were highlighted by the vote in so many communities that clearly felt disconnected from, and disillusioned with, Government and the ‘metropolitan elite’. In September 2016 I saw the Guardian journalist Lynsey Hanley give a brilliantly entertaining and provocative presentation about class and culture at the Creative People and Places conference in Doncaster. Lynsey Hanley’s book ‘Respectable: Crossing the Class Divide’ has been my timely, inspiring and challenging companion over the past few months. It has made a significant impression on my thinking in a very similar way to ‘Welcome to Everytown’ – Julian Baggini’s exploration of mainstream culture (reviewed here in April 2008). So it was particularly interesting to discover a reference in ‘Respectable’ to ‘Welcome to Everytown’ – especially as I hadn’t come to this reference when I met Julian Baggini for the first time in February and encouraged him to read ‘Respectable’. Lynsey Hanley uses her own experience of social mobility as a platform to explore and explode many middle class assumptions about working class people and culture. It is an important and fascinating book – highly recommended.
'Titus Andronicus' by William Shakespeare
14 July 2017
Last Tuesday we were at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon to see the new RSC production of ‘Titus Andronicus’. I had never seen ‘Titus Andronicus’ before and, although this was a stunning production, I don’t think I want to see it again. I knew the play has a reputation for being particularly gory but I found the plot incredibly discomfiting as well as not making a great deal of sense. There is a horrifically brutal rape scene that sits very uneasily with the dark comedy that follows. There is also an incredible amount of blood spilled during the performance: don’t sit in the front row! Blanche McIntyre’s modern-dress production is an amazing theatrical experience which compares contemporary crises to the decline of Roman civilisation, opening with anti-austerity protesters in hoodies trying to storm fences protecting the Roman Senate. There were some very witty touches, such as making the messenger Titus Andronicus sends to the Emperor into a cyclist with a padded ‘Deliveroma’ box on his back. And having some of the speeches delivered from a podium with a microphone allowed for a quiet comic undercutting of some of the more declarative text. The (very) dark humour reminded me of the 2005 National Theatre production of ‘Theatre of Blood’ (adapted by Lee Simpson and Phelim McDermott from the 1973 MGM movie). The always-impressive David Troughton, who I last saw at the RSC as Gloucester in ‘King Lear’ (reviewed here in September 2016) is wonderful as Titus Andronicus (is he working his way through the goriest Shakespearean parts?). This is a quality production of a very peculiar play.
Last Tuesday we were at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon to see the new RSC production of ‘Titus Andronicus’. I had never seen ‘Titus Andronicus’ before and, although this was a stunning production, I don’t think I want to see it again. I knew the play has a reputation for being particularly gory but I found the plot incredibly discomfiting as well as not making a great deal of sense. There is a horrifically brutal rape scene that sits very uneasily with the dark comedy that follows. There is also an incredible amount of blood spilled during the performance: don’t sit in the front row! Blanche McIntyre’s modern-dress production is an amazing theatrical experience which compares contemporary crises to the decline of Roman civilisation, opening with anti-austerity protesters in hoodies trying to storm fences protecting the Roman Senate. There were some very witty touches, such as making the messenger Titus Andronicus sends to the Emperor into a cyclist with a padded ‘Deliveroma’ box on his back. And having some of the speeches delivered from a podium with a microphone allowed for a quiet comic undercutting of some of the more declarative text. The (very) dark humour reminded me of the 2005 National Theatre production of ‘Theatre of Blood’ (adapted by Lee Simpson and Phelim McDermott from the 1973 MGM movie). The always-impressive David Troughton, who I last saw at the RSC as Gloucester in ‘King Lear’ (reviewed here in September 2016) is wonderful as Titus Andronicus (is he working his way through the goriest Shakespearean parts?). This is a quality production of a very peculiar play.
'Great Expectations' by Charles Dickens, adapted by Laura Turner
14 July 2017
On Saturday 1 July we were at the National Trust stately home at Claydon near Buckingham for an outdoor theatre production by Chapterhouse Theatre Company. We have seen many Chapterhouse productions over recent years (at a variety of venues) and they always bring an impressive cast of young actors who rise to the many challenges of an outdoor performance. Laura Turner has made a specialism of adapting classic novels for Chapterhouse outdoor productions and this time we saw her adaptation of ‘Great Expectations’ by Charles Dickens. It was a beautiful evening to spend in such a lovely setting, with Claydon itself playing the part of Satis House and a wonderful sunset providing the backdrop to the play. The cast were all very strong but Dominic Quinn, making his Chapterhouse debut as a late replacement for the actor playing Magwitch and Jaggers, was particularly impressive.
On Saturday 1 July we were at the National Trust stately home at Claydon near Buckingham for an outdoor theatre production by Chapterhouse Theatre Company. We have seen many Chapterhouse productions over recent years (at a variety of venues) and they always bring an impressive cast of young actors who rise to the many challenges of an outdoor performance. Laura Turner has made a specialism of adapting classic novels for Chapterhouse outdoor productions and this time we saw her adaptation of ‘Great Expectations’ by Charles Dickens. It was a beautiful evening to spend in such a lovely setting, with Claydon itself playing the part of Satis House and a wonderful sunset providing the backdrop to the play. The cast were all very strong but Dominic Quinn, making his Chapterhouse debut as a late replacement for the actor playing Magwitch and Jaggers, was particularly impressive.
Thursday, June 29, 2017
'Small Great Things' by Jodi Picoult
29 June 2017
Jodi Picoult's novel 'Small Great Things', which I have just finished reading (as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Noma Dumezweni, Jeff Harding and Jennifer Woodward), is a very impressive exploration of racism in contemporary America. When Ruth Jefferson, an experienced and highly respected nurse working in a hospital in Newhaven, Connecticut, is removed from caring for a newborn baby because his white supremacist parents do not want an African American touching their son, she is understandably angry and upset. When the baby then dies suddenly and unexpectedly, Ruth finds herself suspended and charged with murder. But 'Small Great Things' resists the melodrama this plot suggests and focuses instead on the prejudices, explicit and implicit, of everyone involved. Telling the story through the eyes of Ruth, her white liberal lawyer and the baby's skinhead father, Picoult alternates narrators, often overlapping different views of the same scene. She makes all these characters very real and believable - even making the fascist father almost sympathetic. Ultimately she shows the unconscious racism of well-meaning people like the liberal lawyer to be as damaging as the more blatant prejudice practised by the baby's parents. I was struck by her distinction between 'equality' and 'equity' - suggesting that treating everyone the same is often not enough to redress the balance. What appears, initially, to be a fairly grim thriller turns into a thought-provoking examination with well drawn characters and some beautiful writing.
Jodi Picoult's novel 'Small Great Things', which I have just finished reading (as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Noma Dumezweni, Jeff Harding and Jennifer Woodward), is a very impressive exploration of racism in contemporary America. When Ruth Jefferson, an experienced and highly respected nurse working in a hospital in Newhaven, Connecticut, is removed from caring for a newborn baby because his white supremacist parents do not want an African American touching their son, she is understandably angry and upset. When the baby then dies suddenly and unexpectedly, Ruth finds herself suspended and charged with murder. But 'Small Great Things' resists the melodrama this plot suggests and focuses instead on the prejudices, explicit and implicit, of everyone involved. Telling the story through the eyes of Ruth, her white liberal lawyer and the baby's skinhead father, Picoult alternates narrators, often overlapping different views of the same scene. She makes all these characters very real and believable - even making the fascist father almost sympathetic. Ultimately she shows the unconscious racism of well-meaning people like the liberal lawyer to be as damaging as the more blatant prejudice practised by the baby's parents. I was struck by her distinction between 'equality' and 'equity' - suggesting that treating everyone the same is often not enough to redress the balance. What appears, initially, to be a fairly grim thriller turns into a thought-provoking examination with well drawn characters and some beautiful writing.
Tuesday, June 27, 2017
Aegon Birmingham Classic Tennis
27 June 2017
On Saturday we were at the Priory Club in Edgbaston, Birmingham to see the semi-finals of the Aegon Birmingham Classic tennis tournament. It was great to see the former Wimbledon Champion, Petra Kvitová, returning to form following an enforced absence from the game after being attacked and injured by an intruder in her home at the end of last year. It was a shame her semi-final was cut short by an injury to her opponent, Lucie Šafárová, but still good to see her playing so well. The second semi-final was a thriller, with Garbiñe Muguruza – last year’s French Open winner – losing in three sets to the young Australian doubles specialist Ashleigh Barty. It was one of those tennis matches where you genuinely couldn’t tell who was going to win. Even at 5-1 down in the final set Muguruza looked as if she still might triumph. It was a really exciting match. We finished the day with an entertaining, if fairly one-sided, doubles semi-final won by Chan Hao-ching and Zhang Shuai. We had been looking forward to seeing Ashleigh Barty again in the doubles but her semi-final was a walkover after one of her opponents pulled out through injury. The problem with a pre-Wimbledon tournament is that anyone who feels the slightest twinge is clearly not to going to risk missing Wimbledon. Nevertheless we had a really enjoyable day of tennis in Birmingham.
On Saturday we were at the Priory Club in Edgbaston, Birmingham to see the semi-finals of the Aegon Birmingham Classic tennis tournament. It was great to see the former Wimbledon Champion, Petra Kvitová, returning to form following an enforced absence from the game after being attacked and injured by an intruder in her home at the end of last year. It was a shame her semi-final was cut short by an injury to her opponent, Lucie Šafárová, but still good to see her playing so well. The second semi-final was a thriller, with Garbiñe Muguruza – last year’s French Open winner – losing in three sets to the young Australian doubles specialist Ashleigh Barty. It was one of those tennis matches where you genuinely couldn’t tell who was going to win. Even at 5-1 down in the final set Muguruza looked as if she still might triumph. It was a really exciting match. We finished the day with an entertaining, if fairly one-sided, doubles semi-final won by Chan Hao-ching and Zhang Shuai. We had been looking forward to seeing Ashleigh Barty again in the doubles but her semi-final was a walkover after one of her opponents pulled out through injury. The problem with a pre-Wimbledon tournament is that anyone who feels the slightest twinge is clearly not to going to risk missing Wimbledon. Nevertheless we had a really enjoyable day of tennis in Birmingham.
Tuesday, June 20, 2017
Northampton Symphony Orchestra concert
20 June 2017
One of the first things you are taught about classical music is not to clap between the movements of a piece. I can remember my primary school teacher telling us, before we attended a schools concert at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester that, even if every other child in the audience applauded at the end of the first movement, we should not. My former boss, Robin Osterley, while he was a music student, attended an early music concert at the Royal Albert Hall at which he felt he was the only person not clapping between movements – only to discover that this mid-piece applause was a deliberate part of the authentic recreation of early classical music. As a performer, audience applause that is a genuine response to the exciting conclusion of a movement (rather than a polite ripple because the audience feels it is expected) is always welcome. I fondly remember such a spontaneous reaction to the end of the first movement of Grieg’s ‘Piano Concerto’ performed by Peter Donohoe in a concert I played in as a teenager at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. So when, in our Northampton Symphony Orchestra concert last Saturday, the thrilling climax of the first movement of the Tchaikovsky ‘Violin Concerto’, played by the incredible young Polish violinist Kamila Bydlowska, drew rapturous applause, it felt like fitting appreciation of a stunning performance. Admittedly the concert programme failed to mention how many movements there were in the Concerto – so some audience members might have been anticipating an early interval glass of wine! But nobody seemed disappointed when we embarked on two more movements that showcased the breathtaking skills of this stunning young soloist. We started the concert with Hubert Parry’s ‘Symphonic Variations’ – an interesting missing link between Brahms’ ‘St Anthony Variations’ and Elgar’s ‘Enigma Variations’ which really grew on me over the weeks we rehearsed it. I was also intrigued to get to know the ‘Overture to King Lear’ by Hector Berlioz – an exciting piece with two great tunes that seems to have far too happy an ending for Shakespeare’s great tragedy. The concert concluded with the latest in our season of Fifth Symphonies, Mendelssohn’s ‘Reformation Symphony’. I watched the symphony from the audience, as there are only two horn parts, and really enjoyed the orchestra’s performance. This concert programme was another interesting mix of the familiar and lesser-known repertoire from Conductor John Gibbons. We will complete our exploration of Fifth Symphonies next month with perhaps the most famous of them all, Beethoven’s Fifth.
One of the first things you are taught about classical music is not to clap between the movements of a piece. I can remember my primary school teacher telling us, before we attended a schools concert at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester that, even if every other child in the audience applauded at the end of the first movement, we should not. My former boss, Robin Osterley, while he was a music student, attended an early music concert at the Royal Albert Hall at which he felt he was the only person not clapping between movements – only to discover that this mid-piece applause was a deliberate part of the authentic recreation of early classical music. As a performer, audience applause that is a genuine response to the exciting conclusion of a movement (rather than a polite ripple because the audience feels it is expected) is always welcome. I fondly remember such a spontaneous reaction to the end of the first movement of Grieg’s ‘Piano Concerto’ performed by Peter Donohoe in a concert I played in as a teenager at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. So when, in our Northampton Symphony Orchestra concert last Saturday, the thrilling climax of the first movement of the Tchaikovsky ‘Violin Concerto’, played by the incredible young Polish violinist Kamila Bydlowska, drew rapturous applause, it felt like fitting appreciation of a stunning performance. Admittedly the concert programme failed to mention how many movements there were in the Concerto – so some audience members might have been anticipating an early interval glass of wine! But nobody seemed disappointed when we embarked on two more movements that showcased the breathtaking skills of this stunning young soloist. We started the concert with Hubert Parry’s ‘Symphonic Variations’ – an interesting missing link between Brahms’ ‘St Anthony Variations’ and Elgar’s ‘Enigma Variations’ which really grew on me over the weeks we rehearsed it. I was also intrigued to get to know the ‘Overture to King Lear’ by Hector Berlioz – an exciting piece with two great tunes that seems to have far too happy an ending for Shakespeare’s great tragedy. The concert concluded with the latest in our season of Fifth Symphonies, Mendelssohn’s ‘Reformation Symphony’. I watched the symphony from the audience, as there are only two horn parts, and really enjoyed the orchestra’s performance. This concert programme was another interesting mix of the familiar and lesser-known repertoire from Conductor John Gibbons. We will complete our exploration of Fifth Symphonies next month with perhaps the most famous of them all, Beethoven’s Fifth.
Thursday, June 15, 2017
'Tribute to Ndiouga Dieng' by Orchestra Baobab
15 June 2017
My interest in ‘world music’ stems from reading Robin Denselow’s glowing review, in The Guardian on 6 September 2002, of ‘Specialist in All Styles’ - the spectacular reunion album by the legendary 1970s Senegalese band, Orchestra Baobab (see: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2002/sep/06/worldmusic.artsfeatures). Inspired by this five-star review I bought the album and then took the opportunity to see Orchestra Baobab live at the Derngate in Northampton. At that concert I bought a copy of Songlines magazine (which included a major feature on Orchestra Baobab). I soon became a Songlines subscriber and then a regular attender of the annual WOMAD Festival. I owe Orchestra Baobab a huge debt of gratitude for opening up a world of music to me. I have a particular soft spot for their retro fusion, and that of the other great big bands of the 1970s such as the Rail Band of Mali and Bembeya Jazz of Guinea. Their re-appropriation of Cuban salsa – which itself stemmed from an adaptation of traditional West African music – created an infectiously danceable mix. This week I have been listening to the new album from Orchestra Baobab, ‘Tribute to Ndiouga Dieng’, which honours one of the band’s original singers who died last November. This is an interestingly varied album with the classic Orchestra Baobab sound (guitars, percussion, brass) augmented by the inclusion, for the first time, of a kora – the West African 21-string harp-lute. The album also features guest vocals from some other stars of West African music, Cheikh Lo and Thione Seck. It is a confident, assured, laid-back set of songs from one of the great African bands.
My interest in ‘world music’ stems from reading Robin Denselow’s glowing review, in The Guardian on 6 September 2002, of ‘Specialist in All Styles’ - the spectacular reunion album by the legendary 1970s Senegalese band, Orchestra Baobab (see: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2002/sep/06/worldmusic.artsfeatures). Inspired by this five-star review I bought the album and then took the opportunity to see Orchestra Baobab live at the Derngate in Northampton. At that concert I bought a copy of Songlines magazine (which included a major feature on Orchestra Baobab). I soon became a Songlines subscriber and then a regular attender of the annual WOMAD Festival. I owe Orchestra Baobab a huge debt of gratitude for opening up a world of music to me. I have a particular soft spot for their retro fusion, and that of the other great big bands of the 1970s such as the Rail Band of Mali and Bembeya Jazz of Guinea. Their re-appropriation of Cuban salsa – which itself stemmed from an adaptation of traditional West African music – created an infectiously danceable mix. This week I have been listening to the new album from Orchestra Baobab, ‘Tribute to Ndiouga Dieng’, which honours one of the band’s original singers who died last November. This is an interestingly varied album with the classic Orchestra Baobab sound (guitars, percussion, brass) augmented by the inclusion, for the first time, of a kora – the West African 21-string harp-lute. The album also features guest vocals from some other stars of West African music, Cheikh Lo and Thione Seck. It is a confident, assured, laid-back set of songs from one of the great African bands.
Wednesday, June 07, 2017
'White Tears' by Hari Kunzru
7 June 2017
Having really enjoyed Hari Kunzru’s brilliant debut novel ‘The Impressionist’ (reviewed here in September 2013), I was looking forward to his latest book, ‘White Tears’, which I have just finished reading (as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Jonathan Todd Ross). ‘White Tears’ starts as a tale of two young, white record producers in contemporary New York who create a fake recording purporting to be an authentic 1930s blues track. They decide to call their imaginary black blues singer Charlie Shaw but are disconcerted when they are approached by someone who claims to have met Charlie Shaw in 1959. As the novel progresses boundaries between the present and past get increasingly blurred as we struggle to work out what is ‘authentic’. ‘White Tears’ at times feels like a ghost story, with the mythical singer seeking vengeance for the wrongs done to him a lifetime ago. The book uses magical realism to create a dreamlike atmosphere which reminded me of Kazuo Ishiguro’s ‘The Unconsoled’. But unlike that often deliberately frustrating novel, ‘White Tears’ does eventually arrive at an explanation, of sorts. The first half of the book, with its its New York setting and two young partners in crime, reminded me of Donna Tartt’s ‘The Goldfinch’ (reviewed here in 2014). ‘White Tears is an interesting and ambitious undertaking and Hari Kunzru is clearly a very accomplished writer but I’m not convinced it fully worked. The book was slow to get going and felt far too long. It was hard to sympathise with any of the main characters and, although the denouement was cleverly satisfying, it was hard work getting to it.
Having really enjoyed Hari Kunzru’s brilliant debut novel ‘The Impressionist’ (reviewed here in September 2013), I was looking forward to his latest book, ‘White Tears’, which I have just finished reading (as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Jonathan Todd Ross). ‘White Tears’ starts as a tale of two young, white record producers in contemporary New York who create a fake recording purporting to be an authentic 1930s blues track. They decide to call their imaginary black blues singer Charlie Shaw but are disconcerted when they are approached by someone who claims to have met Charlie Shaw in 1959. As the novel progresses boundaries between the present and past get increasingly blurred as we struggle to work out what is ‘authentic’. ‘White Tears’ at times feels like a ghost story, with the mythical singer seeking vengeance for the wrongs done to him a lifetime ago. The book uses magical realism to create a dreamlike atmosphere which reminded me of Kazuo Ishiguro’s ‘The Unconsoled’. But unlike that often deliberately frustrating novel, ‘White Tears’ does eventually arrive at an explanation, of sorts. The first half of the book, with its its New York setting and two young partners in crime, reminded me of Donna Tartt’s ‘The Goldfinch’ (reviewed here in 2014). ‘White Tears is an interesting and ambitious undertaking and Hari Kunzru is clearly a very accomplished writer but I’m not convinced it fully worked. The book was slow to get going and felt far too long. It was hard to sympathise with any of the main characters and, although the denouement was cleverly satisfying, it was hard work getting to it.
Friday, June 02, 2017
'Double Acts' by John Finnemore
2 June 2017
It is wonderful to see the return this week of John Finnemore’s ‘Double Acts’ (Wednesdays at 6.30 pm on BBC Radio 4) – a series of 30-minute comedy dramas, each featuring a different two actors. As with his first series, originally broadcast in 2015, John Finnemore has attracted an amazing cast and each of his short plays is beautifully constructed, invariably with a twist you really don’t see coming – often playing on the radio listener’s actual inability to see visual clues. This week’s opener, ‘The Queen’s Speech’ starring Stephanie Cole and Kerry Goldiman, was a fairly gentle start to the second series which you can listen to at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08rrc0m. I am really looking forward to the next five weeks.
It is wonderful to see the return this week of John Finnemore’s ‘Double Acts’ (Wednesdays at 6.30 pm on BBC Radio 4) – a series of 30-minute comedy dramas, each featuring a different two actors. As with his first series, originally broadcast in 2015, John Finnemore has attracted an amazing cast and each of his short plays is beautifully constructed, invariably with a twist you really don’t see coming – often playing on the radio listener’s actual inability to see visual clues. This week’s opener, ‘The Queen’s Speech’ starring Stephanie Cole and Kerry Goldiman, was a fairly gentle start to the second series which you can listen to at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08rrc0m. I am really looking forward to the next five weeks.
Friday, May 26, 2017
‘Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour’ by Lee Hall
26 May 2017
Last Saturday we were at the Duke of York’s Theatre in London to see ‘Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour’ - Lee Hall’s stage adaptation of Alan Warner’s novel ‘The Sopranos’. Vicky Featherstone’s National Theatre of Scotland/Live Theatre, Newcastle production, first seen in the 2015 Edinburgh Fringe Festival is now enjoying a West End run. It tells the tale of a group of schoolgirls from Oban visiting Edinburgh to take part in a choir competition. But these girls are not really there for the singing: their day out is a riot of drink, drugs, sex and extremely bad language, set to a soundtrack of classic ELO songs. Six young actors play both the six main characters and all the people they encounter in Edinburgh, narrating their story to us as well as playing out the key scenes – as if they are recounting the events to friends after returning home. This technique reminded me of John Godber’s ensemble plays for Hull Truck Theatre Company, such as ‘Shakers’ (reviewed here in November 2009) and ‘Teechers’ (reviewed here in September 2010). The play also could also be seen as a Scottish, female alternative to Alan Bennett’s ‘The History Boys’, The close-harmony singing of the Our Ladies cast is excellent – both in the school choir songs and the ELO numbers (for which they are accompanied on stage by a three-piece band). Lee Hall’s writing is sharp and often very funny. But I thought the show overplayed the shock value of Catholic schoolgirls running wild: the sex and violence was a bit unrelenting and most of the characters’ stories ended very bleakly. There were excellent performances and great music but it was a play that seemed to want to shout at its audience too loudly for too long.
Last Saturday we were at the Duke of York’s Theatre in London to see ‘Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour’ - Lee Hall’s stage adaptation of Alan Warner’s novel ‘The Sopranos’. Vicky Featherstone’s National Theatre of Scotland/Live Theatre, Newcastle production, first seen in the 2015 Edinburgh Fringe Festival is now enjoying a West End run. It tells the tale of a group of schoolgirls from Oban visiting Edinburgh to take part in a choir competition. But these girls are not really there for the singing: their day out is a riot of drink, drugs, sex and extremely bad language, set to a soundtrack of classic ELO songs. Six young actors play both the six main characters and all the people they encounter in Edinburgh, narrating their story to us as well as playing out the key scenes – as if they are recounting the events to friends after returning home. This technique reminded me of John Godber’s ensemble plays for Hull Truck Theatre Company, such as ‘Shakers’ (reviewed here in November 2009) and ‘Teechers’ (reviewed here in September 2010). The play also could also be seen as a Scottish, female alternative to Alan Bennett’s ‘The History Boys’, The close-harmony singing of the Our Ladies cast is excellent – both in the school choir songs and the ELO numbers (for which they are accompanied on stage by a three-piece band). Lee Hall’s writing is sharp and often very funny. But I thought the show overplayed the shock value of Catholic schoolgirls running wild: the sex and violence was a bit unrelenting and most of the characters’ stories ended very bleakly. There were excellent performances and great music but it was a play that seemed to want to shout at its audience too loudly for too long.
Friday, May 19, 2017
'In the Woods' by Tana French
19 May 2017
My exploration of the Dublin Murder Squad novels by Tana French has now taken me back to the start. I’ve just finished reading the first novel in the series, ‘In the Woods’ (as an unabridged audio book, narrated by John McCormack). This story had a lot in common with the last Tana French book I read – ‘Faithful Place’ (reviewed here in April 2017). Both novels have a narrating detective who was personally involved in a historical crime at the centre of new investigation and both these detectives proved to be fairly unsympathetic protagonists. As with most of the Dublin Murder Squad books, Tana French is almost as interested in the relationship between the investigating detectives (here Rob Ryan and Cassie Maddox) as in solving the crime. Although there were some signs of an author finding her way a little with this first book in the series, I found the plot of ‘In the Woods’ a particularly intriguing puzzle. And French’s writing is always intelligent and eloquent.
My exploration of the Dublin Murder Squad novels by Tana French has now taken me back to the start. I’ve just finished reading the first novel in the series, ‘In the Woods’ (as an unabridged audio book, narrated by John McCormack). This story had a lot in common with the last Tana French book I read – ‘Faithful Place’ (reviewed here in April 2017). Both novels have a narrating detective who was personally involved in a historical crime at the centre of new investigation and both these detectives proved to be fairly unsympathetic protagonists. As with most of the Dublin Murder Squad books, Tana French is almost as interested in the relationship between the investigating detectives (here Rob Ryan and Cassie Maddox) as in solving the crime. Although there were some signs of an author finding her way a little with this first book in the series, I found the plot of ‘In the Woods’ a particularly intriguing puzzle. And French’s writing is always intelligent and eloquent.
Croatia
19 May 2017
We had a wonderful holiday in Croatia last week. We were staying in the village of Slano on the Dalmation coast, North of Dubrovnik. It’s a beautiful area – a Croatian version of the French Riviera, with a narrow, winding coastal road providing spectacular views of steep, wooded slopes leading down to the deep blue Adriatic sea. We did a lot of walking – along the coast, into the mountains and on the idyllic island of Koločep – seeing amazing views and stepping carefully to avoid the occasional snake! The medieval, walled old town of Dubrovnik is stunning – it’s a real tourist trap but well worth braving the crowds. You can see why it is in so much demand as a film set. We also walked up Mount Srd to the Fortress overlooking Dubrovnik where there is a sobering exhibition about the 1991 siege of the old town, when Serbian and Montenegrin forces bombed this unique heritage site. Watching recordings of the ITN coverage of the siege felt very strange as we stood in the same area that some of the bombs were falling on the TV screen.
You can see some of my photos of Croatia at: http://culturaloutlook.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Croatia2017
We had a wonderful holiday in Croatia last week. We were staying in the village of Slano on the Dalmation coast, North of Dubrovnik. It’s a beautiful area – a Croatian version of the French Riviera, with a narrow, winding coastal road providing spectacular views of steep, wooded slopes leading down to the deep blue Adriatic sea. We did a lot of walking – along the coast, into the mountains and on the idyllic island of Koločep – seeing amazing views and stepping carefully to avoid the occasional snake! The medieval, walled old town of Dubrovnik is stunning – it’s a real tourist trap but well worth braving the crowds. You can see why it is in so much demand as a film set. We also walked up Mount Srd to the Fortress overlooking Dubrovnik where there is a sobering exhibition about the 1991 siege of the old town, when Serbian and Montenegrin forces bombed this unique heritage site. Watching recordings of the ITN coverage of the siege felt very strange as we stood in the same area that some of the bombs were falling on the TV screen.
You can see some of my photos of Croatia at: http://culturaloutlook.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Croatia2017
Friday, May 05, 2017
'Far From The Madding Crowd' by Thomas Hardy, adapted by Adrian Preater
5 May 2017
On Thursday we were at The Place in Bedford to see the Hotbuckle Productions performance of ‘Far From The Madding Crowd’, adapted from the novel by Thomas Hardy by Adrian Preater. It was an excellent show – high quality fringe theatre with four actors playing multiple parts. It had the feel of a summer outdoor touring production with clear, accessible story-telling, live music and plenty of humour. They steered a course which avoided the danger of being worthy but dull, while not making the comedy too broad and pantomimic. The play used narration passing between each of the four actors in turn, creating a sequential relay Greek Chorus (as in the Propeller production of ‘Henry V’, reviewed here in December 2011, and Polly Findlay’s production of ‘Antigone’ at the National Theatre, reviewed here in June 2012). The actors – Adrian Preater, Virginia Lee, Mimi Edwards and Matthew Rothwell – were all excellent, conjuring up their different characters through changes of stance and facial expression as much as with costume changes. It was a very likeable and moving performance.
On Thursday we were at The Place in Bedford to see the Hotbuckle Productions performance of ‘Far From The Madding Crowd’, adapted from the novel by Thomas Hardy by Adrian Preater. It was an excellent show – high quality fringe theatre with four actors playing multiple parts. It had the feel of a summer outdoor touring production with clear, accessible story-telling, live music and plenty of humour. They steered a course which avoided the danger of being worthy but dull, while not making the comedy too broad and pantomimic. The play used narration passing between each of the four actors in turn, creating a sequential relay Greek Chorus (as in the Propeller production of ‘Henry V’, reviewed here in December 2011, and Polly Findlay’s production of ‘Antigone’ at the National Theatre, reviewed here in June 2012). The actors – Adrian Preater, Virginia Lee, Mimi Edwards and Matthew Rothwell – were all excellent, conjuring up their different characters through changes of stance and facial expression as much as with costume changes. It was a very likeable and moving performance.
Wednesday, May 03, 2017
Northampton Symphony Orchestra concert
3 May 2017
I first encountered the stunning young Latvian pianist Arta Arnicane in June 2014 when she joined the Northampton Symphony Orchestra to give a remarkable performance of two Gershwin pieces, 'Rhapsody in Blue' and the 'I Got Rhythm' variations for piano and orchestra (reviewed here in June 2014). That concert is still fondly remembered by members of the orchestra and our audience, in particular for Arta’s encore, 'The Serpent's Kiss' – a Rag Fantasy by William Bolcom, which drew gasps, laughter, rapturous applause and a standing ovation. On Saturday Arta Arnicane was back in Northampton to play the ‘Piano Concerto No 3’ by Bela Bartok – an incredibly challenging work which required intense concentration by all of us in the orchestra, but which Arta seemed to float through with ease. The delicate slow movement, in particular, was beautifully moving: it was a very impressive performance. The first half of the concert also featured William Alwyn’s ‘Symphony no. 5 “Hydriotaphia”’. Our conductor, John Gibbons, is a champion of the Northampton-born composer, Alwyn: we played his piece ‘The Magic Island' (inspired by 'The Tempest') in the NSO’s Shakespeare celebration, 'The Bard's Birthday Bash' last year (reviewed here in April 2016). Alwyn’s 5th Symphony is an entertaining, programmatic work which builds on his extensive experience as a composer of film music. Rhythmically and harmonically unpredictable, it presented some similar challenges to the Bartok but I enjoyed getting to know it and the symphony seemed to go down well with our audience. The second half of the concert contained two much more familiar works, Mussorgsky’s ‘A Night on a Bald Mountain’ as well as the mighty ‘Symphony No 5’ by Sibelius, continuing our season of 5th symphonies. Considered by some to be the greatest symphony of the 20th century, Sibelius’ 5th is a gorgeous melting pot of harmonies with some lovely moments for us horn players. It was a fascinating concert which saw the orchestra rise to a series of very different challenges. You can get a flavour of several elements of Saturday’s concert by watching this 2014 performance of William Alywn’s ‘Piano Concerto No 2’ by Arta Arnicane with the Ealing Symphony Orchestra, conducted by John Gibbons: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZFAibVtQBQ
I first encountered the stunning young Latvian pianist Arta Arnicane in June 2014 when she joined the Northampton Symphony Orchestra to give a remarkable performance of two Gershwin pieces, 'Rhapsody in Blue' and the 'I Got Rhythm' variations for piano and orchestra (reviewed here in June 2014). That concert is still fondly remembered by members of the orchestra and our audience, in particular for Arta’s encore, 'The Serpent's Kiss' – a Rag Fantasy by William Bolcom, which drew gasps, laughter, rapturous applause and a standing ovation. On Saturday Arta Arnicane was back in Northampton to play the ‘Piano Concerto No 3’ by Bela Bartok – an incredibly challenging work which required intense concentration by all of us in the orchestra, but which Arta seemed to float through with ease. The delicate slow movement, in particular, was beautifully moving: it was a very impressive performance. The first half of the concert also featured William Alwyn’s ‘Symphony no. 5 “Hydriotaphia”’. Our conductor, John Gibbons, is a champion of the Northampton-born composer, Alwyn: we played his piece ‘The Magic Island' (inspired by 'The Tempest') in the NSO’s Shakespeare celebration, 'The Bard's Birthday Bash' last year (reviewed here in April 2016). Alwyn’s 5th Symphony is an entertaining, programmatic work which builds on his extensive experience as a composer of film music. Rhythmically and harmonically unpredictable, it presented some similar challenges to the Bartok but I enjoyed getting to know it and the symphony seemed to go down well with our audience. The second half of the concert contained two much more familiar works, Mussorgsky’s ‘A Night on a Bald Mountain’ as well as the mighty ‘Symphony No 5’ by Sibelius, continuing our season of 5th symphonies. Considered by some to be the greatest symphony of the 20th century, Sibelius’ 5th is a gorgeous melting pot of harmonies with some lovely moments for us horn players. It was a fascinating concert which saw the orchestra rise to a series of very different challenges. You can get a flavour of several elements of Saturday’s concert by watching this 2014 performance of William Alywn’s ‘Piano Concerto No 2’ by Arta Arnicane with the Ealing Symphony Orchestra, conducted by John Gibbons: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZFAibVtQBQ
Friday, April 28, 2017
'Zanaka' by Jain
28 April 2017
If you want to cheer yourself up I would recommend listening to ‘Zanaka’ – the debut album by young French singer/songwriter Jain. 25-year-old Jeanne Galice has French and Madagascan parents and grew up in the United Arab Emirates and the Republic of Congo. Her songs are bright, cheerful pop incorporating a wide range of Arabic and African influences. The result is incredibly cool and funky. Though musically quite different, her sense of style and beautifully choreographed performances have a lot in common with that other young French talent, Christine and the Queens. Take a look at Jain’s tribute to the late great South African singer Miriam Makeba (‘Mama Africa’) at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59Q_lhgGANc and the wonderfully upbeat song ‘Come’ at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDXOzr0GoA4
If you want to cheer yourself up I would recommend listening to ‘Zanaka’ – the debut album by young French singer/songwriter Jain. 25-year-old Jeanne Galice has French and Madagascan parents and grew up in the United Arab Emirates and the Republic of Congo. Her songs are bright, cheerful pop incorporating a wide range of Arabic and African influences. The result is incredibly cool and funky. Though musically quite different, her sense of style and beautifully choreographed performances have a lot in common with that other young French talent, Christine and the Queens. Take a look at Jain’s tribute to the late great South African singer Miriam Makeba (‘Mama Africa’) at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59Q_lhgGANc and the wonderfully upbeat song ‘Come’ at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDXOzr0GoA4
Thursday, April 20, 2017
'South of the River' by Blake Morrison
20 April 2017
Blake Morrison is a poet who received great acclaim for his candid and moving memoirs of his parents – ‘And When Did You Last See Your Father?’ (1993) and ‘Things My Mother Never Told Me’ (2002) – both of which I read and enjoyed some years ago. In 2007 he published his second novel, ‘South of the River’ which I have just finished reading. Reviews praised this as a state-of-the-nation novel – a British Jonathan Franzen or Philip Roth – but it felt to me much more like a David Lodge novel, with the same deceptively accessible prose disguising an incredibly clever structure and serious themes. ‘South of the River’ follows five interlinked individuals through the years immediately following the 1997 general election with each chapter written from the point of view of one of these five main characters. Although it doesn’t have the set-piece comic scenes of a David Lodge book, Blake Morrison demonstrates a similar lightness of touch and subtle planting of plot points that return later in the story. It’s a compelling set of stories that resists the temptation to neatly tie up all its loose ends. Unsurprisingly Blake Morrison shows a poet’s attention for words and word-play but what most impressed me was his ability to make us sympathise with each of the five main characters, even when their views were in opposition with each other. In this respect ‘South of the River’ did remind me of Jonathan Franzen’s ‘The Corrections’ but also of ‘Small Island’ by Andrea Levy. ‘South of the River’ is a really enjoyable novel covering an interesting period of our recent history through a series of connected personal stories. By the end I had become attached to these characters and really wanted to know what happened to them next.
Blake Morrison is a poet who received great acclaim for his candid and moving memoirs of his parents – ‘And When Did You Last See Your Father?’ (1993) and ‘Things My Mother Never Told Me’ (2002) – both of which I read and enjoyed some years ago. In 2007 he published his second novel, ‘South of the River’ which I have just finished reading. Reviews praised this as a state-of-the-nation novel – a British Jonathan Franzen or Philip Roth – but it felt to me much more like a David Lodge novel, with the same deceptively accessible prose disguising an incredibly clever structure and serious themes. ‘South of the River’ follows five interlinked individuals through the years immediately following the 1997 general election with each chapter written from the point of view of one of these five main characters. Although it doesn’t have the set-piece comic scenes of a David Lodge book, Blake Morrison demonstrates a similar lightness of touch and subtle planting of plot points that return later in the story. It’s a compelling set of stories that resists the temptation to neatly tie up all its loose ends. Unsurprisingly Blake Morrison shows a poet’s attention for words and word-play but what most impressed me was his ability to make us sympathise with each of the five main characters, even when their views were in opposition with each other. In this respect ‘South of the River’ did remind me of Jonathan Franzen’s ‘The Corrections’ but also of ‘Small Island’ by Andrea Levy. ‘South of the River’ is a really enjoyable novel covering an interesting period of our recent history through a series of connected personal stories. By the end I had become attached to these characters and really wanted to know what happened to them next.
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
'An American in Paris' by George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin and Craig Lucas
19 April 2017
George Gershwin wrote ‘An American in Paris’ in 1928 as a symphonic poem suggesting the experience of a first-time visitor falling in love with the French capital (complete with its car horns!). The piece has become a staple of the orchestral repertoire: I played it with Northampton Symphony Orchestra in 2010 (reviewed here in April 2010). In 1951 Vincente Minnelli took the music (and its title) and combined it with some popular Gershwin songs and a script by Alan Jay Lerner to create the famous film starring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron. The climax of the film is a 17-minute ballet sequence using the original Gershwin orchestral work. In 2015 the English choreographer Christopher Wheeldon created a stage musical version of ‘An American in Paris’ (with book by Craig Lucas) which played to great acclaim on Broadway. That original Broadway production, choreographed and directed by Christopher Wheeldon, is now at the Dominion Theatre in London where we saw it last Friday. It is a truly wonderful show – beautiful, uplifting and charmingly old-fashioned. To call it a musical is slightly misleading – the show is more a ballet interspersed with songs. It draws on Gershwin’s ‘An American in Paris’ and a range of his other orchestral compositions to create the score for a succession of big ensemble dance pieces. I spotted music from Gershwin's 'Cuban Overture' which I played with Northampton Symphony Orchestra last year (reviewed here in June 2016). But the show also includes some of Gershwin’s best-known songs including ‘I Got Rhythm’, ‘'S Wonderful’ and ‘But Not For Me’. The dancing was amazing: both the leads are star ballet dancers – Robert Fairchild was a Principal Dancer with the New York City Ballet and Leanne Cope gave up her position as First Artist with the Royal Ballet to take this role. All the cast danced beautifully but Robert Fairchild was particularly compelling – his movement, even in the acted scenes, was wonderfully fluid with the elasticity of a cartoon character. And these dancers are also impressive singers. The set by Bob Crowley, lighting by Natasha Katz and projections by 59 Productions created a stunning and dynamic theatrical landscape. The plot might have been a bit thin but this was an outstanding evening in the theatre. And the climax was, of course, an extended ballet duet featuring the original ‘An American in Paris’ music in full. Highly recommended.
George Gershwin wrote ‘An American in Paris’ in 1928 as a symphonic poem suggesting the experience of a first-time visitor falling in love with the French capital (complete with its car horns!). The piece has become a staple of the orchestral repertoire: I played it with Northampton Symphony Orchestra in 2010 (reviewed here in April 2010). In 1951 Vincente Minnelli took the music (and its title) and combined it with some popular Gershwin songs and a script by Alan Jay Lerner to create the famous film starring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron. The climax of the film is a 17-minute ballet sequence using the original Gershwin orchestral work. In 2015 the English choreographer Christopher Wheeldon created a stage musical version of ‘An American in Paris’ (with book by Craig Lucas) which played to great acclaim on Broadway. That original Broadway production, choreographed and directed by Christopher Wheeldon, is now at the Dominion Theatre in London where we saw it last Friday. It is a truly wonderful show – beautiful, uplifting and charmingly old-fashioned. To call it a musical is slightly misleading – the show is more a ballet interspersed with songs. It draws on Gershwin’s ‘An American in Paris’ and a range of his other orchestral compositions to create the score for a succession of big ensemble dance pieces. I spotted music from Gershwin's 'Cuban Overture' which I played with Northampton Symphony Orchestra last year (reviewed here in June 2016). But the show also includes some of Gershwin’s best-known songs including ‘I Got Rhythm’, ‘'S Wonderful’ and ‘But Not For Me’. The dancing was amazing: both the leads are star ballet dancers – Robert Fairchild was a Principal Dancer with the New York City Ballet and Leanne Cope gave up her position as First Artist with the Royal Ballet to take this role. All the cast danced beautifully but Robert Fairchild was particularly compelling – his movement, even in the acted scenes, was wonderfully fluid with the elasticity of a cartoon character. And these dancers are also impressive singers. The set by Bob Crowley, lighting by Natasha Katz and projections by 59 Productions created a stunning and dynamic theatrical landscape. The plot might have been a bit thin but this was an outstanding evening in the theatre. And the climax was, of course, an extended ballet duet featuring the original ‘An American in Paris’ music in full. Highly recommended.
Tuesday, April 18, 2017
'Faithful Place' by Tana French
18 April 2017
I’ve been continuing my journey through the Dublin Murder Squad novels by Tana French. Having read her latest book ‘The Trespasser’ (reviewed here in January 2017) I went back to an earlier novel, ‘Faithful Place’, which I have just finished reading as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Gerry O’Brien. ‘Faithful Place’ is told through the eyes of Detective Frank Mackey: in my backwards reading of the series I first encountered Frank Mackey in ‘The Secret Place’ (reviewed here in December 2016) in which Frank’s 16-year-old daughter Holly alerts Detective Stephen Moran to information about a murder at her boarding school. In ‘Faithful Place’ Holly is 9 years old and witness to a murder mystery involving her father’s family. This novel is slightly different to the others in the series in that the narrator is not a member of the Dublin Murder Squad (Frank is an Undercover Detective) and the crime at the centre of the story, which was committed 22 years ago, involves him and his family directly. ‘Faithful Place’ is another intriguing mystery but I found Frank Mackey a fairly unsympathetic protagonist. This book was more enjoyable as a piece in the jigsaw puzzle of novels created by Tana French. It was interesting to see Detective Scorcher Kennedy – the narrator of ‘Broken Harbour’ (reviewed here in May 2016) through the eyes of one of his colleagues. And it was satisfying to understand the beginning of the relationship between Frank Mackey and Stephen Moran which plays an important part in ‘The Secret Place’.
I’ve been continuing my journey through the Dublin Murder Squad novels by Tana French. Having read her latest book ‘The Trespasser’ (reviewed here in January 2017) I went back to an earlier novel, ‘Faithful Place’, which I have just finished reading as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Gerry O’Brien. ‘Faithful Place’ is told through the eyes of Detective Frank Mackey: in my backwards reading of the series I first encountered Frank Mackey in ‘The Secret Place’ (reviewed here in December 2016) in which Frank’s 16-year-old daughter Holly alerts Detective Stephen Moran to information about a murder at her boarding school. In ‘Faithful Place’ Holly is 9 years old and witness to a murder mystery involving her father’s family. This novel is slightly different to the others in the series in that the narrator is not a member of the Dublin Murder Squad (Frank is an Undercover Detective) and the crime at the centre of the story, which was committed 22 years ago, involves him and his family directly. ‘Faithful Place’ is another intriguing mystery but I found Frank Mackey a fairly unsympathetic protagonist. This book was more enjoyable as a piece in the jigsaw puzzle of novels created by Tana French. It was interesting to see Detective Scorcher Kennedy – the narrator of ‘Broken Harbour’ (reviewed here in May 2016) through the eyes of one of his colleagues. And it was satisfying to understand the beginning of the relationship between Frank Mackey and Stephen Moran which plays an important part in ‘The Secret Place’.
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
Caro Emerald
12 April 2017
Four years ago, in April 2013, I turned on the TV, which happened to be tuned to the BBC Red Button channel, and stumbled upon a looped recording of a concert in the BBC Radio Theatre which immediately grabbed my attention. Completely forgetting whatever it was I had actually been switching on to watch, I found myself sitting through the entire concert, waiting for it to restart and watching back up to the point where I came in. This mesmerising performance was a session for BBC Radio 2 by the Dutch singer Caro Emerald. Her old-fashioned big band swing, updated by a modern four-to-the-floor dance beat, reminded me of the wonderful French group Caravan Palace who play the gypsy jazz swing of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli to pounding high-tempo electronic beats (reviewed here in July 2009). The use of samples from vintage recordings also brought to mind the Greek group Imam Baildi (reviewed here in May 2009) and the electronic tango of Gotan Project. Inspired by the Radio 2 concert I became a fan of Caro Emerald and would particularly recommend her 2013 album ‘The Shocking Miss Emerald’. So it was very exciting to get the chance to see her live this Tuesday at Milton Keynes Theatre. The 1400-seat theatre was completely sold out – I bought my ticket in November last year. Support was provided by the Israeli singer Irit whose lovely debut album ‘Hello’ is a summery feel-good collection of songs with a real international feel. Caro Emerald was stunning: trained as a jazz singer, her voice is strong and precise. Though her music draws on big band jazz it has more of a pop feel: there are no vocal hystrionics and the seven-piece band is very slick and polished. They use less electronics and sampling than Caravan Palace, Imam Baildi or Gotan Project – you could imagine them as a dance band transplanted from the 1940s to 2017. Indeed it was interesting to note how many of the songs are built on traditional ballroom and Latin rhythms (including tango, waltz, charleston, samba and cha cha cha). Regular readers will know that I love a band that dances to its own tunes and Caro Emerald and her band looked like they were having a great time – so was I. “Could you ever dream it - I have never dreamed, dreamed a night like this”.
You can take a look at footage of that 2013 Caro Emerald BBC Radio 2 session on YouTube – start with: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIg8PG7Xs9w
Four years ago, in April 2013, I turned on the TV, which happened to be tuned to the BBC Red Button channel, and stumbled upon a looped recording of a concert in the BBC Radio Theatre which immediately grabbed my attention. Completely forgetting whatever it was I had actually been switching on to watch, I found myself sitting through the entire concert, waiting for it to restart and watching back up to the point where I came in. This mesmerising performance was a session for BBC Radio 2 by the Dutch singer Caro Emerald. Her old-fashioned big band swing, updated by a modern four-to-the-floor dance beat, reminded me of the wonderful French group Caravan Palace who play the gypsy jazz swing of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli to pounding high-tempo electronic beats (reviewed here in July 2009). The use of samples from vintage recordings also brought to mind the Greek group Imam Baildi (reviewed here in May 2009) and the electronic tango of Gotan Project. Inspired by the Radio 2 concert I became a fan of Caro Emerald and would particularly recommend her 2013 album ‘The Shocking Miss Emerald’. So it was very exciting to get the chance to see her live this Tuesday at Milton Keynes Theatre. The 1400-seat theatre was completely sold out – I bought my ticket in November last year. Support was provided by the Israeli singer Irit whose lovely debut album ‘Hello’ is a summery feel-good collection of songs with a real international feel. Caro Emerald was stunning: trained as a jazz singer, her voice is strong and precise. Though her music draws on big band jazz it has more of a pop feel: there are no vocal hystrionics and the seven-piece band is very slick and polished. They use less electronics and sampling than Caravan Palace, Imam Baildi or Gotan Project – you could imagine them as a dance band transplanted from the 1940s to 2017. Indeed it was interesting to note how many of the songs are built on traditional ballroom and Latin rhythms (including tango, waltz, charleston, samba and cha cha cha). Regular readers will know that I love a band that dances to its own tunes and Caro Emerald and her band looked like they were having a great time – so was I. “Could you ever dream it - I have never dreamed, dreamed a night like this”.
You can take a look at footage of that 2013 Caro Emerald BBC Radio 2 session on YouTube – start with: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIg8PG7Xs9w
Monday, April 10, 2017
‘I Capture The Castle’ by Teresa Howard and Steven Edis, based on the novel by Dodie Smith
10 April 2017
On Saturday we were at Watford Palace Theatre to see ‘I Capture The Castle’ – a new stage musical by Teresa Howard and Steven Edis, based on the novel by Dodie Smith. This premiere production is a collaboration between Watford Palace Theatre and Bolton Octagon, directed by Brigid Larmour. It’s a lovely show – charming, quirky, moving and not taking itself too seriously. The music, by Steven Edis and Sona Morris’s choreography play on the 1930s setting, including a foxtrot, waltz and tango. Teresa Howard’s book and lyrics are witty and playful, capturing the mood of this classic coming-of-age novel. ‘I Capture the Castle’ feels like a mixture of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and ‘Cold Comfort Farm’ – not an easy trick to pull off. The cast were excellent, including two young leads at the very start of their careers – Lowri Izzard as Cassandra and Theo Boyce as Simon. And Ti Green’s set cleverly recreated the eccentric dilapidation of the castle that forms the family home. ‘I Capture The Castle’ is a beautiful miniature musical which reminded me of David Wood and Richard Taylor’s musical adaptation of ‘The Go-Between’ by L P Hartley (reviewed here in November 2001).
On Saturday we were at Watford Palace Theatre to see ‘I Capture The Castle’ – a new stage musical by Teresa Howard and Steven Edis, based on the novel by Dodie Smith. This premiere production is a collaboration between Watford Palace Theatre and Bolton Octagon, directed by Brigid Larmour. It’s a lovely show – charming, quirky, moving and not taking itself too seriously. The music, by Steven Edis and Sona Morris’s choreography play on the 1930s setting, including a foxtrot, waltz and tango. Teresa Howard’s book and lyrics are witty and playful, capturing the mood of this classic coming-of-age novel. ‘I Capture the Castle’ feels like a mixture of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and ‘Cold Comfort Farm’ – not an easy trick to pull off. The cast were excellent, including two young leads at the very start of their careers – Lowri Izzard as Cassandra and Theo Boyce as Simon. And Ti Green’s set cleverly recreated the eccentric dilapidation of the castle that forms the family home. ‘I Capture The Castle’ is a beautiful miniature musical which reminded me of David Wood and Richard Taylor’s musical adaptation of ‘The Go-Between’ by L P Hartley (reviewed here in November 2001).
Friday, April 07, 2017
'Twelfth Night' by William Shakespeare
7 April 2017
Regular readers may remember I am a fan of the theatre director Simon Godwin, having really enjoyed his productions of 'Two Gentlemen of Verona' (reviewed here in July 2014), 'Man and Superman' (reviewed here in May 2015), 'The Beaux' Stratagem' (reviewed here in September 2015) and ‘Hamlet’ (reviewed here in April 2016). You may also have noticed that ‘Twelfth Night’ is one of my favourite Shakespeare plays – I’ve reviewed productions of ‘Twelfth Night’ here four times (in February 2007, August 2009, November 2009 and March 2012). So I was nervous about the incredibly raised expectations I was bringing to Simon Godwin’s National Theatre production of ‘Twelfth Night’ which we saw via the NT Live cinema screening on Thursday evening. For this we made a first visit to the beautiful new Quarry Theatre in Bedford – a converted church, owned and run by Bedford School. I needn’t have worried: Simon Godwin’s ‘Twelfth Night’ was a delight. The production, noted for casting Tamsin Greig as a female Malvolio (Malvolia), was not the most subtle I have seen. The comedy was broad and exaggerated, with plenty of mugging and glances at the audience. But it was very very funny. I enjoyed the more serious comedy moments, such as the tender scenes between Tamara Lawrance’s Cesario and Phoebe Fox’s Olivia (who were both excellent), better than the pantomimic performances of the more ridiculous characters. Even so, you couldn’t fail to laugh at Daniel Rigby’s nervously physical Andrew Aguecheek and Tim McMullan (who we last saw almost stealing the show as Mendoza and The Devil in that production of 'Man and Superman') playing Sir Toby Belch in the style of Bill Nighy. And Tamsin Greig gave a compelling performance as Malvolia, her body and face twitching to reveal each growing understanding of her predicament.
Regular readers may remember I am a fan of the theatre director Simon Godwin, having really enjoyed his productions of 'Two Gentlemen of Verona' (reviewed here in July 2014), 'Man and Superman' (reviewed here in May 2015), 'The Beaux' Stratagem' (reviewed here in September 2015) and ‘Hamlet’ (reviewed here in April 2016). You may also have noticed that ‘Twelfth Night’ is one of my favourite Shakespeare plays – I’ve reviewed productions of ‘Twelfth Night’ here four times (in February 2007, August 2009, November 2009 and March 2012). So I was nervous about the incredibly raised expectations I was bringing to Simon Godwin’s National Theatre production of ‘Twelfth Night’ which we saw via the NT Live cinema screening on Thursday evening. For this we made a first visit to the beautiful new Quarry Theatre in Bedford – a converted church, owned and run by Bedford School. I needn’t have worried: Simon Godwin’s ‘Twelfth Night’ was a delight. The production, noted for casting Tamsin Greig as a female Malvolio (Malvolia), was not the most subtle I have seen. The comedy was broad and exaggerated, with plenty of mugging and glances at the audience. But it was very very funny. I enjoyed the more serious comedy moments, such as the tender scenes between Tamara Lawrance’s Cesario and Phoebe Fox’s Olivia (who were both excellent), better than the pantomimic performances of the more ridiculous characters. Even so, you couldn’t fail to laugh at Daniel Rigby’s nervously physical Andrew Aguecheek and Tim McMullan (who we last saw almost stealing the show as Mendoza and The Devil in that production of 'Man and Superman') playing Sir Toby Belch in the style of Bill Nighy. And Tamsin Greig gave a compelling performance as Malvolia, her body and face twitching to reveal each growing understanding of her predicament.
Tuesday, April 04, 2017
Ceredigion
4 April 2017
We had a lovely holiday last week in a cottage near Tregaron in Ceredigion, West Wales. We got some wonderful weather, particularly in the first half of the week, and did a lot of walking – in the Cambrian Mountains, along the Ceredigion Coast Path and in the wooded valley along the River Mynach near Devil’s Bridge. We visited the towns of Aberystwyth, Aberaeron and Rhayader and took part in ballroom dancing sessions in Aberaeron and Llwyncelyn. But I think the highlight of the week was driving across the tiny, steep mountain road from Beulah to Tregaron – a stunning drive through spectacular scenery in beautiful weather.
We had a lovely holiday last week in a cottage near Tregaron in Ceredigion, West Wales. We got some wonderful weather, particularly in the first half of the week, and did a lot of walking – in the Cambrian Mountains, along the Ceredigion Coast Path and in the wooded valley along the River Mynach near Devil’s Bridge. We visited the towns of Aberystwyth, Aberaeron and Rhayader and took part in ballroom dancing sessions in Aberaeron and Llwyncelyn. But I think the highlight of the week was driving across the tiny, steep mountain road from Beulah to Tregaron – a stunning drive through spectacular scenery in beautiful weather.
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
'Following the Martian Invasion' by Francis Spufford
22 March 2017
BBC iPlayer is a wonderful thing. Having really enjoyed Stephen Baxter’s sequel to ‘The War of the Worlds’ by HG Wells, 'The Massacre of Mankind' (reviewed here in February 2017), I had noticed that BBC Radio 4 was broadcasting a new dramatisation, by Melissa Murray, of Wells’ novel. Searching for ‘The War of the Worlds’ on iPlayer revealed not only this drama (still available to listen to at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08hdllz) but also an interview with Stephen Baxter about 'The Massacre of Mankind' on BBC Radio 3’s ‘Free Thinking’ programme (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b088jl60) and ‘Following the Martian Invasion’ – a series of five 15-minute programmes broadcast on Radio 4 in which Francis Spufford retraces the journey of HG Wells’ Martian invaders. I’ve just finished listening to this series and it’s a little gem. Spufford starts at Horsell Common in Surrey, where the Martians first landed, and then follows their progress across the South East of England to Primrose Hill in London. In each episode he is joined by a range of experts to discuss ‘The War of the Worlds’ in terms of literary style, political theory, physics, anatomy, military strategy, science fiction and social history. It’s like an extended edition of Melvyn Bragg’s ‘In Our Time’ recorded on location. Even if you’ve never read ‘The War of the Worlds’, ‘Following the Martian Invasion’ is a fascinating exploration of late Victorian Britain. You can listen to all five episodes on BBC iPlayer at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08hdpd9/episodes/player
BBC iPlayer is a wonderful thing. Having really enjoyed Stephen Baxter’s sequel to ‘The War of the Worlds’ by HG Wells, 'The Massacre of Mankind' (reviewed here in February 2017), I had noticed that BBC Radio 4 was broadcasting a new dramatisation, by Melissa Murray, of Wells’ novel. Searching for ‘The War of the Worlds’ on iPlayer revealed not only this drama (still available to listen to at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08hdllz) but also an interview with Stephen Baxter about 'The Massacre of Mankind' on BBC Radio 3’s ‘Free Thinking’ programme (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b088jl60) and ‘Following the Martian Invasion’ – a series of five 15-minute programmes broadcast on Radio 4 in which Francis Spufford retraces the journey of HG Wells’ Martian invaders. I’ve just finished listening to this series and it’s a little gem. Spufford starts at Horsell Common in Surrey, where the Martians first landed, and then follows their progress across the South East of England to Primrose Hill in London. In each episode he is joined by a range of experts to discuss ‘The War of the Worlds’ in terms of literary style, political theory, physics, anatomy, military strategy, science fiction and social history. It’s like an extended edition of Melvyn Bragg’s ‘In Our Time’ recorded on location. Even if you’ve never read ‘The War of the Worlds’, ‘Following the Martian Invasion’ is a fascinating exploration of late Victorian Britain. You can listen to all five episodes on BBC iPlayer at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08hdpd9/episodes/player
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Omid Djalili
15 March 2017
On Saturday we made a first visit to the Grove Theatre in Dunstable – a stunning 780-seat community theatre which opened nearly 10 years ago. We were there to see the comedian Omid Djalili. Having seen Omid interviewed by Janice Forsyth on her BBC Radio Scotland show at the Edinburgh Fringe last August and, more recently, hearing him on the Danny Baker Show on BBC Radio Five Live, we were persuaded to catch his ‘Schmuck for a Night’ national tour. Omid Djalili is a very cheerful and engaging performer. His high profile from a wide range of TV and film appearances has given him a mainstream audience for whom he is careful to touch only lightly on political issues. He makes plenty of references to Brexit and there is no doubting which side of the argument Omid favours but he only scratches the surface in his set. His performance is assured and polished, delivered with a smile, but I thought the funniest moments were the comic dancing he introduces to mock more mainstream comedy. It was a lovely surprise to discover that his support act was Boothby Graffoe – the comedian who took his stage name from a Lincolnshire village near where we used to live. We last saw him performing at the Guildhall Arts Centre in Grantham more than 20 years ago and it was great to hear his particular brand of comic songs again. Boothby Graffoe has been touring with Omid Djalili for the last eight years and it was nice to see how the support act and the main set were linked – with Omid picking up, after the interval, on some of Boothby’s ad libs from the first half of the show.
On Saturday we made a first visit to the Grove Theatre in Dunstable – a stunning 780-seat community theatre which opened nearly 10 years ago. We were there to see the comedian Omid Djalili. Having seen Omid interviewed by Janice Forsyth on her BBC Radio Scotland show at the Edinburgh Fringe last August and, more recently, hearing him on the Danny Baker Show on BBC Radio Five Live, we were persuaded to catch his ‘Schmuck for a Night’ national tour. Omid Djalili is a very cheerful and engaging performer. His high profile from a wide range of TV and film appearances has given him a mainstream audience for whom he is careful to touch only lightly on political issues. He makes plenty of references to Brexit and there is no doubting which side of the argument Omid favours but he only scratches the surface in his set. His performance is assured and polished, delivered with a smile, but I thought the funniest moments were the comic dancing he introduces to mock more mainstream comedy. It was a lovely surprise to discover that his support act was Boothby Graffoe – the comedian who took his stage name from a Lincolnshire village near where we used to live. We last saw him performing at the Guildhall Arts Centre in Grantham more than 20 years ago and it was great to hear his particular brand of comic songs again. Boothby Graffoe has been touring with Omid Djalili for the last eight years and it was nice to see how the support act and the main set were linked – with Omid picking up, after the interval, on some of Boothby’s ad libs from the first half of the show.
Thursday, March 09, 2017
'The Willow Collection' by Cassie and Maggie
9 March 2017
I’ve been enjoying ‘The Willow Collection’ - a concept album by Nova Scotia folk duo Cassie and Maggie. Bringing together songs and tunes on the theme of the Willow tree from a variety of folk traditions, the MacDonald sisters play fiddle, guitar and piano and sing close harmonies. They showcase a wide range of styles including Cape Bretton fiddle, folk-rock, Scottish folk and Americana. Some tracks reminded me of the music of Julie Fowlis (reviewed here in February 2006, May 2007 and May 2014) while there was also something of the frantic, furious fiddles of the Finnish group Tsuumi Sound System (reviewed here in April 2008). ‘The Willow Collection’ includes gentle lullabies and toe-tapping dance tunes. It is a good reminder of how strong the Canadian folk scene is and bears comparison with the great Canadian folk/roots group ‘The Bills’ (reviewed here in May 2006). This video taster give a good flavour: https://vimeo.com/184245783
I’ve been enjoying ‘The Willow Collection’ - a concept album by Nova Scotia folk duo Cassie and Maggie. Bringing together songs and tunes on the theme of the Willow tree from a variety of folk traditions, the MacDonald sisters play fiddle, guitar and piano and sing close harmonies. They showcase a wide range of styles including Cape Bretton fiddle, folk-rock, Scottish folk and Americana. Some tracks reminded me of the music of Julie Fowlis (reviewed here in February 2006, May 2007 and May 2014) while there was also something of the frantic, furious fiddles of the Finnish group Tsuumi Sound System (reviewed here in April 2008). ‘The Willow Collection’ includes gentle lullabies and toe-tapping dance tunes. It is a good reminder of how strong the Canadian folk scene is and bears comparison with the great Canadian folk/roots group ‘The Bills’ (reviewed here in May 2006). This video taster give a good flavour: https://vimeo.com/184245783
Wednesday, March 01, 2017
Northampton Symphony Orchestra concert
1 March 2017
As I wrote here in May 2016, from his first appearance in the BBC Young Musician 2016 strings final it was clear that 'cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason was going to win the whole competition. But, in the end, he was run very close by the first saxophone player ever to reach the final. 17-year-old Jess Gillam, from Ulverston in Cumbria, gave a remarkably charismatic performance of 'Where the Bee Dances' by Michael Nyman in the concerto final at The Barbican in London. She was a fascinating performer to watch and the TV coverage gave a good impression of her infectiously enthusiastic personality – on and off the stage. So the prospect of Jess Gillam joining us to play a concerto with the Northampton Symphony Orchestra last Saturday at Christ Church in Northampton was really exciting. Even our first rehearsal with Jess last Wednesday was a joy – you could have heard a pin drop as we listened to her mesmerising solo opening of the slow movement. ‘Escapades’ by John Williams is a three movement concerto for saxophone and orchestra, based on his music for the 2002 Steven Spielberg film ‘Catch Me If You Can’. Its 1960s jazz feel gave an opportunity for excellent solos by Matt Jackson on double-bass and Liam Halloran on vibraphone, but there was no doubting who the star was. Jess Gillam was amazing – she made the virtuoso demands of the piece appear easy and was completely compelling to watch. It was a thrilling performance. In fact the whole concert was really interesting and enjoyable. NSO conductor John Gibbons had constructed an unusual and intriguing programme. We opened with ‘Pines of Rome’ by Respighi – a fiendishly challenging piece which featured a beautiful off-stage trumpet solo by Nick Bunker, an incredibly assured clarinet solo in the slow, third movement by Naomi Muller and a brilliant ending to the finale with impressive off-stage brass from the six-player ‘buccini’. The second half of the concert started with the lovely ‘Pavane in F-sharp minor’ by Faure with a gorgeous flute solo from Graham Tear. And, continuing our season of fifth symphonies, we finished the concert with ‘Symphony No 5 (The Heroic)’ by Alexander Glazunov. Like most of the orchestra (and our audience) I had never heard this symphony before we started rehearsing it but I really enjoyed it. It’s a lively, tuneful work with similarities to the symphonies of Tchaikovsky and the furious finale was a thrilling conclusion to a great concert. To cap a wonderful evening, John Gibbons announced that Jess Gillam is to return to Northampton in July to play with the NSO again in our summer concert for the Friends of the Orchestra – a very good reason to become a Friend!
As I wrote here in May 2016, from his first appearance in the BBC Young Musician 2016 strings final it was clear that 'cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason was going to win the whole competition. But, in the end, he was run very close by the first saxophone player ever to reach the final. 17-year-old Jess Gillam, from Ulverston in Cumbria, gave a remarkably charismatic performance of 'Where the Bee Dances' by Michael Nyman in the concerto final at The Barbican in London. She was a fascinating performer to watch and the TV coverage gave a good impression of her infectiously enthusiastic personality – on and off the stage. So the prospect of Jess Gillam joining us to play a concerto with the Northampton Symphony Orchestra last Saturday at Christ Church in Northampton was really exciting. Even our first rehearsal with Jess last Wednesday was a joy – you could have heard a pin drop as we listened to her mesmerising solo opening of the slow movement. ‘Escapades’ by John Williams is a three movement concerto for saxophone and orchestra, based on his music for the 2002 Steven Spielberg film ‘Catch Me If You Can’. Its 1960s jazz feel gave an opportunity for excellent solos by Matt Jackson on double-bass and Liam Halloran on vibraphone, but there was no doubting who the star was. Jess Gillam was amazing – she made the virtuoso demands of the piece appear easy and was completely compelling to watch. It was a thrilling performance. In fact the whole concert was really interesting and enjoyable. NSO conductor John Gibbons had constructed an unusual and intriguing programme. We opened with ‘Pines of Rome’ by Respighi – a fiendishly challenging piece which featured a beautiful off-stage trumpet solo by Nick Bunker, an incredibly assured clarinet solo in the slow, third movement by Naomi Muller and a brilliant ending to the finale with impressive off-stage brass from the six-player ‘buccini’. The second half of the concert started with the lovely ‘Pavane in F-sharp minor’ by Faure with a gorgeous flute solo from Graham Tear. And, continuing our season of fifth symphonies, we finished the concert with ‘Symphony No 5 (The Heroic)’ by Alexander Glazunov. Like most of the orchestra (and our audience) I had never heard this symphony before we started rehearsing it but I really enjoyed it. It’s a lively, tuneful work with similarities to the symphonies of Tchaikovsky and the furious finale was a thrilling conclusion to a great concert. To cap a wonderful evening, John Gibbons announced that Jess Gillam is to return to Northampton in July to play with the NSO again in our summer concert for the Friends of the Orchestra – a very good reason to become a Friend!
Thursday, February 23, 2017
'The Massacre of Mankind' by Stephen Baxter
23 February 2017
“No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinised and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinise the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water.”
So, famously, begins HG Wells’ novel ‘The War of the Worlds’. Given the worryingly apocalyptic potential for world events in the opening months of 2017, I thought I would cheer myself up by reading ‘The Massacre of Mankind’ – Stephen Baxter’s new authorised sequel to ‘The War of the Worlds’ (which I read as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Nathalie Buscombe). There seems to be a particular vogue for authorised sequels at the moment, such as Anthony Horowitz’s excellent Sherlock Holmes novels ‘The House of Silk’ (reviewed here in January 2012) and ‘Moriarty’ (reviewed here in January 2015). Stephen Baxter does a great job of paying tribute to Wells’ original novel, while taking the story of mankind’s encounters with creatures from another world to the next level.
“The chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one, he said … but still, they come”. And then they came back. Thirteen years after the Martian invaders of 1907 were wiped out by the Earth’s bacteria they have returned – and this time they are better prepared. But what I found most fascinating about ‘The Massacre of Mankind’ was not the aliens but the resulting alternative history of mankind. By imagining what lasting effects the 1907 battle with the Martians would have had on the world, Baxter has a lot of fun creating a parallel reality. With many similarities to Philip Roth’s portrait of a world in which Nazi Germany wins the Second World War with the support of the USA ('The Plot Against America' reviewed here in September 2006), ‘The Massacre of Mankind’ starts in 1920 with the British and German allies victorious in the European war that followed the Martian invasion. The Titanic has survived its collision with the iceberg because its bow was reinforced with Martian aluminium. And Charlie Chaplin has achieved worldwide fame through playing ‘The Little Soldier’ - a character modelled on the British artilleryman famous for fighting the Martians in 1907.
I also enjoyed the meta-fictional construct of this sequel, in which the first-person narrator of ‘The War of the Worlds’, Walter Jenkins, has become famous for his account of the original conflict but is now hated by some of his friends and family for how he inaccurately portrayed them in his narrative. This echoes the second part of ‘Don Quixote’ by Cervantes (reviewed here in January 2012) in which the knight and his squire frequently encounter people who have read the earlier volume and are familiar with their history. Stephen Baxter also manages to throw in a reference, after Martians arrive in America in 1922, to Grover’s Mill, New Jersey – the landing site of the Martian invasion in Orson Welles’ infamous 1938 radio version of ‘The War of the Worlds’.
‘The Massacre of Mankind’ is a meticulously crafted homage to HG Wells. It reads like it could have been written in the period it portrays and, although the plot feels a little slow at times, it is a very impressive and intriguing counter-history of the early decades of the twentieth century.
“No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinised and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinise the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water.”
So, famously, begins HG Wells’ novel ‘The War of the Worlds’. Given the worryingly apocalyptic potential for world events in the opening months of 2017, I thought I would cheer myself up by reading ‘The Massacre of Mankind’ – Stephen Baxter’s new authorised sequel to ‘The War of the Worlds’ (which I read as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Nathalie Buscombe). There seems to be a particular vogue for authorised sequels at the moment, such as Anthony Horowitz’s excellent Sherlock Holmes novels ‘The House of Silk’ (reviewed here in January 2012) and ‘Moriarty’ (reviewed here in January 2015). Stephen Baxter does a great job of paying tribute to Wells’ original novel, while taking the story of mankind’s encounters with creatures from another world to the next level.
“The chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one, he said … but still, they come”. And then they came back. Thirteen years after the Martian invaders of 1907 were wiped out by the Earth’s bacteria they have returned – and this time they are better prepared. But what I found most fascinating about ‘The Massacre of Mankind’ was not the aliens but the resulting alternative history of mankind. By imagining what lasting effects the 1907 battle with the Martians would have had on the world, Baxter has a lot of fun creating a parallel reality. With many similarities to Philip Roth’s portrait of a world in which Nazi Germany wins the Second World War with the support of the USA ('The Plot Against America' reviewed here in September 2006), ‘The Massacre of Mankind’ starts in 1920 with the British and German allies victorious in the European war that followed the Martian invasion. The Titanic has survived its collision with the iceberg because its bow was reinforced with Martian aluminium. And Charlie Chaplin has achieved worldwide fame through playing ‘The Little Soldier’ - a character modelled on the British artilleryman famous for fighting the Martians in 1907.
I also enjoyed the meta-fictional construct of this sequel, in which the first-person narrator of ‘The War of the Worlds’, Walter Jenkins, has become famous for his account of the original conflict but is now hated by some of his friends and family for how he inaccurately portrayed them in his narrative. This echoes the second part of ‘Don Quixote’ by Cervantes (reviewed here in January 2012) in which the knight and his squire frequently encounter people who have read the earlier volume and are familiar with their history. Stephen Baxter also manages to throw in a reference, after Martians arrive in America in 1922, to Grover’s Mill, New Jersey – the landing site of the Martian invasion in Orson Welles’ infamous 1938 radio version of ‘The War of the Worlds’.
‘The Massacre of Mankind’ is a meticulously crafted homage to HG Wells. It reads like it could have been written in the period it portrays and, although the plot feels a little slow at times, it is a very impressive and intriguing counter-history of the early decades of the twentieth century.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)