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Month: January 2022

Don’t look at the Don’t Look Up reviews

Let me begin by asking an important question: was this movie edited by the same people who edited Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody? If I had a shot every time a scene was cut mid-sentence, I’d need my stomach pumped. That’s the only real criticism I have of this movie, though. Sure, there are problems with the movie as a movie, but this movie is more than just a movie. In a way, it’s an anti-movie.

It’s unsurprising, then, that it has received mixed reviews from critics. I’d argue, however, that those critics are missing the entire point of the film. To focus on things such as cinematography is reductive, for this film is more than just cinema. I’d also add that the way they have discussed (and criticised) the film is proving that point: it illustrates the issues that the film is trying to draw attention to. Some of the criticisms look like they belong in the film itself. Don’t Look Up is by no means a masterpiece, but it’s arguably the most important movie of the year.

The movie has also been attacked by the Right, unsurprisingly, given its many allusions to President Trump and his (mis)handling of the pandemic. However, given the film was actually written prior to the pandemic, the dismissive stances adopted by both the fictional President Orlean’s (Meryl Streep) and the not so fictional Mr Trump in the face of natural disaster, is frighteningly accidental. Life imitates art, but that’s what this movie is: a reflection of real-life.

I mentioned Meryl Streep – she’s one of many well-known actors in this film, which is crammed with characters, all well-written and well-acted but criminally underdeveloped. Each character is an archetype, shedding light on a different culture or subculture be it celebrity culture or proto-anarchy. The cast alone is sure to attract audiences. I just hope those viewers can get past the flaws of the movie and lack of character development and see through the glossy aesthetic of this Hollywood epic.

People on the Right love to complain about “woke” movies and TV, from the most recent incarnation of Doctor Who to the new film version of West Side Story. They can scream “woke” (their new favourite buzzword since they tired of being unable to define “Marxist”) as much as they like, but putting a message in a movie is not a new phenomenon. All art is meaningful – if there isn’t meaning, it isn’t art.

In an era of fake news and alternative facts, the movie offers a groundbreaking analysis of misinformation and a cutting portrayal concerning the collapse of journalism as a pillar of accountability and truth. Is it any surprise, then, that many in the media are not so fond of the movie?

Whilst some might criticise the movie for suggesting Americans are dumb sheep – and by “some”, I’m obviously referring to Americans – they’re missing the finer details. Don’t Look Up explores the catastrophic consequences when the pursuit of profit is made more important than the protection of people. Do I need to remind you how much richer the rich have gotten since the pandemic began? The movie shines a light on how billionaires (and celebrities) manipulate us into trusting them. Think about all of the ordinary people swooning over Elon Musk and Donald Trump (if he really is a billionaire, that is).

And whilst the American Right enjoys electing celebrities to the White House, the adoration of billionaires and celebrities is not a partisan issue. The film masterfully explores this in President Orlean. Proudly displaying her photo with Mariah Carey in the Oval Office, constantly referring back to her high approval ratings and cynically appropriating the impending disaster by creating a pop song about it with the virulent celebrity Riley Bina (Ariana Grande) are but a few of her repellent misdeeds which so satirise this brand of celebrity president.There are plenty of real-life parallels – think Ellen DeGeneres espousing a “Be Nice” mantra on air before going home and screaming at her staff, or Leonardo Dicaprio flying in a private jet whilst preaching about climate change (and starring in this movie).

Ostensibly, Don’t Look Up is a satire, and it’s really quite funny. It perfectly encapsulates both public and political indifference to crises. On a deeper level, the movie is a horror, it’s horribly horrifying, because it’s a horrific reflection of real-life: a horror. Humanity is facing an impending crisis (anthropogenic climate change), and we’re doing nothing. In just a few decades, the planet as we know it could cease to exist, and we’re all just sat here on Insta, scrolling: “Oh, look, those wilful wazzocks from Love Island have broken up”, as if anybody actually gives a flying faeces.

Heck, we have people who deny climate change even exists. The same for coronavirus. We have people refusing to get vaccinated because they think medical professionals are going to inject us with microchips – and they say that whilst carrying the latest mobile phones. The lack of self-awareness is astounding.

The lame-brained response from many to this movie proves its point, and I – ever the cynic – wonder if it’s further proof that we’ve had our time. Perhaps we’re beyond saving (the Earth certainly seems to be). Perhaps the only good humanity is a humanity that ceases to exist.

But whilst the movie presents an event so catastrophic that we’d die instantly, the reality is that we will suffer and suffer for years before our death. We’ll suffer so much that we will dream of death. Whilst the British Right uses this dumb metaphor of a sinking island to argue against the acceptance of asylum seekers – who will only increase with further climate change – they’ll be in for a nasty shock when our indifference to the climate crisis sees our island literally sink into the ocean.

This movie, if anything, is a warning. So, I beg you, watch it and listen: Just. Look. Up.

Review: DELIGHTful evening at Deaf Institute

Playing their final gig of 2021 at the Deaf Institute, Delights recruited Minds Idle to support them on a Saturday evening. In comparison to when I last saw Delights, at Gorilla in August, I felt a more personal and intimate experience at Deaf Institute, making it more special. Feeling somewhat negative about university and COVID-19, this gig reminded me why I chose to move to Manchester and the beauty of live music.

Since Gorilla in August, Delights have released their EP In My Life, featuring four songs: ‘Monday’, ‘Telephone Baby’, ‘Utopia’, and ‘Didn’t Know Better’.

The support act Minds Idle successfully set the tone for the night from their first song. The entire night was filled with groovy music. The lead singer of Minds Idle, Ted, channelled his inner Alex Rice and held the crowd’s attention throughout both the upbeat songs and the slightly slower paced ones, especially with the incredible green eye makeup. The keyboard and effects made Minds Idle stand out as a band and performers, drinking their Fosters throughout, and I would highly recommend going to one of their gigs.

Next up was the headline act. Starting with ‘Monday’, the crowd immediately got grooving and singing along, despite the song only being released in August. As soon as the boys were on stage, there was, noticeably, a fifth member (or special guest)—Cameron, from Dolphin Centre, who I saw in July at the Sterling Press headline at Aatma. Following on with ‘Jungle’, the crowd’s upbeat spirit was maintained. Adam Maxwell, the frontman, expressed his gratitude and appreciation for their sold-out audience. For me, Delights stand out in comparison to other indie bands, specifically due to the layers of instruments and vocals in their music—there is never a dull moment.

‘Didn’t Know Better’, from their recent EP, was well received by the crowd, to which Maxwell said “Thank you, I thought you’d hate it!” Arguably a missed opportunity for a pun and giggle, as “I thought you’d hate it, but I didn’t know better” would have been fitting.

Following on from the slightly slower ‘Sun Lounger’, the crowd resurrected into their funk with ‘One Step Forwards (Two Steps Backwards)’, going smoothly into ‘Telephone Baby’ and then rewarding us with a festive special of ‘Feliz Navidad’, to which the security and bouncers were also dancing along.

Coming on for an encore, Maxwell spoke directly to the crowd, stating that “it’s cringe but true, we would be nothing without you”. You can tell that these boys are genuinely appreciative and thankful to their fans. Performing a mashup of ‘Lost in Music’ and the Bee Gees ‘You Should Be Dancing’, you could see the age distinctions amongst the crowd very clearly… Finishing with ‘Sometimes, Lately’, they went out with a bang, including an explosion of silver confetti falling from the ceiling.

Highlights and standouts from the gig were the gratitude the boys expelled, and the sheer number of mullets in one location. A personal highlight is also that this is the first gig I’ve been successful in attending since being diagnosed with PTSD recently.

9/10 (would have been 10/10 if ‘Sun Visor’ was played.)

Pig heart transplant sparks controversy

On the 7th of January 2022, 57-year-old David Bennett received a transplant of a genetically modified pig’s heart, the first operation of its kind. In the following days, the transplant was widely hailed a ‘success’ by news outlets, with reporters and medical professionals alike praising it as a huge step forward for organ transplantation. However, as the story unfolded, animal rights organisations responded and news of the recipient’s background broke, questions were raised over the ethical minefield that is the use of animal organs for human transplants. Is this transplant 2022’s first great medical advancement or its first unethical experiment?

“It was either die, or do this transplant”

– David Bennett, as reported by the BBC

The Transplant

David Bennett, the transplant recipient, had arrhythmia and was attached to a heart-lung bypass machine pre-surgery. He was deemed ineligible to be placed on the human transplant waitlist, as he was too sick and would be unlikely to survive the surgery. He was out of options until an experimental procedure using a genetically modified pig’s heart was suggested by one of his doctors, as a last-ditch attempt to save his life.

“I know it’s a shot in the dark, but it’s my last choice”

– David Bennett, as reported by the BBC

Transplanting an animal organ into a human, officially known as xenotransplantation, has never successfully been done, although previous attempts have been made. In 1994 a baboon’s heart was transplanted into a baby girl, who died 21 days later, while in October 2021 a pig’s kidney was successfully transplanted into a human, although the recipient was already brain dead. But with 17 people dying every day in the United States while waiting for organ transplants, many are wondering, what’s there to lose?

It’s a ‘no’ from the animal activists

In the wake of the news of this transplant, widespread outrage from the animal rights community followed. Both PETA and Animal Aid, a UK-based animal rights group, condemned the use of an animal’s organ, declaring the operation ‘unethical‘ and ‘a waste of resources‘ . They argue that breeding and raising animals just to be killed for human use is wrong, especially as it is unknown how painful and harmful the procedure to genetically modify the heart is. This is of particular concern as pigs are believed to be highly sentient and intelligent beings, so much so that, according to another animal rights group, they are the fifth most intelligent animal. This leaves us to question whether is it ethical to breed and kill animals in the name of potentially saving human life?

A religious dilemma

Questions have also been raised over the religious ramifications of using an animal organ, particularly pig organs, for transplantation. In many religions, including in Judaism and Islam, it is forbidden to breed or consume pigs. As xenotransplantation is a novel concept, there is no precedent for it within religious organisations, with many people wondering if accepting an animal organ for transplantation would be permitted.

In response a senior rabbi and member of the UK’s Moral and Ethical Advisory group, Dr Moshe Freedman, declared that being a recipient of a pig’s heart is acceptable, as it is for the preservation of human life and does not violate Jewish dietary laws. Several Islamic organisations have responded similarly.

“But I wish, in my opinion, it had gone to a deserving recipient”

– Leslie Shumaker Downey,   as reported by the Washington Post

To pick and choose

In the wake of the reveal of the recipient’s identity, it was reported that Bennett is a convicted criminal who received a ten year sentence after stabbing a man in 1988. This raised questions as to whether Bennett was a suitable choice for such a ground-breaking procedure. The victim’s sister, Leslie Shumaker Downey, criticised the hailing of her brother’s attacker as a hero, wishing the transplant had been performed on “a deserving recipient”.

However, many others argue that Bennett’s history is irrelevant. Medical ethics is built on the foundation that everybody is entitled to equal and fair medical treatment, regardless of background. Convicted criminals, including those currently serving a sentence in prison, cannot legally be excluded from the organ transplant waitlist. Furthermore, a criminal conviction cannot be used as a factor to argue in favour of a person being placed further down the list. Bennett’s conviction was not a factor in his ineligibility for the waitlist, and should not be a factor that excludes him from receiving experimental medical treatment.

This novel surgery may pave the way for new treatments and could one day save the lives of thousands of people, but so far it has only raised more questions than it has answered. 

 

All the shows I saw in 2021: A Review

May 2021 saw the return of live theatre and music events, albeit with a reduced capacity, social distancing, and masks. Finally, in July, venues could operate at full capacity. I’ve seen over 30 shows this year, which isn’t so bad given the fact that my first one was in mid-June!

It’s remarkable that after such a difficult year, in which productions were forced shut and employees lost their jobs, theatres bounded back, bigger and better than ever before. Music artists were also finally allowed to tour their latest albums, after the pandemic forced them to postpone and reschedule their tours.

I live and breathe theatre, and I attend lots of concerts and gigs, so the return of live events filled the hole in my soul that the Covid-19 pandemic created. I wanted to write a piece to celebrate the return of live events – and now that the Omicron variant has forced shut countless events venues, it seems all the more important to champion the successful 6 months that live events have had. A lot of people put a lot of work into saving the arts, and we can’t let that hard work be in vain – especially now that they’re going to have to do it all over again.

As art-lovers, we must do our part to support the arts during this difficult time. So, here’s a recap (and brief review) of all of the shows I’ve had the honour of seeing this year. Some of these shows I saw for pleasure, but if it’s a show that I covered, just click the hyperlink to read the full review!

Before we begin, let me explain my rating system…

“Overall rating” is simply my overall rating of the show. It takes into account the production value, the performances, the story, and the music. The production value is made up of set, staging, costumes and lighting. By “performance”, I’m referring to the performances given by the actors/singers/dancers. “Story” refers to both the general story of the piece (or the “book”) and the script/writing. “Music” is self-explanatory: I’m rating the songs and lyrics of the piece.

I’ve also given the shows a personal “Enjoyment” rating, which is simply how much I enjoyed the show. I’ve done this because there are some imperfect shows that I absolutely love, and there are some shows that aren’t necessarily my cup of tea but, from a critic’s point of view, I acknowledge that they are good – and will be appreciated by the intended audience. The overall rating does not take my personal enjoyment into account; for my personal thoughts, read the individual review!

Opera North’s A Night at the Opera

Overall rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Production: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Performances: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Music: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

My enjoyment: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

A night of operatic delights, and delightful they were – I’m just not much of an opera fan. The gala was hardly exhilarating, even for opera lovers, but it was a lovely reintroduction to theatre after a long time, with incredible singers backed by a wonderful orchestra.

Bloody Elle

Overall rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Production: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Performances: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Story: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Music: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐  

My enjoyment: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Bloody Elle was bloody brilliant. Lauryn Redding’s writing and acting deserve great applause. The lack of a fifth star is not because there was anything wrong with this gig musical, per se, but to give it five stars would suggest it’s an exceptional, near-perfect piece of theatre – which it was not. That said, I don’t think Redding’s aim was perfection. Rather, it was reality – and that’s why this musical is so good. Good, but not perfect.

Anton Du Beke and Giovanni Pernice – Him & Me

Overall rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Production: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Performances: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Story: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Music: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

My enjoyment: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Him & Me was camp, crazy, colourful, fun, frantic and fabulous. It was a bit of a hot mess, jumping from setting to setting, with no real story. It was all quite random, but the sheer talent of the dancers cannot be denied. The singing was hit-and-miss and felt more cabaret than musical, but I did enjoy the show’s variety-feel.

Hale Barns Carnival – Boney M featuring Maizie Williams

Overall rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Production: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Performance: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Music: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

My enjoyment: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

My first music event since March 2020, and what a triumph it was! Although the only original member of this line-up of Boney M. is Maizie Williams (former lead singer Liz Williams has her own version of the group), they put on a helluva show, transporting audiences back in time to a 70s disco. This was the last day that events were required to implement social distancing, but if anything, the social distancing helped Hale Barns Carnival – everybody was chilling in the sun, sat on deckchairs, eating ice cream. It was a lovely evening. Boney M didn’t put on a big show, put the production of the carnival, as a whole, was fantastic – especially how they managed to make it work with Covid restrictions.

Judy & Liza

Overall rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Production: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Performances: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Story: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Music: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

My enjoyment: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Sort-of a gig musical, Judy & Liza followed mother-and-daughter duo Judy Garland and Liza Minelli at a fictional concert, in which they each performed their biggest hits. Judy and Liza told us about their lives, including Liza’s birth and Judy’s death, and each song was slotted in appropriately. It was a little messy, but that’s what cabaret is – and life is a cabaret!

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie

Overall rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Production: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Performances: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Story: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Music: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

My enjoyment: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

One of the most feel-good musicals out there, and knowing that it’s based on a true story makes it even more cathartic, but there’s nothing that striking about this musical. Whilst the musical’s appropriation of pop music works well to tell the story of a teenage drag queen, and to attract a young audience, I found most of the songs to be unmemorable. The first song is a bop, and then it’s all a bit meh. The story is inspiring but predictable, and most of the actors were talented but unexceptional. It’s a great musical, don’t get me wrong – but it pales in comparison to many of the musicals that I’ve seen.

Bat Out of Hell

Overall rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Production: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Performances: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Story: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Music: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

My enjoyment: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

It’s not easy to sing Meatloaf, but these performers sang their hearts out. The musical is a hot mess – at times, I had little idea what was going on – and there were a few artistic decisions that I found strange, but I could not fault the production value and the ambition of the creatives. After the show ended, I was ready to write a five star review, but in hindsight, the musical offers much to criticise – but I enjoyed it far too much to focus on its problems.

Ripples of Hope: Hillary Rodham Clinton in Conversation

Overall rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Production: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

My enjoyment: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

The set-up for this in conversation was a little awkward. Baroness Helena Kennedy was present in the theatre, whilst Hillary Clinton joined via Zoom. There was a screen that displayed Clinton, but she could only see Kennedy, who was onstage with a laptop. It was hard to feel involved; we were essentially just sat watching two people having a conversation. Kennedy did read out a few questions that audience members had submitted (including one of mine), but it might have been better to have some actual involvement from the audience. It would have been great if Clinton could have seen her audience, and instead of submitting questions beforehand, perhaps a mic could have been passed around. Home’s Theatre 1 is small, so passing a mic around shouldn’t be too difficult. Perhaps my suggestions would present some logistical difficulties, though.

Anything Goes

Overall rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Production: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Performances: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Story: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Music: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

My enjoyment: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Anything Goes dominated the West End this summer – and the Barbican Theatre isn’t even in the West End! Sutton Foster won a Tony for this role a decade ago, and she made a triumphant return here on our side of the pond. The musical was such a success that it’s returning next summer, and I strongly recommend it. Whilst the musical is dated, it’s still funny – and the performances are exceptional. The tap-dancing, in particular, is incredible – though it pales in comparison to that seen in 42nd Street.

West End Live 2021

Overall rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Production: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Performance: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Music: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

My enjoyment: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

I attended West End Live on both days. It featured wonderful performances from most notable West End musicals, from Hamilton to The Lion King. I’ve given it five stars, but I do have criticisms for some individual shows: & Juliet and Cinderella both offered pretty disappointing performances – though Cinderella’s Carrie Hope Fletcher did suffer technical problems – and Frozen opted to not have Elsa (Samantha Barks) perform for some strange reason. Other than that, the festival was fantastic – a celebration of the return of musical theatre!

The Prince of Egypt

Overall rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Production: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Performances: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Story: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Music: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

My enjoyment: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

A visual delight with beautiful music and incredible performances. The spectacle has been criticised by some reviewers, though, for being “naff” and “[drowning] out the emotional drama.” In my opinion, the worst part of the musical is the script – the clunky dialogue, the excessive exposition, the decision to tell rather than show, etc. The musical drags a little in the first act before the pace picks up in the second act – but the it remains melodramatic in its attempt to make the musical an epic. I also found it interesting that whilst most of the cast is rightfully brown, they were all light-skinned, save for the most notable actor in the musical. Whilst I saw Nefertari’s understudy (Simbi Akande), she’s usually played by a dark-skinned actor (Nardia Ruth) – interesting, isn’t it, that the musical’s most annoying and unlikeable character is the only one played by an actor with dark skin? It just seems like theatre is only willing to go so far when it comes to diversity. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed this musical; it’s one of my personal favourites – but it could be better.

Pretty Woman

Overall rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Production: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Performances: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Story: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Music: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

My enjoyment: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Perhaps I’d have enjoyed this musical more if I was familiar with the film (and if I hadn’t seen it just two days after the tour de force that was Anything Goes). For me, Pretty Woman aroused no nostalgia, just frustration – the plot is dated, predictable, and uninteresting. The musical’s production value is subpar, but I appreciate that it’s different, and that could be part of its appeal. Talented as they may be, Aimie Atkinson and Danny Mac fail to save this musical, with its bland script and its boring songs – especially because the musical hardly lets them showcase their sheer talent.

Paloma Faith – The Infinite Things Tour

Overall rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Production: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Performances: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Music: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

My enjoyment: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Paloma Faith has to be one of Britain’s best vocalists. She put on a great show, and her backing band helped create an amazing atmosphere, but I did feel that the concert’s production could have benefitted from being a little more exciting. This concert is another example of a show being fantastic but not exceptional.

Dirty Dancing

Overall rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Production: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Performance: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Story: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Music: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

My enjoyment: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

By far, the worst show I’ve seen all year. Like Pretty Woman, I didn’t grow up with Dirty Dancing, so I found it dated and uninteresting – but the real issue came from the way the film was adapted for the stage. Perhaps there were budget issues, but the musical felt amateur at times. The set looked like it belonged to a school production, and whilst the dancing was great, the singing was subpar. I also hated the artistic decision that saw the actors not even singing the songs from the film – they were just played in the background, which works for a film but is almost inappropriate for a stage musical. The leads were great – they oozed chemistry, which you’d hope given the fact that they’re played by a real-life couple – and I hope they move on to better productions. For all my criticisms, the musical’s target audience seemed to love it – it’s a naughty, nostalgic night, after all.

Heathers

Overall rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Production: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Performances: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Story: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Music: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

My enjoyment: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Heathers made up for the travesty that was Dirty Dancing. It’s one of my favourite musicals of all time. It’s messy and manic, it attempts to tackle far too many issues, and certain storylines are up for criticism – but unlike Pretty Woman and Dirty Dancing, the creatives behind Heathers have managed to make it relevant and entertaining for a whole new generation. It’s obviously easier to do that with a cult film than it is a classic – and I guess Pretty Woman and Dirty Dancing‘s target audiences are older people (fans of the original film), not my generation – but the creatives must still be applauded for what they’ve done with Heathers. A riotous rock musical with memorable songs (several of the musicals I’ve seen this year have lacked them), likeable characters, and phenomenal performers.

Grease

Overall rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Production: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Performances: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Story: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Music: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

My enjoyment: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

This is a brand-new staging of Grease, one of the oldest musicals I’ve seen this year – in fact, the stage musical actually precedes the film. Some will see the new staging as a welcome change, whilst others will complain about the differences. Whilst I’m familiar with the film, and I’ve seen an amateur stage production of the musical, I’m not hopelessly devoted to Grease, so the changes were lost on me. The musical was lots of fun, with some memorable moments (especially Peter Andre’s rendition of ‘Beauty School Dropout’), but some of the other performances were just satisfactory. Then again, Grease has one of the greatest scores in musical theatre history, so you can forgive a few dodgy performances. There’s recently been some criticism for Grease being problematic. I don’t take issue with that; the musical is from a different time – and I commend the creatives behind this version for making it fun and relevant for a new generation. It had a number of problems, but I still had a great night.

Death Drop

Overall rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Production: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Performances: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Story: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Music: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

My enjoyment: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Murder mystery meets drag. Dragatha Christie! This is one of the funniest shows I’ve ever seen. In a paradox of sorts, the show’s script is both its strength and its downfall. Holly Stars’ writing is hilarious, and she must be commended for managing to make American, Australian, and British drag work together in horny harmony! Conversely, the story doesn’t know where to end; it’s a little excessive. That said, drag is supposed to be messy; it challenges (perceived) perfection; it’s perfect because of its imperfections.

Dame Joan Collins is Unapologetic

Overall rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Production: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

My enjoyment: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

It was an honour to see Dame Joan Collins DBE, joined by her good friend Christopher Biggins, tell us a series tantalising stories. Collins might be 88, but she remains super sharp and fabulously funny. The ‘In Conversation’ could have benefitted from better production. Joanna Lumley’s ‘In Conversation’ made use of video clips, and she spoke directly to the audience in the first half before being interviewed in the second. Collins’ ‘In Conversation’ was just that – a live interview.

Tell Me On A Sunday

Overall rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Production: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Performances: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Story: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Music: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

My enjoyment: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Jodie Prenger was mesmerising in this little-known, one-woman, one-act, Andrew Lloyd Webber musical – which was followed by a Q&A and performances of ALW classics by Prenger and her understudy. The musical is a song cycle, with its sole character telling us the story of her tumultuous love life through song, backed by a band. The set was pretty but bland; I felt it could have been a little more exciting, especially given the fact that it’s a one-woman musical. Sure, this made us pay more attention to Prenger, but she hardly needed help in commanding attention!

Bedknobs and Broomsticks

Overall rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Production: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Performances: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Story: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Music: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

My enjoyment: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

I debated taking a star away from the show’s production value because although having the (sublime) set brought on and off by the ensemble gave the musical both a classic and a whimsical feel, it resulted in the stage being a little cluttered at times. It could also be a little distracting. But then I remembered the flying bed and broom, and I cemented that fifth star right where it was. Whilst the musical uses the wonderful songs from the film, most of the new additions are nothing special, and I did feel that the musical dragged a little at times. I enjoyed the twist ending, a noticeable different from the film’s ending, but others might find it frustrating.

An Audience with Alan Cumming – Tales From A Fully Packed Life

Overall rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Production: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Interviewed by Cheddar Gorgeous, this was a gleefully gay evening that could have been made even more camp and colourful with the addition of video montages – to break up all of the chat. In the second act, Cheddar asked Cumming questions submitted by the audience – including two of mine – which was exciting. I feel the evening could have benefited from Cumming addressing the audience directly, removing Cheddar from the action for a bit – Cumming is undeniably talented and naturally funny, and it worked for Joanna Lumley, so why wouldn’t it work for him?

Rina Sawayama – The Dynasty Tour

Overall rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Production: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Performances: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Music: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

My enjoyment: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Tens, tens, tens across the board! Well, fives, but still… This was one of the best gigs I’ve ever been to. Rina was an absolute diva, and her band, backing singers and dancers helped her put on one helluva show. The opening acts were Ama and Hana. Ama had bad sound problems – I couldn’t really hear what she was saying because of the excessive bass – which was a shame because she’s clearly very talented. The problems were fixed for Hana, who was one of the best opening acts I’ve ever seen. All three of the funky females looked incredible. The whole night was a vibe.

Opera North’s Carmen

Overall rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Production: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Performances: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Story: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Music: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

My enjoyment: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Again, I don’t love opera, but I’ve always wanted to see Carmen, and I applaud Opera North for making opera accessible. The opera’s set and staging were superb, and I commend Opera North for casting a black artist in the lead role. The missing fifth star is not because there was anything wrong with the opera; it just wasn’t an exceptional piece of theatre.

Steps – What the Future Holds Tour

Overall rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Production: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Performances: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Music: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

My enjoyment: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Like Rina Sawayama, this concert was incredible, right from the get-go. As far as concerts go, it’s one of the biggest productions I’ve ever seen – beaten only by Cher – with countless costume changes and a spectacular set. Sophie Ellis-Bextor opened the show, with a setlist that included her biggest hits, preparing us for a naughty night of nineties and noughties nostalgia! Steps were so energetic, and each member got to shine.

Waitress

Overall rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Production: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Performances: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Story: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Music: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

My enjoyment: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

I know this musical is adored by musical-loving millennials, but I found the story to be pretty predictable. Cutesy and inspiring, yes, but nothing special. The set, too, was nice but hardly striking. However, the cast, led by Lucie Jones, did Sara Bareilles’ sublime score justice. Read Managing Editor Ella Robinson and Ella Turvey’s review to find out more!

Isaac Dunbar

Overall rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Production: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Performances: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Music: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

My enjoyment: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Simple but effective. Isaac Dunbar is a wonderful performer, and his music is most wonderful. I can totally see him commanding crowds at bigger venues, should his career flourish – and after seeing him live, I’m confident that it will. He was complimented by his edgy backing band, and his opening act, Tayo Sound, offered a sound set of soothing songs.

White Christmas

Overall rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Production: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Performances: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Story: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Music: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

My enjoyment: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Whilst the story is dated, it was actually not the most predictable. I also appreciated the formidable female leads, a rarity in old musicals (and musicals based on old films, like this one). Irving Berlin is one of the greatest songwriters of all time, and this musical is proof of that. The performance of ‘Blue Skies’ is, quite possibly, one of my favourite musical theatre performances ever. It was a fun, festive night, but hardly the most awe-inspiring musical. I wouldn’t rush back to see if it wasn’t for ‘Blue Skies’ – indeed, I’d go back just to see that again (and then maybe leave during the interval).

Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker!

Overall rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Production: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Performances: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Story: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Music: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

My enjoyment: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

The only criticism I have for this musical is that it took way too long to get to the pink paradise that the promo material showcased – but the lack of pink for the majority of the show actually made the pink introduction all the more striking. The first act dragged a little; I couldn’t wait to get out of the dull world that it was portraying – but I feel like that could be intentional, and again, it made the escape to the dream world all the more welcome. This is, without a doubt, one of the best pieces of dance I’ve ever seen – up there with fellow Matthew Bourne show The Red Shoes, Rambert’s Ghost Dances, Riverdance, and Z Bo Jackson’s gala night. I’m hoping to see Lord of the Dance next year – no doubt, that will be up there too. Michael Flatley and Matthew Bourne have to be two of the world’s greatest choreographers, and I’ll probably go to see anything they do. This was the first piece of theatre I saw this year to get a perfect score.

The Wiz

Overall rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Production: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Performances: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Story: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Music: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

My enjoyment: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

This adaptation of The Wiz was, at its core, a celebration (not just a showcase) of the best of Black British talent. The choreography has to be the musical’s highlight; it’s some of the best dancing I’ve seen in a musical. The singing, too, was marvellous. The characters were all loveable, but most of them lacked real character development, and there were some issues with staging, so I’ll have to deduct a star. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed this musical – one of my personal favourite productions.

The Royal Exchange Theatre’s 2022 Programme Launch Event

Overall rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Production: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

This was my first press day since February 2020. With special guest Maxine Peake – a patron of the Royal Exchange Theatre – it was a fantastic way to introduce the RX’s first ever full-year season. It’s not the best press event I’ve been to, but it was great to hear from all of the guest speakers – and to be one of the first people to hear about the RX’s new season.

Jessie Ware – What’s Your Pleasure? Tour

Overall rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Production: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Performances: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Music: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

My enjoyment: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

I went to five concerts/gigs this year – and four of them are some of the best I’ve ever been to. Jessie Ware was obviously unreal. The concert’s production was phenomenal. Ware had several costume changes, and whilst all of her outfits were fab, none compared to the blue gown that she opened the show with. Ware had two musicians, two backing singers (who danced), and two backing dancers (who sang). The backing singers and dancers were some of the best I’ve ever seen at a concert. Not only were they supremely talented, but it was clear that they were having so much fun. In one routine, Jessie moved around, and the singers and dancers took turns in joining Jessie when she was at the back of the stage, which was perfect.

The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart

Overall rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Production: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Performance: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Story: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Music: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

My enjoyment: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Massively different to the RX’s usual holiday musical, but a welcome change – it’s always nice to see something different, especially when it’s executed as well as this. The show’s production value was lacking – especially in comparison to most RX productions. The RX is known for making great use of its in-the-round stage, but it felt a little squandered in this production. That said, there were some key moments where the space was used to great effect. Some of the costumes appeared cheap and hastily chosen, but the musical play’s story was so wild and bizarre that it was (thankfully) difficult to focus on the mediocre costuming. Whilst I personally loved the crazy story, it won’t be a hit with everybody. What’s undeniable, though, is the sheer talent of the cast.

Hex

Overall rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Production: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Performances: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Story: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Music: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

My enjoyment: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

I saw Hex during previews, and I’ll post my review of it once their official press night has passed (it keeps being delayed because of the pandemic, but I was lucky enough to catch it when I was down in London for the Studio Lambert Christmas party). I absolutely loved this wild musical. Rosalie Craig was obviously divine. The understudy who stepped into the role of Queenie following the indisposition of the role’s primary actor (Tamsin Carroll) deserves endless praise. The show’s set, stage design, costumes and choreography are all phenomenal. The show features some most marvellous musical numbers. The show’s problem, though – which could be fixed prior to press night – is its script. It’s messy and at times confusing, there are plot-holes and things that just don’t make sense, etc. Overall, though, it’s a wonderful new production, and I wish it the greatest of success.

Frozen

Overall rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Production: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Performances: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Story: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Music: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

My enjoyment: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Whilst I’ve given a few concerts fives across the board, this is the only musical I’ve seen this year to get a perfect score (Anything Goes only got four stars for its story). Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker! is the only other piece of theatre to get a perfect score. Frozen probably has some problems, but none big enough to deduct a star – and if I can’t remember any problems, were they ever worth talking about? The production value of this show is some of the best I’ve ever seen – up there with fellow Disney musical Aladdin, which sadly closed awhile back. Led by Samantha Barks, the whole cast is captivating. As aforementioned, Barks did not perform at West End Live, so it was so exciting to finally see her perform. The musical’s new songs can’t compete with the now-classic songs from the film, but they’re still fantastic – especially Elsa’s Act 2 song, ‘Monster.’ The show’s highlight is, without a doubt, the end of Act 1, which sees Elsa sing ‘Let It Go.’ I was almost tearing up with awe; it was utterly magical. I even text my mum during the interval to tell her how emotional I was! If you go to see Frozen, make sure you don’t blink during the bridge and final chorus of this number – or you might miss the greatest costume change ever witnessed!

Aladdin

Overall rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Production: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Performances: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Story: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Music: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

My enjoyment: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

I really don’t like pantomimes – I only saw Aladdin to see Alexandra Burke again – but even I cannot deny how much of a good job ATG did with this one. It wasn’t just hilarious; it was also relevant. Whilst the at-times flimsy writing made for some subpar performances, it was a joyous evening, for the most part. The highlight was, without a doubt, seeing Alexandra Burke sing her first two hits: ‘Hallelujah’ and ‘Bad Boys.’ She did a reprise of the latter during the curtain call – the best, baddest curtain call ever!

Aladdin ended up being my last show of 2021. I was supposed to see The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe later that week – and then Dreamgirls and Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World in Liverpool over the holidays – but decided against it because of the soaring Covid-19 cases. Disappointing, yes, but Aladdin was a fab final show of the year that saw theatre not only survive but also thrive!

See what’s on at Manchester’s many theatres in 2022 here!

Manchester’s Clean Air Policy may be changed

In June 2021, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) agreed upon a plan to reduce air pollution in Greater Manchester as, according to Councillor Andrew Western, there are 1,200 deaths in Greater Manchester every year due to poor air quality. However, this plan may have to be changed due to a problem with its funding.

In March 2020 it was noticed that 152 locations in Greater Manchester had NO2 levels over the legal rates due to vehicular exhaustion. A plan was set forth to rectify this completely by 2024, and was agreed in June 2021 by the GMCA. Andy Burnham announced this plan stating:

“Everyone in Greater Manchester deserves to breathe clean air but we have always said this cannot be at the expense of those who cannot afford to upgrade their vehicles to make them compliant in this timeframe.”

Given the fact that the GMCA and the Mayor were looking to fund people to upgrade their vehicles, the original plan required £120 million of government funding. The initial plan was further set out in two phases. The first phase was due to start in March 2022, and involved any heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), buses or non-Greater Manchester taxis or private hire cars being given a daily charge. The second phase, starting in June 2023, would add the same charges to light goods vehicles, vans, coaches, minibuses, all taxis and private hire vehicles. However, most vehicles are not affected, as the scheme does not include private cars, mopeds or motorbikes.

It was realised earlier in January 2022, that given the changes in supply chains and inflation, local business may suffer due to the clean air policy. Along with this, the GMCA have seen that there have been changes in the vehicle market since 2020. They believe that now there are more vehicles on the street that will be disobeying the regulations set by the Clean Air Plan. Hence questions have been raised on whether the funding would be sufficient, as in both cases the GMCA would need to provide additional funding to the owners of the vehicles for them to upgrade.

Andy Burnham believed that the policy may have to be changed. This would be considered if the government does not agree to the GMCA’s plan to require more funding. Hence, the GMCA decided that on the 20th of January they would meet and look over the plan again. The meeting’s results were announced by Andy Burnham on Twitter.

Burnham stated that the GMCA would be referring the Clean Air Zone policy back to the Government. He believes that the current plan would cause hardships to the residents of Manchester. Hence they want to push towards getting the legal direction of getting the plan in place. He also stated that he understands that this is a frustrating process but would nonetheless try to get the plans to the “right place.”

However, student areas are amongst the illegally polluted areas of Manchester. Wilmslow Road, the part of the Oxford Road that runs through the main campus of the University, along with areas in Rusholme and City Center are all pointed out by the GMCA.

A map provided by the GMCA to point out the illegally high pollutions zones in Manchester.

A second year undergraduate student is disappointed by the constant delays in plans. They stated:

“Personally I believe that the current delays in plan do not abide with the urgency of it. Me along with many others prefer to bike around the city and we have to breathe air that is illegal according to the amount of air pollutants it has. These delays could severely hurt many of us, so I personally hope that something is done about it soon.”

The date for the government to announce that it has accepted the changes to the policy is still unknown. However, clean air zone boards around Manchester, have still not been changed, which means it could be assumed that the changes would be accepted soon.

Van Gogh Alive extends its Manchester run

This month, we at The Mancunion finally made a visit to Van Gogh Alive in MediaCityUK, an immersive experience which has taken the world by storm in a short period of time. You’ve no doubt seen photos of the experience on Instagram, and if you aren’t at least a little intrigued by the concept of an immersive take on an iconic, historic artist like Van Gogh, you truly are one of a kind (and not in a good way).

Since opening in Manchester last October, Van Gogh Alive has already attracted over 120,000 visitors. The demand for tickets has not calmed down, leading the experience’s creators to extend its MediaCityUK run by over a month.

The extension gives members of the public a final chance to see the iconic ‘Sunflower Selfie room’ and the life-sized, walk-in representation of Van Gogh’s ‘Bedroom in Arles’ painting. The experience has been visited by a number of celebrities, including football pundit Gary Neville and actresses Jorgie Porter and Dame Maureen Lipman, the latter of whom said, “No wonder the world has gone mad for this exhibition – it made my heart sing and feet dance.” You rarely hear Lipman say a positive word about anything, so if that doesn’t convince you to visit this experience, I don’t know what will…

Created by Grande Experiences, the spectacular, immersive gallery exhibits the life and work of the seminal Dutch artist, Van Gogh. Housed in a 17,500ft2 purpose-built venue in the middle of MediaCityUK, the experience is a feast of sight, sound and even scent. More than eight million people have flocked to see Van Gogh Alive across 75 countries.

The exhibition offers you the chance to experience the work of Van Gogh beyond the walls of a museum. It physically immerses you within the life and works of the artist, changing the way visitors experience art by removing the concept of traditional museum visits often associated with quiet galleries, white walls, and glass-covered art works admired from afar. The mission to make art more accessible is really quite admirable. Van Gogh Alive challenges the senses with sound, 3,000 moving images of Van Gogh’s seminal work using state-of-the-art SENSORY4™ immersive gallery technology in bright technicolour, and even the scents of Provence as you move through the experience!

The exhibit begins by allowing you to climb into a painting. A life-sized recreation of ‘Bedroom in Arles’ truly brings the painting to life. You can sit on Van Gogh’s bed and chair, use his mirror, and of course pose for a photo in one of the most recognisable bedrooms in history. Where else does a painting spring out into life sized, touchable, three-dimensional reality?

The next stop is the main part of the exhibition. Van Gogh’s art is projected on to countless walls as beautiful music soothes your soul. I particularly liked the movement of the art, for instance, the moving clouds. Life is breathed into the still, 2D paintings that we love and adore.

The most notable part of the exhibition has to be the immersive Sunflower room. If you love a good selfie then prepare yourself for then this room is for you. This mirrored room, complete with hundreds of sunflowers, provides an incredible backdrop for a selfie, which will make you the envy of your Insta followers.

After this, you can try your hand at recreating Van Gogh’s iconic artworks. Visitors are offered the chance to use his techniques and learn his craft to create their own masterpiece in the Art Activity Area. Featuring informative video tutorials, you will get hands-on experience in drawing techniques, perspective, and composition. With three graded tutorials on offer, novices and skilled artists can hone their skills side by side.

Tickets are priced from £22.00 for adults and £15.00 for children, with concessions and school group discounts available. Visitors can opt to support The Christie charity when booking or visiting. Event organisers are hoping to raise vital funds for the charity, to continue its incredible work leading the way for cancer care, research, and education. Controlled visitor capacities and managed visitor flow mean visitors can easily respect any Covid-19 guidelines and enjoy the experience safely.

Van Gogh Alive is at MediaCityUK until 27th February, before visiting other UK cities. Gogh whilst it’s still there!

Change The Show: Miles Kane trades glam-rock for Northern Soul

Modson. Lounge lizard. Rock ‘n’ roll star. Over the best part of two decades, Miles Kane has constantly reinvented himself with each record, and his fourth solo outing is no exception. With Change The Show, Miles trades in the impulsive glam-rock intricacies of Coup de Grace for an amalgam of Motown and Northern Soul-inspired sounds.

The result is a spirited selection of retro bops, imbued with bombastic instrumentation and big sing-along choruses – perhaps an intentional artistic choice given the past two years of doom and gloom as a consequence of COVID-19.

He tones down the unpredictable rasp of his voice heard on tunes like ‘Too Little Too Late’ and ‘Bad Habits’ in favour of a slightly more restrained, smooth and soulful tone – his signature yowl discernible only a handful of times

There’s a pervasive sense of escapism which lingers through the album’s sturdy 11-track duration. On immediately hearing the introductory organ notes of the album’s opener ‘Tears are Falling’, the listener is transported to another time, as Miles croons “I’m an old school orchestrator / a forgotten cocktail shaker.”

The second track ‘Don’t Let it Get You Down’ sits in stark contrast, with urgent instrumentation, brassy bravado, and an audio clip provided by entertainment extraordinaire and fellow Wirralian Paul O’Grady. Guitars twang and reverberate as Miles offers his vision of optimism.

One of the album’s strongest tracks, ‘Nothing’s Ever Gonna Be Good Enough’, is a call-and-response duet with British singer-songwriter and long-time friend Corinne Bailey-Rae. Supported by salient horns and sizzling guitar licks, the back-and-forth exchange of this track and its accompanying video ensure that this will prove a highlight on Miles’ upcoming UK tour.

There’s a sense of nostalgia, of vintage, pervading the record, but nowhere is this more pronounced than on ‘Tell Me What You’re Feeling.’ You get the sense that you could glide into a 1960s bar and select this track on a jukebox. Meanwhile ‘Never Get Tired of Dancing’ exults in extravagance, opening with Kane’s signature scream and boasting grandiose brass arrangements.

Sultry saxophones and an infectious hook melt together on ‘I’ll See Ya When I See Ya’ whilst rich velveteen instrumentals and the pitter-patter of percussion accompany smooth vocals on ‘Coming of Age.’ You can almost imagine backing vocalists swinging from side-to-side, effortlessly echoing the slick outro of this number.

The title track, ‘Change The Show’ is perhaps the most similar to his previous venture Coup de Grace, which may come as a surprise given it was one of the last tracks to be penned for the record. In our interview with Miles, he revealed:

“One morning, I was just sat on the sofa in my dressing gown having a coffee, watching the news. All stuff was going on in America with Trump, and it was raining outside. I had a mate staying over at the time, who was going through a bit of a rough one. There was so much negativity in the world, everything was really grey. And then we started doing this tune […] it was literally sort of changing the channel on the TV. It became this anthemic tune […] and I love the story behind it.”

With an unrelenting vocal, red-hot riff, and an unrestrained howl of exasperation, Miles evokes the gnarly characteristics of his earlier material.

‘Adios Ta-Ra, Ta-Ra’ incorporates Miles’ Merseyside vernacular against a flourishing big-band backdrop, in a glossy closing track for the ages.

With Change The Show, Kane has created a cohesive collection of songs, which encapsulate the romanticised spirit of a bygone era without becoming pastiche. By incorporating his own isms and inflections, the record remains unmistakably Miles Kane.

8/10.

Change The Show is out now!

You can buy tickets for Miles Kane’s upcoming tour here.

Review: The Rocky Horror Show

On its fifty-year anniversary, The Rocky Horror Show did not fail to send the whole audience of the Palace Theatre into one bellow of “LET’S DO THE TIME WARP AGAIN”. Christopher Luscombe honoured the work of Richard O’Brien’s cult classic: the iconic characters, the costumes, the music, all re-kindling the hilarious and tantalising essence of the rock n roll-infused show that has kept its fans coming back for so long.

The story revolves around a recently engaged couple who plan to visit their good friend Dr Everett. V Scott. However, before they reach his home, they fall upon some car trouble and find themselves seeking assistance at a castle oozing with ominousness. Once inside, they discover a raucous party of strange individuals who introduce their master, Dr Frank-N-Furter. He invites the couple to stay and witness the birth of his recent experiment – a scientifically-made man named Rocky (named so because of the rocks in his head). The couple stay the night and find themselves compelled by the seductions of Dr Frank-N-Furter, who spoils their seemingly naïve and innocent image, making them feather-bowered spectators to the unravelling secrets of the sweet transvestites from Transylvania.

All of the cast deserve to be credited for their faultless performance. The charm of the starring characters: Brad (played by Strictly Come Dancing winner Ore Oduba) and Janet (played by Haley Flaherty) were captivating and carried us through their beguiling experience under the roof of Dr Frank-N-Furter. Stephen Webb’s performance of everyone’s favourite character, Dr
Frank-N-Furter himself, was sexy and enthralling. I was most apprehensive about the performance of the Dr – the delivery of such an iconic figure can really be the make or break of a beloved show – but Webb could not have fulfilled the demand better.

Philip Franks’ (The Darling Buds of May, Heartbeat) performance as the narrator was sensational from the second the play began. He played with the heckles of Rocky Horror Show familiars in the audience expertly, as well as delivering satire comedy about contemporary politics that sent audience members into hysterics. The perfect dose of resonant comedy in a legendary play to take a chuckle and carry it until you convulse with laughter.

The spiritedness of the audience’s costumes didn’t disappoint, evidencing how the loyalty of Rocky Horror Show fans is never faltering and made an especially enthusiastic comeback after so many months of lockdown. It’s fair to say, the theatre was missed through such strenuous times, but that has not rendered the Time Warp forgotten; far from it! Everyone
was up and out of their seats for all the major numbers – ‘Dammit Janet’, ‘Sweet Transvestite’ and ‘Touch-A-Touch-A-Touch-A-Touch Me’; to name but a few. I spoke to a lady that told me she’d been a follower of the show since (in her words) “before you were born”, and she was not let down by the energy, wit and flirtation enveloped in this particular production.

As a first-time viewer of the show, I fail to comprehend any critique that could have improved it. Nor can I imagine how any future interpretations may rival it. But that will not prevent me from becoming yet another devoted fan that follows the show around for many years to come. I will forever be encouraging any musical lover to watch this outstanding play. Pretty groovy!

The Rocky Horror Show plays at Manchester’s Palace Theatre until 22nd January, before continuing its UK tour throughout 2022. It was last in Manchester in August last year, so no doubt it’ll be back here in no time (warp)!

Déjà Review: The Rocky Horror Show

Written by Madison Emmett.

The Rocky Horror Show has returned to Manchester this week, just months since its last run. That’s testament to the tremendous talent of this tantalising piece of theatre, and everyone involved with it. In anticipation of its return, I thought I’d share my thoughts about this mega, meta musical, so you know what to expect if you decide to give it a go (and I really think you should).

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a well known classic, largely due to the popularity of the 1975 film adaptation, which was renamed The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The film was remade in 2016, now called The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let’s Do the Time Warp Again – but that’s all we’re going to say about that…

I went to see the stage adaptation last year, after wanting to see it for years. I knew it was certain to attract a full house because of its die-hard fandom, but I wasn’t prepared for the wonders I would witness in the auditorium. The entertainment started well before the show began, with a good 70% of the audience dressed as their favourite characters from the show.

This atmosphere was perfect for a return to the theatre after the dreariness of the prior 18 months. The cast seemed as delighted as the audience to be back on stage performing such an iconic piece of theatre – when they could get a word in, of course! Fans were on top form with the usual heckles and squeals, as expected. I felt rather left out!

Ore Oduba (Brad Majors), who last performed in Curtains, was the stand-out star for me. He brought a new spark and freshness to the character, and his energy was contagious. The chemistry between him, Haley Flaherty (Janet) and Stephen Webb (Frank-N-Furter) was special to witness and truly brought life to the genius of the screenwriting.

The ever witty Philip Franks gave an outstanding performance as the narrator, whose breaking of the fourth wall had the whole auditorium in stitches. He had perfect capture of the audience and was able to whip them back into shape at any given moment to allow the cast to continue the madness on stage.

An audience can always be sure that a night at the theatre watching Rocky Horror is going to be a marvellously fun experience for all – and this cast really brought the magic and mayhem of the much-loved story to life.

A perfect celebration of ridiculousness, gender fluidity and musical theatre – The Rocky Horror Show will never grow old. In fact, I loved the show that much that I went home and watched the original film the very same evening!

The Rocky Horror Show is back at Manchester’s Palace Theatre this week, playing until 22nd January, before continuing its UK tour throughout 2022 – and, no doubt, it will be back here in no time (warp). But with COVID constantly coming back with a vengeance, why risk it? Book your tickets today!

One Year of President Biden: A Progressive Revolution or an Uninspiring Façade?

January 20th will mark one year of Joe Biden’s Presidency. Amidst a pandemic, economic crisis, and increasing political polarisation it is fair to say that the issues Biden met with upon his inauguration are some of the most difficult challenges a President has faced upon taking office in American history. Indeed, Biden’s inaugural challenges are comparable to those faced by Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln; the Great Depression (1933) and the Secession Crisis of 1861, respectively.

Another unprecedented event in the days leading up to Biden’s inauguration last year was the January 6th Insurrection. Domestic terrorists, called to action by lame duck President Donald Trump, besieged and then stormed the Capitol building. Meanwhile, Congress attempted to count the electoral college votes which confirmed Biden as the winner of the 2020 election. This failed coup d’état would set the stage for the first few weeks of Biden’s presidency as the nation came to terms with the shocking events that had transpired.

All of this is important because it contextualises the political realities that Biden took the Oath of Office in. With all that in mind, let’s look at Biden’s first year in office.

 

The Good

Despite my many misgivings with Biden and the Democratic Party, it would be unfair to focus solely on their shortcomings. First and foremost, the largest success of President Biden’s Administration has been the greatest vaccination effort in US history. At the time of writing, more than 520 million doses of the vaccine have been administered (Bloomberg, 2022). This means that 63% of the US population have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Now, for a country as arguably advanced as America its percentage is relatively low when compared to other countries (e.g. China with 87% fully vaccinated, and Brazil with 79%). 

However, Biden cannot be fully blamed for this. The federal nature of the USA means that, even though the federal government orders and distributes the vaccines, it is up to individual state governments to administer the shot. This means that Biden is not technically responsible for the varying rates with which each state has vaccinated its population. This is particularly important when taking into account how misinformation has caused vaccine hesitancy in many states, especially in the Deep South and Rocky Mountain regions. Therefore, the vaccine effort can be attributed as a win for Biden because it has been largely successful in spite of the surge in “Anti Vaxxer conspiracy theories” that have hampered the rollout.

Another success for Biden was passing a $1.9 trillion stimulus bill into law. This relief package gave $1400 in direct aid to all eligible adults.  Unlike previous stimulus packages, it included adult dependents like college students or those in receipt of social welfare. Also included in the bill were tax provisions like increasing child tax credits alongside $130 billion in education funding for costs associated with introducing Covid-19 measures like social distancing in classrooms.

Passing the bill into law was a clear success for Biden, especially considering no Republicans in the House of Representatives voted for it (although the Democrats majority in the House nullified their opposition). The economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic is forever evolving as governments and markets react to the changing world. Thus, for Biden to have passed a stimulus package of this magnitude is a resounding success. Whilst it does not represent an overhaul of the American economy or is even comparable to the measures introduced by Roosevelt’s “New Deal” in ‘33, Biden’s economic investment will always be a positive aspect to his Presidency.

One final positive of Biden’s first year in office has been his climate policy. In a clear refutation of his predecessor anti-science policies, on his first day in office Biden signed an Executive Order recommitting the US to the Paris Climate Accords. He also cancelled the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.  He also created two new important roles in the fight against climate change after establishing the role of White House National Climate Advisor (Gina McCarthy) and U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate (John Kerry).

These actions are the most significant part of the Biden Administration so far. It is no secret that the fight against climate change is a dire one. Inarguably it needs global leaders to take notice and join the fray. Through the aforementioned acts, Biden has sent a clear message that he is willing to do something about the climate crisis. He has demonstrated that whilst his Presidency may not represent a transformation of the American economy, or a drastic constitutional shake-up, it may be remembered as the moment that the US government began to take climate change seriously and, more importantly, do something about it.

Photo by Adam Schultz @flickr / Biden for President

The Bad

On the reverse side of Biden’s end of year report card is his failure to push through more relief measures that are part of his “Build Back Better” policy initiative. “Build Back Better” is a legislative framework that aims to reform and improve the American economy whilst boosting social provisions and fighting climate change. Despite being similar in intent to FDR’s “New Deal” or LBJ’s “Great Society” initiatives, Biden’s plan is relatively tame by comparison.

The issues arise from Biden’s majority of just one vote in the Senate. Currently, the Build Back Better Act is being held to ransom on the senate floor by Senator Joe Manchin III (D-WV) who wants it lowered to $1.5 trillion after already having it lowered from $3.1 trillion to $1.75 trillion.

Another disappointing aspect of Biden’s time in the White House has been the Democratic Party’s unwillingness to take advantage of their control over both Congress and the White House for the first time since 2011. As the Republicans have proven over the past decade, control of Congress is crucial for a President seeking to legislate effectively. So far, the Democrats appear to be lacking. 

Control of Congress is not just important for legislation but also for political control of the judiciary. Currently, there is a 6-3 Conservative majority on the Supreme Court and with important votes on civil rights like abortion scheduled for 2022, the Democrats should have taken the opportunity to expand the Supreme Court. Now, such a move would be hugely controversial.  Biden himself may not even be in favour of it. However, with polarisation at its worst since the Secession crisis, expanding the Supreme Court may be Biden’s only hope – short of constitutional amendments – to protect the civil rights intrinsic to the American ideal that “All Men are created equal.”

Furthermore, another possible solution to Biden’s woes could be expanding the Senate by way of approving statehood for Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. Under the U.S. Constitution, Congress has the power by way of a simple majority to admit the aforementioned places into the Union as their citizens have already voted in favour of statehood. By admitting D.C. and PR, the Democrats would create four new Senate seats, making a GOP senate less likely due to the two potential states’ political leanings. 

However, any such move would, whether that be Senate or Court expansion, be hugely controversial. It would almost certainly split the centre-right Democratic Party right down the middle. Therefore, even if he did have radical intentions, Biden would struggle to pass any such constitutional measures without Bipartisan support – something that is becoming increasingly rare in Washington these days.

Senator Joseph Manchin III (D-WV) is the only Democrat in the Senate to oppose the Build Back Better bill
@flickr

And The Ugly

Despite domestic negotiations over ‘Build Back Better’ being an issue, Biden still has the potential to resolve them. What is unresolvable, an unforgivable, however, is the USA’s calamitous withdrawal from Afghanistan.

America first sent troops to Afghanistan in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, beginning with covert CIA operatives and Special Forces aimed at surgically weakening the Taliban government and Al-Qaeda cells residing in the region. What followed was a long and brutal 20 year war that has now culminated in the fall of Kabul and a Taliban resurgence in Afghanistan.

The complete withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan was a result of the Trump Administration’s 2020 Doha Agreement – a treaty with the Taliban that circumvented the Afghan government whilst agreeing to a total withdrawal based on a “promise” that the Taliban would not challenge the government. Despite multiple analysts predicting that Afghanistan would fall within weeks of US withdrawal, and skirmishes beginning as soon as the first troops withdrew, the Biden Administration still made the disastrous decision to follow through with the plan.

As a result of this haphazard approach to foreign policy, Afghanistan is currently experiencing a humanitarian disaster of catastrophic proportions. A recent UN report has projected that by the middle of 2022 Afghanistan will experience near-universal levels of poverty, with 97% of the population living below the international poverty line of $1.90 a day.

Now, I am not an advocate of the so-called “War on Terror”, nor am I a proponent of military occupations. However, it is crystal clear that the Biden Administration’s decision to continue the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan is one of the biggest humanitarian failures of recent years. It marks a complete abdication of America’s moral responsibility as a global leader. It is also unfortunately ironic that the past three decades worth of American foreign policy, dating back to Ronald Reagan’s support of the Mujahideen, were directly responsible for causing the conflict which saw Afghanistan thrown into turmoil.

 

“And that’s the way it is”

Clearly, President Biden has achieved some important policy objectives in his first year in office. His trillion dollar stimulus package came as a relief to many American families facing economic uncertainty amidst the pandemic. Meanwhile, his strong stance on climate change signals a return to global leadership in an age where there is an endless abdication of it.

However, despite his strong domestic policies, Biden’s foreign policy has been nothing short of a disaster. The humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan is morally inexcusable and comes as a disappointing shock that an experienced politician like Biden could have let this happen.

Despite a mixed first year, hope is not lost for President Biden. Even though his approval ratings are declining and the Democrats are projected to lose the House and possibly the Senate in the 2022 Congressional midterm elections, Biden still has an opportunity in the next 6 months to push policies through that will have positive, tangible effects for the American people.

One year into his four year term, Biden’s path forward is still unclear. It is yet to be seen what the long term fallout of the January 6th insurrection will be and how that may affect Biden going forward, but the fact of the matter remains that America is now more deeply polarised than it has been at any time in modern history.

Ultimately, we cannot judge an entire presidency on its freshman year alone. However, what we can be certain of is that President Biden’s remaining time in office will be crucial for defining what America’s legacy will be for the rest of the century.

In Conversation with Miles Kane

Adored by fans of indie-rock, Miles Kane is known both as the co-frontman of The Last Shadow Puppets, along with Arctic Monkeys lead singer Alex Turner, and as a successful solo artist in his own right. His last album, the glam-rock-inspired Coup de Grave reached #8 in the UK album charts and spawned a string of successful singles including ‘Loaded’ and ‘Cry on My Guitar’. Ahead of the launch of his new Motown-influenced album Change The Show, Miles Kane caught up with editor Sarah Taylor and Dan Knight to discuss the new record, his upcoming tour, and recent collaborations with Corinne Bailey-Rae and Lana Del Rey.

Hey Miles, how’s it going? Where are we speaking to you from today?

I’m good thanks, I’m in East London, where I live now.

So, you’ve got the new record Change The Show coming out in January…can you tell us a bit about the inspiration behind it?

Loads of things really. I write songs for me about what I’m going through and how I’m feeling and I try not to let things get in the way. This record is more of that than ever. A lot of the songs feel like I’m just looking at myself in the mirror. It was all very therapeutic in a way, taking the lyrics on their own.

You’ve named the record Change The Show. Why did you go with that for the title?

It came from the song ‘Change The Show.’ It was one of the last songs written [for the album]. One morning, I was just sat on the sofa in my dressing gown having a coffee, watching the news. All stuff was going on in America with Trump, and it was raining outside. I had a mate staying over at the time, who was going through a bit of a rough one. There was so much negativity in the world, everything was really grey. And then we started doing this tune, I came up with this melody [he sings down the phone]. It was almost like a nursery rhyme, we took it to the studio, and you know, ‘Change The Show’, it was literally sort of changing the channel on the TV. It became this anthemic tune, and sort of glued everything else together ‘cause I needed another upbeat song with a big sing-along chorus. It completed the album and I love the story behind it.

Photo: Miles Kane via Press agent

There’s a huge soul and Motown influence on this album. Is that something you’ve always been interested in, or a new musical discovery?

I’ve always been into it. You know, growing up, that’s what my mum and my aunties would be listening to in their houses. You know, Motown, The Four Tops, Diana Ross. I’m the same in my house now, it’s my go to, I always just put it on whether I’ve got people there or I’m just chilling. So, it’s always been there, and I think there’s some [The Last Shadow] Puppets’ stuff that’s more in that world. I’ve tended to go a bit more glam-rock or a bit heavier rock’n’roll on some of the other records. This one, the songs were just a bit more naturally in that vein, and I have always wanted to make a Northern Soul record, but I’ve tried not to do it in a pastiche way, and still have a bit of an edge on it. I think we’ve achieved that.

How have things changed since Coup de Grace?

Loads has changed really. People keep saying it’s so different but, in my head, it’s not so different. I think stylistically it’s not as angry or aggressive maybe. I think we’ve moved a step forward. It sounds fresh. Each album, you want to grow, as a songwriter, and I think we did. The 11 tracks are so in their own world. They stick together well and there isn’t an oddball on there that doesn’t fit if that makes sense.

Did you work with new producers on Change The Show or did you find a new way of recording?

Yeah, I recorded it with two young lads Dave and Oscar from the band Sunglasses for Jaws. They’re an amazing bass player and drummer too, and their style of playing and their taste is so on point with what I like. They’re ten years younger than me and they reminded me of myself. I could see myself in them when I was that age, with their excitement. But they’re way better musicians than I am, like [laughs]! The way they were talking about doing things and their energy – it was a really great experience. And I know they sort of looked up to me and it was so nice to share the experience with someone new and fresh. I encouraged them and they encouraged me. It was just a great combination to be honest.

You recently released the duet ‘Nothing’s Ever Gonna Be Good Enough’ with Corinne Bailey Rae. How did that come about?

I’ve known Corinne for over ten years. She did the harmonies on my first album Colour of the Trap. We’ve been mates since then but sort of fell out of touch for a bit. A couple of years ago I’d had a few wines in the kitchen and was having a bit of a dance round and one of her tunes came on. So, I text her saying ‘ahh bangin’, that tune!’ – it’s called ‘Paris Nights’ – and then we sort of rekindled our friendship and started sending demos and ideas to each other. She said, ‘oh I’m obsessed with this stuff, it’s going to be good!’ So, I said we could make it a real back and forth and do a boss duet. We wanted to do it properly, not just a token singer on the chorus, but something that actually tells a story, and you’re singing at each other. So that’s what we did, and it turned out fantastic. It’s something I’d definitely like to do more of.

You also got entertainment legend and fellow Wirralian Paul O’Grady involved with the album. How did that happen?

I’m a big fan of his and I wanted to sample part of this speech he did. I became quite obsessed with it, and I wanted it to open the album or at least open a song. When it came to mastering, […] was like do you want to get rid of that thinking it was just a jokey thing and I said no! It’s become part and parcel of the song now. It was hard to get the licensing for it, so we ended up contacting Paul and he turned out to be a fan of mine. He’d bought the last few records, so he called up and said, ‘I’ll just do it for you!’ so he re-recorded it before his radio show one day and sent it over. He’s an absolute diamond!

You worked on the track ‘Dealer’ on the new Lana Del Rey record – how did that come about?

We wrote that a couple of years ago. We went in the studio to do a load of demos and we’d written quite a few songs together. At the end of the session that tune just kind of – it’s so cheesy when people say – but it did just happen. In a few years I’ll be saying ‘oh I wrote the lyrics on a radiator’ [laughs]. It’s an intense song and I’m so glad that it’s seen the light of day. The way she takes it when she comes in with her soaring vocal. Its something that you don’t expect, and she’s never done. It’s very powerful. I think people are digging it for that factor. It’s got a unique thing about it.

Do you normally write songs in that sort of spontaneous way? Do the lyrics or melody come first?

Probably the melody comes first with me. Then you get an odd little word and start sewing it together. I don’t really like doing a whole song and then sticking something over the top of it. I like to do it bit by bit really. If you have lyrics written out before hand, I feel like it’s easy to sing and you can just kind of glide and go in any direction.

You’re going on tour in May – you’re playing the Albert Hall in Manchester and a big hometown show at the O2 Academy in Liverpool – what can we expect from the tour?

The setlist is just so undeniable and so exciting. We’ve got Ollie and a few different lads in the band. The setlist will be so strong ‘cause it’s the first time we’ve been able to pick from four albums. We’ll probably throw in a couple of [The Last Shadow] Puppets’ tunes, probably do a couple of covers. It’ll just be like an ultimate, uplifting, good-feeling party vibe.

You recently covered Womack and Womack’s ‘Teardrop’

With Brooke [Combe]! My cousin manages her, and he put me onto her, and she’s coming on tour with us so maybe at a few gigs we might do that song. We were talking about doing an old tune and she loves that song, so we thought ‘let’s just do it.’ We were going to do a writing session but then we thought let’s do something with no pressure, just enjoy ourselves and do a boss cover. It turned out really well and she’s lovely.

I also saw you cover Donna Summer’s ‘Hot Stuff’ on the Coup de Grace tour in Liverpool – do you have any other covers or surprises in store for the tour? Or any stylistic changes?

That’s what I’m trying to work out now. I definitely want it to look different. I really want us to be surrounded by big screens behind us, so we’re on that as well. Almost like an arena show, but in a club. Quite dramatic. It’ll be different for sure like! That Liverpool gig in Mountford Hall was well good!

Thank you Miles!

You can pre-order the new Miles Kane album Change The Show, out 21st January here.

You can buy tickets for the upcoming rescheduled Miles Kane tour, which includes a date at Manchester Albert Hall on 25th May here.

Moscow City Ballet comes to Manchester Opera House

Moscow City Ballet returns to Manchester as part of its 2022 UK Tour, appearing at Manchester Opera House from the 20th to the 22nd of January. The company, coming from the cradle of classical ballet, recognises and acknowledges Russian tradition and will perform two full-scale classics, Swan Lake and The Nutcracker. These greatest achievements of classical ballet provide a unique artistic experience through their combination of artistry, technique, narrative, and live music.

The Nutcracker is an enchanting ballet that tells the story of Clara and her fairy tale adventure with her Nutcracker Prince. Being a real treat of the festive period, it features a grand, sumptuous set and is full of stunning costumes. Set to Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s glorious score, it is the perfect introduction to Russian classical ballet.

Swan Lake is an epic story of Prince Siegfried who would rather die together with his love, Odetta, than be forced to live apart. The ballet is performed in all the splendour that has brought it worldwide fame, and features a familiar and haunting score by Tchaikovsky.

Swan Lake
Photo: Moscow City Ballet.

Moscow City Ballet preserves the original choreography of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, which is upheld by the excellent dexterity, grace, and skill of principal dancers Lilia Orekhova and Dzmitry Lazovik, who add a youthful exuberance to the renowned ballets.

Moscow City Ballet, founded in 1988 by Victor Smirnov-Golovanov, is one of Russia’s most successful touring ballet companies. It is widely admired for its style, dramatic story-telling, impressive choreography and skilled dancers. Under the artistic direction of Ludmila Neroubashchenko, the company is committed to promoting the classical Russian ballet to audiences all over the world.

Manchester lecturers will not strike on pensions after failed reballot

The University of Manchester’s University and Colleges Union (UMUCU) has failed to hit the 50% threshold required to strike over pensions in the reballot. 

The union missed out by just one vote during the initial ballot in November, which the UMUCU alleged at the time was due to “pandemic-related postal issues.” However, the reballot has in fact lowered the turnout, by almost 50 votes, meaning they once again came up short. 

The UMUCU have tweeted that there were further issues with postal ballots failing to reach 50 members during the reballot, and have called for electronic balloting to be legalised in future.

 

Third year students at the University of Manchester lost 22 days to strike action over changes to the USS pensions scheme in November 2019 and February 2020. But this year, strikes at the University of Manchester will only be on the four fights issues of pay, equality, workload and casualisation. 

44 Universities across the UK, however, are set to continue striking on pensions, after Universities UK (an advocacy organisation representing all the universities) pushed through cuts to the defined benefits element of the pension scheme. This was allegedly to avoid having to pay higher contributions, despite the fact external professional advisers have said they have the budget to do so. 

When contacted for comment, a University Spokesperson said:

“Our turnout was 47.77% of eligible UCU members, so failed to reach the legal 50% threshold required to give a mandate for strike action in relation to this ballot. 84% (836 staff) of those who voted were in favour of strike action. In total, we have about 6,300 USS members across the University.

Pension negotiations are conducted at a national level for USS, so we are unable to make changes at a local Manchester level. We do recognise how important pensions are to colleagues and we take those views very seriously. It is of fundamental importance to the University that we remain a great place to work, and study.”

In Conversation with Alt-J

Known for their effervescent-come-psychedelic soundscapes and blissful stylings, Alt-J have been taking the indie world by storm over the last decade and a half.

With their fourth studio album due out early next month, I shared a phone call, with the then-isolating Gus to discuss The Dream LP and creating safe spaces at concerts.

 

How have you been doing in the last few weeks? What have you been up to?

I’ve had Coronavirus, which has been quite boring. But I’m feeling a lot better now. So hoping to come out of isolation quite soon, which is good.

Oh, are you still isolated now?

Yeah, I’m just at home. I’m living in a sort of garden office. So I’ve been living out there to try and not give my wife and child COVID. 

So you’ve just been living in a little man cave in the garden for the past week?

Exactly! It will be nice to re-enter my house at some point. Other than that, it’s been good. We’ve been in rehearsals for the band, which has been fun, like learning all the new songs and getting ready for the tour next year. So, it feels good to be getting the getting the engine running on the band again.

Amazing! The Dream is set for release Feb 11th. Are you excited for that to come out?

Very excited. We finished it back in June. So yeah, I just really can’t wait for everyone to hear it. To be honest, it’s been so long I need to keep reminding myself that people have only had two singles from it. 

Are you planning on releasing any more singles from it?

Oh, no, there’ll be another single. Just after the new year, we’re going to release ‘Hard Drive Gold’ as a single. I think that’ll be the last one before the album comes out.

 

In terms of your music in general, it spans across quite a lot of genres. Like you’ve got your alternative electronica and then there’s like some almost dance-fused cuts in there. Is there any particular genre that you’d slot the band into? Or do you not like being pinned down?

I think we try to avoid kind of being too pigeon-holed just because we’ve got this far, without ever feeling like we needed to. We know that we broadly fit into the indie corner, as it were, but I think within that we’re able to kind of like, you know, try our hand at lots of different things. And I think ultimately, our fan base has always liked the fact that we try different things and are quite experimental. So in that sense, I think we’ve got this freedom to sort of do what we want musically, and having Joe as the lead singer, which is quite a unique voice. I think ultimately if we make a song, you know, musically sounds a bit like house music and then another one that sounds more like post-punk but Joe’s singing on both of them it’s still has a sort of that sort of voice that ties it all together.

What else can you tell us about The Dream? What does the album mean to you?

I think it’s a very personal album, you know, it’s the first time we’ve ever recorded we’ve ever had our own studio to write and recording. That was a really nice thing. And we sort of like we tried to get lots of our friends and family and wives and partners, and stuff involved in the recording process doing little kind of vocal samples. And that makes that feel like a very, very personal album and hopefully, that comes across to listeners as well.

In your songs you have quite a lot of hidden vocal accompaniments like you had Ellie Rowsell on ‘Relaxer’. Are there any more surprise features on this record?

Like features in the same way that no and say that we found that we tried to use more people – we’ve got like, my mom and Joe’s mom doing little sort of like vocal samples on ‘Hard Drive Gold’ – we just want to make it more personal really.

 Oh, that’s so sweet that you got people you know actually getting involved with your music as well, especially with the lead single ‘U&Me’ – that is very much a song about togetherness and friendship and having everyone you love around you. Is that a theme that you think carries on throughout the album then?

I think that song in particular, felt like an important one – that was the first one we released from the album, it felt like an optimistic song to kind of kickstart the recording process and also felt like a good kind of optimistic message to give people when we were returning as the band, and particularly given what the world’s gone through in the last two years. We just wanted to kind of just try and say to people, like, you know, “good times, they’ll come back eventually“, and we’ll be back in a field with our arms around each other, you know, singing and dancing and having a good time.

 Is that the reason you chose it to be the lead single, like an optimistic beacon of hope to open up the world back to Alt-J?

I would say so – we released it towards the end of summer, and it was literally about going to a festival. So yeah, it felt like a good thing too, and optimistic note to return to music.

So in terms of the album as a whole, are the any themes that are veined throughout it, like the togetherness and friendship?

Well, we’ve always ended up seeming to reference water quite a lot in our lyrics. And again, in this in this song, there’s mentions of swimming pools and like drowning and swimming.  I’m not sure why that seems to preoccupy Joe, so much as a lyricist. But I think, again, it’s the sort of love and loss are our kind of bread and butter. Lyrically, I would say, and thinking about death, and thinking about losing people and stuff is something that’s always on our minds. I suppose it’s just about trying to do that in a way that doesn’t that doesn’t feel completely hopeless.

Is it mainly Joe that writes the lyrics? What does the writing process look like?

Yeah. I would say generally, the music comes before the lyrics.

When was the album written and recorded?

We started recording, in summer 2020 of the first lockdown. And we finished recording this summer.

So you’ve gone through being out of lockdown to going back in it again, and coming out again. How did that affect the recording process?

I think in a way, it actually was quite beneficial. Because we had a bit more time – more songs were being written and it took the pressure off us timewise. It’s just, you know, ultimately, it’ll be done when it’s done. And the whole world is kind of like being thrown into a bit of, you know, no one really knows what to expect at the moment. So, you know, no one’s going to be tapping their watch saying, “it’s about time for an Alt-J release”. It’s just like going well, f*ck knows what’s going on? Yeah, it was nice, to have that slight feeling of being able to just pause time.

With previous records, have you felt that kind of pressure to get something new out as soon as possible?

I think with our third album, we committed ourselves to reach a really tight deadline to sort of record the album. And ultimately, I think that was to its detriment, you know, we had to rush and we were not as many songs on there as we would have liked, but we just pretty much run out of time. And that was not a nice feeling. I think we kind of said to ourselves after that, that we would never work like that again. And so I think the release of The Dream is a product of that product, basically.

So you’ve recently released ‘Get Better’ – what’s the story behind that track?

It’s song which was written very much during the pandemic and sort of about a man losing his partner to an illness. And, you know, lyrically, it does kind of make references to the pandemic, and talking about frontline workers. The more we talked about this song in interviews, I think the more we realised how much it was a product of a pandemic and the lockdowns and stuff and the things we didn’t realise, at first quite how, at the time it affected us and to the point where we actually wrote a song about it. And that’s a new thing for us, because normally, none of our songs really deal with like, shall we say, Current Affairs, but I think the momentousness or the pandemic definitely, is such that it did end up, you know, having a song written about it.

I think it’s quite strange to think about as well that if the pandemic didn’t happen, that song probably never would have existed, and the album could have looked so much different.

That’s very true. I like thinking that.

 So you how did you find lockdown, then creatively, you said you did like quite a lot of writing and recording?

Yeah, I mean, you know, I think it was just good to have that breathing space. Actually, went into the studio in January 2020, and then had a few weeks in there of writing, then we had to go into lockdown for a few months, then we came back and started recording. So that was kind of like quite a good way to work. And then we sort of recorded for a few weeks, or months. And then then we had another lockdown. What was it I can’t remember, I think we carried on recording, and writing until Christmas? And then there was another whole big lockdown wasn’t there beginning of next year. Then Joe had a baby, then we kind of got back into the studio in like, April, and kind of finished out and then but I think having those break just mentioned every time he came back to the studio, he felt like quite revived and quite restored. And that was a nice feeling. Being in the studio can be pretty draining, you know, it’s not always the most creative process or the most creative time really, quite often. It’s a lot of doing nothing and waiting for your turn to do something. And also being in this environment, this like, quiet, windowless environment that can be physically quite airless, but also, you know, quite emotionally kind of cramped as well. So actually, having the enforced break by the pandemic was, I think, really good. It meant that we, we didn’t get too much.

What was it like working with Charlie Andrew on the album?

We’ve worked with him since 2009. So it’s always been great working with Charlie, you know, he’s a member of the band, basically. He’s just somebody who really gets what kind of sound we want to make. He’s really curious and inquisitive, musically. He’s always up to try new things, if we say we want to try something like an opera singer, or, you know, a children’s choir or something, he makes it happen straightaway. He’s got lots of contacts and all different kinds of musical worlds. And, you know, he just likes to make recording as creative a process as possible. And that’s a really nice thing.

Is there a favourite track on the album of yours that you’ve recorded?

I think it might be the first track – it’s such a journey and it starts off with this kind of like weird, medieval kind of, sort of long intro, strange times maturing and sort of segues into you know, a kind of a bit of a trip-hop track, and suddenly has this big kind of like chorus that sounds a bit like Queen or something. It’s so varied. And so it’s almost like a microcosm of the whole album in one song. So I think that’s my favourite.

You mentioned as well that you’re heading out on tour next year, is there anything you’re most excited about with being back on the road again?

I think it’s gonna be reconnecting with our fans, you know, when touring, our fans get to see us also, and we get to see them, you know, and I don’t just mean like, seeing them from the stage – meet and greets, and we get to chat them after gigs. And we get to remember, like, there are lots of people out there who love our music. And that’s a really nice thing. I think it’ll be really lovely to just to sort of speak a little bit see our fans again, you know, ones that I know, personally, and just more generally, as a group of people.

 Is there anything you don’t like about touring?

I always put on weight. It’s not the healthiest of lifestyles, I would say – eating quite badly drinking too much. And, you know, that kind of thing. But other than that, I like, I like it a lot.

I think you’ve just described the life of a uni student.

But when you’re at uni, you’ve got this very fast metabolism, you know, I definitely didn’t put on any weight when I was a student and suddenly 25 and realise that eating pizza every night and drinking like a beer was actually not great for the figure.

 Since the COVID 19 pandemic is kind of like slowed down a bit in gigs are back on, people out clubbing again, there has been like quite a rise in the amount of spiking and sexual assaults at gigs. Do you think it’s quite important for bands to ensure a safe space for their fans?

Yeah, I mean, absolutely. I think it’s important for gigs to be a safe space. I mean, I don’t know exactly what bands could do to to ensure that but I would certainly like to educate myself about that more. Yeah. I mean, it’s very frightening thing, absolutely. And something that I hoped would never happen to one of our gigs.  I mean, I would definitely like to do everything to think that we’re doing everything we can to prevent it.

It can be very hard to see what’s going on, particularly past the first few rows. And I suppose, you don’t know who’s with whom, or what constitutes unwanted, you know, touching and stuff, or contact to you. You know, I can’t say for certain, whether that guy who’s, got his arm around that girl is her boyfriend, or whether he’s just some creepy stranger? Yeah. I suppose one thing that one could do, I suppose is, you know, if there are venues, which are consistently failing to provide a safe environment, it’s boycott those venues as an artist. And, if I found out that we were playing at a venue, which, you know, had a really bad history of sexual assault, and they’re not providing a safe environment for women to go to gigs – I would like to think that we would not play at that venue. And, you know, if your readers want to get in touch with me and tell me a place where I can read about this stuff or, or anything that like that, I’d be extremely interested to read about it, I would love to do what we can to join that fight.

 I know that there have been a few boycotting events at the University of Manchester, where the students have just like gone together, got on protests, or boycotted all the clubs in Manchester.

Was this to do with the injections?

Yeah, that’s happened a few times in the city.

I read about that in the paper was shocking, shocking, Jesus Christ, like, really horrible. Ultimately, if the clubs are not going to, you know, instruct their security to properly charge people and properly weed out these, you know, horrible individuals who are doing this kind of thing – then we should just say ‘we’re not going to your clubs until this is sorted’. Because, ultimately, you’re voting with the feet and with your pounds, and that sort of thing, sadly, is what makes them listen a lot of the time.

Yeah, definitely. It is really nice to hear as a female that, if you heard of a venue that weren’t particularly, in allegiance with women who don’t want to get sexually assaulted, that you would not play that venue?

Oh, well, I hope they would. And certainly, you know, as I said, I am not very well educated on the specifics of where we shouldn’t be playing. But yeah, very open to being educated on that and doing what we can.

We went on a bit of a tangent there! Are there any plans in the works for a fifth record? Because I know it’s been a five-year wait!

I’m sure it will happen. But you know, I think that right now, we’re just enjoying basking in the afterglow of making this last record. And, you know, we’ve written some new songs already that are not on this album. And so it will happen, and I’m sure it’s going to be even better than this.

With that in mind, what do you think 2022 holds for Alt-J?

Yeah, I mean, lots of touring, and lots of touring, basically, which is exciting. I’m very excited about getting back out on the road.

The Dream is out 11th Feb 2022.

Remembering Betty White on her 100th birthday

In a world so divided, one of the last things we could all agree on was Betty White. The iconic actress sadly died on the last day of 2021, just shy of her 100th birthday. Whilst it was a sad end to a rollercoaster of a year, better to end the year on a sad note than begin it on one. When I poured my cocktail on New Year’s Eve, I drank to Betty White.

Through no fault of her own, the world may descend into chaos now that she’s gone. We must protect Dolly Parton at all costs, for she’s the only other thing we all agree on!

White’s honorific title, “the First Lady of television”, was no exaggeration. A pioneer of early television, with a career spanning 9 decades, she worked longer in television than anyone else in that medium, earning her a Guiness World Record in 2018. She was among the first women to exert control in front of and behind the camera, and the first woman to produce a sitcom (Life with Elizabeth), which contributed to her being named honorary Mayor of Hollywood in 1955. Over the course of her career, she received eight Emmy Awards in various categories, three American Comedy Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Grammy Award. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was a 1995 Television Hall of Fame inductee.

White started off in radio before making the transition to TV, quickly becoming a staple panelist of American game shows. Dubbed “the First Lady of game shows”, she became the first woman to receive the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host.

It is her starring roles in well-known sitcoms, however, that White is best remembered for. Her most notable roles include the saucy Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1973–1977), the restless Rose Nylund on The Golden Girls (1985–1992), and the enthusiastic Elka Ostrovsky on Hot in Cleveland (2010–2015). She gained renewed popularity after her appearance in the The Proposal (2009), and was subsequently the subject of a successful Facebook-based campaign to host Saturday Night Live in 2010, which garnered her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.

White was both the First Lady of television and the last living Golden Girl. I got into Golden Girls during the first lockdown of 2021. I was skipping through the TV channels and came across Sabrina the Teenage Witch. A fan of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, I thought I’d give this 90s hit show a go, but I found it dated. Ground-breaking for its time, sure, but the things that set it apart have been appropriated, overdone and conventionalised. So, I skipped the channel and stumbled across Golden Girls, which I decided to watch, if not for my love of Betty White, then because nothing else was on!

To my surprise, I loved it. Whilst Golden Girls is even older than Sabrina, it’s still so relevant, what with the issues it tackled (including AIDS and homophobia), and its comedy has aged so well. Most of it anyway – perhaps not the “blackface”.

In a scene from season 4 episode 22, Rose asks the other girls, “What happens when there’s only one of us left?”, prompting Sophia (Estelle Getty) – the eldest character but second youngest actress – to joke, “Don’t worry: I can take care of myself”. Eerily, not only did Getty die first, but the girls are sat in the order in which they died: Getty died in 2008, Beatrice “Bea” Arthur (Dorothy) died in 2009, and Rue McLanahan (Blanche) died in 2010. These deaths, over three consecutive years, left White the last living Golden Girl for over a decade.

Picture it: Heaven, 2022the girls enjoying cheesecake once again.

Now, White was more than just an actress; she was also noted for her her activism, especially animal welfare advocacy. She fought for everything from civil to gay rights. In 1954, she faced criticism for featuring Arthur Duncan, a Black tap dancer, on her talkshow. “I’m sorry, but, you know, he stays. Deal with it,” was her impassioned response, before she gave Duncan even more airtime. Her show was cancelled soon after. Duncan, who credits White with giving him his big break, remained oblivious to this sad affair for years to come. Years later, the pair reunited for a dance.

As for gay rights: White spoken openly about her inability to understand why people care who others sleep with. Some notable examples include her HIV and AIDS activism, her interviews with Joy Behar and Larry King (who also died last year), a panel with cast and creatives from Golden Girls, and hear appearances at the GLAAD Awards in 2012 and 2013.

White lived a good, long life. She was older than everything from Mount Rushmore to sliced bread! The latter was the subject of an hilarious segment on The Late, Late Show with James Corden. When asked if sliced bread is older than White, Amar’e Stoudemire said, “Sliced bread has been around for a long time”. White then chirped in: “So has Betty White”. Whilst it sure is consolation that White’s life was long and full, that doesn’t take away the pain. I’m sat here, writing this article, wiping away the tears, wondering why I’m mourning the death of an old woman I never even knew. But when I go over what I’ve written, and the words of others that have informed this article, it’s crystal clear: White was an international treasure who brought so much joy to so many lives over the course of her own (long, full) life. Let this be an incentive for us all to live our lives in such a way that if we die at 99, it’s still too soon.

Whilst she lived longer than most, it sucks that she was so close to her 100th birthday – even closer than Zsa Zsa Gabor was. White was very excited about becoming a centenarian – another achievement for her endless collection – as seen in the recent interview, which she had shared to her Instagram days before her death. I remember wishing White a happy 99th birthday, and all year I’ve been praying that the grandmother of my dreams made it to 100. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be. But that does not have to stop the celebrations. Join me today in wishing White the happiest of heavenly birthdays. I’m sure she’s enjoying a slice of birthday cheesecake right about now!

It’s hard not to mourn the passing of an icon, but that doesn’t have to stop us from celebrating her many achievements. After all, that’s what White would have wanted.

On grief, she said: “You can’t become a professional mourner. It doesn’t help you or others. Replay the good times. Be grateful for the years you had” – and, oh, she had many!

On the passing of Lucille Ball, she said: “No matter how many tears we cry today, the laughs outnumber them”. Three decades later, we can say those same words about White.

On being remembered herself, she said: “I don’t even know that I’d be remembered,” revealing that even Betty White can get it wrong! This modesty, humility and humbleness made White all the more loveable. As the song goes, “You don’t know you’re beautiful – that’s what makes you beautiful” – and that’s the only time I’ll ever quote One Direction.

White eventually answered the question, telling the interviewer that she wants to be remembered as a friend we invite into our living rooms.

Well, Betty: thank you for being a friend.

Live Review: The Libertines – All Grown Up or Still the Stylish Kids in the Riot?

The Libertines have been bringing their frantic brand of indie rock to our ears for almost 25 years at this point. In this time, they’ve had their fair shares of highs and lows, with multiple best-selling, critically acclaimed albums and singles partnered with the much publicised struggles of frontman Pete Doherty, whose gift for song-writing went hand-in-hand with the self-destructive tendencies which eventually led to the break-up of the band in 2004. However, recent years have been kind to the band: Pete went away and got clean, the comeback album succeeded, and the band have managed to embark on several successful tours. The Giddy Up A DingDong Tour is the current adventure, and last Monday, the band visited the Manchester Academy for a much anticipated performance.

As the room began to fill, an air of anticipation was tangible, with a capacity crowd itching for a good time, which was exactly what they got. Doherty and his co-frontman Carl Barat arrived on stage resplendent in flat caps, drummer Gary Powell in a striking bright yellow number and bassist John Hassall calm and collected in a more reserved outfit. Immediately, they launched into ‘What a Waster’, their debut single and a clear fan-favourite. Bodies flew about at the front as Pete branded the unnamed victim of his words a ‘two bob c*nt’, and in an instant the band were transported back to 2002, when this single was released.

Although 20 years older, with greyer hair and larger waistlines, the energy remained as intense as ever, as they quickly moved through ‘The Ha Ha Wall’ and ‘Up the Bracket’ before landing on ‘Gunga Din’, a song symbolic of the recovery of Doherty and the return of the band. As he and Barat swapped verses about their various troubles, it was clear the bond that had been forged between the two remained entirely in place, with their chemistry flowing right through the performance.

From there, ‘Barbarians’ got a good response, which was then dwarfed as the opening guitar of ‘What Katie Did’, a real cult classic for fans of the band. Another slow tune followed this as ‘You’re My Waterloo’, arguably the most emotional performance of the night, echoed over a swaying crowd. Whilst a much lower tempo than any other song played, there was no drop in energy, as Doherty professed his love for Barat through his carefully crafted words. A trio of tracks from their debut album Up the Bracket came on the heels of this, with ‘Boys in the Band’, ‘The Boy Looked at Johnny’ and ‘Begging’ only broken up by ‘Can’t Stand Me Now’, probably my favourite song by the band, an opinion I can infer was shared by many of the crowd, such was the intensity and passion of the response to it.

The classics continued soon after, as the band slowed right down for ‘Music When The Light Go Out’, keeping the balance between their trademark of ‘having it off with a mental crowd‘ and managing to tug on the heartstrings. As with the rest of the set, the slow track was swiftly followed by quicker tunes to get the crowd going again, with ‘Horror Show’ and ‘Heart of the Matter’, two belters from opposite ends of the Libertines chronology. ‘What Became of the Likely Lads?’ was next, a lament to the often fragile relationship between Pete and Carl. To finish the main section of the set off, they further harked back to their beginnings with ‘The Good Old Days’. This further aided the ‘mental crowd’ and, as the likely lads walked off, the crowd buzzed in anticipation of the encore they knew was coming.

After a protracted wait, the band arrived, immediately opening back up with ‘The Delaney’, a track which was an early B-side and, despite never making it onto an album, can always be found being played live. This was followed by ‘Fame and Fortune’, a recount of the early days of the band, with tales of classic Camden clubs central to the chorus. ‘Death on the Stairs’ came after this, a classic from the early days and far more laidback than most Libertines tracks, allowing the crowd to take a slight rest before the inevitable intensity of the ending.

‘Don’t Look Back into the Sun’ had the crowd bouncing again, with the iconic riff floating across a writhing mass of people right to the back of the hall. To cap an incredible set off, ‘Time for Heroes’ was selected as the closer for the night. As Pete rattled on about the ‘stylish kids in the riot’ as well as laying into Englishmen who would dare wear a baseball cap, it was clear that all the years of chaos, conflict and recovery had failed to dampen the energy and skill of the band who can easily be called the best British band of their time. After the song finally closed, the crowd celebrated the band, with Carl, Pete and John all receiving a rapturous reception, before the biggest cheer of the night was unleashed for Gary, who lapped up the attention long after his bandmates had left the stage.

It was clear walking out of the gig that everyone present had witnessed something special, with people singing along to their favourite tracks of the night and reminiscing on the best moments with their mates as they set off into the night, I can personally say I’ve not felt like that after a gig in a long time, just holding a real sense of energy and passion for life. The Libertines are not a band to miss out on seeing before they eventually call it a day.

Rating: 10/10.

Read about the gig Pete played with the Puta Madres a little white back here

You can find the band on Spotify here!

Under/Over-rated Albums of 2021

Over the course of 2021, there have been huge releases from several high-profile artists (Billie Eilish, Lorde, etc.). But at The Mancunion we want to boost some underrated and overrated albums of 2021 you may have missed.

Underrated!

Remi Wolf – Juno (Serena Jemmett)

Remi Wolf – Juno Album Cover

Remi Wolf’s debut album Juno, released in October, consists of 13 songs. Filled with upbeat groove, soul and funk this album can’t help but make you want to boogie and dance, even if you down in the dumps. The entire album screams high energy, chaotic lyrics and vivid instrumentals. Only being 25 years old, the album shows off Remi’s youthful and anarchic personality. The first song ‘Liquor Store’ refers to alcohol addiction which resulted in her attending rehab in summer 2020. This is also revisited in the 7th song ‘Volkiano’ where she sings “Fought myself in circles ’bout to flip from drinking to sober”. She’s reclaimed pop culture with her style and visuals, using bright psychedelic prints, patterns and colours and has become an all-round icon or in her words “thrift store baddie”. Everyone should have this album saved and downloaded.

julie – pushing daisies (Kevin Thomas)

Photo: julie – pushing daisies Official EP Art

pushing daisies by julie is my pick for the most underrated project (EP) of 2021. The band consists of Keyan Zand (vocalist and guitarist), Alex Brady (vocalist and bassist), and Dillon Lee (drummer). I first heard the group with their single ‘flutter’ back in lockdown last year. The grungy shoegaze sound blew me away – it didn’t seem overly derivative and certainly stood out from the mediocrity that often comes from such “nu-gaze” acts.

On pushing daisies, the group’s influences become much clearer and their sound more defined. ‘lochness’ is a highlight with the piercing guitar drenched in reverb alongside the explosive drums creating a raw, post-punk atmosphere reminiscent of Sonic Youth (especially with the noisy breakdown at the end). ‘daisy pusher’, my favourite track, is a treat for fans of Swirlies with heavy layers of distortion and the contrast between Keyan and Alex’s vocals accentuating the dreamy atmosphere. Overall, ‘pushing daisies’ is a satisfying project from one of the best up-and-coming shoegaze bands and I hope more people listen to them.

Kacey Musgraves- star-crossed (Maddy Oxley)

Photo: Kacey Musgraves – star-crossed Official Album Art

After winning a Best Album Grammy in 2018 for Golden Hour, an album full of affectionate love songs, star-crossed couldn’t be more different. Kacey Musgraves laments honestly, without any bitterness on her divorce, with tracks about struggling to live up to the expectations of being a wife, the disappointments of casual dating, and the realities of growing apart from someone. Despite not finding the album especially relatable, I was instantly drawn to its charm upon hearing ‘breadwinner’, and the dreamy vocals throughout manage to entrance the listener for all 15 tracks. Despite Kacey being a recent Grammy winner, I’ve heard little hype around this album and would love for it to get the attention it deserves.

St Vincent – Daddy’s Home (Alex Ferguson)

Photo: St Vincent – Daddy’s Home Official Album Art

The second St Vincent album to be produced by Jack Antonoff, following 2017’s Masseduction, Daddy’s Home swaps Masseduction‘s jagged, 80s-inspired electronic pop-rock for the laid back, sleazy sound of early 70s funk and psychedelia. ‘Live In The Dream’ sounds like it could have been written by Pink Floyd, while tracks like ‘The Melting of the Sun’ and ‘My Baby Wants A Baby’ are warmly tinged with soul influences. The entire album sounds like it was written and recorded in a smoky, run-down New York studio apartment in the 70s – in the absolute best way possible. In a year when Jack Antonoff produced two rather disappointing comeback albums for Lorde and Lana Del Rey, it’s a relief that ‘Daddy’s Home’ bucked the trend and reassured us that Antonoff and St Vincent are still a match made in musical heaven.

Parquet Courts – Sympathy For Life (Harvey O’Toole)

Photo: Parquet Courts – Sympathy For Life Official Album Art

After a three year wait following their joyfully resentful sixth studio album Wide Awake!, New York rock band Parquet Courts finally gave us their new album Sympathy For Life in late October of this year. Churning, riff-heavy singles such as ‘Walking at Downtown Pace’ led everyone to believe this record would follow in the footsteps of their frequented punk tendencies. But what they were given in the rest of the album was a dance-dominated approach, driven by synths and left with space that used to be so packed and excitable in their previous work. Whilst many may have been left disappointed after the misleading singles, it doesn’t mean the album should be shunned. Sympathy For Life seems to be a project of transition for Parquet Courts. They’re experimenting with sounds and trying to push themselves, and though it doesn’t seem to find its final form in this record, it promises exciting things in the near future.

Willie Dunn – Creation Never Sleeps, Creation Never Dies: The Willie Dunn Anthology (Maddie Drake)

Willie Dunn
Photo: Willie Dunn – Creation Never Sleeps, Creation Never Dies: The Willie Dunn Anthology

A posthumous release from the great Canadian folk musician Willie Dunn. Of half Mi’kmaq and half Scottish/Irish background, Dunn became known in Canada in the late-sixties into the seventies for his protest songs demanding attention to the plight of Canada’s indigenous peoples, most famously with ‘The Ballad of Crowfoot’ (1968) and ‘I Pity the Country’ (1971), both of which feature on this unforgettable anthology of his work. His voice is deep, both comforting and unnerving; songs are beautiful and tragic, angry and filled with wonder at nature. I’m not folk’s biggest fan but I know I’ll be coming back to this album for a long time. Favourite song: ‘I Pity the Country’.

Overrated

Little SimzSometimes I Might Be Introvert (Maddie Drake)

Little Simz – Sometimes I Might Be Introvert album cover

To my best friend Laurie who loves Simz with all his heart: I’m sorry. I just didn’t like it that much. I liked Simz’s previous album Grey Area, and having seen her live back in 2019 I’m aware she’s a wonder to behold, but I just didn’t get this album. Simz opens up about her struggles with the clash between her own identity and the public one she’s created for herself, but to me it’s a kind of vulnerability and honesty that is so strong that it feels contrived and sickly. I found some of the more spoken-word interludes straight-up boring. There are good moments on it, probably my favourite being ‘Woman’, but nothing to shout about, really. Also, I didn’t what her appearance in the new Venom movie was all about. Anyway. Sorry again Laurie.

Manchester’s loud and it always will be: Night and Day Café

Recently Night and Day Café has faced closure due to a noise abatement notice handed to the venue by the Manchester council due to complaints by neighbouring residents. Residents were aware that it was a live music venue well before they moved in. The news had led to mass support for the venue, the creation of a petition to have the abatement notice removed and the neighbour in question having to come forward to (unconvincingly) declare himself “not an idiot”!

Clearly, I’m very passionate about this but I want to show you, The Mancunion’s readers, why you should care too!

Having just passed its thirtieth birthday, Night and Day café is as cemented in Manchester’s musical culture as anywhere else in our vibrant city. Its iconic orange front glows out unto Northern Quarter’s iconic Oldham Street. Nestled between Affleck’s palace and Funkademia, Night and Day café forms part of the heart of the city’s indie heartland.

Night and Day Café has birthed many of the greatest artists of the past twenty years, Elbow and The Arctic Monkeys to name a few, earning their stripes at 26 Oldham Street. The venue gives a chance for new, up and coming artists to claim their spots on the touring stage.

The club nights at Night and Day are iconic, alternative and indie – always far from the norm. You can party until three am and always be yourself! From psychedelic to acid house DJs; Night and Day will bless your ears with every flavour of beat and sample. Manchester just wouldn’t be the same without them.

The resident who made the complaints has argued that they have no issue with the gigs the venue puts on six nights a week. Instead, the issue they have is the club nights ongoing at Night and Day. How on earth could you know Night and Day is a music venue but not that it also puts on club nights?

I find it incredibly selfish that this resident would risk the livelihoods and cultural significance of Night and Day for peace and quiet. Even risking the gigs they claim to have no problem with? Currently, this resident has everything to gain, with the value of their property likely to shoot up if it becomes quieter and the people of Manchester have everything to lose.

If you feel like this city has taken you in as it has me, if you value its culture, your ability to be yourself in a city of individuals you should fight this with everything you have got. Sign the petition and tell your friends!

Get yourself to a gig at Night and Day, it doesn’t matter who it is. Stop in for a time next time you’re vintage shopping for your Fallowfield ‘garms’. Crash out of venues all over the city at close and remind the world that Manchester is loud, it always has been and it always will be.  

Long live Night and Day Café!

 

 

Spider-Man: No Way Home review – Tom Holland holds his own in a thrilling Spidey flick for the ages

Warning: this review contains multiple spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home – if you haven’t seen it yet, read at your own risk.

On Wednesday 15th December 2021, myself and thousands of other film fans up and down the country were lucky enough to be amongst the first of the general public to see Marvel’s much-anticipated Spider-Man: No Way Home

After multiple trailers, countless leaks, and levels of “hype” that were last experienced during Marvel’s history-making Avengers: Endgame (2019), the pressure was on for Marvel and Sony to deliver on what, only a few short years ago, had seemed like an impossible dream. The crossover of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s previous incarnations of Spider-Man with their MCU counterpart, Tom Holland, had finally arrived

It is safe to say that it lived up to the hype.

Directed by Jon Watts and written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, Spider-Man: No Way Home is the 27th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the 8th live-action Spider-Man film. No Way Home picks up straight after 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home. Media mogul J. Jonah Jameson, a role reprised by J.K Simmons from Sam Raimi’s original Spider-Man trilogy (2002-2007), reveals Peter Parker’s identity to the public, blaming him for the ‘murder’ of Quentin Beck/ Mysterio. 

Following the fallout, Parker asks Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to cast a spell making the world forget his identity. However, when the spell goes wrong, Strange accidentally opens the multiverse, a new fictional realm that is going to be central to future MCU projects. This allows anyone who knows that Peter Parker is Spider-Man to come to Peter’s world from theirs, creating chaos and wreaking havoc whilst providing plenty a call back to past Spider-men.

Now, despite a seemingly convoluted plot, the film is actually fairly straightforward in its approach. The first act is very fast-paced and shows a side of Peter Parker we’ve never really seen before. Having his identity revealed allows a more vulnerable side of the character to be portrayed. However, this fast pace is not without its faults as the film moves at almost breakneck speeds for the first 45 minutes, leaving dangling story threads that could have easily been their own movie.

Recently, as its budgets have grown and popularity becoming something akin to a global religion, the MCU has had an issue with almost going overboard with its action scenes, sometimes trading character moments for big bombastic action set pieces that add little to the film. Marvel and Disney have essentially got a “do whatever the f*ck they want and get away with it card” because their films are such huge tent poles that audiences will flock to see them on brand recognition alone.

Where No Way Home is concerned this means that it had an opportunity to really explore what it means to be a hero when falsely blamed and painted to be a villain. To be fair to the creatives, they did do this to an extent, but they could have gone further and explored characters at their most vulnerable, before moving onto the action set pieces the audience are familiar with. 

As the film continues we are treated to more of this blend of action and character that makes No Way Home one of the best Marvel movies to date. Following a mind-bending action sequence with Doctor Strange,  Peter resolves to help cure the multiversal villains from past Spider-Man movies at Aunt May’s (Marisa Tomei) urging, leading to a story that actually feels fresh and is not a rehash of past Marvel movies or directly lifted from an acclaimed comic book run. 

This story development is welcome because, whilst we have seen sympathetic villains in comic book movies before, this is the first time a hero has tried to help the villain instead of fighting them. The multiversal villains in No Way Home include Willem Dafoe’s Norman Osborn/ Green Goblin, and Alfred Molina’s Otto Octavius/Doc Ock, with both reprising their roles from the Raimi trilogy. Dafoe is somehow even more terrifying than he was in 2002, with his performance being one of the films strongest points (no one does insanity quite like Willem Dafoe). Similarly, Alfred Molina is as charismatic and intimidating as he was over a decade ago.

Peter’s desire to cure these villains leads to what many have called the film’s best sequence, which sees Osborn brutally murder Aunt May in a shocking twist. Uttering the iconic phrase “With great power, comes great responsibility”, May’s death is the catalyst that sees the film eschew its traditional MCU format and really opens it up, providing many emotional beats that other Marvel movies falter on. 

What really separates No Way Home from its MCU predecessors is its ability to elevate character beyond the traditional trappings of the hero arc. Here, Peter Parker feels like a real character with thought and intent behind him. This is mainly due to Tom Holland’s standout performance. Throughout his five films as the web crawler, Holland has demonstrated time and again why he is the best live-action Spidey. His ability to portray a wide range of emotions, showcasing Peter’s vulnerability, whilst retaining his charisma and charm, without ever veering into melodrama as Tobey Maguire occasionally did, is what makes him the most believable iteration of Marvel’s most iconic hero.

Tom Holland’s performance is also what anchors the film in its final act when fans across the world had their dreams come true after two multinational media conglomerates realised they could make more money if they… compromised!

No Way Home’s third act sees Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s versions of the character team up with Tom Holland in a final showdown to cure/defeat the villains and send them back to their own realities. Predictably, fans screamed with delight when the two actors were finally confirmed to be in the film. Now, many have taken to social media to decry such behaviour from fans however in my experience it actually made the film better. Obviously, 5 minutes of straight cheering would have been irritating but the fans in my screening knew when to cheer and when to shut up. These films are made for the audiences and being able to share such a moment with hundreds of other strangers, each with their own personal connection to Spider-Man, is what made this film special.

However, as soon as the three “Spider-Men” began interacting as a trio Tom Holland’s strength as an actor anchored the film and refocused it back on his Spider-Man’s mission. The final fight scene was predictable as ever but still thoroughly enjoyable and gripping. Its main flaws were Marvel’s tendency to make everything grey. Whilst Sam Raimi’s films were full of bright colours reminiscent of Steve Ditko’s original illustrations, Jon Watts’ use of colour leaves a lot to be desired (although it is a fault across the MCU, not just his films).

Ultimately, Spider-Man: No Way Home is a delightful, emotionally resonant, film that gives fans what they want whilst reminding everyone why they fell in love with Spider-Man and Marvel in the first place. The film is not without its faults, and it is so packed that this review barely scratches the surface both critically and “theory-wise”, but at a time when the MCU is (fairly) criticised for being formulaic and predictable, No Way Home stands out as a mature, truly original instalment when compared to its peers.

 

5/5

The best Veganuary offers in Manchester for 2022

If you’re like me, you’ve just started Veganuary, trying the whole new year, new me mantra. So, whilst you’re enjoying it and having fun experimenting with cooking and exploring all the vegan substitutes you can find in supermarkets, you’re concerned about eating out with friends that aren’t embracing the plant-based plunge. Also, Christmas probably left you skint. Luckily for us, some of Manchester’s most loved eateries are offering incredible deals, up to 50% off their entire menus! I’ve put together some of my favourites, giving you a vegan option to try for every day of the week!

Monday: 50% off Sarnies, Salads and Small Plates at the Smithfield Social

The Smithfield Social is a great jewel in Thomas St’s crown. The bustling street in the Northern Quarter is home to some fantastic eats, including those served up at Smithfield. Hungover students are probably familiar with their brunch menu, containing many great vegan options year-round. However, if you eat in from 4 pm Monday to Friday, you can sample as many small plates, sandwiches and salads as you like for half price.

Half price on food from 4 pm, Monday to Friday

@thesmithfieldsocialnq 53-55 Thomas Street, Manchester

 

Tuesday: 50% off Vegan Pizza from Nell’s (at Common Bar)

The last time I tried this pizza I had been day drinking and needed something to soak up the alcohol. This pizza definitely did the trick. In honour of Veganuary, Nell’s have launched 3 new vegan pizzas: the Margherita (a classic, and my favourite), Aloha Vegans!, their vegan Hawaiian, if you’re that way inclined, and the Friarelli and Beyond, a spicy pie with Beyond Vegan sausage. To get these at half price, you do need to book at one of the bars: Common, The Beagle, or Kampus. Don’t worry if you’re not up for a pint, they offer some great low and no-alcohol drinks, with 50p from each going to charity. Bottoms up!

@nellspizza Common Bar 39-41 Edge Street Manchester

The Beagle 456-458 Barlow Moor Road, Chorlton, Manchester

Nell’s at Kampus, 20 Minshull Street, Manchester

Wednesday: 2-4-1 Tapas and Free Salsa Classes at Revolucion de Cuba

Enjoy a little piece of Latin America on Peter Street! 2-4-1 Tapas includes some gorgeous vegan plates for you to share with friends (or hoard for yourself, I won’t tell anyone) and you also get 2-4-1 on rum serves, to go along with it! This offer is valid from Sundays-Thursdays in January, but if you swing by on a Wednesday at 6.30 pm you can try your hand at Salsa dancing in their beginners class, completely free! Who needs a January gym membership?

2-4-1 Tapas and Rum, Sunday – Thursday, Free Salsa Class 6.30 pm Wednesdays

@decubamcr South Central, 11 Peter Street, Manchester M2 5QR

Thursday: 50% off a Full Vegan Breakfast at Trof

Trof is usually my go-to at the weekends, their roasts are some of the best in the City. The restaurant, right on the end of Thomas St, is home to some of my favourite comfort foods, including their full vegan breakfast, which you can enjoy for half price on Wednesdays and Thursdays! If this isn’t your speed, or the exam season sleep schedule has gotten to you, you can visit until 10 pm to try some of their other vegan dishes, still at that lovely 50% off.

Half price food every Wednesday and Thursday in January

@trofnq 8 Thomas Street, Manchester


Friday: 50% off food at Cane and Grain

We’re back to Thomas Street again! This time Cane and Grain, the streets’ self-described ‘Bar and Rib Joint’ is offering 50% off their food in January. You might think that doesn’t sound too vegan, and there are definitely a lot of options for the meat-eaters out there this month, but they have some brilliant vegan burgers, as well as their usual fare. Many dishes can be made into a vegan version on request, including the Truffle Poutine, making their twist on the Northern night out classic of chips and gravy vegan friendly for all to enjoy. If you want something to wash all that down, take a trip upstairs to Science and Industry, a speakeasy serving up some classic and modern cocktails for those in the know.

@caneandgrain @scienceandindustry

49-51 Thomas Street Manchester

Saturday: Vegan Bottomless Brunch at Elnecot

The Northern Quarter isn’t the only place you can find a great Veganuary deal this month. Over in Ancoats, Elnecot is giving 30% off their menu, including their weekend bottomless brunch, which has some hearty vegan options for you to try. Along with unlimited drinks for 2 hours, including prosecco, martinis, bloody marys and lager, you can pick one of their several vegan brunch dishes to enjoy.

30% off food and drink excluding Sundays

@elnecot 41 Blossom Street, Manchester

 

Sunday: 50% off Vegan Roasts at Blackleaf.

If you’re a seasoned vegan, you’ve probably been to Blackleaf at Alvarium. It’s long been a vegan hotspot in the Northern Quarter. The all-female run eatery serves up inventive and popular plant-based meals every day of the week, and as if that wasn’t reason enough to visit, they’re offering 50% off their entire food menu to help Veganuary efforts! My pick is their Vegan Roast, usually £14.50, but at £7.25 this month it is an absolute steal. The perfect way to cure a hangover after a post-exam night out, covered in gravy but completely meat-free!

50% off the entire food menu during January

@blackleaf_mcr 8 Dorsey Street, Manchester, M4 1LU