Three Shows

Busy times! Here's a quick summary of what I've been up to recently...

The Tempest

Saltburn Community Centre

15.7.2010

This was a performance by the Saltburn 53 Society Youth Production, as part of Shakespeare4Kidz. It had a large cast of young actors of various ages.

'The Tempest' was presented as a musical, with most of the cast enjoying solo spots throughout the evening. The wordplay and liberal sprinkling of puns in the lyrics made this a very funny and enjoyable production. Say what you like about the youth of today, but on this evidence they certainly know how to put on a show.

Further details of Saltburn-based events can be found here:

http://www.saltburnbysea.com/

Antonio Forcione

Durham Gala Theatre

21.7.2010

Antonio Forcione gave a virtuoso display in guitar playing at the Gala Theatre.

The venue has a very intimate feel but it's a pity more people weren't there (although anyone looking at the theatre website wouldn't have seen the show listed).

Cellist Jenny Adejayan accompanied Antonio on some of the numbers (all were instrumental).

At one point, Antonio threw in his own version of 'Billie Jean' as a tribute to Michael Jackson. Incredibly, he somehow managed to fill in the lead, rhythm and bass parts using just one guitar.

He returned for a solo encore and ended up playing for a total of one hour and fifty minutes, bringing a truly incredible range of sounds from his selection of guitars.

Apparently, he wanted to be a drummer when he was much younger, but the guy downstairs wasn't too pleased, so he switched instruments.

Unusual technique! Just after that, he started playing the guitar upside down!

The final strum of a great evening.

For more details about the man and his music, pop along to:

http://www.antonioforcione.com/

Hancock's Finest Hour

Middlesbrough Theatre

22.7.2010

It sounds an unlikely combination: Paul Henry (Benny from Crossroads) playing Tony Hancock...? Yet the physical resemblance turns out to be extraordinary.

The play is set mainly in Hancock's dressing room before and after the milestone interview with John Freeman on 'Face to Face', which is known to have had a profound effect on The Lad 'Imself.

The cast is completed by Clare Bloomer and David Mathews, both of whom play a large variety of people from Hancock's life as his memories and fears start to take a hold.

The play assumes considerable knowledge of Hancock's life and times on the part of the audience, although even those with merely a passing appreciation will know that the story doesn't have a happy ending.

Funny in parts and intense in others, the play is a triumph and an absolute must for Hancock fans.

For further details, see here:

http://www.hancocksfinesthour.com/1446.html

Duck!

The Ministry of Defence denied that their funding had been cut, but their latest perimeter signs suggest a different story.

For more signs of the times, head over to: http://marshtowers.livejournal.com/

Just Like Ludo

Looks like we've been playing it incorrectly all these years. Bring in the larger tables!

For the complete set of our amusing signs, pop along to:

http://marshtowers.livejournal.com/

Further Reading (2)

Check out the new issue of Maverick magazine (issue 97, August 2010) for lots of goodies, including my reviews of the concerts by Natalie Merchant and Gretchen Peters.

For further details, see the Maverick website:

http://www.maverick-country.com/

Further Reading (1)

The latest issue of CHESS Magazine (July 2010) includes my short feature on GM Yasser Seirawan's appearance at the Baker Street Chess Centre.

For further details, pop along to:

http://www.ukgamesshop.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=chnewa048

Middlesbrough Literary Festival: Juliet Gardiner

Middlesbrough Literary Festival

Juliet Gardiner

8.7.2010

Last night's literary event featured historian and author Juliet Gardiner. The latest of Juliet's 14 books is a study of one particular decade and is called 'The Thirties: An Intimate History'.

Juliet delivered a very informative presentation about the 1930s and her reasons for writing all about it. It was a time of great contrasts and not so easy to pigeonhole. On the one hand there was extreme poverty amid the great Depression and families lived in fear of visits by 'The Means Test Man'. Yet other families were starting to live the dream, with brand new cars and the growing emergence of the arts and other forms of entertainment.

International tensions were building too, with the Spanish Civil War foreshadowing a far larger conflict, which would start to run its terrible course before the decade was over.

Juliet then read various passages from her book. Some were sad, others were funny. Tales of the extremes people went to in order to avoid the Means Test Man - who could call in at any time, completely unannounced - were a mixture of both.

At 944 pages, 'The Thirties: An Intimate History' is a very impressive tome and replete with quotes from a huge range of people and sources.

Next, it was time for questions from the audience and there were some very good ones which sparked a lively and interesting debate.

This all served to further demonstrate that the 1930s was a contrary period of time, with definitive statements on any particular aspect of the decade proving very difficult to uphold.

It's always a great experience to be in the company of someone who is passionate about their subject. Juliet provided us all with an excellent and inspiring evening which lasted around 100 minutes (not even counting the time for the tea and biscuits!).

It's well worth spending some time having a look around the general area of the Middlesbrough Library. Our area has its history too and there's a couple of statues worthy of note.

John Vaughan

Sir Samuel Alexander Sadler was the first Conservative MP for Middlesbrough and pioneer of Teesside's chemical industry.

There's plenty of great events still come in the Literary Festival. See the official website for details:

http://www.middlesbrough.gov.uk/ccm/navigation/what-s-on/middlesbrough-literary-festival/

Just look at the range of events! It is quite clear that the organisers have pulled out all of the stops to create a magnificent six-week Festival. I once organised a small Literary Festival for a school and to sign up just a handful of writers took months, so it's hard to imagine how much time was taken up to set it all up. 'Hats off' to the team on their splendid achievement. People of Teesside - support your local Festival!

For my other reports on Festival events, please pop along to:

Festival Opening:

http://marshtowers.blogspot.com/2010/06/middlesbrough-literature-festival.html

Sarah Waters:

http://marshtowers.blogspot.com/2010/07/middlesbrough-literary-festival-sarah.html

Tim Maltin:

http://marshtowers.blogspot.com/2010/07/middlesbrough-literary-festival-tim.html

Middlesbrough Literary Festival: Tim Maltin

Tim Maltin

Middlesbrough Literary Festival

5.7.2010

Tim Maltin's book, '101 Things You Thought You Knew About The Titanic...But Didn't!' has a self-explanatory title.

Tim was at the Middlesbrough Reference Library last night to talk about the Titanic as part of the ongoing Literary Festival. He has been avidly studying the subject in great details since he saw the film, 'A Night to Remember', as a child.

Curiously, the library made a very fitting venue for the talk as it had been opened just three weeks after the Titanic had met its watery fate back in 1912. The library architecture is still authentic for the period.

For the first half-hour, Tim delivered a fascinating talk explaining various discrepancies between the fact and fiction surrounding the design, crew, voyage and loss of the Titanic.

The Titanic remains a popular and intriguing subject, almost 100 years on, making it a perfect subject for a talk.

Tim then opened up the opportunity for the audience to ask questions. They didn't need asking twice! The depth of Tim's knowledge was very impressive indeed. He worked entirely without notes and his answers were always very clear and concise.

There was a short break for refreshments after 50 minutes. This gave everyone the chance to chat to Tim, have him sign some books and take in the excellent library display created by historian Jenny Parker.

Passenger list

Various Titanic-based memorabilia

Book signing

After the break, Tim returned to take more questions. We learned all about the positioning and use of the lifeboats, the fate of the captain, whether the band really did play on till the very end (and what they were playing!), who was blamed, whether or not passengers in Third Class really were locked in , the effects of jumping into the water when wearing a cork life jacket (ouch!) and a whole lot more.

For the answers to those question and 90+ more, I refer the interested reader to Tim's book!

It was an excellent and very informative evening. Thanks go to Tim and all of the Festival staff. At £2 per ticket (which included refreshments), to say it represented great value for money is obviously a huge understatement.

There is another book in the pipeline too. 'A Very Deceiving Night' is scheduled for a 2012 release.

For further details, pop along to:

http://averydeceivingnight.com/

Head over to the official Festival website and be inspired to get out to some the forthcoming events:

http://www.middlesbrough.gov.uk/ccm/navigation/what-s-on/middlesbrough-literary-festival/

For my earlier Festival reviews, please see:

Festival Opening:

http://marshtowers.blogspot.com/2010/06/middlesbrough-literature-festival.html

Sarah Waters:

http://marshtowers.blogspot.com/2010/07/middlesbrough-literary-festival-sarah.html