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Month: January 2012

Live: White Lies @ Apollo

White Lies
Manchester Apollo
13 December
3 and a half stars

When musing over a night’s performance, it’s natural to think over the highs and lows of the evening. With support from The Chevin, proceedings were off to a promising start with their guitar fuelled indie tunes warming things up. Playing to a mix of old and young, White Lies’ dark themes, coupled with their large anthemic sound, have drawn comparisons to such bands as Joy Division, however it’s unfair to say that they haven’t generated their own sound.

With the release of their second album Ritual, White Lies have a wealth of material to draw on, however it’s not had quite the same reception as the band’s debut To Lose My Life… Despite this it still musters a warm response, with songs like ‘Is Love’ and ‘Turn the Bells’ being particular highlights. And this takes me back to my initial point, and the exploration of the other side of the coin – low points. The problem is there weren’t any as such, the light show was intricate and varied, the bands sound clear and defined, although singer Harry McVeigh could do with livening up his mid-song crowd interaction as apposed to the stock *insert city here* formula. But this is still no reason to criticise, the problem is the gig format in itself surprisingly. Despite many crowd pleasing favourites, there is a strong sense of deja vu as we plod through the set list, exploring many of the same musical themes and approaches.

White Lies have got a bright future after their difficult second album, but haven’t shown any great progression from their first just yet. As gig experiences go, this weaved in and out of sublime and mundane, but given time and freedom these guys have the potential to produce something very special.

White Lies – To Lose My Life

January getaway

Exams. What really is the point of them? Weeks of stress, all nighters, bad skin and malnourishment (I live on tea and biscuits) lead up to those two hours in seat 15 of pure cruelty.

Exams are more torturous than 9am lectures, or sitting through Desperate Scousewives. Even post exams and I’m still feeling the nerves, my brain has not wound down from cramming, and I am sure that there are plenty more like me out there.

During one of our twelve-hour OP cluster sessions a couple of my girlfriends texted me and my housemates saying that they had booked a very, very last minute holiday to Tenerife. But unlike the usual empty exclamations of “let’s do it” knowing that it was never going to happen, my housemates and I looked at each other and just like that we got to Googling.

Flights to Tenerife from Manchester were only £80 return, and for 5 nights self-catering, it was just the same. The promise of sun, sea and sand for a mere fraction of the latest loan installment it seemed almost sinful to say no to.

Yes fellow students, this week I will be sunning myself on a beach in Playas de las Americas with temperatures set to be over 23 degrees and not a raincloud in sight.

If you really think about it, it is actually the perfect time to go on holiday, especially for students. January blues have got us all down in the dumps, but all the big holiday sites, lastminute.com, onthebeach.co.uk and even Thomson are having their start of year sales – which believe me are really worth taking a look at.

All I want is to feel the warm sun on my face and not need to think about anything but my next margarita, so if you are thinking, “I hate her” then good ‘cos I would hate me too.

 

Money doesn’t grow on trees

It truly baffles me how some students are able to jet off to the holiday destination of their choice, using money left over from their loans, or better still, their grants.

I was recently informed of how a girl that I used to go to school with had flown out to Paris over the Christmas period. This was, of course, courtesy of a bursary that she receives from coming from a ‘low income background’. She justified her splurge to a friend of mine by claiming that she hadn’t had the same luxuries as some of us while growing up.

Ironic if you ask me; unlike me she has never done a day’s work in her life, yet she has her own car and somehow managed to travel virtually all summer.

Unsurprisingly, I can’t quite get my head around the system. I have two friends whose rent isn’t even covered by the loan which they will eventually have to pay back.

Their parents are expected to fork out for the remainder, the total of which for one amounts to £1,500 a year – on top of having to pay a mortgage and support another child. Have the government never heard of the saying ‘money doesn’t grow on trees’?

Those of us from normal families are expected to find flexible student jobs – which from personal experience seem hard to come by – and simply rack up more debt in the meantime. Fair?

Told By Theatrical Geniuses

Five stars out of five

It told the story of the Sycamores, the eccentric but entirely loveable bohemian family in 1930s America. The snag in the giddy familial bliss comes when daughter Alice returns with new romantic suitor and later fiancé/boyfriend, conventional but charming, Toby Kirby. The Sycamores of course are over-zealously welcoming and Toby is charmed and delighted by them all. Alice has her doubts however, and believes that the two of them would never work as he or indeed his parents would never truly understand or accept her family’s eccentricities and laid-back attitude. After a disastrous dinner party with the upper class, pompous Kirbys, Alice calls her and Toby off and attempts to leave town. But after a showdown between the two families and a serious convincing for all delivered by Grandpa Vanderhof, the Kirbys (and even Alice) learn a thing or two about the importance of taking it easy.

Although an original 1930s Kaufman & Hart script, ‘Told By An Idiot’ certainly left their own stamp on the play. They used every height level possible (wannabe dancer Essie entered from the ceiling at one point, donned with fairy wings) and all of the stage dressings and set were on wheels, creating a setting which, although was only one room, conveyed the idea of the higgledy-piggedly world of the Sycamores, lost in a mass of ever moving xylophones, model boats and writing desks. The moving set matched up perfectly with the cast, who were practically on wheels themselves in terms of the physical nature and energy of the piece. The play brought the audience constant delights, such as a few indoor fireworks and a mechanical (but very real looking) pet snake!

The characters and acting were simply delightful, even the Kirby’s stone cold demeanors had a pantomime villain feel to them, and you couldn’t totally hate them. Each Sycamore member captivated the audience with their individual hobby or interest, however incompetent they may have been. The energy created a beautiful ensemble piece between the actors and the audience felt part of the Sycamore family too!

‘You Cant Take it With You’ was flawless. Cheesy as it sounds, rarely will one leave the theatre feeling as warm inside as after seeing a production like this. A heart-warming celebration of existentialism and the individual.

You Can’t Take It With You ran at the Royal Exchange Theatre from 7th December until 14th January. 

Good Company

Four stars out of five

Pure and simply Jonathan Munby’s Company is Sondheim as it should be. An undercurrent of unease and uncertainty permeates a glossy veneer of charm and comedy. From the first echoey moments the recordings rang out across the theatre it was clear this was going to be something special. An ambiguous second in time was captured, the psychology of one man at a defining changing moment in his life, on the edge of a realisation discovered and delivered through a mix of joy, humour, constant laugh out loud one liners delivered with impeccable comic timing, and of course not to forget show stopping dance numbers; numbers that filled the stage with sparkle and energy vibrantly and beautifully sung by a strong cast with no weak links who meshed seamlessly but really owned their own performances.

A highlight of the show was Francessca Annis’ rendition of ladies who lunch a pure, raw and emotional performance that displayed sensitivity and emphasised the pain of a changing world; a theme that was further reflected in the 1970’s setting. It had been the productions goal to capture the original feel of 70s New York, a time of change, uncertainty and sometimes pain, it provided an evident backdrop for the piece and there was never any doubt of the location or era. The costumes screamed 1970 and the ever-present view of the New York skyline complete with the sounds of cars and sirens created an inescapable omnipresent cityscape. This however was no simple blast from the past the cast were engaging, identifiable and at times a little too relatable. Daniel Evans’ Robert was laid back, slightly arrogant but all too charming, a character it was practically impossible to dislike even when he was leading on young women.  He trod the perfect fine line between confidence and uncertainty, annoyance and likeability, charm and frustration, the allusive player and simultaneously the solid dependable friend. The strong relationship between Robert and the rest of the cast was evident but a sense of isolation still pervaded the whole production aided brilliantly by the staging and choreography, Robert was never quite matched up.  The chemistry between the couples themselves was electric, they appeared to have a real connection and it was easy to believe they were companions who shared their lives together.

In short this is a constant laugh out loud production, a comic charming look at love which ranges from the extenuated to slightly uncomfortably realistic, beautifully acted and presented. It is a must see for anyone with an interest in love (or lack of it), a passion for comedy, or a simple liking for well sung, well danced musical theatre.

Company ran at the Sheffield Crucible Theatre from 29th November until 7th January. 

Review: Glenn Wool at The Frog & Bucket 18/1/12

Did a Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute band have a hand in 9/11? Do beavers have a messiah? These are only a couple of the questions that this Canadian funny man addresses in his one man show, currently touring the UK.

Having a reputation for shouting loudly throughout his sets, the hirsute everyman certainly doesn’t disappoint on the decibel front. Wool has made his name with a quirky brand of politically correct comedy that tonight sees him give an account of what would happen if all the major religious deities were in fact comic book superheroes. Think Watchmen but with more Koran references.

As would now seem obligatory Wool also spends a large portion of his set taking aim at America, with mixed results. Apparently some of them are stupid and insensitive.

The main focus of the set revolves around an account of a less than pleasant experience at Balinese customs. The hairy Canadian describes, in almost forensic detail, the events leading up to him being made to receive a cavity search. Why did he smile at the customs official just before receiving the poor man’s digit in his behind? What happened next? You’ll have to go and see him to find out I’m afraid.

 

You’ve got the loaf

‘Give us this day our daily bread’ or so goes the Lord’s Prayer. Bread is a major student staple – whether due to lack of funds or cooking proficiency, the 47p Sainsbury’s Basics loaf seems an essential addition to every student kitchen in Manchester. Must it be this way – will the student always be hampered by a lack of adventure, of experimentation, of curiosity? When will we refuse to consider that piece of thin, cardboard-like toast, even if just to ‘take the edge off’?

Now is the time to embark on our journey of bread discovery. Let me tell you boys and girls, we’re in for a treat!

My own student bread experience came in first year, when considering how best to exploit my electricity/gas bill-free existence. One exploitation was baking my own loaves, and before long the whole flat was giving it a go. The only requirements to get started are a few ingredients (bread flour, dried yeast, butter, milk, salt and sugar), and a willingness to experiment!

Needless to say there are ups and downs in baking: occasionally you’ll get a doughy middle, your latest exotic addition might result in it being the texture of soap or it quite simply might look (and taste) like a medium-sized rock. Bear in mind that every oven is different, as I found to my dismay whilst trying and failing to recreate my best farmhouse loaf at home for my parents.

Nothing, however, beats that feeling of pride that bursts from your chest as you pull a golden, fragrant and perfectly-scored loaf from a hot oven, displaying it with smugness to your jealous housemates, breaking it open to let butter melt on its warm, soft flesh. One may have to jump through certain hoops on the way to that perfect loaf but, with God as my witness, this is a staple that’s worth spending a bit of time over.

 

On the front line

Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) deliver emergency medical care to 2 million patients a year in 65 countries across the world affected by war, famine, earthquakes and epidemics and their brave volunteers face life-threatening dangers every day. This week I spoke to Marc Dubois, head of MSF, UK. Marc was in Manchester giving a lecture to medical students on poverty and humanitarian aid and I caught him for a chat just beforehand. We discussed the situation in Egypt, the barriers to humanitarian workers in a post-9/11 world and a near-death experience he had working in the field.

How did you come to work for MSF?

When I got out of university I joined the US Peace Corps. They sent me to work out in the bush in Burkina Faso in West Africa and I really got into that life. I then studied law with a focus on international human rights and humanitarian law. One of my friends from law school was working at MSF said, “Why don’t you apply here?” The next thing I knew I was managing a primary healthcare project in a displaced persons camps in Khartoum.

I did more field missions in Sudan and Angola. Then I got a headquarters job working in humanitarian affairs – the side of witnessing and advocacy. Largely based on the fact that I have a big mouth and a good critical eye I rose up the ranks. MSF is a place where we do like to engage in passionate discussion…or arguments!

Then here in the UK they were looking for somebody. For humanitarian action, London really is the place to be. It’s got the big organisations like Oxfam and Save the Children; it’s got the British Government, which is a very, very important actor in the whole policies around development. It’s got think tanks and universities and tropical medical centres and all this stuff. And they wanted somebody who could communicate right in the middle of all of that and I was lucky enough to get the job.

You say there are quite a few arguments and debates within MSF, would you say it’s a democratically run organisation?

It’s an interesting mix. There is a very democratic approach and a lot of discussion on how to deal with some of the realities we are facing at the moment. There are no simple solutions to how you improve your operations in Somalia right now for example, with the Al-Shabaab militia on the one hand and warlords on the other hand. It’s making it very, very difficult for MSF to get anywhere near patients at a time that’s absolutely critical given the levels of malnutrition. So we’re an organisation that encourages a lot around the discussion aspect. I remember being on my very first mission and having an argument with the general director. You don’t see that in a lot of organisations.

On the other hand, an organisation has to be able to move fast and take some very serious decisions. There is also an operational hierarchy that is militaristic in its approach, and it is able to say in a matter of minutes that we have to evacuate that team or we have to close that project. And you need both, because really, to be an emergency organisation you can’t be talking about everything all the time, so its both.

What is the scariest thing you’ve had to experience working for MSF?

The scariest thing? Aside from the bureaucratic weight of the annual planning process every year you mean? Well, the brutal Angolan civil war was going on when I was over there. The situation was absolutely critical. People were in rags, starving to death. It was just desperate. We were travelling along these roads that hadn’t been driven down in years. It’s spooky in that way. You’re driving through a town with streetlights and little shop fronts but it’s all covered in vines. No ones lived there in 25 years.

But the real thing is the landmines – there were more landmines than people in Angola at the time. The military who’d told us where to go had assured us that the road was safe, but further down the road it looked like one of those old safari movies where there’s just the two tracks of dirt with tall grass in the middle. So you know no ones driving down these roads. You really think there might be some live explosives and you’re thinking ‘Should we turn around?’ but then you think on the other side ‘We’re not going out here to address conjunctivitis, we’re talking about levels of malnutrition that are killing huge numbers of people.’ That was the scariest thing for me.

What experience whilst working with MSF has been the worst or most difficult to deal with?

The worst thing is just the people, but they’re also the best thing. There was one day we brought back a couple of kids in the car who didn’t make the journey… Then somebody says, “That was my fifth child, I’ve lost every other one.” It was a horrible situation and it’s not something humans are very well equipped to deal with…as you can see [his eyes tear up briefly]. It does weigh on you and it should weigh on you. If people were able to go to the places where we worked and not be disturbed – and I mean fundamentally disturbed – then I’m not sure if they belong in the organisation, because we have to be driven by human compassion. (PULL-OUT)

What has been your most rewarding experience working for MSF?

Again, it’s the people. What you see everywhere we go is just the incredible grace and generosity that people show their neighbours and friends in a refugee camp when they have nothing themselves. The woman whose sister dies of HIV/AIDS and she’s got four kids already, but she takes on another four. You see that and it’s uplifting to realise that of course MSF saves some lives. But actually, it’s the people in these countries who save their own lives and save their neighbours lives long before MSF gets there.

What is the evolving role of MSF in the 21st century? That is, modern challenges that didn’t exist ten or twenty years ago?

One of the main challenges is just the challenge of access, especially since 9/11. There’s been a huge polarisation between East and West and between Muslim and non-Muslim. Countries are standing up and saying, “We want to control our territory, because we don’t want the West interfering in it.” I mean, what is humanitarian action in a world where governments are talking about humanitarian wars? Where they’re justifying military intervention on the basis of humanitarianism? That word, that label ‘humanitarianism’ has taken on new meanings, a meaning that we aren’t necessarily in agreement with.

And what does that mean when we come across as a Western organisation, not a global organisation? It’s a real liability and we are struggling in Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan – these are all places where we should be much busier, and we aren’t. And the reason is often politics. The politics of the world that views us as a dangerous threat. Recently the Al-Shabaab militia has expelled all of the aid agencies inside Somalia in the area where the crisis is at its sharpest – except for MSF, the Red Cross and an Italian agency. It’s a huge challenge maintaining that level of independence that you’re able to gain access, but even there the access isn’t enough.

There’s also the challenge of urbanisation, how that changes disease profiles and how that changes the way we operate. Because all of a sudden you’re in an urban centre where there might be five million people who would all like access to high quality free medical care. What do you do to cut the flow? We aren’t the world’s medical provider. And it’s easier when you’re out there in a refugee camp with 80,000 people in the middle of a desert where you have a population you can deal with because it’s fixed.

What do you think about the emerging role of global health policy around the world today?

The very fact that global health is an issue, that people talk about ‘world health’, that governments see their level of health as something that is discussed in high levels. It’s really quite a shift. There are also new actors out there who are changing global health. For example, sure the World Health Organisation (the medical branch of the UN) is important, but the budget of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is bigger.

What is the current humanitarian situation in Egypt?

One of the things about what people call ‘The Arab Spring’, whether it was Tunisia, Libya, Egypt or Bahrain is that the medical systems there are relatively good. The level of training of the doctors and the capacity of the hospitals to deal with the wounded are far more able to cope than what we find in Congo, Darfur and Somalia.

So Egypt is a political crisis that hasn’t produced the same scale of humanitarian crisis. There’s no such thing as a humanitarian crisis just coming out of nowhere, even a Haiti earthquake has a huge political dimension. The reason why a natural event like an earthquake becomes a disaster is the intersection of that earthquake with an incredibly impoverished population of people living in very precarious circumstances. The same level of earthquake here in London wouldn’t produce nearly as much death and destruction. Egypt is a case where the heavy part is the political crisis and the humanitarian situation is serious, but it’s as bad for instance as Somalia.

What do you think about the cancellation of the next round of grants by the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria?

The questions we ask like, “Is there enough funding for the malnutrition situation in Somalia?” or “Can we provide malaria treatment to children?” are almost absurd questions in a world where in the blink of an eye, several trillion dollars is spent to bailout banks.

The Global Fund is very important and it’s had a huge impact on our own ability to deliver medical care to people. We don’t have infinite funding. We have about 120,000 people at the moment on HIV medication and if the price of that is twice as much then you halve the number of people who are getting it. These are the horrible choices we have to make. The global fund is absolutely vital in its ability to provide the necessary funding to governments and other healthcare providers to be able to deal with some of these diseases. It’s a fairly simple equation – if the Global Fund is cut then a lot of people will be without medical care.

Some final thoughts on what you think about health in the developing world more generally?

I think its too easy, especially for us NGO’s, to paint a picture of a poor impoverished world that can’t do anything and we simply need to go down there and give them money. If you actually look at these countries what you find is that by and large there’s a lot of wealth around. Governments need to make decisions that owns up to their responsibility as governments to provide things like healthcare and education for their people. There are often quite substantial resources that are often not put into healthcare, so there needs to be a real quantum shift in that. That’s not our responsibility – we should be out of business! It’s that simple.

Are there any educational opportunities in particular that you would encourage students pursuing a career in global health to get involved in?

You can’t understand global health I think until you understand foreign culture. Certain area studies are useful such as Africa studies, or just languages. I mean we are desperate for French speakers right now in the organisation. That’s the kind of stuff I’d encourage people to be getting involved with.

What do you think about global health education in universities at the moment, especially with regard to the growing number of global health degrees emerging around the country?

Fifteen years ago, there were maybe a hundred students around the world studying for a Masters degree in humanitarian action. Now there’s thousands. There are people writing reports about how 18th century Ottoman migrations can find a new parallel in the movement of the Zaghawa group from Chad into Sudan. We don’t really need that stuff. We need people out there with muck in their boots. At the same time though, humanitarian action is extremely complex. It’s about positioning a neutral, independent and impartial actor in a very dynamic and a very politicised, often violent environment. And that requires people to have a certain level of understanding.

Half-way to Broadway

Two and a half stars out of five

Back to Broadway beckoned a ride through the world of musicals, transporting the audience to the bright lights of Broadway. It made it half way and with a ride that was not necessarily smooth. The lack of consistency throughout was the main problem. Performances ranged from nervous and wooden, with a clear lack of confidence to general over the top enthusiasm.

Many of the stronger singers were under used in favour of weaker sometimes barely audible vocalists.  Natasha Larkin a hidden gem of the production only came to light in the second half with her pure vocals on I know him so Well. Jessica Prinzi likewise was weakened by her fellow singers in Don’t rain on my parade but later dazzled with her energetic, powerful rendition of Blow Gabriel, Blow.  Volume was a huge issue again being inconsistent, a problem that was not helped by the appalling sound system. The choreography was basically awkward a lot of the steps felt like a token effort instead of being part of the numbers themselves, something which should have been vital to a showcase of Broadway classics.

This again however was inconsistently mixed with songs in which the choreography was over used, for example in Master of the House the chorus moved around the stage enacting drunkards at a rowdy tavern which was cringing to watch, pulled focus from the main performers and was frankly unnecessary.  This being said however the vocals of all the ensemble pieces were hugely successful and by far the most enjoyable part of the production. They worked well together with a good mix of voices that were distinct and powerful but harmonious. This is where the song choices really let the show down.  Instead of capitalising on their skill in group pieces there was too much emphasis on solo singers. It would have been nice to see some bigger more energetic, fun numbers involving the whole cast. Overall the most frustrating thing about this production was the wasted potential. There were clearly some talented vocalists and the show was not bad by any means, it just failed to come together.

Throughout it felt as though the show was still firmly stuck in the rehearsal stages. It was a shaky first offering from a new society but hopefully with their next production of Rent they can smooth over the edges, realise the talented potential they clearly have and this time blow the audience all the way to Broadway.

Back to Broadway was performed by University of Manchester Musical Theatre Society on 25th and 26th November in UMSU Academy 2.