Down the church passage…to Alice In Wonderland

admin — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 09:36:42 +0000

There are some pieces of art that are so classic and so timeless, so well known that they are engrained in the collective consciousness, an important part of anyone’s cultural history, but that also deal with such universal themes in such a fluid manner that they not only allow reinterpretation and adaptation, but fling themselves at it, open to be altered, confident in the knowledge that their essence will remain the same. Alice In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll’s dizzying and frenetic tale is one such piece of art.
St Peter’s Church in Covent Garden, also called the Actor’s Church is the location for tonight’s frenetic performance, where director Andrew Lynford and his cast of the church’s house company Iris Theatre delivered a dizzying reinterpretation. At times things were a little school production in style, and at the start it was difficult to separate the entertainment happening outside in the piazza with that inside the church gardens. However, limited means often means extra creativity and festivity, and so entertainment levels were high.
To give too much away would be to undermine what the production thrives on, it’s surprise and frivolity, and edge of unexpectedness and spontaneity. Besides, you already know the story. The whole church was made use of, with the audience encourage to follow the cast down the rabbit hole, through the maze, to the tea party and beyond. The novel, given its positioning in modern literature as a children’s one (have you ever given children anything else quite so trippy?) is a deep one, exploring identity and the growth from childhood to adult life, and lines such as ‘I am not nobody,’ ‘I can’t go back to yesterday because I was a different person then’ and ‘Everything’s got moral. If only you can find it’ were picked out and delivered so as to be poignant, resonant, and entertaining, accessible and enjoyable, but also thought provoking.
All the cast were engaging as they sang and slapped their thighs, and encouraged, or sometimes forced the audience to do the same as they were lured through the surreal sets, but it was David Baynes as the angsty Scottish Mad Marsh Hare and Soho style Queen of Hearts who really shone, and Michael Lynson’s first professional performance, as the Mouse and Doremouse suggests a bright and vibrant career. As the heroine Laura Wickham held the show together with her sparking demeanour.
The Iris Theatre Company are known for their variety and vitality, dabbling in everything from Shakespearean theatre to circus style acrobatics, and this season present Alice In Wonderland, Julius Caesar and The Hunting of the Snark. Don’t go expecting National Theatre style acting quality. Do go to smile.
[vimeo 70638238 w=500 h=281]
Alice in Wonderland Trailer from Iris Theatre on Vimeo.

Reading Will Never Die

admin — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 10:17:44 +0000

You’d be forgiven for thinking that the art of the written word, or at least the art of consuming that written word is over. But it seems that some people in some places are determined to ensure that books continue to be explored.
Until now only used by shady-looking characters exchanging presents, or the kind of elderly for whom technology post 1985 never really happened, phone boxes are considered by many to be redundant.
But one such red box in Horsley in Surrey is now the home of The Phone Boox Exchange, courtesy of James Econs. Armed with a free Saturday afternoon, a plank of wood, and a few quid to spend on books at the local charity shop, he set about transforming the phone box at the end of his road into an informal book exchange.
James calls it ‘Socially Beneficial Creative Vandalism,’ the idea having popped into his head and from there it was ‘manifestation to deployment in one lazy Saturday afternoon.’
Perhaps part of the problem is that authors aren’t writing what people want to read. It’s all very well going through the cathartic process, but that’s what writing is for…reading, and the other end of the chain requires a customer.
Three book lovers from the UK have set up Unbound, a take on crowd funding that lets authors (who have to have an agent or have previously published) pitch their idea on the site, and the number of supporters and finance needed to make it a reality.
Depending upon their level of investment, readers who pledge get rewarding by a credit in the book, all the way up to launch parties. There’s nothing like handing over your hard earned cash to get you reading.
Manchester is a lucky city, with For Book’s Sake having launched their very own library at Nexus Art Cafe, so punters can peruse a new story or two over their coffee and cake.
In Glasgow a pop-up library was set up for International Women’s Day, and earlier this summer the Covent Garden piazza was converted into a haven for bibliophiles.
Set up to celebrate the fiftieth birthday of Penguin, and to highlight the importance of literacy and libraries in the face of governmental penny-pinching, the Covent Garden Lawn Libraryproved a success in the city.
So whilst a search for ‘is reading dead’ on Google reveals 750 million results, and thus would seem affirmative, a search in the community reveals otherwise…
See the original post on For Books Sake

covent garden – and so she thinks

Down the church passage…to Alice In Wonderland

Reading Will Never Die