Scratch

Here you will find older scratches, musings and other detritus that once were located on the front pages, but have now faded.

Filed away here to collect dust and cobwwwebs in perpetuity, links may break, facts may change and data may corrupt.

On occasion I may come down here to tidy, but for the most, I prefer to leave the past where it lies.

Monthly Archives

01/09/2008 - 30/09/2008 01/08/2008 - 31/08/2008 01/07/2008 - 31/07/2008 01/06/2008 - 30/06/2008 01/05/2008 - 31/05/2008 01/04/2008 - 30/04/2008 01/03/2008 - 31/03/2008 01/02/2008 - 29/02/2008 01/01/2008 - 31/01/2008 01/12/2007 - 31/12/2007 01/11/2007 - 30/11/2007 01/09/2007 - 30/09/2007 01/08/2007 - 31/08/2007 01/07/2007 - 31/07/2007 01/06/2007 - 30/06/2007 01/05/2007 - 31/05/2007 01/04/2007 - 30/04/2007 01/03/2007 - 31/03/2007 01/02/2007 - 28/02/2007 01/01/2007 - 31/01/2007 01/12/2006 - 31/12/2006 01/11/2006 - 30/11/2006 01/10/2006 - 31/10/2006 01/09/2006 - 30/09/2006 01/08/2006 - 31/08/2006 01/07/2006 - 31/07/2006 01/06/2006 - 30/06/2006 01/05/2006 - 31/05/2006 01/04/2006 - 30/04/2006 01/03/2006 - 31/03/2006 01/02/2006 - 28/02/2006 01/01/2006 - 31/01/2006 01/12/2005 - 31/12/2005 01/11/2005 - 30/11/2005 01/10/2005 - 31/10/2005 01/09/2005 - 30/09/2005 01/08/2005 - 31/08/2005 01/07/2005 - 31/07/2005 01/06/2005 - 30/06/2005 01/05/2005 - 31/05/2005 01/04/2005 - 30/04/2005 01/03/2005 - 31/03/2005 01/02/2005 - 28/02/2005 01/01/2005 - 31/01/2005 01/12/2004 - 31/12/2004 01/11/2004 - 30/11/2004 01/10/2004 - 31/10/2004 01/09/2004 - 30/09/2004 01/08/2004 - 31/08/2004 01/07/2004 - 31/07/2004 01/06/2004 - 30/06/2004 01/05/2004 - 31/05/2004 01/04/2004 - 30/04/2004 01/03/2004 - 31/03/2004 01/02/2004 - 29/02/2004

 

Dorian Gray

Went to the ballet earlier and caught the matinee performance of Matthew Bourne ’s Dorian Gray. I would wholeheartedly recommend seeing it, but seeing as its on a limited run with the last performance startinmg in little over an hour, I guess its a mute point.

Really quite looking forward to Edward Scissorhands. Presumably there will be less lifts from the eponymous character than in Dorien Gray.

Nutcracker

The last time I went to the Sadler's Wells Theatre was back in 2004 when we went to see the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Boxing Day saw us head back, and this time it was Matthew Bourne's Nutcracker

which we went to see. As would be expected the show is a modern interpretation of the classical ballet, and both the choreography and visual style is something that one might expect from Bourne.

Its running until end of Jan, so if you are in the neighbourhood its well worth the time. On a related note, I shall be interested to see his version of Edward Scissorhands when that comes to town.

Love Song

Love Song at the New Ambassadors Theatre starring Neve Campbell, Kristen Johnston, Michael McKean and Cillian Murphy was a very very good play. The script was well written, well paced and the actors were brilliant. Murphy's oddball 'Beane' was the perfect foil for Cambell's intensity and angry 'Molly', and the story of their and their relationship and characters is thoroughly entertaining and heart wrenching in parts. The support by Johnston and McKean is well balanced and their characters are entertaining. All of this, combined with a stonking sound track makes i well worth watching.

Wicked

In early September, I managed to get tickets for us to see the Wicked The Musical, an adaption of the book by Gregory Maguire.

Given its taken over a month for me to commit this, there isn't actually very much to say. I think Its good. Very good.

Some songs are stronger than others, my particular favorites being Popular, What is this Feeling? and Defying Gravity. Idina Menzel, who performed the role of Elphaba* in Broadway returns and Helen Dallimore makes her West End debut as Glinda. Both are great and play off each other wonderfully. Miriam Margolyes and Nigel Planer appear as Madame Morrible and The Wizard respectively and fit right it. The set is extravagant and is worked well.

Perhaps what makes this so entertaining is the script/source material, with subtle references to and interleaving with The Wizard of Oz. Some of my favorite examples are:

Glinda: 'Just follow that one road the whole time!... I hope THEY don't get lost, I'm so bad at giving directions...'

Glinda: 'Let the little girl go! And that poor little dog... Dodo!'

Fiyero: 'I've been thinking....' Elphaba: 'Yes(pause) I heard.'

Glinda: 'You're still riding that old thing?' Elphaba: 'Well we cant all come and go by bubble!'

Elphaba: 'Steal a dead womens shoes? Must have been raised in a barn.'

Glinda: 'I know you don't want to hear this but someone has to say it! You are out of control! I mean they're just shoes...let it go!'

I think the Dorothy connection accounted for a large part of the audience, a selection of which are below, clapped enthusiasticly at every reference, but thats by the by (also note the rather large dragon over the stage - and anything with a dragon in it has got to be worth watching).

**

I could watch it again. Numerous times. :)

The Night Of The Iguana

Last night, we went to see The Night of the Iguana which is currently on at the Lyric theatre, London, staring Woody Harrelson, Clare Higgins and Jenny Seagrove.

In a different life I studied other works of Williams this was the first chance I have had to see this one in any medium, and I have to say I enjoyed it. I couldn't say how it was in relation to the original text, but felt the acting, direction and set all worked well together, carrying the themes he, and the likes of Arthur Miller, have so often worked with.

Goodbye To '05. Roll On '06

With Christmas over I can safely say that I cannot tell whether I feel any better for it, merely that there is now more of me to feel.

After the festive period, the final days of 2005 saw us taking a trip to the Albery Theatre to see Patrick Stewart's performance of a Christmas Carol after a meal at Browns. Whilst I cannot recommend the show highly enough, it was unfortunately on a limited run which now over, so sadly it may be some time before you get a chance to see it.

Patrick Stewart, for want of a better phrase, is pretty damn awesome. His delivery, from the easily identifiable 40 odd characters, his narration and his dramatic stage presence make it enthralling. As the show progresses, even with only Stewart and one of each a desk, table lectern a stool and a chair against a plain black backdrop, it is so easy to become wrapped up in the story, as though you were there, literally folded into the pages of the original story, immersed in the feeling and emotion of a story that is as pertinent today as it was when it was written.

If Dicken's were alive today he would surely approve.

Edinburgh (2)

Well, the weekend came and passed and I survived what was a memorable and immensely fun time. Several people put a lot of hard work in organising everything and it showed, so if your reading this guys, thanks. Also a big thanks to all those who attended, without your company it wouldn't have been the same.

The long train journey was spent drinking, playing cards and generally catching up with people, some of who I haven't seen in about a year. Once we had ditched our stuff, we went to watch Subie Colman's 37/5th Street at Henry�s Jazz Cellar before retiring for the evening, and given it was gone midnight when they opened the doors I couldn't tell you when that was, but I'm sure it was light.

On Saturday, we were up early and took some calls from friends on foreign shores, who were up even earlier comparitively. We meandered through the fringe, saw the Reduced Shakespeare Company's Completely Hollywood (Abridged) which was very good. Some drinking and food was then followed by Brendon Burns' show All My Love, All My Rage which was hysterical and I could happily watch over and over. This was followed by the obligatory drinking in various bars, before retiring to a casino at about 2am to try and make my fortune on the Blackjack table. I won't be able to retire on my winnings, but I didn't do bad.

I'd recommend Edinburgh to anyone. The atmosphere is amazing, especially with all the little fringe acts going on in the streets and bars. Now all I need to do is make it through the day without getting caught with a keyboard shapped indent on my forehead where I keep dozing, but c'est la vie.

Eccentris

Another interesting art/photo site is Sacha Dean Biyan's. NverySFW.

Pictures

Just reading been looking at Clayton Cubit's portfolio. Some very diverse work, so if you get chance have a look although its nsfw.

Art

Watching Celebrity Who Wants to Be A Millionaire last night and a question was posed to Stephen Fry and Nigella Lawson concerning the artist Lowry's previous job. The girlie reasoned that Nigella should know the answer given:

shes married (Note she didn't actually use married, the word she did use isn't repeatable in polite conversation) to that guy who owns the art gallery on the South Bank, you know, oh wots his name... Saatchi.

I asked whether the requisites for owning an art gallery were knowledge of art, let alone taste, and whether she had been to the Saatchi Gallery of late.

Jerry Springer The Opera

Over the last few days there has been an increasing amount of debate concerning the BBC's controversial decision to screen Jerry Springer the Opera at 10 pm this evening.

Needless to say the event has come and passed and, afaik, civilisation has not crumbled, nor has the world has ended prematurely due to irate celestial beings.

The key arguments for centre around 1) freedom of speech; 2) no one is forcing you to watch it, therefore excercise freewill and turn off the TV if its not to your taste; and 3) it is on after the watershed. Those against cite 1) profanity - 8000 odd swearwords (actually 350 occasions multiplied by the 27 chorus members); 2) blasmphemy - gay Jesus in a nappy; 3) various violent, racial and sexual issues which some consider "offensive" - KKK, multiple partners of both sexes etc; and 4) given the subject matter of the real show, its dumbing down of TV (Go figure. Its based on the Jerry Springer show, see 1-3 against above)

Having just spent the last 2 hours casually watching it so that I could make an informed decision rather than one based on hearsay, I can state the following:
I am no more depraved or corrupted than I was before, and still have my prior attitudes in regards to race, religion and sex. Whilst, some of the things probably boarded on the boundaries of taste, IMHO, but probably no more than is already covered in the spectrum of daily viewing. There is always the off switch afterall. That we don't know and all that... If people found it that offensive, they would've been campaigning to have the show itself shut down, rather like the Behzti a couple of months ago. In a way I am glad they showed it as I saved �20 odd on tickets to see it. However that being said, I can never recover those two hours of my life. Whatever people say, swearing is not cool and never will be, to swear for shock effect is pointless in this age. If you ask me now what I can remember from the duration I could probably describe the characters, the vague "plot". Could I describe the music, no. I can remember audience members standing, arms in the air, shouting "Jerry, Jerry", but that much I could've gleaned from the TV version.

As you can probably tell, I wasn't overly endeared to the show, not for any major reason, it just wasn't my thing. Had people not kicked up a fuss, I probably wouldn't have watched it. Not being a fan of sensationalising television shows of this ilk, I probably should've turned it off, not for the offense at the profanity etc, merely for the fact it was (and was always going to be IMHO) like having a root canal done, but without the fun discussion that goes with it.

In my final thought (hmmm), I suspect it might be rather late to accuse the complainers of infringing my civil rights by generating more interest than was due and tweaking my curiosity. Should the BBC have shown it, probably. Is it a successful major publicity stunt for the production company, most definately. Should I have switched off after the intro...

Lost n Found

I think whats scarier is that some of them have been returned to their owners.

Dance Theatre of Harlem 2

Following my visit to Sadler's Wells on Saturday the main thing that struck me is that ballets that have intermissions that account for a third of the time spent in the theatre result in a restless skitz. The evening was divided into three separate suites of dances from their repertoire (other nights were treated to other suites) separated by twenty minute intermissions. The succinct thoughts were that it was a very good night out with highs and lows that you would expect from any event. The dazzling costumes, diverse musical scores and a different look at ballet creates a visual and audio extravaganza that is well worth seeing.

The first dance was Dougla. Written by Geoffrey Holder in 1974, a tribal wedding sets the tone for a steady stream of head-wagging ceremonial celebrations. It is an exotic processional set in a tribal wedding complete with his voluminous, eye-catching costumes and a percussive score accented by whistling flutes. However, the extravagant costumes, intricate moves and well composed spartan score fail to cover the small glitches in choreography inherent in having 30+ people on stage and getting them to keep in synch with an almost non existent beat. Perhaps the weakest of the three suites I saw, but it certainly set the stage for further events.

Juxtaposed next to the tribal Dougla was the boogie/ballet combination of
Return. First performed in 1999 this suite of dances is cued to recordings by soul masters James Brown and Aretha Franklin to good effect. More individual dances give the performers the chance to display their skills in a manner that draws a stark contrast to other contemporary ballets, fusing other styles of dance, creating a very intimate feel and something thats individual yet identifiable.

The final suite is the ballet staple Firebird performed with DTH own special take to magical effect. Eye-poppingly vibrant tropical jungle settings, magical costumes all enhance choreographer John Taras' version of the classic Russian fairy tale. Perhaps more "traditional" in its deliverance than from the previous suites watched this evening, it is punctuated with DTH own colour and dynamics that adds an extra dimension. It is certainly the highlight of the evening, and when it ends to raptures applause, I find myself wishing there was more.

Perhaps another night, another suite of dances.

Dance Theatre of Harlem

Tonights evening out is the Sadler's Wells Theatre which is currently playing host to the Dance Theatre of Harlem. I'll post a review when I get back, but in the meantime here is one prepared earlier by Zo� Anderson for The Independent.

Handel House Museum

On Sunday we visited the Handel House Museum at 25 Brook Street. Handel lived at the house for 36 years from 1723 until his death in 1759, during which he composed some of the most recognised work of the time, if not all time. The house has been well restored to an approximation of how it would have been, and throughout are various objects from the Byrne Collection including a letter from Handel to Charles Jennens regarding Belshazzar and Messiah, an autograph leaf from Esther, Mozart's arrangement of a Handel fugue, John Mainwaring's Memoirs of the life of the late George Frederic Handel annotated by Jennens, early editions of operas and oratorios, and prints, portraits and sculpture. Also included are a portrait of Faustina Bordoni by Bartolomeo Nazari and a portrait of Jennens by Thomas Hudson. Whilst wandering, we were entertained by live renditions of some of Handel's works, which added to the ambience.

In perhaps one of the stranger juxtapositions, as an added bonus, the exhibit rooms are currently running an exhibit of unseen Jimi Hendrix photos from early in his career. Between 1968 and 1969, the upper floors of the adjacent 23 Brook Street were home to said rock legend and some of the photos form quite an intimate view of his life with Kathy Etchingham.

All in all, well worth a visit.

Wham!

After work on Friday, I visited the Roy Lichtenstein exhibition at the Hayward Gallery.

This is the first major London exhibition by Roy Lichtenstein since 1968. Familiar subjects like comic strips, bank notes or advertising themes, makes the art of Roy Lichtenstein easily accessible and he is perhaps the defining artist of the Pop-Art movement surpassing even Warhol. The exhibition shows many of his famous comic strip paintings on display alongside lesser known drawings.

Everywhere you look today, you see Lichtenstein in adverts, graphics, postcards and commercial art, feeding back into the medium from which he drew inspiration. His work is characterized by his wry sense of humour, careful precision and use of stencils. A simple palette of red, yellow and blue, sharp black outlines, ben day dots and simple speech bubbles. Brad's 'Masterpiece' painted in 1962 foretells of Lichtenstein's impending fame. Its interesting to note that even though he was a relative unknown at this point on the eve of his fortieth birthday, that forty years later his art would achieve such longevity and be so pervasive, with broken hearts, cancelled dates, all shown in various works.

The exhibition is, IMHO, a refreshing one, and whilst it is a shame that not more Brads or Blams are on show, we do get a casual glance back to a world where television and pop where in their infancy, where abstract expressionism still ruled. That and five foot cartoon panels depicting the harshness of life in such a unique and reflective way...

Art/Theatre

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