Harold Pinter will receive the Nobel Prize for literature on Saturday. The text of his acceptance speech has been printed in The Guardian today. Go and read it, for it is powerful stuff.
Category: Performing Arts
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Bette Bourne
The Guardian today carries an article on Bette Bourne – one of the UK stage’s great institutions. I recall going to see Bette and her Bloolips troupe a number of times during the 1970s and early 80s, and always having a hoot. Theatre at its most outrageous. Long may she reign. -
In Praise of Panto
The British tradition of Pantomime has evolved from its roots in the 16th century. There’s a paen of praise to Panto penned by Simon Callow in today’s Guardian – well worth reading.He mentions in passing the production of Aladdin performed at the Stratford East theatre, and designed by Ultz. This must have been in the late 1970s. Oh, yes, I remember that – it was a relevation as to what was possible with stage design. Like Callow, I shall never forget the field of cabbages – or the visual jokes played by the kuroko – which in itself was a delicious joke to introduce an element of kabuki into a traditional British pantomime.A few years back, I took Martin (who’s Dutch) to see his first-ever pantomime at the Gaiety Theatre in Douglas. He enjoyed it, but was completely mystified by the bits of business ("he’s behind you", "oh no, he didn’t!", "oh yes he did", etc. etc.). For me, I was glad to see the traditions being carried forward, and remembered sitting in the stalls as a small child absolutely entranced at the magic of it all. -
The End of an Era
My husband, Martin, has been the power behind Martins balletcenter for over 20 years. He has taught jazz dance to hundreds of pupils over the years. What made his school probably unique (certainly to my knowledge) was the fact that his pupils also included mentally handicapped people. Every two or three years, he would organise a public performance of the school in the town theatre. It was always a great event, with a packed audience. And the pupils always demonstrated a marvellous feeling of accomplishment and joy in their performances – none more so than those who were mentally handicapped.But all good things come to an end. Martin and I move to another part of The Netherlands next year, and so Martins balletcenter here in Gouda must close. The last lessons will be in four weeks time. Yesterday, Martin held a farewell reception for parents and pupils, both new and old. Lots of people turned up, and it was a pleasure to see them. The event was tinged with a little sadness as the school provided the mentally handicapped people in particular with a unique opportunity. Martin, I know, has found it emotionally difficult to bring the school to a close. Nonetheless, all things must end. What he, and his pupils, have achieved will be remembered by those fortunate enough to be able to participate in the experience.I took some photos of the farewell reception – if you are somebody who is one of my Flickr "Friends and Family" contacts, then you can find the photos here. -
So Dip Me In Chocolate…
…and throw me to the lesbians…My favourite line from Jerry Springer – The Opera. It’s now out on DVD, and I’ve just been watching it yet again. It’s humanity – good and bad – writ large in operatic tones (as wot true opera should be about, anyway). The sight of God singing It ain’t easy being me, billions of voices making all the wrong choices, and then turning around and blaming me… is so uplifting, and right…Brilliant production, brilliantly performed. Forget the swearing, this is a psalm to being alive and treating each other better than what we do. -
At Swim, Two Boys
We went to the local theatre last night. We had tickets to see "At Swim, Two Boys" – a dance work produced by Earthfall, in collaboration with Jamie O’Neill, who wrote the book of the same name. The book is huge and complex. It is set around the time of the Easter Uprising in Ireland (1916), and concerns the love emerging between two teenage boys, while reflecting that through the society, and in particular the character of Anthony MacMurrough, who is a less than disinterested observer.With such a scope, it was inevitable that the dance piece had to cleave to the central image of the book – two boys meeting on the shore and swimming – and ditch practically all of the rest. With just two dancers, how could it be otherwise. The Uprising was hinted at through the use of film, and formed the mainspring of the dance’s climax.The staging was very well done – there was real water, and plenty of it. We were in the front row, and got sprayed a number of times by the dancers. Music was provided by two musicians who created a sound palette worthy of an orchestra.This was not classical dance – this was grittily physical, acrobatic choreography, in the style of DV8. I enjoyed it, although it was less to Martin’s taste.The subject matter seemed to have attracted the attention of the local gay male population as well, I don’t think I’ve ever seen quite so many gay male couples sitting in an audience in Gouda before…After the performance, we got chatting to the director of the theatre (Martin knows her quite well, since he has had a number of performances of his ballet school held in the theatre). She invited us into the main auditorium of the theatre where the Nederlands Dans Theater were just about to perform their final piece in their programme: Chapeau. This was much more to Martin’s taste – a witty ballet celebrating Queen Beatrix’s well-known love of hats. I enjoyed it as well, the choreographer Jiri Kilian has produced a sugar and spice bonbon fit for a queen (and queens). -
It’s Kismet
I see that Robert Wright, composer and lyricist, has died aged 90. There are obituaries in both The Guardian and the BBC web site. They both mention his partnership with George "Chet" Forrest, but what I find supremely irritating in both cases is the mealy-mouthed way that that partnership is described.The Guardian writes of Wright’s "collaboration" with Forrest in writing stage musicals. The BBC writes that Wright was the "musical partner" of Forrest, and of the pair "working together". One is left with the impression that this pair rolled into an office every day to work together on musicals and then went their separate ways back to their homes at the end of the day.I would have thought that in this day and age obituaries could be more honest. Wright and Forrest not only worked together, they lived and loved together – and they did so for over seventy years. To imply a more one-dimensional relationship than that is simply shabby. A more realistic appraisal of this couple can be found here. The opening sentence establishes the straightforward and honest tone: "For over seventy years Robert Wright and George Forrest were partners in life and art". -
How to Fold a T-Shirt
I saw this video about a year ago on the Internet, but reading this article in The Guardian this week reminds me to try this way to fold a T-Shirt… I think this belongs under the "Performing Arts" category – don’t you? -
Disley Jones: 1926 – 2005
The Guardian today carries the obituary of Disley Jones, who has died at the age of 79. The obituary is sub-headlined: Theatrical polymath, film production designer, restauranteur, bon vivant and handful. He certainly seems to have been that. A man who was not afraid to take life by the scruff of the neck and shake it. A bit of colour has ebbed out of the world.
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Carlo Maria Giulini
Carlo Maria Giulini has died at the age of 91. There’s an obituary in today’s Guardian.
I never did have the experience of being present in person to hear Giulini conduct. I have only ever heard his work via the medium of radio or recordings. I still have, and treasure, recordings by him of Verdi’s Requiem (with Schwarzkopf, Ludwig, Gedda and Ghiaurov) and Verdi’s Don Carlos (with Domingo, Caballé, et al). I’ll be playing the Requiem today in memory of him.
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World Naked Bike Ride
I discover, via Orac’s site, that tomorrow, 11th June, is the date set for the World Naked Bike Ride 2005. I’m with Orac that the event is amusing, but pointless. I see that Amsterdam is one of the cities where you’ll have a good chance of seeing naked bicyclists. I’ll be sitting quietly at home reading a good book.
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Berlin Cabaret Songs
I’ve been thinking about possible choices for music for boats in the Amsterdam Canal Parade in August. The line of thought took me back to the Berlin of the 1920s, and the music performed in the cabarets of the time. If you’ve seen the musical or the film “Cabaret“, then you’ll be aware of how some of the songs had political undertones. However, Kander and Ebb’s songs in Cabaret were only a homage to the real thing.
The real songs from that time were often bitingly satirical, or revolutionary in intent. So much so that the Nazis banned them as “degenerate music” (entartete musik). As Kara Kellar Bell writes:
Some of them make fun of Hitler himself, as well as the Nazis in general. They also criticise the Weimar Republic, the ban on abortion, sexual hypocrisy, homophobia, and the general dishonesty and corruption of the culture.
Kellar Bell is reviewing a collection of these songs put together by Ute Lemper. There are actually two versions of this collection: the songs sung in English (the one reviewed by Kellar Bell) and the songs sung in the original German. Whichever one you listen to, the power of these songs, magnificently sung by Lemper, comes roaring through.
My favourite has to be The Lavender Song by Spoliansky and Schwabach. An extract:
We’re not afraid to be queer and different
if that means hell–well hell, we’ll take the chance
they’re all so straight uptight upright and rigid
they march in lockstep, we prefer to dance
We see a world of romance and of pleasure
all they can see is sheer banality
Lavender nights are our greatest treasure
where we can be just who we want to be.There’s still a frisson in the opening of the third verse:
Round us all up, send us away
that’s what you’d really like to doBecause of course, that’s just what the Nazis started to do when they came to power.
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Diaghilev Festival
Martin and I went to Groningen (north Holland) last weekend to go to the Diaghilev Festival – saw the Joffrey Ballet and the Kirov Ballet. The productions were all recreations, as far as possible of the original Ballet Russe performances. L’Apres Midi du’un Faune was wonderful to see – the Nijinsky choreography was influenced by Egyptian friezes, and the movements were highly stylized and as two-dimensional as possible. The Kirov did L’Oiseau du Feu – which was spectacular to see, but it was like a pantomime – I half expected the audience to boo the evil wizard and cheer the firebird.
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