12 September 2013
Having been
so bowled over by Ned Beauman’s novel ‘The Teleportation Accident’ (reviewed
here in July 2013) I quickly got hold of his first novel ‘Boxer, Beetle’ (which
I have just read as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Dudley Hinton). The
two books have much in common – a cast of grotesque characters, a fascination
with Nazi Germany, a big country house, a rare and extremely peculiar illness,
a jigsaw-puzzle plot with a ridiculous number of underlying themes and some
great comic set-pieces. And, as with ‘The Teleportation Accident’, Beauman’s
writing is delicious and rich in elaborate metaphors. Reading the two books in
reverse order ‘Boxer, Beetle’ feels like a practice ground for what would
become the later, greater novel but it is still incredibly enjoyable with a
macabre humour that makes you both laugh and cringe. The country house murder
mystery at the heart of the book reminded me of Jonathan Coe’s ‘What a Carve
Up’ but Ned Beauman’s is a unique voice and I can’t wait to see what he writes
next.
Thursday, September 12, 2013
'The Impressionist' by Hari Kunzru
12 September 2013
Hari Kunzru’s debut novel ‘The Impressionist’ was highly praised on its publication in 2002 and I the reviews made me keen to read it but for some reason it has taken me more than 10 years to get around to doing so. I wasn’t disappointed. ‘The Impressionist’ is an epic tale that starts in India in the early years of the 20th century and looks at empire, race and identity against a backdrop of real historical events. The use of comic characters and farcical plots set against extremely serious and often horrific history is carried off remarkably effectively. The tone of the book reminded me a lot of Matthew Kneale’s marvellous ‘English Passengers’. And ‘The Impressionist’ also had echoes of two other debut novels by contemporary British writers – David Mitchell’s ‘Ghostwritten’ with episodes in different settings, and with completely different sets of characters, linked by a single constant but evolving figure; and ‘White Teeth’ by Zadie Smith with its exploration of how Britain’s colonial past is evident in modern Britishness. ‘The Impressionist’ is a brilliant tour-de-force – well worth waiting for.
Hari Kunzru’s debut novel ‘The Impressionist’ was highly praised on its publication in 2002 and I the reviews made me keen to read it but for some reason it has taken me more than 10 years to get around to doing so. I wasn’t disappointed. ‘The Impressionist’ is an epic tale that starts in India in the early years of the 20th century and looks at empire, race and identity against a backdrop of real historical events. The use of comic characters and farcical plots set against extremely serious and often horrific history is carried off remarkably effectively. The tone of the book reminded me a lot of Matthew Kneale’s marvellous ‘English Passengers’. And ‘The Impressionist’ also had echoes of two other debut novels by contemporary British writers – David Mitchell’s ‘Ghostwritten’ with episodes in different settings, and with completely different sets of characters, linked by a single constant but evolving figure; and ‘White Teeth’ by Zadie Smith with its exploration of how Britain’s colonial past is evident in modern Britishness. ‘The Impressionist’ is a brilliant tour-de-force – well worth waiting for.
Norway
12 September 2013
We had a wonderful holiday in Norway on board the P&O cruise ship Adonia. Our two-week cruise took us as far north as Tromso – well above the Arctic Circle – and visited a varied range of fjords and islands. Particular highlights were the beautiful Lofoten Islands and the stunning scenery of Geirangerfjord – surely one of the most beautiful places in the world. We were very lucky with the weather and managed to do a lot of walking. We also really enjoyed our time on board the ship, attending 5 recitals by the excellent pianist Dominic John, a very impressive performance of Noel Coward’s ‘Private Lives’, doing plenty of ballroom dancing and taking part in a playreading of ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’. You can see a few photos from our holiday at: http://culturaloutlook.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Norway2013
We had a wonderful holiday in Norway on board the P&O cruise ship Adonia. Our two-week cruise took us as far north as Tromso – well above the Arctic Circle – and visited a varied range of fjords and islands. Particular highlights were the beautiful Lofoten Islands and the stunning scenery of Geirangerfjord – surely one of the most beautiful places in the world. We were very lucky with the weather and managed to do a lot of walking. We also really enjoyed our time on board the ship, attending 5 recitals by the excellent pianist Dominic John, a very impressive performance of Noel Coward’s ‘Private Lives’, doing plenty of ballroom dancing and taking part in a playreading of ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’. You can see a few photos from our holiday at: http://culturaloutlook.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Norway2013
Monday, August 19, 2013
'Sherlock Holmes' by Mark Hayward
19 August 2013
We were back in the gardens of Woburn Abbey last Friday to see The Pantaloons' production of 'Sherlock Holmes'. This new adaptation, written and directed by Pantaloon Mark Hayward, combined several Conan Doyle stories (including 'The Speckled Band', 'The Blue Carbuncle' and 'The Hound of the Baskervilles') with the usual Pantaloons mixture of pantomimic clowning and audience interaction (“there is no fourth wall!”, “Watson, stop narrating!”). It was lots of fun. There were just four actors – two playing Holmes and Watson and the other two playing everyone else. As with the wonderful Patrick Barlow stage adaptation of ‘The Thirty Nine Steps’, half the fun is in anticipating how they are going to cope with the challenges this throws up. I particularly enjoyed Holmes turning his powers of observation and deduction on a member of the audience: I suspect his amazingly accurate conclusions may have been influenced by some pre-show research with the audience member's friends and family but the little boy sitting to my right was genuinely amazed (“how did he do that?!”). And The Pantaloons are very good at planting an idea very early in the show that returns triumphantly to resolve the plot at the end. It was a very enjoyably silly evening but it was incredibly manic and overplayed (even by the standards of The Pantaloons) and I wondered whether it might actually have been funnier if more of it had been played straight.
We were back in the gardens of Woburn Abbey last Friday to see The Pantaloons' production of 'Sherlock Holmes'. This new adaptation, written and directed by Pantaloon Mark Hayward, combined several Conan Doyle stories (including 'The Speckled Band', 'The Blue Carbuncle' and 'The Hound of the Baskervilles') with the usual Pantaloons mixture of pantomimic clowning and audience interaction (“there is no fourth wall!”, “Watson, stop narrating!”). It was lots of fun. There were just four actors – two playing Holmes and Watson and the other two playing everyone else. As with the wonderful Patrick Barlow stage adaptation of ‘The Thirty Nine Steps’, half the fun is in anticipating how they are going to cope with the challenges this throws up. I particularly enjoyed Holmes turning his powers of observation and deduction on a member of the audience: I suspect his amazingly accurate conclusions may have been influenced by some pre-show research with the audience member's friends and family but the little boy sitting to my right was genuinely amazed (“how did he do that?!”). And The Pantaloons are very good at planting an idea very early in the show that returns triumphantly to resolve the plot at the end. It was a very enjoyably silly evening but it was incredibly manic and overplayed (even by the standards of The Pantaloons) and I wondered whether it might actually have been funnier if more of it had been played straight.
Monday, August 12, 2013
'After the Fire, a Still Small Voice' by Evie Wyld
12 August 2013
I've just finished reading 'After the Fire, a Still Small Voice' by Evie Wyld (as an unabridged audio book, narrated by David Tredinnick). This debut novel tells the parallel story of two generations of an Australian family, with alternating chapters dealing with Frank Collard – escaping, in the present day, to the remote shack that had belonged to his grandparents on the North coast of Australia – and Frank's father Leon, growing up in Sydney several decades earlier. This is a tale of parallels between fathers and sons: Leon's own father's life was irreparably damaged by his experience of fighting in the Korean War and Leon then suffers a similar fate when he is called up to serve in Vietnam. 'After the Fire, a Still Small Voice' is a book about loneliness and the plot moves very slowly, with both main characters spending long stretches of the novel alone. The writing is beautiful and delicate but it's a sad, gentle tale of broken relationships.
I've just finished reading 'After the Fire, a Still Small Voice' by Evie Wyld (as an unabridged audio book, narrated by David Tredinnick). This debut novel tells the parallel story of two generations of an Australian family, with alternating chapters dealing with Frank Collard – escaping, in the present day, to the remote shack that had belonged to his grandparents on the North coast of Australia – and Frank's father Leon, growing up in Sydney several decades earlier. This is a tale of parallels between fathers and sons: Leon's own father's life was irreparably damaged by his experience of fighting in the Korean War and Leon then suffers a similar fate when he is called up to serve in Vietnam. 'After the Fire, a Still Small Voice' is a book about loneliness and the plot moves very slowly, with both main characters spending long stretches of the novel alone. The writing is beautiful and delicate but it's a sad, gentle tale of broken relationships.
'A Midsummer Night's Dream' by William Shakespeare
12 August 2013
I really enjoyed the open air production of 'The Importance of Being Earnest' by The Pantaloons that we saw last August (reviewed here in August 2012) so I was looking forward to their return to the gardens of Woburn Abbey last weekend. The Pantaloons are a group of five young actors who bring a comedy-sketch-group approach to open air theatre, full of backchat, audience interaction, improvisation, original music and infectious silliness. Their production of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' played well to these strengths but also demonstrated their more serious acting skills. It was a very funny and enjoyable evening. I particularly liked the impromptu use of three members of the audience to play the fairies – Cobweb, Peaseblossom and Mustardseed. While the acting was excellent, the limitations of such a small cast meant that I am not sure anyone who wasn't already familiar with the play would have been able to follow all the intricacies of the plot. Nevertheless it was great fun and I can't wait for The Pantaloons production of 'Sherlock Holmes' which is at Woburn this Friday.
I really enjoyed the open air production of 'The Importance of Being Earnest' by The Pantaloons that we saw last August (reviewed here in August 2012) so I was looking forward to their return to the gardens of Woburn Abbey last weekend. The Pantaloons are a group of five young actors who bring a comedy-sketch-group approach to open air theatre, full of backchat, audience interaction, improvisation, original music and infectious silliness. Their production of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' played well to these strengths but also demonstrated their more serious acting skills. It was a very funny and enjoyable evening. I particularly liked the impromptu use of three members of the audience to play the fairies – Cobweb, Peaseblossom and Mustardseed. While the acting was excellent, the limitations of such a small cast meant that I am not sure anyone who wasn't already familiar with the play would have been able to follow all the intricacies of the plot. Nevertheless it was great fun and I can't wait for The Pantaloons production of 'Sherlock Holmes' which is at Woburn this Friday.
Thursday, August 08, 2013
Madrid
8 August 2013
We had a lovely few days in Madrid last week but boy it was hot! The temperature peaked at 41 degrees on Thursday but fortunately it was a very dry heat, so not quite so horrendous as that sounds. Nobody goes to Madrid in August (it's too hot!) and the Madrileños all head off to the coast so the city was very quiet and we were able to visit all the main tourist attractions without having to queue for anything. We took an excellent guided walking tour of the centre, visited the wonderful Prado and Thyssen-Bornemisza art galleries and looked at the state rooms of the magnificent Royal Palace. You can see a few of our photos at: http://culturaloutlook.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Madrid2013.
We had a lovely few days in Madrid last week but boy it was hot! The temperature peaked at 41 degrees on Thursday but fortunately it was a very dry heat, so not quite so horrendous as that sounds. Nobody goes to Madrid in August (it's too hot!) and the Madrileños all head off to the coast so the city was very quiet and we were able to visit all the main tourist attractions without having to queue for anything. We took an excellent guided walking tour of the centre, visited the wonderful Prado and Thyssen-Bornemisza art galleries and looked at the state rooms of the magnificent Royal Palace. You can see a few of our photos at: http://culturaloutlook.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Madrid2013.
WOMAD 2013
8 August 2013
With so much exotic and unusual music from all over the world on show, it might seem surprising to pick a brass band from Manchester as my highlight of the 2013 WOMAD Festival at Charlton Park in Wiltshire. But Riot Jazz are a brass band in the New Orleans tradition of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band or the The Hot 8 Brass Band (reviewed here in January 2013) and their set in the Big Red Tent at WOMAD was thrilling and incredibly engaging. Riot Jazz come with their own irrepressible compere, MC Chunky, whose persuasive patter in a strong Manchester accent had an audience of around two thousand leaping up and down for an hour. Wonderful cover versions of 'Don't You Want Me Baby?' and 'Living on a Prayer' sent us all away smiling (have a listen to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JVSpjpkZ4U). Other high points of my weekend at WOMAD included the amazing ethereal Tuvan throat singing of Huun Huur Tu, impressively competitive duets of Indian classical music from Debapriya Adhykary and Samanwaya Sarkar, another chance to see the great Malian singer Rokia Traore (reviewed here in December 2008) and Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino – an excitingly energetic band from the heel on Italy's boot who play (and dance) traditional pizzica folk music with an infectious enthusiasm. I wasn't able to stay to see Brazilian legend (and former Minister of Culture) Gilberto Gil (reviewed here in July 2010) close the festival on the Sunday evening so it was great to have had the chance to see Gil and Peter Gabriel in conversation on BBC Radio 4's 'Loose Ends' on the Radio 3 stage on Saturday. Like going to see BBC Radio Scotland's 'MacAulay & Co' before a day at the Edinburgh Fringe, 'Loose Ends' provided the chance to sample several acts performing at the festival in bite-sized chunks and reminded me of Charlie Gillet's much missed Radio London broadcasts from WOMAD. I saw a total of 18 complete performances over the weekend. I really enjoyed Bwani Junction – an indie rock band from Edinburgh who play with an African guitar sound that makes them seem like a cross between Vampire Weekend, Arctic Monkeys and Big Country. These Scottish lads have some authentic African links – the father of guitarist Dan Muir was the manager of the Bhundu Boys (who played at the very first WOMAD Festival, 31 years ago) and Dan has apparently been playing alongside the Bhundus' Rise Kagona since he was 10 years old (which can't have been that long ago as all four members of Bwani Junction looked about 12 to me!). I should also give a special mention to David Wax Museum from Boston, Massachusetts, who play an upbeat mix of old-fashioned Americana with a Mexican influence. The band, who put out their recordings on their own label and have only just managed to arrange distribution to Europe, were making their first visit to England and played a fantastic set on the Charlie Gillett stage on the Saturday evening just as torrential rain arrived. At any other point in the weekend (which was dominated by glorious sunshine) they would undoubtedly have attracted a crowd numbering in the thousands. Instead, they performed to around 200 people huddling under umbrellas. Nevertheless they put on a magnificent show and deserve a much bigger audience. You can see a selection of my photos from the 2013 WOMAD Festival at: http://www.culturaloutlook.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/WOMAD2013.
With so much exotic and unusual music from all over the world on show, it might seem surprising to pick a brass band from Manchester as my highlight of the 2013 WOMAD Festival at Charlton Park in Wiltshire. But Riot Jazz are a brass band in the New Orleans tradition of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band or the The Hot 8 Brass Band (reviewed here in January 2013) and their set in the Big Red Tent at WOMAD was thrilling and incredibly engaging. Riot Jazz come with their own irrepressible compere, MC Chunky, whose persuasive patter in a strong Manchester accent had an audience of around two thousand leaping up and down for an hour. Wonderful cover versions of 'Don't You Want Me Baby?' and 'Living on a Prayer' sent us all away smiling (have a listen to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JVSpjpkZ4U). Other high points of my weekend at WOMAD included the amazing ethereal Tuvan throat singing of Huun Huur Tu, impressively competitive duets of Indian classical music from Debapriya Adhykary and Samanwaya Sarkar, another chance to see the great Malian singer Rokia Traore (reviewed here in December 2008) and Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino – an excitingly energetic band from the heel on Italy's boot who play (and dance) traditional pizzica folk music with an infectious enthusiasm. I wasn't able to stay to see Brazilian legend (and former Minister of Culture) Gilberto Gil (reviewed here in July 2010) close the festival on the Sunday evening so it was great to have had the chance to see Gil and Peter Gabriel in conversation on BBC Radio 4's 'Loose Ends' on the Radio 3 stage on Saturday. Like going to see BBC Radio Scotland's 'MacAulay & Co' before a day at the Edinburgh Fringe, 'Loose Ends' provided the chance to sample several acts performing at the festival in bite-sized chunks and reminded me of Charlie Gillet's much missed Radio London broadcasts from WOMAD. I saw a total of 18 complete performances over the weekend. I really enjoyed Bwani Junction – an indie rock band from Edinburgh who play with an African guitar sound that makes them seem like a cross between Vampire Weekend, Arctic Monkeys and Big Country. These Scottish lads have some authentic African links – the father of guitarist Dan Muir was the manager of the Bhundu Boys (who played at the very first WOMAD Festival, 31 years ago) and Dan has apparently been playing alongside the Bhundus' Rise Kagona since he was 10 years old (which can't have been that long ago as all four members of Bwani Junction looked about 12 to me!). I should also give a special mention to David Wax Museum from Boston, Massachusetts, who play an upbeat mix of old-fashioned Americana with a Mexican influence. The band, who put out their recordings on their own label and have only just managed to arrange distribution to Europe, were making their first visit to England and played a fantastic set on the Charlie Gillett stage on the Saturday evening just as torrential rain arrived. At any other point in the weekend (which was dominated by glorious sunshine) they would undoubtedly have attracted a crowd numbering in the thousands. Instead, they performed to around 200 people huddling under umbrellas. Nevertheless they put on a magnificent show and deserve a much bigger audience. You can see a selection of my photos from the 2013 WOMAD Festival at: http://www.culturaloutlook.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/WOMAD2013.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Northampton Symphony Orchestra concert
25 July 2013
On Sunday I played in the annual Northampton Symphony Orchestra Friends Concert – the final performance in our concert season and our opportunity to thank the Friends of the Orchestra for their support throughout the year. This year our programme had a Hungarian theme, including two Slavonic Dances by Dvorak and two of Brahms’ Hungarian Dances. We also played the Haydn Trumpet Concerto with the excellent young soloist Darren Moore who seemed to hit every note perfectly throughout the performance and all the rehearsals. We finished the concert with the exciting ‘Dances of Galanta’ by Zoltan Kodaly – an infectious romp with some devilishly difficult clarinet solos which were magnificently mastered by Christine Hunt. The orchestra now takes its summer break before we turn our attention to the mighty ‘Symphony No 7’ by Shostakovich this autumn.
On Sunday I played in the annual Northampton Symphony Orchestra Friends Concert – the final performance in our concert season and our opportunity to thank the Friends of the Orchestra for their support throughout the year. This year our programme had a Hungarian theme, including two Slavonic Dances by Dvorak and two of Brahms’ Hungarian Dances. We also played the Haydn Trumpet Concerto with the excellent young soloist Darren Moore who seemed to hit every note perfectly throughout the performance and all the rehearsals. We finished the concert with the exciting ‘Dances of Galanta’ by Zoltan Kodaly – an infectious romp with some devilishly difficult clarinet solos which were magnificently mastered by Christine Hunt. The orchestra now takes its summer break before we turn our attention to the mighty ‘Symphony No 7’ by Shostakovich this autumn.
'Macbeth' by William Shakespeare
25 July 2013
Having heard nothing but good reports about the National Theatre's NT Live screenings of stage shows in cinemas, I thought it was about time I tried the experience myself. The Manchester International Festival production of Macbeth, starring and co-directed by Kenneth Branagh (with Rob Ashford) was such a hot ticket the entire run sold out within nine minutes of going on sale. So the only way I was going to see it was via the NT Live screening last Saturday, when the final performance in Manchester was broadcast to cinemas across the country. It was magnificent – both the production and the experience of watching it live on the big screen. The show was expertly captured with multiple camera angles (including Busby Berkley overhead shots) making it feel almost like being there, but with a much better view and excellent sound that meant you didn't miss a syllable of the text. It was irritating that there were some problems with the synchronisation of the sound and pictures (at least where we saw it at Cineworld in Milton Keynes) but otherwise the screening was technically excellent. Macbeth was performed in a deconsecrated church in Ancoats - a customised theatre space with a long, thin central performance area running the length of the church and faced on both sides by an audience boxed in raked pews enclosed by wooden boards which made them look more like the spectators at a Quidditch match! The floor was rough and muddy, particularly after the opening battle scene had taken place in driving rain – the increasingly dirty hem of Lady Macbeth’s long dress emphasising the gritty reality of the play. This was a brutal, visceral Macbeth – with believably violent swordfights and plenty of Kensington Gore. Kenneth Branagh managed to make Macbeth a real and sympathetic character, while demonstrating a delicacy and precision in the language of the play. Alex Kingston was a powerful Lady Macbeth and the scene in which Ray Fearon’s Macduff learned of the slaughter of his wife and children was achingly poignant. The whole cast were very strong – with Alexander Vlahos particularly standing out as Malcolm.
Having heard nothing but good reports about the National Theatre's NT Live screenings of stage shows in cinemas, I thought it was about time I tried the experience myself. The Manchester International Festival production of Macbeth, starring and co-directed by Kenneth Branagh (with Rob Ashford) was such a hot ticket the entire run sold out within nine minutes of going on sale. So the only way I was going to see it was via the NT Live screening last Saturday, when the final performance in Manchester was broadcast to cinemas across the country. It was magnificent – both the production and the experience of watching it live on the big screen. The show was expertly captured with multiple camera angles (including Busby Berkley overhead shots) making it feel almost like being there, but with a much better view and excellent sound that meant you didn't miss a syllable of the text. It was irritating that there were some problems with the synchronisation of the sound and pictures (at least where we saw it at Cineworld in Milton Keynes) but otherwise the screening was technically excellent. Macbeth was performed in a deconsecrated church in Ancoats - a customised theatre space with a long, thin central performance area running the length of the church and faced on both sides by an audience boxed in raked pews enclosed by wooden boards which made them look more like the spectators at a Quidditch match! The floor was rough and muddy, particularly after the opening battle scene had taken place in driving rain – the increasingly dirty hem of Lady Macbeth’s long dress emphasising the gritty reality of the play. This was a brutal, visceral Macbeth – with believably violent swordfights and plenty of Kensington Gore. Kenneth Branagh managed to make Macbeth a real and sympathetic character, while demonstrating a delicacy and precision in the language of the play. Alex Kingston was a powerful Lady Macbeth and the scene in which Ray Fearon’s Macduff learned of the slaughter of his wife and children was achingly poignant. The whole cast were very strong – with Alexander Vlahos particularly standing out as Malcolm.
'Going to Sea in a Sieve' by Danny Baker
25 July 2013
Usually when you read an autobiography, you might find the first few chapters interesting in seeing how the person's childhood and early career led them to do whatever it is you know them for, but it's the inside story of their successful years that you are really looking forward to reading about. I don't think it's too much of a spoiler to warn you that ‘Going to Sea in a Sieve’, the autobiography of writer and broadcaster Danny Baker, finishes in 1982, well before I had come across him. Nevertheless, as a keen listener to Danny Baker's Saturday morning show on BBC Radio Five Live, many of the stories of his childhood were quite familiar to me. Like John Peel's autobiography ('Margrave of the Marshes' by John Peel and Sheila Ravenscroft, reviewed here in November 2006), you can really hear the author's voice while you are reading. Danny Baker is a consummate storyteller and his self deprecating wide-eyed wonder makes for a likeable and often hilarious tale. The great potato robbery is the first of many laugh-out-loud incidents in this first volume of the Danny Baker story.
Usually when you read an autobiography, you might find the first few chapters interesting in seeing how the person's childhood and early career led them to do whatever it is you know them for, but it's the inside story of their successful years that you are really looking forward to reading about. I don't think it's too much of a spoiler to warn you that ‘Going to Sea in a Sieve’, the autobiography of writer and broadcaster Danny Baker, finishes in 1982, well before I had come across him. Nevertheless, as a keen listener to Danny Baker's Saturday morning show on BBC Radio Five Live, many of the stories of his childhood were quite familiar to me. Like John Peel's autobiography ('Margrave of the Marshes' by John Peel and Sheila Ravenscroft, reviewed here in November 2006), you can really hear the author's voice while you are reading. Danny Baker is a consummate storyteller and his self deprecating wide-eyed wonder makes for a likeable and often hilarious tale. The great potato robbery is the first of many laugh-out-loud incidents in this first volume of the Danny Baker story.
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
'The Teleportation Accident' by Ned Beauman
17 July 2013
I was drawn to Ned Beauman's novel 'The Teleportation Accident' by glowing reviews and by the intriguing premise of a theatre set designer in Berlin in the 1930s working to recreate the famous Teleportation Device ("An Extraordinary Mechanism for the Almost Instantaneous Transport of Persons from Place to Place") devised for a Paris theatre in 1679 by the great Renaissance stage designer Adriano Lavicini. The opening chapters made me think I had made a mistake - almost every character we were introduced to seemed unlikeable and the main protagonist, set designer Egon Loeser, is a very unsympathetic anti-hero - cynical, contemptuous and selfish. Also the thrilling notion of the Teleportation Device - where art meets science to create magic - seems quickly forgotten as the story becomes obsessed with parties, sex and drugs. I persevered with the novel (which I read as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Dudley Hinton) and began to appreciate the writing - Loseser's cynical railings against the harsh hand that life keeps dealing him are very funny and there are some beautifully witty metaphors with a Raymond Chandleresque swagger which made me laugh out loud. (He had "the sort of moustache that could beat you in an arm-wrestling contest". "The lenses of his glasses were so thick that, like an astronomer observing Neptune, he was probably seeing several minutes into the past".) Also the plot built towards some wonderful set-piece farcical scenes that could have come from Tom Sharpe (the monkey gland episode for example). And as the story moved to Paris and then to Los Angeles, I realised how clever and intricate the plotting was. Like Loeser I had missed or dismissed many references, characters and clues that were to return as elegant explanations for seemingly supernatural puzzles much later in the book. As 'The Teleportation Accident' grew and grew on me I came to appreciate that it is a rather brilliant novel - a very dark comedy spanning centuries with a complex web of themes. It's an entertainingly innovative novel to rank alongside 'A Visit from the Goon Squad' by Jennifer Egan (reviewed here in July 2011). Egon Loeser hates politics, physics and historical literature so it is his supreme misfortune to find himself the main character in a novel about politics, physics and historical literature (though his obsession with public transport does provide him with an interest in another of the book's recurring themes). He thinks himself an intellectual who is having a particularly unfair run of bad luck - but he comes across as a surprisingly naive loser, blundering through major events without appreciating their significance. The Teleportation Device itself has echoes of Christopher Nolan's 2006 film 'The Prestige' in which two rival magicians battle each other to achieve the ultimate illusion, drawing on the seemingly magical physics of Nikola Tesla (himself the subject of Samantha Hunt's wonderful novel ‘The Invention of Everything Else’, reviewed here in September 2008). But above all 'The Teleportation Accident' is an incredibly funny, terribly clever and extremely enjoyable novel that I look forward to reading again and again - just make sure you pay attention to those opening chapters!
I was drawn to Ned Beauman's novel 'The Teleportation Accident' by glowing reviews and by the intriguing premise of a theatre set designer in Berlin in the 1930s working to recreate the famous Teleportation Device ("An Extraordinary Mechanism for the Almost Instantaneous Transport of Persons from Place to Place") devised for a Paris theatre in 1679 by the great Renaissance stage designer Adriano Lavicini. The opening chapters made me think I had made a mistake - almost every character we were introduced to seemed unlikeable and the main protagonist, set designer Egon Loeser, is a very unsympathetic anti-hero - cynical, contemptuous and selfish. Also the thrilling notion of the Teleportation Device - where art meets science to create magic - seems quickly forgotten as the story becomes obsessed with parties, sex and drugs. I persevered with the novel (which I read as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Dudley Hinton) and began to appreciate the writing - Loseser's cynical railings against the harsh hand that life keeps dealing him are very funny and there are some beautifully witty metaphors with a Raymond Chandleresque swagger which made me laugh out loud. (He had "the sort of moustache that could beat you in an arm-wrestling contest". "The lenses of his glasses were so thick that, like an astronomer observing Neptune, he was probably seeing several minutes into the past".) Also the plot built towards some wonderful set-piece farcical scenes that could have come from Tom Sharpe (the monkey gland episode for example). And as the story moved to Paris and then to Los Angeles, I realised how clever and intricate the plotting was. Like Loeser I had missed or dismissed many references, characters and clues that were to return as elegant explanations for seemingly supernatural puzzles much later in the book. As 'The Teleportation Accident' grew and grew on me I came to appreciate that it is a rather brilliant novel - a very dark comedy spanning centuries with a complex web of themes. It's an entertainingly innovative novel to rank alongside 'A Visit from the Goon Squad' by Jennifer Egan (reviewed here in July 2011). Egon Loeser hates politics, physics and historical literature so it is his supreme misfortune to find himself the main character in a novel about politics, physics and historical literature (though his obsession with public transport does provide him with an interest in another of the book's recurring themes). He thinks himself an intellectual who is having a particularly unfair run of bad luck - but he comes across as a surprisingly naive loser, blundering through major events without appreciating their significance. The Teleportation Device itself has echoes of Christopher Nolan's 2006 film 'The Prestige' in which two rival magicians battle each other to achieve the ultimate illusion, drawing on the seemingly magical physics of Nikola Tesla (himself the subject of Samantha Hunt's wonderful novel ‘The Invention of Everything Else’, reviewed here in September 2008). But above all 'The Teleportation Accident' is an incredibly funny, terribly clever and extremely enjoyable novel that I look forward to reading again and again - just make sure you pay attention to those opening chapters!
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Wimbledon 2013
11 July 2013
As regular readers will remember, we have been extremely lucky in getting tickets in the Wimbledon ballot over recent years. 2012 was the first time in 10 years that we didn't get to the Championships, but we were back this year, with Centre Court tickets for the Ladies' Singles Final last Saturday. It was a glorious day and we were pleased to be sitting far enough back to be in the shade. The final was a little disappointing as Sabine Lisicki failed to find the form that had helped her beat Serena Williams and Agnieszka Radwańska, but it was great to see Marion Bartoli win and, even though the match was a bit one-sided, there was some great tennis from both players. The Men's Doubles Final was more closely contested with the Bryan brothers coming from a set down to defeat Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo. But the most entertaining match of the day was undoubtedly the Ladies' Doubles Final in which Taiwan's Su-Wei Hsieh and China's Peng Shuai beat the Australians Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua. Hsieh and Peng have a most unconventional approach to doubles – rather than taking responsibility for different areas of the court they both seem to follow the ball (and each other) - more like a four-legged singles player! At least three times in the final they clashed racquets as they both tried to hit the ball at the same time. Nevertheless this odd system seemed to work, giving them two opportunities to reach each difficult return (despite leaving large areas of the court uncovered). It was fascinating to watch and a great way to end a fabulous day at Wimbledon. It would have been amazing to have been there the following day to see Andy Murray triumph but, knowing how nervous I got on behalf of Sabine Lisicki, I think the tension might have been unbearable. Watching the Men's Singles Final on the television the day after our visit to Centre Court felt as close as you could get to being there. You can see a selection of my Wimbledon photos at: http://www.culturaloutlook.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Wimbledon2013
As regular readers will remember, we have been extremely lucky in getting tickets in the Wimbledon ballot over recent years. 2012 was the first time in 10 years that we didn't get to the Championships, but we were back this year, with Centre Court tickets for the Ladies' Singles Final last Saturday. It was a glorious day and we were pleased to be sitting far enough back to be in the shade. The final was a little disappointing as Sabine Lisicki failed to find the form that had helped her beat Serena Williams and Agnieszka Radwańska, but it was great to see Marion Bartoli win and, even though the match was a bit one-sided, there was some great tennis from both players. The Men's Doubles Final was more closely contested with the Bryan brothers coming from a set down to defeat Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo. But the most entertaining match of the day was undoubtedly the Ladies' Doubles Final in which Taiwan's Su-Wei Hsieh and China's Peng Shuai beat the Australians Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua. Hsieh and Peng have a most unconventional approach to doubles – rather than taking responsibility for different areas of the court they both seem to follow the ball (and each other) - more like a four-legged singles player! At least three times in the final they clashed racquets as they both tried to hit the ball at the same time. Nevertheless this odd system seemed to work, giving them two opportunities to reach each difficult return (despite leaving large areas of the court uncovered). It was fascinating to watch and a great way to end a fabulous day at Wimbledon. It would have been amazing to have been there the following day to see Andy Murray triumph but, knowing how nervous I got on behalf of Sabine Lisicki, I think the tension might have been unbearable. Watching the Men's Singles Final on the television the day after our visit to Centre Court felt as close as you could get to being there. You can see a selection of my Wimbledon photos at: http://www.culturaloutlook.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Wimbledon2013
Monday, July 01, 2013
'The Taming of The Shrew' by William Shakespeare
1 July 2013
The blatant misogyny of Shakespeare’s ‘The Taming of The Shrew’ makes it an uncomfortable play for modern audiences. The last production I saw was directed by Lucy Bailey for the Royal Shakespeare Company (reviewed here in March 2012) – a female director who chose to emphasise the framing of the story as Christopher Sly’s dream by situating all the action upon (or within!) an enormous bed. So it was very interesting to see the current Shakespeare’s Globe On Tour open air production of ‘The Taming of The Shrew’ at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts last week. Here the challenges of the play were tackled head-on by neatly reversing Elizabethan conventions and using an entirely female cast. Joe Murphy’s production was well-acted, entertaining, inventive and very funny but the most fascinating aspect was the way in which the gender relationships were explored. When we saw ‘Twelfth Night’ performed by The Lord Chamberlain’s Men with an all-male cast (reviewed here in August 2009), seeing the female parts played by men strangely seemed to make more sense of the conceit of girl dressed as boy. In ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ Petruchio’s final triumph in ‘taming’ Kate was very cleverly undermined by his clear discomfort at what he had created, made all the more obvious by the fact that he was being played by a woman. The cast were universally strong but special mention must go to Kate Lamb’s Katherina, Petruchio played by Leah Whitaker and Remy Beasley's constantly smirking, Welsh-accented, Tranio.
The blatant misogyny of Shakespeare’s ‘The Taming of The Shrew’ makes it an uncomfortable play for modern audiences. The last production I saw was directed by Lucy Bailey for the Royal Shakespeare Company (reviewed here in March 2012) – a female director who chose to emphasise the framing of the story as Christopher Sly’s dream by situating all the action upon (or within!) an enormous bed. So it was very interesting to see the current Shakespeare’s Globe On Tour open air production of ‘The Taming of The Shrew’ at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts last week. Here the challenges of the play were tackled head-on by neatly reversing Elizabethan conventions and using an entirely female cast. Joe Murphy’s production was well-acted, entertaining, inventive and very funny but the most fascinating aspect was the way in which the gender relationships were explored. When we saw ‘Twelfth Night’ performed by The Lord Chamberlain’s Men with an all-male cast (reviewed here in August 2009), seeing the female parts played by men strangely seemed to make more sense of the conceit of girl dressed as boy. In ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ Petruchio’s final triumph in ‘taming’ Kate was very cleverly undermined by his clear discomfort at what he had created, made all the more obvious by the fact that he was being played by a woman. The cast were universally strong but special mention must go to Kate Lamb’s Katherina, Petruchio played by Leah Whitaker and Remy Beasley's constantly smirking, Welsh-accented, Tranio.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Northampton Symphony Orchestra concert
18 June 2013
Performing a horn concerto, not as the soloist but as one of the horn players in the orchestra, can be an intimidating experience as you tend to worry your performance is going to be unfavourably compared to that of the soloist. The Second Horn Concerto by Richard Strauss is the Matterhorn of the genre and while the two orchestral horn parts constitute mere foothills compared to the peaks the soloist has to scale, they contain some tricky echoes of the solo part and make you work hard to ensure you don’t let the soloist down. I think our performance of the concerto with the Northampton Symphony Orchestra on Saturday went extremely well, with Richard Bayliss stepping in at the last minute to give a wonderfully exciting performance, as our original soloist sadly had to pull out of the concert for personal reasons. And those orchestral horn parts sounded pretty good to me too! The second half of the concert contrasted the concerto, written when Strauss was 78, with the precocious First Symphony by Shostakovich – a graduation piece written at the age of 19. Much closer to Shostakovich’s playful music theatre writing than the later, more serious, symphonies, it was a really enjoyable work to get to know. Our performance featured some impressive solos from Nick Bunker (trumpet), Mara Griffiths (flute), Kathy Roberts (oboe), Christine Hunt and Robert Reid (clarinet), Sian Bunker (bassoon) and William Thallon (piano).
Performing a horn concerto, not as the soloist but as one of the horn players in the orchestra, can be an intimidating experience as you tend to worry your performance is going to be unfavourably compared to that of the soloist. The Second Horn Concerto by Richard Strauss is the Matterhorn of the genre and while the two orchestral horn parts constitute mere foothills compared to the peaks the soloist has to scale, they contain some tricky echoes of the solo part and make you work hard to ensure you don’t let the soloist down. I think our performance of the concerto with the Northampton Symphony Orchestra on Saturday went extremely well, with Richard Bayliss stepping in at the last minute to give a wonderfully exciting performance, as our original soloist sadly had to pull out of the concert for personal reasons. And those orchestral horn parts sounded pretty good to me too! The second half of the concert contrasted the concerto, written when Strauss was 78, with the precocious First Symphony by Shostakovich – a graduation piece written at the age of 19. Much closer to Shostakovich’s playful music theatre writing than the later, more serious, symphonies, it was a really enjoyable work to get to know. Our performance featured some impressive solos from Nick Bunker (trumpet), Mara Griffiths (flute), Kathy Roberts (oboe), Christine Hunt and Robert Reid (clarinet), Sian Bunker (bassoon) and William Thallon (piano).
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
'Life After Life' by Kate Atkinson
11 June 2013
As regular readers will know, I’ve read the entire output of the contemporary novelist Kate Atkinson, so I had eagerly awaited her latest book ‘Life After Life’. Taking a break from the Jackson Brodie detective novels (such as ‘Started Early, Took My Dog’, reviewed here in April 2011), ‘Life After Life’ (which I read as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Fenella Woolgar) feels like a return to the family saga format of Kate Atkinson’s award-winning debut ‘Behind the Scenes at the Museum’. ‘Life After Life’ covers an earlier era than its predecessor, starting in 1910 with the birth of its protagonist, Ursula Todd. And ‘Life After Life’ is a family saga with a twist: in the opening pages Ursula dies before she can take her first breath, strangled by the umbilical cord. But then we rewind and imagine how the scene might have played out differently, with the baby surviving. And this forms the pattern for the book, with Ursula’s life cut unfairly short through a series of childhood accidents, only for her to find a way past each obstacle the next time around. Atkinson enjoys this extended Groundhog Day structure, taking a mischievous delight in making the reader wonder whether Ursula will ever make it out of infancy. But this tale of the parallel lives that we might have led takes on a growing poignancy as Ursula appears to use some distant memory of her previous lives not just to preserve herself but also to try to save her family and friends from the hand of fate. (The love story of Teddy and Nancy which plays out in the background of the novel forms an engaging thread through the story of Ursula’s life.) It was interesting that as you get used to Ursula’s apparent immortality, the next time she gets into a difficult or dangerous situation you begin to stop worrying for her because you can relax in the realisation that danger will be averted by death and rebirth. Then Atkinson pulls the rug from under the reader by having Ursula survive and have to suffer the after-effects of illness or injury – making you realise that sometimes it’s much harder to go on living. ‘Life After Life is a very clever, charming and moving tale of foxes, bears and wolves.
As regular readers will know, I’ve read the entire output of the contemporary novelist Kate Atkinson, so I had eagerly awaited her latest book ‘Life After Life’. Taking a break from the Jackson Brodie detective novels (such as ‘Started Early, Took My Dog’, reviewed here in April 2011), ‘Life After Life’ (which I read as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Fenella Woolgar) feels like a return to the family saga format of Kate Atkinson’s award-winning debut ‘Behind the Scenes at the Museum’. ‘Life After Life’ covers an earlier era than its predecessor, starting in 1910 with the birth of its protagonist, Ursula Todd. And ‘Life After Life’ is a family saga with a twist: in the opening pages Ursula dies before she can take her first breath, strangled by the umbilical cord. But then we rewind and imagine how the scene might have played out differently, with the baby surviving. And this forms the pattern for the book, with Ursula’s life cut unfairly short through a series of childhood accidents, only for her to find a way past each obstacle the next time around. Atkinson enjoys this extended Groundhog Day structure, taking a mischievous delight in making the reader wonder whether Ursula will ever make it out of infancy. But this tale of the parallel lives that we might have led takes on a growing poignancy as Ursula appears to use some distant memory of her previous lives not just to preserve herself but also to try to save her family and friends from the hand of fate. (The love story of Teddy and Nancy which plays out in the background of the novel forms an engaging thread through the story of Ursula’s life.) It was interesting that as you get used to Ursula’s apparent immortality, the next time she gets into a difficult or dangerous situation you begin to stop worrying for her because you can relax in the realisation that danger will be averted by death and rebirth. Then Atkinson pulls the rug from under the reader by having Ursula survive and have to suffer the after-effects of illness or injury – making you realise that sometimes it’s much harder to go on living. ‘Life After Life is a very clever, charming and moving tale of foxes, bears and wolves.
Wednesday, June 05, 2013
'Hope and Glory' by Stuart Maconie
5 June 2013
I've written here before about Stuart Maconie's ongoing metamorphosis into the British Bill Bryson, through his books including 'Pies and Prejudice' (reviewed here in June 2008) and ‘Cider with Roadies' (reviewed here in March 2009). 'Hope and Glory' is another entertaining and informative addition to the Maconie canon in which he tells a people's history of Britain in the twentieth century. The book consists of ten chapters, each focusing on a key date - one for each decade. Each particular event becomes the starting point for a less linearly chronological exploration of themes that include politics, war, sport, immigration and celebrity. And Stuart Maconie visits many of the scenes of the notable events he is recounting. So the book becomes a mixture of travelogue, history and reminiscence. It's a bit of a mixed bag - and contains a surprising number of proofing and editing errors - but there are some real gems throughout. An easy read that is educational and very enjoyable.
Tuesday, June 04, 2013
'Blue Remembered Hills' by Dennis Potter
4 June 2013
I first saw Dennis Potter’s play ‘Blue Remembered Hills’ many years ago in an Edinburgh Fringe production at Greyfriars Kirkhouse. The central concept – using adults to play young children without disguising the fact they are obviously adults – works well as a device to explore the nature of childhood, memory and relationships. Appropriately enough, my distant memories of the play proved not entirely accurate when we saw the new Northern Stage production, directed by Psyche Scott, at Watford Palace Theatre last Saturday. In particular, while it was a very impressive production with some great acting, the piece felt much more slight than I remembered it. Written originally for television, it only lasts about an hour – perfect for the Edinburgh Fringe but a bit short played, without an interval, as the main attraction. Nevertheless it was an enjoyable and interesting experience with the actors’ mastery of childlike movement especially impressive. There is a ‘Lord of the Flies’ brutality to the children’s games and a dark ending to the story which echoes its wartime setting. And the distinctive Forest of Dean accents conjure up wonderful memories of ‘The Singing Detective’ (another example of the coma drama subgenre by the way).
I first saw Dennis Potter’s play ‘Blue Remembered Hills’ many years ago in an Edinburgh Fringe production at Greyfriars Kirkhouse. The central concept – using adults to play young children without disguising the fact they are obviously adults – works well as a device to explore the nature of childhood, memory and relationships. Appropriately enough, my distant memories of the play proved not entirely accurate when we saw the new Northern Stage production, directed by Psyche Scott, at Watford Palace Theatre last Saturday. In particular, while it was a very impressive production with some great acting, the piece felt much more slight than I remembered it. Written originally for television, it only lasts about an hour – perfect for the Edinburgh Fringe but a bit short played, without an interval, as the main attraction. Nevertheless it was an enjoyable and interesting experience with the actors’ mastery of childlike movement especially impressive. There is a ‘Lord of the Flies’ brutality to the children’s games and a dark ending to the story which echoes its wartime setting. And the distinctive Forest of Dean accents conjure up wonderful memories of ‘The Singing Detective’ (another example of the coma drama subgenre by the way).
Friday, May 31, 2013
'The Ninth Life of Louis Drax' by Liz Jensen
31 May 2013
There's a rich dramatic sub-genre based within the mind of someone suffering from a coma. The dreamlike possibilities have inspired surreal worlds between the living and the dead, for example in 'A Matter of Life and Death' or 'Life on Mars'. One of the best of these coma-dramas is 'Vent' – a dark radio comedy by Nigel Smith which ran for three series on BBC Radio 4 between 2006 and 2009. 'Vent' is a wonderfully inventive, poignant, funny and moving drama with an excellent cast, including Neil Pearson, Fiona Allen, Josie Lawrence and Leslie Ash. The use of sound-effects, music, flashbacks and dream sequences create an experience that could only have been achieved on radio. And the fact that Nigel Smith was writing from his own experience of being in a coma makes the whole thing even more fascinating. 'Vent' is currently being repeated on BBC Radio 4Extra. I was reminded of 'Vent' while reading Liz Jensen's novel 'The Ninth Life of Louis Drax' – an enjoyable macabre psychological thriller. As well as exploring the possibilities of a character in a coma, Liz Jensen uses sections of first person narration in the naïve voice of a young boy which made me think of Mark Haddon's 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time' but she combines this with a chilling plot that explores the relationship between a mother and her son that also reminded me of 'We need to talk about Kevin' by Lionel Shriver (reviewed here in August 2006). 'The Ninth Life of Louis Drax' is a clever, gripping and sinister thriller.
There's a rich dramatic sub-genre based within the mind of someone suffering from a coma. The dreamlike possibilities have inspired surreal worlds between the living and the dead, for example in 'A Matter of Life and Death' or 'Life on Mars'. One of the best of these coma-dramas is 'Vent' – a dark radio comedy by Nigel Smith which ran for three series on BBC Radio 4 between 2006 and 2009. 'Vent' is a wonderfully inventive, poignant, funny and moving drama with an excellent cast, including Neil Pearson, Fiona Allen, Josie Lawrence and Leslie Ash. The use of sound-effects, music, flashbacks and dream sequences create an experience that could only have been achieved on radio. And the fact that Nigel Smith was writing from his own experience of being in a coma makes the whole thing even more fascinating. 'Vent' is currently being repeated on BBC Radio 4Extra. I was reminded of 'Vent' while reading Liz Jensen's novel 'The Ninth Life of Louis Drax' – an enjoyable macabre psychological thriller. As well as exploring the possibilities of a character in a coma, Liz Jensen uses sections of first person narration in the naïve voice of a young boy which made me think of Mark Haddon's 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time' but she combines this with a chilling plot that explores the relationship between a mother and her son that also reminded me of 'We need to talk about Kevin' by Lionel Shriver (reviewed here in August 2006). 'The Ninth Life of Louis Drax' is a clever, gripping and sinister thriller.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Freiburg Baroque Orchestra concert
21 May 2013
A heart-meltingly exquisite rendition of the final gentle aria from Handel's oratorio 'Il trionfo del Tempo e della Verità' was a sublime way to end a lovely concert at St John's Smith Square in London last Saturday. This was the encore by soprano Carolyn Sampson with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, directed from the violin by Anne Katharina Schreiber, at the end of a concert of music by Vivaldi, Handel and Telemann with a seagoing theme. The concert was the final event in this year's Lufthansa Festival of Baroque Music. The Freiburgers play standing up and were fascinating to watch – their choreography demonstrating the excitement of baroque music that can sometimes seem too restrained. Carolyn Sampson is a stunning singer – particularly in the quieter arias – and got a rapturous reception from a packed and knowledgeable audience.
A heart-meltingly exquisite rendition of the final gentle aria from Handel's oratorio 'Il trionfo del Tempo e della Verità' was a sublime way to end a lovely concert at St John's Smith Square in London last Saturday. This was the encore by soprano Carolyn Sampson with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, directed from the violin by Anne Katharina Schreiber, at the end of a concert of music by Vivaldi, Handel and Telemann with a seagoing theme. The concert was the final event in this year's Lufthansa Festival of Baroque Music. The Freiburgers play standing up and were fascinating to watch – their choreography demonstrating the excitement of baroque music that can sometimes seem too restrained. Carolyn Sampson is a stunning singer – particularly in the quieter arias – and got a rapturous reception from a packed and knowledgeable audience.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
‘Little Shop of Horrors’ by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman
16 May 2013
Wikipedia describes ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman as a “comedy horror rock musical” – which, if you examine the links closely is actually two genres “comedy horror” and “rock musical”, each of which have their own Wikipedia entries. I’ve always had a soft spot for ‘Little Shop of Horrors’, having discovered it while at university, when the 1986Frank Oz film came out. It was ‘The Rocky Horror Show’ for those who were uncomfortable without the overt sexuality and transvestism. It was ‘Sweeney Todd’ with catchy 1960s girl group songs. So I was looking forward to seeing the new production of ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ by our award-winning local amateur theatre group, TADS, in Toddington last weekend and I wasn’t disappointed. I think the two lead actors were both new to TADS and I suspect they had been headhunted for this production. Barry Hyde made Seymour a suitably nerdy, naïve and sympathetic hero and Leanne White was excellent as Audrey – with an impressively consistent over-the-top New Yoik accent. But the star of the show was Audrey II – the man-eating, soul-singing flytrap – constructed for Sue Sachon’s TADS production by Jake Dudley, David Sachon and Gobstoppers in Berhamsted, operated by Mark Normoyle and voiced by Jonathan Alexander Sachon. Remember, “whatever they offer you, don’t feed the plants!”.
Wikipedia describes ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman as a “comedy horror rock musical” – which, if you examine the links closely is actually two genres “comedy horror” and “rock musical”, each of which have their own Wikipedia entries. I’ve always had a soft spot for ‘Little Shop of Horrors’, having discovered it while at university, when the 1986Frank Oz film came out. It was ‘The Rocky Horror Show’ for those who were uncomfortable without the overt sexuality and transvestism. It was ‘Sweeney Todd’ with catchy 1960s girl group songs. So I was looking forward to seeing the new production of ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ by our award-winning local amateur theatre group, TADS, in Toddington last weekend and I wasn’t disappointed. I think the two lead actors were both new to TADS and I suspect they had been headhunted for this production. Barry Hyde made Seymour a suitably nerdy, naïve and sympathetic hero and Leanne White was excellent as Audrey – with an impressively consistent over-the-top New Yoik accent. But the star of the show was Audrey II – the man-eating, soul-singing flytrap – constructed for Sue Sachon’s TADS production by Jake Dudley, David Sachon and Gobstoppers in Berhamsted, operated by Mark Normoyle and voiced by Jonathan Alexander Sachon. Remember, “whatever they offer you, don’t feed the plants!”.
Brussels
16 May 2013
We had a lovely few days in Brussels last week. Our hotel was a few minutes’ walk from the Grand Place – the historic centre of the city. The narrow lanes and enclosed arcades around the Grand Place are very pretty and contain a host of very expensive chocolatiers. I particularly enjoyed the Musical Instrument Museum which is housed in a wonderful Art Nouveau former department store on the Mont des Arts. The museum provides infra-red headsets which allow you to hear each of the historic instruments playing as you approach them. I was fascinated by the bizarre seven-bell trombone created by Adolphe Sax (see: http://www.mim.be/sites/default/files/instruments/trombone%20sax%201288.jpg). We also visited the magnificent Museum des Beaux Arts which boasts an extensive collection of 17th and 18th century Flemish paintings including works by Brueghel and Hieronymus Bosch. Brussels is renowned for its restaurants and we had some wonderful meals.
We had a lovely few days in Brussels last week. Our hotel was a few minutes’ walk from the Grand Place – the historic centre of the city. The narrow lanes and enclosed arcades around the Grand Place are very pretty and contain a host of very expensive chocolatiers. I particularly enjoyed the Musical Instrument Museum which is housed in a wonderful Art Nouveau former department store on the Mont des Arts. The museum provides infra-red headsets which allow you to hear each of the historic instruments playing as you approach them. I was fascinated by the bizarre seven-bell trombone created by Adolphe Sax (see: http://www.mim.be/sites/default/files/instruments/trombone%20sax%201288.jpg). We also visited the magnificent Museum des Beaux Arts which boasts an extensive collection of 17th and 18th century Flemish paintings including works by Brueghel and Hieronymus Bosch. Brussels is renowned for its restaurants and we had some wonderful meals.
Friday, May 03, 2013
Milton Keynes Sinfonia workshop - 'The Rite of Spring' by Igor Stravinsky
3 May 2013
Stravinsky’s ‘The Rite of Spring’ may no longer shock in the way it did at its first performance (almost exactly one hundred years ago, on 29 May 1913) but it is still a powerful and emotional work whose supreme challenges attract orchestras like the Matterhorn attracts mountaineers. It is rare for an amateur orchestra to have the opportunity to scale such perilous peaks so it was great to discover that Milton Keynes Sinfonia was planning a one-day Rite of Spring workshop. Last Sunday morning I was among nearly one hundred amateur musicians who assembled in the Hub Theatre in the Open University campus in Milton Keynes to spend a very enjoyable day trying to conquer Stravinsky’s complex and confusing rhythms. ‘The Rite of Spring’ requires a mammoth orchestra including 8 horns, 2 Wagner tubas, 6 trumpets, a bass trumpet, alto flute, 2 contra-bassoons and all manner of unusual percussion instruments. Starting with a nervous ‘play-through’ at 10.30 am, by 4.00 pm we were ready for a complete ‘performance’ which went surprisingly well. This is a great tribute to the skills of our conductor, David Knight, whose enthusiastic and encouraging coaching pulled all the strands together.
Stravinsky’s ‘The Rite of Spring’ may no longer shock in the way it did at its first performance (almost exactly one hundred years ago, on 29 May 1913) but it is still a powerful and emotional work whose supreme challenges attract orchestras like the Matterhorn attracts mountaineers. It is rare for an amateur orchestra to have the opportunity to scale such perilous peaks so it was great to discover that Milton Keynes Sinfonia was planning a one-day Rite of Spring workshop. Last Sunday morning I was among nearly one hundred amateur musicians who assembled in the Hub Theatre in the Open University campus in Milton Keynes to spend a very enjoyable day trying to conquer Stravinsky’s complex and confusing rhythms. ‘The Rite of Spring’ requires a mammoth orchestra including 8 horns, 2 Wagner tubas, 6 trumpets, a bass trumpet, alto flute, 2 contra-bassoons and all manner of unusual percussion instruments. Starting with a nervous ‘play-through’ at 10.30 am, by 4.00 pm we were ready for a complete ‘performance’ which went surprisingly well. This is a great tribute to the skills of our conductor, David Knight, whose enthusiastic and encouraging coaching pulled all the strands together.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
'So He Takes the Dog' by Jonathan Buckley
25 April 2013
I had not heard of the author Jonathan Buckley before reading a piece about him The Guardian a few weeks ago which described his 2006 novel ‘So He Takes the Dog’ as a masterpiece. Intrigued I got hold of the unabridged audio recording of the book (narrated by Richard Burnip). It’s an interesting novel which tells a relatively straightforward tale in a slightly odd way. ‘So He Takes the Dog’ recounts a murder investigation in a small North Devon town. It is more of a police procedural than a murder mystery. We follow the detectives as they piece together a picture of the life of a homeless man whose body is found on the beach. Searching backwards through the dead man’s life to understand how he came to be homeless and the origins of his odd behaviour reminded me of ‘Stuart: A Life Backwards’ by Alexander Masters (reviewed here in August 2010). As the novel progresses, however, you begin to wonder whether it is really about the murder or whether the main story is that of the police officer narrating the tale. And I gradually realised that the odd tone (possibly even more noticeable in the audio version) was due to the fact that his first person narration seems to deliberately avoid ever using the words “I” or “me”. The police officer tells us his name and is happy to refer to himself and his colleague as “we” but never talks about himself in the first person. I began to suspect that this was going to prove incredibly significant but, unless I missed something, we are never told why he has chosen to tell the story in this odd way. I’m not sure I would call ‘So He Takes the Dog’ a masterpiece but I enjoyed reading it.
I had not heard of the author Jonathan Buckley before reading a piece about him The Guardian a few weeks ago which described his 2006 novel ‘So He Takes the Dog’ as a masterpiece. Intrigued I got hold of the unabridged audio recording of the book (narrated by Richard Burnip). It’s an interesting novel which tells a relatively straightforward tale in a slightly odd way. ‘So He Takes the Dog’ recounts a murder investigation in a small North Devon town. It is more of a police procedural than a murder mystery. We follow the detectives as they piece together a picture of the life of a homeless man whose body is found on the beach. Searching backwards through the dead man’s life to understand how he came to be homeless and the origins of his odd behaviour reminded me of ‘Stuart: A Life Backwards’ by Alexander Masters (reviewed here in August 2010). As the novel progresses, however, you begin to wonder whether it is really about the murder or whether the main story is that of the police officer narrating the tale. And I gradually realised that the odd tone (possibly even more noticeable in the audio version) was due to the fact that his first person narration seems to deliberately avoid ever using the words “I” or “me”. The police officer tells us his name and is happy to refer to himself and his colleague as “we” but never talks about himself in the first person. I began to suspect that this was going to prove incredibly significant but, unless I missed something, we are never told why he has chosen to tell the story in this odd way. I’m not sure I would call ‘So He Takes the Dog’ a masterpiece but I enjoyed reading it.
Northampton Symphony Orchestra concert
25 April 2013
The Northampton Symphony Orchestra concert last Saturday included two very contrasting works. Dvorak’s ‘Symphony No 9 (From the New World)’ is incredibly well-known and instantly likeable but shines through its familiarity. I think our performance brought out both the warmth and the excitement of the work – with an excellent Cor Anglais solo from Simon Cooper. Bartok’s ‘Concerto for Orchestra’ is a much more complex and challenging piece and was much less familiar to the orchestra or its audience. By our final rehearsal we were just beginning to make sense of the music and I there was an intense air of concentration during our performance but I think we managed to demonstrate the magnificence of the piece.
The Northampton Symphony Orchestra concert last Saturday included two very contrasting works. Dvorak’s ‘Symphony No 9 (From the New World)’ is incredibly well-known and instantly likeable but shines through its familiarity. I think our performance brought out both the warmth and the excitement of the work – with an excellent Cor Anglais solo from Simon Cooper. Bartok’s ‘Concerto for Orchestra’ is a much more complex and challenging piece and was much less familiar to the orchestra or its audience. By our final rehearsal we were just beginning to make sense of the music and I there was an intense air of concentration during our performance but I think we managed to demonstrate the magnificence of the piece.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Heliotrope Chamber Ensemble concert
17 April 2013
For an orchestral musician, playing chamber music can be a scary experience. In a small group there is nowhere to hide and you don’t get the lengthy breaks that brass players are used to in the symphonic repertoire. But chamber music is rewarding in a different way to larger works. It is satisfying and enjoyable being part of a small team, where every individual is vital to the whole, everyone gets their moment in the spotlight and everyone has a degree of control over the performance. I was, therefore, both delighted and terrified to have been invited to join the Heliotrope Chamber Ensemble for their concert at Abington Avenue United Reformed Church in Northampton last Saturday.
For an orchestral musician, playing chamber music can be a scary experience. In a small group there is nowhere to hide and you don’t get the lengthy breaks that brass players are used to in the symphonic repertoire. But chamber music is rewarding in a different way to larger works. It is satisfying and enjoyable being part of a small team, where every individual is vital to the whole, everyone gets their moment in the spotlight and everyone has a degree of control over the performance. I was, therefore, both delighted and terrified to have been invited to join the Heliotrope Chamber Ensemble for their concert at Abington Avenue United Reformed Church in Northampton last Saturday.
We were
tackling a new piece for double wind quintet by the American composer Jeff
Scott. ‘Sacred Women’ was first performed at the Nevada Flute Association
Conference in Las Vegas in August 2012 and ours was to be the first performance
outside North America. ‘Sacred Women’ celebrates three female deities – the
Egyptian god Isis, Caribbean Iemanja and African Mawu. It is a fiendishly
difficult piece – tuneful, atmospheric and rhythmically complex. All ten parts
are incredibly challenging and it was very hard work trying to fit it all
together.
We were
fortunate that Frank Jordan and the other regular members of the Heliotrope
Wind Quintet had assembled a very impressive group of musicians and we were
grateful for the services of conductor Stephen Bell to help us pull it
together. We also benefited from working with the recording of the work’s
Nevada premiere and some of our group managed to talk to the composer after a
recent recital at the Wigmore Hall in London. By Saturday evening, however, it
still felt a bit touch and go. Concentration levels were high and nerves were
jangling but I think we had all come to really like the piece and we were
looking forward to trying to do it justice.
The concert
got off to an excellent start with Kimberley Chang playing the lengthy,
haunting, opening alto flute solo beautifully. While we may have been guilty of
a few missed entries and wrong notes, most of the performance went really well
– with several excellent cadenzas, sensitive playing and rhythmic neatness.
Even the most complex, multi-layered passage of competing rhythms in the middle
of the last movement finished with us perfectly together.
As we
approached the very end of the work, however, I was aware that my most
difficult solo line was still looming. Out of silence the first horn is
required to play a series of unaccompanied notes rising to a long, held, top
‘C’. Top ‘C’ is a note which is theoretically possible on a French horn but
rarely called upon. I knew I could manage to hit it but whether I would, at the
end of a complete performance of the piece, in the pressure of the live concert
atmosphere, was another matter. In the passage leading up to this solo we found
ourselves playing at a faster, adrenaline-fuelled, pace than we had rehearsed
and by the time we reached the silent pause I could feel my heart pumping fast.
I took a deep breath and went for it. I was aware of the top ‘C’ emerging, but
it sounded weak and squeaky and I realised I was running out of breath. As I
tried to hold the note for its full length, my head began to ache and I could
feel that I was close to passing out. I managed to hit the following notes and
grab a lungful of air. Then I realised that the others were waiting for me to
continue with the next part of the tune. I pushed my way through to the end of
the line and recovered sufficiently during the following rests to be able to
join in with the final bars of the piece which finished triumphantly.
I am not sure
what the audience made of this odd, squealing interlude towards the end of the
piece – I hope it sounded worse to me than to anyone else – but overall I think
our performance of ‘Sacred Women’ was fairly presentable, with some really
excellent playing. I was completely drained at the end – and in awe of those of
my colleagues who went on to play two further pieces. I enjoyed the rest of the
concert from the audience, discovering two other incredibly tuneful chamber
works that were completely new to me.
Eric Ewazen’s
‘Roaring Fork’ is a contemporary wind quintet that conjures up the Rocky
Mountains with a feel of Aaron Copland’s American soundscapes. And the ‘Nonet’
by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, written in 1894, is a gorgeous piece for oboe,
clarinet, horn, bassoon, violin, viola, ‘cello, double bass and piano. It was a
lovely concert and I really enjoyed the experience of working with the
Heliotrope Chamber Ensemble towards our performance of Jeff Scott’s ‘Sacred
Women’, but I’m looking forward to returning to the relative safety of my
position in the ranks of the Northampton Symphony Orchestra.
You can hear
extracts from the Nevada premiere of ‘Sacred Women’ at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnvLtIIXO5A
and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnf15_FhsHg.
Friday, April 12, 2013
'Parks and Recreation'
12 April 2013
Mock documentaries are hardly a new phenomenon: Rob Reiner’s seminal ‘This Is Spinal Tap’ was released in 1984. But, in recent years, the success of ‘The Office’ (on both sides of theAtlantic ) has led to a rekindling of the
mockumentary sitcom. For some people the high cringe factor of ‘The Office’
made it almost unwatchable – it was often painfully funny. Greg Daniels’ new US
TV series ‘Parks and Recreation’ is much gentler and I’m completely hooked. Leslie
Knope, Deputy Director of Parks and Recreation in Pawnee, Indiana (wonderfully
played by Amy Poehler) is typical of the naïve, self-deluding, somewhat stupid
protagonists of most mockumentaries – but, unlike David Brent, Leslie Knope is
a really sympathetic character and we are completely on her side. She’s also
slightly more knowing than she first appears, often realising afterwards what a
stupid thing she has just done. Actually the whole cast of regular characters
in ‘Parks and Recreation’ are pretty likeable: they all have their faults but
they are basically nice people. ‘Parks and Recreation’ is also laugh-out-loud
funny in quite an old-fashioned way despite the modern mockumentary approach.
It creates ridiculous situations (the penguin gay marriage) and treats them
seriously. The tone is more Laurel and Hardy than David Brent – and there’s
some nice slapstick too. Best of all the nature of the documentary that appears
to be being filmed is never mentioned: all the characters give knowing looks to
camera but no-one ever explains why there are cameras in someone’s living room.
All of ‘Parks and Recreation’ series 2 is still on BBC iPlayer: if you haven’t
tried it yet I would recommend taking a look. Who knew local government could
be so funny and charming!
Mock documentaries are hardly a new phenomenon: Rob Reiner’s seminal ‘This Is Spinal Tap’ was released in 1984. But, in recent years, the success of ‘The Office’ (on both sides of the
Thursday, April 04, 2013
'Mr Whatnot' by Alan Ayckbourn
4 April 2013
I’ve always loved comedy dancing – providing it is done with straight-faced seriousness like Laurel and Hardy in ‘Way Out West’ – and there was some great serious comedy dancing in the Northampton Royal and Derngate production of ‘Mr Whatnot’ by Alan Ayckbourn which we saw on Wednesday. Ayckbourn is known for his realistic dialogue and characters but this very early work (this production marks its 50th anniversary) displays neither of these traits. ‘Mr Whatnot’ is a celebration of mime and comic caricature – and it was laugh-out-loud funny. The Northampton production is directed by Cal McCrystal who was Physical Comedy Director for the National Theatre production of ‘One Man, Two Guvnors’ (reviewed here in October 2011) and has previously worked with the marvellous Spymonkey (reviewed here in February 2012). He has created a wonderful combination of physical theatre, mime, dance and slapstick which is charmingly silly. ‘Mr Whatnot’ is a stage cousin of the silent film comedy genre with a character at its heart that could have been played by Buster Keaton or Norman Wisdom. Though there is some dialogue, most of the action is conveyed by mime, involving perfect co-ordination with an extensive range of sound effects. The speechless hero (played here by Juanma Rodriguez) is a loveable chancer with a twinkle in his eye and a strong sense of mischief. There is very little plot, some remarkably over-the-top acting and it’s all terribly childish, but on Wednesday it had a packed audience laughing uncontrollably all the way through. ‘Mr Whatnot’ is not what we have come to think of as an Alan Ayckbourn play but this production was great fun.
I’ve always loved comedy dancing – providing it is done with straight-faced seriousness like Laurel and Hardy in ‘Way Out West’ – and there was some great serious comedy dancing in the Northampton Royal and Derngate production of ‘Mr Whatnot’ by Alan Ayckbourn which we saw on Wednesday. Ayckbourn is known for his realistic dialogue and characters but this very early work (this production marks its 50th anniversary) displays neither of these traits. ‘Mr Whatnot’ is a celebration of mime and comic caricature – and it was laugh-out-loud funny. The Northampton production is directed by Cal McCrystal who was Physical Comedy Director for the National Theatre production of ‘One Man, Two Guvnors’ (reviewed here in October 2011) and has previously worked with the marvellous Spymonkey (reviewed here in February 2012). He has created a wonderful combination of physical theatre, mime, dance and slapstick which is charmingly silly. ‘Mr Whatnot’ is a stage cousin of the silent film comedy genre with a character at its heart that could have been played by Buster Keaton or Norman Wisdom. Though there is some dialogue, most of the action is conveyed by mime, involving perfect co-ordination with an extensive range of sound effects. The speechless hero (played here by Juanma Rodriguez) is a loveable chancer with a twinkle in his eye and a strong sense of mischief. There is very little plot, some remarkably over-the-top acting and it’s all terribly childish, but on Wednesday it had a packed audience laughing uncontrollably all the way through. ‘Mr Whatnot’ is not what we have come to think of as an Alan Ayckbourn play but this production was great fun.
'The Virgin Suicides' by Jeffrey Eugenides
4 April 2013
I really enjoyed Jeffrey Eugenides’ 2002 novel ‘Middlesex’ and its successor ‘The Marriage Plot’ (reviewed here in August 2012) but I have only just got around to reading the book that made his name, his 1993 debut novel ‘The Virgin Suicides’ (which was later filmed by Sofia Coppola). The concept of a story about five teenage sisters committing suicide hadn’t seemed very appealing but the book is much funnier than I was expecting. There is a macabre black humour throughout that is extremely entertaining without ever belittling the seriousness of the events. The novel is beautifully written and very witty (“[he] arrived every morning with the hopeless expression of a man draining a swamp with a kitchen sponge”). The story is told by nameless neighbours of the doomed girls through their first-hand observations of the tragic happenings and a series of interviews – many years later – with members of the family and the wider community. Eugenides builds a detailed picture of a neighbourhood containing a host of idiosyncratic characters which reminded me of John Steinbeck’s ‘Cannery Row’. And the way the narrative is constructed through interviews with the ageing protagonists long after the events they are describing made me think of ‘Citizen Kane’. ‘The Virgin Suicides’ does exactly what it says on the cover – but it’s a much more entertaining and enjoyable journey than you might expect.
I really enjoyed Jeffrey Eugenides’ 2002 novel ‘Middlesex’ and its successor ‘The Marriage Plot’ (reviewed here in August 2012) but I have only just got around to reading the book that made his name, his 1993 debut novel ‘The Virgin Suicides’ (which was later filmed by Sofia Coppola). The concept of a story about five teenage sisters committing suicide hadn’t seemed very appealing but the book is much funnier than I was expecting. There is a macabre black humour throughout that is extremely entertaining without ever belittling the seriousness of the events. The novel is beautifully written and very witty (“[he] arrived every morning with the hopeless expression of a man draining a swamp with a kitchen sponge”). The story is told by nameless neighbours of the doomed girls through their first-hand observations of the tragic happenings and a series of interviews – many years later – with members of the family and the wider community. Eugenides builds a detailed picture of a neighbourhood containing a host of idiosyncratic characters which reminded me of John Steinbeck’s ‘Cannery Row’. And the way the narrative is constructed through interviews with the ageing protagonists long after the events they are describing made me think of ‘Citizen Kane’. ‘The Virgin Suicides’ does exactly what it says on the cover – but it’s a much more entertaining and enjoyable journey than you might expect.
Wednesday, April 03, 2013
'Rutherford & Son' by Githa Sowerby
3 April 2013
One of the highlights of our visit to the Edinburgh Fringe last August was Hannah Davies’ one-woman show ‘Githa’ which told the story of the early 20th century playwright Githa Sowerby and the amazing success of her first play ‘Rutherford & Son’ in 1912. So I was delighted to see that Northern Broadsides are touring a new production of ‘Rutherford & Son’, directed by Jonathan Miller, edited (and relocated from the North East to Yorkshire) by Blake Morrison and starring Northern Broadsides Artistic Director Barrie Rutter as the patriarchal tyrant John Rutherford. We saw the play at Watford Palace Theatre on Saturday and it didn’t disappoint. It’s a grim tale of a ruthless industrialist who has built a successful family firm (a glassworks) and rules over both the firm and his family with a fierce uncompromising determination. The plight of the women in the family in particular – whom Rutherford barely deigns to talk to – is emphasised by the gloom of the barely lit set. But the Northern Broadsides production manages to find humour amongst the desperation. And ‘Rutherford & Son’ has a very clever and well-plotted twist. An excellent play by a pioneering but largely forgotten female playwright.
One of the highlights of our visit to the Edinburgh Fringe last August was Hannah Davies’ one-woman show ‘Githa’ which told the story of the early 20th century playwright Githa Sowerby and the amazing success of her first play ‘Rutherford & Son’ in 1912. So I was delighted to see that Northern Broadsides are touring a new production of ‘Rutherford & Son’, directed by Jonathan Miller, edited (and relocated from the North East to Yorkshire) by Blake Morrison and starring Northern Broadsides Artistic Director Barrie Rutter as the patriarchal tyrant John Rutherford. We saw the play at Watford Palace Theatre on Saturday and it didn’t disappoint. It’s a grim tale of a ruthless industrialist who has built a successful family firm (a glassworks) and rules over both the firm and his family with a fierce uncompromising determination. The plight of the women in the family in particular – whom Rutherford barely deigns to talk to – is emphasised by the gloom of the barely lit set. But the Northern Broadsides production manages to find humour amongst the desperation. And ‘Rutherford & Son’ has a very clever and well-plotted twist. An excellent play by a pioneering but largely forgotten female playwright.
North York Moors
3 April 2013
Despite me telling everyone that the last week in March invariably heralds the first warmer weather of the year, our week on the North York Moors proved to be incredibly cold. We were lucky, however, in that we avoided the severe snow that beset many other parts of the country and, while we had some light coverings of snow during the week, our travel wasn’t impeded at all. We loved the North York Moors national park – stunning scenery in a relatively compact and self-contained area. We stayed in a little village called Houlsyke on the North edge of the moors, near to the North York Moors Visitor Centre at Danby. We did some great walks – over Ainthorpe Rigg into Little Fryup Dale, along the coastal path into Robin Hood’s Bay and up Roseberry Topping. We visited Whitby, Scarborough and Filey. It was an area I had never visited before and we will definitely return – but it felt more like Christmas than Easter!
Despite me telling everyone that the last week in March invariably heralds the first warmer weather of the year, our week on the North York Moors proved to be incredibly cold. We were lucky, however, in that we avoided the severe snow that beset many other parts of the country and, while we had some light coverings of snow during the week, our travel wasn’t impeded at all. We loved the North York Moors national park – stunning scenery in a relatively compact and self-contained area. We stayed in a little village called Houlsyke on the North edge of the moors, near to the North York Moors Visitor Centre at Danby. We did some great walks – over Ainthorpe Rigg into Little Fryup Dale, along the coastal path into Robin Hood’s Bay and up Roseberry Topping. We visited Whitby, Scarborough and Filey. It was an area I had never visited before and we will definitely return – but it felt more like Christmas than Easter!
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Milton Keynes Sinfonia concert
21 March 2013
The viola is the often the poor relation amongst orchestral instruments, the butt of many jokes, the unglamorous middle of the string section. So it was interesting, last Saturday, to take part in a concert that positively celebrated the musical possibilities of the viola. I was playing with Milton Keynes Sinfonia in a programme which began and ended with fine viola solos by the orchestra’s principal viola player, Julian Pentz, in Elgar’s ‘In The South’ and Vaughan Williams’ ‘Symphony No 2 (A London Symphony)’. The filling in this viola sandwich was William Walton’s ‘Viola Concerto’ – a wonderful but fiendishly difficult work, impressively performed by Emma Sheppard (who was, until last year, the principal viola for English National Ballet). It was a lovely programme and a very enjoyable concert, with some great playing throughout the orchestra and a host of exquisite solos by a variety of players – but this time the limelight belonged to the viola.
The viola is the often the poor relation amongst orchestral instruments, the butt of many jokes, the unglamorous middle of the string section. So it was interesting, last Saturday, to take part in a concert that positively celebrated the musical possibilities of the viola. I was playing with Milton Keynes Sinfonia in a programme which began and ended with fine viola solos by the orchestra’s principal viola player, Julian Pentz, in Elgar’s ‘In The South’ and Vaughan Williams’ ‘Symphony No 2 (A London Symphony)’. The filling in this viola sandwich was William Walton’s ‘Viola Concerto’ – a wonderful but fiendishly difficult work, impressively performed by Emma Sheppard (who was, until last year, the principal viola for English National Ballet). It was a lovely programme and a very enjoyable concert, with some great playing throughout the orchestra and a host of exquisite solos by a variety of players – but this time the limelight belonged to the viola.
Friday, March 15, 2013
'How Music Works' by David Byrne
15 March 2013
In 1985 a school friend lent me his copy of the Talking Heads LP ‘Little Creatures’ – the album that contains ‘Road to Nowhere’ and ‘And She Was’. I listened to the record a couple of times and quickly returned it, saying I thought there were a couple of good songs but I didn’t like the singer’s voice. Ah, the foolishness of youth! A year later I went to see David Byrne’s charmingly quirky film ‘True Stories’, bought the ‘True Stories’ Talking Heads album and was completely hooked. Since then, the music of David Byrne has become an essential part of the soundtrack of my life. I was blown away by his 1989 Latin album ‘Rei Momo’, and his 2001 masterpiece ‘Look into the Eyeball’ is one of my all-time favourite records – though only narrowly beating its 2004 successor ‘Grown Backwards’. So I had been very much looking forward to reading David Byrne’s new book, ‘How Music Works’ (which I have just finished reading as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Andrew Garman). ‘How Music Works’ is part memoir – reminiscing about the early years of Talking Heads, the recording of most of Byrne’s studio albums and the experience of particular live shows – and part Reith Lecture. He looks at how the buildings in which music is performed have influenced compositional style, the process of musical collaboration, the economic models of the music business and the earliest human origins of music. I was particularly interested in his description of the process of developing his disco song cycle about the life of Imelda Marcos, ‘Here Lies Love’ (a collaboration with Fatboy Slim, reviewed here in April 2010). He talks about music education, citing our mutual Brazilian friends AfroReggae, El Sistema in Venezuela and the work of Youth Music in the UK. He also provides a fascinating encyclopaedic history of recording technologies and their effect on the writing, performance and consumption of music. Then, just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, David Byrne devotes a whole chapter to amateurs. He says:
“The act of making music, art, clothes, or even food, has a very different and possibly more beneficial effect on us than simply consuming those things. And yet, for a very long time, the attitude of the state toward teaching and funding the arts has been in direct opposition to fostering creativity among the general population. It can often seem that those in power don’t want us to enjoy making things for ourselves. They’d prefer to establish a cultural hierarchy that devalues our amateur efforts and encourages consumption rather than creation.”
He goes on to suggest that:
“by encouraging the creativity of amateurs, rather than telling them that they should passively accept the creativity of designated masters, we help build a social and cultural network that will have profound repercussions”.
‘How Music Works’ is a little rambling at times, undoubtedly idiosyncratic and very much in David Byrne’s unique voice, but it’s a brilliant book – highly recommended.
In 1985 a school friend lent me his copy of the Talking Heads LP ‘Little Creatures’ – the album that contains ‘Road to Nowhere’ and ‘And She Was’. I listened to the record a couple of times and quickly returned it, saying I thought there were a couple of good songs but I didn’t like the singer’s voice. Ah, the foolishness of youth! A year later I went to see David Byrne’s charmingly quirky film ‘True Stories’, bought the ‘True Stories’ Talking Heads album and was completely hooked. Since then, the music of David Byrne has become an essential part of the soundtrack of my life. I was blown away by his 1989 Latin album ‘Rei Momo’, and his 2001 masterpiece ‘Look into the Eyeball’ is one of my all-time favourite records – though only narrowly beating its 2004 successor ‘Grown Backwards’. So I had been very much looking forward to reading David Byrne’s new book, ‘How Music Works’ (which I have just finished reading as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Andrew Garman). ‘How Music Works’ is part memoir – reminiscing about the early years of Talking Heads, the recording of most of Byrne’s studio albums and the experience of particular live shows – and part Reith Lecture. He looks at how the buildings in which music is performed have influenced compositional style, the process of musical collaboration, the economic models of the music business and the earliest human origins of music. I was particularly interested in his description of the process of developing his disco song cycle about the life of Imelda Marcos, ‘Here Lies Love’ (a collaboration with Fatboy Slim, reviewed here in April 2010). He talks about music education, citing our mutual Brazilian friends AfroReggae, El Sistema in Venezuela and the work of Youth Music in the UK. He also provides a fascinating encyclopaedic history of recording technologies and their effect on the writing, performance and consumption of music. Then, just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, David Byrne devotes a whole chapter to amateurs. He says:
“The act of making music, art, clothes, or even food, has a very different and possibly more beneficial effect on us than simply consuming those things. And yet, for a very long time, the attitude of the state toward teaching and funding the arts has been in direct opposition to fostering creativity among the general population. It can often seem that those in power don’t want us to enjoy making things for ourselves. They’d prefer to establish a cultural hierarchy that devalues our amateur efforts and encourages consumption rather than creation.”
He goes on to suggest that:
“by encouraging the creativity of amateurs, rather than telling them that they should passively accept the creativity of designated masters, we help build a social and cultural network that will have profound repercussions”.
‘How Music Works’ is a little rambling at times, undoubtedly idiosyncratic and very much in David Byrne’s unique voice, but it’s a brilliant book – highly recommended.
Friday, March 08, 2013
Northampton Symphony Orchestra concert
8 March 2013
The Northampton Symphony Orchestra was back in the magnificent auditorium of the Derngate in Northampton last Saturday for an evening of ballet music, compered by Angela Rippon. We played an extensive range of ballet excerpts including popular favourites (Tchaikovsky’s suite from ‘Swan Lake’, the ‘Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia’ from ‘Spartacus’ by Khachaturian and the ‘Clog Dance’ from ‘La fille mal gardée’ by Ferdinand Hérold) and the achingly beautiful ending of Prokofiev’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’. We finished the concert with the suite from ‘The Firebird’ by Stravinsky – a challenge for any orchestra but one which I think we rose to. Towards the end of the suite there is a moment, after the violence of the famous ‘Infernal Dance’ has subsided and the haunting bassoon melody of the ‘Berceuse’ has died away, when sparse string chords fade away to silence. Then, out of nothing, comes the horn solo that ushers in the finale. It’s a beautiful moment but I can now tell you from personal experience that it is incredibly nerve-wracking being the horn player waiting for what seems like an age to play that solo. It’s not a particularly difficult phrase (there were much more difficult solos earlier in the concert including those performed wonderfully by Kathy Roberts on oboe, Nick Bunker on trumpet and an amazingly beautiful harp cadenza) but, coming at the end of the most difficult piece at the end of a long concert was a bit like stepping up to take a penalty after playing extra time. I am relieved to say I didn’t blast the ball over the bar – it seemed to go okay and the concert ended on a high.
The Northampton Symphony Orchestra was back in the magnificent auditorium of the Derngate in Northampton last Saturday for an evening of ballet music, compered by Angela Rippon. We played an extensive range of ballet excerpts including popular favourites (Tchaikovsky’s suite from ‘Swan Lake’, the ‘Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia’ from ‘Spartacus’ by Khachaturian and the ‘Clog Dance’ from ‘La fille mal gardée’ by Ferdinand Hérold) and the achingly beautiful ending of Prokofiev’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’. We finished the concert with the suite from ‘The Firebird’ by Stravinsky – a challenge for any orchestra but one which I think we rose to. Towards the end of the suite there is a moment, after the violence of the famous ‘Infernal Dance’ has subsided and the haunting bassoon melody of the ‘Berceuse’ has died away, when sparse string chords fade away to silence. Then, out of nothing, comes the horn solo that ushers in the finale. It’s a beautiful moment but I can now tell you from personal experience that it is incredibly nerve-wracking being the horn player waiting for what seems like an age to play that solo. It’s not a particularly difficult phrase (there were much more difficult solos earlier in the concert including those performed wonderfully by Kathy Roberts on oboe, Nick Bunker on trumpet and an amazingly beautiful harp cadenza) but, coming at the end of the most difficult piece at the end of a long concert was a bit like stepping up to take a penalty after playing extra time. I am relieved to say I didn’t blast the ball over the bar – it seemed to go okay and the concert ended on a high.
Friday, March 01, 2013
'The Beginners Goodbye' by Anne Tyler
1 March 2013
It's always a pleasure to get your hands on a new novel by Anne Tyler - one of my favourite authors. Her gentle, amusing and moving Baltimore tales of ordinary people flirting with live-changing events wear their cleverness lightly and manage to be both enjoyable and thought-provoking. I've just finished reading Anne Tyler's latest novel 'The Beginners Goodbye' (which I read as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Kirby Heybourne). 'The Beginners Goodbye' is familiar Anne Tyler territory - suburban Baltimore life, polite but strained family relationships and a quirky small business - but it's a very sad book dealing with grief at the loss of a spouse. As with Anne Tyler's previous novel 'Noah's Compass' (reviewed here in May 2010) I got the impression she was rewriting 'The Accidental Tourist'. There are some strong parallels between the two books with the male narrator left alone, moving back to his family home with eccentric sibling(s) and making his living from publishing a series of guidebooks. As with 'Noah's Compass', 'The Beginners Goodbye' feels like a more mature work than 'The Accidental Tourist' but this time I yearned for more light-relief. There is humour and the usual lightness of touch but I missed the comic set pieces of some of her earlier novels.
It's always a pleasure to get your hands on a new novel by Anne Tyler - one of my favourite authors. Her gentle, amusing and moving Baltimore tales of ordinary people flirting with live-changing events wear their cleverness lightly and manage to be both enjoyable and thought-provoking. I've just finished reading Anne Tyler's latest novel 'The Beginners Goodbye' (which I read as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Kirby Heybourne). 'The Beginners Goodbye' is familiar Anne Tyler territory - suburban Baltimore life, polite but strained family relationships and a quirky small business - but it's a very sad book dealing with grief at the loss of a spouse. As with Anne Tyler's previous novel 'Noah's Compass' (reviewed here in May 2010) I got the impression she was rewriting 'The Accidental Tourist'. There are some strong parallels between the two books with the male narrator left alone, moving back to his family home with eccentric sibling(s) and making his living from publishing a series of guidebooks. As with 'Noah's Compass', 'The Beginners Goodbye' feels like a more mature work than 'The Accidental Tourist' but this time I yearned for more light-relief. There is humour and the usual lightness of touch but I missed the comic set pieces of some of her earlier novels.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
'One for the Road' by Willy Russell
21 February 2013
The Royal Theatre, Northampton, reopened after refurbishment in 2006 with ‘Follies’ by Stephen Sondheim (reviewed here in November 2006) which was the first production by the Royal and Derngate’s new Artistic Director, Laurie Sansom. This week we were back at the Royal for Laurie Sansom’s final offering before he leaves to become Artistic Director of the National Theatre of Scotland. His Northampton swansong was the appropriately titled ‘One for the Road’ by Willy Russell. I’ve enjoyed Laurie Sansom’s work at Northampton. While avoiding the ambitious excesses of his predecessor, Rupert Goold (a hard act to follow), he has demonstrated a lightness of touch, a mastery of music and a great ability for comedy, across a very varied range of material. Laurie Sansom productions which stand out for me from the past seven years include ‘Follies’, a marvellous ‘Wizard of Oz’ (reviewed here in January 2009), 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' (reviewed here in September 2008) and 'Mary Shelley's Frankenstein' adapted by Lisa Evans (reviewed here in February 2008) – all of which incorporated local amateur actors alongside a professional cast. I also fondly remember Sansom’s production of Alan Ayckbourn’s ‘Private Fears in Public Places’ – with the audience seated on the stage, amongst the action (reviewed here in July 2009) and the surreal televisual farce 'Soap' by Sarah Woods (reviewed here in April 2007) with its magnificent revolving stage.
The Royal Theatre, Northampton, reopened after refurbishment in 2006 with ‘Follies’ by Stephen Sondheim (reviewed here in November 2006) which was the first production by the Royal and Derngate’s new Artistic Director, Laurie Sansom. This week we were back at the Royal for Laurie Sansom’s final offering before he leaves to become Artistic Director of the National Theatre of Scotland. His Northampton swansong was the appropriately titled ‘One for the Road’ by Willy Russell. I’ve enjoyed Laurie Sansom’s work at Northampton. While avoiding the ambitious excesses of his predecessor, Rupert Goold (a hard act to follow), he has demonstrated a lightness of touch, a mastery of music and a great ability for comedy, across a very varied range of material. Laurie Sansom productions which stand out for me from the past seven years include ‘Follies’, a marvellous ‘Wizard of Oz’ (reviewed here in January 2009), 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' (reviewed here in September 2008) and 'Mary Shelley's Frankenstein' adapted by Lisa Evans (reviewed here in February 2008) – all of which incorporated local amateur actors alongside a professional cast. I also fondly remember Sansom’s production of Alan Ayckbourn’s ‘Private Fears in Public Places’ – with the audience seated on the stage, amongst the action (reviewed here in July 2009) and the surreal televisual farce 'Soap' by Sarah Woods (reviewed here in April 2007) with its magnificent revolving stage.
‘One for the Road’ is a Willy Russell comedy originally written
in 1976 but significantly revised in 1985 (to set the action in the 1980s). A
disastrous dinner party in a new housing estate somewhere in the North of
England leads two couples to question what they are doing with their lives and
to wish for the freedom of the open road. ‘One for the Road’ feels like a
cottage pie (or ‘hachis au parmentier’) incorporating ingredients including
Mike Leigh’s ‘Abigail’s Party’ (with John Denver here standing in for Demis
Roussos), Tom Stoppard’s ‘The Real Thing’ (but with ‘Wogan’ rather than ‘Desert
Island Discs’) and 'Neighbourhood Watch' by Alan Ayckbourn (reviewed here in
March 2012) (with its common theme of suburban gnome vandalism). Willy Russell’s
play predates all of these so it is a little unfair to suggest it felt
derivative. It was a very funny show with a dark Ayckbournian sting in the tail
and a nice way to say farewell to Laurie Sansom.
Friday, February 15, 2013
'Canada' by Richard Ford
15 February 2013
"First, I'll tell you about the robbery our parents committed. Then about the murders, which happened later." The opening sentences of Richard Ford's 2012 novel, 'Canada', seemed immediately destined for classic status. It's an intriguing start to an interesting book (which I read as an unabridged audio book, read by Peter Marinker). The narrator of the novel is Dell Parsons - a 15-year old boy throughout the novel's main events, though the narrative voice is the adult Dell remembering these events. It's 1960 and Dell and his twin sister Berner are the children of an apparently 'normal' family in Great Falls, Montana. 'Canada' looks at the relatively small steps that can transform ordinary lives into the extraordinary. When Dell's father gets into financial difficulties he decides to rob a bank. But he's not really a bank robber and his ineptitude splits his family apart. Though once he has robbed a bank he is a bank robber isn't he? Dell is puzzled by the way in which people become defined (and redefined) by their actions. Despite its focus on dramatic, life-changing events, 'Canada' is a slow book which builds a detailed picture of the ordinary lives which are to be forever changed. And it has a strange structure: halfway through we are suddenly in a new setting with a completely new set of characters in which Dell is the only link to the first part of the novel. Soon, however, we realise that we are following a familiar pattern as Dell's new life is turned upside down. 'Canada' takes us "where many bad events originate, from just an inch away from the everyday".
"First, I'll tell you about the robbery our parents committed. Then about the murders, which happened later." The opening sentences of Richard Ford's 2012 novel, 'Canada', seemed immediately destined for classic status. It's an intriguing start to an interesting book (which I read as an unabridged audio book, read by Peter Marinker). The narrator of the novel is Dell Parsons - a 15-year old boy throughout the novel's main events, though the narrative voice is the adult Dell remembering these events. It's 1960 and Dell and his twin sister Berner are the children of an apparently 'normal' family in Great Falls, Montana. 'Canada' looks at the relatively small steps that can transform ordinary lives into the extraordinary. When Dell's father gets into financial difficulties he decides to rob a bank. But he's not really a bank robber and his ineptitude splits his family apart. Though once he has robbed a bank he is a bank robber isn't he? Dell is puzzled by the way in which people become defined (and redefined) by their actions. Despite its focus on dramatic, life-changing events, 'Canada' is a slow book which builds a detailed picture of the ordinary lives which are to be forever changed. And it has a strange structure: halfway through we are suddenly in a new setting with a completely new set of characters in which Dell is the only link to the first part of the novel. Soon, however, we realise that we are following a familiar pattern as Dell's new life is turned upside down. 'Canada' takes us "where many bad events originate, from just an inch away from the everyday".
Thursday, February 07, 2013
'Borgen' by Adam Price
7 February 2013
I am a big fan of political drama. I have fond memories of the BBC Radio 4 dramas ‘The House’ by Christopher Lee and ‘Number 10’ by Jonathan Myerson, and the TV adaptation of ‘A Very British Coup’ by Chris Mullin, as well as ‘Yes Minister’ and ‘The Thick of It’. But I can’t think of any better example of the genre than ‘Borgen’ – the Danish TV series by Adam Price. I’ve just finished watching the second series of ‘Borgen’ on BBC Four and I’m getting withdrawal symptoms already. Sidse Babett Knudsen is wonderful as as Prime Minister Birgitte Nyborg: you can see the angst in her face as she tries to balance doing the right thing with the need for political compromise. The reality of coalition politics is frustrating and fascinating. The character of spin doctor Kasper Juul (played by Pilou Asbæk) manages to be both despicable and sympathetic and his on/off relationship with journalist Katrine Fønsmark (Birgitte Hjort Sørensen) is a constant sub-plot. If you’re missing ‘Borgen’ too I would recommend Vicky Frost’s excellent episode-by-episode blog on the Guardian website, see: http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/series/borgen-episode-by-episode (but beware of spoilers if you are still watching series two).
I am a big fan of political drama. I have fond memories of the BBC Radio 4 dramas ‘The House’ by Christopher Lee and ‘Number 10’ by Jonathan Myerson, and the TV adaptation of ‘A Very British Coup’ by Chris Mullin, as well as ‘Yes Minister’ and ‘The Thick of It’. But I can’t think of any better example of the genre than ‘Borgen’ – the Danish TV series by Adam Price. I’ve just finished watching the second series of ‘Borgen’ on BBC Four and I’m getting withdrawal symptoms already. Sidse Babett Knudsen is wonderful as as Prime Minister Birgitte Nyborg: you can see the angst in her face as she tries to balance doing the right thing with the need for political compromise. The reality of coalition politics is frustrating and fascinating. The character of spin doctor Kasper Juul (played by Pilou Asbæk) manages to be both despicable and sympathetic and his on/off relationship with journalist Katrine Fønsmark (Birgitte Hjort Sørensen) is a constant sub-plot. If you’re missing ‘Borgen’ too I would recommend Vicky Frost’s excellent episode-by-episode blog on the Guardian website, see: http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/series/borgen-episode-by-episode (but beware of spoilers if you are still watching series two).
Friday, February 01, 2013
'Get Follicled' by Lea Pryer
1 February 2013
Before Christmas we were delighted by our local amateur pantomime, ‘Rapunzel’ at the TADS Theatre (reviewed here in December 2012). Last Saturday we returned to Toddington to see the adult version, ‘Get Follicled: the True Story of Rapunzel’, again written and directed by Lea Pryer. Using the same set, the same cast (minus one or two of the younger actors) and following roughly the same plot, this was a parallel universe ‘Rapunzel’. For those seeking an ‘adult pantomime’ I suspect this fulfilled all the expectations that phrase suggests. It was incredibly crude, with nothing so subtle as a double entendre. Much of the show was very funny with the comic talents of Janet Bray, Rachel Birks, Mike Collins and Rory White wonderfully demonstrated in their adlibs and interplay with the audience. But, for me, the funniest moments were those aspects shared with the family-friendly version – the puppets, the facial expressions, the corpsing. And, given that the audience for the performance of ‘Rapunzel’ we saw in December was overwhelming adults, I felt most of us might have been happier with a reprise of that more innocent tale.
Before Christmas we were delighted by our local amateur pantomime, ‘Rapunzel’ at the TADS Theatre (reviewed here in December 2012). Last Saturday we returned to Toddington to see the adult version, ‘Get Follicled: the True Story of Rapunzel’, again written and directed by Lea Pryer. Using the same set, the same cast (minus one or two of the younger actors) and following roughly the same plot, this was a parallel universe ‘Rapunzel’. For those seeking an ‘adult pantomime’ I suspect this fulfilled all the expectations that phrase suggests. It was incredibly crude, with nothing so subtle as a double entendre. Much of the show was very funny with the comic talents of Janet Bray, Rachel Birks, Mike Collins and Rory White wonderfully demonstrated in their adlibs and interplay with the audience. But, for me, the funniest moments were those aspects shared with the family-friendly version – the puppets, the facial expressions, the corpsing. And, given that the audience for the performance of ‘Rapunzel’ we saw in December was overwhelming adults, I felt most of us might have been happier with a reprise of that more innocent tale.
Friday, January 25, 2013
Milton Keynes Chorale and Danesborough Chorus concert
25 January 2013
Since the mid-1970s Milton Keynes has boasted two large choral societies – the Milton Keynes Choral which was founded in 1974 and the Danesborough Chorus which was formed the following year. Since 1977 the two choirs have collaborated on an annual joint concert, enabling them to tackle ambitious repertoire as a single, massive chorus. Last Sunday we were at Milton Keynes Theatre for this year’s joint performance – a programme of music by Mozart, culminating in the ‘Mass in C minor’. The massed ranks of more than 200 singers sounded great accompanied by the period instruments of the Meridian Sinfonia and the two choruses naturally lent themselves to the eight-part double choir format of Mozart’s Mass. Conductor Tom Appleton was enthusiastic and entertaining (and his witty, emotive programme notes were a treat!). It was a lovely concert and a great way to mark the recent retirement of David Roberts after 36 years as Chairman of the Danesborough Chorus.
Since the mid-1970s Milton Keynes has boasted two large choral societies – the Milton Keynes Choral which was founded in 1974 and the Danesborough Chorus which was formed the following year. Since 1977 the two choirs have collaborated on an annual joint concert, enabling them to tackle ambitious repertoire as a single, massive chorus. Last Sunday we were at Milton Keynes Theatre for this year’s joint performance – a programme of music by Mozart, culminating in the ‘Mass in C minor’. The massed ranks of more than 200 singers sounded great accompanied by the period instruments of the Meridian Sinfonia and the two choruses naturally lent themselves to the eight-part double choir format of Mozart’s Mass. Conductor Tom Appleton was enthusiastic and entertaining (and his witty, emotive programme notes were a treat!). It was a lovely concert and a great way to mark the recent retirement of David Roberts after 36 years as Chairman of the Danesborough Chorus.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
'Sweet Tooth' by Ian McEwan
17 January 2013
Last August, in Edinburgh, we saw Mark Lawson interviewing Ian McEwan about his new novel, ‘Sweet Tooth’ – a spy story set in the early 1970s at the height of the cold war. I've now got around to reading ‘Sweet Tooth’ (as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Juliet Stevenson). It tells the story of Serena Frome (rhymes with plume), a Cambridge graduate who joins MI5 and is deployed to act as a patron to a promising young writer, T H Haley, whom it is hoped will write anti-communist novels. Haley is not to know that the funding Serena brings comes from MI5 and deception and lies create a dangerous balance in their relationship. ‘Sweet Tooth’, however, is not really a spy novel – it is about creativity, literature and fiction. Who is writing the narrative of our lives – and where do they get their ideas from? It was an enjoyable read, with a fine cast of suspicious characters, and it keeps the reader guessing to the end about where the inevitable twist will come from.
Last August, in Edinburgh, we saw Mark Lawson interviewing Ian McEwan about his new novel, ‘Sweet Tooth’ – a spy story set in the early 1970s at the height of the cold war. I've now got around to reading ‘Sweet Tooth’ (as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Juliet Stevenson). It tells the story of Serena Frome (rhymes with plume), a Cambridge graduate who joins MI5 and is deployed to act as a patron to a promising young writer, T H Haley, whom it is hoped will write anti-communist novels. Haley is not to know that the funding Serena brings comes from MI5 and deception and lies create a dangerous balance in their relationship. ‘Sweet Tooth’, however, is not really a spy novel – it is about creativity, literature and fiction. Who is writing the narrative of our lives – and where do they get their ideas from? It was an enjoyable read, with a fine cast of suspicious characters, and it keeps the reader guessing to the end about where the inevitable twist will come from.
'Author, Author' by David Lodge
17 January 2013
I've never read anything by Henry James – I don’t think I've even seen a film or TV adaptation of any of his novels – so I wasn't sure how interesting I was going to find ‘Author, Author’, David Lodge’s book about Henry James. I needn't have worried: you’re in safe hands with David Lodge. ‘Author, Author’ wears its research lightly and contains much invented dialogue but it still felt more biography than novel to me. It doesn't attempt a complete biography, and I found it intriguing that Lodge chose not to write about the creation of the early novels that made Henry James famous, nor about the late, great novels for which he is now best remembered. Instead ‘Author, Author’ focusses on the 1880s and 1890s when James is living in London and attempting, unsuccessfully, to conquer the London stage as a playwright. I guess “famous author writes successful novel” wouldn't have made much of a story. David Lodge has created a compelling tale which paints a rounded picture of a complex, flawed but extremely sympathetic character. Much of the book is centred around James’s friendship with the Punch cartoonist George Du Maurier (father of the actor Gerald du Maurier and grandfather of the writer Daphne du Maurier). George du Maurier (who created the famous ‘curate’s egg’ cartoon) comes across as a lovely man and a very good friend to James. But when du Maurier tries his hand at writing a novel and instantly achieves the kind of worldwide success, acclamation and fame that James can only dream of (with his debut novel ‘Trilby’ – which gave us both the eponymous hat and the notion of the ‘svengali’) their friendship is seriously tested. ‘Author, Author’ has a strong supporting cast as Henry James crosses the paths of a wide range of literary and theatrical greats including H G Wells, George Bernard Shaw, Ellen Terry, Oscar Wilde, Edith Wharton and a five-year old Agatha Christie. ‘Author, Author’ may be guilty of not knowing whether it is itself a novel or a biography but it’s a fascinating and engaging portrait of a revered author.
I've never read anything by Henry James – I don’t think I've even seen a film or TV adaptation of any of his novels – so I wasn't sure how interesting I was going to find ‘Author, Author’, David Lodge’s book about Henry James. I needn't have worried: you’re in safe hands with David Lodge. ‘Author, Author’ wears its research lightly and contains much invented dialogue but it still felt more biography than novel to me. It doesn't attempt a complete biography, and I found it intriguing that Lodge chose not to write about the creation of the early novels that made Henry James famous, nor about the late, great novels for which he is now best remembered. Instead ‘Author, Author’ focusses on the 1880s and 1890s when James is living in London and attempting, unsuccessfully, to conquer the London stage as a playwright. I guess “famous author writes successful novel” wouldn't have made much of a story. David Lodge has created a compelling tale which paints a rounded picture of a complex, flawed but extremely sympathetic character. Much of the book is centred around James’s friendship with the Punch cartoonist George Du Maurier (father of the actor Gerald du Maurier and grandfather of the writer Daphne du Maurier). George du Maurier (who created the famous ‘curate’s egg’ cartoon) comes across as a lovely man and a very good friend to James. But when du Maurier tries his hand at writing a novel and instantly achieves the kind of worldwide success, acclamation and fame that James can only dream of (with his debut novel ‘Trilby’ – which gave us both the eponymous hat and the notion of the ‘svengali’) their friendship is seriously tested. ‘Author, Author’ has a strong supporting cast as Henry James crosses the paths of a wide range of literary and theatrical greats including H G Wells, George Bernard Shaw, Ellen Terry, Oscar Wilde, Edith Wharton and a five-year old Agatha Christie. ‘Author, Author’ may be guilty of not knowing whether it is itself a novel or a biography but it’s a fascinating and engaging portrait of a revered author.
Friday, January 11, 2013
'The Life and Times Of ...' by The Hot 8 Brass Band
11 January 2013
I've been listening to The Hot 8 Brass Band from New Orleans this week. Their new album, ‘The Life and Times Of …’, has a cheerful, funky swagger. This is the New Orleans marching jazz band tradition reinvented by the hip-hop generation. The music is wild, raucous and untamed whilst also slick, neat and tight. The cover of ‘Ghost Town’ by The Specials is a particular delight.
I've been listening to The Hot 8 Brass Band from New Orleans this week. Their new album, ‘The Life and Times Of …’, has a cheerful, funky swagger. This is the New Orleans marching jazz band tradition reinvented by the hip-hop generation. The music is wild, raucous and untamed whilst also slick, neat and tight. The cover of ‘Ghost Town’ by The Specials is a particular delight.
Friday, January 04, 2013
'The Value of Culture' by Melvyn Bragg
4 January 2013
I've been hooked on Melvyn Bragg’s marvellous 5-part BBC Radio 4 series, ‘The Value of Culture’, which has been broadcast every day this week. Like an extended edition of ‘In Our Time’, Melvyn Bragg has been questioning a range of experts to get to grips with what we mean by ‘culture’, the origins of the word and its usage, and why culture is important. He has taken us on a journey, from Matthew Arnold (writing in ‘Culture and Anarchy’ in 1869) who thought that culture is “the best which has been thought and said", to the anthropologist E. B. Tylor who wrote (in 1871) that culture is " that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society” to Raymond Williams (in ‘Moving from High Culture to Ordinary Culture’ in 1958) who said "Culture is ordinary: that is the first fact. Every human society has its own shape, its own purposes, its own meanings. Every human society expresses these, in institutions, and in arts and learning.” This tension between ‘high culture’, ‘culture’ as that which separates humans from other animals, ‘culture’ as creative expression and the notion of ‘mass culture’ is fascinating. It was refreshing to listen to a radio programme that genuinely made you think. If you missed ‘The Value of Culture’ all five episodes will be available for the next twelve months at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01pmg02. Brilliant stuff: what a great way to start the new year.
I've been hooked on Melvyn Bragg’s marvellous 5-part BBC Radio 4 series, ‘The Value of Culture’, which has been broadcast every day this week. Like an extended edition of ‘In Our Time’, Melvyn Bragg has been questioning a range of experts to get to grips with what we mean by ‘culture’, the origins of the word and its usage, and why culture is important. He has taken us on a journey, from Matthew Arnold (writing in ‘Culture and Anarchy’ in 1869) who thought that culture is “the best which has been thought and said", to the anthropologist E. B. Tylor who wrote (in 1871) that culture is " that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society” to Raymond Williams (in ‘Moving from High Culture to Ordinary Culture’ in 1958) who said "Culture is ordinary: that is the first fact. Every human society has its own shape, its own purposes, its own meanings. Every human society expresses these, in institutions, and in arts and learning.” This tension between ‘high culture’, ‘culture’ as that which separates humans from other animals, ‘culture’ as creative expression and the notion of ‘mass culture’ is fascinating. It was refreshing to listen to a radio programme that genuinely made you think. If you missed ‘The Value of Culture’ all five episodes will be available for the next twelve months at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01pmg02. Brilliant stuff: what a great way to start the new year.
Friday, December 21, 2012
Northampton Symphony Orchestra concert
21 December 2012
With our regular conductor, Alexander Walker, away conducting ‘The Nutcracker’ in Norway, this year’s Northampton Symphony Orchestra Christmas Cracker Concert provided a first opportunity for guest conductor Stephen Ellery to join us for a concert. Steve often takes NSO rehearsals when Alex is away and is great fun to work with. This year the Christmas Cracker Concert had a pantomime and fairy tale theme and featured Humperdink’s wonderful ‘Hansel and Gretel Overture’, the ‘Mother Goose Suite’ by Ravel, the overture to Rossini’s opera ‘La Cenerentola’ (‘Cinderella’ – reviewed here in November 2010) and music from the Disney films ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ (by Frank Churchill) and ‘Aladdin’ (by Alan Menkin and Tim Rice). Steve really seemed to enjoy himself and the audience loved his enthusiasm and eccentricities, especially when he ran in through the auditorium dressed in a full bear costume, and roaring at various audience members, to conduct the ‘Three Bears Phantasy’ by Eric Coates! The orchestra were also very taken with Steve’s habit, at the end of each piece, of calling on particular players to take an individual bow by miming the relevant instruments. There was also some lovely comic interplay between the conductor and our excellent compere, Graham Padden. And when Steve turned round to conduct the audience, in the Christmas carols and to get them whistling along to ‘Whistle While You Work’, he seemed to inspire them to enjoy themselves as much he was. I think we all left the concert with smiles on our faces.
With our regular conductor, Alexander Walker, away conducting ‘The Nutcracker’ in Norway, this year’s Northampton Symphony Orchestra Christmas Cracker Concert provided a first opportunity for guest conductor Stephen Ellery to join us for a concert. Steve often takes NSO rehearsals when Alex is away and is great fun to work with. This year the Christmas Cracker Concert had a pantomime and fairy tale theme and featured Humperdink’s wonderful ‘Hansel and Gretel Overture’, the ‘Mother Goose Suite’ by Ravel, the overture to Rossini’s opera ‘La Cenerentola’ (‘Cinderella’ – reviewed here in November 2010) and music from the Disney films ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ (by Frank Churchill) and ‘Aladdin’ (by Alan Menkin and Tim Rice). Steve really seemed to enjoy himself and the audience loved his enthusiasm and eccentricities, especially when he ran in through the auditorium dressed in a full bear costume, and roaring at various audience members, to conduct the ‘Three Bears Phantasy’ by Eric Coates! The orchestra were also very taken with Steve’s habit, at the end of each piece, of calling on particular players to take an individual bow by miming the relevant instruments. There was also some lovely comic interplay between the conductor and our excellent compere, Graham Padden. And when Steve turned round to conduct the audience, in the Christmas carols and to get them whistling along to ‘Whistle While You Work’, he seemed to inspire them to enjoy themselves as much he was. I think we all left the concert with smiles on our faces.
'Rapunzel' by Lea Pryer
21 December 2012
It was a delight to return to the TADS Theatre in Toddington last Saturday to see this year’s TADS pantomime. ‘Rapunzel’ was written and directed by Lea Pryer, who wrote the wonderful 2010 pantomime ‘The Pirate Princess’ (reviewed here in December 2010). ‘Rapunzel’ was another original script which incorporated the conventional pantomime elements. I particularly loved Rapunzel’s tower and the use of puppetry to show the prince climbing up on Rapunzel’s long hair which was hilarious. Mike Collins, who stood out as a mercurcial Irish Puck in the TADS production of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ (reviewed here in May 2012) was very strong as Prince Edward. The wonderful youngster Harry Rodgers (who was Flute in ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’) confirmed his graduation from TADS Teens, taking his place next to regular Janet Bray as one of the two gargoyle henchmen of the enchantress Griselda. As Griselda Rachel Birks stole the show with a commanding performance, a fantastic sneer of contempt for the audience and a nice line in heckle put-downs as she battled with a completely sold-out, largely adult audience. Rachel Birks and Chloe Palmer, who played Rapunzel, have particularly strong singing voices and the success of the musical numbers bodes well for the forthcoming TADS production of ‘Little Shop of Horrors’.
It was a delight to return to the TADS Theatre in Toddington last Saturday to see this year’s TADS pantomime. ‘Rapunzel’ was written and directed by Lea Pryer, who wrote the wonderful 2010 pantomime ‘The Pirate Princess’ (reviewed here in December 2010). ‘Rapunzel’ was another original script which incorporated the conventional pantomime elements. I particularly loved Rapunzel’s tower and the use of puppetry to show the prince climbing up on Rapunzel’s long hair which was hilarious. Mike Collins, who stood out as a mercurcial Irish Puck in the TADS production of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ (reviewed here in May 2012) was very strong as Prince Edward. The wonderful youngster Harry Rodgers (who was Flute in ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’) confirmed his graduation from TADS Teens, taking his place next to regular Janet Bray as one of the two gargoyle henchmen of the enchantress Griselda. As Griselda Rachel Birks stole the show with a commanding performance, a fantastic sneer of contempt for the audience and a nice line in heckle put-downs as she battled with a completely sold-out, largely adult audience. Rachel Birks and Chloe Palmer, who played Rapunzel, have particularly strong singing voices and the success of the musical numbers bodes well for the forthcoming TADS production of ‘Little Shop of Horrors’.
Friday, December 14, 2012
'Sweet Danny Wilson' by Danny Wilson
14 December 2012
One of the joys of the instant availability of music online is rediscovering half-remembered tunes from many years ago. Gone are the days when you leapt to your feet when a particular song came on the radio in the knowledge that it was your only opportunity to hear it. Now a memory can pop into your head and within seconds you can have found the relevant track on Spotify and started listening to it again. Last week, for some reason, I found myself thinking about the opening line “I'm sorry for upsetting the apple cart” and desperately trying to remember the song it comes from. After a little detective work I had downloaded the greatest hits of Danny Wilson (‘Sweet Danny Wilson’) and was reliving the late 1980s with the song ‘Never Gonna Be The Same’. Danny Wilson was a Scottish pop group formed in 1984. Like Alice Cooper, Danny Wilson was the name of the band rather than the singer – named not after the much-loved Barnsley Football Club manager (“it’s just like watching Brazil”) but in honour of the 1952 Frank Sinatra film, ‘Meet Danny Wilson’. Danny Wilson’s biggest hit was ‘Mary’s Prayer’ which reached number 3 in the UK charts in 1988. The other song of theirs I remember is ‘The Second Summer Of Love’. Their music is catchy, tuneful 80s pop with a Scottish tinge – not unlike Hue and Cry, Orange Juice and Hipsway – well worth revisiting. It’s strange how every song you listen to in December sounds like it was intended to be a Christmas song – those are sleigh bells in ‘Never Gonna Be The Same’ aren't they?
One of the joys of the instant availability of music online is rediscovering half-remembered tunes from many years ago. Gone are the days when you leapt to your feet when a particular song came on the radio in the knowledge that it was your only opportunity to hear it. Now a memory can pop into your head and within seconds you can have found the relevant track on Spotify and started listening to it again. Last week, for some reason, I found myself thinking about the opening line “I'm sorry for upsetting the apple cart” and desperately trying to remember the song it comes from. After a little detective work I had downloaded the greatest hits of Danny Wilson (‘Sweet Danny Wilson’) and was reliving the late 1980s with the song ‘Never Gonna Be The Same’. Danny Wilson was a Scottish pop group formed in 1984. Like Alice Cooper, Danny Wilson was the name of the band rather than the singer – named not after the much-loved Barnsley Football Club manager (“it’s just like watching Brazil”) but in honour of the 1952 Frank Sinatra film, ‘Meet Danny Wilson’. Danny Wilson’s biggest hit was ‘Mary’s Prayer’ which reached number 3 in the UK charts in 1988. The other song of theirs I remember is ‘The Second Summer Of Love’. Their music is catchy, tuneful 80s pop with a Scottish tinge – not unlike Hue and Cry, Orange Juice and Hipsway – well worth revisiting. It’s strange how every song you listen to in December sounds like it was intended to be a Christmas song – those are sleigh bells in ‘Never Gonna Be The Same’ aren't they?
Friday, December 07, 2012
‘Standing in Another Man’s Grave’ by Ian Rankin
7 December 2012
There was a degree of inevitability that, like Arthur Conan-Doyle with Sherlock Holmes, having retired his famous fictional detective, Ian Rankin would be persuaded to resurrect John Rebus. In ‘Standing in Another Man’s Grave’ Rebus doesn’t have to return from death like Holmes. This is a more prosaic return from retirement which finds Rebus working, as a civilian, in a police cold case unit and, unsurprisingly, getting drawn into a current murder investigation. ‘Standing in Another Man’s Grave’, which I read as an unabridged audio book, narrated by James Macpherson, was an engrossing serial killer mystery with all the tropes that made Ian Rankin’s Rebus novels so successful. I felt a little disappointed with the denouement, which seemed a bit corny after the clever puzzle that was gradually unravelled through the rest of the book. But I enjoyed the return of Rebus and hope we haven’t seen the last of him.
There was a degree of inevitability that, like Arthur Conan-Doyle with Sherlock Holmes, having retired his famous fictional detective, Ian Rankin would be persuaded to resurrect John Rebus. In ‘Standing in Another Man’s Grave’ Rebus doesn’t have to return from death like Holmes. This is a more prosaic return from retirement which finds Rebus working, as a civilian, in a police cold case unit and, unsurprisingly, getting drawn into a current murder investigation. ‘Standing in Another Man’s Grave’, which I read as an unabridged audio book, narrated by James Macpherson, was an engrossing serial killer mystery with all the tropes that made Ian Rankin’s Rebus novels so successful. I felt a little disappointed with the denouement, which seemed a bit corny after the clever puzzle that was gradually unravelled through the rest of the book. But I enjoyed the return of Rebus and hope we haven’t seen the last of him.
'One of Our Thursdays is Missing' by Jasper Fforde
7 December 2012
Halfway through reading Jasper Fforde’s latest Thursday Next novel, 'The Woman Who Died a Lot' (reviewed here in April 2012), I realised I had missed the previous book in the series. Regular readers may remember that I started reading the series in reverse order so reading the latest two books backwards seemed an appropriate continuation, in keeping with the surreal complexities of the books themselves. I have now finished reading ‘One of Our Thursdays in Missing’. Thursday Next is largely absent from this novel which is set in the ‘bookworld’ and features the ‘written Thursday’ – the fictional version of the literary detective – who is called into action to investigate the real Thursday’s disappearance. This is a very silly, and incredibly confusing, exercise in surreal meta-fiction, which owes a debt to ‘Don Quixote’ (reviewed here in January 2012) but takes the conceit much further. Fforde’s development of the bookworld into a geographical form, with the possibilities of journeys across genres, demonstrates the thinking which led him to create the post-apocalyptic world of ‘Shades of Grey’ (reviewed here in April 2011). I suspect you either love or hate this kind of thing but I’m really looking forward to the next adventures of Thursday Next.
Halfway through reading Jasper Fforde’s latest Thursday Next novel, 'The Woman Who Died a Lot' (reviewed here in April 2012), I realised I had missed the previous book in the series. Regular readers may remember that I started reading the series in reverse order so reading the latest two books backwards seemed an appropriate continuation, in keeping with the surreal complexities of the books themselves. I have now finished reading ‘One of Our Thursdays in Missing’. Thursday Next is largely absent from this novel which is set in the ‘bookworld’ and features the ‘written Thursday’ – the fictional version of the literary detective – who is called into action to investigate the real Thursday’s disappearance. This is a very silly, and incredibly confusing, exercise in surreal meta-fiction, which owes a debt to ‘Don Quixote’ (reviewed here in January 2012) but takes the conceit much further. Fforde’s development of the bookworld into a geographical form, with the possibilities of journeys across genres, demonstrates the thinking which led him to create the post-apocalyptic world of ‘Shades of Grey’ (reviewed here in April 2011). I suspect you either love or hate this kind of thing but I’m really looking forward to the next adventures of Thursday Next.
The Blockheads
7 December 2012
When we visited Kent in March, you may remember I was struck by the fact that that the village next to Sandwich is called Ham. We returned to the area last week for a lovely long weekend in Ham. On Friday evening we made the short trip to the Astor Community Theatre in Deal to see a concert by The Blockheads. We last saw The Blockheads in Milton Keynes 5 years ago (reviewed here in July 2007) when they were celebrating their thirtieth anniversary, with Phil Jupitus standing in for the late Ian Dury. The Deal concert was part of their thirty-fifth anniversary tour – particularly impressive as the drummer is only 26 years old! This time there were no guest stars, just a very slick band that have clearly been playing together for a long time. The original members of the band must all be in their 60s: Mickey Gallagher lamented the passing years, saying “we used to turn up to gigs and ask where are the women – now we ask where are the toilets!”. But the Blockheads are still a great band. Last time we saw them they were joined by the great jazz saxophone player Gilad Atzmon, but this time the quite different style of excellent regular saxophonist Dave Lewis, combined with Ian Dury’s witty lyrics and the cockney accent of singer Derek the Draw made The Blockheads sound, at times, remarkably like Madness. It was a great gig – I look forward to the fortieth anniversary!
When we visited Kent in March, you may remember I was struck by the fact that that the village next to Sandwich is called Ham. We returned to the area last week for a lovely long weekend in Ham. On Friday evening we made the short trip to the Astor Community Theatre in Deal to see a concert by The Blockheads. We last saw The Blockheads in Milton Keynes 5 years ago (reviewed here in July 2007) when they were celebrating their thirtieth anniversary, with Phil Jupitus standing in for the late Ian Dury. The Deal concert was part of their thirty-fifth anniversary tour – particularly impressive as the drummer is only 26 years old! This time there were no guest stars, just a very slick band that have clearly been playing together for a long time. The original members of the band must all be in their 60s: Mickey Gallagher lamented the passing years, saying “we used to turn up to gigs and ask where are the women – now we ask where are the toilets!”. But the Blockheads are still a great band. Last time we saw them they were joined by the great jazz saxophone player Gilad Atzmon, but this time the quite different style of excellent regular saxophonist Dave Lewis, combined with Ian Dury’s witty lyrics and the cockney accent of singer Derek the Draw made The Blockheads sound, at times, remarkably like Madness. It was a great gig – I look forward to the fortieth anniversary!
Thursday, November 29, 2012
'Duet for One' by Tom Kempinski
29 November 2012
As the publication of the Leveson report approached, for some reason I have been thinking a lot about Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin’s much-missed Channel 4 sitcom ‘Drop the Dead Donkey’. So it was lovely to have the chance to see on of its stars, Haydn Gwynne, at the Watford Palace Theatre last Saturday in ‘Duet for One’ by Tom Kempinski. The play focuses on a world-renowned violin soloist who has recently been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. In a series of visits to a therapist (played by William Gaunt) she begins to come to terms with the end of her performing career and the major changes to her life. ‘Duet for One’ has clear parallels with the life of the ‘cellist Jacqueline du Pré whose career was cut short by multiple sclerosis. It also says a lot about the nature of psychotherapy and ‘talking cures’ and reminded me of 'Freud's Last Session' by Mark St Germain which we saw in New York last year (reviewed here in April 2011). ‘Duet for One’ is a moving and clever play, and the performances by Hadyn Gwynne and William Gaunt were excellent, but I felt that, dramatically, it needed a little more variety. It consists of a series of conversations between the same two people in the same room and, although there was certainly development of character and a journey of discovery and realisation, I felt it needed something more.
As the publication of the Leveson report approached, for some reason I have been thinking a lot about Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin’s much-missed Channel 4 sitcom ‘Drop the Dead Donkey’. So it was lovely to have the chance to see on of its stars, Haydn Gwynne, at the Watford Palace Theatre last Saturday in ‘Duet for One’ by Tom Kempinski. The play focuses on a world-renowned violin soloist who has recently been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. In a series of visits to a therapist (played by William Gaunt) she begins to come to terms with the end of her performing career and the major changes to her life. ‘Duet for One’ has clear parallels with the life of the ‘cellist Jacqueline du Pré whose career was cut short by multiple sclerosis. It also says a lot about the nature of psychotherapy and ‘talking cures’ and reminded me of 'Freud's Last Session' by Mark St Germain which we saw in New York last year (reviewed here in April 2011). ‘Duet for One’ is a moving and clever play, and the performances by Hadyn Gwynne and William Gaunt were excellent, but I felt that, dramatically, it needed a little more variety. It consists of a series of conversations between the same two people in the same room and, although there was certainly development of character and a journey of discovery and realisation, I felt it needed something more.
Thursday, November 22, 2012
'Bleak Expectations' by Mark Evans
22 November 2012
Harrumble! for the return of Mark Evans’ joyously silly Radio 4 comedy ‘Bleak Expectations’ (previously reviewed here in August 2008) which started its fifth series this week (Thursdays, 6.30 pm, BBC Radio 4). It’s come a long way from the initial Dickensian parody and has become so self-reverential that new listeners might find it difficult to appreciate, but for those of us who have been there from the start it’s wonderful stuff. And you've just got to love the unbreakable optimism of Harry Biscuit who is convinced that there is no problem that cannot be solved with swans (and cake!).
Harrumble! for the return of Mark Evans’ joyously silly Radio 4 comedy ‘Bleak Expectations’ (previously reviewed here in August 2008) which started its fifth series this week (Thursdays, 6.30 pm, BBC Radio 4). It’s come a long way from the initial Dickensian parody and has become so self-reverential that new listeners might find it difficult to appreciate, but for those of us who have been there from the start it’s wonderful stuff. And you've just got to love the unbreakable optimism of Harry Biscuit who is convinced that there is no problem that cannot be solved with swans (and cake!).
Friday, November 16, 2012
Northampton Symphony Orchestra concert
16 November 2012
Our Northampton Symphony Orchestra concert last Saturday featured one of my favourite pieces of music, the Second Symphony by Jean Sibelius. This was the first full symphony I played on joined the senior Saturday-morning orchestra at Didsbury Music Centre nearly 30 years ago and I have always had a soft spot for it. Even after the rigour of weeks of rehearsal for this concert I haven’t tired of Sibelius 2: it’s a sophisticated, emotional work that manages to be both delicate and powerful with a truly rousing finale. Our performance on Saturday was the best we had played the piece: I hope it was as enjoyable to listen to as it was to be part of. Mozart’s ‘Sinfonia Concertante’ provided an interesting contrast to the Sibelius, requiring a different kind of discipline. The orchestra’s leader, Trevor Dyson, and principal viola, Maria Dehandschutter, were excellent soloists.
Our Northampton Symphony Orchestra concert last Saturday featured one of my favourite pieces of music, the Second Symphony by Jean Sibelius. This was the first full symphony I played on joined the senior Saturday-morning orchestra at Didsbury Music Centre nearly 30 years ago and I have always had a soft spot for it. Even after the rigour of weeks of rehearsal for this concert I haven’t tired of Sibelius 2: it’s a sophisticated, emotional work that manages to be both delicate and powerful with a truly rousing finale. Our performance on Saturday was the best we had played the piece: I hope it was as enjoyable to listen to as it was to be part of. Mozart’s ‘Sinfonia Concertante’ provided an interesting contrast to the Sibelius, requiring a different kind of discipline. The orchestra’s leader, Trevor Dyson, and principal viola, Maria Dehandschutter, were excellent soloists.
Friday, November 09, 2012
'NW' by Zadie Smith
9 November 2012
Zadie Smith burst onto the literary scene in 2000 with her remarkable debut novel, ‘White Teeth’ – a brilliant comic tale of modern multicultural Britain. Her latest novel, ‘NW’ (which I have just finished reading as an unabridged audio book read by Karen Bryson and Don Gilet), is a more serious affair. It’s a fascinating book which tells of the lives of two thirty-something women who grew up together on an estate in North West London. The first section focuses on Leah Hanwell, her family and friends in the present day – gradually filling in her backstory through flashback and reminiscence. The writing is teasingly impressionistic, giving us all the pieces of Leah’s life but leaving the reader to complete the jigsaw. At first this style felt difficult to follow and I was frustrated by the slow progress of what I had assumed was to be the main plot. But after a while you learn to let the stream of consciousness flow over you and the richness of the beautifully written prose builds a wonderfully rounded picture. The second half of the book gives us the life story of Leah’s childhood friend Keisha Blake, in linear, chronological order through a rapid series of nearly 200 very short chapters. This section felt easier and more enjoyable to read and the inevitable convergence of Leah and Keisha’s stories had a satisfying feel. Buried almost unseen in the middle of the stories of these two women there is a small, sad murder mystery that pulls the various strands of the novel together. ‘NW’ is an epic London novel with a Dickensian feel – a ‘Bleak House’ for the 21st century, perhaps.
Zadie Smith burst onto the literary scene in 2000 with her remarkable debut novel, ‘White Teeth’ – a brilliant comic tale of modern multicultural Britain. Her latest novel, ‘NW’ (which I have just finished reading as an unabridged audio book read by Karen Bryson and Don Gilet), is a more serious affair. It’s a fascinating book which tells of the lives of two thirty-something women who grew up together on an estate in North West London. The first section focuses on Leah Hanwell, her family and friends in the present day – gradually filling in her backstory through flashback and reminiscence. The writing is teasingly impressionistic, giving us all the pieces of Leah’s life but leaving the reader to complete the jigsaw. At first this style felt difficult to follow and I was frustrated by the slow progress of what I had assumed was to be the main plot. But after a while you learn to let the stream of consciousness flow over you and the richness of the beautifully written prose builds a wonderfully rounded picture. The second half of the book gives us the life story of Leah’s childhood friend Keisha Blake, in linear, chronological order through a rapid series of nearly 200 very short chapters. This section felt easier and more enjoyable to read and the inevitable convergence of Leah and Keisha’s stories had a satisfying feel. Buried almost unseen in the middle of the stories of these two women there is a small, sad murder mystery that pulls the various strands of the novel together. ‘NW’ is an epic London novel with a Dickensian feel – a ‘Bleak House’ for the 21st century, perhaps.
Friday, November 02, 2012
'Medea' by Euripides: a new version by Mike Bartlett
2 November 2012
On Saturday we were at the Watford Palace Theatre to see Mike Bartlett’s new contemporary version of ‘Medea’ by Euripides (a Watford Palace, Headlong and Citizens Theatre, Glasgow joint production). After a hectic week at work I wasn't sure I was really in the mood for Greek tragedy but this was a very witty, tragi-comic ‘Medea’ which preserved all the original elements (right through to the inevitable, bloody conclusion) while creating a really enjoyable, and often very funny, piece of theatre. This didn't feel like ancient characters merely transplanted into a modern setting but a very believable 21st century domestic drama. Rachael Stirling was great in the title role – simultaneously distraught, disturbed, angry, clever, witty and self-aware. And a special mention should also go to the wonderful life-size doll’s house set (by Ruari Murchison) with its sliding walls revealing each of the rooms of Medea’s home in turn.
On Saturday we were at the Watford Palace Theatre to see Mike Bartlett’s new contemporary version of ‘Medea’ by Euripides (a Watford Palace, Headlong and Citizens Theatre, Glasgow joint production). After a hectic week at work I wasn't sure I was really in the mood for Greek tragedy but this was a very witty, tragi-comic ‘Medea’ which preserved all the original elements (right through to the inevitable, bloody conclusion) while creating a really enjoyable, and often very funny, piece of theatre. This didn't feel like ancient characters merely transplanted into a modern setting but a very believable 21st century domestic drama. Rachael Stirling was great in the title role – simultaneously distraught, disturbed, angry, clever, witty and self-aware. And a special mention should also go to the wonderful life-size doll’s house set (by Ruari Murchison) with its sliding walls revealing each of the rooms of Medea’s home in turn.
Friday, October 26, 2012
'Black Box' by Jennifer Egan
26 October 2012
One of my favourite recent novels was 'A Visit from the Goon Squad' by Jennifer Egan (reviewed here in July 2011). I've just read Jennifer Egan’s latest book ‘Black Box’ which takes one of the characters from ‘A Visit from the Good Squad’ into a story of her own. But ‘Black Box’ is a very different kind of book. It is extremely short (really a short story rather than a novel), it is written entirely in the second person and it was originally written (and published) entirely on Twitter. The story therefore consists of a series of short sentences, each no more than 140 characters. At first this feels very odd and disjointed but soon you get used to the rhythm and poetry of this structure and you focus on the story itself. It’s a peculiarly interesting and enjoyable experiment.
One of my favourite recent novels was 'A Visit from the Goon Squad' by Jennifer Egan (reviewed here in July 2011). I've just read Jennifer Egan’s latest book ‘Black Box’ which takes one of the characters from ‘A Visit from the Good Squad’ into a story of her own. But ‘Black Box’ is a very different kind of book. It is extremely short (really a short story rather than a novel), it is written entirely in the second person and it was originally written (and published) entirely on Twitter. The story therefore consists of a series of short sentences, each no more than 140 characters. At first this feels very odd and disjointed but soon you get used to the rhythm and poetry of this structure and you focus on the story itself. It’s a peculiarly interesting and enjoyable experiment.
'The Woman in White' by Wilkie Collins
26 October 2012
I really enjoyed 'The Moonstone' by Wilkie Collins (reviewed here in June 2009) so I thought I would explore some of his other novels. I've just finished ‘The Woman in White’ – an intriguing Victorian mystery thriller. Through a series of first person narratives from different perspectives a pseudo-legal case is built to prove how the young heroine has been wronged by her husband and to unearth the murky secrets of his past. It’s a cleverly constructed book with an unpredictable and gripping plot that I enjoyed being wrong-footed by several times. Collins is also very funny, drawing comic portraits of characters from one person’s perspective that are confirmed through their own words when the relevant character becomes the story’s narrator (something he also did in ‘The Moonstone’). I'm looking forward to reading more by him.
I really enjoyed 'The Moonstone' by Wilkie Collins (reviewed here in June 2009) so I thought I would explore some of his other novels. I've just finished ‘The Woman in White’ – an intriguing Victorian mystery thriller. Through a series of first person narratives from different perspectives a pseudo-legal case is built to prove how the young heroine has been wronged by her husband and to unearth the murky secrets of his past. It’s a cleverly constructed book with an unpredictable and gripping plot that I enjoyed being wrong-footed by several times. Collins is also very funny, drawing comic portraits of characters from one person’s perspective that are confirmed through their own words when the relevant character becomes the story’s narrator (something he also did in ‘The Moonstone’). I'm looking forward to reading more by him.
The Western Mediterranean
26 October 2012
We had a wonderful two weeks on board the P&O cruise liner, Ventura, in the Western Mediterranean. This was an even bigger ship than the Oriana which we went to Norway on earlier this year but the food, service and entertainment were of the same excellent standard. We ate far too much but worked some of it off through an intensive programme of ballroom dancing on board and walking on our days on land. We visited seven places: Barcelona, Monte Carlo, Elba, Rome, Naples, Alicante and Gibraltar. In the limited time available we only scratched the surface of the big cities but we enjoyed our whistle-stop tours. We did a lovely 9-mile hike on the isle of Elba, over a wooded hill to a secluded bay and back round the coast. Another highlight was our first visit to Pompeii which was as fascinating as I was expecting but a much bigger site than I had realised. We took the cable car to the top of the rock in Gibraltar and encountered the famous Barbary apes. It was a great holiday.
We had a wonderful two weeks on board the P&O cruise liner, Ventura, in the Western Mediterranean. This was an even bigger ship than the Oriana which we went to Norway on earlier this year but the food, service and entertainment were of the same excellent standard. We ate far too much but worked some of it off through an intensive programme of ballroom dancing on board and walking on our days on land. We visited seven places: Barcelona, Monte Carlo, Elba, Rome, Naples, Alicante and Gibraltar. In the limited time available we only scratched the surface of the big cities but we enjoyed our whistle-stop tours. We did a lovely 9-mile hike on the isle of Elba, over a wooded hill to a secluded bay and back round the coast. Another highlight was our first visit to Pompeii which was as fascinating as I was expecting but a much bigger site than I had realised. We took the cable car to the top of the rock in Gibraltar and encountered the famous Barbary apes. It was a great holiday.
Thursday, October 04, 2012
'Rope' by Patrick Hamilton
4 October 2012
We are back at the tiny TADS Theatre in Toddington on Saturday to see Patrick Hamilton’s 1929 play ‘Rope’ – famously filmed by Alfred Hitchcock. This was another great TADS production, directed by Lea Pryer. The balance between tension and comic relief was expertly managed as the murderers Brandon and Granillo serve dinner to their guests on top of the trunk which only they know contains the body of their victim. James Sygrove gave a fantastically physical performance as Granillo – his guilty looks, nervous twitches and descent into hysterical terror about what he has done all accomplished with great subtlety. Cameron Hay handled Brandon’s brash confidence well and Stephen Pryer’s expressive face showed us every thought process as their friend Rupert Cadell begins to suspect that all is not what it seems.
We are back at the tiny TADS Theatre in Toddington on Saturday to see Patrick Hamilton’s 1929 play ‘Rope’ – famously filmed by Alfred Hitchcock. This was another great TADS production, directed by Lea Pryer. The balance between tension and comic relief was expertly managed as the murderers Brandon and Granillo serve dinner to their guests on top of the trunk which only they know contains the body of their victim. James Sygrove gave a fantastically physical performance as Granillo – his guilty looks, nervous twitches and descent into hysterical terror about what he has done all accomplished with great subtlety. Cameron Hay handled Brandon’s brash confidence well and Stephen Pryer’s expressive face showed us every thought process as their friend Rupert Cadell begins to suspect that all is not what it seems.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
'Lost in Yonkers' by Neil Simon
26 September 2012
On Saturday we were at the Watford Palace Theatre to see ‘Lost in Yonkers’ by Neil Simon. This Pulitzer Prize-winning play from 1991 is clearly a mature work which marries Simon’s trademark comic quips and wry observations with an achingly poignant tale of family relationships and dependency set against a backdrop of war in 1940s New York. We see events through the eyes of two Jewish teenage boys who have to move in with their fearsome German grandmother while their father is away on business, but it is the boys’ Aunt who emerges as the heart of the story. Her imperfect memory and ditzy absent-mindedness initially make her seem a peripheral, comic character, but she gradually moves centre-stage and her yearning to leave her over-bearing mother and start her own family is terribly moving. The Watford Palace production was excellent with strong performances throughout the cast, particularly Laura Howard as Aunt Bella – looking and sounding uncannily like Kristen Schaal’s goofy New Yoik stalker-fan Mel in ‘Flight of the Conchords’.
On Saturday we were at the Watford Palace Theatre to see ‘Lost in Yonkers’ by Neil Simon. This Pulitzer Prize-winning play from 1991 is clearly a mature work which marries Simon’s trademark comic quips and wry observations with an achingly poignant tale of family relationships and dependency set against a backdrop of war in 1940s New York. We see events through the eyes of two Jewish teenage boys who have to move in with their fearsome German grandmother while their father is away on business, but it is the boys’ Aunt who emerges as the heart of the story. Her imperfect memory and ditzy absent-mindedness initially make her seem a peripheral, comic character, but she gradually moves centre-stage and her yearning to leave her over-bearing mother and start her own family is terribly moving. The Watford Palace production was excellent with strong performances throughout the cast, particularly Laura Howard as Aunt Bella – looking and sounding uncannily like Kristen Schaal’s goofy New Yoik stalker-fan Mel in ‘Flight of the Conchords’.
‘The Slap’ by Christos Tsiolkas
26 September 2012
I’ve just finished reading Christos Tsiolkas’s novel ‘The Slap’ (as an unabridged audio book narrated by Alex Dimitriades). ‘The Slap’ seemed to attract equal amounts of praise and condemnation on its publication in 2009 – its readers taking sides in much the same way as the central plot divides the novel’s characters. The book starts with a family barbecue in Melbourne at which an adult loses patience with an unruly child and strikes the toddler. The rest of the book deals with the reactions of those present, dividing friends and families as to whether this was a justified ‘slap’ or an unpardonable act of violence by an adult on a child. The novel is structured as a series of eight interlinked short stories, each showing the point of view of one of the people present at the barbecue. This allows Christos Tsiolkas to fill in the backstory of each of the families and friends and provides an interesting exploration of varying ethnic and cultural backgrounds and different generations. I liked the way the reader is kept guessing which character is really at the centre of the story. And there is an intriguing inevitability to the way another ‘slap’ occurs towards the end of the story – thought not quite in the way you expect. But I’m not sure I really enjoyed ‘The Slap’: almost all of the characters seem fairly unlikeable – violent, misogynist, deceiving, swearing, drug-taking and cruel. ‘The Slap’ is a very clever novel but I found it a bit cold.
I’ve just finished reading Christos Tsiolkas’s novel ‘The Slap’ (as an unabridged audio book narrated by Alex Dimitriades). ‘The Slap’ seemed to attract equal amounts of praise and condemnation on its publication in 2009 – its readers taking sides in much the same way as the central plot divides the novel’s characters. The book starts with a family barbecue in Melbourne at which an adult loses patience with an unruly child and strikes the toddler. The rest of the book deals with the reactions of those present, dividing friends and families as to whether this was a justified ‘slap’ or an unpardonable act of violence by an adult on a child. The novel is structured as a series of eight interlinked short stories, each showing the point of view of one of the people present at the barbecue. This allows Christos Tsiolkas to fill in the backstory of each of the families and friends and provides an interesting exploration of varying ethnic and cultural backgrounds and different generations. I liked the way the reader is kept guessing which character is really at the centre of the story. And there is an intriguing inevitability to the way another ‘slap’ occurs towards the end of the story – thought not quite in the way you expect. But I’m not sure I really enjoyed ‘The Slap’: almost all of the characters seem fairly unlikeable – violent, misogynist, deceiving, swearing, drug-taking and cruel. ‘The Slap’ is a very clever novel but I found it a bit cold.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
'Bully Boy' by Sandi Toksvig
19 September 2012
Last Saturday we were at the Royal Theatre in Northampton to see ‘Bully Boy’, a new play by Sandi Toksvig which explores the mental health problems suffered by soldiers who have seen active service. The play is a two-hander in which a Major (with his own physical injuries as a result of serving in the Falklands) investigates a young Private who was involved in an incident in Afghanistan in which a young civilian boy was killed. This disturbing subject matter is dealt with cleverly, believably and movingly: there are some nice touches of humour but this is a serious work. In 100 minutes of uninterrupted drama the audience’s attention is held with a measured mixture of pace, plot and movement. Anthony Andrews gives a subtle and thoughtful performance as the Major and Joshua Miles brings an incredible twitchy physicality to the troubled young soldier (and demonstrates a near-perfect Burnley accent!). Simon Higlett’s set makes creative use of projection to conjure up a wide variety of environments. ‘Bully Boy’ is an excellent piece of theatre – entertaining, disturbing and thought-provoking.
Last Saturday we were at the Royal Theatre in Northampton to see ‘Bully Boy’, a new play by Sandi Toksvig which explores the mental health problems suffered by soldiers who have seen active service. The play is a two-hander in which a Major (with his own physical injuries as a result of serving in the Falklands) investigates a young Private who was involved in an incident in Afghanistan in which a young civilian boy was killed. This disturbing subject matter is dealt with cleverly, believably and movingly: there are some nice touches of humour but this is a serious work. In 100 minutes of uninterrupted drama the audience’s attention is held with a measured mixture of pace, plot and movement. Anthony Andrews gives a subtle and thoughtful performance as the Major and Joshua Miles brings an incredible twitchy physicality to the troubled young soldier (and demonstrates a near-perfect Burnley accent!). Simon Higlett’s set makes creative use of projection to conjure up a wide variety of environments. ‘Bully Boy’ is an excellent piece of theatre – entertaining, disturbing and thought-provoking.
Friday, September 14, 2012
Bandstand Marathon 2012
14 September 2012
At 1 pm last Sunday afternoon simultaneous performances started at 300 locations across the UK as part of Bandstand Marathon 2012. We were at the amphitheatre in Campbell Park, Milton Keynes, to see the BradwellSilver Band. It was a lovely sunny afternoon, though the wind presented some challenges with gusts occasionally carrying away sheet music and even a music stand! The Bradwell Silver Band treated us to a mixed programme that included classical music, big band jazz and pop and many pieces with an Olympic connection. It was great fun: watching a band on a bandstand on a sunny Sunday afternoon felt charmingly old-fashioned yet clearly appealed to an audience of all ages. Best of all there were some very young children dancing enthusiastically in front of the bandstand. One boy was using his grandfather’s walking stick like Fred Astaire dancing with a cane. When the music stopped he held the walking stick against his leg, upside down so that the curved handle was on the floor, and bent his leg upwards so that he was standing on one leg, proudly declaring “I’m Jonnie Peacock”. The kids proceeded to enact a series of Paralympic races, emulating their disabled heroes. It was a London 2012 moment!
At 1 pm last Sunday afternoon simultaneous performances started at 300 locations across the UK as part of Bandstand Marathon 2012. We were at the amphitheatre in Campbell Park, Milton Keynes, to see the BradwellSilver Band. It was a lovely sunny afternoon, though the wind presented some challenges with gusts occasionally carrying away sheet music and even a music stand! The Bradwell Silver Band treated us to a mixed programme that included classical music, big band jazz and pop and many pieces with an Olympic connection. It was great fun: watching a band on a bandstand on a sunny Sunday afternoon felt charmingly old-fashioned yet clearly appealed to an audience of all ages. Best of all there were some very young children dancing enthusiastically in front of the bandstand. One boy was using his grandfather’s walking stick like Fred Astaire dancing with a cane. When the music stopped he held the walking stick against his leg, upside down so that the curved handle was on the floor, and bent his leg upwards so that he was standing on one leg, proudly declaring “I’m Jonnie Peacock”. The kids proceeded to enact a series of Paralympic races, emulating their disabled heroes. It was a London 2012 moment!
Friday, September 07, 2012
London 2012 Paralympic Games
7 September 2012
We spent most of last weekend at the Olympic Park in Stratford, East London, watching the Paralympics athletics and track-cycling. It was a fantastic experience. The Olympic Park is wonderful and the organisation, the venues, the wildflowers, the weather and, of course, the Games Maker volunteers were all excellent. You can see a selection of my photos at: http://www.culturaloutlook.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/London2012.
The atmosphere in the velodrome was electric, though the temperature was like a sauna! We really enjoyed watching the sprints with their hesitant ‘cat and mouse’ manoeuvring followed by a sudden dive for position and a desperate race for the line – much more thrilling when the two bikes involved are tandems, and particularly enjoyable as there was an all British final to the men’s individual B sprint with Anthony Kappes and Craig MacLean securing the gold medals and Neil Fachie and Barney Storey the silver. It was great to see the medal ceremony in a packed crowd all singing ‘God Save the Queen’.
We were also very lucky to be in the Olympic Stadium for two evening sessions of athletics. Saturday was definitely Irish Night in the stadium as we watched Jason Smyth win the T13 100m and Michael McKillop triumph in the T37 1500 m. On Sunday saw Oscar Pistorius dramatically beaten by Alan Oliveira of Brazil in the T44 200m – though Oliveira’s incredible acceleration in the last few metres didn’t come as too much of a surprise, having been there to see him do something similar in his semi-final the previous day. We got to sing the national anthem in the stadium too, as we saw the Duchess of Cambridge present the gold medal to the F42 discus champion Aled Davies. And we finished our Paralympic experience on the high of seeing David Weir win the T54 5000m, late on Sunday evening. The entire crowd was on its feet for the whole of the last lap and it was truly thrilling.
As someone who has been eagerly looking forward to London 2012 for the past 7 years, I am delighted to be able to report that the experience exceeded my expectations: it was brilliant!
We spent most of last weekend at the Olympic Park in Stratford, East London, watching the Paralympics athletics and track-cycling. It was a fantastic experience. The Olympic Park is wonderful and the organisation, the venues, the wildflowers, the weather and, of course, the Games Maker volunteers were all excellent. You can see a selection of my photos at: http://www.culturaloutlook.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/London2012.
The atmosphere in the velodrome was electric, though the temperature was like a sauna! We really enjoyed watching the sprints with their hesitant ‘cat and mouse’ manoeuvring followed by a sudden dive for position and a desperate race for the line – much more thrilling when the two bikes involved are tandems, and particularly enjoyable as there was an all British final to the men’s individual B sprint with Anthony Kappes and Craig MacLean securing the gold medals and Neil Fachie and Barney Storey the silver. It was great to see the medal ceremony in a packed crowd all singing ‘God Save the Queen’.
We were also very lucky to be in the Olympic Stadium for two evening sessions of athletics. Saturday was definitely Irish Night in the stadium as we watched Jason Smyth win the T13 100m and Michael McKillop triumph in the T37 1500 m. On Sunday saw Oscar Pistorius dramatically beaten by Alan Oliveira of Brazil in the T44 200m – though Oliveira’s incredible acceleration in the last few metres didn’t come as too much of a surprise, having been there to see him do something similar in his semi-final the previous day. We got to sing the national anthem in the stadium too, as we saw the Duchess of Cambridge present the gold medal to the F42 discus champion Aled Davies. And we finished our Paralympic experience on the high of seeing David Weir win the T54 5000m, late on Sunday evening. The entire crowd was on its feet for the whole of the last lap and it was truly thrilling.
As someone who has been eagerly looking forward to London 2012 for the past 7 years, I am delighted to be able to report that the experience exceeded my expectations: it was brilliant!
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