|
A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Shakespeare’s Globe Click here to subscribe What is midsummer without a ‘Dream’? This colourful, chaotic and 'utterly joyous' production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream was praised by critics and audiences alike at its premiere in 2019 and all subsequent revivals. This riotous fiesta-style production is complete with piñatas, streamers, glitter and a cacophony of brass. Four love-drunk teens, escaped from the confines of an oppressive regime, caught in a dispute of increasingly magical proportions. A posse of wannabe actors, determined to put on a play against the odds. The Fairy Queen and King at war, and one wild spirit hell-bent on causing as much havoc as possible. What could possibly go wrong? This joyful explosion of vivid chaos is directed by Sean Holmes with music from Jim Fortune, performed by members of the Hackney Colliery Band. Experience the fiesta on Globe Player. You can subscribe to Globe Player for £59.99 or just buy this one show for £9.99. Antonio Canova’s “Venus” from clay to marble – Fred Z Brownstein Click here to watch Here’s my new favourite art video from the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. It combines two of my passions - process and history. As regular readers know, I have a new favourite art video at least once a week. This one, though, will last me much longer than a week. Master sculptor Fred X. Brownstein recreates Antonio Canova’s sculpture “Venus” using Canova’s unique 200-year-old techniques over the course of 6 months. How does Brownstein go from a foot-high clay sketch to a near-identical marble copy of one of Antonio Canova’s most famous sculptures? Watch this behind-the-scenes time lapse using Canova’s marble sculpting process to find out. Brownstein uses his hands and small, wooden tools to create a rough clay sketch model called a bozzetti. He then moves on to a full-scale modelli that is cast in plaster, creating a hollow mold. This mold, in turn, serves as the basis for a refined plaster model that’s copied into a marble version where Fred makes the final touches. Where Canova had a workshop with assistants, Fred did all of the sculpting himself. How fascinating to watch this process. Sondheim 80th Birthday Celebration - Move On Click here to watch In 2010 Stephen Sondheim turned 80; it was celebrated both in New York's Lincoln Center and in London's Royal Albert Hall. Here's a video of Sunday in the Park with George's "Move On" performed by the two original stars from the 1984 and 2005 productions. Bernadette Peters and Mandy Patinkin. No more need be said. Both performers are beyond praise and both concerts were superb. Both shows can be found on YouTube. This is just a taster. Take Five – Dave Brubeck Quartet Click here to watch Do you remember how surprising this music was in 1959 when we first heard it? Non-musicians played the recording over and over again to try to work out what was so unusual about it. We knew we liked it, we knew the bloke on the piano had something special, we knew it was different from all the other straight-ahead jazz music that was coming out in the 50s? but how? For those of you who do not know, (but are still wondering) this piece has a time signature of 5/4 - 5 beats to every measure (quarter notes get 1 beat), instead of the usual 4/4 time or 4 beats to every measure. Most Western music is written in 4/4 time. If you count along with the song you'll find it quite interesting - but you gotta be quick! 1-2-3-4-5, 1-2-3-4-5 etc. Place emphasis on beat 1. Even professional pianists found it extremely difficult to play in 5/4 time because they were so used to 4/4. Dave Brubeck was famous for writing/playing in odd time signatures. While his name is most often associated with Take Five, it was actually his sax player, Paul Desmond, who composed it. It was the third track on Brubeck’s most famous album Time Out. This is, as you might surmise from the visual quality, the original video. Medley – Northwell Nurse Choir Click here to watch I know I’m a week late for Independence Day but I just found this and wanted to share it with you. In front of the Capitol in Washington DC, on July 4th, an amateur choir of working nurses sings to a gigantic audience of their fellow countrymen and women, gathered to watch the fireworks. The Nurse Choir was formed in 2020 when a talented group of front-line nurses got together online for their first appearance on Nurse Heroes Live, a needed reprieve from the battle against COVID-19. These nurses—who hail from different specialties across Northwell Health's many facilities—have successfully managed to make a name not only for themselves, but for all front-line workers, positively impacting the lives of those touched by their music at a time when the world needed it most. I find this medley touching, a true tribute to the strength of America and the optimism we have always associated with the American people, no matter how sorely tried. And the indomitable spirit of those who believe they can help themselves and each other out of whatever hole they’ve got themselves into. Pocket Review Dear England – National Theatre It helps if you know something about football. By ‘football’ I mean ‘soccer’, not that mysterious game played in America by huge men dressed up in spacesuits and helmets. In particular, to appreciate Dear England to the fullest, it helps to know about the team of young millionaires currently playing for England, under the stewardship of their manager Gareth Southgate. It’s Southgate who’s really the star of the team, as well as the centrepiece of the play. If he’s anything like as charismatic as Joseph Fiennes, who plays him in James Graham’s play, I’m prepared to believe that he can make them do anything, including winning a World Cup. Which, incidentally, they didn’t. But true to the standard British stereotype, they lost very gracefully (triggering national mourning). And they nearly won. Being the only person in England who is neither a football fan nor au courant with the names and peculiarities of each member of the team, I was at something of a disadvantage. Every time a teammember was mentioned, the rest of the audience drew a collective intake of breath as though they were being reintroduced to a dear friend. For me, though, the names represented a very distant echo and the individual characteristics of each one, recognised by most of the audience to applause and laughter, didn’t mean much despite the excellent acting and Rupert Goold’s dramatic direction. A lot happens in Dear England which isn’t about fooball – Covid, Black Lives Matter, political turmoil, and lots of Prime Ministers – and Graham writes about them with his usual literate dispatch. I’m a fan of his plays – The House (about Parliament), Quiz (about Who Wants to Be a Millionaire), Ink (about Rupert Murdoch) - all illuminating some aspects of the British character and doing it with wit, perspicacity and humour. Dear England, although probably every bit as telling, requires a greater knowledge and interest in football than I possess and therefore lost me long before the final whistle.
1 Comment
|
AuthorRuth Leon is a writer and critic specialising in music and theatre. Archives
March 2024
Categories
All
|