2021 in Television

• 01. Fargo, Season 4
• 02. Only Murders in the Building, Season 1
• 03. Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror
• 04. Squid Game, Season 1
  
• 05. Line of Duty, Series 6
• 06. Inside No. 9, Series 6
• 07. Time
• 08. The Bambers: Murder at the Farm
• 09. Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer
• 10. Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel.

2021 in Music

• 01. Pan Daijing: Jade 
• 02. Jon Hopkins: Music for Psychedelic Therapy 
• 03. Gazelle Twin & NYX: Deep England 
• 04. Danny Elfman: Big Mess 
• 05. A Winged Victory for the Sullen: Invisible Cities 
• 06. The Grid & Robert Fripp: Leviathan 
• 07. Ulver: Hexahedron 
• 08. Nala Sinephro: Space 1.8 
• 09. David Bowie: The Width of a Circle 
• 10. MONO: Pilgrimage of the Soul.

Honourable mention: 

• Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & The London Symphony Orchestra: Promises 
• Blanck Mass: In Ferneaux 
• King Crimson: Music is Our Friend (Live in Washington and Albany, 2021) 
• Katia Krow: I've Called Off the Search, I Know Exactly Where You Are 
• Zombi: Liquid Crystal.

2019 in Music

Albums of the year, 2019:

• Russian Circles: Blood Year
• Kankyō Ongaku: Japanese Ambient, Environmental & New Age Music. 1980–​1990
• Hammock: Silencia
• A Winged Victory for the Sullen: The Undivided Pair
• Brian Eno: Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks (Extended Edition)
• Hildur Guðnadóttir: Chernobyl (Music From The Original TV Series)
• Earth: Full upon Her Burning Lips
• Chromatics: Closer to Grey
• Iggy Pop: Free
• William Basinski: On Time Out of Time. 

Honourable mention:

• Rosetta: Sower of Wind E.P.
• MONO: Before the Past E.P. 
• Sunn O))): Pyroclasts
• Teeth of the Sea: Wraith
• Dark Morph: Dark Morph.

2019 has been a very strong year for ambient music, with both Hammock and A Winged Victory for the Sullen releasing serene new masterpieces. Brian Eno’s landmark 1983 Apollo album received a long-overdue rerelease (in time for the 50^th anniversary of the moon landings), and he re-entered the studio with Daniel Lanois and Roger Eno to record a respectable companion piece entitled For All Mankind. Meanwhile, Spencer Doran curated an outstanding compilation of Japanese ambient music from the 1980s: Kankyō Ongaku.

This was also a strong year for instrumental guitar music, with Russian Circles releasing their most aggressive album yet: Blood Year. Earth returned with the majestic and psychedelic-flavoured Full upon Her Burning Lips. MONO celebrated their 20^th anniversary with a slightly disappointing new album (Nowhere Now Here) and a furious live E.P. (Before the Past).

Chromatics released more of their trademark icy ballads on Closer to Grey, but there is still no sign of the long-awaited Dear Tommy. Iggy Pop followed 2016’s Post Pop Depression (which revisited his Berlin era) with the sparse and lightly jazz-flavoured Free. 

One of the strongest components of HBO’s Chernobyl series was Hildur Guðnadóttir’s disquieting soundtrack, and its dark textures work just as well in isolation. Sunn O))) returned with two impressive new albums (Pyroclasts and Life Metal), while on the more minimal front William Basinski released On Time Out of Time.

Reviews on Blank Slate

I've recently joined the Blank Slate team to write album and concert reviews. You can read the first three here, here and here. Next up: Colossal Squid and Dextro at The Cluny this coming Tuesday.

Review: Mogwai at Northumbria University, 01/02/2018

Mogwai played an enjoyably noisy show at Northumbria University this week. The Glasgow band played a career-spanning set, ranging from early pieces such as ‘Ithica 27/9’ and ‘Mogwai Fear Satan’ to new album tracks such as ‘Party in the Dark’ and ‘Every Country’s Sun’.

Mogwai have now been around for over twenty years, and even if some of the newer tracks (such as slightly pedestrian opener ‘Crossing the Road Material’) are somewhat eclipsed by the earlier ones, they still know how to structure an entertaining live show.

Moody mid-period pieces such as ‘I’m Jim Morrison’ and ‘Rano Pano’ stood up well, and helped to bridge the gap between the slow-building majesty of ‘Helicon 1’ and the more immediate new material.

After a very brief break, 2003’s ‘I Know You Are…’ proved an effectively subtle lead-up to the noise immolation of ‘We’re No Here’. And then they were gone in a cloud of dry ice, leaving the audience to stumble out with the feedback still ringing in their ears.

Setlist:

01. Crossing the Road Material

02. I’m Jim Morrison, I’m Dead

03. Party in the Dark

04. New Paths to Helicon, Part 1

05. Ithica 27/9

06. Rano Pano

07. Battered at a Scramble

08. Every Country’s Sun

09. Don’t Believe the Fife

10. Remurdered

11. Mogwai Fear Satan

12. Old Poisons

Encore:

13. I Know You Are But What Am I?

14. We’re No Here.

Review: Hedda Gabler, Northern Stage

Audience members are warned about loud gunshots upon entering Northern Stage for the current production of Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler; they are also warned, by means of an added subtitle, that ‘this is not a love story’.

 

A bare table and chairs sit in front of large, tarnished mirror panels which reflect and distort the action on-stage. Insistent drums, synthesized squeals and discordant piano announce the entrance of the cast, as maids prepare for the arrival of Jørgen Tesman and his recent bride, Hedda Gabler.

Ed Gaughan gives a wonderful performance as Tesman, the shambling, earnest academic who yearns to satisfy his demanding wife but whose mind is focused firmly on Dutch cottage industries. Victoria Elliott is also strong as Hedda, strutting around in a dressing gown as if at a ball, manipulating her companions as a means of escape from the tedium of married life.

Electric drones and red lights signal the start of ‘rage reveries’ in which Hedda vents her frustration at those around her: Donald McBride’s scheming Judge Brack, Rachel Denning’s nervous Thea Elvsted, the oblivious Tesman and his tiresome devotion to his ageing aunts. It is the return of Tesman’s reformed rival Eilert Lövborg (Scott Turnbull) to the town which gives Hedda her chance: in a world where women are refused control, she plots to take charge of Eilert’s destiny. Equating destruction with the beauty she seeks, she perpetuates his undoing and casts his manuscript into the fire.

Unfortunately, the production comes to a disappointing end when Hedda rises from the dead to heckle the rest of the company, tearing off her corset to reveal the slogan ‘Knowledge is power’. The abrupt ending of Ibsen’s play, where Brack, Tesman and Thea are left in total confusion at Hedda’s brutal suicide, is much more subversive: like Iago, she will never speak a word from that time forth. Neither logic nor insanity can explain her actions.

Hedda Gabbler runs until Wednesday 8^th March. Tickets are available here.

Review: Playing Up 4, Northern Stage

For its fourth installment, Playing Up relocated to Northern Stage for a sold-out performance of seven short plays. It may have been trying to snow outside, but the audience was treated to an infernally hot auditorium. But the play’s the thing…

Jane Pickthall’s ‘Bingo Wings’ came first, in which pious vicar Peter (Richard Gardner) and slightly lascivious bingo caller Graham (Kevin Gibson) compete for the attention of their waning crowds. The performances were slightly hesitant, but the play featured some humorous turns of phrase and drew a good reaction from the crowd.

Patrick Robertson’s ‘Ganymede’ followed, and was the highlight of the evening. Actor Francis (Colin Jeffrey) receives a visit backstage from his friend Gary (a subtly nuanced performance from Alex Blenkey) after a performance of As You Like It, and the two discuss changing views on gender and sexuality from the ‘fluid’ Shakespearean period to a more ‘defined’ modern world. These were interesting characters, well established during this short performance, and I wanted to see more.

From the theatre to the modern office environment: Chris Wilkins’ ‘Cow Juice’ began as a convincing portrait, featuring stand-up meetings and ‘scrums’, but veered close to farce in its later stages. Myopic middle-manager Hurn (Chris Iddon) terrorises his office juniors while attempting to curry favour with his superiors (a convincing performance from Zoe Hakin as Bridget). Wilkins’ ‘Smile!’ was one of the highlights of the previous Playing Up, but at times this play felt like an excuse for the actors to shout and swear. However, the performance generated an enthusiastic response from the audience, and the withering manner in which consumers were defined by their supermarket milk preferences was highly entertaining.

The second half began with Sharon Zucker’s ‘A Moment’, in which Alice (Sara Jo Harrison) celebrates her female attributes (‘Her Breasts’, portrayed by Donna Tonkinson). I had reservations about the premise, but the play turned out to be a moving tale, beginning with a retrospective history of shared experience (Alice’s body developing physically as she progresses emotionally through puberty to adulthood, motherhood, and towards marriage). The play then shifts to a Miami bar, where Alice is faced with difficult choices.

Lewis Cuthbert’s ‘Chad’ featured a committed performance from David Parker as obnoxious former child star Chad Schweizer, star of the ‘Geek-O-Tron’ and ‘Weenies’ series. Perhaps more of a straightforward satire than some of Cuthbert’s earlier work (although given Parker’s Woody Allen-esque delivery, there were still plenty of neuroses on display!) The play’s reliance on pre-recorded voices was a little alienating, but the main character’s frantic dialogue was warmly received. 

Next the evening took an unfortunately ugly turn with Katie Ann Hunter’s ‘Misophonia’: a grotesque piece about a new mother suffering from a fear of certain noises, as well as apparent post-natal depression. This short play led predictably from sleepless nights and domestic arguments to infanticide. A facile piece of writing which did not explore the complex issues involved, opting instead for archetypal characters and distorted wailing noises. I'll stick with Eraserhead.

And finally, modern airport procedures in the post-9/11 era: John Harrison’s ‘Scanners’ allowed the audience to eavesdrop on the egregious jobsworths at a baggage check-in department. I’m sure that anyone who has travelled by air in the last 15 years can relate, although this apparently under-rehearsed piece lost its way when one of the actors forgot their dialogue.

Playing Up 4 benefitted from Northern Stage’s technical support (the sound was noticeably better than at Playing Up 3), but the quality of the writing was variable on this occasion. Perhaps some more time rehearsing would also help matters, but when Playing Up is good, it is very good indeed.

Review: Playing Up 3, The Cluny 2, The Ouseburn

The last time I was at The Cluny 2 in the Ouseburn, it was for an outrageously loud screening of Mogwai’s concert film ‘Burning’ – but this evening’s series of plays was introduced by Radio 2 staples Queen and Dire Straits, and a hastily circulated folder belonging to a certain ‘Captain Cuth’.



‘Playing Up’ is a group of local writers who perform their own work at various venues around Newcastle. You can see their blog here.

‘The Many Adventures of Captain Cuth’ was the evening’s first play. Written and performed by Colin Cuthbert, it is the tale of the world’s first Geordie superhero: the crude but well-intentioned Cuth, who vows to protect the streets from litterers (when he’s finished barfing) and lives in dread of his nemesis, ‘the bastard postman’. Colin’s solo performance featured some impressive switching between characters and some witty turns of phrase – but I do worry about the things he was doing to that poor monkey…

Next came ‘The Price of Coal’, written and directed by Peter Sagar. An interesting premise about trapped miners discussing social change was unfortunately lost in translation: the performance was marred by poor casting and technical problems.

The final play of the first half, The IRIRFYS App, was a greater success. John Faust, a slightly obnoxious everyman, discovers a mysterious app on his phone which promises fixed-term happiness; terms and conditions most definitely apply. The highlight of this piece was David Parker’s scheming Mr. Bub (first name ‘Beelzey’) and his ostentatious cigar: a very entertaining performance.

A brief interval allowed time for an overpriced glass of wine and an overheard conversation about a ‘nacho incident’.

Lewis Cuthbert’s ‘No Response Required’ is a disquieting piece about two brothers, one of whom is mute, living in an abandoned building. Their fading ‘Last Action Hero’ and ‘Games Master’ T-shirts reflect how today’s culture is tomorrow’s refuse. The play really came alive in this performance due to some fine acting from Craig Fairbairn and Johnny Porter, who really captured the transition from affable monologue to wild hysteria. Impressive stuff, but ‘No rest for the Wiccans’.

Sarah Gonnet’s ‘Box’ features an infantile teenager and her dysfunctional parents, and treads similar ground to the film ‘Room’. It was nice to hear Slint’s brooding ‘For Dinner…’ in-between scenes, but the play felt a little unfinished.

Chris Wilkins’ highly entertaining ‘Smile!’ brought the evening to a close. A TV gameshow host is trapped on a train with two members of the public and the world’s most sarcastic train conductor.
This sharply written piece raises interesting questions about the role that entertainment plays in our lives, and was complemented by fantastic performances from all four members of the cast. 'It's Dave. It's edgier'.

Review: King Lear at The People’s Theatre, Heaton

The Excellent Foppery of the World

Friday 15^th March 2013

 

Image: www.peoples-theatre.co.uk/

Nature, reason and mortality are themes explored by Shakespeare’s bleakest tragedy, played out tonight at The People's Theatre on a bare brick stage populated by beggars and scraps of rubbish.

Tony Childs gave a powerhouse performance as Lear, perhaps more convincing as the distraught madman of later scenes than as the blustering monarch at the beginning of the play, but was consistently engaging and line-perfect.

One of the best performances came from Sam Hinton, who was clearly enjoying himself immensely as the thoroughly villainous Edmund, savouring his monologues as if they were rare delicacies. Sarah Scott and Rye Mattick acquitted themselves well as the scheming Regan and Goneril, cackling and strutting the stage like analogues of Disney’s Maleficent.  

Some unfortunate technical glitches affected tonight’s performance, and elsewhere some of the dialogue was a little lost. However, this was compensated for by a committed and well coordinated performance by the ensemble cast.

I did wonder if the modern dinner dress and Joanne Kelly’s female (wise) Fool were intended as a statement on contemporary patriarchal society; the People’s production of Lear, like the best Shakespeare, is the beginning of a discussion.

The final performance of King Lear is at 7.30 pm tonight. For full details, see http://www.peoples-theatre.co.uk/

Review: A Double Dose of Dickens

‘The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby’, Part 1 and Part 2 at The People's Theatre, Heaton.
Written by David Edgar.
Adapted from the novel by Charles Dickens.


This adaptation of Dickens’ third novel is one of the People’s most ambitious undertakings to date, selected for the theatre’s centenary programme and performed in two separate parts. ‘Nickleby’ contains many key themes present in earlier and later Dickens works: social injustice, families falling on hard times, and the machinations of those who manipulate the institutional apparatus for their own ends. It also contains typical Dickensian humour, and Nicholas’ involvement with Crummles’ acting troupe makes the novel an interesting candidate for dramatic adaptation.

Upon entering the auditorium, the audience were confronted by a stark but effective two-storey set which was then brought to life by subtle lighting, evoking the numerous environments. The directors’ attention to detail led to some nice touches: a handful of dust denoting falling snow, for example, and the tapping of a cane providing the sound of a spinning roulette wheel.


The cast all gave an excellent performance. Pat Haggerty was quite incredible as both the warm-hearted LaCreevy and malevolent Peg, and Michael Short gave a terrifically nuanced performance as Nicholas’ corrupt Uncle Ralph. Sam Hinton worked very hard as Nicholas, injecting humour and warmth into Dickens’ titular focalizer.

Michael Blair was fantastic as the stern but kind-hearted John Browdie, and Sean Burnside was very effective as the downtrodden Smike: his death was a genuinely moving moment of the more sombre second half.

Every Dickens story has its memorable villains, and this production benefitted greatly from Paul Carding and Maggie Childs’ suitably grotesque Mr. and Mrs. Squeers of Dotheboys Hall.

John MacDonald was terrific throughout, contributing trombone and accordion to the musical accompaniment, as well as giving fantastic turns as the covetous Arthur Gride and eccentric Crummles.

Due to the adaptation’s faithfulness to the novel, all of the actors were required to play multiple parts (for example, Jake Wilson Craw played characters as diverse as Belling, Colonel Chowser and Crummles’ horse). Above all, the cast gave an excellent ensemble performance. One highlight was the crowd scene where Nicholas walks the streets of London after learning of Madeline’s engagement to Gride and he joins the oppressed masses in lamentation.

At a combined length of five and a half hours, the play is a challenge for the audience as well as for the cast – but one well worth undertaking. All cast and crew deserve great credit for tackling a play seldom performed by professional companies and for making it so entertaining.

After a break of two days, ‘The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby’ will run again from Tuesday 18/10 until Saturday 22/10. Part 1 will be performed on Tuesday and Thursday night and Saturday afternoon, whereas Part 2 will be performed on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday night. Customers buying tickets for both parts will receive a discount; visit www.ptag.org.uk/

Review: 'Nickel and Dimed' by Barbara Ehrenreich

Author and columnist Barbara Ehrenreich went 'undercover in low-wage USA' to experience firsthand the trials faced by low-paid workers in the United States and to address the question 'How does anyone live on the wages available to the unskilled?'. Editing out large chunks of her CV but otherwise maintaining her status as a 'divorced homemaker', Ehrenreich lived in Florida, Maine and Minnesota, working as a waitress, a house cleaner, a care home worker and a sales assistant at Wal-Mart.

Ehrenreich kept her car for transport and laptop for writing; she gave herself some start-up money, but was otherwise very disciplined at attempting to live on the wages she received. While applying for jobs, she had to take demeaning personality-testing surveys containing questions such as 'Am I more or less likely than other people to get into fistfights?' and 'Are there situations in which dealing cocaine is not a crime?'

In addition, Ehrenreich had to undergo the indignity of urine testing for signs of drug use, a practice that (despite common claims to the contrary) 'does not lower absenteeism, accidents or turnover and... actually lowered productivity - presumably due to its negative effect on employee morale'. Cannabis (which stays in the system much longer than cocaine or heroin) is screened for, while LSD is not. The practice cost the federal government $11.7 million dollars in 1990, with only 153 of 29,000 subjects testing positive. Despite all this emphasis on pre-employment urination, we learn that there was no federally mandated right to toilet breaks until 1998.

During her induction at Wal-Mart, employees are discouraged from 'time theft': 'Doing anything other than working during company time, anything at all'. They are also strongly discouraged from joining unions. Ehrenreich later sees a commercial for the chain on TV while taking a break: 'When a Wal-Mart shows up within a television within a Wal-Mart, you have to question the existence of an outer-world'.

Her shifts and those of her co-workers commonly exceed the official running times, despite the fact that it is illegal under the Fair Labor Standards Act not to pay time and a half for working hours exceeding 40 a week. Legal cases in four states have revealed Wal-Mart management's practice of erasing overtime from records and instead offering employees schedule changes or promotions. 'In the same spirit, automobile manufacturers would rather offer their customers cash rebates than reduced prices; the advantage of the rebate is that it seems like a gift and can be withdrawn without explanation'.

Ehrenreich writes with candour and honesty, admitting the bad decisions she made along the way and the fact that she found some tasks genuinely challenging, mentally as well as physically: 'no job, no matter how lowly, is truly "unskilled"'. She befriends some of her co-workers and finds them no less diverse and interesting than members of her normal social circle, although there is little time for socialising: rather, friendship takes the form of consoling and/or covering for colleagues who are unwell and physically unable to complete their work. Ehrenreich herself develops a rash on her arms and legs while working as a cleaner but carries on, rather than facing the prospect of not being paid.

And so what are her conclusions? Well, Ehrenreich draws a parallel with the fact that rats and monkeys forced into subordinate positions within their social systems become withdrawn, anxious, receive less serotonin and 'avoid fighting even in self-defense'. The statement by HUD's Andrew Cuomo that prosperity in America is actually shrinking the stock of affordable housing leads her to conclude: 'The rich and the poor, who are generally thought to live in a state of harmonious interdependence - the one providing cheap labor, the other providing low-wage jobs - can no longer exist'.

Despite the disturbing (if not always surprising) nature of many of Ehrenreich's findings, she is confident that at some point in the future, the poor will tire of their lot and demand a better share of American wealth.