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Day: 10 February 2017

Cambridge student burns money in front of homeless man

Written by Ollie Potter on . Posted in News.

A Cambridge student has been expelled from Cambridge University Conservatives over allegations that he mocked a homeless man and burned a £20 note in front of him.

The burning of currency is behaviour akin to the actions of the infamous Bullingdon Club at Cambridge’s arch rival Oxford University, with the lighting of a £50 note now an initiation ceremony for the Club.

Drunk and wearing a white tie dress and tails from a night out, Ronald Coyne, from Pembroke College, was spotted on February 2nd by a stunned onlooker outside a Cotswold store on Bridge Street in Cambridge. Coyne filmed the incident himself, circulating the video on Snapchat, which was viewed by dozens of people.

A fake profile of Ronald Coyne was made on February 9th, with over a hundred comments aiming abuse, scorn and disgust at Ronald’s actions.

The university’s Conservative Association released a statement on their website, disassociating themselves from Coyne and saying “there is no room for people who behave like that in our Association”, and decided to “revoke his membership and bar him from all future events”.

They also claimed that Coyne was not attending an Association event before or after the incident, dispute his white tie attire.

Coyne was the society’s communications officer, and he is being investigated by senior Cambridge University officials, their spokeswoman stating they are “aware of an incident” but could not add a further comment whilst the proceedings were under way.

Conservative Manchester student Stephen said he “couldn’t believe a person could do something so heinous and spiteful in front of a helpless man”, adding that “men like Ronald Coyne give Conservatives a terrible name.”

Review: The House of Bernarda Alba

Written by Elete Nelson-Fearon on . Posted in Theatre.

Federico García Lorca tells the tale of five daughters and their tyrannical mother, Bernarda, who relentlessly prioritises her reputation over her daughters’ wellbeing and her own emotions. The play is set in 1930s Spain, in a small Andalusian village where everyone knows everyone’s whereabouts and wrongdoings, on the day of the funeral of Alba’s second husband.

The play opens with the maids walking around exchanging angry comments about their boss. The house, in this production, consists of a circle of six chairs. A striking feature of this production is the diverse cast: one of the maids and two of the daughters are hard of hearing, and another is a British Sign Language interpreter; this feature is also written seamlessly into the characters’ speech, with Bernarda often ordering the maid to “sign” for her. The setting is reflective of the oppressive nature of the house — La Poncia, the most outspoken maid and closest out of them to the family, refers to the house as “her little empire” that “she doesn’t want anyone else to see.”

The maids set the tone of the play: by the time the Alba family arrives, the audience has formed an opinion of Bernarda’s character and is eager to see what this domineering is like. As the mourners arrive, there is a bright ray of light as if to precede the matriarch’s arrival to her empire. Bernarda is a small yet intimidating character whose first word onstage is an order: a foreshadowing feature that is very telling of her role in the play. It is interesting to note the difference in relationship between La Poncia and Bernarda once Bernarda is onstage: the two characters exchange gossip jokingly about the neighbours, and we see that La Poncia also plays the role of mediator and advisor. However, the impersonal employee-employer relationship is reinstated when La Poncia dares to disagree with Bernarda: “You’re impossible to talk to. Do we or do we not trust each other?” “We do not. You work for me and that is all.”

Lorca has written in and omitted features that develop the characters and build tension among them; these features were brought to the stage seamlessly by the director Jenny Sealey. Adela, the youngest daughter who is the most vocally opposed to the 8 years of mourning that have been imposed upon them, is the only character to break free of the monochrome dress code and wear a green dress, which is a foreshadowing sign of jealousy and a physical sign of her rebellion. Maria Josefa, Bernarda’s mother, is a symbol of all of the girls’ desire to be free; she escapes the room she is constantly locked in and declares her plan to run away to the sea to get married. Later in the play, she is a figure of brutal honesty as she says “Pepe El Romano [the love interest of the daughters and fiancée of one of them] is a giant; you all want him,” despite only three of them having declared a desire to be with him. The lack of a male cast member builds the tension among the women; having one prominent love interest allows their love to manifest in different forms: due to claustrophobia, loneliness, self-deprecation and lust.

The context of the play, when considered with reference to the characters and dynamics, is very interesting. Bernarda’s tyrannical nature foreshadows the dictatorship that Spain would live under for 36 years, with a desire to keep everything uniform and without any dissent from the given orders. However, the reversal in gender roles is significant. Bernarda, rather than feeling empowered as a matriarchal head of the house, says her hard work is due to “[toiling] like a man.” The stark difference in reactions to domestic violence by males and females was also made clear when the audience was amused by La Poncia affirming that “it’s true [she] used to beat [her husband].” This proud reaction from La Poncia may have been due to the fact that she resented having had her body taken advantage of by Bernarda’s late husband; both incidents display another facet of the toxic relationship between men and women in this play.

The House of Bernarda Alba is a revealing, entertaining and moving play that boldly shows the different types of women going through life, with one overarching characteristic: survival instincts in a small, oppressive, 20th century Spanish village.

The House of Bernarda Alba, a Royal Exchange Theatre and Graeae Theatre Company co-production, is at the Royal Exchange Theatre until the 25th of February.

Never Going Underground: The Fight for LGBT+ Rights

Written by Laura Joyce on . Posted in Arts.

Never Going Underground marks the 50-year anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in the UK. The title of the project is taken from the campaign against the infamous Section 28 which forbade the promotion of homosexuality, which led to the UK’s largest ever protest for LGBT+ rights here in Manchester. The exhibition focuses on the on-going fight for LGBT+ rights, enlightening visitors with events both before and after the 1967 Sexual Offences Act.

The exhibition comes as a precursor to Manchester’s feminist Wonder Women festival which will see a vast array of equality themed theatre, arts, and even conferences across the city. Following the controversial inauguration of President Trump, the general consensus from LGBT+ supporters seems to be that there has never been a more important time to fight for equality, and basic human rights for all.

Never Going Underground explores the societal shift between a time when: it was illegal for men to express themselves freely without persecution, lesbianism was passed off as a medical issue, trans rights were simply non-existent — and society’s attitudes today. Now LGBT+ legal protection and equality is recognised almost nationwide in the UK, though there is still a long way to go.

The exhibition has been two long years in the making, and was aptly curated by 11 members of the LGBT+ community.

The piece follows 60 years of activism, and displays the various types of struggles the LGBT+ community have encountered over this long period of time. According to the People’s History Museum website, the exhibition “will highlight that there is nothing inevitable about that progress, and that in the long and complex story of over 60 years of activism, it’s important to remember that there were steps back as well as forward.”

Never Going Underground promises solidarity, power, and humanity. We are invited to witness the hardships that have been overcome by the LGBT+ community, that have led to the widespread knowledge of the cause, and the relentlessness of those fighting for their rights to equality.

The Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting

Written by Brogen Campbell on . Posted in Theatre.

Are you an up and coming playwright? Do you have what it takes to write the next great play? Have you already written it? If so, The Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting is open for 2017 entries.  It is the UK’s biggest national competition for playwriting. They are on the search for the next great play and the great playwright who created it.

Europe’s largest playwriting competition is the product of a partnership between the Royal Exchange Manchester and property company Bruntwood. New and unperformed plays can be submitted and judged by a panel of experts. Four winners will then be picked and will win a part of the £40,000 prize fund.

Since the competition began in 2005 there has been 15 prize winning writers and 8 winning productions have been staged.  Each winner this year will eneter into a development process with the Royal Exchange Theatre. The winning scripts will be announced at an award ceremony in Manchester this November.

Katherine Soper became the fifth overall winner of the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting in 2015. Her play ‘Wish List’ was premiered at the Royal Exchange Theatre and has since been transferred to the Royal Court Upstairs. You can find a review of Wish List on The Mancunion website.

For any emerging talent this competition is not to be missed. The competition is open to anyone over the age of 16 and resides in the British Isles. All you need is a finished play that has never been performed and the courage and self-confidence to submit your work. All scripts are judged anonymously and the final 10 are judged by an expert judging panel.

To enter you simply need to go to The Bruntwood Prize website and apply there. The process is quick and easy. Submission closes on the 6th June 2017 at 6pm. So there is still time to finish that play or perfect it further. To apply click here.

Review: Swan Lake

Written by Brogen Campbell on . Posted in Theatre.

Swan Lake is ballet composed by Tchaikovsky, which depicts a tragic love story between a Prince and the Queen of the Swan. Swan Lake is one of the most popular and well known ballets and is being brought to life by Moscow City Ballet. Moscow City Ballet presents Swan Lake at the Palace Theatre.

Never having seen a ballet I was unsure of whether I would enjoy Swan Lake or not. However, even without the skills or knowledge to critic the choreography, it was clear how high the standard of performance was. The dancers were perfectly in sync and left you wishing you were as athletically skilled. The company were able to create stunning imagery with impressive ballet routines.

Without any dialogue, resting purely on the company’s physicality through ballet, Moscow City Ballet told the story of Swan Lake. The play revolves around a Prince who is looking for a wife. Many princesses arrive at the palace to meet the Prince. This resulted in some excellent and exquisite soloists as well as corps de ballet numbers. The Prince however is unsatisfied and ventures outside towards the lake. Here he meets the Queen of the Swans, whom he falls in love with. The White Swan has been cursed and turned into a swan waiting for a Prince to break her spell. All is not well as an evil sorcerer plots to take advantage of their love, through tricking the Prince into marrying his daughter the Black Swan.  This leads to tragedy for the lovers.

With no pre-existing knowledge of the ballet I was able to follow and understand the main storyline, although more nuance details were lost on me till after I read about the plot.

My one critic is that due to the lack in speech the ballet lies heavily on physicality. This physicality is showcased brilliantly through the companies dance ability, but had the dancers engaged their faces instead of expressing neutrality it would be easier for the audience to understand the storyline and how specific characters were feeling.  There was a tendency for the dancers to appear disengaged with the events on stage, this is particularly true for the Prince who seemed to lack an emotional depth. Although this can be a critic of all ballet generally.

The character which most easily identified to the audience what was going on within the dance numbers was the Jester, as he was the most facially dramatic, thus illustrated the Princes lack luster approach to his potential brides and his pining for the Swan Queen.  The Jester also stood out for his exquisite dance ability and really did demand your attention whenever he was on stage.

The ballet is accompanied by a live orchestra, The Hungarian Sinfonietta Orchestra. The live music enhances the dancing onstage and helps to create a truly memorable and dynamic performance.  No set except for gorgeous backdrop to allow for maximum space for dancing. The backdrops depicted the castle, banquet hall and a moonlit lake. The stunning costumes depicted the grandeur of the ballet.

Every single dancer performed the complex choreography with ease and elegance. No wonder this is a signature piece in the group’s repertoire. The principle ballerina Liliya Oryekhova was sensational.

Oryekhova moved with seamlessly between the white and black swan and somehow she was able to embody the swan like quality the two main roles desperately requires. All the swans were physicalized beautifully by the dancers. Fantastic leaps, unstoppable pirouettes and dynamic lifts were present throughout the performance. The entire production emitted poise, grace and beauty. It doesn’t matter if you have never seen a ballet before or have been to the ballet countless times Moscow City Ballet’s production of Swan Lake is certainly one to go and watch.

Only on until Saturday 11th February, get your tickets here.

Student loans for sale in move towards privatisation

Written by Rosa Simonet on . Posted in News.

Pre-2012 student loans are being sold as part of a £12 billion pound programme set to take place over the next four years. The first of the sales, announced on the 6th February, include loans that became eligible for repayment between 2002 and 2006.

The government assures the sale represents value for money for the UK taxpayer, claiming the process will work to repair public finances. The sale had been attempted by George Osborne, in the coalition government, who promised the sale would fund higher education and pay down the deficit. New conditions, however, do not entitle education to the proceeds, despite cutting university funding by £4 billion in 2015/16 to £3.7 billion in 2016/17.

Though the conditions of student loans and repayments have yet to change, critics worry the sale of education for private purchase will cause problems for borrowers. These concerns follow the sale of the pre-1998 student to Erudio in 2013 which left many bewildered by administrative errors.

Roughly 7,000 were affected by the company’s failure to send vital paperwork, including deferral forms, and unexpected demands for early payments. The sharing of customer data with credit reference agencies were amidst the complaints against Erudio as students originally sold the loans were told the debt would not appear on their credit records.

In the recent sell-offs, the administration of loans and collections will remain within the power of the student loans company.

The government’s claim the move will secure future repayments has failed to derail critics. Many fear the marketisation of the industry could enable private companies to use education as a profitable business in order to meet the original face value of the loans.

National Union of Students Vice-President, Sorana Vieru, has called the sale “an ugly move,” allowing bankers to “profit off the backs of graduates who took out loans because they had no other option.” Since the announcement, the NUS have begun a campaign to stop the sale.

Minister for Universities and Science, Jo Johnson, claims the sale will have “no impact” on those paying loans. Critics remain sceptical in light of the increasing financial demand placed on students. In 2015, the government announced plans to increase repayments for those who had taken out loans since 2012. This was not in accordance with the plans publicised when many students had taken out the loans.

Many worry the financial pressure being forced upon students will discourage those from low-income households to apply for university.

Chief Secretary to the Treasurer David Gauke said: “This sale makes sense for taxpayers and will play an important contribution in our work to repair the public finances.”

In response, critics have questioned the value of money to the taxpayer. This proved both difficult and controversial in both Gordon Brown’s selling of Government gold and Vincent Cable’s of Royal Mail.
The University of Manchester has refused to comment on the issue at this time.

The Education Officer of The University of Manchester’s Students’ Union, Emma Atkins, stated it was a “moral issue” that “money that could have contributed to public services is now going to line the pockets of the private sector”.

She further added that there is  “already controversy over changing the terms of repayment once a student has started borrowing” and that it’s uncertain whether it’d be at the discretion of the companies not behave similarly. Atkins also highlighted how, even though the loans are from 2002-2006, this could “set a precedence and become the norm”.

During the last sale of the student loan book to Erudio, Manchester’s Students’ Union took a public stance against government proposals to privatise student loans.