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November 24, 2016

BPREVIEW: Treasure Island @ REP 24.11.16 – 07.01.17

On Friday 25^th November, Treasure Island opens at the Birmingham REP – adapted for the stage by Byrony Lavery and directed by Phillip Breen.

Performances run from Monday to Saturday, until 7^th January 2017. Tickets are priced from £10 – £37.50 – for direct event information, including performance times and online tickets sales, click here.

Christmas is a time for traditions: roast dinners, time with the family, festive re-runs on TV. Basking in the comfortingly familiar.

Theatres know this of course, and programme their Christmas seasons accordingly, with pantomimes and adaptations of well-known novels and films. This year the Birmingham REP has plumped for Treasure Island, a book that many of us will have read as children and which is often performed on stage.

This particular adaptation is by renowned playwright Bryony Lavery. Lavery has a long relationship with Birmingham: the REP has produced a number of her plays, including her most famous work, Frozen, in 1998 (later performed on Broadway and nominated for four Tony Awards) and she was a tutor on the University of Birmingham’s MA in Playwriting for a number of years.

In recent times Lavery has become as well known for adapting classic works as for writing her own plays, with Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited both receiving Lavery interpretations. Her version of Treasure Island was first produced at the National Theatre in 2014, with reviewers appreciative of a production largely faithful to the book, with a few exceptions.

Probably the most notable of these exceptions is that Jim, the central character, is female in Lavery’s version, along with a number of other roles. Before finding mainstream success with Frozen, Lavery was mostly known for her work in gay and feminist fringe theatre. It’s hardly surprising then, that she has a feminist take on a traditionally male-centered tale.

The update should not only provide strong female role models for the girls in the audience, but also enough of an air of un-familiarity to keep one the most well known stories in English Literature interesting for the whole family.

Along with the promise of pirates and sword fights, entertaining songs and dance routines, and spectacular set and costumes, Treasure Island at the Birmingham REP promises to be a production that shows that everyone, even girls, can have adventures.

Cast

Pete Ashmore Badger
Greg Coulson Lucky Mickey
Andrea Davy Red Ruth
Anni Domingo Grandma Hawkins
Ru Hamilton Dick the Dandy
Dave Fishley Grey / Billy Bones
Michael Hodgson Long John Silver
Kaitlin Howard Joan The Goat
Sian Howard Dr Livesy
Sarah Middleton Jim

Creatives

Bryony Lavery Writer
Phillip Breen Director
Mark Bailey Designer
Dyfan Jones Composer and Musical Director
Tina MacHugh Lighting Designer
Andrea J Cox Sound Designer
John Ross Movement Director
Renny Krupinski Fight Director
Craig Denstone Puppets
Sophie Paterson Assistant Director

Treasure Island runs at the Birmingham REP from 25^th November 2016 to 7^th January 2017. For direct event information, including performance times and online tickets sales, click here.

For more from the Birmingham REP, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.birmingham-rep.co.uk

November 24, 2016

THE GALLERY: Public Image Ltd @ O2 Institute 18.11.16

Ed’s note… On 18^th November, Public Image Limited (PiL) came back to Birmingham – playing to a pretty full Friday house at the O2 Institute. The last time BR covered PiL was at the O2 Academy in Oct 2013 and we were short a photographer. But thanks to some string pulling from the promotional powers that be… another bucket list tick.

Michelle Martin was at the O2 Institute on Fri 18^th November to scoop up some words & pics for THE GALLERY. Viddy below my droog, the bratchny maslo king of punk returns.

Words & pics by Michelle Martin

Cognac, crumpets and a banana. Just your typical Public Image Ltd show.

The occasional sip on his bottle of Cognac, aptly labeled ‘Piss’, kept Public Image Ltd front man John Lydon soldiering through the show.

Public Image Ltd (PiL) are currently on a European tour, 37 years after the release of their album Metal Box – back in Birmingham before they finish off at the Sinner’s Day Festival in Belgium.

PiL have been running since that other band spilt up in 1978, with Lydon enlisting Keith Levine from The Clash, Jah Wobble and Jim Walker to record and release their debut album Public Image: First Issue in the same year.

John Lydon has been the sole constant member of PiL ever since, with Lu Edmonds, Scott Firth and Bruce Smith making up the remainder of the line-up today.

Soon after PiL took to the stage, cups went flying six feet in the air. Even behind the safety of a photo pit barrier I suffered from these throwing sessions, before I had a chance to shoot anything.

One fan in the audience really stood out; I think he’d pulled a Marty McFly. He looked like he stepped right out of the 70’s punk scene, with a classic Sex Pistols tour shirt, an overused battle vest, bright neon rave glasses and a hairstyle that a cockatoo would be jealous of.

But it was a refreshing sight to see no-one with a phone held up wanting to document the show, as usually happens at shows with an audience below the average age of 25.

The gig was nostalgic, in all its punk glory and beyond; John Lydon is an exceptional performer – marching with a ferocious energy throughout the show. I was watching something I’d remember and may not see again. I was also constantly laughing at his facial expressions; contorted and relentless. A separate gallery could be dedicated just to Mr Lydon’s awesome face.

Age clearly hasn’t stopped the man from doing just what he enjoys.

Public Image Limited @ O2 Institute 18.11.16

‘Something Big is Coming’ from PiL on Monday 28^th November, but that’s all we know. For more on Public Image Limited, visit www.pilofficial.com

For more from the O2 Institute, including full gig listings and online ticket sales, visit www.academymusicgroup.com/o2institutebirmingham

November 23, 2016November 27, 2016

BPREVIEW: Alter Bridge @ Genting Arena 27.11.16

Words by Michelle Martin

On Sunday November 27^th, Alter Bridge will perform at the Genting Arena in Birmingham – with support from Gojira, Volbeat and Like a Storm.

Alter Bridge at the Genting Arena is presented by Live Nation – tickets are priced at £34.55 +booking fee. For direct gig info, including online ticket sales, click here.

Hailing from Orange County in Orlando, Florida, Alter Bridge comprises of Myles Kennedy, Brian Marshall, Scott Phillips and Mark Tremonti. Philips, Tremonti and Marshall were former members of rock band Creed, who disbanded in 2004.

Having taken a hiatus from touring across 2015, Alter Bridge started writing and recording their fifth studio album, The Last Hero, late last year – once again working with the band’s long standing producer, Michael ‘Elvis’ Baskette. Beskette has produced every Alter Bridge album since the band’s sophomore LP, Blackbird, in 2007.

Released on October 6^th 2016, The Last Hero has received a widespread thumbs up from both critics and metal fans alike, with Chad Childers (Loudwire, Ultimate Classic Rock) praising the LP for being ‘darker and more political in nature’. A big record, the only real negatives came from the album’s intensity and power, with Dom Lawson (Metal Hammer, The Guardian) calling it ‘relentlessly bombastic’.

But The Last Hero is Alter Bridge’s third top ten LP, reaching a very respectable No3 in the UK Album Charts. Plus we can’t imagine the Genting Arena crowd having too many complaints about something being ‘much heavier and more overtly metallic than their modern arena-rock peers.’

The album’s lead single, ‘Show Me a Leader’, was released on 26^th July 2016 – with front man, Myles Kennedy, stating “Lyrically, it reflects the frustrations that a lot of people are feeling with the current state of the world. The world is looking for trustworthy effective leadership and not this undignified dog and pony show that’s really made a mockery of our system.”

‘Show Me a Leader’ – Alter Bridge

Alter Bridge announced a tour supporting The Last Hero Tour in summer 2016 – playing seven dates across the UK, from Manchester on 23^rd November to Glasgow on 1st December, before heading to mainland Europe for six more dates this side of Christmas. Alter Bridge then tour North America and Canada across February 2017, before heading on to Australia in April.

Alter Bridge will be back in Birmingham for one show at the Genting Arena on Sunday 27^th November, with support from Gojira, Volbeat and Like a Storm. For direct gig info and online ticket sales, click here.

For more on Alter Bridge, visit www.alterbridge.com

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For more from the Genting Arena, including full events listings and online tickets sales, visit www.gentingarena.co.uk

For more from Live Nation, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.livenation.co.uk

November 22, 2016

BPREVIEW: Behind Bars @ REP 24.11.16

Words by Lucy Mounfield

On Thursday 24th November, BOLDtext Playwrights present Behind Bars – an evening of short new plays about prison reform, performed at the Birmingham REP.

Doors open at 8pm, with the audience invited to ‘Pay-What-You-Can’ as admission. For direct event info, click here.

BOLDtext Playwrights are a group of working playwrights who aim to ‘create more opportunities and new platforms for our work in the Midlands and beyond’. Their work has previously been showcased in venues including the Birmingham REP and Warwick Words.

For Behind Bars, expect an evening of thought-provoking and deeply serious ideas. Three short plays about prison reform will take place in the REP’s smaller theatre, The Door, all written by Liz John, Nicola Jones and Tim Stimpson – writer of the Helen’s Trial in The Archers. With this Archers storyline even gaining national news attention, the criminal justice system is arguably at the forefront of many people’s minds.

On their website, BOLDtext Playwrights offer up some pointed questions, such as ‘Does prison work? Or is it a revolving door?’ which gives an insight into the questioning nature of the evening. Following the short plays will be a debate about prison reform from a panel of representatives from both sides of the justice system.

Do BOLDtext Playwrights have an agenda? Or do they simply want to create an atmosphere of debate and insightful enquiry? Well, on the WordPress page for Behind Bars they have some pretty damning facts about the UK’s prison system, which feel very much like the roots of the idea for the event:

‘We lock up more offenders than any other Western European country, yet UK re-offending rates remain sky high – 60% in Birmingham for those serving sentences under 12 months. And with under-staffing, over-crowding, spiraling rates of assault, self-harm and suicide, substance misuse and mental illness – what can our prison system realistically achieve?’

Will Behind Bars offer us an alternative to this situation? At the very least it should make us think about our country’s prison system: what works, what doesn’t, how effective is it at reform, and does it make the country safer? And above all, are we are happy with it?

Behind Bars looks to be an evening that will hit us hard and fast with ideas. And with the political year we have had, it’s clear many people are looking for a platform to stand up and have their say.

Behind Bars runs at REP for one night only, on Thursday 24th November. Tickets are free but should be booked in advance at Birmingham Rep, then ‘Pay-What-You-Can’ on the night. For direct event info, click here.

For more information on BOLDtext Playwrights, visit www.boldtextcollective.wordpress.com

For more from the Birmingham REP, including the full event programme and online tickets sales, visit www.birmingham-rep.co.uk

November 21, 2016November 21, 2016

BREVIEW: Kristin Hersh @ The Glee Club 15.11.16

Words by Ed King / Pics by Ella Carman

You know it’s been a worthwhile night when you wake up with a broken tooth, fresh scars and a new album.

It defiantly started well, that I remember, with The Glee Club being comfortably full for ‘An Evening with Kristin Hersh’ – rows of theatre style seating, facing a solitary chair. The wine hits hard and I take my usual place at the back, spewing scribbles into a frayed notebook by the emergency lighting. I’m having problems with honesty at the moment and my visceral attachments to The Glee are almost too much to hide. At one point, before the end of the second song, I have to stand in a corner and wince.

Kristin Hersh saunters on stage to a soundtrack of her own music. The room gives a polite applause; a middle aged audience with folded arms, staring at something they revered in less formal days.

Without introduction Kristin Hersh starts playing a song I don’t know, jumping from frenetic finger picking to strong chords whilst recalling her friend’s advice “just don’t play any new songs, people hate new songs…” I don’t think we do, tonight at least, and with the release of Hersh’s third CD/book/essay combo coming out today – Wyatt at the Coyote Palace – I don’t think anyone in this room has much of a choice.

“On fire or underwater, your people are always there waiting for you to care”, Kristin Hersh reads with a cracked timbre and darkened authority, an excerpt from what I think is her new anthology. She sounds like Burroughs or someone who’s tired and facing a long story to get out of trouble; between the words and the music we are invited into the pages of a diary, never to be fully told why.

The set rolls from one confident pause to another, interspersed with songs and readings from Kirstin Hersh’s extensive back catalogue. It’s better that I thought it would be, or remember from Glastonbury back in the mid 90’s, and my friend is moving from shoulder shuffle to fully fledged dance. She’s not familiar with Kristin Hersh, 50FOOTWAVE or Throwing Muses, but has latched onto the “husky vocals” and that sit commandingly centre stage.

“…where the hookers hang out, models they call themselves”. Kristin Hersh explains soup. My friend talks about celery. The set marches on, goading itself from one place to another, from prose to lyric, as Hersh seems to make every extra sound she needs from six strings and raw vocal chords.

I start to feel a little awkward at the theatre seating. Not embarrassed, I gave up apologising for other people a long time ago, but aware that tonight might be better experienced in a huddle. An angry bald man a few rows in front agrees and walks over to us to say “SHUT UP FOR CHRIST’S SAKE” so he can go quietly back to his seat.

I’m usually the one telling someone else this. But tonight I’m that guy, I hate being that guy, but I guess that guy can’t always be that guy. Some days it has to be someone else. And as the other side of me is looking for furniture to throw I settle for ambivalence. I call the man back, explaining “there is no reasonable need for you to be so aggressive,” and keep one eye on the empty wine bottle by my foot. “…strange sounds in the dessert. Hippies never know when to go home.”

When the first, apprehensive lines of ‘Your Ghost’ roll of stage, I want to shout. My friend lets out a “whoop” but I don’t think she knows why. I think I do. I sing as she dances; the rows of crossed arms seemingly entrenched in only tacit appreciation. As ‘Your Dirty Answer’ allows me further opportunity to show off, I put my notebook away and make mental plot points for tonight’s review, knowing I’ll need to save some money for The Glee Club merchandise stall and most likely more wine. But most likely somewhere else.

Also, as a performer Kristin Hersh is so honest on stage I want to stop writing. Or, to never stop. I want to be clever, that’s my ego, and I want people to like me. To hear me. But my words and actions can be manipulative; I don’t feel as governed by the unflinching need for honesty as I used to. I don’t like where I am.

And I was worried about coming to The Glee Club tonight. I was worried about delving through such a personally pertinent portfolio, with too many reasons in this room to make me feel old and full of wasted time.

Maybe that’s why I bought a bottle instead of two glasses. Maybe that’s why I’m wearing this scarf. Maybe that’s why I’m standing up. Maybe that’s why I’m singing. And as I try to show how well I can deliver other people’s words, I remember the reasons why I wanted to be here and why not to feel so broken. I remember self worth and private memories.

I turn to my wide eyed, loud voiced, friend – smiling at the music she’s discovered – and repeat, “it’s not my fault, it’s not my fault you don’t love me…” She smiles and keeps dancing. I keep singing; we’re at play and it’s fun. But truthfully I’m talking to someone else.

For more on Kristin Hersh, visit www.kristinhersh.com

For more from The Glee Club, visit www.glee.co.uk