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Month: October 2019

coffee heart photo: Ungry Young Man @flickr

I hate tin openers: an ode to left-handed people

Written by lucycluttonbrock on . Posted in Lifestyle.

The world was designed for right-handed people and us left-handed people can never eat tinned food because of it.

I am joking. But being a leftie in a right-oriented world can be stressful.

So, tin openers: They. Do. Not. Work.

Unless you twist your hands around so they are crossed-over in some sort of contortion act, tins just won’t open using regular tin openers. And don’t get me started on scissors. Why two bits of metal will refuse to cut paper when you move them a few inches to the left is beyond me, but this cruel reality has resulted in us left-handers being singled out with obnoxious green and yellow scissors that scream HELLO FELLOW PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN, PLEASE MAKE FUN OF ME.

Primary school is a stressful time for a left-hander. Always sat on the end of the table so you don’t elbow your fellow right-handed classmates when writing. Constantly feeling used in sports to “confuse the other team” by hitting the ball using the other hand. The judgement in history lessons when your Year Two teacher tells you about how in medieval times left-handed people would be punished by having their knuckles crushed. *Cue sea of kids turning around to stare at you.* My mum would buy me swarms of “left-handed ink pens” and “left-handed pencil sharpeners” – there’s a whole shop of left-handed stuff – right down to books that taught you how to write without smudging the ink.

But the struggles do not end there. You hit secondary school, and spiral notebooks become the bane of your existence. The spirals just sit in the way of your writing hand, making it impossible to write. You want me to write on this whiteboard for you? Sure, don’t mind me smudging it all over the place. And worse still, when I go for a nap I will inevitably wake up with this blue pen that is now smudged on my hand all over my face as well. And god forbid you eat with your knife and fork the wrong way around. Why this is socially unacceptable baffles me, but get ready to be called out for bad table manners if you make this mistake.

And you know that cute little heart the barista puts in your coffee foam? Definitely looks like a ball sack when the cup is held in your left hand.

Don’t underestimate the left-handed struggle.

Online Shopping Photo: ReaxionLab @pixabay

Klarna: too good to be true for students?

Written by Kate Jackson on . Posted in Lifestyle.

Klarna, alongside other ‘buy now, pay later’ services, has popped up all over the place this year on all your favourite clothing and merchandise websites. They are advertised as a no-strings-attached service that give you longer to pay for your items – no interest, no credit checks, no hassle. With Klarna you can order all the clothes you want and won’t need to pay a thing for thirty days, or with their ‘pay in three’ option, you can pay a third of the cost upfront, with the rest coming out of your account as direct debit.

Sounds like a dream for students, right?

I know I spend far too long trawling through ASOS trying to find the perfect item to complete an outfit, knowing I only have enough money to purchase one thing. Due to the massive inconsistencies with women’s clothing, finding the right item then leads to the inevitable question: what size should I get?

Klarna is perfect in those situations, giving you a ‘try before you buy option’. You can get as many items as you wish, in as many sizes, returning all the items you don’t need before a penny leaves your bank account. There’s no waiting around for refunds to reach your depleted bank account – you only pay for what you actually keep.

I’ll admit that it is pretty easy to get sucked into services like Klarna – it is simple to set up, gives me flexibility with my orders, and helps me with last-minute purchases. On both the thirty-day payment option and the ‘pay in three’ there is only a soft credit check meaning that even if you are declined for the service it won’t negatively affect your credit score.

The service is so simple and convenient that it’s easy to forget that you are taking on debt.

If you are a frequent shopper, like myself, it will be easy to start losing track with all the payments you need to make. Thirty days comes around a lot quicker than you think it does. While they do send out email notifications, the money does not automatically leave your account with the thirty-day ‘buy now pay later’ option, so you need to remember to go on to your Klarna account and pay it off. Though, admittedly, remembering to pay isn’t a problem with their ‘pay in three’ option as the money leaves your account as a direct debit.

So, what happens if you do forget to pay or you don’t have the money?

While it may not be as soon as your thirty days are up, eventually, your debt will be transferred to a debt collection agency, which is just as scary as it sounds. If you choose the ‘pay in three’ option, and you cannot make the payments after multiple attempts, you will be issued with a statement to pay off the full balance, which is payable 15 days later. And, failing to pay up, using either the thirty-day or the ‘pay in three’, may result in your credit score going down, which is already hard enough to increase as a student. Klarna do say that these potential repercussions are the last resort, and they will make every effort to help you pay off your debt.

It’s no secret that students struggle with money and often have little understanding of credit scores, interest rates, and debt. Klarna may have an allure for students because of its simplicity, but it will also pray on the money worries of students. Giving students an option to delay paying for the things that they are buying and, with no money being paid upfront, may push them to order more things then they actually want, need or can afford. If no money is coming out of your account, why not order more stuff? I know it’s a thought I’ve had, and it’s a dangerous one.

Klarna is a service that does have its merits, but it’s so easy to get sucked in that it may become a danger for students who already have cash-flow problems or who lack the knowledge of how to manage credit repayments. Which, let’s face it, is most of us.

Amandla Stenberg photo: Gage Skidmore @flickr

Black History Month: Feminist and activist Amandla Stenberg

Written by Sam Bronheim on . Posted in Lifestyle.

Amandla Stenberg has been a familiar name in the media for a while now. Her role as Rue in The Hunger Games shot her to stardom but, more recently, it’s her forward-thinking views that have made her an icon.

At only 20 years old, Stenberg has been able to balance acting and activism. She has recently starred in The Hate U Give and Where Hands Touch (both 2018), which both address racial issues. The latter explores the struggles of a young bi-racial girl living under the totalitarian Nazi-Germany regime and highlights important historical aspects of racism that are still relevant today. The Hate U Give follows the repercussions of a shooting on the already strained balance between a poor, black neighbourhood and a richer, white one. Getting involved with projects that are centred around racial problems allows her to be a crucial voice for them – especially when it comes to enlightening young people.

However, Stenberg’s attention to these matters is not restricted to Hollywood. In 2015 she released a YouTube video titled ‘Don’t Cash Crop On My Cornrows’, a powerful statement confronting the controversy of black cultural appropriation, targeting white pop stars in particular. She closes the video with a now iconic quote: “What would America be like if we loved black people as much as we love black culture?”

That same year she was named Feminist Celebrity of 2015 by the Ms. Foundation and the Most Influential Teen by Time magazine – all by the age of 16! What Stenberg does above all else through her activism is make young girls feel comfortable with who they are, and being outspoken and vocal on issues regarding equality in culture, gender and sexuality is essential to this. Amandla Stenberg believes both gender and sexuality are fluid and is very open about her own journey navigating both of these. She told Vogue in 2017 that she doesn’t “think of [herself] as statically a girl” and often questions whether gender exists at all.

It’s obvious that Amandla Stenberg is a force to be reckoned with. Currently she is studying filmmaking at New York University and has hopes of creating films that are more representative of women of colour.

One thing is for sure, Stenberg will keep on fighting for equality. If you aren’t talking about her already, it’s time to.

sustainable fashion

Realistic steps you can take to make more sustainable fashion choices

Written by Bec Oakes on . Posted in Fashion & Beauty.

As a country, the UK is addicted to shopping. According to The Guardian, we buy more clothes per person than any other country in Europe, and five times what we used to buy in the 1980s. A possible explanation for this is the rise in fast fashion companies offering cheap, on-trend clothing made fast. We’re tempted on a daily basis by their latest collections and are drawn in by £1 bikinis, £5 pairs of jeans, and £10 pairs of shoes, all available with next day shipping.

But fashion this cheap comes at an environmental and social cost. The textile industry creates more CO2 emissions than aviation and shipping combined. It takes 7,500 litres of water to manufacture just one pair of jeans; equal to the amount one person drinks over the course of seven years. Research also shows that it costs an absolute minimum of $20 (although some estimate this cost to be up to $100) to make a pair of jeans without the risk of exploiting and endangering workers. So, that £5 pair of jeans? Certainly not socially sustainable. And, in just over 30 years, the fashion industry could be responsible for a quarter of the Earth’s entire carbon budget. So, we must act now to minimise our impact.

A talk on sustainable fashion, hosted by Dr. Claudia E Henninger and Dr. Marta Blazquez Cano from the University of Manchester’s Department of Materials, discussed how the fashion industry is taking steps towards becoming more sustainable. As a starting point, major high street retailers are offering a wider range of sustainable products, recognising where they’ve gone wrong and taking steps to change that.

New brands are also constantly emerging with sustainable practices at the heart of their businesses. An example of this is Antiform, who practices upcycling, reusing materials without degrading their quality and composition for their next use. Elsewhere, award-winning Zurich-based brand, Freitag, recycles through design, prolonging the life of materials by changing their state. And, brands such as Versalette use innovative design to create clothing that can be worn multiple ways, increasing the number of wears by consumers.

However, it’s not just the fashion industry that needs to be minimising their environmental impact. We as consumers need to do our bit too. Here’s how to effortlessly make more sustainable fashion choices…

Support brands doing their bit to become more sustainable. There’s a common misconception that sustainable fashion is more expensive, however, that simply isn’t true. A number of major high street retailers offer sustainable products and initiatives. Earlier this year, Primark released their first ever sustainable denim collection, using 100 percent sustainable cotton. H&M offers an initiative whereby customers can recycle old clothing for store credit. And, Zara are planning for their clothing to be made from 100 percent sustainable fabrics by 2025.

Buy in-store instead of online. If you can check the quality and fit of garments before you buy them, you’re less likely to buy stuff you don’t need. This also reduces unnnecessary plastic packaging (particularly if you shop with a reusable tote bag), as well as the environmental impact of shipping. Also, it has been found that, in some cases, it’s more expensive and complex to return clothing to a company’s warehouse system, so returned items often end up in landfills. This is particularly prevalent in fast fashion companies where they release new collections so frequently that, by the time you return an item to them, it is no longer desirable and they don’t see the point in re-categorising it and putting it back up for sale.

Avoid buying new clothing. Try thrifting at charity and vintage shops. In Manchester, we’re lucky to have a great second-hand shopping scene. While it’s not always guaranteed you’ll find what you want, the unknown can be part of the fun. You can also join forces with your community by arranging clothes swaps with friends or use clothes renting services, such as Rent the Runway, to keep your wardrobe fresh, while reducing your environmental impact.

Lastly, commit to wearing clothes for longer. If you buy a sustainable product but never wear it, are you really being sustainable? An IGTV clip by The Guardian reports that fast fashion items in the UK have an average lifespan of just five weeks. If we double that, we could cut emissions by 44%. Buy high-quality clothing that’s been made to last and try mending your clothes instead of binning them as soon as you notice a small issue. Most clothing problems, such as missing buttons or loose stitching, are easily mendable. Call a local seamstress or, better yet, learn how to sew and breathe new life into your clothing.

With environmental, economic and social sustainability sometimes working against each other, it can be argued that there is no such thing as sustainable fashion. However, we can and should all try to make a positive impact wherever we can.

Photo: Press shot

Review: Trojan Horse

Written by Claudia Langley-Mills on . Posted in Theatre.

In 2014, a news story reporting that students in Birmingham schools were being indoctrinated into following strict Islamic principles was broken. This became known as the Trojan Horse scandal. 

It all started with an anonymous letter delivered to Birmingham City Council which caused panic. More than 20 schools were being investigated, but five schools in particular were severely marked down in Ofsted inspections – going from ‘outstanding’ to ‘inadequate’ in a mere matter of months. 

Soon, those involved within the schools were being accused of ‘radicalisation’ and ‘extremism,’ by some media outlets. These five schools were in close proximity to one another, in an area of Birmingham where the majority of residents are of the Muslim faith. The original letter was debunked, but the story has remained subject to great public interest and curiosity.

Trojan Horse is a response to this scandal, which arguably contributed to the polarisation of Britain’s relationship with the Muslim community, by LUNG. It was was labelled as a “must-see show” by FringeReview during its run at the festival in 2018. 

The show’s dynamic is very tight; the actors had every step down to a tee, and the routines provided a lot of energy and room for interpretation of the play. I also appreciated their creative use of props which also served as symbolic elements; an old-fashioned aesthetic coincided with archaic views that were enforced within the Trojan Horse reports. There were Victorian-style desks, for instance, which the cast moved around on wheels and used for quick-fire costume changes. The use of effective theatrical devices is a key part of LUNG’s recognisable style of professional theatre-making. 

There were five actors who all portrayed their characters convincingly, whilst flexibly taking on other roles. Keshini Misha stood out particularly with an energetic and emotive performance as Elaine, alongside Gurkiran Kaur as Farah. Qasim Mahmood did a fantastic job making his debut stage as Tahir – with his speeches, which were projected like spoken-word poetry, a notable highlight.

The script is not verbatim, but there are certainly many accounts which have informed the dialogue between characters, causing their words to be totally believable and down-to-earth. There were many touching moments throughout the piece which aided the audience in understanding the ordeals faced by the individuals in reality. A moment in the play, for instance, saw a student who began to question her identity: “Trojan Horse had me feeling detached and questioning my faith. I couldn’t help but ask myself, am I being radicalised?” – compelling audience members to sympathise deeply, using a moment of pause to let this concept sink in.

At the time, people being questioned and put under scrutiny for their faith were treated as though being British is a status you have to earn. As one of the characters states: “I was born in Alum Rock, I’ve lived in Birmingham my whole life. What about me is not British?”. Despite the difficulties raised, the show was still lifted with humour in places – Michael Gove being described as Margaret Thatcher’s Horcrux is a favourite of mine. Perhaps he is the real Trojan Horse in this story…

Certain moments were paralleled with other news stories. A character recalled a past teacher naming a girl in a headscarf “a penguin,” which rings all too true with Boris Johnson and his disgraceful letterbox slur last year. Montages of live recorded news reports from politicians were embedded into music which was a really effective way of highlighting the intensity of their words.

Trojan Horse encourages us to think twice about what the media tells us, and to be aware not to believe in everything we hear or read. As one character put it: “If people stand in the rain long enough, they’re gonna get wet”.

I stand by the plethora of positive reviews out there for this show. It is a thought-provoking must-see. 

Trojan Horse tours around the UK until November.

LUNG will be taking Trojan Horse to Parliament in January 2020, with the hope of finally passing an official definition for ‘Islamophobia’.

man bookerq

Opinion: Man Booker continues to fail black women

Written by Alice Porter on . Posted in Books.

Bernardine Evaristo and Margaret Atwood have been named joint winners of the 2019 Man Booker Prize, in spite of the rule that outlaws tied winners. Evaristo won for Girl, Woman, Other and Atwood for The Testaments. Judges insisted they “couldn’t separate” the two works but this statement is as vague and confusing as their decision is.

As the BBC commented, ‘Atwood, 79, is the oldest ever Booker winner, while Evaristo is the first black woman to win.’ But surely the latter landmark is the more important one. Although age discrimination exists, racism is the far more pressing issue within society, as exemplified by previous Booker winners.

What’s more, the fact that Atwood is slightly older than some previous recipients of the prize is surely far less significant than the fact that the Booker is finally acknowledging black women. (For context, only 4 of the around 300 shortlisted writers for the Man Booker Prize have ever been black women!)

Therefore, the pairing of these two descriptions together, not just by the BBC but by many other publications too, seems to be removing the significance of Evaristo’s achievement. And this begs the question, what is the significance of the first black female winner of the Man Booker Prize having to share it with a white woman?

It seems unlikely that the judges really could not reach a clear consensus on which novel is more deserving. But perhaps they felt compelled to ensure The Testaments was included as a consolation prize of sorts, as The Handmaid’s Tale was not awarded the prize when it was first published, even though its literary and political impact means it really should have been.

Personally, of the two winning novels, I have only read The Testaments and the quality of the novel is what has led me to the conclusion that the novel has been given winner status on behalf of The Handmaid’s Tale.

But I still don’t believe that Atwood deserved the prize as an apology, especially considering that she won in 2000 for The Blind Assassin. If any apology was due, surely it should be to black women, for neglecting their work for so long. But the split prize awarded to Evaristo is barely an apology of that sort, but an insult; a way of saying, we’re finally acknowledging you and your work, but only just.

It is especially infuriating that most of the coverage on the prize focuses on Atwood, with numerous quotes from her and descriptions of her previous encounters with the Man Booker, whilst Evaristo is simply mentioned as ‘the first black woman to win the prize’, with barely any exploration of Girl, Woman, Other or any of her other work.

As Atwood herself commented, as reported by the BBC, ‘I kind of don’t need the attention’- and it’s true, she doesn’t. The Testaments has already received huge amounts of attention and press with Waterstones shops all over the UK holding midnight events to honour it and The Sunday Times Style featuring Atwood as their cover star on the weekend of the novel’s release.

So why did the Booker feel compelled to include Atwood in the prize? Surely it would have been more worthwhile to focus the attention on Evaristo, who has not received as much praise and attention, despite being the author of eight works of fiction. One conclusion is that the Booker judges had a case of FOMO, as if not including The Testaments, when it has undoubtedly been the book of the year, would go down in history as a mistake.

No one can deny the impact and the importance of Atwood’s work and perhaps those behind the Man Booker Prize feel guilty about having done so in 1985. But so many black women have had their voices neglected at the hands of the Man Booker Prize, through its ignorance of them for so many years, and if guilt influenced this year’s judges decision in any way, it should have been for this.

This was the Booker’s chance to champion a black woman in a way they never had before, and it’s a shame that they weren’t brave enough to do so.

Review: Igor and Moreno’s Beat

Written by Camila Florencia Rusailh on . Posted in Theatre.

Igor and Moreno’s one-night performance of Beat at The Lowry was a hypnotic, solo dance performance that fused electronic music with contemporary dance to create an hour of almost total abstraction that stripped back dance and music to its bare bones – in this case, the beat and repetitive movement.

Due to the abstract nature of the performance, trying to summarise the premise of Beat in a sentence feels like a disservice to the act. What the audience was invited to experience was the solo dancer, Margherita Elliot, reinventing (what I interpreted to be) a concise set of abstracted elements of everyday life through movement and motif in conversation with the ebbs and flows of DJ Martha’s electronic music and Seth Rook Williams’ lighting design. 

The performance commenced at 6:30pm, with the window walls of the Compass Room providing a panoramic view of Salford’s crimson sunset as a backdrop for the performance. As the beat began to overtake prior melody, the lighting shifted from white, softly coloured pastel beams to sequences in which the theatre was flooded with saturated reds, blues and greens.

Whether it was a deliberate decision to perform early to capture this outdoor transition or not, the sky melting to black coinciding with Williams’ lighting design taking a rave-like twist made the theatre feel disconnected from the outside world. The performance seemed to not only be a conversation between the dancer and DJ, but, equally, with the performance space it inhabited.

Photo: Margherita Elliot by Alicia Clarke.

Elliot’s performance was a mesmerising hybrid of concise precision, roughened hysteria and charismatic punch. During the only break in the beat throughout the entire performance, Elliot drank water, paced to the edge of the platform stage looking down to the front row during a pause, before spitting it out to form a pool by our feet. These flickering moments of awareness and interaction with spectators allowed her to play with us throughout the performance by mocking and teasing us with furtive grins and middle fingers. And yet, she also directly appealed for our help as she swam, cried, and howled to the pulsating beat driving her consistent movement.

In this constantly reimagined tug-of-war of experiences, Elliot and DJ Martha’s moments of pulsating industrial techno induced a trance-like state. This lured us into a liminal state between spectators and participants, witnessing somebody work out why, where and for who she is dancing for. As a result, Elliot delivered expertly executed choreography and enabled me to consider what the piece was attempting to do by reassessing the differences and intersections between audience and performer. 

Overall, I enjoyed how Beat took elements of EDM culture to explore identity within a contemporary dance performance. I am also aware, however, that the lack of narrative structure in the performance may pose a hurdle too frustrating to overcome for those watching who want clarity. I personally felt that the ambiguity was a refreshing opportunity for thought and reflection as to what was occurring, regardless of the accuracy of my interpretation. An hour-long, diverse sensory experience in which the mediums of dance, lighting and sound were treated as total equals is a rare experience onstage, and one which I am glad I had a seat to.

Pussy Riot photo: Pussy Riot by Denis Bochkarev @wikimediacommons

Let’s celebrate our feminist icons

Written by elizarobey on . Posted in Lifestyle.

Whilst it may not be International Women’s Day anytime soon, celebrating the ideas, legacies, and successes of revolutionary women should never need an excuse. Whether you identify as a feminist or not; knowing the impact of women, both past and present, can remind us of the power of speaking out against the norm.

PUSSY RIOT

Pussy Riot should be deemed a global treasure, in my opinion. The all-female Russian band communicate prominent and relevant messages in contemporary societies across the world, with their brash punk vocals and iconic lines such as: “don’t play stupid don’t play dumb vagina’s where you’re really from” taken from the quintessential ‘Straight Outta Vagina’ (feat. Desi Mo and Leikeli 47). With masks on their faces, they also subvert subservience to the prominent male gaze of the music industry. Their music and message is being valued, rather than their market worth being image-based.

CHAVELA VARGAS

Unlike her supposed former lover and popular feminist icon, Frida Kahlo, Chavela Vargas has not been given the same feminist limelight that she, arguably, deserves. Vargas defied 1950s gender conventions in Mexican society through her androgynous style and, as one of the first female ranchera singers, a genre of traditional Mexican music, she refused to change the female pronouns in her songs to conform to hetero-normative standards. It is also supposed that, despite living in conservative conditions leading her to publicly come out at the age of 81, she openly had many female lovers throughout her life and disregarded conventional and gendered behavior standards.

JOAN W. SCOTT

Academics are rarely deemed feminist icons but Joan W. Scott has written foundational works in changing the way we understand history through gender. A striking force within scholarly discourse, her 1986 article in American Historical Review is one of the most ‘important and influential’ according to American History Review. Her legacy is shown in the constantly evolving re-writings of fabricated histories.

CAITLIN MORAN

Sunday Times columnist and author of a number of books, Caitlin Moran offers alternative and radical ways of understanding gender, sex and culture in relation to many social upbringings. It was only when I first read ‘How to Be a Woman’ as a teenager – being both repulsed and comforted by her candid words on pubic hair, menstruation, and masturbation – that I discovered that I wasn’t the only one questioning the status-quo. Her writings have also brought working-class experiences to the forefront of media representation and discussion.

THE RECEIPTS PODCAST

The three hosts of ‘The Receipts Podcast’ are hilariously open, warm and honest, offering advice based on everything from their life experiences to the queries of UK listeners surrounding relationships, friendships, sex, and culture. Listening to Ghana, Tolly and Sanchez’s uncensored discussions about typically taboo subjects is both refreshing and reassuring.

If you are interested in anything feminism-related, join the Feminist Collective society on Monday evenings. Some of the women referenced in this article were inspired by the thoughts of members of the Feminist Collective.

Facebook: @uomfeministcollective

 

Action Against Hunger: A Culinary-Charity Collaboration to Remember

Written by Elena Meritxell Bradley on . Posted in Food & Drink.

This piece is for all you boujee foodies out there, a rundown of a luxury tasting menu created by Manchester’s best chefs for charity ‘Action Against Hunger’. If you recoil at the thought of tiny intricate food portions for lots of money – look away.

On Tuesday the 1st October, Action Against Hunger came to Manchester to raise money for it’s plight against reducing global malnourishment. During the months of September and October, some of Manchester’s finest food establishments supported the charity by adding a discretionary £1 to every bill, which, considering the likes of Hawksmoor, TAST Catala, Fazenda, and many others, raises a hefty sum alone.

The pinnacle of the charity’s collaboration with Manchester’s hospitality scene came on October 1st with it’s Auction Against Hunger evening. Hosted by TAST Catala, Action for Hunger brought together the six Manchester Food and Drink Award Nominees for Best Chef to create a bespoke menu. The six course menu was available to a select number of paying guests (£90 a head) with drink pairings from J. J. Whitley and Boutinot wines. Luckily for me, working in TAST’s front of house team presented me with the opportunity to give The Mancunion’s Food Section an exclusive insight into this bespoke evening.

Photo: Elena Bradley

The menu began with Sam Buckley’s provision of snacks: Brassicas (cruciferous veg) from Stockport’s Where the Light Gets in farm. Following this, Restaurant MCR’s Aiden Byrne created the first course: Ribblesdale goat’s cheese flan, Mangalica ham and onions and sourdough bread with roasted onion butter. It’s good to note here that Aiden Byrne was the youngest chef to ever receive a Michelin star at the age of 22… Impressive.

Photo: Elena Bradley

The fish course was presented by Umezushi’s Omar Rodriguez Marrero, a steamed marinated cod in a Dashi broth. I can tell you, the smell that this course created in the kitchen was like no other – the sweet, cleansing yet umami smell of the Japanese-seasoned broth with the perfectly flaking white fish was an emotional experience.

Photo: Elena Bradley

Following Umezushi’s offering came TAST’s own Miquel Villacrosa with his Autumn rice dish. This rice, flavoured with an assortment of wild mushrooms, chestnut and truffle was plated spectacularly. The visual simplicity of the rice was accompanied by a plated garnish of chestnut and truffle puree, fried cep mushrooms, fresh figs, green empress leaves, mushroom caviar and spherified goat’s cheese.

Photo: Elena Bradley

With the meat course, Mana’s Noma-trained Simon Martin plated a Udale salt aged duck. The duck was hung over burning charcoal with bread sauce, which again looked and smelled absolutely incredible. A salt aged duck is something I need in my life.

The final offering was Adam Reid’s ‘Easy Peeler’ dessert, a blown sugar easy-peeler of sea buckthorn sorbet and white chocolate.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BxMl7ZvHMBT/

This event was not only a beautiful showcase of Manchester’s culinary finest but also an amazing opportunity to take advantage of paying foodies for a tremendous cause. It was a one off to have so many different kitchen teams work in one kitchen, and a pleasure to witness! If you want to look at more ways that Action Against Hunger are helping fight the global issue, head to their website.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Review: The Goldfinch

Written by Jasmine Bennett on . Posted in Film.

Some books, no matter how desperately you want them to, don’t make good films. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, adapted to screen by director John Crawley, is a prime example. The film begins with shots of Ansel Elgort staring miserably out of windows from various, fading angles — a theme which carries throughout. The entire 2 hours and 30 minutes of cinema is not an experience I would willingly relive. 

Shortly after being introduced to Ansel’s misery, we skip back to main character Theodore Decker’s past, beginning to unravel the backstory. But then we go forward again, and so the film begins its jumbled and incoherent narrative. If I wasn’t a fan of the book, I’d have had absolutely no clue what was going on.

Despite the film’s gorgeous cinematography — we are treated to panning suburban shots of Las Vegas desert, vivid frames of New York and an absolutely stunning colour palette — the film has little impact at all. It feels like a rolling selection of random clips with little to no continuity between them. Each individual scene is well-acted, but when strung together, the film becomes weak.

The consequence of this structure is a piece of cinema that bores the viewer endlessly, skipping between narratives that don’t allow a bond with any of the characters at all. We see glimpses of love and romance in Theodore’s relationship with characters Boris (played excellently by Finn Wolfhard in early years, where the watcher gets to watch him swagger about), Philippa, and Kitsey. Similarly, we hear and see the tragedy of Theo’s past and a subsequent addiction, but feel no sympathy. I found myself uninvested in the entire cast, despite the abuse suffered by Theo and Boris, despite Kitsey cheating on Theo with the boy he held indirectly responsible for his mother’s death and despite his unrequited love for Pippa. In fact, somehow, the film managed to make me uncaring even about the death of Theodore’s mother itself, finally played out right at the end, by which point I was so tired of the entire affair that I nearly dozed off on multiple occasions. 

The Goldfinch is faithful to the book it is adapted from, but one of the complaints about The Goldfinch novel was its 784 page length, and that doesn’t bode well for the film adaptation. The film is beautifully written, indulgent in the dialogue taken from the novel, but this doesn’t make up for the lack of pace and the slow, trudging plot. At points it feels like you are watching nothing happen despite being sat in front of moving, talking people. In the film’s entirety, I’m not entirely sure what I could tell you I spent watching.

What faulted the novel, causing great divides about its deserving of the 2014 Pulitzer, is the exact same problem in film. The Goldfinch is just as long, just as drawn out, and reaps none of the rewards of the glorious descriptions and imagery Tartt provided. Instead, the film rambles and skips – unable to deal with the issue of ageing and growth that is so key to the novel. The Goldfinch is as beautiful as the Fabritius masterpiece from which it takes its name, but the overall impact is akin to a child’s finger painting. 

2/5

norbert1@flicker

The League of Gentlemen: Welcome to Royston Vasey

Written by Sam James on . Posted in Film.

As a through and through Derbyshire lad (note my semi-colloquial use of the word “lad”), there is no better starting point than the The League of Gentlemen. This conceptually unique late ’90s BBC series combines the two rival genres of comedy and horror to, believe it or not, great effect.

Looked at in the terms of comic styles; it complements nuanced character studies with an overpowering element of caricature and the absurd. This may seem fairly old hat, given it can be seen throughout Monty Python and beyond, however it also fuses sitcom with sketch comedy which is far more unique.

The League’s three television series, three live shows and feature film are all set in the fictional northern town of Royston Vasey. Nestled in and cut off by the bleak Derbyshire moorland. The show’s main developing linear narrative concerns the insular town becoming invaded by those who are “not local”.

Whether it be teenagers on walking holidays, the construction of a new road or the moving of the county borders, the citizens of the town battle to ensure that everything stays the same, almost to the point of backwards. “We don’t like change. We don’t even give change!,” demonic shopkeepers Tubbs and Edward holler in series 1.

As a concept, I find their output very exciting. We all know of a ‘strange’ rural town, cut off by geography and seemingly suspicious of outsiders, filled with strange inhabitants and weird normalities. So far, so sitcom.

Photo: Herbaltablet via Wikimedia Commons

The conventions of sketch comedy are most apparent in the form of the show. Scenes are short, have a core joke and are just as unrelated as they are related. The other sketch convention is that all the characters are played by three of the show’s writers – Mark Gatiss (familiar as the co-writer and aristocratic older brother in BBC’s Sherlock), Steve Pemberton (familiar to early viewers of ITV’s Benidorm) and Reece Shearsmith (familiar to anyone with any class).

The show has aged remarkably well. It has not diminished in comic merit unlike other cult series. Both Monty Python’s Flying Circus and the Young Ones still have their moments, but are ultimately harder to watch than they once were.

Nor has the show fallen down the crevice along with the likes of Little Britain to be widely recognised as at best slightly distasteful or, at worst, downright offensive. The dark humour lands as well as it ever did. Underpinned by subtle parody of classic horror films which re-enforces that, no matter what dark twists the narrative takes, it is ultimately all in good humour and rarely (if ever) strays into the territory of bad taste.

This quirky, well observed and unique gem occupies a very special area of comedy. When it isn’t laugh out loud funny, it is interesting. When a character is not going through a cartoonish set piece it sparkles with humanity. If it crosses the lines of convention and decency it is for a viable creative reason.

All three television series are currently available on BBC iPlayer; I thoroughly recommend them. If you are looking for work by four of the best comic writers around, look no further. Form, wordplay and sheer number of jokes per page are all top notch. Character performance and directing are also second to none.

So, go on! Give it a go! Make it completely impossible for you to request a bottle of orange juice, greet your friend David or watch a piece of ‘issue based’ theatre without allowing a wry smile to cross your lips.

Review: Werewolf

Written by carlfitzgerald on . Posted in Film.

Adrian Panek’s Werewolf is a grim affair. It follows the experience of a group of children evacuated from a concentration camp during the Holocaust to a run-down mansion in the forest, which is soon surrounded by a pack of wolfhounds.

Over time, as the dogs wait, the children are faced with the inevitable shortage of food and resources, attempting to keep the youngest amongst them safe, and the question of whether or not to attempt leaving and braving the hounds to get help.

What really drives the film is a growing sense of internal division among the kids, and they certainly aren’t presented as innocents in the traditional way. One of the earliest scenes at the house shows them gleefully stomping on and killing a rat which has made its way onto the grounds.

We see this more through fights between them over short food rations and, most horrifically, when one of the young boys smiles and closes a door on the female leader of the group as she’s being sexually assaulted.

This is all placed immediately in contrast with the actions of Nazi officers in the camp before the evacuation, shooting prisoners, building mass graves and, fittingly enough, setting wild dogs on them. The thesis is clear. The film exists to explore the question of whether or not humanity survives under the most dehumanising of circumstances.

Ultimately, this makes the Werewolf metaphor implied by the title somewhat fitting. The werewolf story explores a binary state between human and beast. In Werewolf, what we see is areas of a grey spectrum between the two, and the children trying to find their way within that spectrum.

The dogs at the door only serve to further enhance their struggle, as some members of the group attempt to find rational, yet dangerous, solutions while other, mostly younger, members are left trying to suck moisture from the walls for hydration. It’s an interesting if, certainly, painful experience.

But the film isn’t just all bleakness, a lot of it is watching these kids rediscover a sense of innocence that has been stolen from them. A particularly powerful moment comes when they approach one of the dogs, which they’ve kept barricaded in a room for several days and has become malnourished.

At first, it appears they plan to kill the animal themselves. However, when they see the desperate state the animal is in, they instead decide to give it water in what serves as probably the film’s most powerful scene, one in which we see how some things can’t be taken away so easily.

Werewolf is a powerful, if at times difficult, watch. The direction is direct, straightforward and poignant whilst all young performers are on top form. Its more visceral scenes and overall sense of surrounding doom won’t be for everyone, but those willing to look for the heart amongst the horror might just find something truly special.

3/5

The world’s funniest photography competition

Written by Anja Samy on . Posted in Arts.

The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards has just announced the 40 Finalists for 2019 – and they’re everything you could hope for!

Founded by photographers and passionate conservationists, Paul Joynson-Hicks and Tom Sullam, the global competition is a refreshing take on the often grandiose and serious world of wildlife photography.

Joynson-Hicks said: “Every year we do this competition, it gets more and more exciting seeing how people visualise the funny sides of wildlife in the wild.  And each year we see a wider variety of species doing funny things, whether it’s a very naughty penguin (which had my kids rolling around the floor in hysterics) or dancing lions, a chillin’ chimp or even bee-eaters having a shouting match – they’re hysterical!”

The founders credit their inspiration for the awards to two main factors: “Firstly, a need for a photography competition that was light hearted, upbeat, possibly unpretentious and mainly about wildlife doing funny things. […] Secondly, and way more importantly, this competition is about conservation.”

“Family disagreement”. Photo: The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2019, Vlado Pirsa, Croatia

In association with its main partner, The Born Free Foundation, the competition uses this showcase of nature at its most weird and wonderful to engage the public with the message that we must act in order to preserve our planet.

The competition’s website includes a number of easily accessible ways to get involved in ‘conservation at home’. 

  1. SHOP RESPONSIBLY.

“This is super easy for everyone to do. For example; don’t buy products which have palm oil, because the palm oil plantations are destroying rainforests. Try and avoid un-recyclable products and one-use plastics/packaging.”

  1. RESTRICT WATER USE AT HOME.

“Each time you flush the loo we send approx. 20 litres of water down the drain – seriously, it’s crazy. So..have shorter showers, water your garden less and stop flushing the loo every single time.  This would save billions of litres of fresh water that could support our environment as well as supply homes and food for a global plethora of wildlife.”

  1. BECOME A “WILD INFLUENCER.”

“For example, encourage your friends and family about some of the simple things we have mentioned above, talk about it in social media, in the pub, at work. Does your work place subscribe to some good environmental practices? Find really awesome conservation organisations and engage with them on email, or social media. Email or write to your local government representative, maybe an MP, a House of Rep, a councillor and find out what they are doing to help the wildlife around the world. Hold your elected representatives accountable. You have a voice, we all do, use it and don’t be afraid.”

“Who would like a peanut?” Photo: The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2019, Corey Seeman, United States.

This year’s entries will be judged by a panel that includes wildlife TV presenter and writer Kate Humble and comedian Hugh Dennis with the winners announced on 13th November.

The competitions includes a People’s Choice Award, sponsored by Affinity Photo: for more details on how to vote and to see the rest of the incredible photos, go to The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards website. 

“He’s right behind me, isn’t he?” Photo: The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2019, Anthony N Petrovich, United States.
Photo: Daniel Case @ Wikimedia

Review: The Laundromat

Written by jamesmccafferty on . Posted in Film.

The 91st Academy Awards, held in February this year, marked a significant achievement for Netflix. Despite previously achieving success for their documentary output, Alfonso Cuarón’s Best Director win for Roma was the first time that the company had been recognised in one of the “Big Five” categories. Seeking to expand on that success, The Laundromat is the first in a series of films that are receiving limited cinematic releases in order to ensure eligibility for awards. Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman and Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story, among others, will follow later in the year.

Based around the Panama Papers scandal, the film is narrated by Jürgen Mossack and Ramón Fonseca, played by Gary Oldman and Antonio Banderas. The pair’s eponymous firm was at the centre of a global tax avoidance scheme and implicated in an array of illegal activities from fraud to corruption before being exposed in 2016. In between this account, the audience is shown overlapping vignettes about the people involved in and affected by Mossack Fonseca’s exploits. Meryl Streep portrays Ellen Martin, an elderly woman at the centre of one of these stories, who sets out to discover the truth about the company.

By juxtaposing the perpetrators with the victims, the film is able to avoid glorifying the figures it depicts in a way that similar films, notably The Wolf of Wall Street, struggled with. Oldman and Banderas’ narration is effective at revealing the self-absorbed nature of their characters, while at the same time providing an insight into the various machinations that allowed them to profit from others’ misfortune for so long. In the complex way that they weave the story together, the film is able to mirror the convoluted conspiracy that it depicts.

Steven Soderbergh served as producer, director, cinematographer, and editor on The Laundromat and his impact is apparent throughout the film. From the characteristic close-ups to the smart transitions, there is a feeling of deliberate composition. In the hands of a lesser filmmaker, the narrative could easily have become tangled by the way it moves between various characters and events. It’s a credit to Soderbergh that it does not.

Undoubtedly the most impressive part of the film, though, is the central performance by Meryl Streep. She embodies the role of a woman struggling to understand the forces that are operating around her but still recognising that there is an injustice being perpetrated. If Oscar recognition is the aim with this film then the twenty-one time nominee was a clever piece of casting. In addition to the three aforementioned stars, there is a strong supporting cast including Sharon Stone and David Schwimmer. Perhaps the only misstep is the casting of Oldman, who never seems to be entirely at ease in his portrayal of the German-born Mossack.

Certainly there are sections of the film that are more effective and entertaining than others but overall The Laundromat is a stylish, funny and well-acted film that carefully balances the need to be entertaining with a desire to treat its subject matter with the proper importance.

4/5

Review: Joker

Written by Georgina Davidson on . Posted in Film.

The words “critically acclaimed” and “commercially successful” are rarely used quite so earnestly in the same sentence to describe a cinematic event in recent times. Both phrases suggest an absolute conviction about the power and physical quality of a film. This did little, however, to phase the critics of Vienna Film Festival who readily gave this featured film a standing ovation as well as the coveted Golden Lion award. It is almost undoubted then that this hot release is of course Todd Philip’s Joker; a film that appears to delight, dazzle and disturb audiences across the UK and around the world.

This latest incarnation of the classic comic book villain proposes a deeper look into the life leading up to “the Joker” transformation in a 1980s Gotham City, ravaged by decline and depravity in every corner and apparent aspect of life. The story of a good and authority-led society is put into flux and question as the deceit and decay in Gotham’s most rich and affluent communities is put on display like never seen before. The society that promises to protect the vulnerable becomes weakened as the divides between the rich and the poor become increasingly more visible and small destructive changes begin to seep into the lives of the ordinary citizen.

The film immediately jumps into the life of titular anti-hero, Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) whose performance as a Clown appears to stir him into a severe mental decline with a worrying and erratic agency for chaos among his despair. He is, of course not quite the ordinary citizen in many ways but there is something wholly empathetic about the way Fleck is portrayed throughout the first half hour of the film. From the systematically applied make up to his desperate attempts to stop his hauntingly manic laughter and crying. It was hard to not feel instinctively sympathetic and yet utterly terrified of his transformation in equal measures.

Joaquin Phoenix offers a darkly intimate and frightening performance in this role that depicts the fine lines between a spiralling sense of misery and psychotic loss of control. Every muscle in Phoenix’s body appears to contort with laughter and pain as he strikes through life, darting between reality and his many envisioned fantasies in his bid to survive in the drab and mostly disappointing experience of the world around him. The resulting portrayal is only heightened when Phoenix and Robert De Niro’s grotesquely cruel character, Murray Franklin, come into contact. The tension is almost unbearable as the steady decline and rise of an apparent “clown” nation is dramatically portrayed over and over until the sudden reality takes your breath away.

The Dolby Atmos sound system had me pinned to my seat as the dramatic string orchestration filled the Dolby Cinema as the arch of sound depicted the powerful assent into an unmistakably villainous Joker. The colour palette of the film is drowned in muted copper reds, navy blue, and mustard yellow shot through with dim but very specifically isolated pockets of light. This only served to create an even deeper sense of foreboding and anticipation towards the film’s semi-climatic conclusion.

To some, Philip’s approach as a filmmaker lacks the subtlety which might be found in films of a similar category in upcoming awards events and across the DC movie span of films. However, it is clear that the film has taken brave and necessary steps to delve into social phenomena and underlying fears which can be taken and understood as easily in our modern times, particularly on a social level. There are clear and evocative nods to the origins in the comics and plenty to explore in the vivid characterisations and visual textures that are displayed. Without a doubt, I believe this is an absolute must see and a personal favourite film of the year.

3.5/5.

 

Joker is showing at the Dolby Cinema at ODEON Trafford Centre, as well as in cinemas across the UK.

Journeys Festival International Manchester Launch Event

Written by Patience Kanjira on . Posted in Theatre.

On Friday the 4th of October, I had the pleasure of attending the Journeys Festival International Manchester launch event at the International Anthony Burgess Centre.

As we waited for the performances to begin, we were warmly invited to share a range of refreshments and to engage in conversations with the various other people also in attendance.

The first performance was by a member of their Roots project, in which various young people came together to create poems and stories about their experiences of living in the UK as refugees.

The first performer was Mandla Rae, whose powerful story focused on her experience as a child immigrant from Zimbabwe, and how that affected and informed the way that she processed other experiences. For example, the moment the immigration detention officers came to her home to detain her grandmother and the corresponding pain of feeling like you don’t have an identity. The diaspora leaves many with dual identities and yet not feeling completely comfortable in wholly embracing either. The beautiful and slow paced way in which she dictated her poem left a warm silence in the room that spoke volumes, and allowed us as the audience to not only learn but to support and be present in Mandla’s stories.

The second poet was a lovely Iranian man who’s name I am unable to find on their artists list, but his impact was definitely memorable. He entertained the audience with his comedic charm by describing a trip to the museum in which the artefacts spoke back to him. However, there were profound moments that left us pause and ponder. Such as: why is it that many western countries idolise artefacts from third-world countries and keep them well-maintained, but fail to show the same regard for the many people who flee conflict from the same countries? Or, why are artefacts being studied for clues of the current conditions of countries, when their people’s cries are being ignored?

It was these questions that left me puzzled, trying to find an answer and wanting to do better. This launch event was a very powerful night of unity, to allow those with silenced voices to be heard.

You can find more about the Journeys Festival International, and what events they are hosting, on their website.

Review: Curtains

Written by Jay Darcy on . Posted in Theatre.

Curtains is a cross between two of my favourite genres – a musical and a whodunnit – and it comes from the creators of two of my favourite musicals, Cabaret and Chicago.

On opening night of Robbin’ Hood of the Old West, the supremely untalented leading lady, Jessica Cranshaw (Nia Jermin), is murdered. Before the cast and crew have the chance to leave the theatre, lieutenant Frank Cioffi (Jason Manford) arrives to investigate the murder. There’s only one problem – Cioffi seems to be more interested in starring in musical theatre than he is in saving the case!

The show opened with the show-within-the-show, in which the audience got to see just how terrible an actor Jessica is. Jessica then exited the stage, and the action was turned around, with the set now facing the back of the stage. This was a great way to stage the scene.

Jessica complained about being distracted by the man in the front row who kept waving at her, only to be told by the stage manager that he was the conductor! She then went back onstage for the curtain call and was given a bouquet by an audience member, but when she headed offstage again, she collapsed. Duh-duh-duh!

Whilst most of the show’s musical numbers were forgettable, there were some pretty awesome scenes. ‘Show People’ was a typical 20th century Broadway number; it felt nostalgic and familiar. ‘Thataway!’ was a great song to close Act 1, and the repetitive form of ‘He Did It’ was very entertaining. I also liked the Seven Brides for Seven Brothers-feel given to Robbin’ Hood of the Old West, though it was much more lively, raunchy and raucous than Seven Brides!

‘What Kind of Man?’, in which the production team wondered what kind of person would want to be a theatre-critic, was brilliant and had me wanting to slide into my seat and pretend I wasn’t there to review…

The show addressed the audience, and even the critics, several times, with the show’s producer, Carmen (Rebecca Lock) telling Cioffi that his comment on critics was very nice, to which Cioffi replied: “You never know who might be in the audience,” and the pair of them staring into the audience to great laughter.

The musical was undeniably funny, with each and every character given comic lines and delivering them perfectly. Samuel Holmes received the most laughs as director, Christopher Belling, an outrageously posh British caricature. He was witty to the point of sardonic. A hilarious moment came when Cioffi was discussing the murder and called out his name, to which he responded “I did it!”, but then apologised and told everyone he just has a habit of taking credit for everything!

The musical made lots of jokes about murder and death, which I felt a little bad laughing at, and seeing a man hanging from a noose could be a little unsettling for some audience-members, though this is a musical that does not intend to be PC at all.

The cast of Curtains. Photo: Richard Davenport.

Whilst Jason Manford was the show’s lead, and did an undeniably superb job for someone not trained in theatre (like the rest of the cast), the standout performance came from Lock as Carmen. She was glamorous and mysterious, and you didn’t know whether to trust her or not. Lock’s singing, acting and movement were all flawless.

Presenter and Strictly winner Ore Oduba made a brilliant stage debut as Aaron Fox. Given he’s a triple threat, though, I would have loved to have seen some dancing from him. Andy Coxon will be playing the role of Aaron at certain venues; having seen him in West Side Story, I can assure you you won’t be disappointed that you’ve missed out on seeing Oduba. They’re both amazing!

Carley Stenson (Hollyoaks) was excellent as Aaron’s romantic and professional partner, Georgia Hendricks. Stenson is married to Danny Mac, who I’ve seen onstage twice (Sunset Boulevard and Amélie) and reviewed once. They’re a massively talented pair, and I’d love to see them onstage together (please, make it happen!). But Stenson and Oduba (who, funnily enough, beat Mac in Strictly a few years back) oozed chemistry and passion.

The musical had many twists and turns. I, personally, would have preferred a little less focus on the recreating of Robin’ Hood in hopes it gets better reviews, and a more focus on the murder mystery side, which I think fell a little flat. I would have liked characters to be made more suspicious and given more motives to murder Cranshaw, à la an Agatha Christie novel.

Curtains is an entertaining musical that doesn’t require you to think too much, and, sometimes, that’s just what you want.

Curtains runs at the Palace Theatre, Manchester until 12th September and then continues its UK tour into 2020.

How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical – Press Showcase

Written by Evie Appleson on . Posted in Theatre.

The musical press showcase for Dr Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas deserves a lot of credit for creating the most Christmas-like atmosphere in a corporate conference room in September. This musical will be the Lowry’s big show over the Christmas season.

Despite being one of the more unusual events I have attended, it filled me with excitement about the prospect of this nostalgic, heart-warming musical coming to Manchester in December.

The event was held at Chill Factore. Its snowy slopes served as an apt back-drop to discuss a Christmas musical. We were welcomed with a free hot chocolate, complete with green marshmallows. This further cemented the cosy, wintery atmosphere.

We were then led to a room decked out with candy canes and Christmas crackers. Here, we heard interviews with cast-members and the head of theatre operations at the Lowry, Steve Cowton.

Griff Rhys Jones (Old Max, the dog who narrates the show) stated he’s “never had more fun” in a production. He highlighted the pleasure he receives in knowing he can be a special part of many families’ Christmas.

Edward Baker-Duly entered the stage in full Grinch costume for an impromptu rendition of ‘One of a kind’. With further rehearsal, this promises to be a very entertaining solo.

This was followed by a song with Duly and the four young actresses, Isla Gie, Eve Corbishley, Sophie Woods, and Bebe Massey, who will share the role of Cindy Lou over the course of the production. It’s safe to say that this beautiful song is a sign of the adorably innocent nature of the show.

We were assured that magnificent sets and costumes inspired by Dr Seuss’ original illustrations will transport audiences to the world of Whoville. Moreover, a lot of the dialogue is lifted verbatim from the novel, which I’m sure will create lots of nostalgia for those of us who grew up with The Grinch as a much-loved bed-time story (and film).

Everything about this event (including the amazing Grinch-shaped cake, pictured below) assured me that How The Grinch Stole Christmas will be an excellent musical.

Photo: The Mancunion.

Its box-office record-breaking run on Broadway, combined with the talent and passion of its new 2019 cast, points to a heart-warming show of high calibre. The promise of nostalgia, as well as the fact that cheap tickets are available as part of the Lowry’s Under 26 Scheme, means this musical is also a great choice for students. As Cowton pointed out in his interview, a show this whimsical and joyful is exactly what we need to cheer us up this Christmas.

Dr Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical runs at the Lyric Theatre at the Lowry from 10th December until 5th January.

Review: Hedda Tesman

Written by Alexia Pieretti on . Posted in Theatre.

Hedda Tesman is a reimagining of Henrik Ibsen’s iconic nineteenth-century play, Hedda Gabler. The original play is often used as a key example of naturalism and is known for its complicated female lead.

Penned by Cordelia Lynn, this adaptation places the action in the present-day, reimagines Hedda and George as far older, and, instead, casts Thea as their daughter and Loevborg as George’s former student, Elijah.

In all the advertising I saw, Hedda Tesman was championed as a radical new version of the show. From much of what I heard, I was under the impression that this was a version that asks: “What would happen if Hedda didn’t shoot herself at the end?” (It’s not a spoiler; it’s an iconic scene in the original play).

I was greatly disappointed as, ultimately, this was the same plot as the original play but with modernised language. Making Hedda older and Thea her daughter may seem like big changes but they did little to alter the narrative. The only difference was a short scene after the usual ending. This scene took place between Thea (Natalie Simpson) and Bertha (Rebecca Oldfield), once more, added nothing.

Despite all of this, the acting was fantastic. Haydn Gwynne (nominated for a BAFTA TV Award and four Olivier Awards) played the titular role, and Hedda seemed the part she was born to play. She perfectly displayed Hedda’s brilliant sarcasm and her disdain for everything. And it was, of course, a delight to finally hear Hedda Gabler swear!

Similarly, Oldfield as Bertha, the cleaner, brought a light-hearted touch to the otherwise solemn play. She punctuated tense moments with her casual, comic conversation.

The thrust stage configuration was particularly effective because we, as the audience, could see what the characters could not. On the news when Elijah shot himself, Hedda was in the foreground with her back to the other characters; while they all panicked, we watched her smile.

One particularly poignant moment was when George declared his love for Hedda. Throughout the play, there was little intimacy between them, and at this moment, they made every effort not to face each other and stood a great distance apart. This scene, showing a crumbling marriage, was perfectly directed.

What I liked most in the play was the sliver of light that shone on the eyes of a painting of Hedda’s father. He was a constant presence in her life, even posthumously, watching all the action onstage and controlling it.

I believe this could have been a good production if it was advertised as what it is: a modern adaptation of Hedda Gabler, which would have blown away the thespians who came to see the show.

Hedda Tesman is playing at The Lowry until 19th October.

Review: Mame

Written by Alexia Pieretti on . Posted in Theatre.

For the first time in fifty years, the musical Mame returns to the UK, at the Hope Mill Theatre, directed by Nick Winston. The musical was a hit in the 1960s, originally starring Angela Lansbury.

Stepping into her shoes this time is the wonderful Tracie Bennett as the titular character. Bennett has been nominated for 5 Olivier Awards, winning twice, and has even been nominated for a Tony. She stole the show with her charisma and comic presence.

The musical leads us through New York in the Prohibition Era and the Great Depression. It follows an orphan boy named Patrick, who is sent to live with his last remaining relative, his bohemian aunt, Mame, who declares to him: “Life’s a banquet and most poor sons-of-bitches are starving to death.”

Although disapproved of by the trustees of Patrick’s late father’s estate, Mame is incredibly loving to her nephew and progressive by our modern standards: in her group of artist friends, we see several same-gender couples; she proclaims sexual liberation for women, and later vows to open a home to support single mothers.

This was my first visit to the Hope Mill Theatre, and I was incredibly impressed with the venue itself. On arrival, I was led into a waiting room befitted to look like a Speakeasy with jazzy, acoustic covers of hit songs and impressive cocktails like those the women in the show might drink.

One of my favourite aspects of the show was the set-design. The floor and backdrop were decorated with a beautiful zig-zag pattern which reminded me of the advertising for 2012’s The Great Gatsby. To change the scenes, doors would slide across the stage. This was especially impressive at the start of Act 2 when the young Patrick (played by Harry Cross in this performance) was writing a letter to Mame. A door quickly cut in front of him, and when it was gone, a new actor (Chase Brown) was sitting in the exact same spot, playing an older Patrick to illustrate the passing of time. I am still baffled by how this stage effect was achieved.

The stage itself was very narrow in width, but this did not at all lower the quality of the production. Throughout, it was filled with lively dancing from the amazing chorus, choreographed again by Winston.

The highlight of the show was when Mame was cast to play the moon in her best friend Vera’s (Harriet Thorpe) Broadway show. When Vera had finished singing, the back of the stage opened to a drunken Mame clinging onto a crescent moon that was hanging from the ceiling. When she was finally sitting comfortably on the moon, she proceeded to forget all of her lines in the play-within-the-play, all to raucous laughter from the audience.

Aside from Bennett, the standout performance in the production was Harry Cross as Young Patrick. He carried much of the show, a daunting task for such a young actor, and had an astounding, adorable singing voice. I expect he will go far in the world of theatre.

Other than some outdated language, Mame translates well into the twenty first century. Hope Mill Theatre has prepared an enjoyable evening. Mame is a show that features many platonic relationships between women – something that is rare in musicals – and also emphasises the comedic abilities of actresses. The only possible flaw was the acoustics; it often became difficult to understand what the performers were singing over the music from the magnificent live band.

Mame is running at the Hope Mill Theatre until 9th November.