‘The Stranger Times’ by C K McDonnell

28 April 2021

‘The Stranger Times’ is a comic novel by C K McDonnell which tells the story of a Manchester-based newspaper that reports on the paranormal - ghosts, UFOs etc. The book, which I have been reading as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Brendan McDonald, has a fairly predictable structure with a new employee joining the paper providing a way of introducing the reader to the weird world it covers. And some of the funny lines are a bit weak: the rhythm of comic delivery is there but the content sometimes disappoints. But I did enjoy the light-hearted escapism: there’s a nice ensemble of sympathetic characters and some genuine jeopardy with a truly nasty villain.

‘A Promised Land’ by Barack Obama

23 April 2021

‘A Promised Land’ - Barack Obama’s memoir covering the presidential election of 2008 and his first term in office - is a doorstop of a book at nearly 800 pages, but it’s fascinating and very readable. Obama is a self-deprecating author, generous with his praise of colleagues and those international partners he likes - and polite but clear about those he doesn’t. As he introduces us to the many many aspects of the presidency, he provides really helpful two-page summaries of the backstories to a wide range of global issues such as Israel/Palestine, Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union etc. He explains the tightrope he had to walk as the first African American president, coping with the hostility he experienced from some while always being aware of the importance of the symbolism and hope he provided to many. ‘A Promised Land’ is also a lesson in leadership: Obama says much about the nature of democracy, reflecting on how free and fair elections (for example in Afghanistan) are only one element of what is needed for true democracy, and outlining in painful detail the compromises that are needed to pass domestic legislation. Barack Obama comes over as reassuringly humble, sensible, principled and determined - a grown-up in the Oval Office.

NSO horns in the garden

16 April 2021

Since October 2020, when I met my fellow horn players from the Northampton Symphony Orchestra at St Mary’s Church in Wollaston, Northamptonshire, to play through some horn quartets, we have been maintaining a weekly online session, playing quartets via Jamulus. But on Tuesday evening, for the first time in six months, we met face-to-face in a garden in Wollaston to play music together outdoors. It was lovely to see everyone and brilliant to be able to play live again. Having been playing together regularly online we have built up a repertoire of quartets and I think we sounded pretty good. It was wonderful to have the benefit of eye contact to help with our timing and three dimensional sound, really making us realise what we have been missing through lockdown. Despite some mischievous reports on social media the following day that house prices in Wollaston have immediately dropped by 25%, the immediate neighbours were actually very complimentary, describing our playing as ‘lovely’ and asking when we can come again. This week we also launched our latest multi-part lockdown recording: ‘Star Trek: First Contact’ which you can see at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1QavwbuDZY

'Romeo and Juliet' by William Shakespeare

9 April 2021

Regular readers will know that Simon Godwin is one of my favourite theatre directors (see, for example, my review of his National Theatre production of ‘Antony and Cleopatra’ in December 2018). His latest show is an innovative take on ‘Romeo and Juliet’: when his planned National Theatre production of the play wasn’t able to go ahead because of the national lockdown he filmed the cast in the empty theatre to create a hybrid which is part-theatre and part-film. It starts with the feel of a first read-through on an empty stage but soon takes you into the world of the young Montagues and Capulets through close-ups, whispered voice-overs and dreamlike sequences. It also ruthlessly condenses  “the two hours' traffic of our stage” into a speedy 90 minutes, even sacrificing some of the most famous lines to keep the plot moving. It’s effective and engrossing. Like Erica Whyman’s great Royal Shakespeare Company production of the play (reviewed here in May 2018) a very young cast make both the star-crossed lovers and the gang warfare all too believable. Josh O'Connor and Jessie Buckley are a very convincing Romeo and Juliet and the production is incredibly passionate - in both the love and the violence. There is a strong supporting cast, including Adrian Lester, Tamsin Greig and Lucian Msamati. But the show belongs to the young lovers.

'The Picture of Dorian Gray' by Oscar Wilde, adapted by Henry Filloux-Bennett

31 March 2021

On Saturday we watched Henry Filloux-Bennett’s online theatre adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’, co-produced by The Barn Theatre, Lawrence Batley Theatre, New Wolsey Theatre, Oxford Playhouse and Theatr Clwyd. This inventive example of webcam theatre took a very similar approach to the same team’s production of 'What a Carve Up!' by Jonathan Coe (reviewed here in November 2020). Updating Wilde’s story to the present day, and deliberately setting it during the Coronavirus pandemic, allows the company to include several well-known actors (Stephen Fry, Russell Tovey etc) who only have to appear on the end of a video call. The heavy lifting is done by Fionn Whitehead as Dorian Gray with Joanna Lumley, Emma McDonald and Alfred Enoch (who was also in ‘What a Carve Up!’) who are each filmed in separate locations. Henry Filloux-Bennett’s neat conceit is that Dorian Gray is a vlogger who is offered a filter that will keep his online appearance forever young and beautiful while he ages off-camera. The production is visually impressive and makes the various YouTube and Instagram videos believable. But, where ‘What a Carve Up!’ tried to cram too much into a short drama, making it hard to follow if you were not already familiar with the novel, ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ felt a bit short of plot. There’s also a little too much swearing and overpowering background music for me. It’s another interesting example of the developing art of online theatre but didn’t completely hold my attention.

'The Searcher' by Tana French

25 March 2021

After thoroughly enjoying Tana French’s Dublin Murder Squad novels (all 6 books reviewed here between May 2016 and April 2018) I was a bit disappointed by her first completely self-contained novel ‘The Wych Elm’ (reviewed here in April 2020). The new Tana French novel ‘The Searcher’ (which I have been reading as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Roger Clark) is another stand-alone story, but with quite a different feel. A former Chicago PD detective has settled in a small rural community in the West of Ireland where he is renovating an old cottage. This is a slow, gentle tale as Cal starts to get to know his neighbours and adjusts to the Irish way of life. But surely a novelist known for her crime stories hasn’t made her protagonist a detective unless there is going to be a mystery to solve? Compared to ‘The Wych Elm’, ‘The Searcher’ is much less dramatic – and much better for it. The inevitable crime investigation reveals itself gradually and naturally as Cal is reluctantly drawn into the hunt for a missing person. As always, Tana French writes beautifully and conjures up the place and its characters very believably. ‘The Searcher’ is crime fiction but, as its title hints, this is really an Irish Western.

'Dream'

19 March 2021

Over the past year live theatre has had to move online. It has been great to watch recordings of a range of stage productions during lockdown, but it has been particularly interesting to see theatre companies starting to explore the potential of streaming video in innovative ways – such as Henry Filloux-Bennett’s online theatre adaptation of Jonathan Coe’s novel ‘What a Carve Up’ (reviewed here in November 2020). The Royal Shakespeare has been piloting the use of digital technology in theatre for some years. Greg Doran’s 2016 production of ‘The Tempest’, in collaboration with Intel and in association with the Imaginarium Studios (reviewed here in November 2016), featured a digital avatar of Ariel, driven by live motion-capture from the body of the actor Mark Quartley, allowing him to appear simultaneously on stage and projected onto a series of moving curtains. Last Sunday we watched the new RSC online production ‘Dream’, directed by Robin McNicholas. ‘Dream’ uses live motion capture to bring the fairies and sprites of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ to life. We saw the actors entering a purpose-built studio in Portsmouth Guildhall before seeing their digital projections interacting in an animated dreamscape. The resulting 30-minute performance was beautiful, with some stunning movement (directed by Sarah Perry). But watching it on screen it was hard to see what it gained from being a live motion capture performance: I found myself just thinking of it as an animated film. It’s an interesting addition to the ongoing debate about the definition of ‘theatre’ at a time when almost everything is viewed on a screen. ‘Dream’ is a high quality production (with music by Esa-Pekka Salonen) but it is obviously an experimental piece, demonstrating the potential offered by technology. You can book free tickets for future live performances of ‘Dream’ at: https://dream.online/home/

'The Great'

12 March 2021

We live in a golden age of television drama but my new favourite is ‘The Great’ – Tony McNamara’s irreverent take on the story of Catherine the Great (available to stream on All4). The series starts with the teenage Catherine travelling from Germany to marry the Russian Emperor Peter. But this version of history is, as the show’s subtitle constantly reminds us, “an occasionally true story”. ‘The Great’ is very dark comedy – incredibly violent, crude and sweary. It’s like a cross between Yorgos Lanthimos’ film ‘The Favourite’ (starring Olivia Colman as Queen Anne, reviewed here in January 2019), Armando Iannucci’s film ‘The Death of Stalin’ and Noah Hawley’s ‘Fargo’ (reviewed here in October 2017). The first series is maybe a couple of episodes too long and could do with a few more sub-plots, but it builds a brilliant group of grotesque but likeable characters, played by a fantastic cast. Elle Fanning is naive, idealistic, determined and ruthless as Catherine, and Nicholas Hoult makes Peter a true monster who gradually becomes more sympathetic. Phoebe Fox, who we last saw as an excellent Ophelia in Simon Godwin’s National Theatre production of ‘Twelfth Night’ (reviewed here in April 2017), is wonderful as Marial, Catherine’s cynical maid. Adam Godley is a menacing presence as the scheming Archbishop (‘Archie’) and Sacha Dhawan is Count Orlo who clearly believes himself to be the only sane man in the Palace. I loved Belinda Bromilow’s scatty Aunt Elizabeth with her trained troupe of butterflies. But Douglas Hodge steals the show as Velementov – the drunken General in charge of the Russian army – demonstrating some fantastic slapstick skills and obviously having a ball. ‘The Great’ will not be to everyone’s taste: the laugh-out-loud moments are matched by as many look-away acts of violence. But I’m really looking forward to season 2.

'The Royal Chase' by Nation Beat

4 March 2021

I’ve written here before about my love of New Orleans brass bands, such as the excellent Hot 8 Brass Band (reviewed here in January 2013) and Minor Mishap Marching Band, Rebirth Brass Band, Youngblood Brass Band and Galactic (reviewed here in February 2019) – all of which featured in the third season of the ‘Fargo’ TV series (reviewed here in October 2017). Very long-time readers may also remember my interest in forró – the high-tempo, rapid-fire dance music from the North East of Brazil. I reviewed a concert of forró music by the legendary Brazilian musician Gilberto Gil at the Royal Festival Hall in July 2010 and the album ‘Light a Candle’ by New York-based Brazilian ex-pats Forró in the Dark in January 2010. So this week I was naturally delighted to discover ‘The Royal Chase’ by Nation Beat – a new album of brass and percussion tunes which bring together New Orleans jazz and Brazilian forró. Nation Beat’s Scott Kettner says “I wanted to reimagine the classic forró songs from Brazil as vehicles for improvisation in a funky brass band format.” He describes the result as “Forró, Funk, Brass ’n’ Sass!” The album is a nice mix of styles and moods, beautifully performed and always catchy. Here’s a flavour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FD07mVtsCDQ

Italian Cookery Workshop by Carmela Sereno Hayes

25 February 2021

Last Saturday I took part in my first Zoom cookery class. Northampton Museum & Art Gallery has organised a series of three cookery workshops with the Italian cook and author Carmela Sereno Hayes. About a dozen of us gathered on Zoom on Saturday morning for the first session, on pasta, soups and sauces. We had been sent three recipes in advance so we could buy the necessary ingredients and have everything ready to cook along with Carmela. I set up my laptop in the kitchen so I could watch the screen while cooking. A lot of the time I was listening more than watching but it worked well. It felt like a bit like a TV cookery programme but with the opportunity to ask questions throughout. And it was good to be making the same recipes together in real time – so when Carmela showed us that the onions should be nice and soft by now we could see that ours were too. It was also nice to be learning the techniques in the familiarity of your own kitchen – making it more likely that I might be able to re-create these meals on my own afterwards. We made pasta e fagioli – a hearty pasta and bean soup – as well as spaghetti carbonara and a red pepper and ricotta pasta sauce. It was great fun and all three dishes were delicious: I will definitely be making them again. More details at: https://www.facebook.com/NorthamptonMuseum/posts/so-pleased-to-announce-a-series-of-three-online-cookery-workshops-with-italian-c/4008030305888199/

'The Carer' by Deborah Moggach

19 February 2021

I’ve been enjoying Deborah Moggach’s 2019 novel ‘The Carer’. Phoebe and Robert have been worried about their father who is elderly and increasingly frail, and lives on his own in the Cotswolds, far from either of them. But they have now found someone who appears to be the perfect live-in carer. As the irrepressible Mandy starts to take over their father’s life, the siblings begin to suspect that something more sinister is going on. ‘The Carer’ is a poignant comic novel that reminded me of the works of David Lodge. Like 'South of the River' by Blake Morrison (reviewed here in April 2017) each chapter is written from the point of view of one of the main characters. Phoebe and Robert’s middle class perspectives make them abhorrent of Mandy’s less than liberal attitudes, but far too polite to say so. This painful class comedy also made me think of 'Middle England' by Jonathan Coe (reviewed here in January 2019). ‘The Carer’ is an easy read, dealing with serious themes.

‘Five Minutes to Make You Love Classical Music’

11 February 2021

I’ve been enjoying ‘Five Minutes to Make You Love Classical Music’ from the New York Times – a growing collection of recommendations, from a range of musicians, artists and writers, of the five minutes or so we would play to make our friends fall in love with classical music: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/arts/music/five-minutes-love-music.html. There are now separate lists for ‘Five Minutes That Will Make You Love …’ the piano, opera, ‘cello, Mozart, 21st century composers, sopranos, baroque music, Beethoven and flute. I’ve been working my way through ‘5 Minutes That Will Make You Love String Quartets’ and really enjoying discovering several pieces I had never heard before. All the music is available to play directly from the web page – and all the extracts are around five minutes long so you can quickly sample a range of styles and genres to find something you like. The short paragraphs from each of the contributors, explaining why you should listen to their choice, are passionate and compelling. They reminded me of the very personal testimonies from guests on The Open Ears Project podcasts (reviewed here in November 2019). On why you should love string quartets, Zachary Woolfe, New York Times classical music editor, says “One of the alchemies of music is that four is the most intimate number. Perhaps because it echoes the mysterious privacy of the family unit, a string quartet somehow radiates greater intensity than a solo or duet.” He suggests that this intensity is rarely as fervent as in the slow movement of Shostakovich’s 10th Quartet, from 1964, and his 5 minute 17 second sample of this quiet, brooding music has made me seek out a full recording of the piece on Spotify. Job done, Zachary!

'City Noir' by John Adams

5 February 2021

This week I’ve been enjoying another musical recommendation from Jess Gillam’s BBC Radio 3 podcast ‘This Classical Life’ (reviewed here in January 2020). ‘City Noir’ by John Adams is a dramatic orchestral piece in three movements that depicts the city of Los Angeles. I’ve been listening to a recording of ‘City Noir’ by the St Louis Symphony Orchestra, conducted by David Robertson. The music feels like the score to an imaginary film noir. It’s a busy, exciting work, parts of which sound like improvised jazz. I saw John Adams in 2016, conducting the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican in a concert celebrating his 70th birthday (reviewed here in December 2016) which featured 'Scheherazade.2' – his piece for solo violin and orchestra, performed by Leila Josefowicz. I noted then that John Adam’s music is incredibly entertaining – complex and quirky but never inaccessible. ‘City Noir’ certainly fits that description and is making me want to seek out more music by John Adams.

‘One to One’

28 January 2021

Rosie Millard’s BBC Radio 4 series ‘One to One’ consists of 15-minute interviews with a range of people who are trying to break into the big-time of the creative arts – their dream of success and what it means to them. This week’s episode featured Ben Hopwood who has found fulfilment as an amateur actor with Leeds Arts Centre and talks about the advantages of pursuing your ambitions in amateur rather than professional theatre. It was particularly good to hear about Ben’s experience of acting with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2016 in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream: A Play for the Nation' (reviewed here in May 2016). This was the RSC’s touring production of Shakespeare’s most popular comedy which visited 14 theatres across the UK as a co-production with 14 amateur theatre companies who provided local actors in each location to play the rude mechanicals – and marked the culmination of the Open Stages programme originally developed by Voluntary Arts and the RSC in 2009. You can listen to Ben Hopwood’s story (and the other episodes in the ‘One to One’ series) at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000rn4x

‘The Clockmaker’s Daughter’ by Kate Morton

22 January 2021

I’ve really enjoyed reading ‘The Clockmaker’s Daughter’ by Kate Morton – a compelling and beautifully written novel which feels like a family saga. It actually tells the story of several families with connections to Birchwood Manor – a grand country house next to a bend in the River Thames in Wiltshire. A non-linear narrative gradually fills in the details of what happens to an epic cast of characters who are mysteriously drawn to the house between 1862 and 2017. At times the book feels like a collection of linked short stories as we focus on the events of particular moments in the history of the house in turn. But it is the links between these stories, their protagonists and their descendants that are fascinating. The novel is part romance, part murder mystery, part ghost story. It’s entertaining, moving and clever and I sailed through its nearly 600 pages.

FolkBaroque

15 January 2021

Baroque at the Edge is a festival, founded by my friend Lindsay Kemp, which invites leading musicians from all genres to take the music of the Baroque and see where it leads them. This year, unsurprisingly, the festival has moved online, presenting a series of streamed concerts, talks and interactive Zoom discussions, which are running throughout January: you can still buy tickets to watch the recordings until 31 March 2021. I really enjoyed FolkBaroque – a concert recorded at LSO St Luke’s in London, featuring the ensemble La Nuova Musica, directed by David Bates, joined by the soprano Lucy Crowe and the folk fiddler Tom Moore, which explored the links between folk and baroque music. The programme contrasted and combined classical and folk music, from a similar historical era. It was particularly interesting to compare the different violin techniques demonstrated by Tom Moore and the ensemble’s violinist Thomas Gould. It was a delicate, clean, precise  performance, beautifully filmed without an audience in the cavernous space of St Luke’s. Alongside well-known traditional tunes including ‘Danny Boy’ and ‘If I were a black bird’ it was great to discover some unfamiliar repertoire. I really liked the ‘Ciaccona’ by Antonio Bertali – a piece for virtuoso violin which predates JS Bach’s famous ‘Chaconne’ by 50 years. But I thought the standout performance was the singer Lucy Crowe whose amazing voice and clarity of diction were brilliantly displayed in this online performance. See: http://www.baroqueattheedge.co.uk/

‘Troubled Blood’ by Robert Galbraith

8 January 2021

‘Troubled Blood’ is the fifth Cormoran Strike novel by J K Rowling (writing as Robert Galbraith). It’s the longest novel in the series (I read it as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Robert Glenister, which was almost 32 hours long) but nevertheless felt less rambling and more focussed than its predecessors. This may be because, for the first time, Strike and his partner Robin Ellacott are investigating a cold case – the unexplained disappearance of a doctor who left her surgery more than 40 years ago and was never seen again. Piecing together what happened so long ago, interviewing witnesses, suspects and the original investigators, or their descendants, creates a clearer narrative structure, less diverted by emerging events. And the solution to this crime is clever, hard-to-spot but satisfyingly believable and, when revealed, explains a myriad of small clues imperceptibly laced through the novel. J K Rowling still manages to demonstrate a strange lack of understanding of budget hotel chains (why choose to be specific about it being a Premier Inn if you are not going to get the details right? - is no-one editing these novels?). But I still enjoyed the murder mystery – the best puzzle of the series so far.

‘Time and Time Again’ by Ben Elton

8 January 2021

I haven’t read a Ben Elton novel for many years: his transition from stand-up comedian to author began (in 1989) with a series of enjoyable but unsurprising comic novels, after which I lost touch with his work. It was great to discover a more recent book, ‘Time and Time Again’ (published in 2014) which shows Ben Elton maturing into a more sophisticated novelist. This is a gripping time-travel thriller about trying to right the wrongs of the 20th century by going back to 1914 to prevent the outbreak of the Great War. It’s a cleverly plotted and compellingly paced story, carefully researched and genuinely exciting – and all the better for not trying to be funny.

Bellowhead - live online concert

11 December 2020

Regular readers will know I have been a fan of the English folk big band Bellowhead since I first saw them at the WOMAD Festival in July 2006. When the duo John Spiers and Jon Boden, themselves already established folk music stars, invented a folk big band which brought together musicians from folk, classical and jazz backgrounds they created a unique sound. For twelve glorious years Bellowhead performed stunning new arrangements of traditional folk tunes that got toes tapping and faces smiling across the world. I last saw them on their farewell tour in 2015 at the Riverside Theatre in Aylesbury (reviewed here in November 2015). So it was an unexpected pleasure to have the opportunity to enjoy another live performance by Bellowhead last Saturday as they played a one-off online reunion concert to celebrate the tenth anniversary of their album ‘Hedonism’ (reviewed here in October 2010). It was a typically slick, exuberant, joyful show, excellently filmed by Stabal – a platform for live performance on-demand content – at a mid-18th-century mansion nestled deep in the English countryside. Rapid cutting between a host of handheld cameras made you feel like you were in the room with the band. I love a band that dances to its own music and there was some manic morris dancing on display here. This is a band that demonstrates musical delicacy, the ability to turn on a sixpence rhythmically and knows how to rock out. It was lovely to revisit some old favourite tunes, with a few new twists, and quiet emotional to see Bellowhead back together again. For a flavour see Bellowhead’s July 2020 lockdown video of ‘New York Girls (Live From Home): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M764hJDFvjM

‘Once Upon a River’ by Diane Setterfield

3 December 2020

I’m really enjoying ‘Once Upon a River’ – a beautiful and intriguing novel by Diane Setterfield. Set around the River Thames in Oxfordshire in the late 19th century, the carefully crafted prose made me wonder whether the book had been written in that era, before I discovered that Diane Setterfield is a contemporary writer and this novel was published in 2018. The book starts on a dark winter’s night in a riverside pub where the locals are interrupted by the arrival of a wounded stranger carrying the lifeless body of a small child. From there the story winds backwards, forwards and sideways like the ever-present river, allowing the tale to emerge gradually as the various pieces take their places in the jigsaw puzzle narrative. The Oxfordshire riverside setting made me think of 'La Belle Sauvage' – Philip Pullman’s ‘His Dark Materials’ prequel (reviewed here in December 2017). And the descriptions of the river reminded me of Charles Dickens’ omniscient third person narrator 'floating' over the landscape in ‘Bleak House’ (reviewed here in October 2007).  The book’s gradual colouring-in of the local community and the various families who have a stake in the story also had a lot in common with ‘Reservoir 13’ – Jon McGregor’s amazing prose portrait of a small Derbyshire village (reviewed here in January 2018). I particularly enjoyed having no idea where ‘Once Upon a River’ was going but total confidence in the author who was taking me there. I look forward to reading more by Diane Setterfield.