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Day: 10 March 2016

Review: Chris Ramsey’s All Growed Up

Written by Harry Newton on . Posted in Theatre.

A six month wait for the show at Salford’s The Lowry was well worth it, as Chris Ramsey came to stage and performed a polished act that left you both crying and cringing! Ramsey told the story of becoming grown up, retelling his life from childhood all the way up to buying a house and becoming a father. He seemed to enjoy being back in the north where the beer is better and the humour is friendlier, after a troublesome time in London the week before. Ramsey had found himself being pinned against a wall in his hotel by a policeman in his underpants. I must make it clear that it was Ramsey in his underpants—not the policeman. This turned out to be a mix-up as Ramsey wasn’t the knife-wielding criminal they were actually looking for. The jolly Geordie made it to stage in Salford without threatening anyone along the way… presumably.

Ramsey’s energetic style on the stage was infectious as the whole crowd was in tears of laughter; the show overran by half an hour as they just couldn’t get enough. The show included some jokes that made you wince more than laugh—not because they were bad, but because they simply hurt to think about. The latter part of the show particularly made it difficult for me to look my dad in the eye once I had arrived back home.

Whether it’s just a Northern thing or not, I’m not quite sure, but Ramsey felt very relatable as he spoke about family holidays that everyone in the room had been on, playing games as a child that everyone had already played, and a dislike for parts of the south that everyone except southerners has.

Personally I haven’t seen much of Chris Ramsey on his own, as I’ve mostly seen him on panel shows like Celebrity Juice. Often it’s dangerous to go and see a comedian that you have just enjoyed on a panel show, as they may be completely different on stage alone, or repeat old gags. However, with Ramsey it was the complete opposite impact! Panel shows don’t highlight just how funny he is, as when he started to talk to the audience he really flourished and showed how genuinely funny and spontaneous he can be.

Despite how funny he is though, the largest audience reaction didn’t come from anything that he said—it was when Pete on the front row announced that he worked for Inland Revenue. What a bastard.

LSE SU fails to elect General Secretary

Written by Marcus Johns on . Posted in News.

The students of the London School of Economics Students’ Union (LSE SU) have failed to elect a General Secretary role in their 2016 elections. A majority of students voted for to re-open nominations (RON).

The LSE SU will now have to open a new election, the date of which will be announced in the morning.

This is the first time that RON has been elected in a British Students’ Union election.

In the first round of voting, Mohammed Rayhan Uddin received 992 votes and Harry Robert Stuart Maxwell received 768 votes. Both failed to reach the 1399 quota needed to win the role. Of the total 2798 ballots were received, RON received 1038 votes.

In the second round of voting, Maxwell was eliminated and the number of RON votes reached 1333, which defeated Uddins’ 1208.

An anonymous source from LSE told The Mancunion: “Unfortunately, despite starting positively, the campaign for General Secretary descended into mudslinging allegations of bullying and antisemitism. I think, unfortunately, as that was the direction the campaigns took, RON was the best result.”

Earlier in the day, an Emergency General Meeting (EGM) motion was circulating at the LSE SU, which called for the re-opening of nominations even if Uddin or Maxwell won the contest. At LSE SU, an EGM needs 250 signatures, and then the student body is required to vote on it. Sources told The Mancunion that the EGM looked as if it would succeed, but was ultimately unnecessary, as RON won the election regardless.

However, another anonymous source said: “I think that because they would have asked all the supporters of whoever lost to sign in [what was already] a very close contest, the EGM would have undermined the democratic process.”

At the event where the election results were revealed, students were heard chanting: “RON! RON! RON!” A Facebook page for RON was also created, Ron Lse Gen Sec posted “Mischief Managed” as the results were announced and one LSE student posted: “Ron Weasly wins LSE Student Union General Secretary Election, first time at any UK university.

“Well deserved! Clean campaign, full integrity, no scandals. I wish this candidate was electable in all kinds of elections.” Students also updated LSE SU’s Wikipedia page, adding Ron as the Union’s General Secretary

A Masters student, studying a MSc in the Social Psychology Department told The Mancunion: “The only thing that came across my news feed before the election was how every candidate was flawed. So there was bullying, threatening of legal action, so everything that was said about it was super negative. And that was the only advertising that I received. It was really poorly advertised and just badly publicised.

“Plus, the union hasn’t really impressed a lot of the student body because they keep cancelling a bunch of talks that are really interesting and it just seems like they’re babying the student body because they’re like: ‘no you can’t listen to this talk, it’s too abrasive’ when really students are capable of making their own decisions and being critical.

“So, not a great attitude towards the Students’ Union; really bad publicity that the elections were taking place; and all the things that came across about the election were about how bad the candidates were.”

They added: “The union is garbage, the candidates were garbage, and I didn’t even know there was an election the day before.”

The Mancunion will continue to update the story as it unfolds.

This week in global

Written by news on . Posted in News.

“World’s hottest criminal” finishes term – USA

The “world’s hottest criminal” has completed his jail sentence and is now free to begin his new career as a model.

Jeremy Meek’s mugshot racked up over 80,000 likes after being posted to Facebook following his arrest for possession of a firearm. He pleaded guilty to the allegation and was convicted for 27 months.

Following his arrest women offered to pay his bail and extended the opportunity for him to “hide out at their houses”. Despite the huge female interest, Meek is a married man and has said that he is looking forward to spending more time with his children now that he has served his sentence.
Meek’s new career is already underway. He has been snapped up by modelling agency White Cross Management. He has also become “Instafamous” with more than 30,000 followers.
In a post on his social media accounts he said: “‘I want to thank my family and everybody for all your love, support and prayers. I’m overwhelmed and grateful for what lies ahead. I’m ready.”

Hot, cross, and very bothered – UK

The English Defence League have fallen for a spoof news story stating that a bakery has removed the crosses from its hot cross buns for fear of causing offence.

The Facebook page English Defence League London Division II shared the story ‘Anger as Southend bakery launches Hot Cross Buns WITHOUT “offensive” cross’ with the comment “Hot cross buns without a cross. Well that’s just a bun. We must not upset the Islamic invaders must we?”

One commenter, Alec Lang, called for a boycott of the bakery due to their decision.
However, the story was produced by the Southend News Network, a joke news website whose recent stories include ‘Fireman Sam actor: My drink and drugs HELL after sacking’ and ‘OUTRAGE at Southend school after girl is sent home for looking TOO PRETTY in uniform’.

Part of the hot cross bun story quotes the owner of the fictional bakery explaining that “a maths teacher came in and demanded that we stop selling them as they can be rotated slightly, leaving an ‘X’—he felt that the buns do not give out a clear signal about whether or not they are a ‘plus’ symbol or a ‘multiply’ symbol.”

Bingo ding dong – UK

Drunk and disorderly behaviour erupted into a brawl at an establishment in Derby city centre last Saturday night on March 5. This would be quite unremarkable if the establishment in question didn’t happen to be a Gala Bingo hall.

Commonly thought of as being filled with quiet pensioners, a bingo hall would not be the first place people would suspect a drunken scuffle to break out.

This is not the first time violence has come to bingo—in 2013, Gala Bingo handed life bans to six female players involved in a fight at an establishment in Torquay.

Tension had been simmering as a group of excited, youthful bingo-goers reacted nosily to the announcement of numbers. The mass brawl was then sparked as some middle-aged regulars objected to the excessively boisterous behaviour of the group in their 20s.

Around ten men were involved in the fight which was broken up by Gala Bingo security and staff before three police arrived on the scene.

A 20-year bingo veteran said she had “never seen anything like it” in all her years of playing, and that a friend had found it very entertaining.

However, an older player who saw the fight unfold played down the incident: “It was just a few stuffy old sorts getting their knickers in a twist.”

Swan succumbs to selfie treatment – Macedonia

The unrelenting obsession with selfies seem to show no signs of easing just yet. People are continually attempting to push the limits of what can be achieved by what is essentially just taking a photo of oneself from close range.

Whether it be a selfie hanging off a cliff, underwater, with a dangerous animal, or in any other ‘original’ setting (where the photographer’s face still constitutes the focus of the frame), it seems any situation could be made better with a selfie to share with the world.

But the oft-labelled narcissistic craze has once again shown its evil side and has claimed another victim. In this case, an unsuspecting swan in Macedonia met its fate after a Bulgarian woman decided to haul it out of a lake by its wing for some photos.

Possibly becoming the ugly— the “bit they don’t want you to see”—side to the woman’s Snapchat story or Instagram post, the swan clearly did not get anything positive from the experience.

Builder in bear scare – Unidentified

A construction worker fell over whilst running for his life from what he thought was a savage bear—but what was, in fact, his friend in a costume.

A video shows the man at work walking through the site on which he works, carrying a coil of wire, before being jumped by the costumed colleague who was hiding around a corner. Immediately he turns and sprints away—despite his friend standing up and waving to try and defuse the situation.

He makes it around 50 metres before tripping and landing on his face, while his colleagues who are filming laugh at his misfortune.

Huge rabbit gets new home – UK

Atlas, the giant rabbit in need of a new home, has been adopted and been given a surprising new name.

Jen Hislop, aged 43 from North Ayrshire, has christened her new addition to the family Atilla the Bun Binky Master Jazz Paws. Hislop was carefully selected from hundreds of applicants to take on the furry animal after he grew too big for its former owners to care for.

Hislop is clearly delighted with her new pet saying, “Atlas is an absolute hoot and doesn’t stop running around unless he’s crashed out on his massive beanbag. He even has his own pet stroller, so my 15-year-old daughter Laurrie and I can take him out and about.”

Atilla the Bun Binky Master Jazz Paws is a seven-month-old continental giant rabbit and has grown to about the same size as a West Highland White Terrier.

Pro-gun poster girl shot by son – USA

A pro-gun campaigner who was the “poster girl” for the pro-gun lobby was shot in the back by her four-year-old son who was sat in the back of her car.

Jamie Gilt may face negligence charges after her young son picked up a loaded .45 semi automatic pistol from the back seat of her truck while they were driving through Putnam County, Florida, and fired it. She was not killed and was taken to hospital where she is reported to be in a stable condition. Police officers deduced that the firearm had definitely been fired from inside the vehicle, and that the only other occupant was Gilt’s son.

Gilt had been up until the accident a vehement supporter of full gun rights, running a Facebook page called ‘Jamie Gilt for Gun Sense’ where she before, had posted “Even my 4-year-old gets jacked up to target shoot with the .22.”

Ballsy wife gets testy – Romania

A Romanian woman allegedly tore off her husband’s testicles after he forgot to give her flowers on International Women’s Day and refused to help with the house work. After being rushed to the emergency room with his left testicle hanging out of his scrotum, Ionel Popa’s wife said she was fed up of being ignored by her husband and didn’t know her own strength.

Marinela Benea said her husband had come home drunk the night before, and then the next morning had shouted at her that she was “not entitled to give him orders”. “I told him he was not any kind of man and I grabbed his balls. It was not my fault he pulled away,” said the moxey spouse. “I thought maybe that some ice would solve the problem, but he insisted on calling an ambulance”, she continued. Her husband is now in hospital after undergoing emergency surgery to repair his scrotum after his left testicle was left hanging out.

Looted Cockerel to be ‘permanently removed’ from Jesus College, Cambridge

Written by Emily Hulme on . Posted in News.

A Benin bronze cockerel at Jesus College, Cambridge has been taken down from display after students argued it should be returned to Nigeria where it was looted from by the British in 1897.

Last week The Mancunion reported on the Jesus College Students Union’s (JCSU) debate, where the Benin Bronze Appreciation Committee (BBACs) was successful in passing the motion to repatriate the cockerel—named Okukor—to Nigeria. The university agreed on Tuesday 8th March that the cockerel should be permanently removed from its place in the main dining hall. Discussions are now underway to decide the Okukor’s future, including the possibility of its repatriation to Nigeria.

In a statement made by Cambridge University, a spokesperson said Jesus College will work with the wider university, and resources will be put toward developing new initiatives with Nigerian heritage and museum authorities “to discuss and determine the best future for the ‘Okukor’, including the question of repatriation”.

The spokesperson added that the recommendations made by students in the JCSU debate will be taken on board: “The college strongly endorses the inclusion of students from all relevant communities in such discussion.”

The cockerel, along with hundreds of other bronzes, was looted in a punitive expedition by British imperialists when it occupied Nigeria in 1897. The expedition was said to be a brutal act of imperialism, and left the Benin City, now Nigeria, completely destroyed, with thousands dead. Nigeria has made several pleas for its traditional bronzes to be returned, as the pieces are a part of its culture and its history.

For this reason the BBAC claims that returning the Okukor to the “community from which it was stolen” was “just”. According to the committee, “the contemporary political culture surrounding colonialism and social justice, combined with the University’s global agenda, offers a perfect opportunity for the College to benefit from this gesture.”

The controversy followed the ‘Rhodes must fall’ debate at Oriel College, Oxford where the university turned down students’ demands to remove a statue of colonialist Cecil Rhodes. Claims state that this was because the university was being influenced by “a dictatorship of donors” that threatened to withdraw funds.

 

don’t publish yet. Review/Interview: Made in Taiwan

Written by Nicole Tamer on . Posted in Film.

Having been highly impressed by the feature film Made in Taiwan—which is about a filmmaker who realises that his flickering films can be used as a drug—I couldn’t wait to interview the filmmakers. After spending three years in Taiwan, Jonny Moore became inspired by the country to make this unconventional film set in Taiwan and wrote the script with his sister Leonora. Funded with Kickstarter and with the support of their family, the siblings created a mind-blowing film which was only filmed at night within one month. The highly strenuous shooting hours messed up their concept of time and gave lead actor, Alexander Jeremy, the worn out look which he features at the end of the film.

Another behind the scenes secret was to apply lipstick around the eyes to create dark under eye circles. The duo had already produced a feature film and learnt a lot from their experience. “To any aspiring filmmakers out there: my advice is to just do it. You’ll learn from your mistakes and there are so many funding possibilities out there. On top of that, equipment has become cheaper and lighter, we wouldn’t have been able to follow through with such a project fifteen years ago.”

Their journey is not going to stop with this project; they are planning to film another feature which might also be set in Asia, too. Their enthusiasm is truly inspiring and this translated well into the film which had a dreamlike feeling to it. Alexander mentions that as a foreigner, one easily loses boundaries in another country where everything is different and foreign. He tried to translate that feeling into his role on screen and succeeded in creating a three-dimensional character plagued by his own creation. The film won the category for Best UK Film at the Manchester Film Festival 2016.

Review: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

Written by Annabel Cartwright on . Posted in Theatre.

This academic year has seen some exciting changes taking place in the University of Manchester’s Musical Theatre Society (UMMTS), the most significant of these being the decision to double their number of annual productions. Two smaller-scale performances were scheduled to bridge the gap between the winter and summer musicals: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and Songs For A New World.

Maths student Joe Dickens, who is the current Chair of the society, has explained that the decision to put on the additional productions was centred around the intention to create artistic opportunities: “We wanted a way to give more opportunities than the requisite two for people to be involved creatively, and hopefully to offer another set of shows where new people could be welcomed into the society.”

Funded independently by each show’s respective creative team, the cast and production value of Spelling Bee and Songs For A New World were significantly smaller than those of the typical performances put on by the society. Sitting between the two large-scale UMMTS productions of the year, Betty Blue Eyes and Grand Hotel, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee served as an impressive demonstration of the quality of performance that may be achieved on a comparatively small budget.

Shaped around the individual thoughts and feelings of young children participating in a spelling competition, Spelling Bee is a sensitive and comic portrayal of the complexities of childhood. The simplicity of director Sarah Teale’s interpretation of the musical worked wonderfully alongside the simplicity of the plot. Each child has their say about spelling, parenting, and friendship whilst taking their turn in the competition, through songs ranging from the laugh-out-loud, ‘My Unfortunate Erection’, to the truly heart-wrenching, ‘The I Love You Song’. Attentively, Sarah did not obscure the individual experiences of the children with over-production in terms of set and choreography (a surprising bonus of having a limited budget, I suppose).

Most notably, the ability and group chemistry of the ensemble cast is what melded together the various theatrical aspects of this energetic performance. It was blatant that every single cast member felt a sense of joyousness in the presentation of their role, encouraging the audience to share in their collective fun. This feeling of collaboration between performer and audience was only exacerbated by the clever and comic use of audience participation. The actors proved that they did not need to rely on scripted lines to effectively create comedy; Lucy Scott and Jack Harrison impressively displayed a penchant for improvisation, coming up with clever quips in response to audience-nominated spelling bee contestants spontaneously.

While each member of the cast portrayed their character with both light-heartedness and integrity, one performer stood out from the crowd, both as a vocalist and actor. Eiméar Crealey gave a stunning performance as Olive Ostrovsky, a shy young girl who is desperate for her parents to come and see her spell. Eiméar’s vocal ability was astonishing in the best kind of way. Her impeccable tone and quality of voice rang out above the wonderfully directed live band, lead by Aine Mallon. Paired with a truly honest portrayal of a girl much younger than herself, Eiméar had the audience crying tears of joy and sadness respectively.

With a little more rehearsal time and a larger budget, kinks in the performance might have been ironed out, however an audience member would have to be rather pernickety to identify any real flaws in the performance. The dances were a little rough around the edges, and it was a shame that not all actors were able to sport their own personal microphone, however these are the sorts of issues that come hand-in-hand with creating a piece of theatre in an independently-funded student production.

The versatility and intelligence of UMMTS’ performers, and the expansion of their annual repertoire, is reassuring when considering the prospects of student-run theatre, and the future of this particular society. While the skill of musical theatre practitioners, and the emotional, and often social, power of musical theatre works often go unrecognised, the University of Manchester Musical Theatre Society are forcing theatregoers to sit up and take notice.

Review: Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Romeo and Juliet

Written by Mia Davis on . Posted in Theatre.

The Birmingham Royal Ballet’s 2016 Shakespeare celebration brought the infamous tale of the most infamous ‘star-crossed’ lovers to the Lowry theatre and did not disappoint. Kenneth MacMillan’s adaptation, set to the Prokofiev score, was beautifully dramatized—accompanied by a wonderful set, it transported the audience to Renaissance Verona.

Act I perfectly sets the scene for the audience, even those not firmly familiar with the story, as an audience, we are dropped among the sparring Capulets and Montagues who sport different colours; both as opulent as the other. The drama of the expertly choreographed sword fights which are timed to perfection immediately demonstrate the drama and tension to come throughout the following couple of hours. We see Romeo (William Bracewell) and his friends laughing and joking throughout the first act, and young and naïve Juliet (Yaoqian Shang) unimpressed with the young man her parents want her to marry. However, the first meeting of the pair at the Capulet masked ball oozes chemistry and is the beginning of their secret-filled love affair. The act ends with the infamous balcony scene, which expertly uses the set to its advantage, yet doesn’t lose any of the secluded romance which is so familiar.

The romance is however tragically short-lived. The drama massively intensifies during the second act, which mostly takes place among the bustling market. Romeo’s friend Mercutio and Juliet’s cousin Tybalt fight extremely dramatically—ending in the tragic death of Mercutio. In a fit of rage, and revenge, Romeo kills Tybalt, and as a result is banished from Verona, and from his love. The tension is palpable as the curtain goes down for the second short interval, although it seems to provide a natural break before the last act.

The overall performance of undoubtedly one of the most tragically romantic love stories of all time is a pleasure to watch. The choreography massively plays to the dramatic and tragic side of the story, and of the wonderful music—perhaps minimising some of the romance and sensuality. However, as a performance, all elements came together beautifully and captured the audience from the start.

A previous version of this article stated that Cesar Morales, who was not dancing that night, played the part of Romeo. This has been amended accordingly.