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Month: October 2018

Photo: Johan Persson

Review: ‘Life is a Dream’

Written by Scarlett Gorman on . Posted in Theatre.

‘Life is a Dream’ was a darkly ethereal exploration of the tenuous link between reality and illusion, presented to us by Rambert, one of the worlds leading independent dance companies.

Although based on the 17th Century play of the same name, Rambert’s version strayed from a heavy central plot; instead focusing on the integral theme of ephemeral and fugitive reality.

Kim Brandstrup’s choreography created a beautiful and constant mood of vastness; with the large ensemble scenes often being the most effective. The style of dance consisted of ballet merged with Frantic Assembly-esque physical theatre, creating many effective images on stage at once.

Although aesthetically mesmerising, it was occasionally detrimental to the understanding of the plot. This was particularly apparent during the many large ensemble scenes. So much was going on at once on stage, that it was difficult to know where to look, resulting in your eyes often being drawn to the same few performers time and time again. Although this could occasionally be frustrating, what was unclear in the plot was heavily made up for in the beauty of the performance. The show was too endearing to dwell on a lack of intensity in the story.

Additionally, the ingenious lighting design by Jean Kalman allowed the audience to see parts of the performance that could otherwise be missed. The use of both a visible lighting rig and an onstage follow spot, used as a prop, created the most incredible shadows on the set. The performances were precisely choreographed with the lighting in mind, as the characters’ shadows gave the audience the ability to see both the integral moments of the piece and the status of the characters in a metaphorical sense.

The theme of the dual reality was present in virtually everything that happens on stage. There were two performers playing the director, one in reality and one in the dream. This was amplified in the second act when the two do a duet, purely mirroring the actions of the other on stage before turning into an intense power struggle. The costumes, designed by Holly Waddington, complimented the show brilliantly. Creating a harmony between the performers and the set, as though the costumes themselves became characters.

Every component of the show results in you coming out of the performance feeling honoured that you had the opportunity to be part of the whimsical world that was Rambert’s ‘Life is a Dream’.

Photo: Jack Burnett

Live Review: WHP presents Annie Mac

Written by Jack Burnett on . Posted in Music.

The Warehouse Project (WHP) is a behemoth of clubbing. Hosting sell-out events from September till New Years in a 2000 capacity venue takes some big names, and 2018 did not disappoint.

Four tet back-to-back with Ben UFO? Dettmann, Daphni, and Daniel Avery all in one night? Bonobo and Gilles Peterson sharing a setlist with Manchester’s iconic Now Wave DJs? It’s all here, but one of its most essential acts returns for her 12th WHP: Annie Mac.

House and Disco were the main stars of her curated night, but grittier tech from Chaos in the CBD and Moxie’s deeper beats provided welcome variation between the three rooms. The night’s three biggest names, however (Honey Dijon, Mall Grab, and Annie herself), all blessed the stage consecutively in the main room.

Honey’s love for classic house resonated as she played Crystal Waters’ ‘Gypsy Woman’, the sound of over a thousand people’s “La da dee la dee da’s” being a uniting highlight. Annie graced the stage herself at 2 o’clock, to an audience packed in shoulder to shoulder right back to the bar, throwing applause in her direction. She dived through house, techno, and disco blending in some hip-hop and industrial sounds whilst behind the decks — it was an eclectic masterclass in good vibes.

Although a packed venue is a testament to popularity, WHP is not without its problems, like all venues. A group being completely separated while skirting the wall to the toilet is a common occurrence at one of their events. The bar also won’t accept cards after midnight and will point you to the convenient cash machines nearby which charge £1.99 for each withdrawal (take out another tenner for two more drinks, or drop another unnecessary two quid later?).

Other provisions like the smoking area (fenced off pavement) and toilets (some 40 portaloos lining a large square) are laughable. There’s also the question of Warehouse Project as a tourist spot, trying to capture Northern industrial grit whilst still charging £25-40 entry. Southern freshers dip their toes into a faux ‘Edgy Manchester’ night that is generally disliked by the small promoters and underground organisers it tries to emulate, in its own corporate kind of way.

Despite the flaws, The Warehouse Project undeniably excels at putting on a huge set of nights. They bring the advertisement, the venue, and the brand whilst the acts bring the energy and the crowds. If you don’t focus on it, its something you won’t even notice. Event management is a back-thought when you’re in a room with 2000 strangers dancing beside you and Annie Mac up on stage.

8/10.

Photo: Alex Stagg

Live Review: Tom Walker

Written by Alex Stagg on . Posted in Music.

Kicking off in style with ‘Fly Away With Me’, Tom sang with style and confidence, hypnotically beckoning each audience member to “fly away” with him into his musical world. The quality of his tone and sense of vocal line was immediately noticeable and had me gripped from the get-go. Bopping in swagger, it made me realise that he was dead serious when stating “I don’t really get nervous anymore!” – his confidence was simply infectious.

With a cheeky smile, Tom and his three-piece band (who I must say were remarkably tight and expressive throughout), transitioned into his hit song ‘Heartland’. The deep bass pounding through the speakers filled each inch of the room, sending vibrations through the floor and body as Tom let his raspy vocals soar, interjected by lighter string motifs and earthy rock n’ roll guitar riffs.

Tom, bubbling with obvious excitement and joy, remarked to the crowd how “fucking good it is to be back up north”, forming a rather sentimental spin to the performance as his visiting friends waved and cheered from the side of the room. This was later met with a heart-warming moment — and highlight of the gig for many — in which Tom called up his Nan on stage, spurring the crowd to belt out a rendition of Happy Birthday to celebrate her 81st. It was visible how much this meant to them both, forging a truly precious and special moment that I’m sure they’ll treasure forever. Happy birthday Nan!

One of my personal highlights of the night was the 26-year-old’s rendition of ‘My Way’, driven by strong drum down-beats and glittering vocals in the catchy chorus, set between bouncing verses with an R&B-style. With the energy palpable in the room, Tom handed the mic over to the gleaming audience, ecstatic with the chance to let their vocals ring as they belted out repeating iterations of the climaxing chorus — I myself even got a bit carried away and left the gig with a slightly croakier voice than expected!

Treating the audience to an energetic and varied set, Tom also teased his upcoming debut album — set to be released on the 1st of March next year — with new Rudimental track ‘Walk Alone’ proving a favourite. Discussing his forthcoming music he spoke of an exciting new single with Zara Larsson, stating, “I can’t wait for people to hear it. It’s something totally different to anything I’ve done before.” With over 150 gigs played last year, his current ongoing European tour, and abundance of upcoming music it certainly is a busy time for the singer-songwriter.

An evening full of fun, laughter, and tear-jerking moments climaxed and concluded with an encore of his worldwide hit single ‘Leave a Light On’, sung along by each and every partying punter as Tom bounced around the stage with a brimming grin. Tom described the feeling of having such a worldwide fan-base for the song as “a bit crazy”, and that it often leaves him feeling “a bit shocked when seeing the sheer amount of people.”

It’s abundantly clear that Tom revels in the opportunity to be on stage and it’s truly a blessing to see first-hand. “People seem to find emotional release in my songs, I can see it in the gigs, from romantic couples to people who have had a bad week at work letting loose and raving,” he tells me. This was noticeable within the crowd as those young and old swayed, sung, and danced with each passing beat.

Tom certainly is a natural-born performer and together with his jaw-dropping vocal personality full of height, depth, and gliding ease made for a gig experience that I will not be forgetting in a hurry. The future is bright for the singer-songwriter and I look forward to seeing, and hearing, what is to come.

8/10

Photo: deadmanjones @ Flickr

From particle physics to techno music

Written by Megan Robinson on . Posted in News, Science & Tech.

For a physicist whose scientific career just “fell into place” over the years, Dr. Rob Appleby has one impressive record. He has been a part of some of the world’s leading experiments and contributed to ground-breaking technology paving the way for discoveries on the sub-atomic level and, most recently, his team at CERN have successfully rotated a beam of protons for the first time using crab cavities.

The new technology vastly improves the frequency of collisions that occur in four separate locations in the 27 km circumference particle accelerator at high energies of around 13 tera electron volts (TeV). To give some idea of how much this quantity is, the energy in the motion of one mosquito flying around is approximately 1 TeV although on a scale 1012 times larger than that of the collisions in the LHC.

More collisions lead to a higher chance of seeing something exciting. For example, the Higgs boson, which was measured at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in 2012. Appleby described the use of crab cavities in rotating the beam of protons to create a “crossing angle” to avoid unwanted collisions as the particles leave the interaction region. He went on to enthusiastically act out with his hands a sausage-like bunch of protons moving from side to side in the collider, the overlap of the bunches corresponding to the number of collisions per second which is called the luminosity. It was clear that the man loves his job.

But for Rob Appleby there is more to life than working on beam dynamics and lattice design for the world’s largest particle accelerator. In between his research and working as a lecturer, he decided to set up the Tactile Collider project. This project aims to make the physics of particle accelerators more accessible to the visually impaired. It tours the country as an event, visiting visually impaired schools and music festivals. The event uses touch and sound to enhance the learning experience, such as using magnets to feel the effects of the magnetic force and to help learn how particles are accelerated to such high energies. Furthermore, the scale model “CASSIE” looks and feels like a real particle accelerator – it even sounds like one.

Dr. Appleby describes how hearing the sounds of a Higgs boson and running around in the style of an accelerated proton is always greatly received by audiences, creating a lot of laughter and energy at the events. At music festivals, “people who are sighted understand the physics – and enjoy it more – by using these methods,” as opposed to conventional classroom teaching methods. In terms of what’s next for the Tactile Collider, he spoke of using drama and acting specifically for the visually impaired as a new teaching method.

Next, I took it upon myself to throw Dr. Appleby a curveball and asked him to comment on the recent gender equality debacle at CERN. What was supposed to be a workshop encouraging women and girls in the science and technology field, disastrously became a host to one professor’s “highly-offensive” and “unacceptable” presentation claiming physics was built by men and that men have been discriminated against in the field for political reasons. It’s safe to say the audience of young, female physics-enthusiasts were not amused. Appleby was keen to assure that the rest of the scientists working at CERN are not like that and this one particular “errant” man had “made a very career-limiting move.”

A final question for Appleby: does more need to be done to get young people interested in science? There’s always room to do better, according to him, although a lot has changed in the last fifteen years or so. “The dream is that everyone can have an interest and a knowledge of it”. From his experience at music festivals, people are always intrigued and eager to ask questions about science. Last year, Appleby was at Bluedot Festival in both scientific and musical capacities, doing his bit for physics outreach as well as fuelling his passion for DJ-ing.

Keen on combining science and music, Appleby has used samples in his techno music from sonified Higgs events. He even talks of coordinating audio to create a 3D soundscape, so that listeners can experience top quarks whizzing around above their heads. Collaborating with a VJ (visual DJ artist) to create a visual show of particle collisions enhances the music, a technique that makes up a unique project called Science in the House. You can catch them again this year at Blue Dot festival and last year’s live set has been uploaded to Appleby’s Soundcloud page.

On a philosophical note, there is certainly importance in combining arts and science which are undoubtedly both fundamental to the world we live in. It seems Dr. Rob Appleby is one of the best examples of what it means to be a physicist: a curious researcher, passionate teacher and creative mind. It will be interesting to see where his various projects lead him in the future and how the advancements at CERN can uncover so many more mysteries of the sub-atomic world.

Live Review: Loski

Written by Daisy Lester on . Posted in Music.

In a bid to broaden my musical scope following Spotify labelling me as having the music taste of a 48-year-old man, I attended the Loski gig at Deaf Institute last night; a night which proved to be a lesson in a genre I didn’t know existed until 2 hours prior. The ‘fish out of water’ experience began with me being pushed by my friend into a mosh pit within a minute of my arrival; a boy next to me pulled me to safety, only to then warn me that I was “going to die.”

I, in fact, did not die and enjoyed the short, but nevertheless, entertaining gig. The relatively small venue, and the crowds inciting of mosh pits during every song, assured the MC’s show was intimate and intense and he sped through his hour set with the ease and confidence of someone who seems like they’ve been doing it for decades, not a mere 2 years.

Loski burst out onto the scene in 2016 as a member of the UK Drill/UK Rap crew, the Harlem Spartans who released a series of successful singles between 2016 and 2017, including the hit ‘Call me Loose’.

At just 16 years old, Loski released ‘Hazards’ which made him a name to watch on the up and coming ‘drill’ scene and the young artist has even pioneered his own genre of ‘afro- drill’. The rawness of this musical niche was evident at the show and within the constraints of his stoically cool demeanor, he managed to appear delighted at the crowd’s enthusiastic reception to songs like ‘Teddy Bruckshot’ and ‘Chop my money’. Sometimes labelled as ‘menacing’, Loski’s latest single ‘Cool Kid’ took the field to the masses with its upbeat pop sound that caught the attention of Drake and Stormzy and the track proved to be a highlight of the show.

It was noticeable that the crowd was young; this added to the air of exuberance throughout the night, and of course, at just age 19 himself, most of the audience not looking above the age of 20 is not too shocking.

Loski’s debut track ‘Hazards’, which is often regarded as the best UK Drill song, was a crowd favourite but his closing track, the most commercially successful ‘Forest Gump’, created the most energised atmosphere of the night and peaked in a final mosh pit. The tune demonstrated that although he continues to stay true to his genre, he is more than capable of moulding it into something more commercially accessible.

At such a young age, Loski has already managed to master a stage presence that kept the crowd hyped throughout and confirming him to be mature beyond his years. Although I was perhaps umbrellaed under the unenthusiastic ‘auntie’ group in relation to ‘Drill’, Loski has converted me, at least partly.

Photo: Swan Song, Kelleigh Greenberg-Jephcott

Review: ‘Swan Song’ by Kelleigh Greenberg-Jephcott

Written by Robert Boddy on . Posted in Books.

Truman Capote’s final work, Answered Prayers, was left unfinished at the time of his death in 1984. Only four chapters were published in Esquire Magazine and received criticism for being salacious, scandalous, and cruel. The chapters were thinly veiled attacks on Capote’s High Society friends after they began to fall out. Swan Song, Kelleigh Greenberg-Jephcott’s debut novel, tells the story of Capote’s decline due to alcoholism, drug addiction, and the fallout from publishing the scandalous chapters. The starlets of the sixties are brilliantly evoked in this expansive story covering decades.

The story is broad, covering some of Capote’s childhood, his early career, his peak of success in the mid-1960s, and his volatile and unstable later years. The novel never feels strained; the story is always at the forefront and is never bloated or bogged down with unnecessary details.

Jephcott’s writing style is evocative of Capote’s, but doesn’t read like an imitation. She writes with a great deal of control, with nothing in the novel seeming scripted or rehearsed. Jephcott is constantly changing how we view Capote; at one point he is the most lecherous cretin imaginable, not worthy of the air he breathes, but a few pages later, he is worth of sympathy and even pity.

The only caveat I could give is that there may be some ‘required reading’ of the culture of the time, or at least a knowledge of Capote’s life and literature, in order to fully appreciate the novel. The book is a must for Capote fans, but is definitely still worth a read for anyone who doesn’t know much about him.

I was surprised reading Swan Song that it was a debut novel. The book is meticulously written and no matter how eventful the narrative gets, it is always believable. It’s clear that a lot of care was taken in Jephcott’s research process and perhaps even more in the crafting of the novel; sentence by sentence, it’s beautiful written. Swan Song is a strong first novel, and I look forward to what Kelleigh Greenberg-Jephcott writes next.

The book was released in hardback in June, with a paperback release due in April 2019.

Photo: Big Society

Hot Right Now: Big Society

Written by Lily Martin on . Posted in Music.

If you’re looking for an edgy newcomer emerging from the depths of the underground indie-rock scene, look no further than Big Society, whose debut single ‘17’ was released this week. A product of the Royal Northern College of Music, these four very talented musicians radiate potential, not just by creating new sounds in an oversaturated market, but for bringing music back to an art form.

‘Marine Club Party’ and ‘Summertime’ are proof that these guys know what they’re doing. Big Society’s desire to release the very best of what they have to offer the scene is symptomatic of those who recognise that first impressions in the industry are essential, and that releasing new tracks is a carefully planned exercise that is not to be taken lightly.

The carefully structured vocals of the new single feel natural, almost euphoric; their sound drags the best of later work by The Beatles into the 21st century in a unsettlingly familiar but totally unique manner, with driven yet subtle guitar riffs and an unmistakable maturity. ’17’ is a sultry and deceptively catchy tune that carries lead singer William’s vocals within carefully mastered harmonies, feeling controlled and yet decidedly provoking. When playing live, the foursome frequently overshadow the headline acts they support with their engaging stage presence and obvious love for the crowd.

Having recently played Manchester’s own Neighbourhood Festival, their new track can be found on Spotify’s ‘The Rock List’ amongst chart-toppers Wolf Alice and Nothing But Thieves. Keep your eyes peeled on their social media for support slots in the next few weeks, and hopefully for a headline tour in the near future. They’re well worth the watch.

Photo: Press Shot

In conversation with Sports Team

Written by Jasmine Bennett on . Posted in Music.

Settling down into a phone interview with Sports Teams’ frontman Alex Rice, he informs me that the band is now – finally – back home in Harlesden, London. The six-piece band have just finished a hectic tour with The Magic Gang before finally heading back to London after Neighbourhood Festival this weekend. On being asked how they found the city, Rice tells me the newly opened venue YES is “really great, I really liked playing there”. Quickly becoming a new favourite in Manchester, it’s really no surprise at all.

I move onto the band’s origins at the University of Cambridge, asking what it was like to form a band whilst juggling student life. The frontman laughs as he recollects the coming together of the group, saying “when I tell you that we couldn’t play, we really couldn’t play. I don’t think we could even play a chord between us”. Bandmate and multi-instrumentalist Ben Mack often spent sets “rapping over the top”, he adds.

Rice recalls that they liked to “make a bit of a show” of their sets – I can almost hear him smile down the phone when he tells me “I don’t know what your friends are like, but with mine it took them a lot to get them down to listen to us”. Picking up on this recurring theme I ask him if friendship is key to their band’s rising success. “We couldn’t really be in any other band. Without sounding trite about it, it really is important to us. We’ve all lived together in Cambridge and we all live together now, but we’re still very separate people with separate music taste and dress sense… I think that gives people a bit more to buy into.”

I switch the interview in the direction of musical influences, asking if they see themselves as a punk band. If you search their name on Spotify, after all, their 90s-referencing track ‘Kutcher’ appears on the Punk List. The frontman laughs. “Do you really think we’re punk? We don’t see ourselves as that at all. We’ve never felt punk… We feel very lyrical and very English in how we write. I think we’re more humorous than angry.” He cites American artists, specifically band Pavement, as major influences of their soundscape.

I move on to ask about the tour they’ve just been on with The Magic Gang. “They are honestly one of our favourite bands”, Rice exclaims, going on to talk about how on the last day of tour, “[Jack Kaye] let me on stage to sing ‘How Can I Compete’ with them. It was just the best time.” He then mentions that the band are venturing on another tour with girl band Hinds in November: “I think we’re very similar bands, we’re both just groups of friends making music.”

As we reach the end of the interview, I ask Rice about the band’s plans for the future. He tells me they’re writing at the moment with a tour in the pipeline for next year. “We’re getting out of London” he explains candidly, “None of us are actually from London and we want to play all over”.  Rice then assures me that a Manchester date is a definite. We can’t wait.

 

Make sure to catch Sports Team on tour with Hinds at Academy 2, November 13th!

Photo: University of Manchester

Everything’s changing: food on campus

Written by Catrin Stewart on . Posted in News.

Over summer we have seen some big changes to the food and drink scene on campus: Pieminister has entered the SU, a food market has opened in University Place, and we welcome the introduction of ‘Veggie Place’, a fully vegetarian shop.

With these changes coinciding with many items being taken off campus café menus (including the £1 filter coffees and jacket potatoes) and prices rising in the SU bar, I found myself asking if students had been forgotten in the mind of the University and the Students’ Union.

Where are we supposed to get affordable food on days we didn’t have time to bring in lunch? Do they really expect me to splash out on an £8 pie every weekday?

But, after meeting Liam Bergin from the University’s catering team, my mind has been somewhat changed.

The reason for setting up one of the first markets based within a University in the UK was essentially to improve what came before. The Uni Place canteen was drab, had no popular feedback and didn’t reflect the culture of Manchester as a city.

In setting up the marketplace, the University of Manchester is reflecting the food revolution happening in our city, as well as supporting and promoting local businesses (all of the vendors are independent Manchester startups) and in turn, reducing food miles that are increased with bigger brand names.

With the upcoming launch of the food centre in Manchester Alliance Business School (including a Pret A Manger and Five Guys) they felt that the University’s central buildings had to do more to compete with such huge brand names.

Whilst it may seem expensive for a student budget on first glance, each vendor is required to have a £5 entry product, meaning you can get a high quality lunch for a low (ish) price from any of the stalls. This also means that a lot of the meals are cheaper at the market than they usually are in the original restaurant or cafe.

It is also useful to note some of the reasons for slightly higher prices on campus. Much of the money goes to the quality of working environment for employees, and with an increased number of students being employed on campus at the new food ventures, this is more relevant than ever for the student population.

The University’s campus food also aims to be as sustainable as possible, working with sandwich companies who are aiming to have fully recyclable packaging, and donating any leftover food to charities to reduce waste.

I still have concerns over the sustainability of popularity for these new ventures. Perhaps the large footfall is only to do with students having more money at the beginning of term after receiving their student loan. Furthermore, for students in university catered accommodation it can be hard to make your own lunches every day, and there is little option for food that is affordable more than once a week, which the new marketplace does not offer.

Other universities around the UK have some ideas that Manchester could take note of, such as Newcastle giving all students half priced food in the library to compensate for the strikes last academic year, or Sheffield Hallam offering all food in the uni café for £1 on the last Wednesday of every month. Whilst many of us would be happy to know about the efforts to reduce waste and improve sustainability, I still believe that the University could do more with their food prices to stay relevant to the student community.

There is still a long way to go in terms of offering students both ends of the spectrum; we now have the option of one-off indulgent lunches, but we still need affordable quick meals.

Photo: Rlevente @ Wikimedia Commons

Brexit from the other side

Written by Isidora Cortes-Monroy on . Posted in Opinion.

Since the referendum in 2016, my Chilean family have asked the same three questions every time we speak on the phone: “How’s Uni going?”, “Are you dressing warmly enough?” and “What are people saying about Brexit?” When talking to other international students, they too have said that Brexit would never fail to come up in conversation. Being an international student in 2018, we find ourselves in the strange position of representing the UK to our loved-ones without actually being British. Like so many, we have no clue what to expect from Brexit, and because of our temporary positions here, we’re not even sure how much longer we may be here to witness it.

The main concern for EU students is what will happen to their tuition fees. EU students are eligible for lower fees than Non-EU students. Many of them benefit from loans given to them by their own governments. If, when the UK leaves the EU, they decide to make everyone pay international fees, there will be many students that will not be able to continue their studies here simply because they cannot afford it. This thought is terrifying to anyone who has just started their studies in the UK, or anyone looking to complete a Master’s degree here. And even if they were to stay on in the UK, they will most likely have to get a visa, which in itself is quite expensive.

Furthermore, if you’re a European student, there is the question of how useful your degree will be back in your own country. The Bologna Process – an agreement signed between European countries that ensures a shared quality of Higher Education – was signed in 1999, when the UK was already part of the EU. This Process not only ensures a good quality of education, but also that signatories’ universities and employers recognise degrees obtained in other signatories’ universities. If leaving the EU means leaving the Bologna Process, our degrees will be reduced to pretty pieces of paper.

The issue of reduced mobility is also a huge factor when making plans for the future. It discourages any EU student looking for a job UK, even if they were determined to work here. It would make it difficult to convince companies to aid them with getting a visa. As someone that holds both a Chilean passport and a Swiss passport (which is part of the EEA), I know from experience how much easier it is to get a job if you have the right passport. Put frankly, any passport which requires a complicated visa process, is unattractive to companies.

If there were to be any advantages to Brexit, it would most likely be for non-EU students. Life as a non-EU student in the UK is plagued by bureaucracy, something which, as was previously mentioned, makes you automatically less attractive to hire and can bar you from a number of places.

If leaving the EU means that everyone who comes from outside the UK is automatically considered ‘international’, then perhaps this will mean that non-EU passport holders will be given more opportunities seeing as they no longer have to compete with the more attractive EU statuses. However, considering the nationalistic rhetoric of Brexit, I am aware that this is being overly optimistic.

Like most people watching the news, all we can do as international students is speculate and prepare as best we can for the possible scenarios. One thing is for sure though: depending solely on the UK is no longer an option. We have to start considering alternative countries on which to build our futures.

Photo: Claudia Neuray

Artefact of the Week: The Principal Hotel

Written by Claudia Neuray on . Posted in Arts.

‘The Principal’. If you have been living for any amount of time in Manchester, you will know what I’m talking about. No? It’s an impressive, Grade II listed, Victorian-Gothic style terracotta building, dominated by a sixty-six-meter-high clock tower. Better? Yeah, it’s pretty hard to miss.

We all know it as a swanky hotel, however, this has not always been the case. The first part of the building was commissioned by the ‘Refuge Assurance Company’, an English life insurance and pensions company founded in 1858. Alfred Waterhouse was put in charge of the design, and the building was constructed between 1891-1895.

Although the name Waterhouse might not ring a bell, he is behind quite a few buildings you might be more familiar with. Not only was he responsible for the creation of the Natural History Museum in London and the Manchester Town Hall, but he also designed our very own University, specifically the buildings around the Old Quadrangle, where Christie’s Bistro, Whitworth Hall, and the Manchester Museum are situated.

His son, Paul Waterhouse, went on to add an extension to his father’s initial plans for the ‘Refuge Assurance Company’ building between 1910-1912. The clock tower, which we all know so well, was added as part of this extension. It is interesting to notice that each quarter hours on the clock is indicated by a stylised Manchester Bee. The architect, Stanley Birkett added a final extension to the building in 1932.

During WWII, the building never fell victim to a direct hit, however, the roofs did suffer some damage from incendiary bombs. As a result, ‘The Refuge’ took the initiative to build two reinforced air raid shelters in the basement.

When the ‘Refuge Assurance Company’ decided to change office locations in 1987, the building was left pretty much abandoned — with the notable exception of a caretaker and the ghost of a war widow who had committed suicide by jumping from the top of one of the staircases. 

Attention was brought back to the building in 1996 when it was converted into the ‘Palace Hotel’ by Richard Newman. In 2016, the hotel underwent an extensive £25 million refurbishment. Today, it is home to the largest ballroom in the North-West. In the main hall, one finds an impressive sculpture of a black horse designed by Sophie Dickens, the great great granddaughter of Charles Dickens.

You can now enjoy a coffee, a meal, or even a few drinks in the wonderful setting of ‘The Refuge’, the hotel’s dining room and bar, or go roaming around the corridors to get a glimpse at the various historical features that have remained despite the passing of time. And who knows, if you go late enough at night, you might see a ghost!

Photo: Google

The ultimate red herring: free speech on campus

Written by Jacklin Kwan on . Posted in Opinion.

There should be a natural law that states: ‘The more you quote abstract ideological principles, the actual substantive contribution you’ve made becomes exponentially suppressed.’ Maybe it’d look something a bit like this:

Photo: @ Jacklin Kwan

I get it. It is intensely gratifying to feel morally outraged, especially when defending grand concepts like ‘Enlightenment values’ or ‘free speech’. Perhaps it is even more gratifying to believe that you’re fighting for the little guy, and that when you’re 90, you’ll be able to look back on today believing that you were on the right side of history.

The reality: both free speech supporters and safe space advocates want very similar outcomes. Ideally, universities should be a civil, intellectual space where a diversity of opinions and identities are respected. Students and faculty would feel safe and welcome to participate in all aspects of campus life, including healthy debate, without the fear of undue harassment.

The principles that drive free speech and campus legislation aren’t too dissimilar. Any advocate of free expression should acknowledge that certain ideas are artificially dominant, not because they are more fundamentally sound, but through systems of historical or systematic exclusion. The best means of ensuring a free exchange of ideas is to balance unobstructed dialogue with inclusivity of marginalised constituencies that face barriers to making their voices heard. Why then, is every attempt to arbitrate this balance seen as “intellectually coddling”, or another example of liberal hypersensitivity.

When both sides want the same thing, the controversy shouldn’t be focused on the end goal. Rather, the discussion should be far more specific to exactly how we set up institutions that allow us a reasonable opportunity to exercise rights to a meaningful education. Quite obviously, absolutists on either side aren’t particular constructive. Truisms or exaggerated myths like “freedom of speech is dying on college campuses” need to be dispelled. They have prevented us from making effective procedures that maximise useful campus discourse.

Much of campus legislation governing free speech is based on sound principles, but lack consistent procedural character. In other words, it’s just too vague. The University of Manchester, as an example, upholds “rights and obligations inherent within the principles of freedom of speech and expression and academic freedom”, but also “a duty to ensure, wherever practical, that such thoughts… do not constitute incitement to riot, insurrection, racial hatred, religious hatred, sexual harassment or other activities (beyond the right of peaceful protest) which are likely to cause a breach of the peace or public disorder.” This lack of concrete guidance leads to reactionary and unreliable enforcement. For guidance on how to reasonably apply their respective codes of practice, many student and administrative groups look to social and legal precedent. This is, at best, unwise in a current socio-political climate that is deeply unstable and polarised.

Speakers are often no-platformed in response to student opposition. Though that opposition is frequently well-justified, it lacks input from much of the student population and faculty, and is prone to large degrees of subjectivity. Attempts of free speech supporters to oppose such decisions are often overly tailored to protect conservative voices. They are often thinly veiled attempts to promote a political agenda rather than being genuine efforts to reform a broken process. Wrapped up in statements like “freedom of expression is under attack”, these attempts fail to reaffirm the principles that drive both safe spaces and free speech.

The politicisation of safe space policies have caused things to be blown out of proportion. Safe spaces are now the political right’s trophy examples of a left gone mad. What is, and should be, a practical issue has now become an ideological feud between sides that do not actually disagree.

 

Photo: Gage Skidmore @ Wikimedia Commons

Review: Bad Times at the El Royale

Written by madeleinepeden on . Posted in Film.

The release of Bad Times at the El Royale has gone somewhat under the radar in comparison to other films in the run up to this awards season. Aside from my awareness of some marketing geared towards the genre of mystery thriller/film noir, I really didn’t know what to expect from Drew Goddard’s latest endeavour in his capacity as writer, producer, and director. With this being the case, I went in with an open mind.

The opening scene is promising. We witness the suspicious, yet satisfyingly meticulous, murder of Felix (Nick Offerman), raising a series of questions that the viewer desperately wants to be answered. At this point, I was still very much on board.

The film continues ten years later at which point we are gradually introduced to the group of strangers as they enter the hotel.  Most of the characters’ entrances and introductions were engaging, mostly evident in the slightly uneasy repartee between Father Flynn (Jeff Bridges), Darlene Sweet (Cynthia Erivo), and Laramie Sullivan (Jon Hamm). The efficacy of the ensemble cast is brought to an abrupt holt however, by the arrival of Dakota Johnson, who decided, halfway through the film, that her character needed an Alabamian accent.

The hotel setting enabled a niche narrative framework by developing the story episodically; each of the occupied hotel rooms were used as markers to develop characters through flashbacks and real-time moments. These episodes raised yet more questions and as they continued, it was becoming clear they weren’t being answered. There was some level of satisfaction, however, when these episodes crossed over and we were able to see the same moment from different character’s perspectives.

The flashbacks within each episode ultimately failed to fulfill the function of exploring character backstories and motivations. An exception to this rule was Darlene Sweet, whose heart rendering renditions of Motown classics also served to punctuate the story and were arguably the only marker of any originality. Her voice is paramount in the execution of the most engaging scene in which Father Flynn is pulling up floorboards to find the money left by his brother, Felix, a decade ago.

On the plus side, I was genuinely excited to see what each hotel room looked like at the beginning of each episode. The film is strong from an aesthetic perspective and relies quite heavily on the pleasing visual stimuli of the 1960s in the décor of the El Royale Hotel. The in-depth detail I could relay about the hotel’s décor is quite indicative of the fact that this thriller didn’t have me on the edge of my seat.

Whilst I was entertained at various points throughout the film, I was not sold. There is ample mystery, but it’s never explained; questions are raised, but never answered. This lack of resolution makes for a dissatisfying end and an ultimately underwhelming story that not even the shameless inclusion of a shirtless Chris Hemsworth could appease.

Rating: 2.5/5

Photo: Adam Baker @ Flickr

What you need to know about 2018’s Nobel Prize winners in science

Written by Byron Gamble on . Posted in Science & Tech, News.

In the past, Nobel Laureates in the sciences have notoriously been dominated by men, but this year two women are among the prize winners. This includes Donna Strickland, the first female Nobel Laureate in Physics since 1963. This year awards revolutionary techniques and findings in cancer treatment, laser physics and genetic manipulation of phages.

James P. Allison and Tasuko Honjo’s contribution to cancer therapy in 2017 has ground-breaking implications, introducing novel methods to treat the disease. Their research investigates proteins that “release the brakes” on the body’s immune system to target cancerous cells.

‘Cancer’ describes a series of diseases where the body’s mechanisms maintaining cell division fail. It only takes one cell out of trillions to slip through these mechanisms and mutate, but once this happens the cell proliferates uncontrollably. It is notoriously uncurable, killing millions each year.

Allison and Honjo’s work is hailed to possess the key to a cure, through a whole new approach to tackle the disease. It has already shown promising outcomes for many patients with advanced cases.

Mutated cells are clever at hiding themselves, including enhancing the suppression mechanisms that normally prevent the immune system from attacking healthy cells. Allison previously discovered one of these “brakes” back in the 1990s, which has more recently been investigated to treat auto-immune disease. Instead, Allison sought to do the opposite. He reversed the action of these checkpoints so that immune cells would target cancerous cells.

In parallel, Honjo discovered a protein on immune cells that also acts as a brake, but through a different mechanism. Together, Allison and Honjo have opened a gateway to surprisingly effective cancer medicines that have exciting prospects for the future.

Meanwhile, American physicist Arthur Ashkin split the Nobel Prize in Physics with Gérard Mourou and Donna Strickland for their innovations in laser physics. What was labelled as science fiction fifty years ago is reality today.

Ashkin’s work can be described as “optical tweezers”, moving and holding particles in the centre of an intense beam of light. Using only the radiation pressure of the laser beam, these “fingers” of light could harmlessly suspend living bacteria in their path. This has already seen a wide array of applications in biology and medicine.

Mourou and Strickland were awarded for their development of chirped pulse amplification, a method of delivering high-intensity and highly precise laser beams. Their method amplified and compressed light into extremely short pulses to “pack” the light closer together, thus giving a more intense beam. It can “drill” holes even into living material, something that can be seen in use daily in laser corrective eye surgeries.

To her own surprise, Donna Strickland is only the third woman to ever win the Nobel Prize in Physics, following only Marie Curie in 1903 and Maria Goeppert Meyer in 1963. “We need to celebrate women physicists because we’re out there,” she said. “Hopefully in time it’ll start to move forward at a faster rate. I’m honoured to be one of those women.” In response, the Royal Swedish Academy admitted the low percentage of female Nobel Physics Laureates, but assured that it is continuing to ensure women are not disregarded in physics.

The Nobel Laureates in Chemistry in 2018 are Frances H. Arnold for “the direct evolution of enzymes” and Sir Gregory Winter and George P. Smith for “the phage display of peptides and antibodies.”

In 1993, Arnold focused on imposing random genetic mutations in the DNA sequences for enzymes. She wanted to find mutations that provided more functional or adaptable forms of the same enzymes. Enzymes are notoriously picky in the conditions they work most efficiently in, so it would be hugely beneficial to find mutated enzymes that work better in different environments and solvents. Her work has been ground-breaking in pharmaceuticals and the bio-fuel industry, providing greener and safer alternatives to chemical reagents previously used.

The Prize was shared with Winter and Smith for their work on phage display. A phage is a small virus that can attack bacterial cells, infecting it and tricking it into producing more of the same virus. Smith realised he could alter the genetic information of the phage so that it would display a different molecule on its outside, which later became critical in research.

Biologists and chemists use this technique regularly to analyse genetic material. Winter applied this method so that phages would display antibodies on their surface, which allowed him to easily screen antibodies for their affinities to different molecules and even cells.

The Nobel Prizes in science have come as a pleasant surprise. When considering certain controversial opinions coming out of a recent gender equality workshop at CERN, having two women among the winners of the Nobel Prize is well-timed and welcome.

Photo: Linnaea Mallette @PublicDomainPictures

Review: Secret Dinosaur Cult at the Manchester Podcast Festival

Written by Lauren Ellis-Stretch on . Posted in Theatre.

For their first ‘cult meeting’ outside of London, comedians Sofie Hagen and Jodie Mitchell prepared a programme that consisted of dinosaur news, therapy talk, filling your ‘daddy hole’ and dinosaur-themed pornographic literature. Perhaps dinosaur comedy is the beginning of a thriving new sub-genre of podcast. Or maybe not.

One of the first comments to the audience was one of thanks for ‘taking a chance’ on this new podcast. Unsurprisingly, most of the audience were drawn to it from Sofie Hagen’s well established podcast ‘Made Of Human’, in which she interviews many of the UK’s leading comics about how they do life.

Her new endeavour, undertaken with comedian Jodie Mitchell, asks the audience to ‘come and listen to how we navigate living life through the medium of dinosaurs.’ It’s an intriguing concept but unfortunately that’s about it. There were the remnants of a structure following the show’s pitch however it all just seemed a little under-prepared and lacked any enthusiasm.

Hagen and Mitchell almost assumed before they’d even begun that the audience were already won over and eagerly awaiting their insightful perceptions of life. I think that was a little too self-indulgent. Anecdotes were unnecessarily drawn out, at best quite funny, at worst recycled from previous routines. 

There is no doubt that they are funny comedians. However, to expect an audience to sit (for over an hour) listening to what was essentially just a random, generic conversation about life, is a little disappointing.

From Hagen, a highly acclaimed comic, winning the Best Newcomer Award at the Edinburgh Festival in 2015, and already established in the podcast world with ‘Made Of Human’, I expected more. I hope to see the podcast evolve into something hilariously niche and profound but it’s currently far from that.

Photo:Georges Biard @wikimedia commons

Review: Mandy

Written by alfieclark on . Posted in Film.

Brutal, strange, and featuring Nicolas Cage at his insane, over-the-top best, Mandy is an instant cult-classic.

Mandy is a film that I’ve been curious about since its first bizarre trailer was released; I’m happy to say that having now watched it, the months of anticipation were certainly worth it. Directed by Panos Cosmatos, Mandy tells the story of Red Miller, played by Nicolas Cage, and his girlfriend, the titular Mandy, played by Andrea Riseborough, living in peace in a cabin by a lake. Their life is interrupted by, as Miller puts it, ‘crazy evil’, leading him on a violent revenge mission against a cult of ‘Jesus freaks’ and a demonic biker gang. It is a hard plot to describe, and I wouldn’t want to give too much away, but trust me when I say this — it is a sight to behold.

What makes Mandy unique amongst other action, horror revenge films is its style. Mandy has a distinct, dark yet beautiful look, with the use of red and purple lighting creating an otherworldly feel that perfectly suits the events taking place on screen. This is aided by its soundtrack, composed by the late Johann Johannsson, a true prodigy who was nominated for academy awards for his work on The Theory of Everything and Sicario.  The film is remarkable in how it manages to feel highly original, yet wears its homages on its sleeve to great effect, making the film a treat for horror buffs like me. The lake the characters live by is named Crystal Lake, a homage to beloved slasher franchise Friday the 13th, and there are numerous references to superhero comics and other horror franchises throughout, particularly to the Evil Dead trilogy, which, incidentally, I recently watched for the first time.

The film is paced perfectly. A two-hour film, the first half takes the time to ensure the protagonists are as likeable as possible, whilst the antagonists are as detestable as possible. This is to the effect that when Cage finally wields his axe and crossbow to start kicking ass it’s as satisfying as it could possibly be. When the revenge killings do begin, they are brutal and exhilarating, with the fight sequences being some of the highlights of the films; particularly one involving two opponents with chainsaws facing off. As well as perfecting the action elements of the film, Cosmatos also perfects the horror, with the demonic biker gang having a memorably disturbing look comparable to that of the Cenobites in Clive Barker’s Hellraiser.

Now, let’s talk about Nicolas Cage. He is now largely known for his roles in terrible films such as The Wicker Man and Left Behind, but people forget that the man is capable of giving a great, if slightly over-the-top, performance, as is the case here. Cage is convincing in the role of a normal man consumed by vengeance, and whilst we route for him throughout, he becomes just as terrifying as any slasher villain in the second half. Additionally, Andrea Riseborough does a terrific job with what she’s given. Though her role may be somewhat cliché given the nature of the film, she is cool and affable in the role.

Mandy is a film that not everyone will enjoy. It is bizarre, gruesome, and slow at times, but it achieves what it sets out to do perfectly. I would recommend it to horror movie fans and anyone who wants to see something unique from anything they have seen before.

 

Rating: 5/5

Review: First Man

Written by Adrian Kanyoli on . Posted in Film.

This review contains spoilers for anyone who doesn’t know a man walked on the Moon in the 1960s.

First Man tells the story of how NASA’s Apollo 11 mission put astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins on the Moon’s surface. Directed by Oscar winner Damien Chazelle, the biopic ends the same way as his award-winning films Whiplash and La La Land did — the principal characters tangibly looking at each other in an emotionally charged sequence. In this case, it’s a touching scene between Armstrong and his first wife Janet, which is appropriate because despite the Cold War tensions, the landmark cultural events, and the scientific advancements this time period deals with, First Man is about the families of the space program and how they cope with the deadly tasks at hand.

The La La Land director rejoins with Ryan Gosling who plays Armstrong, with vigour, and anguish thinly disguised beneath a stoic veneer. Leading lady Claire Foy is charismatic and assertive, bringing more to the role than simply the pacing wife waiting to find out if she’s a widow. She shines in the emotional scene when Janet forces a reluctant Neil to prepare their sons for the possibility that he might die in space. Talented veteran actors Corey Stoll, Pablo Schreiber, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, and Ciarán Hinds round out the cast; unfortunately, they aren’t given a lot to do, much to the film’s detriment. Although Chazelle didn’t work on Josh Singer’s minimalist and naturalistic script, First Man’s principal characters share the type of ambition and indefatigable drive that Chazelle is known for.

Visually, First Man looks to be shot in reaction to La La Land, with its muted colour palette, unorthodox close-ups (for example, catching Gosling’s eyelash), and long sequences with the characters in shadows. It doesn’t follow the biopic formula, there’s no winking to the audience and there isn’t an overabundance of pop culture references. The name “Armstrong” is thrown around a lot — not said with the same prestige as it is today, in keeping with the facts of the time period. Chazelle also proves he’s a leader and not a follower by detracting from the style and creative choices of the most recent crop of biopics, which themselves detracted from the hagiographies of the classic era.

The result is not as cinematic and visually pleasing as other space travel flicks like Armageddon or Gravity. For example, Chazelle doesn’t have as much fun with zero-gravity as Alfonso Cuarón does but he can’t resist paying homage to Stanley Kubrick by playing with lights reflecting off Armstrong’s visor. While Chazelle’s past productions used arthouse techniques to heighten the mundane, First Man is almost stubborn in its commitment to remain jarringly realistic. This is done to effectively emphasise the mortality of the astronauts, usually accomplished with the use of horror movie shaky cam and its discordant score, and is enough to make your heart pump ice chips.

While frequent collaborator Justin Hurwitz returns as composer, First Man has none of the jazz influences seen in Chazelle’s earlier films and instead we’re treated to a pounding musical score with elements of progressive rock. Thematically appropriate moonlit sequences litter the film during poignant family interactions. Expert set design and cinematography make the moon’s surface look deceptively gorgeous — the way only nature can look — and crisp sound mixing makes each shuttle launch a stomach-churning ordeal; every shudder of the rocket rumbling like an earthquake.

Overall, First Man is a technical marvel, the kind that film buffs will have a lot to say about, but its divergence from the industry standard for biopics might lead to a lot of empty cinema seats.

Rating: 3/5

Tory Brexit. Photo: Tiocfaidh ár lá 1916 @ Flickr

‘Jam Jar’ republics and EU conspiracies: colonial hangovers in Brexit

Written by George Walker on . Posted in Opinion.

You’d be forgiven for mindlessly glazing over any and all news coverage of the moral sinkhole that is the Brexit process. However, it is imperative to read deeply into the conducting of this matter in which the Conservative party seem resigned to the most damning of historical verdicts.

As cliché a thought as this is, Brexit is a truly fundamental and defining moment for the political and economic legacy of Britain. Its importance is immovable, yet the Conservatives seem hell bent on sending this country down the gutter of divisive populism and economic recklessness. 

I point to the actions from the recent Conservative conference of Jeremy Hunt and Jacob Rees-Mogg — two men who exemplify the gross failure of the Conservative party to put this country and its people first. The Foreign Secretary’s comments pandered to rightist conspiratorial thought, comparing the European Union to that of the murderous despotism of the Soviet Union, whereas Hunt claimed the Union was similar to Soviet Union prisons in not allowing member states to leave. 

The same upsetting ignorance was also evident in the comments of Jacob Rees-Mogg this week, a kind of macabre caricature of Edwardian political nobility. At the Conservative party conference Rees-Mogg referred to the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya — what Libya was called under Gaddafi — as “the people’s republic of jam jar or something.” The symbolism of this rhetoric points to an obviously repugnant arrogance towards the wider world in general. In the context of Brexit his arrogance will result in a duality of national economic recklessness and cultural ignorance.

The nationalism in the discussion around Brexit is part and parcel of a culturally and economically ignorant Conservative party. This is especially significant given the ideological ties some Brexiteers have been making across the Atlantic. I refer to Rees-Mogg and Johnson’s collusion with the infamous Steve Bannon over a campaign for the success of ‘conservative’ political causes in Europe.

As Editor of the far-right publication Breitbart, Bannon has long whipped up hyperbole against the most vulnerable members of society. This is an outlet that has produced morally odious headlines, talking about “rapist” migrants in Sweden and the “islamification” of British towns and cities. Remember this is a man who Rees-Mogg has on record referred to as his “friend.” In the context of Rees-Mogg’s lazy comments about Libya, and his pursuit of an agenda of economic nationalism in the negotiations with Europe, it is easy to see the spectre of hard right politics infiltrating the Brexit proceedings.

There is evidently ample subject material and evidence to interpret the Conservative approach as one of antiquated and farcical British supremacy, with the above examples only coming from the last week. I have not even mentioned the government’s support for Hungarian neo-fascist Viktor Orban’s government or the failure to crack down on the Conservative London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey’s comments on the “cesspool” caused by migrants. 

Whilst the potential is always there for Theresa May to come down hard on backbenchers like Rees-Mogg and Johnson, and their economic lies and populism, she never does. This is because an imperialistic fantasy of grandiose British sovereignty, in comparison to Europe and the rest of the world, continues to lazily inform the Conservatives on Brexit. They need to sober up to the potential economic and social crises that this path of action could lead us down. 

#MeToo needs to include the male victims of sexual assault

Written by beckymcnutt on . Posted in Opinion.

It is no secret that the subject of consent and sexual assault is a hot topic in today’s society. Recent allegations of sexual misconduct made against numerous powerful men have motivated a sense of deep injustice and prompted something of an alliance within society. People from various backgrounds have come together to fight for the right to our own bodies, and the bodies of those already so wrongfully abused.

Online responses such as the #MeToo movement and, more recently, #WhyIDidntReport, have shown a deep, and emotional response which has gained traction in the media. Victims have found strength in others to come forward and share their own experiences of sexual assault and rape. The current call for an FBI investigation into the allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is a good indicator of the significance of such movements.

We’ve made leaps and bounds in our attitudes as a society, with things moving rapidly in the right direction. The only problem is, can it truly be said that this newfound awareness stretches to all?

The Crime Survey for England and Wales has shown that around 510,000 women aged 16 to 59 experienced sexual assault in 2017 alone. It is common knowledge that women are more often victims of sexual assault than men, however, this does not mean that men are not also victims. In 2017, 138,000 men aged 16-59 experienced sexual assault. Only 1 out of 6 male victims filed reports with the police.

While our current society has made great progress in encouraging women to come forward, sexual assault against men is still often marginalised and ignored. The recent pressure for better consent education within schools and universities, while much needed, usually caters only for sexual violence against women, by men. This exacerbates the lack of awareness which feeds the climate of toxic masculinity and often keeps male victims from coming forward.

This issue is especially topical at the university, as campuses and big cities such as Manchester both have much higher recorded rates of crime and sexual misconduct than other areas. A study by The Complete University Guide recorded 48.6 reported incidents of violence and sexual offences per 1000 students in Manchester last year. And while sexual offences against women may perhaps be more obvious, incidences of sexual violence against men are not always seen as such, swept over by years of socialisation into our male and female roles, where men are not victims.

The #WhyIDidntReport movement is perhaps most poignant for male victims, who face the fear of ridicule and the appearance of weakness. This is compounded by the threat of backlash from those who might see reports as an attempt to take attention away from women’s struggles. Schools and universities should be teaching students the equal injustice of sexual misconduct against anyone, regardless of gender, and paving the way for a safer space for both men and women to report.

Photo: @Pixabay

Review: Take Back: Our Girls at The Hope Mill Theatre

Written by Libby Williamson on . Posted in Theatre.

The power of ‘Take Back: Our Girls’ at the Hope Mill Theatre was striking. Organised by the revolutionary Take Back Theatre, the night was described as “an evening of short, urgent script-in-hand pieces written by young women aged 25 and younger.” There was an eclectic 18-piece lineup, characterised by the ‘urgency’ the company strived for, and the diversity of the cast and content. From the start, we were made to feel welcome; people spoke to their neighbours, and the predominantly female cast lined the thrust stage, scripts in hand, giving us a sense of what was to come.

After a brief, warm introduction from the inimitable Julie Hesmondhalgh, the performance began. The show sped on at great pace, with each piece starting immediately after the one before, barely giving us a moment to breathe. This was undoubtedly a positive, as many of the pieces were intended to leave us breathless – whether from emotion or laughter. The perks of script-in-hand work include the avant-garde nature of the acting, and a sense of connection with the audience. We felt not like the recipients of a polished piece, but a part of their foundations, witnesses to the development of these promising writers and performers.

The first piece, ‘The Girls’ Side’, sweetly laid out how ‘boys and girls are equal’ with clarity and a wistful naivety. When it was revealed that the author, Sofia Melovic, was only ‘9 and three-quarters’, there was a warm response. Her optimism and youth framed the evening; even the darkest content never strayed into defeatism. Topics ranged from endometriosis to motherhood, periods to FGM, eating disorders to life as a queer woman. The actors performed their various roles with enthusiasm and zeal.

While it’s impossible to examine each piece, the standouts included Chloe McLaughlin’s ‘Mash’, the story of a teenage mother whose limited options were stolen from her. Performed by McLaughlin herself, the piece was painfully poignant. I greatly enjoyed Rosa Hesmondhalgh’s ‘A Period Drama’, with its multi-role narrative exploring the serious issue of misdiagnosed endometriosis in a way which was both funny and thought-provoking. Zoe Alker’s ‘Number 75’ began as dizzyingly romantic and devolved into an honest, probing exploration of queer female love in public spaces. Other standouts included Zeyana Yussuf’s ‘Najma’, and Connie Hartley’s hilarious ‘Falling to the Communists’- Hartley’s description of a tampon as a euphemistic ‘beaver dam’ produced one of the biggest laughs of the night.

The music of The Amirite Ladies also made an appearance, and included a moment which was rather emblematic of the evening. This was when one of the girl’s guitar strings snapped, there were a few laughs, an eye-roll of two… and they got on with it. Their song ‘All The Girls’ made a reprise at the end, and was catchy and empowering.

You couldn’t help but leave ‘Take Back: Our Girls’ with a smile on your face. The night had the phenomenal effect of making feminism fun, and never preachy. Take Back Theatre managed to discuss the distance women’s rights have to come, while emphasising the limitless nature of female potential and achievement.