I loved the Kusama exhibition we saw in Toronto, and happened to see that there was going to be a small Kusama exhibit in London, so I naturally booked tickets as soon as they were available - they were free, but had to be booked, and as a result, my friend A and I went, before going to the Dresden Dolls gig. The exhibit is fairly small.
'My Heart is Dancing into the Universe' Infinity Mirror room
There is one infinity mirror room, full of spotted paper lanterns, which cycled through different colours as you walked through the room.
Then there were three of Kusama's trademark pumpkins, one each in red, green and (my favourite), yellow.
There were also paintings of pumpkins, and of spots.
Then outside there were three giant flowers, one of which made me think of what triffids might have been like if they were friendly instead of deadly...
And then finally, a wall of paintings.
I rather enjoyed playing with the reflections of the art, on the big plate glass windows in the gallery.
I'm glad I got to go. The exhibition is on until 21st December.I think all of the tickets are gone but they have been releasing a few extra on specific days, if you're in London and want to try to go.
Last January, tickets for the London version of Hamilton went on sale, and I promptly booked for myself and a friend, and then, after a long wait, we saw the show on Friday evening.
It's great fun. This was actually my 2nd visit, as I got a dingle ticket to see it in February, and having seen it 'cold' that time, without having listened to any of the songs, then got the soundtrack so was much more familiar with the music this time round.
Stage - pre-show (we were in the 3rd row)
I loved the show both times, and would be happy to see it again - there are so many little details to notice and enjoy. And of course the music is great! I'm really glad that I saw it the first time without any prior knowledge - I admit that I went in thinking that it could not live up to the hype. This second time, I went in knowing it could, and would. (And determined to spot where the London show has differences to the US / Soundtrack version!)
I should try to do a proper, considered review but I just want to say it was great fun, and if you can get to see it, you should. Although I do have a question for my American readers. IS John Laurens' life and death well known? The sound track doesn't include the letter telling of Laurens' death, which made me wonder whether it's an addition for the UK on the assumption we wouldn't know who he is, or whether that is in the US show too, but for some reason left out of the soundtrack? I have a working knowledge of the American Revolution but didn't know of him. For the rest - I really enjoyed Giles Terara's performance as Aaron Burr - I've seen him before, in The Resistible RIse of Arturo Ui , and he is very impressive. And of course, Jameal Westman as Hamilton (who is startlingly tall, compared with the rest of the cast!)
As you will have seen from last week's post, I was deeply disappointed on Easter weekend when a combination of my illness, and GWR's idiosyncratic approach to providing a train service meant that I couldn't use the ticket I booked (last October) to see the Coraline Opera. At the time, I thought this meant I was going to miss it altogether, as it was only on for 9 performances and was completely sold out.
However, when I called to return my ticket, the nice chap at the Royal Opera House was able to find a returned ticket for me for the matinee this Saturday, so I got to go after all.
I don't know a lot about opera - as regular readers will know, I'm generally more about 'straight' theatre, but I am also very fond of 'Coraline', and curious about how it would translate onto stage and music.
Curtain, pre-performance
When I took my seat, I saw that the curtain not only had Coraline's name across it, but was also showing a projected image of the auditorium and the audience, acting as a huge mirror, but one too dark to be able to tell whether it was a true reflection, or whether what we saw might be, in fact, the Other audience, button eyes an all!
The opera has a small cast of just 6, and the story is also pared down - the cat is gone, and Miss Spink and Miss Forcible's scotty dogs, and Coraline's battle with the beldame simplified, but the bare bones are still there.
Production photo:
Alexander Robin Baker as the Other Father, Kitty Whately as the Other Mother
At the performance I saw, Coraline was sung by Robyn Allegra Parton (the role was shared with Mary Bevan),who did an excellent job as a the brave (but also often sulky and occasionally stroppy) eleven year old, with Kitty Whately and Alexander Robin Baker were both excellent as her parents (and as her Other parents). I particularly enjoyed the poignancy of the Other Father's end, after he tried to help Coraline to escape.
At the interval, the curtain came down again, but this time, we, like Coraline herself, were on the wrong side, and the image was reversed...
Curtain, half time. We are the Other audience, now
This, and the original curtain, were indicative of the design of the show,which plays heavily on mirrors and reflections - the Other version of Coraline's house is the mirror image of the original, for instance, and the homes of Mr Bobo and of Miss Forcible and Miss Sink come from the opposite sides of the stage, dependent on whether we are in our word, or that of the Other Mother. I personally felt that the Other Mother's world wasn't as creepy and terrifying as it could have been, but it seemed to do the job for the target audience; at the point where the there Mother produces her buttons and needle and thread, there were audible gasps, and more than one squeak of fear, and I heard a little voice from behind me saying (and sounding pretty scared) "Don't be scared Daddy. It's not really real" ........ "is it?" . (It sounded as thought Daddy was able to reassure her that he wasn't too scared, and that she need not be, either, and she seemed to enjoy the rest of the performance) Over all, I enjoyed it, and I'm very glad I got to see it. I thought it kept the underlying 'flavour' of the original book, although the it took a while to get going in the first act, with rather more exposition that was strictly necessary. But I have to admit that I am still not big on opera - I suspect that I would have enjoyed it more had it been a straight play. However, I can see that it could spark n interest in opera for children, and even for a non-opera fan it was well worth seeing. There were no surtitles, abut that wasn't an issue, the singers were all admirably clear (much more so than in the last opera I saw! The run at the Barbican has finished now, but I believe that there are plans in the pipeline for translated productions to be performed in Germany, France and Sweden, and I would imagine that it may well be revisited - it sold out completely, and from what I could see, was very warmly received by those of all ages who saw it.
On Wednesday evening (2nd March. I'm getting behind with my blogging) I was back in Bath's Guildhall to see (and hear) the incomparable BRIAN BLESSED. He was utterly superb. The festival had, wisely, decided against giving him a mike, and despite a spirited attempt to get him up onto the stage, he chose instead to bound out into the aisle, explaining that he 'hates stages' (which might, one would think, be a slight disadvantage to an actor, but maybe theatre stages are different!)
He roared "GORDON'S ALIVE", which met with great enthusiasm from the audience, before starting to talk to us about himself and (very briefly) his book. He told us that he has recently completed Cosmonaut training with the Russians, at the age of 79, and that we should ask him about Space. And Yetis.
He then complimented various members of the audience and spoke briefly about other actors, and the normal sort of actor's biography which is all about which other actors they know. (He then mentioned Kenneth Branagh, saying that they have a father/son relations where Ken is the father, before deciding to give us a bit of Shakespeare, so declaimed the glorious Chorus's speech from Henry V, which starts "O for a muse of fire..."
It was superb, and made me regret again that I didn't learn that he was performing King Lear, last year, until after the entire run was sold out. I've never seen him perform live - although his performance as Exeter in the Ken Branagh Henry V is memorable (Even if the sight of Brian Blessed in full armour on a war horse makes the outcome of battle of Agincourt seem more like a foregone conclusion and less like a forlorn hope)
And then... there were anecdotes about the different places and circumstances in which he has been asked to do the 'GORDON'S ALIVE' thing.. I'm sure that normal actors get asked to quote from their most famous performances, probably in the street, or at restaurants. BRIAN BLESSED, it seems, gets asked in slightly different situations. You know, by Masai warriors half way up Kilimanjaro, by the Queen, at Buckingham Palace, by the Prime Minister, in the Cabinet Room, or (my personal favourite) by the captain of the Russian submarine which has unexpectedly surfaced through the ice near the North Pole! Then he spoke about his background - he was the son of a coal-miner, and left school at 14 after his father was injured. He spoke several times about having not been to grammar school, and having been in a 'C Class' (I assume as opposed to an 'A', top stream), and seemed to have a great sense of astonishment and appreciation that he has come so far, and had such an interesting life. He talked about having been friendly, as a young man, with Patrick Stewart - they were both involved with amateur theatre before turning professional, and about how they both applied to go to Drama School, but that he did not expect to be able to attend, being just a 'class C' lad, who had left school at 14 and had no scholarships. He did, of course, get into Bristol Old Vic theatre school, and they provided him with a scholarship, so (after a stint of National Service, in the parachute regiment (74 jumps)) he arrived in Bristol.. where, among other things, he went jogging naked with Peter O'Toole. (no, we didn't get an explanation as to *why* they were jogging naked.. A little later he talked about his time at the National Theatre (not, I think, a fan of the building. He described it as being 'like Colditz'.) And about hiding in a cupboard and jumping out at John Geilgud. As one does. And about filming the Flash Gordon, and playing Vultan, and being told, gently, by the director that it was not necessary to add one's own *pew* *pew* *pew* sound effects during attack scenes with the Hawkmen. . .
He described how his work on 'Peppa Pig' is just as popular as his more classical work..
An talked with huge enthusiasm about his involvement in the Mars project (He has been training with astronauts and other scientists), his optimism and enthusiasm for space exploration, and for the human race, and his admiration and love for Shakespeare ("The blue planet, our planet, has had it's author. It would be greedy to expect another")
It was such fun. I did have a certain amount of sympathy for the poor festival person who ha the difficult task of interrupting him and persuading him to stop talking (she did a splendid job, the event only over ran by 15 minutes)
And afterwards, he signed books, and posed for photos, and said thank you to us for buying his book.
I'm just disappointed there wasn't time for him to tell us about Yetis, or the time he punched a Polar Bear.
ETA: I just re-read this, and I can't believe I forgot to mention that he finished up the evening by telling us about the time he appeared as Pavarotti on 'Stars in their eyes' and then singing us o sole mio. On top of everything else the man can sing. Glorious!
I've got some time off work, but I'm not going away,partly as I'm not organised enough, partly because I'm too tired and just want to unwind, and partly because I spent all my money on having work done to my house. However,I do have various fun things lined up for my holiday, and I'm also aiming to get things done round the house - for instance, buying and putting up curtain rails (and curtains), and unpacking more of the books. On Monday I got to spend the day with one of my oldest, closest friends. We agreed to meet up in Cardiff, which both of us could readily get to by train, and I was looking forward to a relaxing day pootling round the city centre, perhaps visiting the pier and looking at nice views of the sea. It didn't work out quite that way. To start with, it was a very, very, wet morning, and the traffic was absolutely horrendous, which meant that despite having left myself about twice a much extra time as I thought I would need to get to the station, I missed the train. (I worked out, during the unexpected spare time I had while waiting for the next train, that I had averaged 11 m.p.h on my drive in...) Sadly there's only one train an hour, so I arrived an hour later than planned, and it turned out that it was wet and windy in Cardiff, too.
However, we walked from the station to the Wales Millennium Centre, which is an absolutely beautiful building, not just the stunning front, but the rest of the exterior, which features lots of (presumably Welsh!) slate No sign of Captain Jack Harkness or Torchwood, sadly. Clearly that perception filter is still working! We had lunch at the Millennium centre, (very nice tapas for J and I, and wearable broccoli and yogurt for A (J's little boy, who is 6 months old. He is approaching solid food with enthusiasm. Fortunately J had brought him a change of clothes!) We then went back into the city centre, where we found a rather nice clock, complete with 3 (presumably blind?) mice..
And we got rained on some more, and then had coffee and cakes, and there was a lot of chatting, and lot of baby-appreciation, and generally, despite the late start and the nasty weather, a good time was had.
