Now the bad weather has officially arrived I have attempted to catch up on my cinema viewing. Indeed one Thursday I attempted to see all three of the films on my list in one go but couldn't get the timing right. I had to settle for two that day and the third the following day. I could have fitted them all in the one day if I had been willing to go into the evening but that would have meant gaps outside the theatre trying to get fed and what have you. I saw "Me and Orson Welles" and "Harry Brown" together and "2012" the next day. If I were going to rate the films in order of quality that would probably be the same order, although all three were very entertaining.
"Me and Orson Welles" stars Zac Efron of "High School Musical" fame as a young student who gets himself into the 1930 Mercury Theatre production of "Julius Caesar" by the then 22 year old Orson, already an acclaimed genius. This was the first film my agent offered me an extra part in but it was before I retired officially so I couldn't take the opportunity offered. The film was filmed here in the UK and particularly in the Isle of Man, although the result on the screen looks authentically American. Richard Linklater as director obviously loved the material and obviously admires Orson Welles. In Christian McKay he finds a performance that totally convinces in looks, voice and mannerisms. The young Orson Welles is a genius but a really exasperating one and a lot of time is spent awaiting his arrival. The backstage view of the Mercury Theatre production are wonderful for an old theatrical ham like me. There is a reference to the bad luck that is bound to strike every production and the hope that it strikes before the dress rehearsals and opening night. Personal experience makes me accept that this concept of bad luck may exist as I am more superstitious than logical when involved in theatre. There are lovely performances from Ben Chaplin as the English actor playing Mark Anthony and from Eddie Marsan as the now legendary John Houseman. I was especially taken by Claire Danes (no surprise there, I can hear my regular readers comment) as Sonja Jones, a sort of production assistant. Sonja is certainly quirky and a little other worldly while being more worldly than our hero, young Richard played by Zac Efron. The latter actor of course is making the painful transition from teenage heart throb to dramatic lead.I thought he made the transition successfully. He is cursed with extravagant good looks, dark floppy hair and piercing light eyes (such as a younger George Clooney) but works against this to provide a believable performance as the young man given the opportunity to play Lucius to the Brutus of Orson Welles on a whim of the great man. I loved the theatrical rehearsal sequences and loved the fact that a production acclaimed now as a masterpiece was so nearly a disaster. Orson Welles is given to worrying that the inevitable "bad luck" of a production strikes before dress rehearsal and opening night. Recent personal experiences mean I now share this concern.
Harry Brown has been described as the English "Gran Torino", which I think I reviewed in an earlier post. There are similarities in plot as elderly ex-servicemen and widowers aim to avenge a friend's death by doling out their own form of justice. Both films are blessed with leading performances by great cinematic actors in Caine and Eastwood. I think the American film has the slight edge in being directed by Eastwood himself, who qualifies as one of the very best directors outdoing the Europeans at subtlety. The English film is directed by a young débutante, Daniel Barber. He does a very good job and certainly his film is very English and very contemporary. Both leads convince as ex-servicemen leading lonely lives, although Eastwood is slightly more convincing as ex-Korean war veteran. Both sets of experience impinge on the situation they find themselves in their respective films. Strangely enough the English film is far more violent and in-yer-face than the American one. I also felt the scale was more television than cinema. The American film offered a more universal angle and a solution to the same set of problems than did the English film. I would like to see both films again and back to back.
2012 stars John Cusack. It is described as an epic adventure about a global cataclysm bringing an end to the world and the heroic struggle of the survivors. Directed by Roland Emmerich of "Independence Day" and "Day After Tomorrow", the film is packed with great cinematic set pieces of vast destruction. It is also laden with a pathetic script and some gaping flaws in logic! Cusack does try to hold the film together as does Chiwetel Ejiofor but both are outdone by Woody Harrelson as Charlie Frost. The scale of the events leaves little room for the humans. It certainly is a treat for the eyes and the ears although the brain feels a little neglected after a running time of 158 minutes. I think it's better than "10,000 B.C." but spectacular action cannot compensate for poor scripts and poor understanding of human psychology. Emmerich should spend more time looking at "Harry Brown" and "Gran Torino" to learn we are interested in how other human beings react in unusual situations - somewhere there is a quote about nothing is more illuminating in cinema than a close up of the human face!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
Brilliant NHS Staff
I had a cyst and was taking antibiotics but it decided to become something more unpleasant so I visited my GP. I belong to a brilliant medical practice run by the charismatic Dr Mc, but rarely see him. This particular morning I had an appointment with Dr. K., who had seen the original cyst and prescribed the antibiotics. Dr. K has two expressions, impassive and even more impassive. It was the second one that crossed his face as he examined what had now become an abscess in my right groin. He decided to write a letter to the Surgical Assessment Unit at QA hospital there and then to get me antibiotics given IV. As I had a final dress rehearsal that night and an opening night the following I was trying to calculate whether I could postpone the hospital visit until the Monday break in performances or indeed until after the performances finished. However Dr K said I must go straight to SAU and only to pick up my overnight bag on the way through.
At the SAU my details were taken by Staff Nurse W, who had been one of my pupils at Trosnant Primary School. She described me as being a "lovely teacher" and such an unsolicited testimonial made me swell with pride. While we waited long hours in the Treatment Room - not designed for long stays hence my Left Buttock complaint of previous posts - I was visited by another nurse whose son DB I had taught at Waite End School ( I believe her son had done some work on the construction of the new super hospital in which we sat).
More importantly we were visited by a very good looking doctor who was doing the assessment in the SAU. He looked like a taller version of Dominic Cooper (said teh best Beloved). It was he who answered my problem about dress rehearsals and first nights by saying "send in the understudy" and that I would be lucky to be back performing after the weekend if all went to plan. Fortunately for the Bench Theatre and "What the Butler Saw" we had the remarkable and very talented Mark Wakeman as director. It was he who stepped in as understudy with a script on stage and earned a brilliant performance accolade in the press reviews. Having seen the play all the way through he knew the moves and situations and was familiar with the lines - he needed the script though because even he was defeated by Orton's ornate language (see previous posts). That was one burden off my shoulders and all I had to concentrate on was my abscess.
After Dr. Dominic Cooper look alike came the surgery team dressed in scrubs led by a female registrar, female surgeon and male assistant. By now abscess was throbbing but if left alone didn't cause too much pain but he didn't like the attention and probing and prodding. The surgical team agreed with Dominic's assessment and i was added to the CPOD list for that day. This is the emergency list to fit in amongst the already scheduled theatre appointments and you can get shuffled up and down the list depending on priorities.
Eventually in the evening I was moved to a small one bed room in preparation for my procedure whenever a theatre became available. Best Beloved departed after a very long day thinking my procedure would take place at 2100. However I was moved down the list because another patient took priority. I was visited by an anaesthetist. This was the moment I dreaded as at my bypass they had had to do a tracheotomy in order to get air into my lungs during general anaesthetic. If they had to do that again I knew my voice would be ruined as the tracheotomy took longer to heal than did the bypass operation scars. The anaesthetist suggested another method whereby a tube was introduced up my nose and then down the back of my throat. This sounded horrible as well and I knew that if my throat was damaged or made sore it would take a long time to heal (If I am about to catch a cold or such like, it is the back of my throat which goes first).
Anyway I am dozing off having watched "Spooks" on the bedside TV when at midnight a porter and a nurse arrive for me. They trundle me down lengthy empty corridors to the theatre, where I am greeted my surgical nurses and the star of the day, the anaesthetist in charge of my operation. He was bonhomie personified and I am ashamed to say I didn't catch his name. Mainly this was because he had come up with an alternative approach for the operation. Instead of putting me under a general anaesthetic, he suggested the use of an epidural, an injection in the spine which would immobilise the body below the belly button. I agreed to the procedure and was injected in the back doing a Rodin pose under my own steam. Then followed the weirdest sensation - I could feel if my lower limbs were touched or moved but had no sensation of pain and was unable to move them myself. He introduced me to the "Oh yer Bugger" moment. This was achieved with a cold spray which had no real impact on the deadened areas but achieved the OYB moment if it sprayed on to the upper torso. The point was to monitor that the epidural worked in the area required and not higher up, which on reflection was a good thing. A NHS screen was rigged up of a blanket between two drip feed stands as I requested not to be able to see the surgeons at work. I am a physical coward and didn't want to see scalpels near my crown jewels.
The surgeon popped her head round the screen at one point to explain what they were doing and to apologise that they hadn't given me a bikini shave. The anaesthetist kept me entertained throughout with anecdotes, summary of the procedure and health advice. he did warn me that my bladder needed to work by 0800 next morning otherwise the epidural might be having too extended an effect and I would need help urinating.
I am delighted to say that my bladder worked as normal the next morning!
Finally I am indebted to the beautiful blonde District Nurse from Leeds with obvious Norwegian ancestry named Ingrid! Two Ingrids in one room was a total delight. The District Nurse ripped off the elastoplast on my dressing, came up with a less painful solution for covering the wound that will become a scar. I am now midway through a fortnight of seeing a nurse each day for changing my dressing. The usual comment on seeing the wound that will become a scar is "Oh, how impressive!"
I think that must be my summation of the brilliant NHS staff I have met during my latest medical procedure is "How Impressive!"
At the SAU my details were taken by Staff Nurse W, who had been one of my pupils at Trosnant Primary School. She described me as being a "lovely teacher" and such an unsolicited testimonial made me swell with pride. While we waited long hours in the Treatment Room - not designed for long stays hence my Left Buttock complaint of previous posts - I was visited by another nurse whose son DB I had taught at Waite End School ( I believe her son had done some work on the construction of the new super hospital in which we sat).
More importantly we were visited by a very good looking doctor who was doing the assessment in the SAU. He looked like a taller version of Dominic Cooper (said teh best Beloved). It was he who answered my problem about dress rehearsals and first nights by saying "send in the understudy" and that I would be lucky to be back performing after the weekend if all went to plan. Fortunately for the Bench Theatre and "What the Butler Saw" we had the remarkable and very talented Mark Wakeman as director. It was he who stepped in as understudy with a script on stage and earned a brilliant performance accolade in the press reviews. Having seen the play all the way through he knew the moves and situations and was familiar with the lines - he needed the script though because even he was defeated by Orton's ornate language (see previous posts). That was one burden off my shoulders and all I had to concentrate on was my abscess.
After Dr. Dominic Cooper look alike came the surgery team dressed in scrubs led by a female registrar, female surgeon and male assistant. By now abscess was throbbing but if left alone didn't cause too much pain but he didn't like the attention and probing and prodding. The surgical team agreed with Dominic's assessment and i was added to the CPOD list for that day. This is the emergency list to fit in amongst the already scheduled theatre appointments and you can get shuffled up and down the list depending on priorities.
Eventually in the evening I was moved to a small one bed room in preparation for my procedure whenever a theatre became available. Best Beloved departed after a very long day thinking my procedure would take place at 2100. However I was moved down the list because another patient took priority. I was visited by an anaesthetist. This was the moment I dreaded as at my bypass they had had to do a tracheotomy in order to get air into my lungs during general anaesthetic. If they had to do that again I knew my voice would be ruined as the tracheotomy took longer to heal than did the bypass operation scars. The anaesthetist suggested another method whereby a tube was introduced up my nose and then down the back of my throat. This sounded horrible as well and I knew that if my throat was damaged or made sore it would take a long time to heal (If I am about to catch a cold or such like, it is the back of my throat which goes first).
Anyway I am dozing off having watched "Spooks" on the bedside TV when at midnight a porter and a nurse arrive for me. They trundle me down lengthy empty corridors to the theatre, where I am greeted my surgical nurses and the star of the day, the anaesthetist in charge of my operation. He was bonhomie personified and I am ashamed to say I didn't catch his name. Mainly this was because he had come up with an alternative approach for the operation. Instead of putting me under a general anaesthetic, he suggested the use of an epidural, an injection in the spine which would immobilise the body below the belly button. I agreed to the procedure and was injected in the back doing a Rodin pose under my own steam. Then followed the weirdest sensation - I could feel if my lower limbs were touched or moved but had no sensation of pain and was unable to move them myself. He introduced me to the "Oh yer Bugger" moment. This was achieved with a cold spray which had no real impact on the deadened areas but achieved the OYB moment if it sprayed on to the upper torso. The point was to monitor that the epidural worked in the area required and not higher up, which on reflection was a good thing. A NHS screen was rigged up of a blanket between two drip feed stands as I requested not to be able to see the surgeons at work. I am a physical coward and didn't want to see scalpels near my crown jewels.
The surgeon popped her head round the screen at one point to explain what they were doing and to apologise that they hadn't given me a bikini shave. The anaesthetist kept me entertained throughout with anecdotes, summary of the procedure and health advice. he did warn me that my bladder needed to work by 0800 next morning otherwise the epidural might be having too extended an effect and I would need help urinating.
I am delighted to say that my bladder worked as normal the next morning!
Finally I am indebted to the beautiful blonde District Nurse from Leeds with obvious Norwegian ancestry named Ingrid! Two Ingrids in one room was a total delight. The District Nurse ripped off the elastoplast on my dressing, came up with a less painful solution for covering the wound that will become a scar. I am now midway through a fortnight of seeing a nurse each day for changing my dressing. The usual comment on seeing the wound that will become a scar is "Oh, how impressive!"
I think that must be my summation of the brilliant NHS staff I have met during my latest medical procedure is "How Impressive!"
Saturday, November 21, 2009
MLB 2
MLB is an inbuilt device for measuring how long I have been sitting and waiting. Wednesday was one of those days when my ability for sitting several hours staring blankly into space was severely tested although I seem to have had a lot of practice since retiring. MLB became so pained at my lack of movement that it threatened to part company with the rest of me and no amount of shifting, rubbing or raising it off the seat would placate it.
I had been carrying a slightly aggravated cyst in my right groin for some time but it chose Sunday of the get in and technical rehearsals of my current production with the Bench Theatre, "What the Butler Saw", to begin to flare up and to start causing problems and pain. I had already seen my GP on a previous occasion and had antibiotics standing by for such an eventuality. However on the Monday I found myself confined to bed (TG I don't work these days) - this is something my body seems to do if I am sick - and I realised that I was exhausted as well as having problems with a cyst. Dress rehearsal on Monday night was done with gritted teeth and on masses of adrenalin. I always quote "Doctor Theatre" at my girls and do believe that as long as you can get on the stage adrenalin will carry you through. Unfortunately this production of adrenalin does have a payback as you tend to exhaust even further your natural resources so Tuesday was also spent in bed in considerable discomfort. The dress rehearsal that night was marked by an increase in the pain level but I took that as a sign of improvement (on what grounds I am now unsure). However a look at the site when I got home was sufficient to convince me that I should see the GP in the morning. The cyst wore a perpetual darkened frown and the surrounding area was infected and sore.
Suffice it to say that I found myself in the G.P.'s surgery next morning. He took a close look at My Problem and then promptly sat down to write out instructions for the hospital while carefully explaining the situation to me. I would need antibiotics intravenously and some surgery so I was being sent to the Surgical Assessment Unit. There was a surreal moment when I tried to work out if the appointment would arrive after the production or whether it would fall on the Monday break in production before the Tuesday performance which starts the run of last five performances. The GP looked at me bemused when I asked the timing of all of the treatment he was suggesting. He said I had sufficient time to go home for an overnight bag before taking the document and file to the SAU at the hospital. An hour later the Best Beloved and I sat in the Treatment Room of the SAU awaiting assessment.
I had been carrying a slightly aggravated cyst in my right groin for some time but it chose Sunday of the get in and technical rehearsals of my current production with the Bench Theatre, "What the Butler Saw", to begin to flare up and to start causing problems and pain. I had already seen my GP on a previous occasion and had antibiotics standing by for such an eventuality. However on the Monday I found myself confined to bed (TG I don't work these days) - this is something my body seems to do if I am sick - and I realised that I was exhausted as well as having problems with a cyst. Dress rehearsal on Monday night was done with gritted teeth and on masses of adrenalin. I always quote "Doctor Theatre" at my girls and do believe that as long as you can get on the stage adrenalin will carry you through. Unfortunately this production of adrenalin does have a payback as you tend to exhaust even further your natural resources so Tuesday was also spent in bed in considerable discomfort. The dress rehearsal that night was marked by an increase in the pain level but I took that as a sign of improvement (on what grounds I am now unsure). However a look at the site when I got home was sufficient to convince me that I should see the GP in the morning. The cyst wore a perpetual darkened frown and the surrounding area was infected and sore.
Suffice it to say that I found myself in the G.P.'s surgery next morning. He took a close look at My Problem and then promptly sat down to write out instructions for the hospital while carefully explaining the situation to me. I would need antibiotics intravenously and some surgery so I was being sent to the Surgical Assessment Unit. There was a surreal moment when I tried to work out if the appointment would arrive after the production or whether it would fall on the Monday break in production before the Tuesday performance which starts the run of last five performances. The GP looked at me bemused when I asked the timing of all of the treatment he was suggesting. He said I had sufficient time to go home for an overnight bag before taking the document and file to the SAU at the hospital. An hour later the Best Beloved and I sat in the Treatment Room of the SAU awaiting assessment.
Friday, November 20, 2009
My Left Buttock
I have just had a surprise minor operation this week which threw my plans and those of my friends into a tailspin. Thanks to excellent treatment by NHS staff and good drugs, superlative caring by the Best Beloved, and the support of friends and family, I am making a remarkably speedy recovery back at home with the Wound which will become a Scar. I am slightly shuffling in motion as I accustom myself to actions which are unwise to execute at this stage but which I used to be able to do before the operation. I am hoping however to be able to announce myself recovered enough to take up playing the part of Dr. Prentice in the Bench Theatre production of "What the Butler Saw" for the five performances of the run from next Tuesday. The part has been played brilliantly in my absence by the director, Mark Wakeman. Some may say too well as he and the production received a glowing review in the Portsmouth News. He may not want to give up the roar of the make up and the smell of the crowd.
All of this in the course of three days and the main casualty is not my Wound which will become a Scar but my Left Buttock!
All of this in the course of three days and the main casualty is not my Wound which will become a Scar but my Left Buttock!
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Missed Chance
I had the chance of a part with another company that I have tried to join on a number of previous occasions. They offered me an actual part because the original actor had gone down sick. I was gutted to find that it clashed with the performance dates of "What the Butler Saw" so I was unable to accept the chance. However perhaps now they have thought of me once I might get another offer.
My agent texted me about the possibility of taking part in a Lurpak commercial but the casting director didn't firm up the offer so I missed out on a day's filming on Tuesday.
I am spending hours daily cramming my head full of the lines for "What the Butler Saw". I don't know how I found time to do it when I was working. Perhaps my technique was different then or my memory cells were better organised or just younger! It is hard work and not helped by Joe Orton writing in such ornate language that wouldn't go amiss in a Restoration Comedy. You feel you have to get every word and syllable in the right place or order otherwise it just doesn't sound right and the rhythm of the lines is lost. I have just about reached that stage where the lines are finally in my head and coming out of my mouth on cue and in the right order. However there is an awful lot of tricky stage business, which then threatens the memory cells and the links between sections. The worst effect of a "dry" is that you end up not remembering which play let alone scene you are doing. The stage business needs to become automatic and reliant upon muscle memory rather than conscious thought. This means rehearsing the stage business endlessly so it becomes an automatic part of you. The trouble with that is you need the actual props you are going to use and they will need replenishing constantly. It may only need a dozen roses for each performance but you have to multiply that by the number of performances and then by the number of rehearsals. One piece of business is so complex it has 33 different actions and at the moment I am miming each action so by the time I get to action 12 or 13 even I can't remember what the mime represents let alone the actress awaiting her cue. Another of the problems is that you can't get to handling the props unless you know the lines and don't have the book in your hand any more. Learning the 33 actions for that one sequence of stage business is harder than learning lines. We have taped the dialogue and it would be a good idea to use the tape for those sort of sequences.
I am amazed to find that time has flown so rapidly and we are already approaching Get in and technical rehearsals while I am still in the process of over learning the lines. This is the process where you hope to learn the lines sufficiently that they don't entirely rely upon conscious thought and free up part of your brain to use in performance and rehearsal over and beyond the mechanics. I was taught that there are four stages of learning a skill: you are unconscious that the skill even exists; you become conscious of the skill and the fact that you don't have it; you consciously use the skill and it takes all your concentration to use it; you unconsciously use the skill. The best analogy is learning to drive a car. Well I think it can also apply to developing a performance in a play.
At the moment Best Beloved is helping me to develop one of the pieces of stage business needed for the play which involves female underwear, shoes, roses and a vase. We think we have solved the problem with the roses but need the vase and under/foot wear in order to work it all out before we start rehearsing the muscle memory! Tell me again how many years I have had this theatrical hobby.......46?....is that possible? or desirable?
My agent texted me about the possibility of taking part in a Lurpak commercial but the casting director didn't firm up the offer so I missed out on a day's filming on Tuesday.
I am spending hours daily cramming my head full of the lines for "What the Butler Saw". I don't know how I found time to do it when I was working. Perhaps my technique was different then or my memory cells were better organised or just younger! It is hard work and not helped by Joe Orton writing in such ornate language that wouldn't go amiss in a Restoration Comedy. You feel you have to get every word and syllable in the right place or order otherwise it just doesn't sound right and the rhythm of the lines is lost. I have just about reached that stage where the lines are finally in my head and coming out of my mouth on cue and in the right order. However there is an awful lot of tricky stage business, which then threatens the memory cells and the links between sections. The worst effect of a "dry" is that you end up not remembering which play let alone scene you are doing. The stage business needs to become automatic and reliant upon muscle memory rather than conscious thought. This means rehearsing the stage business endlessly so it becomes an automatic part of you. The trouble with that is you need the actual props you are going to use and they will need replenishing constantly. It may only need a dozen roses for each performance but you have to multiply that by the number of performances and then by the number of rehearsals. One piece of business is so complex it has 33 different actions and at the moment I am miming each action so by the time I get to action 12 or 13 even I can't remember what the mime represents let alone the actress awaiting her cue. Another of the problems is that you can't get to handling the props unless you know the lines and don't have the book in your hand any more. Learning the 33 actions for that one sequence of stage business is harder than learning lines. We have taped the dialogue and it would be a good idea to use the tape for those sort of sequences.
I am amazed to find that time has flown so rapidly and we are already approaching Get in and technical rehearsals while I am still in the process of over learning the lines. This is the process where you hope to learn the lines sufficiently that they don't entirely rely upon conscious thought and free up part of your brain to use in performance and rehearsal over and beyond the mechanics. I was taught that there are four stages of learning a skill: you are unconscious that the skill even exists; you become conscious of the skill and the fact that you don't have it; you consciously use the skill and it takes all your concentration to use it; you unconsciously use the skill. The best analogy is learning to drive a car. Well I think it can also apply to developing a performance in a play.
At the moment Best Beloved is helping me to develop one of the pieces of stage business needed for the play which involves female underwear, shoes, roses and a vase. We think we have solved the problem with the roses but need the vase and under/foot wear in order to work it all out before we start rehearsing the muscle memory! Tell me again how many years I have had this theatrical hobby.......46?....is that possible? or desirable?
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Speaking in Tongues
This was one of the reasons why we wanted to organise a London Theatre Week in the first place. I had read about and was interested in the young Australian playwright, Andrew Bovell. I bought a copy of his play "When the Rain Stops Falling" but haven't read it yet. Our friends the Penroses are in Australia now and on their schedule they are going to see a performance of "When the Rain Stops Falling". It is also going into production at the Lincoln Center in New York in 2010. This is a young playwright busily making a name and reputation for himself internationally. Bovell also adapted this play "Speaking in Tongues" into a film, "Lantana", which I didn't see but heard recommended strongly. The cast includes John Simm and Ian Hart, two actors I admire greatly. For all these reasons we booked seats to see a matinee of the show.
"Speaking in Tongues" is publicised as a 'comic chiller'. It begins really well with two different men chatting up two different men in hotel bedrooms simultaneously. The intercutting of dialogue is expertly done to show the similarities and the differences in the two scenes. This is incredibly good ensemble work by all four actors. It continues in the same style into the second scene where each man has returned to his own home and is now in conversation with his wife. The audience is shown both these interactions happening at the same time. It sounds confusing to read it but in the expert hands of this quality of cast it was just well executed. There is some humour in subsequent scenes when the two men meet and when the two wives meet. Ian Hart during the course of the play take son three characters and the other three actors take on two roles each. All the other roles are clearly demarcated and we really are safe in the hands of this cast. My problem was that though I never lost interest in the play, I was never emotionally engaged by any character to a sufficient degree that I cared what happened to him or her. This is a quality cast doing quality work in a clever play well directed by Toby Frow and well designed by Ben Stones. I applauded appreciatively enough at the end but the play appealed more to my head than to my heart.
"Speaking in Tongues" is publicised as a 'comic chiller'. It begins really well with two different men chatting up two different men in hotel bedrooms simultaneously. The intercutting of dialogue is expertly done to show the similarities and the differences in the two scenes. This is incredibly good ensemble work by all four actors. It continues in the same style into the second scene where each man has returned to his own home and is now in conversation with his wife. The audience is shown both these interactions happening at the same time. It sounds confusing to read it but in the expert hands of this quality of cast it was just well executed. There is some humour in subsequent scenes when the two men meet and when the two wives meet. Ian Hart during the course of the play take son three characters and the other three actors take on two roles each. All the other roles are clearly demarcated and we really are safe in the hands of this cast. My problem was that though I never lost interest in the play, I was never emotionally engaged by any character to a sufficient degree that I cared what happened to him or her. This is a quality cast doing quality work in a clever play well directed by Toby Frow and well designed by Ben Stones. I applauded appreciatively enough at the end but the play appealed more to my head than to my heart.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Annie Get Your Gun
This was my first visit to the Young Vic and its unreserved bench seats. I liked the community feel of the place and was intrigued to see four upright pianos installed in the front of a long narrow stage rather than an orchestra pit of any kind. "Annie Get Your Gun" was the only musical chosen on this trip, which is quite unusual for me as I am a real lover of the musical form. I don't know this particular musical and had never seen a production of it before. It does contain some great standards I did know and of course the actress, Jane Horrocks. The leading man was Julian Ovenden, who I believe we last saw in the Sondheim, "Merrily We Roll Along", at the Donmar a couple of years ago.
The original story of Annie Oakley was in the late 19th century but Richard Jones, the director, had set his version in the 1940's. This meant that he could show Annie's triumphal tour of Europe, where she was presented with medals by Winston Churchill, De Gaulle, Mussolini and Hitler, as a silent film version. The set was a long and rather shallow rectangular space and the first scene was decorated with chrome furniture as per an American diner in Cincinnati. We meet Charlie, the drummer for the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show (John Marquez) who is trying to set up a contest between a local contestant and Frank Butler (Julian Ovenden), champion sharpshooter of the world. The director seemed to have decided on a low key approach relying on ensemble singing supported by the four upright pianos. The director may be trying to capture Irving Berlin's stated aim that he wanted to make his songs sound like "conversation set to music". Ovenden doesn't have a big voice but what he brings is excellent articulation and phrasing of a song. "I'm a Bad, Bad Man" is a typical Berlin conversational verse and allows Ovenden to establish the style of the show. Jane Horrocks is tiny and once again the emphasis is on clarity and characterisation rather than a big voice. What Jane Horrocks brings to the role is vulnerability and, though she is a sharpshooter not only the equal of Frank but indeed his better, we are won over by her and are rooting for her to the end. We were impressed by the staging and the choreography and this is a show packed full of great songs, The Girl That I Marry", "You Can't Get a Man with a gun", "There's No business like show business", "They Say It's Wonderful", "I Got Sun in the Morning" and "Anything You Can Do". I was disappointed in Niall Ashdown as Sitting Bull and in Chucky Venn as Buffalo Bill. The former was too low key and brought little of the exotic to the show. Chucky Venn has the looks and a good singing voice but I wanted a deeper timbre or range from Buffalo Bill. Both actors and characters fitted in with and supplemented the ensemble singing and numbers too well and I wanted something a little more individual from them. Jane Horrocks was the reason for seeing the show and she did justice to the Berlin lyrics. She is small but beautifully formed. I liked her Annie Oakley and wanted to protect and cheer her on.
The original story of Annie Oakley was in the late 19th century but Richard Jones, the director, had set his version in the 1940's. This meant that he could show Annie's triumphal tour of Europe, where she was presented with medals by Winston Churchill, De Gaulle, Mussolini and Hitler, as a silent film version. The set was a long and rather shallow rectangular space and the first scene was decorated with chrome furniture as per an American diner in Cincinnati. We meet Charlie, the drummer for the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show (John Marquez) who is trying to set up a contest between a local contestant and Frank Butler (Julian Ovenden), champion sharpshooter of the world. The director seemed to have decided on a low key approach relying on ensemble singing supported by the four upright pianos. The director may be trying to capture Irving Berlin's stated aim that he wanted to make his songs sound like "conversation set to music". Ovenden doesn't have a big voice but what he brings is excellent articulation and phrasing of a song. "I'm a Bad, Bad Man" is a typical Berlin conversational verse and allows Ovenden to establish the style of the show. Jane Horrocks is tiny and once again the emphasis is on clarity and characterisation rather than a big voice. What Jane Horrocks brings to the role is vulnerability and, though she is a sharpshooter not only the equal of Frank but indeed his better, we are won over by her and are rooting for her to the end. We were impressed by the staging and the choreography and this is a show packed full of great songs, The Girl That I Marry", "You Can't Get a Man with a gun", "There's No business like show business", "They Say It's Wonderful", "I Got Sun in the Morning" and "Anything You Can Do". I was disappointed in Niall Ashdown as Sitting Bull and in Chucky Venn as Buffalo Bill. The former was too low key and brought little of the exotic to the show. Chucky Venn has the looks and a good singing voice but I wanted a deeper timbre or range from Buffalo Bill. Both actors and characters fitted in with and supplemented the ensemble singing and numbers too well and I wanted something a little more individual from them. Jane Horrocks was the reason for seeing the show and she did justice to the Berlin lyrics. She is small but beautifully formed. I liked her Annie Oakley and wanted to protect and cheer her on.
Stories By Heart
After interposing a post about storytelling for children, it seems appropriate to return to our London Theatre Week reviews and the event, "Stories by Heart", at the Lyttleton by John Lithgow.
We had had the privilege of seeing the stage set as part of our backstage tour. It was also humbling to see the size of the auditorium into which John Lithgow was going to be performing that evening. He is apparently repeating the event this coming Monday, October 26th.
The set was a small coffee table DSL, a series of rugs forming a star like pattern on the floor, CS was a standard lamp, a comfortable wing chair and a small table with a glass and jug of water. Oh and a hat stand USR! All stage directions are given as from the performer's or actor's viewpoint (D is downstage towards the audience and U is upstage away from the audience in case there are any readers of this blog who are not luvvies).
John Lithgow bounded on to stage to warm applause and he announced that it was his birthday that very day, the 19th of October. He told us he was 64 and began to hum. It took me a while to pick up the tune as I was still stunned at how good he looked for 64! Then the audience began to sing the Beatles song, "When I am 64", with and to John Lithgow. We were good too. At the end he thanked us and said he would be quite happy to go offstage now and expire in the wings as that had been one of the happiest moments in his life. He also wished that we all could experience such a moment. He had won us all round and we waited in anticipation to see what came next.
We learned about his father and mother and the importance they had given to stories in the life of the Lithgow family. We learned about a precious book from which John's father had read and recounted stories many many times as the children grew up. We were going to hear two of the stories that very evening.
The first story was "our" man, P.G. Wodehouse, and "Uncle Fred Flits By". At first it appeared we were going to be read the story but of course this was stories by heart and soon John Lithgow was telling and acting the story out. His characterisations were fabulous and his grasp of narration very impressive. He has a great voice and he used it to the utmost in telling the story of irascible Uncle Fred and his much put upon nephew, Pongo. We roared with laughter at the escapades and at the joy of delivery. We were safe in the hands of a consummate storyteller.
After the interval, the second tale was "Haircut", by Ring Lardner. This was a very different tale of a small Midwestern town as seen through the eyes of the narrator, the town's barber. The telling of the story required a very elaborate, detailed and sustained mime by Lithgow giving a shave and haircut to an unseen customer in the barber's chair. The barber as narrator conjures up the other characters in the town and in the story. It was very American and I wasn't personally as held as I was in the first half. It could be that the first half had set an impossible standard to follow. John Lithgow admitted that the second half was an addition as the first story had been the event all by itself until audiences began asking for more. I wasn't sure that the story itself by Ring Lardner was strong enough or whether it was swamped a little by the mime. I did enjoy it and did find it revealing of the depths to be found in a small town anywhere. However I just didn't find it as involving as the Wodehouse. I did find myself impressed at the end by Mr Lithgow and his ability to work an audience and above all to tell stories by heart.
We had had the privilege of seeing the stage set as part of our backstage tour. It was also humbling to see the size of the auditorium into which John Lithgow was going to be performing that evening. He is apparently repeating the event this coming Monday, October 26th.
The set was a small coffee table DSL, a series of rugs forming a star like pattern on the floor, CS was a standard lamp, a comfortable wing chair and a small table with a glass and jug of water. Oh and a hat stand USR! All stage directions are given as from the performer's or actor's viewpoint (D is downstage towards the audience and U is upstage away from the audience in case there are any readers of this blog who are not luvvies).
John Lithgow bounded on to stage to warm applause and he announced that it was his birthday that very day, the 19th of October. He told us he was 64 and began to hum. It took me a while to pick up the tune as I was still stunned at how good he looked for 64! Then the audience began to sing the Beatles song, "When I am 64", with and to John Lithgow. We were good too. At the end he thanked us and said he would be quite happy to go offstage now and expire in the wings as that had been one of the happiest moments in his life. He also wished that we all could experience such a moment. He had won us all round and we waited in anticipation to see what came next.
We learned about his father and mother and the importance they had given to stories in the life of the Lithgow family. We learned about a precious book from which John's father had read and recounted stories many many times as the children grew up. We were going to hear two of the stories that very evening.
The first story was "our" man, P.G. Wodehouse, and "Uncle Fred Flits By". At first it appeared we were going to be read the story but of course this was stories by heart and soon John Lithgow was telling and acting the story out. His characterisations were fabulous and his grasp of narration very impressive. He has a great voice and he used it to the utmost in telling the story of irascible Uncle Fred and his much put upon nephew, Pongo. We roared with laughter at the escapades and at the joy of delivery. We were safe in the hands of a consummate storyteller.
After the interval, the second tale was "Haircut", by Ring Lardner. This was a very different tale of a small Midwestern town as seen through the eyes of the narrator, the town's barber. The telling of the story required a very elaborate, detailed and sustained mime by Lithgow giving a shave and haircut to an unseen customer in the barber's chair. The barber as narrator conjures up the other characters in the town and in the story. It was very American and I wasn't personally as held as I was in the first half. It could be that the first half had set an impossible standard to follow. John Lithgow admitted that the second half was an addition as the first story had been the event all by itself until audiences began asking for more. I wasn't sure that the story itself by Ring Lardner was strong enough or whether it was swamped a little by the mime. I did enjoy it and did find it revealing of the depths to be found in a small town anywhere. However I just didn't find it as involving as the Wodehouse. I did find myself impressed at the end by Mr Lithgow and his ability to work an audience and above all to tell stories by heart.
Red Shoes
Today we returned to a session of storytelling as the Tale Tellers at the Spring Arts and Heritage Centre. This was our last session under the "Shoes" theme. We had accepted "Red Shoes" as one of our titles from a list offered by the Arts centre staff when we were drawing up the entry in the brochure back at the beginning of the year. I don't know whether you know the Hans Christian Anderson story but it makes the Grimm Brothers look like Sesame Street! There is this pair of cursed red shoes which won't stop dancing once you have put them on. The reason the shoes are cursed and the way to break the curse are religious in the original story - and did I mention the amputation and the wooden limb replacements!! Upon hindsight we decided we would take the basic premise of enchanted red dancing shoes but would write our own version instead of using that of Hans Christian Anderson. As I have written our own versions of "The Elves and the Shoemaker", "Puss in Boots" and "Cinderella", it fell to the authoress of our version of the "Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe", i.e. the Best beloved, to come up with our version of the "Red Shoes".
She completed it last night and she performed it to the children this morning. It was a success and although our numbers were down a little from our last session (we have gone monthly now and it was raining?) it was a pleasure to see their enraptured faces as the Best Beloved wove her magic as Ingy-Thingy the Storyteller. As usual she had got the session going with nursery rhymes and shoe songs in rounds and in unison, before I told the short story of the "troll and the Three Billy Goats Gruff". During our London visit we had refound the Piccadilly Market and the little stall with convertible dolls made apparently by nuns (says the Cockney stall holder). We bought three dolls upon which to base short stories and used the first one today which has the troll and underneath the three billy goats.
Ingy-Thingy then told the headline story while I watched the audience - a fully privileged position to be in! I once learned of a director who did that deliberately in his productions. He knew the play intimately and didn't need to watch it. Instead we watched the reaction of the audience and gave his notes to his cast on their performances by what he had observed of the audience.
As Guppy I reprised our very first headline story, "The Elves and the shoemaker", but in a shortened version and in the form of a game I had found online. It was quite ambitious but it seemed to work and one Dad afterwards commented that he would adapt the idea for future children's parties. We perform our stories alongside the giant boot in the foyer of the Spring so we have the children seated on the ground in front of us and usually interspersed with Mums - Dads and grandparents tend to sit at the adjacent coffee tables and chairs. I am not sure the game would have gone so well without the interspersed Mums!
We finished off with our version of "Old MacDonald had a band", which the children like and to which they can contribute.
The next session is the end of November when we are doing "Aladdin" before "The Night Before Christmas" on December 19th as our last session this year. we are already talking about a 2010 season with the Spring.
She completed it last night and she performed it to the children this morning. It was a success and although our numbers were down a little from our last session (we have gone monthly now and it was raining?) it was a pleasure to see their enraptured faces as the Best Beloved wove her magic as Ingy-Thingy the Storyteller. As usual she had got the session going with nursery rhymes and shoe songs in rounds and in unison, before I told the short story of the "troll and the Three Billy Goats Gruff". During our London visit we had refound the Piccadilly Market and the little stall with convertible dolls made apparently by nuns (says the Cockney stall holder). We bought three dolls upon which to base short stories and used the first one today which has the troll and underneath the three billy goats.
Ingy-Thingy then told the headline story while I watched the audience - a fully privileged position to be in! I once learned of a director who did that deliberately in his productions. He knew the play intimately and didn't need to watch it. Instead we watched the reaction of the audience and gave his notes to his cast on their performances by what he had observed of the audience.
As Guppy I reprised our very first headline story, "The Elves and the shoemaker", but in a shortened version and in the form of a game I had found online. It was quite ambitious but it seemed to work and one Dad afterwards commented that he would adapt the idea for future children's parties. We perform our stories alongside the giant boot in the foyer of the Spring so we have the children seated on the ground in front of us and usually interspersed with Mums - Dads and grandparents tend to sit at the adjacent coffee tables and chairs. I am not sure the game would have gone so well without the interspersed Mums!
We finished off with our version of "Old MacDonald had a band", which the children like and to which they can contribute.
The next session is the end of November when we are doing "Aladdin" before "The Night Before Christmas" on December 19th as our last session this year. we are already talking about a 2010 season with the Spring.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Life is a Dream
"Life is A Dream" was written in 1635 by Pedro Calderon de la Barca and is acknowledged as one of the masterpieces of Spain's Golden Century, the creative 17th. Amongst other masterpieces of this period is my own personal classical favourite, Cervantes' 1605 masterpiece, Don Quixote . Calderon followed Lope de Vega as Philip IV's court dramatist and based his work upon the turbulent history of Spain in the 16th century. In 1568 Philip II of Armada infamy imprisoned his crazed son,Charles, in a tower.
This new version of "Life is a Dream" is by Helen Edmundson, who has done a lot of work with Shared Experience, and is currently working on a new play for the RSC. The language is poetic but sinewy. The psychology is deep and understanding. The premise that we can never be sure whether we are in a dream or in life is one that has occupied us all at one time or other. The storytelling is superb and totally satisfying.
The production directed by Jonathan Munby is based upon magnificent performances and a stagecraft that transforms the Donmar and transcends the space of one of the smallest but beloved theatres I know. Nothing is wasted and everything is used in the service of the story. The music by Dominic Haslam and Ansuman Biswas is stunning and underpins the whole production. The stage is stripped bare right down to the famous black back wall except for an enormous circular gold ringed chandelier with a central lantern in the form of a huge incense holder or inverted thurible.
It is difficult to single out one performance above the others as this is a stellar acting cast rather than an ensemble. However I must admit I had gone to see Dominic West on stage. I have been smitten by this English actor's work in The Wire, as a Baltimore policeman. After his performance as Segismundo, I am even more impressed by his performance as McNulty. We learn that Segismundo has been imprisoned by his father, King Basilio, a learned scholar and scientist, who believes his son is a harbinger of doom for the world and his kingdom. Powerful and muscular in stature and in voice,Dominic West engages the sympathy of the audience by the strength of his conviction and the wretchedness of his character's plight. In the smallness of the Donmar, we look right into his eyes and we share his sense of injustice and outrage.
The greatness of the piece though is that we do not have black and white characters with villains and heroes. In great soliloquies we learn about the motives of the king and the gaoler, Clotaldo. In the hands of Malcolm Storry and David Horovitch, these parts are rich, complex and beautifully rounded. Malcolm Storry is a beautifully rational actor with a beautiful voice and an expressive face. He also has the stage presence and charisma to not only match Dominic West but to impose himself above the other. David Horovitch manages to create a character who remains honourable in difficult circumstances and who earns our grudging respect.
Going as we do to matinees in term time, we encounter many audiences composed of young students (see "War Horse" review and the autograph hunters) and certainly the character of Clarion as played by Lloyd Hutchinson won the majority of them over. He was able to maintain the humour and the throwaway lines even in the poetic form dictated by the script (although it must be said that all the cast were good at doing that). The common man seeking to put some sense on what is happening in the world around him and somehow ending up right in the middle was safely in the hands of this warm and comic actor.
Calderon has also created two wonderful female characters in Esterella (Sharon Small) and Rosaura. When Segismundo encounters them and indeed womanhood for the first time he is mightily impressed and extols their virtues in almost "Brave New World" fashion. Both actresses are more than up to the task and once again we are given beautifully modulated and realised characters with no hint of stereotype. Having seen Kate Fleetwood recently as Lady M in the Scottish play to Patrick Stewart's murderous thane, I was impressed by the nuances she brought to Rosaura.
Rupert Evans as Astolfo played him as a three dimensional character rather than as a villain and thereby uses skilfully his own matinee idol looks in the service of the character. The company is made up by David Smith and Dylan Turner but the cast thoroughly convinces us of the collapse of Poland as thoroughly as we saw the Great War in "War Horse". We want to know the fate of a man and of a nation, because we recognise our common humanity amid the uncertainty of life and death.
This new version of "Life is a Dream" is by Helen Edmundson, who has done a lot of work with Shared Experience, and is currently working on a new play for the RSC. The language is poetic but sinewy. The psychology is deep and understanding. The premise that we can never be sure whether we are in a dream or in life is one that has occupied us all at one time or other. The storytelling is superb and totally satisfying.
The production directed by Jonathan Munby is based upon magnificent performances and a stagecraft that transforms the Donmar and transcends the space of one of the smallest but beloved theatres I know. Nothing is wasted and everything is used in the service of the story. The music by Dominic Haslam and Ansuman Biswas is stunning and underpins the whole production. The stage is stripped bare right down to the famous black back wall except for an enormous circular gold ringed chandelier with a central lantern in the form of a huge incense holder or inverted thurible.
It is difficult to single out one performance above the others as this is a stellar acting cast rather than an ensemble. However I must admit I had gone to see Dominic West on stage. I have been smitten by this English actor's work in The Wire, as a Baltimore policeman. After his performance as Segismundo, I am even more impressed by his performance as McNulty. We learn that Segismundo has been imprisoned by his father, King Basilio, a learned scholar and scientist, who believes his son is a harbinger of doom for the world and his kingdom. Powerful and muscular in stature and in voice,Dominic West engages the sympathy of the audience by the strength of his conviction and the wretchedness of his character's plight. In the smallness of the Donmar, we look right into his eyes and we share his sense of injustice and outrage.
The greatness of the piece though is that we do not have black and white characters with villains and heroes. In great soliloquies we learn about the motives of the king and the gaoler, Clotaldo. In the hands of Malcolm Storry and David Horovitch, these parts are rich, complex and beautifully rounded. Malcolm Storry is a beautifully rational actor with a beautiful voice and an expressive face. He also has the stage presence and charisma to not only match Dominic West but to impose himself above the other. David Horovitch manages to create a character who remains honourable in difficult circumstances and who earns our grudging respect.
Going as we do to matinees in term time, we encounter many audiences composed of young students (see "War Horse" review and the autograph hunters) and certainly the character of Clarion as played by Lloyd Hutchinson won the majority of them over. He was able to maintain the humour and the throwaway lines even in the poetic form dictated by the script (although it must be said that all the cast were good at doing that). The common man seeking to put some sense on what is happening in the world around him and somehow ending up right in the middle was safely in the hands of this warm and comic actor.
Calderon has also created two wonderful female characters in Esterella (Sharon Small) and Rosaura. When Segismundo encounters them and indeed womanhood for the first time he is mightily impressed and extols their virtues in almost "Brave New World" fashion. Both actresses are more than up to the task and once again we are given beautifully modulated and realised characters with no hint of stereotype. Having seen Kate Fleetwood recently as Lady M in the Scottish play to Patrick Stewart's murderous thane, I was impressed by the nuances she brought to Rosaura.
Rupert Evans as Astolfo played him as a three dimensional character rather than as a villain and thereby uses skilfully his own matinee idol looks in the service of the character. The company is made up by David Smith and Dylan Turner but the cast thoroughly convinces us of the collapse of Poland as thoroughly as we saw the Great War in "War Horse". We want to know the fate of a man and of a nation, because we recognise our common humanity amid the uncertainty of life and death.
War Horse
I am a great admirer of Michael Morpurgo's work and he was a worthy Children's Laureate from 2003 to 2005. It was during this time that the Best Beloved and I attended a talk he gave to an English Teacher's conference in Hampshire. Afterwards we enjoyed a conversation with him about retiring as it was a pertinent subject for him and us at the time. I love "Kensuke's Kingdom", "War Horse" and "Private Peaceful". These are his three war stories with the last two based in the First World War. In fact Michael was reading "Private Peaceful" on Monday night in the Olivier at the same time as we chose to see John Lithgow in the Lyttleton. We got to see both stages from backstage as part of our National Theatre tour on the late Monday afternoon. The set for "Habit of Art", the new Alan Bennett play, is a recreation of Rehearsal Room 1 at the National Theatre. It wasn't a surprise therefore to see him in the auditorium for the Tuesday performance at the New London theatre. From our backstage tour we learned that the transfer of "War Horse" from the Olivier to the New London was based on some similarities between the two theatres. One of these is the revolve and the spread of seats in the auditorium. We learned that the span of seats in the Olivier is 118 degrees because that is what can be encompassed within the actor's range of sight without moving the head.
We had missed "War Horse" at the National before it transferred to the New London and this was our chance to catch it before the planned Lee Hall film goes into production (oh to be a film extra on that film!). We met the puppet of the war horse's mother backstage in the National Theatre scenic dock. I don't think I am giving anything away in saying that the horses in the show are magnificent creations by the Handspring puppet Theatre working is association with the National. Well, the model for the mother of Joey is to be found still at the National as she was cut from the final production. She was manned by three puppeteers as is Joey and it was fascinating to appreciate the skill and care with which she was constructed. It may have stolen a bit of the thunder seeing her backstage rather than getting a first glimpse of the horse onstage. However Joey's mother was cut because she lengthened the storyline unnecessarily it was decided. There had been a discussion as to what she was called and a bit of theatre spookiness overtook us here. At first they were going to call her Zoey but thought that was too much like Joey, so they changed her name to Alice! To those who know this blogger will realise those are the names we chose for the treasures of our lives, our two daughters!
"War Horse" was a magnificent piece of theatrical storytelling at its very best. The undoubted star is Joey and the three puppeteers who operate head, heart and hind. We feel his joy of life, his love towards humans and his anguish during the warfare. The humans are also given characters with whom we can identify - although almost but not quite upstaged in the comic stakes by a puppet goose. Robert Emms as Albert Narracot gives an outstanding performance as the youngster who grows into a man in the cauldron of the trenches. I loved the songs and the music by John Tams, once described by the Times as the best songwriter you may never have heard of. John joined the National Theatre in 1977 and was responsible for the music of "The Mysteries" and much beside. The recreation of the Dorset country life before the Great War was as beautiful and as idyllic as the recreation of the horror of war itself. Apparently the Queen herself slipped unannounced and without ceremony into a performance of this play (instigated and led by Prince Charles). I admired her for so doing and hoped she also felt the pangs as men were encouraged to leave the rural life to go and fight for king and country. The show is English through and through full of humour, grumbling, sibling rivalry, regimental pride, stupidity of war especially cavalry versus machine guns and tanks and the bravery of ordinary men to survive in the most appalling conditions and against the most dreadful odds. It is a compliment therefore that one of the best characters created and performed by Patrick O'Kane is Hauptmann Muller, a German cavalry officer. The character and the performance defeats all our inbuilt prejudices and he is seen as almost an every man. The adaptation of Morpurgo's book by Nick Stafford is stunning for reinforcing our belief in the basic humanity and goodness of man. We cared about Joey and we cared about the humans too. This was an uplifting and moving production and a piece of theatre I was delighted we made an effort to see. Its images and evoked emotions will live with me for a long time.
We had missed "War Horse" at the National before it transferred to the New London and this was our chance to catch it before the planned Lee Hall film goes into production (oh to be a film extra on that film!). We met the puppet of the war horse's mother backstage in the National Theatre scenic dock. I don't think I am giving anything away in saying that the horses in the show are magnificent creations by the Handspring puppet Theatre working is association with the National. Well, the model for the mother of Joey is to be found still at the National as she was cut from the final production. She was manned by three puppeteers as is Joey and it was fascinating to appreciate the skill and care with which she was constructed. It may have stolen a bit of the thunder seeing her backstage rather than getting a first glimpse of the horse onstage. However Joey's mother was cut because she lengthened the storyline unnecessarily it was decided. There had been a discussion as to what she was called and a bit of theatre spookiness overtook us here. At first they were going to call her Zoey but thought that was too much like Joey, so they changed her name to Alice! To those who know this blogger will realise those are the names we chose for the treasures of our lives, our two daughters!
"War Horse" was a magnificent piece of theatrical storytelling at its very best. The undoubted star is Joey and the three puppeteers who operate head, heart and hind. We feel his joy of life, his love towards humans and his anguish during the warfare. The humans are also given characters with whom we can identify - although almost but not quite upstaged in the comic stakes by a puppet goose. Robert Emms as Albert Narracot gives an outstanding performance as the youngster who grows into a man in the cauldron of the trenches. I loved the songs and the music by John Tams, once described by the Times as the best songwriter you may never have heard of. John joined the National Theatre in 1977 and was responsible for the music of "The Mysteries" and much beside. The recreation of the Dorset country life before the Great War was as beautiful and as idyllic as the recreation of the horror of war itself. Apparently the Queen herself slipped unannounced and without ceremony into a performance of this play (instigated and led by Prince Charles). I admired her for so doing and hoped she also felt the pangs as men were encouraged to leave the rural life to go and fight for king and country. The show is English through and through full of humour, grumbling, sibling rivalry, regimental pride, stupidity of war especially cavalry versus machine guns and tanks and the bravery of ordinary men to survive in the most appalling conditions and against the most dreadful odds. It is a compliment therefore that one of the best characters created and performed by Patrick O'Kane is Hauptmann Muller, a German cavalry officer. The character and the performance defeats all our inbuilt prejudices and he is seen as almost an every man. The adaptation of Morpurgo's book by Nick Stafford is stunning for reinforcing our belief in the basic humanity and goodness of man. We cared about Joey and we cared about the humans too. This was an uplifting and moving production and a piece of theatre I was delighted we made an effort to see. Its images and evoked emotions will live with me for a long time.
Review of the London Theatre Week 2009
The week went splendidly as the hotel was perfectly located and our choice of theatre going proved to be better than we had even anticipated. We even fitted in one or two cultural visits that reminded us how much the capital has to offer.
We stayed at the Bedford in Southampton Row. This was described as am intimate little hotel although staying on the sixth floor defied the description of little if even height wise. However our east facing window overlooked the roof of the British Museum. The location was perfect as we could walk to theatre land from the hotel. If we wished to go further afield or return after a theatre visit we found London buses, helpful and friendly drivers and our senior bus passes invaluable. One trip involved a visit by bus to the V&A museum. We weren't sure of the route as we changed from the planned 14 to another one as the direction board seemed to indicate it was going in the right direction. The driver told us we needed to get off at Exhibition Road. As we neared we panicked and actually got off the bus a couple of stops early. The bus remained stationary and we realised that the driver was beckoning to us stood outside the rear exit door. We re-entered through the front doors and he said he had told us to get off at Exhibition Road. Humbled we remained on the bus until we reached the correct bus stop and our driver even indicated where we had to go next to find the V&A, which is opposite the Science and Natural History Museums. We were impressed that the driver remembered us and our simple request after the distance the bus had travelled and through some of the worst traffic conditions. We were equally impressed on Thursday night on the return bus up Southampton Row after seeing "Annie Get Your Gun" at the Young Vic, we found ourselves sat in the seats directly behind Janine Duvitski and a friend. Janine was the neighbour Angela in Abigail's Party and has starred in Michael Frayn's play "Alphabetical Order" and much television and stage work.
Another casual piece of star spotting (and the Best Beloved and I are always on the look out when in London) was seeing Nigel Planer eating in the plate glass window of a cafe opposite the Shaftesbury Theatre where he is appearing in "Hairspray". We were on the way to another performance elsewhere. He was sitting at one of those counters with stools facing the outside world through the window. He seemed to be "surprised to be recognised" but did reward us with a smile (I last saw him perform in "Wicked" at the Apollo Victoria - a musical I had wanted to see - but failed to be moved by in the huge auditorium there).
We were also sat two rows behind Eileen Atkins in the John Lithgow event, "Stories by Heart", at the Lyttleton and four rows behind Michael Morpurgo at "War Horse" at the New London Theatre. I recognised Michael easily because the Best Beloved and I had met him at talked to him for quite a long while at an English Teachers' conference run by Hampshire. I repaid the favour by identifying him to some GCSE students in front of us who hunted him down for his autograph during the interval.
My next blog or two will try to identify the five productions we saw in some sort of order and review them. The nicest thing about the London Theatre Week is that we are thinking of repeating it in subsequent years as it proved so successful this time. We might have to postpone it until 2011 as we hope to go on another canal boat holiday in September in 2010 (although I will try my best to persuade the Best Beloved we can do both! Although she will read this blog and she will now be aware thus making my task more difficult... Drats! SQUIRREL!!!)
We stayed at the Bedford in Southampton Row. This was described as am intimate little hotel although staying on the sixth floor defied the description of little if even height wise. However our east facing window overlooked the roof of the British Museum. The location was perfect as we could walk to theatre land from the hotel. If we wished to go further afield or return after a theatre visit we found London buses, helpful and friendly drivers and our senior bus passes invaluable. One trip involved a visit by bus to the V&A museum. We weren't sure of the route as we changed from the planned 14 to another one as the direction board seemed to indicate it was going in the right direction. The driver told us we needed to get off at Exhibition Road. As we neared we panicked and actually got off the bus a couple of stops early. The bus remained stationary and we realised that the driver was beckoning to us stood outside the rear exit door. We re-entered through the front doors and he said he had told us to get off at Exhibition Road. Humbled we remained on the bus until we reached the correct bus stop and our driver even indicated where we had to go next to find the V&A, which is opposite the Science and Natural History Museums. We were impressed that the driver remembered us and our simple request after the distance the bus had travelled and through some of the worst traffic conditions. We were equally impressed on Thursday night on the return bus up Southampton Row after seeing "Annie Get Your Gun" at the Young Vic, we found ourselves sat in the seats directly behind Janine Duvitski and a friend. Janine was the neighbour Angela in Abigail's Party and has starred in Michael Frayn's play "Alphabetical Order" and much television and stage work.
Another casual piece of star spotting (and the Best Beloved and I are always on the look out when in London) was seeing Nigel Planer eating in the plate glass window of a cafe opposite the Shaftesbury Theatre where he is appearing in "Hairspray". We were on the way to another performance elsewhere. He was sitting at one of those counters with stools facing the outside world through the window. He seemed to be "surprised to be recognised" but did reward us with a smile (I last saw him perform in "Wicked" at the Apollo Victoria - a musical I had wanted to see - but failed to be moved by in the huge auditorium there).
We were also sat two rows behind Eileen Atkins in the John Lithgow event, "Stories by Heart", at the Lyttleton and four rows behind Michael Morpurgo at "War Horse" at the New London Theatre. I recognised Michael easily because the Best Beloved and I had met him at talked to him for quite a long while at an English Teachers' conference run by Hampshire. I repaid the favour by identifying him to some GCSE students in front of us who hunted him down for his autograph during the interval.
My next blog or two will try to identify the five productions we saw in some sort of order and review them. The nicest thing about the London Theatre Week is that we are thinking of repeating it in subsequent years as it proved so successful this time. We might have to postpone it until 2011 as we hope to go on another canal boat holiday in September in 2010 (although I will try my best to persuade the Best Beloved we can do both! Although she will read this blog and she will now be aware thus making my task more difficult... Drats! SQUIRREL!!!)
Sunday, October 18, 2009
London Theatre Week
The Best Beloved and I have been trying to work towards a three holidays per year pattern since retirement. It mainly means avoiding school holidays so the summer is spent here at home. We will try to maintain the pattern until the government punishes us baby boomers for the collapse of world finance. How does that work, by the way, we taxpayers lend the banking bastards millions if not billions and yet we have to pay for the privilege while they still continue exactly where they left off? All the political parties leap on the same bandwagon of swingeing cuts. Not one of them talks about demanding our money back or that big word "investment", which is different from sinking our money down a rotting mine shaft called world banking.
In the Autumn Best Beloved and I have to get through the Literary Festival Season and then we can consider an autumn break before the half term at the end of October. This year we have organised a London Theatre Week.
We go up by train on Monday afternoon (www.megatrain.com) and arrive at a hotel near Covent Garden. We then make our way (using our bus passes on London Transport) to the National Theatre for a backstage tour at about teatime. We stay on at the National Theatre to hear John Lithgow talk give a one man performance about storytelling, in which he performs two short stories.
On Tuesday we walk to Smithfield's for breakfast and spend most of the morning at the British Museum. The Best Beloved has never been and it has been some time since I have been there. The afternoon is available for undecided activities but possibly Imax cinema or more museum visits such as the War Museum in preparation for our evening entertainment. In the evening we are going to see "War Horse". I love the book and the author, who we were both met at an English teachers' conference.
On Wednesday probably the V&A museum, which neither have been to but we heard a great deal about recently on Radio 4 (our daytime companion). In the afternoon we are going to a matinee of "Speaking in Tongues" by the Australian playwright, Andrew Bovell. It stars John Simms and Ian Harte, two of my favourite actors. In the evening we are off to the Young Vic (where we have never been) to see and hear Jane Horrocks in "Annie Get Your Gun". I love musicals! This one has some great standards in it!
Our last day we are seeing a matinee of "Life's a Dream" at the Donmar starring Malcolm Storry, with whom the best Beloved went to College. The show also stars Dominic West (McNulty in "The Wire"), who is vying with Hugh Laurie as my favourite TV actor of the moment. Apparently Lucy has heard him speak and he is a typical RSC sounding actor which makes his performance as the Baltimore policeman all the more remarkable. In the evening we will wend our weary way home via the Corrigan restaurant in Upper Grosvenor Street.
Theatrically and gastronomically replete, we will return to a storytelling session by the Tale Tellers on the Saturday morning. The Best Beloved is telling the story of "Red Shoes". We put this one in the programme with insufficient research. Boy is it Hans Christian Anderson outdoing the Grimm Brothers! We have found that Ingy-Thingy (her Tale Teller name) is better than Guppy (my Tale Teller name) at getting the kids settled and happy to hear stories, which is why I usually tell the headline story. However this coming Saturday roles are reversed.
We are also then into the "Books Down" stage of "What the Butler Saw". This is always a frustrating stage as you build a good head of steam with books in hand. Lines going in isn't the difficulty but lines coming out on demand and in response to the correct cue is. The movement and pace gradually built up over previous rehearsals goes into hibernation but hopefully returns as lines become more secure. Stage management is fully employed during rehearsals providing the actors with the lines which are on the tips of tongues but never quite emerging from between the lips. ASMs become quite skilled at seeing the light of recognition and memory fade in an actor's eyes and know a prompt is probably overdue. Love and dependency grows between cast and crew.
The Guide Award Night clashes with a dress rehearsal for "What the Butler Saw" which is a pain but we only get four rehearsals on the set before first night and so that Monday night is too precious to be squandered on ego massage (pleasant though the latter is!)
I will use my blog to review the London Theatre Week over the next few weeks while planning our Winter Sun holiday in February 2010.
In the Autumn Best Beloved and I have to get through the Literary Festival Season and then we can consider an autumn break before the half term at the end of October. This year we have organised a London Theatre Week.
We go up by train on Monday afternoon (www.megatrain.com) and arrive at a hotel near Covent Garden. We then make our way (using our bus passes on London Transport) to the National Theatre for a backstage tour at about teatime. We stay on at the National Theatre to hear John Lithgow talk give a one man performance about storytelling, in which he performs two short stories.
On Tuesday we walk to Smithfield's for breakfast and spend most of the morning at the British Museum. The Best Beloved has never been and it has been some time since I have been there. The afternoon is available for undecided activities but possibly Imax cinema or more museum visits such as the War Museum in preparation for our evening entertainment. In the evening we are going to see "War Horse". I love the book and the author, who we were both met at an English teachers' conference.
On Wednesday probably the V&A museum, which neither have been to but we heard a great deal about recently on Radio 4 (our daytime companion). In the afternoon we are going to a matinee of "Speaking in Tongues" by the Australian playwright, Andrew Bovell. It stars John Simms and Ian Harte, two of my favourite actors. In the evening we are off to the Young Vic (where we have never been) to see and hear Jane Horrocks in "Annie Get Your Gun". I love musicals! This one has some great standards in it!
Our last day we are seeing a matinee of "Life's a Dream" at the Donmar starring Malcolm Storry, with whom the best Beloved went to College. The show also stars Dominic West (McNulty in "The Wire"), who is vying with Hugh Laurie as my favourite TV actor of the moment. Apparently Lucy has heard him speak and he is a typical RSC sounding actor which makes his performance as the Baltimore policeman all the more remarkable. In the evening we will wend our weary way home via the Corrigan restaurant in Upper Grosvenor Street.
Theatrically and gastronomically replete, we will return to a storytelling session by the Tale Tellers on the Saturday morning. The Best Beloved is telling the story of "Red Shoes". We put this one in the programme with insufficient research. Boy is it Hans Christian Anderson outdoing the Grimm Brothers! We have found that Ingy-Thingy (her Tale Teller name) is better than Guppy (my Tale Teller name) at getting the kids settled and happy to hear stories, which is why I usually tell the headline story. However this coming Saturday roles are reversed.
We are also then into the "Books Down" stage of "What the Butler Saw". This is always a frustrating stage as you build a good head of steam with books in hand. Lines going in isn't the difficulty but lines coming out on demand and in response to the correct cue is. The movement and pace gradually built up over previous rehearsals goes into hibernation but hopefully returns as lines become more secure. Stage management is fully employed during rehearsals providing the actors with the lines which are on the tips of tongues but never quite emerging from between the lips. ASMs become quite skilled at seeing the light of recognition and memory fade in an actor's eyes and know a prompt is probably overdue. Love and dependency grows between cast and crew.
The Guide Award Night clashes with a dress rehearsal for "What the Butler Saw" which is a pain but we only get four rehearsals on the set before first night and so that Monday night is too precious to be squandered on ego massage (pleasant though the latter is!)
I will use my blog to review the London Theatre Week over the next few weeks while planning our Winter Sun holiday in February 2010.
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Adieu, Party Guest
We gave our final performance of this year's Bench Theatre touring production of Jacquie Penrose's "Party Guest" yesterday. This has been the realisation of one of my retirement dreams - a small scale touring production during the daytime. The production still has life in it and we are looking forward to a revival in the Spring. The revival may still have a touring element. What has been lovely has been performing with friends who I admire and to young people. I have been really impressed by the students we have met, by their questions and their observations. I love theatre and learn something new every time I embark upon a new enterprise. David was quoting Stanislavsky at one workshop session: "The audience comes to the theatre to see the sub-text. They could stay at home to read the text." I love that thought and it is certainly light years away from my "learn the lines and don't bump into the furniture."
I did have a project in mind to put forward at the recent play selection pitches for the Bench Theatre July 2010. I have been toying with the idea for some considerable time. I could claim that the timing of the pitches was particularly poor for me. On the night itself was the first night of the Ghost Walks, we were into the second week of the literary festival, Party Guest was in full swing, we had started our Tale Tellers sessions at the spring, I was still recovering from a new Cloak and Dagger script and was cramming lines for my appearance as William Cobbett at the end of the festival. My head was certainly crammed with lines from five or six projects. I could claim that any one of these activities as a reason for my lack of push on the new production for the Bench.
It would be untrue if I claimed it to be so, though. I have read today the wonderful blogs by Alice in Wonderland and the Natty Chap, and must confess myself mightily impressed by them (and indirectly by my Firstborn, see Natty Chap's blog). I have thirty years on either of them but can relate keenly to what they are expressing. I can't offer them any help or insight. However I have to thank them for helping me to face up to what motivates me.
I have only directed 12 times over the last 30 years: two pantomimes - one repeated twice- and a full scale musical. The last time was the repeated pantomime in February 2000. I have to point out that I have done on average 2 or 3 school productions per year over that time so that must be in the nineties - many of which I wrote or devised myself. I like directing as I love visual images and have a feeling for sub text. I am a little too much of the school master in approach but hey I was a teacher for forty years!
I like directing but I love acting. After my episode two years ago I am enjoying my health and new lease of life. I would rather spend the time performing and acting than directing. I am constantly on the lookout for new experiences, new productions and new companies with which to work. While I am still feeling fit and active that is what I will continue to do. I don't want the responsibility of or commitment to a production as a director. I also don't want to parcel out my time. I don't want to wait until July 2010. I don't want to feel inhibited. Maybe when I am in my seventies and my physical strength and activity is gradually reducing (although the grey matter is still fully functioning) I can turn my attention to directing. Those who can, do - those who can't teach.
The Best Beloved also says we are going camping for a month in June 2010. Hurrah!!
I did have a project in mind to put forward at the recent play selection pitches for the Bench Theatre July 2010. I have been toying with the idea for some considerable time. I could claim that the timing of the pitches was particularly poor for me. On the night itself was the first night of the Ghost Walks, we were into the second week of the literary festival, Party Guest was in full swing, we had started our Tale Tellers sessions at the spring, I was still recovering from a new Cloak and Dagger script and was cramming lines for my appearance as William Cobbett at the end of the festival. My head was certainly crammed with lines from five or six projects. I could claim that any one of these activities as a reason for my lack of push on the new production for the Bench.
It would be untrue if I claimed it to be so, though. I have read today the wonderful blogs by Alice in Wonderland and the Natty Chap, and must confess myself mightily impressed by them (and indirectly by my Firstborn, see Natty Chap's blog). I have thirty years on either of them but can relate keenly to what they are expressing. I can't offer them any help or insight. However I have to thank them for helping me to face up to what motivates me.
I have only directed 12 times over the last 30 years: two pantomimes - one repeated twice- and a full scale musical. The last time was the repeated pantomime in February 2000. I have to point out that I have done on average 2 or 3 school productions per year over that time so that must be in the nineties - many of which I wrote or devised myself. I like directing as I love visual images and have a feeling for sub text. I am a little too much of the school master in approach but hey I was a teacher for forty years!
I like directing but I love acting. After my episode two years ago I am enjoying my health and new lease of life. I would rather spend the time performing and acting than directing. I am constantly on the lookout for new experiences, new productions and new companies with which to work. While I am still feeling fit and active that is what I will continue to do. I don't want the responsibility of or commitment to a production as a director. I also don't want to parcel out my time. I don't want to wait until July 2010. I don't want to feel inhibited. Maybe when I am in my seventies and my physical strength and activity is gradually reducing (although the grey matter is still fully functioning) I can turn my attention to directing. Those who can, do - those who can't teach.
The Best Beloved also says we are going camping for a month in June 2010. Hurrah!!
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Wayfarers Walk
I have done the section from my house to Emsworth, the start of the Wayfarers Walk, and I have done the section from my house north to Purbrook. Weather permitting I will do the Purbrook to Hambledon next. I don't mind cold and dry weather as I can build up quite a cosy fug walking but don't yet feel I am equipped sufficiently well for walking in the rain. I do have waterproof top and waterproof trousers but feel somewhat claustrophobic and restrained when wearing them. I am looking at a lightweight poncho or cape, which gives all over protection without stifling. It lets a current of air under the material without letting the rain through. There is also a product by Rohan, which is a calf length lightweight coat called the Hilltop Walker I think, which does a similar job. You only need to add waterproof trousers if wading through a flood.
The walking is on the back burner because of all my theatrical endeavours and I am certainly missing it on the health and vitality front. Also we are about to embark upon our Autumn Project for the garden. We have an overgrown patch in the south west corner of our garden which we have rather surrendered previously but which we intend to reclaim this autumn. The Best Beloved has some very firm ideas what she wants to do with the patch and, although no gardener, so do I. Once we get back from our London Theatre Week in October the daytime will once again be ours with the occasional rehearsal for "What the Butler Saw" thrown in until performances in November.
I see that other bloggers can add photos so perhaps I should do the same of before and after shots of our Garden Autumn Project and the Wayfarers Walk. Any advice on either will always be gratefully received.
The walking is on the back burner because of all my theatrical endeavours and I am certainly missing it on the health and vitality front. Also we are about to embark upon our Autumn Project for the garden. We have an overgrown patch in the south west corner of our garden which we have rather surrendered previously but which we intend to reclaim this autumn. The Best Beloved has some very firm ideas what she wants to do with the patch and, although no gardener, so do I. Once we get back from our London Theatre Week in October the daytime will once again be ours with the occasional rehearsal for "What the Butler Saw" thrown in until performances in November.
I see that other bloggers can add photos so perhaps I should do the same of before and after shots of our Garden Autumn Project and the Wayfarers Walk. Any advice on either will always be gratefully received.
The Portsmouth News Guide Awards 2009
Bench Theatre The News Guide Award nominations are in & Bench has a good showing.Three Best Amateur Drama nominations: Road, Home, The Wind in The Willows. Two Best Amateur Actor nominations: Peter Corrigan & David Penrose. Two Best Amateur... Actress nominations: Alice Corrigan & Melanie Cole.
Get suited and booted for the Guide Awards - Portsmouth Today
Source: www.portsmouth.co.uk
Get suited and booted for the Guide Awards - Dig out your glad rags – because the most glamorous and glitzy event in Portsmouth's calendar is getting close.
You can see that you can vote no matter where you are in the country or in the world if you vote online. I hope you will consider voting.
Get suited and booted for the Guide Awards - Portsmouth Today
Source: www.portsmouth.co.uk
Get suited and booted for the Guide Awards - Dig out your glad rags – because the most glamorous and glitzy event in Portsmouth's calendar is getting close.
You can see that you can vote no matter where you are in the country or in the world if you vote online. I hope you will consider voting.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Rebuked
My young friend, Robin,(see Adventures of Archimedes in links) rebuked me that I hadn't been keeping my blog up to date and that she was surprised to see the Best Beloved and I as the "Tale Tellers" at the Spring Arts and Heritage Centre last Saturday. This is another joint adventure that we have taken on in our retirement and comes in the middle of an insane period. I must learn to use that word which begins with n and ends in o.
Amanda, the beautiful director, talked us into doing a series of children's stories as storytellers on Saturday mornings through the Autumn. The Spring Arts and Heritage Centre officially opens this coming weekend and we are part of the opening activities. This means storytelling on Saturday and Sunday morning this weekend. All our stories are linked to the Spring's opening main exhibition, which is Shoes. Our first session last Saturday (billed as part of the Havant Literary Festival) was based on the Shoemaker and the Elves story. The Best Beloved softened up the audience of young children with several interactive rhymes and songs before I narrated the main story. I did it in the first person and wasn't entirely satisfied with it. Over the years I have told children in the classroom to write their own stories in the third person because it gives them greater flexibility - then I go and tell my first story in a very long time in the first person! No fool like an old fool!
The reaction from the children was very encouraging and their accompanying adults were equally supportive of our efforts. One Mum asked if we did children's parties. I blanched somewhat at the prospect but did think this could be another string to our bow if we wanted. We would need to develop a repertoire of three or four stonkingly good stories stonkingly well told. We couldn't build up our clientele from the party attended because they would already know our stories. If we could build up to a repertoire of 8 - 12 stories there might be a possibility.
Next week's stories are "Puss in Boots" on Saturday as told by me and "The Old Woman in the Shoe" as told by the Best Beloved. Her story is aided by the wonderful Shoe being built in the foyer of the Arts Centre, which will be big enough for individual children to enter.
Last week we got into the second week of the Bench Theatre production touring sixth form colleges. This is a 45 minute piece mainly consisting of monologues joined by some dialogue and action. It is a clever piece written by Jacquie Penrose. David Penrose plays Jack, Best Beloved plays Lulu and I play Alan. All three characters took part in a professional production of "The Cherry Orchard" three decades ago and now meet in their sixties. Jacquie wrote the play for the three of us. We were planning on doing Brian Friel's "Faith Healer" but the rights weren't available. I love doing the play and it is really illuminating to take part in the discussions and workshops with the young 17-18 year old students. The consensus appears to be that they weren't expecting to like the play or us when they saw our age but were pleasantly surprised. I was gratified by the kind and generous way this point was expressed. In fact the grumpy old man in me has been very impressed by the attentiveness and thoughtfulness of the students. They also seem to be bright and insightful in their comments and knowledge.
This week the Party Guest is on the back burner until Saturday evening when we do a public performance as part of the Literary Festival. So storytelling a.m. and Party Guest p.m. Last Friday and Saturday was horrendous with Party Guest on Friday afternoon, a new Cloak and Dagger ("Spirit is Willing") on Friday night and the Storytelling on Saturday morning. Lines galore swilling around in my head but most of them seemed to emerge from my mouth in the right order in the right play and at the right time! Hurrah!
This week I am involved with the Bench Theatre Ghost Walks of Old Havant. The performances are late night on Thursday and Friday. However before then we have a couple of runthroughs. I have written one story, Alice and Best Beloved have written one each and Mark Wakeman has written three. I am now learning my story and Alice's as one of three storytellers (Mark and David being the other two). I have to prepare the Nineveh as a ghostly location. The techniques of storytelling are the same but the material and audiences are somewhat different. My story is told in the first person so I wonder whether I am repeating my errors or whether it will work this time? (Puss in Boots is definitely told in the third person - I couldn't get into the boots!)
Finally this week I am playing William Cobbett in Old Bedhampton on Sunday. This requires learning an "interview" and a "Q&A" session by heart and then reading extracts from his "Rural Rides". This all has to be done in a Hampshire burr and appropriate costume. This will be my final contribution to this year's Havant Literary Festival before I get fully immersed in the accounts as Treasurer.
Next week the pace slackens with four performances of Party Guest, a second performance of the murder mystery and the start of "What the Butler Saw" rehearsals (the Bench Theatre November production). People have wondered if I would be pitching for a Bench production in July 2010, to which I have answered "No!"
Amanda, the beautiful director, talked us into doing a series of children's stories as storytellers on Saturday mornings through the Autumn. The Spring Arts and Heritage Centre officially opens this coming weekend and we are part of the opening activities. This means storytelling on Saturday and Sunday morning this weekend. All our stories are linked to the Spring's opening main exhibition, which is Shoes. Our first session last Saturday (billed as part of the Havant Literary Festival) was based on the Shoemaker and the Elves story. The Best Beloved softened up the audience of young children with several interactive rhymes and songs before I narrated the main story. I did it in the first person and wasn't entirely satisfied with it. Over the years I have told children in the classroom to write their own stories in the third person because it gives them greater flexibility - then I go and tell my first story in a very long time in the first person! No fool like an old fool!
The reaction from the children was very encouraging and their accompanying adults were equally supportive of our efforts. One Mum asked if we did children's parties. I blanched somewhat at the prospect but did think this could be another string to our bow if we wanted. We would need to develop a repertoire of three or four stonkingly good stories stonkingly well told. We couldn't build up our clientele from the party attended because they would already know our stories. If we could build up to a repertoire of 8 - 12 stories there might be a possibility.
Next week's stories are "Puss in Boots" on Saturday as told by me and "The Old Woman in the Shoe" as told by the Best Beloved. Her story is aided by the wonderful Shoe being built in the foyer of the Arts Centre, which will be big enough for individual children to enter.
Last week we got into the second week of the Bench Theatre production touring sixth form colleges. This is a 45 minute piece mainly consisting of monologues joined by some dialogue and action. It is a clever piece written by Jacquie Penrose. David Penrose plays Jack, Best Beloved plays Lulu and I play Alan. All three characters took part in a professional production of "The Cherry Orchard" three decades ago and now meet in their sixties. Jacquie wrote the play for the three of us. We were planning on doing Brian Friel's "Faith Healer" but the rights weren't available. I love doing the play and it is really illuminating to take part in the discussions and workshops with the young 17-18 year old students. The consensus appears to be that they weren't expecting to like the play or us when they saw our age but were pleasantly surprised. I was gratified by the kind and generous way this point was expressed. In fact the grumpy old man in me has been very impressed by the attentiveness and thoughtfulness of the students. They also seem to be bright and insightful in their comments and knowledge.
This week the Party Guest is on the back burner until Saturday evening when we do a public performance as part of the Literary Festival. So storytelling a.m. and Party Guest p.m. Last Friday and Saturday was horrendous with Party Guest on Friday afternoon, a new Cloak and Dagger ("Spirit is Willing") on Friday night and the Storytelling on Saturday morning. Lines galore swilling around in my head but most of them seemed to emerge from my mouth in the right order in the right play and at the right time! Hurrah!
This week I am involved with the Bench Theatre Ghost Walks of Old Havant. The performances are late night on Thursday and Friday. However before then we have a couple of runthroughs. I have written one story, Alice and Best Beloved have written one each and Mark Wakeman has written three. I am now learning my story and Alice's as one of three storytellers (Mark and David being the other two). I have to prepare the Nineveh as a ghostly location. The techniques of storytelling are the same but the material and audiences are somewhat different. My story is told in the first person so I wonder whether I am repeating my errors or whether it will work this time? (Puss in Boots is definitely told in the third person - I couldn't get into the boots!)
Finally this week I am playing William Cobbett in Old Bedhampton on Sunday. This requires learning an "interview" and a "Q&A" session by heart and then reading extracts from his "Rural Rides". This all has to be done in a Hampshire burr and appropriate costume. This will be my final contribution to this year's Havant Literary Festival before I get fully immersed in the accounts as Treasurer.
Next week the pace slackens with four performances of Party Guest, a second performance of the murder mystery and the start of "What the Butler Saw" rehearsals (the Bench Theatre November production). People have wondered if I would be pitching for a Bench production in July 2010, to which I have answered "No!"
Thursday, September 10, 2009
The Autumn Schedule
I was gently but firmly reminded by my friend, Peter, that I had become silent on my planned walking, especially the Great France Walk from Caen on the Channel coast to Cassis on the Mediterranean coast.
Peter won't be able to do any walking in France this autumn as his own schedule is rather full. I agreed that the Best Beloved and Herself would certainly concur on that point, although I am pleased to say that the Best Beloved is also involved in many of our theatrical activities:
"The Party Guest", a touring production buy the Bench Theatre, goes into performance next week and the first full week in October, carefully side stepping the Havant Literary Festival.
In the Festival Best Beloved and I are doing the Bench Theatre Ghost Walks of Old Havant and I am also playing William Cobbett on the Sunday doing readings from his Rural Rides.
We are also starting our series of stories for young children under the title of "The Tale Tellers" at the Arts Centre, which takes us up to December 19th and the "Night Before Christmas".
I start rehearsals next week for a new Cloak and Dagger murder mystery, "Spirit is Willing", in which, for once, I survive to the end and am not killed off sooner. This is a mixed blessing as it means there are more lines to learn. In November I have "Life's Lottery" on a Friday and "Spirit is Willing" on a Saturday so the old grey memory cells are going to be well and truly stretched.
Especially as by about that time it will be books down for "What the Butler Saw", the Bench production fro 17th to 28th November so I will have a third set of lines running around in my head. I have to work hard putting the lines into my head but seem to have a part of my brain trained to that effect. However it is making the words come out in the right order and in the right play that takes the real effort these days.
After that I am resting and preparing for my baby girl's 30th birthday!
Anyway I had to agree that the Walking France project was on the back burner this Autumn.
My short term aim is the Wayfarers Walk in sections.
The Walk stretches from Emsworth just along the coast from us up north to
the Inkpen beacon in Berkshire. I intend walking the first section from
Emsworth to our house before the end of September as that should be very
easy. I have got the maps for every section of the walk going north except
the last bit in Berkshire. I am using the walk to follow maps and use the
compass. It is also good practice in working out the logistics of getting
to the start of each section and getting back at the end. Hopefully I will
walk it in one direction but that depends on logistics and I may need to
be flexible. I am also hoping that in the later stages I will also be able
to cope with a lightweight load of rucksack, tent and sleeping bag so I
can be more self sufficient and independent when over in France.
As you can see the Walking in France endeavour hasn't disappeared but simply been postponed and I am still hoping to make my first attempt at the first stretch in 2010.
Peter did wonder whether my concern over Pompey's struggles have contributed to the Walking in France project being put on the back burner and I have attempted to answer that concern on my Pompey Corrigan47 blog.
Peter won't be able to do any walking in France this autumn as his own schedule is rather full. I agreed that the Best Beloved and Herself would certainly concur on that point, although I am pleased to say that the Best Beloved is also involved in many of our theatrical activities:
"The Party Guest", a touring production buy the Bench Theatre, goes into performance next week and the first full week in October, carefully side stepping the Havant Literary Festival.
In the Festival Best Beloved and I are doing the Bench Theatre Ghost Walks of Old Havant and I am also playing William Cobbett on the Sunday doing readings from his Rural Rides.
We are also starting our series of stories for young children under the title of "The Tale Tellers" at the Arts Centre, which takes us up to December 19th and the "Night Before Christmas".
I start rehearsals next week for a new Cloak and Dagger murder mystery, "Spirit is Willing", in which, for once, I survive to the end and am not killed off sooner. This is a mixed blessing as it means there are more lines to learn. In November I have "Life's Lottery" on a Friday and "Spirit is Willing" on a Saturday so the old grey memory cells are going to be well and truly stretched.
Especially as by about that time it will be books down for "What the Butler Saw", the Bench production fro 17th to 28th November so I will have a third set of lines running around in my head. I have to work hard putting the lines into my head but seem to have a part of my brain trained to that effect. However it is making the words come out in the right order and in the right play that takes the real effort these days.
After that I am resting and preparing for my baby girl's 30th birthday!
Anyway I had to agree that the Walking France project was on the back burner this Autumn.
My short term aim is the Wayfarers Walk in sections.
The Walk stretches from Emsworth just along the coast from us up north to
the Inkpen beacon in Berkshire. I intend walking the first section from
Emsworth to our house before the end of September as that should be very
easy. I have got the maps for every section of the walk going north except
the last bit in Berkshire. I am using the walk to follow maps and use the
compass. It is also good practice in working out the logistics of getting
to the start of each section and getting back at the end. Hopefully I will
walk it in one direction but that depends on logistics and I may need to
be flexible. I am also hoping that in the later stages I will also be able
to cope with a lightweight load of rucksack, tent and sleeping bag so I
can be more self sufficient and independent when over in France.
As you can see the Walking in France endeavour hasn't disappeared but simply been postponed and I am still hoping to make my first attempt at the first stretch in 2010.
Peter did wonder whether my concern over Pompey's struggles have contributed to the Walking in France project being put on the back burner and I have attempted to answer that concern on my Pompey Corrigan47 blog.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Seamus
My Da was never referred to as Patrick because all the men in the family could claim that name as their own as well. Patrick was the family saint and the Corrigans were Irish Catholics. His brothers, sisters and sisters in law called him Seamus. Aunt Lucy, the Mrs Corrigan, being married to the eldest brother, called him James, which sounded like an admonishment. Everyone else called him Jim or Jimmy, even the Bradford police. He was Big Jim or Big Jimmy, although in stature he was not much bigger than my brother or I are now. However he was a man who talked with both fists to make his points. Big Jim was a mark of respect from those who had felt those points being made on them. Jimmy was the epithet of those who wanted the fists behind them or who had reason to call Da a friend.
This was first published in March 2008 but goes some way to starting a series of posts about my Dad.
This was first published in March 2008 but goes some way to starting a series of posts about my Dad.
Quandary
My last post was bragging that I had three blog pages, one for Pompey, one for Theatre and one for me.
I was in the car returning home from Bradford yesterday and Kat said she thought I should concentrate on writing just one blog as I wasn't actually writing any posts regularly enough on any of my three pages. She does have a point and the Firstborn concurred.
However I am writing quite consistently on Pompey elsewhere on the Pompey Gossip website at http://www.pompeygossip.co.uk where I have written 83 blogs in the 17 hours 24 minutes I have spent on there. I love the Pompey Gossip forum so my Pompey Corrigan 47 might be superfluous and unnecessary.
Also on that same fateful car journey we learned about the death of Robert Millington at the age of 58. I wish I had words of wisdom to share with his son but all I can say is that I lost my father when I was 30. I still regret his loss to this day and know he would have loved to meet our two girls.
In my brother's house there are my photos of my father's family and my mother's family. My brother is our family historian. The photo we talked about this holiday was in the backyard of a house with my mother stood next to my father who is holding a small child aloft on his shoulder. There is some debate as to who the child is but I think I agree with my brother that it is our elder brother Michael. My father looks for all the world like Humphrey Bogart.
My daughters like the stories we recount of my father. These stories don't always show him in a good light but he was certainly a character. We decided that perhaps this blog was a good place to recount and store some of those stories.
Today's story however is about Big Annie. This lady was a relative of my Granny and features in a family photo showing my diminutive maternal grandmother sat on a chair nursing her elder daughter and first child, little Annie. The photo is taken in the street outside a terrace house and there are several well scrubbed menfolk but the dominant figure is a huge woman in black. This was Big Annie. The legend goes that she was married and one day her husband was at home ill. Typically he was a miner as was most of my maternal family. It was atypical of any one of them to take the day off. He was visited by two men. The story is unclear whether they were colleagues or sent by the mine. However an argument ensued inside the house and one of the men was despatched through the window by Big Annie. We believe the other man took to his heels before Big Annie could get hold of him otherwise he might have shared the same fate.
Occasionally I am brought to task by my wife for behaving in an over aggressive manner and such stories as those of my father and relatives such as Big Annie show that old family habits die hard. (I met Colin at my brother's birthday party. Colin was the son of my cousins, Eddie and Lynne. We hadn't met since 1973. He said he remembered my brother and me, from that time, as giants. Thus is the way that I remember still my father.)
A quote from Kathy Reichs ("Cross Bones" page 41) that caught my eye and to which I can relate closely: "When annoyed, I grow churlish, snap, counter with sarcasm. When angry, truly white hot livid rage, I go deadly calm. The ice response is also my response to fear."
If my brother reads this blog, I hope he will scan and send me copies of the photos to accompany my blog posts.
I was in the car returning home from Bradford yesterday and Kat said she thought I should concentrate on writing just one blog as I wasn't actually writing any posts regularly enough on any of my three pages. She does have a point and the Firstborn concurred.
However I am writing quite consistently on Pompey elsewhere on the Pompey Gossip website at http://www.pompeygossip.co.uk where I have written 83 blogs in the 17 hours 24 minutes I have spent on there. I love the Pompey Gossip forum so my Pompey Corrigan 47 might be superfluous and unnecessary.
Also on that same fateful car journey we learned about the death of Robert Millington at the age of 58. I wish I had words of wisdom to share with his son but all I can say is that I lost my father when I was 30. I still regret his loss to this day and know he would have loved to meet our two girls.
In my brother's house there are my photos of my father's family and my mother's family. My brother is our family historian. The photo we talked about this holiday was in the backyard of a house with my mother stood next to my father who is holding a small child aloft on his shoulder. There is some debate as to who the child is but I think I agree with my brother that it is our elder brother Michael. My father looks for all the world like Humphrey Bogart.
My daughters like the stories we recount of my father. These stories don't always show him in a good light but he was certainly a character. We decided that perhaps this blog was a good place to recount and store some of those stories.
Today's story however is about Big Annie. This lady was a relative of my Granny and features in a family photo showing my diminutive maternal grandmother sat on a chair nursing her elder daughter and first child, little Annie. The photo is taken in the street outside a terrace house and there are several well scrubbed menfolk but the dominant figure is a huge woman in black. This was Big Annie. The legend goes that she was married and one day her husband was at home ill. Typically he was a miner as was most of my maternal family. It was atypical of any one of them to take the day off. He was visited by two men. The story is unclear whether they were colleagues or sent by the mine. However an argument ensued inside the house and one of the men was despatched through the window by Big Annie. We believe the other man took to his heels before Big Annie could get hold of him otherwise he might have shared the same fate.
Occasionally I am brought to task by my wife for behaving in an over aggressive manner and such stories as those of my father and relatives such as Big Annie show that old family habits die hard. (I met Colin at my brother's birthday party. Colin was the son of my cousins, Eddie and Lynne. We hadn't met since 1973. He said he remembered my brother and me, from that time, as giants. Thus is the way that I remember still my father.)
A quote from Kathy Reichs ("Cross Bones" page 41) that caught my eye and to which I can relate closely: "When annoyed, I grow churlish, snap, counter with sarcasm. When angry, truly white hot livid rage, I go deadly calm. The ice response is also my response to fear."
If my brother reads this blog, I hope he will scan and send me copies of the photos to accompany my blog posts.
Thursday, July 02, 2009
A new blog page is born!
Hopefully at the side on this page you will see that my blog pages have increased to three: Boanerges (this one and the original), Bench Hamlet 2008 and PompeyCorrigan47.
The last one is the result of my two daughters complaining that they preferred this blog page not to get clogged up with Pompey Gossip, I didn't want to give up my Pompey Gossip so have assigned it to the new page. The new page is named after my Pompey shirt and I hope to get my profile picture on that page to reflect that fact.
The Bench Hamlet 2008 page will still be used for drafts of my Benchpress articles, my Bench and Cloak&Dagger activities, my storytelling, reviews of films and plays and generally reflect my interest in the theatrical world.
This page will be devoted to my general ramblings on the world at large and my political thoughts on Localism. I will probably cover the film extra work on Bench Hamlet 2008 but will inform you here if anything juicy turns up.
For reasons of our own, despite living only 10 minutes from the Portsmouth ferryport, we decided to travel down to Plymouth to cross overnight to Roscoff as we were camping in Brittany. We had started when I got the following message from my agent: RU free for a shoot this afternoon approx 5 hrs. in London (Barbican) to play a Beefeater. I received the message at 10.16 and needed to reply before 1045. I would have loved to play a Beefeater but I also like the fact that on any other day I could easily have made the job as I am available and flexible. I am about to enter a short period of approximately 14 days as "Road" goes into performance when I will not be available but otherwise I can respond to most calls most of the time.
The last one is the result of my two daughters complaining that they preferred this blog page not to get clogged up with Pompey Gossip, I didn't want to give up my Pompey Gossip so have assigned it to the new page. The new page is named after my Pompey shirt and I hope to get my profile picture on that page to reflect that fact.
The Bench Hamlet 2008 page will still be used for drafts of my Benchpress articles, my Bench and Cloak&Dagger activities, my storytelling, reviews of films and plays and generally reflect my interest in the theatrical world.
This page will be devoted to my general ramblings on the world at large and my political thoughts on Localism. I will probably cover the film extra work on Bench Hamlet 2008 but will inform you here if anything juicy turns up.
For reasons of our own, despite living only 10 minutes from the Portsmouth ferryport, we decided to travel down to Plymouth to cross overnight to Roscoff as we were camping in Brittany. We had started when I got the following message from my agent: RU free for a shoot this afternoon approx 5 hrs. in London (Barbican) to play a Beefeater. I received the message at 10.16 and needed to reply before 1045. I would have loved to play a Beefeater but I also like the fact that on any other day I could easily have made the job as I am available and flexible. I am about to enter a short period of approximately 14 days as "Road" goes into performance when I will not be available but otherwise I can respond to most calls most of the time.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Oversight
Blow me down! All that thinking and planning and note taking and drafting and I still managed to miss Younes Kaboul out of my Pompey defence wish list. I would certainly want to retain him and Sylvain Distin as my two main centre halves. All the other suggestions would be reinforcements for these two.
I am not sure how it works but the reserve team would be all the players in the squad who are not actually in the first team. They might be on the substitute bench for the first team but someone else is pencilled in for their position. By playing exactly the same system and style in the reserves as in the first team (a style of play consist throughout the club, including the Academy), the reserve matches would allow the reserve team players to maintain their match sharpness. They would then be able to substitute or replace easily when called upon to so do.
If my dream of a Croatian and an Argentine midfield trio happened, imagine the impact on the reserve team! Although I suppose there might be star feelings and egos to massage or to consider.
I am not sure how it works but the reserve team would be all the players in the squad who are not actually in the first team. They might be on the substitute bench for the first team but someone else is pencilled in for their position. By playing exactly the same system and style in the reserves as in the first team (a style of play consist throughout the club, including the Academy), the reserve matches would allow the reserve team players to maintain their match sharpness. They would then be able to substitute or replace easily when called upon to so do.
If my dream of a Croatian and an Argentine midfield trio happened, imagine the impact on the reserve team! Although I suppose there might be star feelings and egos to massage or to consider.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Midfield Wish List
This is the area of the team which I believe was grossly under manned last season after the departure of Muntari, Mendes and Diarra.
The present midfield of Davis, Mullins, Hughes, Diop (back from injury in pre-season?) and Bassinas are all defensive midfielders or stoppers. That is a bit unfair on Bassinas, who I believe is correctly termed a central midfield and is after all the Greek national captain. He wasn't ever used correctly and his rare appearances (was it 2 or 3?) showed he was a ball passer. Davis and Diop would be my main stoppers (if the latter can recover and return to his status as the Wardrobe). The former is a worker and wants to get in amongst the action but he isn't what I call a ball carrier or a creative midfield player. In Kranjcar we have got a ball carrier and a creative player but he lacks the killer pace to keep up with the strikers or even on occasion to get into the box ahead of them. However he is the sort of player we should be thinking of building a team around and possibly with the arrival of Bilic (Croatia manager) as prospective Pompey boss this could happen.
We do need a handful of ball carrying, creative midfield players who can carry the game to the opposition. If you count the defence and the two stoppers, we have a defensive unit of six plus goalkeeper. We need an offensive unit willing and able to take the attack to the opposition as I believe offence is the best form of defence. I also believe that when you have got the ball you need players who can keep it and who can use it accurately and with deadly effect. These players don't have to be huge like the Wardrobe they can be nippy small players like the Barca trio (I was so impressed by them as you might tell from this and previous posts). I would like to play a trio in midfield with a single striker, knowing that these four players can interchange at will. This would maintain the nominal formation of 4 - 5 - 1 as used by Hart and Kidd last season but would be a much more potent force in attack as well as defence. The defence and stoppers would know that their job once the ball was won would be to get it to one of the ball carriers. Once the offensive unit had it, the idea would be to keep the ball and yet anyone of the quartet would be able to inflict damage on the opposition goal. In order to have tactical variation, it might be necessary to have a second striker on the bench to replace one of the trio of midfield carriers in order to press home an advantage and go 4-4-2. In my wish list for the strike force I have also included wide players as right and/or left wingers so that the team can be 4-3-3 and that this formation can also be more offensive minded by replacing a stopper with either a ball carrier or a wide player or a second striker.
Enough of tactics for the moment, who are the players we could be thinking about purchasing? There are four from Spurs who could do a job for us. Huddlestone (wanted by half a dozen teams and priced at £7 million), Bentley (wanted by Villa and priced at £10 million),Jenas and Modric. The last two are doubtful because I think the Spurs manager will probably want to build his revamped team around them whereas the former two seem to have lost his favour. However Modric is a Croatian and with Bilic as a possible Pompey boss might be persuaded to team up with his countryman, Kranjcar. Modric is the ideal ball carrying player I envisaged in the previous paragraph.
Lawrence (Stoke) and Nolan (Newcastle) are not in the same mould as described above for Modric but both are very experienced PL players and could do a worthwhile job for the squad. Two Everton players, Cahill and Arteta, would fit the mould but I cannot see them being allowed to leave a very successful and resourceful Everton team. Young and Sidwell of Villa would both be very useful additions, and the former almost falls into the wide player role as well. Johnson and Gelson Fernandes of Manchester City also fall into this category. Except for Nolan most of these are in their early or mid twenties and so could be the backbone of the team for some time.
These would be the players I would be looking at this summer. I am sorry but I wouldn't be able to offer a return berth to Gary O'Neil or Matt Taylor. I loved what these players did for the club but we need to look forward not back. If I failed in my purchases elsewhere I might be tempted but they are not the way of the future.
In the longer term I would be looking at Argentinians either playing now in Europe or in South America. I believe Argentinians are better suited to the demands and rigours of the PL without losing the technique or silky skills or the ability to hold on to the ball. My prize buy this summer would be Tevez of Manchester United and I would be tempted to add his compatriot, Mascheranas, from Liverpool. I love Brazilian players but for me they lack the steel of the Argentine. In the future I would also hope to see Pompey working with other feeder clubs in Europe to provide experience and acclimatisation for South American players before joining us in the PL.
The two stoppers (Davis and Diop - leaving Hughes as a squad player and probably selling Mullins at a knock-down price), the Greek skipper (Bassinas), the two Croatians (Kranjcar and Modric - this is probably what the Spurs manager has in mind but we've got more money now so yah boo!) and the two Argentinians (Tevez and Mascheranas) would certainly provide a mouth watering midfield for the new Pompey Squad of 2009/2010.
If we could match them up with sufficient strikers (see my upcoming wish list) of power and pace plus right and left wingers, Pompey would truly be a force to be reckoned with and that would be without the Kaka, Ronaldo, Robinho, Messi and other superstars. We would have a team and squad to get us into the top 10 easily and to lay down the foundations for a footballing style of the future.
The present midfield of Davis, Mullins, Hughes, Diop (back from injury in pre-season?) and Bassinas are all defensive midfielders or stoppers. That is a bit unfair on Bassinas, who I believe is correctly termed a central midfield and is after all the Greek national captain. He wasn't ever used correctly and his rare appearances (was it 2 or 3?) showed he was a ball passer. Davis and Diop would be my main stoppers (if the latter can recover and return to his status as the Wardrobe). The former is a worker and wants to get in amongst the action but he isn't what I call a ball carrier or a creative midfield player. In Kranjcar we have got a ball carrier and a creative player but he lacks the killer pace to keep up with the strikers or even on occasion to get into the box ahead of them. However he is the sort of player we should be thinking of building a team around and possibly with the arrival of Bilic (Croatia manager) as prospective Pompey boss this could happen.
We do need a handful of ball carrying, creative midfield players who can carry the game to the opposition. If you count the defence and the two stoppers, we have a defensive unit of six plus goalkeeper. We need an offensive unit willing and able to take the attack to the opposition as I believe offence is the best form of defence. I also believe that when you have got the ball you need players who can keep it and who can use it accurately and with deadly effect. These players don't have to be huge like the Wardrobe they can be nippy small players like the Barca trio (I was so impressed by them as you might tell from this and previous posts). I would like to play a trio in midfield with a single striker, knowing that these four players can interchange at will. This would maintain the nominal formation of 4 - 5 - 1 as used by Hart and Kidd last season but would be a much more potent force in attack as well as defence. The defence and stoppers would know that their job once the ball was won would be to get it to one of the ball carriers. Once the offensive unit had it, the idea would be to keep the ball and yet anyone of the quartet would be able to inflict damage on the opposition goal. In order to have tactical variation, it might be necessary to have a second striker on the bench to replace one of the trio of midfield carriers in order to press home an advantage and go 4-4-2. In my wish list for the strike force I have also included wide players as right and/or left wingers so that the team can be 4-3-3 and that this formation can also be more offensive minded by replacing a stopper with either a ball carrier or a wide player or a second striker.
Enough of tactics for the moment, who are the players we could be thinking about purchasing? There are four from Spurs who could do a job for us. Huddlestone (wanted by half a dozen teams and priced at £7 million), Bentley (wanted by Villa and priced at £10 million),Jenas and Modric. The last two are doubtful because I think the Spurs manager will probably want to build his revamped team around them whereas the former two seem to have lost his favour. However Modric is a Croatian and with Bilic as a possible Pompey boss might be persuaded to team up with his countryman, Kranjcar. Modric is the ideal ball carrying player I envisaged in the previous paragraph.
Lawrence (Stoke) and Nolan (Newcastle) are not in the same mould as described above for Modric but both are very experienced PL players and could do a worthwhile job for the squad. Two Everton players, Cahill and Arteta, would fit the mould but I cannot see them being allowed to leave a very successful and resourceful Everton team. Young and Sidwell of Villa would both be very useful additions, and the former almost falls into the wide player role as well. Johnson and Gelson Fernandes of Manchester City also fall into this category. Except for Nolan most of these are in their early or mid twenties and so could be the backbone of the team for some time.
These would be the players I would be looking at this summer. I am sorry but I wouldn't be able to offer a return berth to Gary O'Neil or Matt Taylor. I loved what these players did for the club but we need to look forward not back. If I failed in my purchases elsewhere I might be tempted but they are not the way of the future.
In the longer term I would be looking at Argentinians either playing now in Europe or in South America. I believe Argentinians are better suited to the demands and rigours of the PL without losing the technique or silky skills or the ability to hold on to the ball. My prize buy this summer would be Tevez of Manchester United and I would be tempted to add his compatriot, Mascheranas, from Liverpool. I love Brazilian players but for me they lack the steel of the Argentine. In the future I would also hope to see Pompey working with other feeder clubs in Europe to provide experience and acclimatisation for South American players before joining us in the PL.
The two stoppers (Davis and Diop - leaving Hughes as a squad player and probably selling Mullins at a knock-down price), the Greek skipper (Bassinas), the two Croatians (Kranjcar and Modric - this is probably what the Spurs manager has in mind but we've got more money now so yah boo!) and the two Argentinians (Tevez and Mascheranas) would certainly provide a mouth watering midfield for the new Pompey Squad of 2009/2010.
If we could match them up with sufficient strikers (see my upcoming wish list) of power and pace plus right and left wingers, Pompey would truly be a force to be reckoned with and that would be without the Kaka, Ronaldo, Robinho, Messi and other superstars. We would have a team and squad to get us into the top 10 easily and to lay down the foundations for a footballing style of the future.
Left Back
Add Paul Robinson of West Bromwich Albion to the list of wanted left backs in the previous post but one about my wish list for the Pompey defence. His fee would be £1.5 million and he certainly could do a job for us, if only as a squad player. Bolton are also interested in him, which is a good sign, and of course WBA were relegated this season.
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Post code lottery or choice?
We have often heard the expression "post code lottery" - as if any variation in a public service was not democracy working but a sin against the constitution. If you change the word "lottery" to "choice", there is a less pejorative sound about it. It also implies that the post code area has decided where its priorities lie and acted accordingly. One would hope that this decision making process and the necessary consultation would be predicated upon a strong electoral basis on a small intimate and geographically small neighbourhood. "Central government had denied the electors the freedom to choose better local services by taxing themselves as in every other country in Europe" (Simon Jenkins Thatcher and Sons) In an earlier post I suggested that most inhabitants of an English borough would be unable to name their mayor. I know some people will find my following suggestion a total anathema because it over-rides an English tradition of Mayoral selection and offers a Gallic alternative.
The English tradition is to pick a committee or council and then for the elected body to decide who should be its leader or chairman or mayor. Often of course the leader is actually someone else and the mayor is an office used as reward for service to the elected body and as a figurehead. This works pretty well as a ceremonial post but it does mean the English public do not know who is in charge of their local affairs. We still get bogged down in party politics and the poor old elector has no idea who is the person in charge. This always smells too much of cigar smoke filled committee rooms and "City Hall". It heightens the class divisions and seems determined to cast an opaque smog over what is happening at the seat of power. The mayor of London is an elected one and although there is still a strong reek of party politics, everyone knows who the mayor of London is even if they are not Londoners. I believe central government had plans for other cities or unitary authorities to follow suit and perhaps that should warn me off the idea as part of my thesis is that anything that suits central government doesn't necessarily prove beneficial to the local elector.
What is my alternative? You've guessed it. I want elected mayors. A named person who stands for the post with a manifesto and at the end of four years is judged by the electorate on their record. I don't expect this will do away with party politics but it might lessen their hold slightly. The mayor of course will need to build an elected body of officers around him or her and will probably in the first instance rely upon a party machine to help provide those people. However as the elected mayoral system progresses mayors might find it best for their chances of re-election to appoint the best people for the job, whatever their political allegiance, as this may ensure the mayor is returned at the next election. The mayor will be a controversial figure rather than someone carrying out a civic timetable of ceremonial duties. Only the English equate controversy with bad - it can stimulate, it can innovate and it is rarely dull. Yes the mayor will have to be seen to do things that are vote catching and especially no doubt in an election year. But where is that any different from what happens now and it would be a lot more obvious under my new system than under the present one. The present Hampshire County Council is Tory run and decides where the road improvements take place. The County Council is applauded for the excellence of its road improvement and that only a minority of roads fall below the standards set overall. Being of a paranoid frame of mind, I wonder how many of the councillors who are not Tory find their wards fall in that minority. The subliminal message is clear but only if you can see beyond the party political hedge.
I suggested above that we look at the Gallic alternative knowing full well that this will send a number of people into apoplexy. The idea that we should learn from and copy the Europeans is appalling enough (as why else would UKIP exist) but to suggest that the French would have anything to offer us is doubly aggravating. However I am not suggesting the French commune system (and commune is a word also designed to raise English blood pressure)is perfect but it does offer a model worth looking at. Also after decades of visiting France (and I know that is different from living there and I hope my friends in the Lot valley are reading this and will send me their comments) I am impressed by the community pride and sense of belonging expressed in these communes and have been impressed by the many mayors I have met.
There are 37000 communes in France. Some are as large as Paris but 80% have fewer than 1000 inhabitants. Mayors are powerful and perhaps the British have a problem with power residing officially in the hands of one person. However Simon Jenkins (see above) says " Mayoral elections are often bitterly fought and the turnouts are high" He goes on: "The result is a civic pride visible in every French municipality". The idea of a high turnout is what attracts me having attended a recent local election where the turnout was 28%. I believe that having a named mayor will bring people out. It would be good to have feelings about elections that can be expressed at the ballot box or in the street. There will be no apathy about withholding one's vote because if one did that then the mayor you hate will get in again. We go on constantly about our lack of civic pride. Well the French example shows that this can be rekindled and an elected mayor is one step in the right direction.
We would need to look at the powers and responsibilities of the elected mayor and see how this could be dovetailed into a system of local government with which every citizen can feel involved.
One of the tricks that central government has achieved is the community tax being collected by the local borough council. In my local area only 13% of this tax goes to the borough, who have to pass on 70% to the county and 10% to the Police Authority. However the electors at public forums are always haranguing the borough council for roads (responsibility of County) and crime (responsibility of Police Authority). This is an anomaly that needs to be clarified if we are ever to have elected mayors otherwise the latter are going to be lynched for matters beyond their control.
I also feel a need to review how local taxation is determined. Patrick Jenkins, the new environment secretary in 1983, declared, in his White Paper that "rates were well understood, cheap to collect and very difficult to evade." Subsequent environment secretaries, and the turnover in that post is quite incredible, pushed for reform but don't seem to have improved the situation one bit and seem to be determined to muddy the waters of local finance in order to maintain control from the centre. "Thatcher seemed determined to punish local government, Tory as well as Labour, if only for being right" (page 139,(Simon Jenkins Thatcher and Sons) The New Labour governments that have followed have continued to punish local government rather than redress the situation.
The English tradition is to pick a committee or council and then for the elected body to decide who should be its leader or chairman or mayor. Often of course the leader is actually someone else and the mayor is an office used as reward for service to the elected body and as a figurehead. This works pretty well as a ceremonial post but it does mean the English public do not know who is in charge of their local affairs. We still get bogged down in party politics and the poor old elector has no idea who is the person in charge. This always smells too much of cigar smoke filled committee rooms and "City Hall". It heightens the class divisions and seems determined to cast an opaque smog over what is happening at the seat of power. The mayor of London is an elected one and although there is still a strong reek of party politics, everyone knows who the mayor of London is even if they are not Londoners. I believe central government had plans for other cities or unitary authorities to follow suit and perhaps that should warn me off the idea as part of my thesis is that anything that suits central government doesn't necessarily prove beneficial to the local elector.
What is my alternative? You've guessed it. I want elected mayors. A named person who stands for the post with a manifesto and at the end of four years is judged by the electorate on their record. I don't expect this will do away with party politics but it might lessen their hold slightly. The mayor of course will need to build an elected body of officers around him or her and will probably in the first instance rely upon a party machine to help provide those people. However as the elected mayoral system progresses mayors might find it best for their chances of re-election to appoint the best people for the job, whatever their political allegiance, as this may ensure the mayor is returned at the next election. The mayor will be a controversial figure rather than someone carrying out a civic timetable of ceremonial duties. Only the English equate controversy with bad - it can stimulate, it can innovate and it is rarely dull. Yes the mayor will have to be seen to do things that are vote catching and especially no doubt in an election year. But where is that any different from what happens now and it would be a lot more obvious under my new system than under the present one. The present Hampshire County Council is Tory run and decides where the road improvements take place. The County Council is applauded for the excellence of its road improvement and that only a minority of roads fall below the standards set overall. Being of a paranoid frame of mind, I wonder how many of the councillors who are not Tory find their wards fall in that minority. The subliminal message is clear but only if you can see beyond the party political hedge.
I suggested above that we look at the Gallic alternative knowing full well that this will send a number of people into apoplexy. The idea that we should learn from and copy the Europeans is appalling enough (as why else would UKIP exist) but to suggest that the French would have anything to offer us is doubly aggravating. However I am not suggesting the French commune system (and commune is a word also designed to raise English blood pressure)is perfect but it does offer a model worth looking at. Also after decades of visiting France (and I know that is different from living there and I hope my friends in the Lot valley are reading this and will send me their comments) I am impressed by the community pride and sense of belonging expressed in these communes and have been impressed by the many mayors I have met.
There are 37000 communes in France. Some are as large as Paris but 80% have fewer than 1000 inhabitants. Mayors are powerful and perhaps the British have a problem with power residing officially in the hands of one person. However Simon Jenkins (see above) says " Mayoral elections are often bitterly fought and the turnouts are high" He goes on: "The result is a civic pride visible in every French municipality". The idea of a high turnout is what attracts me having attended a recent local election where the turnout was 28%. I believe that having a named mayor will bring people out. It would be good to have feelings about elections that can be expressed at the ballot box or in the street. There will be no apathy about withholding one's vote because if one did that then the mayor you hate will get in again. We go on constantly about our lack of civic pride. Well the French example shows that this can be rekindled and an elected mayor is one step in the right direction.
We would need to look at the powers and responsibilities of the elected mayor and see how this could be dovetailed into a system of local government with which every citizen can feel involved.
One of the tricks that central government has achieved is the community tax being collected by the local borough council. In my local area only 13% of this tax goes to the borough, who have to pass on 70% to the county and 10% to the Police Authority. However the electors at public forums are always haranguing the borough council for roads (responsibility of County) and crime (responsibility of Police Authority). This is an anomaly that needs to be clarified if we are ever to have elected mayors otherwise the latter are going to be lynched for matters beyond their control.
I also feel a need to review how local taxation is determined. Patrick Jenkins, the new environment secretary in 1983, declared, in his White Paper that "rates were well understood, cheap to collect and very difficult to evade." Subsequent environment secretaries, and the turnover in that post is quite incredible, pushed for reform but don't seem to have improved the situation one bit and seem to be determined to muddy the waters of local finance in order to maintain control from the centre. "Thatcher seemed determined to punish local government, Tory as well as Labour, if only for being right" (page 139,(Simon Jenkins Thatcher and Sons) The New Labour governments that have followed have continued to punish local government rather than redress the situation.
Pompey Defence
I will return to my political thesis in my next posting but want to put in two or three posts about the possible Pompey team after the summer spending. This is in the realm of fanciful and wishful thinking but it is entirely due to the arrival of Dr, Sulaiman Al Fahim (if he completes signing the papers this month).
At right back I would try to keep hold of Glen Johnson despite the reputed bid of £17 million by Chelsea and the interest shown by Liverpool. Glen himself must be flattered by the attention but the England full back should be made to feel that he could be in at the ground floor of a great footballing revolution here at Pompey. He is definitely the sort of player on which we want to build a team and a team ethos. I don't want quick fire success as my previous post showed. I want to build up a team and a system or style of playing that will carry us forward into the future. Glen Johnson is young enough and good enough to help us lay down the foundations to do that. I would want to back him up with another right back and for the moment I would be tempted to go with Angel Rangel (Swansea) and Mendy (Hull).
At left back I would let Hreidarrson go to Gers and thank him hugely for helping keep us in the Premier League. He will always be a Pompey hero. I am unsure about Belhadj as a left back but would probably want to keep him as a squad player - his unpredictability sometimes unsettles his own team but can have the same effect on the opposition. I would go for established PL players such as Shorey (Villa), Clichy (Arsenal)and Garrido (Manchester City).
At centre back I would make every effort to retain Sylvain Distin as a player and as club captain. Certainly he would not be allowed to leave for the £4 million that have been suggested. I would be tempted to keep Sol as a totem of intent but would probably let him go to Basle or a European club, but not another PL club. So my search would be for a player to work alongside Distin in the centre of defence and probably one or two other centre backs as squad players. I know Lescott (Everton) has attracted a great deal of attention from other clubs, especially after the Cup Final. I am not sure why Everton and David Moyes would want to let him go but he would certainly be one of my targets. Hangeland (Fulham),Taylor (Newcastle), Branislav Ivanovic (Chelsea),Cuellar (Villa), Bassong (Newcastle) and Johnson (Cardiff) would be the players I would be chasing this July and probably in the order stated.
I would also make sure that my reserve team was one of the strongest around and that the players there were confident that the style or system they were using would enable them to step straight up into the first team as and when needed. I would also ensure that the Academy were playing the style that ultimately would inform the whole club approach as at Barcelona and the great Dutch clubs. Also the Academy youngsters would be "bloodied" and used at reserve and first team levels as and when thought appropriate to encourage the individual and deepen the squad ethos.
I will break off and look back at localism in politics for the next post or two before returning to my dream midfield and strike force for the bright Pompey of the near future. I hasten to add that all this speculation is for the short and medium term. The new manager should be empowered and entrusted to develop a club that will be renowned as much for its style of play as for its success. I would hope this would be with training facilities and a new stadium the equal of any other in this country if not Europe. I would hope that those promised links with South America (and in my opinion with Argentina) are part of the new manager's remit.
At right back I would try to keep hold of Glen Johnson despite the reputed bid of £17 million by Chelsea and the interest shown by Liverpool. Glen himself must be flattered by the attention but the England full back should be made to feel that he could be in at the ground floor of a great footballing revolution here at Pompey. He is definitely the sort of player on which we want to build a team and a team ethos. I don't want quick fire success as my previous post showed. I want to build up a team and a system or style of playing that will carry us forward into the future. Glen Johnson is young enough and good enough to help us lay down the foundations to do that. I would want to back him up with another right back and for the moment I would be tempted to go with Angel Rangel (Swansea) and Mendy (Hull).
At left back I would let Hreidarrson go to Gers and thank him hugely for helping keep us in the Premier League. He will always be a Pompey hero. I am unsure about Belhadj as a left back but would probably want to keep him as a squad player - his unpredictability sometimes unsettles his own team but can have the same effect on the opposition. I would go for established PL players such as Shorey (Villa), Clichy (Arsenal)and Garrido (Manchester City).
At centre back I would make every effort to retain Sylvain Distin as a player and as club captain. Certainly he would not be allowed to leave for the £4 million that have been suggested. I would be tempted to keep Sol as a totem of intent but would probably let him go to Basle or a European club, but not another PL club. So my search would be for a player to work alongside Distin in the centre of defence and probably one or two other centre backs as squad players. I know Lescott (Everton) has attracted a great deal of attention from other clubs, especially after the Cup Final. I am not sure why Everton and David Moyes would want to let him go but he would certainly be one of my targets. Hangeland (Fulham),Taylor (Newcastle), Branislav Ivanovic (Chelsea),Cuellar (Villa), Bassong (Newcastle) and Johnson (Cardiff) would be the players I would be chasing this July and probably in the order stated.
I would also make sure that my reserve team was one of the strongest around and that the players there were confident that the style or system they were using would enable them to step straight up into the first team as and when needed. I would also ensure that the Academy were playing the style that ultimately would inform the whole club approach as at Barcelona and the great Dutch clubs. Also the Academy youngsters would be "bloodied" and used at reserve and first team levels as and when thought appropriate to encourage the individual and deepen the squad ethos.
I will break off and look back at localism in politics for the next post or two before returning to my dream midfield and strike force for the bright Pompey of the near future. I hasten to add that all this speculation is for the short and medium term. The new manager should be empowered and entrusted to develop a club that will be renowned as much for its style of play as for its success. I would hope this would be with training facilities and a new stadium the equal of any other in this country if not Europe. I would hope that those promised links with South America (and in my opinion with Argentina) are part of the new manager's remit.
The previous manager but two
I think the previous manager but two did embellish the history of Pompey football club and for that we are rightly grateful. However I don't see him as a great manager. He is not the man to build up a great team, an ethos and style of playing that will bring us respect as well as success. He will doubtless bring us short term success but surely we should be looking for someone to lay down the infrastructure for a great club for the future not just for now. We want someone who will not bring in old established players at exorbitant salaries. We want someone who will encourage the Academy to seek out the best talent and to develop a style of playing similar to that seen at Barca. We want someone with more than a knowledge of what is here and now but who can develop the links with South America and Argentina in particular. We want someone who doesn't think Spuds are "a bigger club with better fans" but who realises Pompey are a great club with the best fans anywhere. Thanks to the Doctor, we can look beyond the recent past and create a marvellous future.
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Pompey Gossip
http://www.pompeygossip.co.uk/
I have recently joined this website as one of my Facebook groups. I am thoroughly enjoying being a member and especially at this auspicious time when we are so nearly in the hands of a new owner, Dr Sulaiman al Fahim. The new owner has promised to build up the infrastructure of the club rather than go for short term splashing of cash on star players. I hope this means we get the new training grounds and facilities completed this autumn as they have been long in the planning and perhaps might even be upgraded. As this is where the team spend most of their working lives, the training facilities are incredibly important for their morale, keeping them injury free and encouraging new players to join us.
I also believe the training grounds are the home of the Academy and this must also get more substantial support from the new owner. I hope that Paul Hart will be asked to resume his post as director of the Academy to continue to develop the Pompey youngsters. I hope the new owner's wealth will be used to compete with other clubs to bring in the brightest young footballers and to find the best local talent. I hope the promised links with South America will show first in the Academy and that we develop a steady stream of South American youngsters especially Argentinians coming to us. I would also hope that the Academy concentrates on midfield play and players. Like everyone else, I was mightily impressed by the Barcelona midfield trio and the fact that the ball seemed tied to their boot laces. It also was stated that the Barcelona academy and training concentrated all the time on this approach to passing and football skills. That is what I would like to see become of the Pompey Academy.
In the medium term I believe the new owner is intent on continuing the development of Fratton Park as suggested by the previous owner and administration. This might be able to go ahead this coming season as the new owner does not need the backing of a supermarket to make the project happen (the supermarket was also that made planning permission more unlikely). But while Fratton Park is being developed next season I hope the new owner does not take his eye off the design and planning of a new stadium. I still think Horsea Island would make a spectacular location with Portchester Castle across the harbour and the chalk of Portsdown Hill behind. The development of an infrastructure of roads, bridges and transport links would be necessary first hence the redevelopment of Fratton Park in the medium term and the new stadium to be ready in the longer term. However it would be good if the new stadium could be part of the 2018 English bid to host the World Cup. It would be good if the new owner could dispense with the need to build shops as these would compete with other areas of the city. I would love to see an entertainment arena built alongside the new stadium to compete with the likes of the O2 dome to make Pompey an outstanding venue for other popular art forms.
I would like to see the gradual development of a club and a team ethos that intends to play football as it should be played with players who love the club and area and who love to play with the ball. I don't want the sudden influx of mercenary star players who are here to see how much they can earn from the new owner and the club before they move on to earn more money elsewhere. I don't want a quick fix to get us into the top 4 and to grab armfuls of silverware next season or the season after. I would like us to build a team and a club slowly gathering momentum - perhaps a top 10 finish next year with another crack at the Carling or FA Cup. I would like to see those links with South America plainly reflected in the team make up and style of playing - I am more of an Argentinian fan than the silky skills of Brazil as I think the former adapt better to European football than the latter. In succeeding years we will take our place among the clubs playing for European competition and then perhaps join the top 4 or 5 clubs as a right.
These are wonderful pipe dreams inspired by the arrival of the new owner. However there are also early indications that things have to happen in the short term. There is the matter of a new manager rather than the retention of the current one (see Paul Hart and the Academy above). There is the small matter of keeping our star players that we already have and producing a squad of sufficient depth and quality to take us into that top 10 next season.
For the die hard fan, this is the part of the season where we love speculating and I being no exception to that rule and with the help of the website posted at the top of this posting I intend devoting some postings to who these players could be as if I had an influence with the club. I am also still working on my political thesis by reading "Bring Home the Revolution:The Case for a British Republic" by Jonathan Friedland.
Other aspects of my interests such as film extra work, plays and productions, and storytelling I will cover in my sister blog "Bench Hamlet 2008". Thanks for indulging me!
I have recently joined this website as one of my Facebook groups. I am thoroughly enjoying being a member and especially at this auspicious time when we are so nearly in the hands of a new owner, Dr Sulaiman al Fahim. The new owner has promised to build up the infrastructure of the club rather than go for short term splashing of cash on star players. I hope this means we get the new training grounds and facilities completed this autumn as they have been long in the planning and perhaps might even be upgraded. As this is where the team spend most of their working lives, the training facilities are incredibly important for their morale, keeping them injury free and encouraging new players to join us.
I also believe the training grounds are the home of the Academy and this must also get more substantial support from the new owner. I hope that Paul Hart will be asked to resume his post as director of the Academy to continue to develop the Pompey youngsters. I hope the new owner's wealth will be used to compete with other clubs to bring in the brightest young footballers and to find the best local talent. I hope the promised links with South America will show first in the Academy and that we develop a steady stream of South American youngsters especially Argentinians coming to us. I would also hope that the Academy concentrates on midfield play and players. Like everyone else, I was mightily impressed by the Barcelona midfield trio and the fact that the ball seemed tied to their boot laces. It also was stated that the Barcelona academy and training concentrated all the time on this approach to passing and football skills. That is what I would like to see become of the Pompey Academy.
In the medium term I believe the new owner is intent on continuing the development of Fratton Park as suggested by the previous owner and administration. This might be able to go ahead this coming season as the new owner does not need the backing of a supermarket to make the project happen (the supermarket was also that made planning permission more unlikely). But while Fratton Park is being developed next season I hope the new owner does not take his eye off the design and planning of a new stadium. I still think Horsea Island would make a spectacular location with Portchester Castle across the harbour and the chalk of Portsdown Hill behind. The development of an infrastructure of roads, bridges and transport links would be necessary first hence the redevelopment of Fratton Park in the medium term and the new stadium to be ready in the longer term. However it would be good if the new stadium could be part of the 2018 English bid to host the World Cup. It would be good if the new owner could dispense with the need to build shops as these would compete with other areas of the city. I would love to see an entertainment arena built alongside the new stadium to compete with the likes of the O2 dome to make Pompey an outstanding venue for other popular art forms.
I would like to see the gradual development of a club and a team ethos that intends to play football as it should be played with players who love the club and area and who love to play with the ball. I don't want the sudden influx of mercenary star players who are here to see how much they can earn from the new owner and the club before they move on to earn more money elsewhere. I don't want a quick fix to get us into the top 4 and to grab armfuls of silverware next season or the season after. I would like us to build a team and a club slowly gathering momentum - perhaps a top 10 finish next year with another crack at the Carling or FA Cup. I would like to see those links with South America plainly reflected in the team make up and style of playing - I am more of an Argentinian fan than the silky skills of Brazil as I think the former adapt better to European football than the latter. In succeeding years we will take our place among the clubs playing for European competition and then perhaps join the top 4 or 5 clubs as a right.
These are wonderful pipe dreams inspired by the arrival of the new owner. However there are also early indications that things have to happen in the short term. There is the matter of a new manager rather than the retention of the current one (see Paul Hart and the Academy above). There is the small matter of keeping our star players that we already have and producing a squad of sufficient depth and quality to take us into that top 10 next season.
For the die hard fan, this is the part of the season where we love speculating and I being no exception to that rule and with the help of the website posted at the top of this posting I intend devoting some postings to who these players could be as if I had an influence with the club. I am also still working on my political thesis by reading "Bring Home the Revolution:The Case for a British Republic" by Jonathan Friedland.
Other aspects of my interests such as film extra work, plays and productions, and storytelling I will cover in my sister blog "Bench Hamlet 2008". Thanks for indulging me!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
A friend replies and adds to my knowledge
A friend writes:I agree with you wholeheartedly. The political apathy in this country distresses me immensely,particularly when people were prepared to die because they believed in democracy so strongly.
However, I would like to make 2 points: The American system of government was borne out of a tension between the smaller and larger states, when the constitution was being codified. The smaller states felt that if all federal government bodies were elected by size or population of state, their interests would be completely ignored or overruled - hence the two-chamber system, whereby one house, (the Senate) sees each state elect the same number of Senators, regardless of size, population, etc. The other house - the House of Representatives sees each state return a different number of representatives dependent upon, (if I remember correctly) their population. (When this was being debated in the late 18th Century, states which had large populations of slaves were also worried they would lose out as they had fewer
'voting' members of the population, which led to the despicable '2/3rds' idea.)
Voting, and the civic activity that surrounds this, is something that is embedded in Americans - they vote for many, many local civic positions - I think some towns even vote for their dog-catcher. This is not something we do in this country.
Local politics in the UK also has something of an image problem - people do not know what powers their local or county councils hold, and do not know where to find out. It's also perceived as an area that only 'local busybodies' get on their high horse about - or care enough to stand. People are not aware of the day-to-day impact of local councils etc, so are often unwilling to vote. These are not my feels, but issues we discussed at great length during my degree studies. Admittedly, this is going back 7 or 8 years, so may be out of date. However, I fear the apathy has just got worse.
A parting shot: perhaps it is the 'winner takes all' nature of our 'first past the post' electoral system that puts people off: If you live in an area that is dominated by one particular party, which you don't want to represent you, does your vote for a candidate who stands so little chance of winner, actually count or make any kind of difference? Should we change our electoral system?
This was written as a comment by a young friend but sent to me elsewhere. I reproduce it here because it adds to my argument re Civic activity, which I intend expanding in the next few postings.
However, I would like to make 2 points: The American system of government was borne out of a tension between the smaller and larger states, when the constitution was being codified. The smaller states felt that if all federal government bodies were elected by size or population of state, their interests would be completely ignored or overruled - hence the two-chamber system, whereby one house, (the Senate) sees each state elect the same number of Senators, regardless of size, population, etc. The other house - the House of Representatives sees each state return a different number of representatives dependent upon, (if I remember correctly) their population. (When this was being debated in the late 18th Century, states which had large populations of slaves were also worried they would lose out as they had fewer
'voting' members of the population, which led to the despicable '2/3rds' idea.)
Voting, and the civic activity that surrounds this, is something that is embedded in Americans - they vote for many, many local civic positions - I think some towns even vote for their dog-catcher. This is not something we do in this country.
Local politics in the UK also has something of an image problem - people do not know what powers their local or county councils hold, and do not know where to find out. It's also perceived as an area that only 'local busybodies' get on their high horse about - or care enough to stand. People are not aware of the day-to-day impact of local councils etc, so are often unwilling to vote. These are not my feels, but issues we discussed at great length during my degree studies. Admittedly, this is going back 7 or 8 years, so may be out of date. However, I fear the apathy has just got worse.
A parting shot: perhaps it is the 'winner takes all' nature of our 'first past the post' electoral system that puts people off: If you live in an area that is dominated by one particular party, which you don't want to represent you, does your vote for a candidate who stands so little chance of winner, actually count or make any kind of difference? Should we change our electoral system?
This was written as a comment by a young friend but sent to me elsewhere. I reproduce it here because it adds to my argument re Civic activity, which I intend expanding in the next few postings.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
