CELEBRATING 150 YEARS OF THE LONDON UNDERGROUND

150 YEARS-LONDON UNDERGROUND: Quite surreal imagining people in 1863 fashion/attire traveling in beautiful, quaint little train carriages underground in London. It must have been quite frightening at the time much like using the first lifts-1853 and escalators-1892 where people threw up because of the motion even though they ran at a much slower pace in those days. Fascinating to think of the millions of people over 150 years traveling on the Underground, quite astounding and extraordinary. We are now much more impatient, rushing to get everywhere on time. If the train doesn't come within a minute we are frustrated and people fight to get 'packed in like sardines' into carriages, let alone diving for a seat and the tactics involved, all coughing and sneezing over each other (an incubator for germs). With the sizeable population working and living in London the Tube system is undeniably overcrowded. It breaks down constantly and has signal failures, fire alerts etc. More than that, I noted in horror 10 years ago, the amount of people throwing themselves under trains so now the 'person under a train' announcement doesn't even raise an eyebrow, which is very sad. The cost of tickets go up every year and we expect more for our money but with overcrowding, especially peak hour commuters (tracks cracking under the weight), it desperately needs expansion which takes years to plan, cost and set into motion. Where to from now oh underground and what will you look like in another 150 years time I wonder? More space age I hope and running at great speeds!

THEATRE and MOVIE REVIEWS MARCH, APRIL, MAY 2013

Proof-Menier Chocolate Factory-Sunday March 30. 2013

Jamie Parker as Hal and Mariah Gale as Catherine in Proof at the Menier Chocolate Theatre Photo: Alastair Muir

I had to recall the movie, which came out a few years ago but thought the plot and characters well substantiated and thoroughly engaging enough, especially when it comes to higher education Maths for this to be a Tony award winning play. Mariah Gale plays Catherine the protagonist, a very clever actress but sounding a bit like a robot with her dry wit, abandoning university in order to care for her father, brilliant mathematician Robert (Matthew Marsh) who has a breakdown and eventually dies. This raises the question, is there a link between genius and mental illness? It’s odd trying to get one’s head around a play about Maths and mathematicians, referred to as geeks, when there aren’t many mathematical terms or explanations of theories (proof) within the text. It does though, purport the idea that Maths is in itself beautiful because of its truth and science, which is something I will never have the intellect for despite being a musician. Handsome, clever and charming actor Jamie Parker plays the perpetually frustrated Hal, whom I last saw at the Globe, as one of the professor’s ex students, who when trying to plough through the professor’s notes is given a key by Catherine to a draw which unlocks a notebook containing the next big original proof. After having slept with her, he doubts whether the work is actually that of Catherine as she claims and hence the breakdown in the relationships between the sister, Claire (Emma Cunliffe), Hal and Catherine. Catherine lives in fear of inheriting her father’s mental illness at a young age and many prickly scenes ensue.

The set is a dilapidated and neglected back porch of a house in Chicago, which sets up the play well. A thoroughly enjoyable piece at the Chocolate Factory. 

Trance. Film preview at Greenwich Picture House. Sunday 24^th March. 2013

This is Danny Boyle’s latest movie, a psychological thriller based on an art heist and whilst good and intriguing is also confusing and requires much concentration to connect the nuances and dots. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of this dream like state film, which boasts stars such as Rosario Dawson playing Elizabeth the hypnotherapist who physically bares all on screen, James McAvoy plays Simon the inside job guy with a gambling problem and Vincent Cassel plays Franck a thief and gang leader. It’s a head-spinning plot about the mind, hypnoses, truths and untruths based on a theft at auction of a very expensive Goya painting (and we have no idea who is going to buy it?) The latter, being obvious right from the start. Unfortunately we end up sympathising with all characters at some point during the movie and are left not knowing who the good or bad guys really are? A disjointed film which leaves one guessing.

Paperboy at Greenwich Picture House.

A sexually charged film which includes: the ‘n’ word, gore, race-politics, blood and intestines, violence, the gutting of a croc, oh and did I say sex? Great film set in 1969, shot as a documentary but doesn’t quite hang together well and is quite disjointed. I think it gets lost in the mix of genres and overall style of what it should be, which is what, we don’t quite know? The cast are terrific with the likes of Nicole Kidman, her best work in a long while and not wooden, all grown up and seriously gorgeous Zac Efron, Matthew McConaughey with incredibly believable film make-up (it had me looking for flaws) and very scary and chilling John Cusack. The film is set in Florida, which sweats and whilst some scenes are set in swamps, there were no real crocs to be seen which was odd? The film is admirable but is missing the WOW factor.

AUSTRALIAN ACCENT

Beautiful photo from Aquabumps: www.Aquabumps.com, https://www.facebook.com/aquabumps?fref=ts

I recently did a Youtube clip for my performing buddies who often ask me to speak in an Australian Accent. Hope this helps a bit but please watch Home and Away or Neighbours to pick up the accent as well.