BBC Recording 'With Great Pleasure'

So, a little while back I applied, on the BBC's website, for tickets to go to the recording of With Great Pleasure at Christmas, for Radio 4, recorded on Saturday,  to be broadcast on Christmas Day. Tickets are allocated by random draw, and just over 2 weeks before the recording, I got an email to say I'd been successful and got tickets. 

The recording was in the evening after I was due to see Antony and Cleopatra, so I arranged  to meet up for a meal with my friend A, and then to go to the recording. Which we did. (although we had an anxious wait as they send out more tickets than spaces, and we were among the last to arrive, so were holders of yellow 'wait' stickers instead of white 'definite seats' ones..) But all was well, we got in, and the evening was a lot of fun.

The format of the programme is to invite a guest presenter to share some of their favourite pieces of writing. 10 years ago I got to go to a recording of the Christmas episode, where the guest was Terry Pratchett. This time, the guest was Neil Gaiman..

Photo shamelessly nicked form Mr Gaiman's facebook page, of the performers 

Neil had picked various poems and extracts from books, which were read by (and in one case acted by) his friends - Mitch Benn, John Finnemore, Nina Sosanya, and the Angel Islington himself, Peter Capaldi .Oh, and 4 members of the ukulele orchestra of Great Britain!

The evening opened with some festive music from the ukulele orchestra, then we heard lots of readings. (skip this part if you want the programme to be a surprise...)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

The readings included some horrifying children's stories (Lucy Clifford's 'The New Mother', and Charles Dickens' 'Captain Murderer)', extracts from Mary Poppins and 'Wind in the Willows', a Saki short story, several poems, including  Henry Treece's 'The Magic Wood' and Nicholas Moore's 'The Island and the Cattle', and Wendy Cope's 'Differences of Opinion (amid some chat and jokes, and Neil's demonstration of the 'I was wrong' dance he and Amanda have for diffusing any disagreements).

 Mitch Benn sang Alan Moore's ' Me and Dorothy Parker and the Ukulele orchestra performed their (Yorkshire) version of Kate Bush's 'Wuthering Heights'  

We heard an extract of the original BBC  radio HHGTTG recording, and a poem by Terry Pratchett, and Neil read and extract from his own Norse Gods. There was a bit of Brahms and Simons' 'No Bed for Bacon' (about paying writers)

It's difficult to pick, but I think my favourite part was perhaps the performance of A.A. Milne's 'The Fair Lady Dorothy', in which the stage directions / footnotes were read by John Finnemore, and Peter Capaldi played the dastardly (and somewhat obtuse) lover.

Neil introduced each of the pieces,   mostly with a brief explanation of why he chose it, or a joke or comment. And of course we got to see and hear the other performers, including Peter Capaldi's amazing, evil, grin! 

At the end of the recording, there were a few brief re-takes, and then it was all over. I think one of the things which made it special was that everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, performers as well as the audience!

Walking back to the tube station, there were slightly fewer people around on Oxford Street, so I was able to stop and enjoy the Christmas lights, which made a nice end to the evening! .

Angel on Oxford Street

The programme is to be broadcast on Radio 4 Christmas Day, at 7 a.m. and repeated (or just possibly, a slightly different variation of content) at 10 p.m.  Full details here, and for those overseas or unable to listen live, it will be available on BBC Sounds afterwards. Listen and enjoy!

The Dresden Dolls

I'm generally more about theatre than gigs, but I'm a fan of Amanda Palmer's music, so when I heard that she was reuniting with Brian Viglione to play some Dresden Dolls gigs in London, for the first time in 12 years, I decided to try to get tickets. 

And, due to a less than optimal booking system I wound up with 2 separate tickets in different parts of the auditorium, but despite not sitting with my friend, I still had fun!

Amanda Palmer

Brian Viglione

The gig was at the Troxy, which is a beautiful Art Deco former cinema, built in the 1930s, and still has lots of original features, and reminded me of the Forum, in Bath, a little, but it also has deeply uncomfortable seating, with really narrow pitch between rows...

The Troxy

Still, lack of leg room aside, it was all good! Lots of familiar songs, including  a cover of Pirate Jenny, and a rendition of 'Coin Operated Boy' which was greeted with huge enthusiasm. There were also a couple of new songs, and an impassioned plea from Amanda to all her US fans.

Amanda and Brian, with their message to their American fans

I had a good time, and I'm glad I went. 

The Owls of Bath

I wrote earlier this month, about hunting for Minerva's Owls in Bath. The Art Trail ended on 10th September, but this weekend all of the owls were on display together, at the Bath Recreation ground, before being auctioned, for charity, in a couple of weeks time (except for the smaller owls (owlets) created with local schools, which will mostly be returning to  the schools involved)

There were originally 82 owls, with 2 extra ones added for the weekend.

Vincent Van Owl

Some of the owls were influenced by famous artists and artworks  (there was a Frida Owlo, as well as the Van Gogh / Starry Night owl), and one named 'Magritte, ceci n'est pas un owl',as well as Inkie Hoots , created by 'Inkie' , a famous local graffiti artist.

Patch

Some were inspired by local heroes, such as 'Patch', remembering the late Harry Patch, (the last surviving combat soldier of WW1, who was born just outside Bath, and died in Wells.) The owl was decorated by children from Combe Down primary school, which Harry Patch attended.

 There was also a HershOwl, recalling William and Caroline Hershel, musicians and astronomers, who lived in Bath in the late 18th C.

Octavius

Bath's Roman heritage was also represented. I found Octavian, with his mosaic  plumage, particularly appealing,  although there were a few others which also had some mosaic elements, and of course Brian, the Monty Python inspired owl ('grafitti'd' with "Romani ite domum" (Romans go home) was there. 

Cosmos

There were a number of Space related owls. Cosmos made me smile, but there was also Seemore, who had telescopes in his eyes and constellations painted on his body, and Cosmic Allen, which had a starscape across his plumage. 

Nor was Seemore the only interactive owl - there was another, Bird of Play, which at first glance seemed a bit dull, being plain black, but who featured a teleidoscope in one eye..

As a booklover, J.K Owling appealed to me a lot, and there were others with literary inspiration - Glimfeather, as well as being named after Lewis's Narnian Owl, has quotes and illustrations from various children's books on his plumage,  and the Festivowl celebrates the Bath Kids Literature Festival.

It is impossible to pick just one favourite owl,. I still really like the Sea Owl, which I 'found' on my original hunt, as well as at the weekend gathering.

Another lovely one was Tyrell, apparently intended as a replicant owl inspired by  'Blade Runner'

Tyrell

While I didn't think it was the most attractive, I also very much enjoyed the wealth of detail on Isambird Kingdom Brunowl...

Actually, I tell a lie. I did have a favourite. Her name is Pippa, and she was much smaller, more feathery and more mobile than the rest!

(She is a Little Owl, and was there along with a Tawny Owl and an Eagle Owl, and their handlers, a little way from the bustle and noise of the main event.)

I have a Flickr set, here, of all of the owls, and  the the Minerva's Owls website, which is at  https://minervasowls.org/owls/  has full detail of all the artists and owls. 

Art Matters - Chris Riddell and Neil Gaiman

Regular readers will know that I am a huge fan of both Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell, so I was excited to see that they had a joint event in London, celebrating the launch of their new book, 'Art Matters', and naturally could not resist the opportunity, even though it was (most inconsiderately in my view) on a Wednesday evening, so I was for some time on tenterhooks wondering whether I would be able to wrestle my work schedule in order to be able to go, but happily I could, and so Wednesday afternoon found me on train to London, and then in a very long, very hot (but polite and friendly) queue, with a good friend.

And after some queuing,and collecting our pre-signed copies of the new book, we found ourselves in the auditorium. It's a former cinema, and still has some lovely panels on the ceiling.

Chris Riddell was on stage as we came in, sharpening his pencils and drawing sketches. (As Neil commented" There was a moment of panic, about 20 minutes ago, up in the Green Room  when we looked around and went, ' where's Chris?' . We thought we'd lost you" )

Then Neil read the 'Art Matters' speech from the book (after pointing out that it was a slightly new version, as it is the elements of the original speech which Chris liked and chose to illustrate), At the tart, this was accompainied by a running commentary from Neil's son Ash, before his mother took him backstage again. Which was a shame, his enthusiastic 'Dadda!' was lovely to hear!  After which Neil ad Chris  both answered questions put by host Lauren Laverne.

Neil spoke briefly about his current involvement as a show runner for the 'Good Omens' TV show ("Stuff like budget meetings, I was not put on this earth for fucking budget meetings") and about writing the sequel to 'Neverwhere'  100 pages in, but taking time due to the demands of being a show runner)

Towards the end of the evening, Antonia Byatt, Director of English Pen spoke a little about the organisation and it's aims, and read from a recent letter from writer Ahmet Altan ,  who who has been imprisoned in Turkey for expressing unpopular views.

There was also an auction in support of EnglishPen, of one of the original artworks for the book, (which auctioneer Lauren Laverne pointed out, included DNA samples from Neil and Chris from where they had handled it, so the winner would be able to clone their own Neil or Chris!)

Neil holding the artwork to be auctioned

(and photographer Tom Bowles took the most perfect picture of it, which you can see  here)

There was then some time for a few questions from the audience, for which Chris drew replies, as well as giving verbals replies. 

I had to leave just before the end, in order to catch my train home, but the entire evening was videoed and is up on YouTube for all to enjoy. And of course the book is available to buy all over the place. If you don't already have a copy, I urge you to get one. 

Westminster Cathedral, William de Morgan, Art and Family

While I was in London last weekend I had some spare time, and used it to do a little bit of sight-seeing.

I called in to Westminster Cathedral, which is a Roman Catholic cathedral, built between 1895 and 1903 - it's built from brick, so on the outside it has a flavour both of Victorian municipal building and Italian church - I can't help but think that the architect had seen Siena but didn't have the budget (or the marble)

Inside, it isn't completely finished, but those parts which are complete are Neo-Byzantine, with mosaic ceilings. (I do have a very soft spot for a well done mosaic ceiling)

It's impressive, although I couldn't stay long due to the amount of incense!

My second bit of touristing was a visit to the London Guildhall art gallery, to see their (temporary) William De Morgan exhibition.  I am very fond of William De Morgan's work, from when I first came across his work in the Manchester Art Gallery, years ago.

He was a contemporary, and friend of William Morris', and designed and created ceramics - dishes and tiles (including tiles explicitly designed to complement Morris's wallpaper designs.

What I didn't know before seeing this exhibition was that De Morgan's father was a celebrated mathematician (Augustus De Morgan) who was an agnostic who became a professor at University College London as, unlike Oxford and Cambridge, no theological test was required. He also taught Ada Lovelace. It seems likely that his skills in maths and geometry influenced his son's designs.

I also learned that William De Morgan designed a set of tiles for Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (better known, of course, as Lewis Carroll), who was a friend of his,  which were installed round the fireplace in his college rooms: they feature Dodos and dinosaurs, among other things. (They are still in the College, but the exhibition has photos) 

 I loved the dragons and fishes, and the fact that almost all of the designs are symmetrical, some of them in more than one direction.

Sadly the Greast Hall at the Guildhall was not open, so I couldn't look round the hall.

However, the church next door, St Lawrence Jewry, was open, so I popped in for a while. The church was designed by Christopher Wren, but was badly damaged in the Blitz, leaving the walls and facade standing but not much else, so the interior and stained glass are modern. I rather liked St Michael.

 But the best known of the windows is the Christopher Wren window, which features the man himself (flanked by woodcarver Grinling Gibbons and Master Mason, Edward Strong, with the architect and Vicar at the time of the restoration shown at the bottom of the window.

All very enjoyable. As was the duet being played on the church's grand piano, while I was there. It wasn't clear to me whether they were official, as it were, or if they had, like me, simply popped in in passing but (unlike my) had the skills and talent to play wonderful piano duets!

And in between, I got to meet up with one of my cousins, and to have a really enjoyable catch up.

The Lieutenant of Innishmore

I admit it, I mostly booked this because it stars Aidan Turner, and I have happy memories of him as vampire Mitchell in BBCs 'Being Human', although I did also enjoy the previous  Martin McDonagh  play I saw,  The Cripple of Innishmaan, so it was definitely something to look forward to! 

The play premiered in 2001, and is set in the early 1990's, and is a blackly comic take on terrorist violence.

Aidan Turner is 'Mad' Padraic, unwelcome in the IRA because he is too violent, and facing the wrath of his INLA comrades, as his habit of attacking drug dealers is causing them funding problems. When we first meet him, he is in the process of torturing James (Brian Martin), who is suspended by his ankles, having already lost 2 toenails, and facing the imminent loss of his 'least favourite' nipple. They are interrupted by a phone call from Padraic's father, Donny (Dennis Conway), breaking the news that Padraic's beloved cat, Wee Thomas, is ailing..

Padraic immediately collapses with grief, and pausing only to take some advice about cat-care, and to recommend that James gets to hospital to avoid his injuries becoming infected , and rushes home to Innishmore to be with Wee Thomas, and to deal with those responsible for his unfortunate condition.

It's worth noting that all things considered, James comes out of this better than many...

It's very bloody, and incredibly funny (even Mr Turner lost it for a moment), AND has a real cat on stage (who, sadly, does not get a photo or biography in the programme)

If you are in London or can get there, go. It's great. (It's on until 8th September )


(some photos from the show on its twitter feed,  here, and video trailer here)

Chess, the musical

If you are going to regress and relive your lost youth, you may as well do it thoroughly. Having seen Miss Saigon on Friday evening, Saturday saw me heading to London to meet up with friends and to see Chess, the musical.

Like Miss Saigon, Chess is a musical I'd never seen live before, although I was very familiar with the score and lyrics. (although I don't think I have the bootleg cassette tape of the original cast recording any more). I had not regretted not seeing it as much as with Miss Saigon, but the chance to meet up with old friends and relive our shared memories was too good an opportunity to miss!

The production was at the Coliseum in London, by the English National Opera, and features Michael Ball as Anatoly,  Cassidy Janson as Florence, Tim Howar as Freddie, Cedric Neal as The Arbiter and Alexandra Burke as Svetlana.

'Chess' Stage

The musical is set in the early 80s, and the stage and set reflect that, with neon squares marking out the stage and back drop, although as the show proceeds the backdrop is revealed to be big screens on which are projected everything from mountains and a jet-plane (for the arrival of Freddie at Merano) to Indian-style shadow puppetry (for the opening 'Story of Chess' song).

Production pic  of 'The Story of Chess' (from @Chessthemusical twitter feed)

The main characters are also shown on the big screens, which was handy for those of us in the cheap seats who couldn't see them at all when they were placed at the front of the stage! 

It was a lot of fun, and the music was excellent, as was some of the singing (I think the theatre had some issues with the sound, as the music drowned out the singing at times, which was a little frustrating.)

The show does have a very weak plot, but the performers gave it their all, and in the moment one can forget and forgive the lack of coherence or character development!

My favourite part remains the Embassy Lament (although I was disappointed that they have taken out the percussion typewriters)

I did not care for the use of mirror images when projecting the singers images - once noticed that the images were mirrored it was impossible not to notice, and be distracted!

The run ended on 2nd June, so it's no longer available, but it was fun.

Public Art, and Architecture (Or, What I did on my holidays, Part 7)

One of the things I liked about Toronto was how much public art there was, and (no doubt because the city is relatively young) how much of it was modern, and playful.

I was very much taken with this sculpture, 'Rising', by Zhang Huan, which is covered with birds (or hands, or birds made of hands) 

There are more birds inside the building, and on the roof, although you don't notice them at first!

This one was outside the courts.

 This butterfly was at Crawford Lake.

These fish were set into the pavement, along with many others, among patterns of maple leaves, laid out as part of the brickwork.

This couple (called - 'Immigrant Family' ) is by Tom Otterness. 

 

This medallion, not far from the St Lawrence market, commemorates on of the ships used in the 1812 war.

The mural was next to a fire station near the Distillery district.

Both these sculptures were in the distillery district.

Then there were some urban cattle, in the financial district.

A couple of whales (also in the financial district)

The giant model soldiers I only saw from the tram. They weren't far from Fort York, but I don't know whether there were intentionally related to it!

I couldn't find who the artist was, of these playful, slightly Gromit-like dogs, but I liked them!

Then there was the architecture.I liked the shape of this mall, and the old Stock Exchange of Toronto, engulfed in a much bigger, newer building.

Then there was the car in the wall of the CTV building, which should probably count as art rather than architecture...

And of course there was the Art Gallery, and the RMO, both of which you've seen on previous posts.