Hi there,
first an apology for the lack of posting last week - illness felled me. As a consequence there is no story of the week, and the comment article was written in August of this year on the topic of the fringe and curtain calls (still worth a read). I shall be back properly next week.
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Curtain Calls. But
for how much longer?
Simon Callow's one man
Edinburgh show of the life of Shakespeare is a hit by all accounts. “You got a
standing ovation from the one I saw”, Clive Anderson reminded Callow, on radio
4's Loose Ends. Shakespeare +
Callow means bums on seats, and off them again at the end of show, such a
perfect combination can’t hardly fail to attract praise.
At Edinburgh, classic
combinations have to sit, cheek by jowl, with the more experimental side of
theatre. Praise for the new breed, well, that’s
not quite so overt.
Belt Up, the theatre
company of the hour, has had not one standing ovation during their mammoth
Edinburgh run of 8 individual shows. Rather than give an opportunity for an
audience to show their appreciation, audiences, still in the moment of the
spectacle, are led away, the opportunity for applause denied to both actor and
audience. “The whole point”, says Alexander Wright, one of the four artistic
directors, “is to create a sense that even when the audience aren't there, the
world still exist.”
Theatre which
never concludes, but rather, develops in an ongoing process in the audiences’
mind is an intriguing proposition.
But where does this
leave Shakespeare, Callow and the classical theatregoer? What Wright calls an
“organic” development in theatre leaves Callow's standing ovation look like the
height of vanity; presumably he could have walked off at any point.
In fairness Callow
does regard curtain calls as “all rather
embarrassing”.He
no doubt recognises that the applause and standing ovations benefit us much as
it benefits him; The circle complete, one can go home contented. But in the
world of perpetual theatre, the feelings from the play linger, the issues are
left unresolved in the mind. Theatre? Yes. Entertainment... well...
Music of the week
90's Rock
This week's playlist is particular personal, a taste of 90's rock, when it was all guitars and screeching voices is the order of week. So enjoy a little My Sacrifice from Creed which should, if you were once like me, a wrestling fan should evoke memories of the sport. Or maybe a little Sum 41, with rock at it most angst-y.
track listing
Papa Roach - Last Resort
P.O.D - Alive
Creed - My Sacrifice
Sum 41 - In Too Deep
Papa Roach - Last Resort by jacobg1496
P.O.D. - Alive by soever">Joel Whosoever
Creed - My Sacrifice by jumaali
Sum 41 - In Too Deep by me3tzy
Next week it's Afrobeat - any suggestions? let toby know, drop the tune in the box
Send me your sounds
Pictures of the week
The setting this week is the main hall of St Pancras, specifically its bronze statues. From "the meeting point" to the statue of John Betjeman in a fluid pose these statues have become rather iconic very quickly. Enjoy.
Photos courtesy Ray Tang
Videos of the week
The Shanghai Expo was the worlds largest to date and huge undertaking by the Chinese government. The pavilions on display are intended for a commercial purpose but also have a distinct artistic merit; the British Pavilion (the second video) is evidence of that. The first video accompanies was an accompaniment to the Danish Pavilion, my personal favourite and expands on the themes of urbanisation and water in a very stylised way. That's all for this week until next time then...
EXPO Water city from martin de thurah on Vimeo.
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