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Toff Tips |
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FILM:March 2014
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Volgograd appears to be just another small town in
southern Russia. I went there last year and as we were visiting
the area it became clear that this little town was something special.
It used to be called Stalingrad and it was here that the famous
battle of Stalingrad took place in 1942. There is a huge diorama
of the battle, the largest panorama in the world. I climbed five
floors in order to view it and it was actually worthwhile. I also
visited Pavlov's House where the action of the film takes place.
So I was eager to see STALINGRAD (cert.15 2 hrs.
11 mins.), Russia's first IMAX 3D movie. |
Inspired by real life events around saving the strategically-positioned
historical building known as Pavlov's House, director Fedor Bondarchuk
combines a war movie with the very personal stories of some of those
involved.
The film begins in the present day in the rubble of a Japanese
earthquake. The Narrator, who is one of those helping to dig out
survivors, tells his story. |
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He says he had five fathers and then looks back at
the events in the autumn of 1942 when these men met while fighting
Germans in the town of Stalingrad. The five men rescue the narrator's
mother, the very traumatised Katya ((Mariya Smolnikova), an 18 year
old girl who refuses to leave the building, where she has lived
in peacetime and continues living there during the war as she insists
that it is her home. This little group of ordinary Russian soldiers
led by Captain Gromov (Pyotr Fyodorov), strives valiantly to repel
the Germans and stop them advancing and also protect young Katya.
We are also introduced to the leader of the Nazis in this area,
Captain Kahn (Thomas Kretschmann), who has fallen for a
lovely blond Russian girl, Masha (Yana Studilina), who
is then shunned by her neighbours because of her liaison with a
Nazi (the two are shown in the picture above).
Although the film is shot on a huge scale, there are some nice
little human touches, such as when the soldiers throw a party for
Katya on her 19th birthday. They renovate an old bath and fill it
with hot water to please her.
It's not just the size of the IMAX screen which
is impressive but also the battle scenes. There is one particular
image which remains long after seeing the film: a spectacular special
effects sequence following a gigantic explosion, in which Russian
soldiers continue to advance on their enemies despite being engulfed
in flames.
This is a well-acted war movie with some amazing battle scenes
and a slight but human story, well-acted by the group of Russian
(and a few German) actors in a most realistic manner.
ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE (cert. 18 2 hrs. 3 mins.)
is not your usual type of vampire movie. |
Sure the main characters are vampires, but the whole film and
depiction of the chief characters is very subtly done. This film
has standout performances from Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston,
a witty script and a great soundtrack. Director Jim Jarmusch has
made the movie a very personal take on the vampire genre. |
Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston
in Only Lovers Left Alive |
Tilda Swinton plays Eve and Tom Hiddleston is Adam,
a pair of British vampires who have been in love for centuries (at
one point we see a photo from their third wedding, in 1868). As
the film begins, Eve is spending time in Tangiers with Christopher
'Kit' Marlowe (John Hurt), while reclusive Adam, a sort of rock
star, is holed up in a Gothic house in Detroit, endlessly listening
to vinyl records and occasionally buying vintage guitars from his
friend Ian (Anton Yelchin).
When Eve returns to Detroit, the pair are delighted to be back
together and settle into a routine of sex, obtaining high quality
blood from Doctor Watson (Jeffrey Wright), driving around the ruins
of Detroit and reminiscing about what happened in past centuries.
However, their vampiric idyll is disrupted by the arrival of Eve's
thrill-seeking younger sister Ava (Mia Wasikowska), who appears
to lack anything resembling impulse control. She causes trouble.
Swinton is excellent as a vampire. She looks just right and is
super as Eve, while Tom Hiddleston is delightfully deadpan as Adam,
reminding us a little of Mick Jagger, and a bit of Bowie. They also
work really well together and you can feel the chemistry between
them. Their mutual passion still burns after centuries. The supporting
cast are also very good. John Hurt looks right and makes a convincing
Marlowe, even referring to how he was the one who wrote all of Shakespeare's
plays, and Mia Wasikowska gives a really great performance as Ava,
despite only appearing in a small number of scenes.
If you are familiar with Jarmusch's previous films you will already
be expecting some deadpan humour and you get that here in the witty,
intelligent dialogue, which is a pleasure to listen to, in spite
of there being very little actual plot. The film is further enhanced
by a suitably moody soundtrack courtesy of Jozef van Wissem and
Jarmusch's own band SQÜRL.
Written and directed by Jim Jarmusch, this particular vampire movie
is stylishly written, has good photography, is amusing and very
well-acted. The ending is worth waiting for, too. You should be
able to catch it in your local cinema still.
Also recommended: Liam Neesom stars as U.S. Air Marshall Bill Marks
in exciting thriller, NON-STOP (cert. 12A 1 hr.
36 mins.) set on a plane. Bill receives a series of texts saying
that unless $150 million is paid into a numbered account, one person
will die every 20 minutes. It becomes even more worrying for Bill
when he is accused of being the terrorist on board! The movie is,
of course, a lot of baloney, but fun to watch…unless you are about
to travel by plane! |
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THEATRE TIP
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Our roving theatre reporter, TED CRAIG
has been out and about and reports on the launch of the LONDON
INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF THEATRE 2014. The programme for
this year's LIFT has just been launched and is
on sale now.
It seemed particularly appropriate for the festival to launch on
the 31st floor of Centre Point with its spectacular views. As the
sun set over London and LIFT 2014 was ushered in we caught a glimpse
of the football pitches and favelas of Brazil, the shopping malls
of Japan, funeral processions of Haiti, the hidden archives and
spaces of the Royal Academy and Somerset House…and much more in
between.
LIFT 2014 will bring together artists from 13
countries, in 15 venues across the capital. The programme draws
on some of the seismic changes that face the world in 2014 and on
extraordinary personal stories. It will be marking the centenary
of the First World War and exploring international perspectives
on its echoes today in a building-wide take-over of Battersea Arts
Centre - this promises intense visual experiences and enthralling
tales, on the streets, in theatres, museums and online digital space.
The festival brochure has also re-invented this year, working with
Maddy Costa to create a new publication containing the full festival
programme alongside interviews, articles and new writing that digs
deeper into the heart of LIFT 2014 and the themes and ideas our
artists are inspired by. Now the cat's out of the bag LIFT 2014
tickets are selling fast - so book now to avoid missing out on the
360 degree-voodoo-street-dance-international-football-frenzy that's
in store for London this summer. Check out what the lovely twittering
folk have had to say at #LIFT2014. If you can't
wait to encounter the brochure as it spreads across London you can
see it in its digital glory at: http://www.liftfestival.com/content_category/1495/lift_2014
TED CRAIG also reviews the play at the new Sam
Wanamaker Playhouse (Globe, London). I have been there and it is,
indeed, worth a visit.
THE KNIGHT OF THE BURNING PESTLE (Sam Wanamaker
Playhouse until Sunday 30 March 2014 Box Office: 020 7401 9919)
It was a great pleasure to attend this very beautiful new theatre
for the first time: intimate, warm and candle-lit, you're made to
feel welcome by the cordial attendants and feel ready for an enjoyable
theatre experience. And you certainly get it with this delightful
production. |
Phil Daniels as The Citizen |
The play starts in typical Globe fashion. The cast bounce on
and announce they are going to do a piece called The London Merchant,
a new comedy of manners by Francis Beaumont; but before they can
begin properly, there's a commotion in the audience - two people
in the front row - a London merchant - a grocer in the Strand (Phil
Daniels) and his wife (Pauline McLynn) who demand that the company
include a part for their apprentice, Rafe, who wants to play an
heroic Knight. |
The company argues that there isn't any kind of Knight
in their play, but after some very funny to and fro, the company
reluctantly give in and the rather dim Rafe (an excellent Matthew
Needham) becomes the Knight of the burning pestle in a strange sub-plot
that involves some Don Quixote-like antics. The action proceeds
with continual hilarious interruptions from the front row including
the very noisy eating of popcorn (until the bag is confiscated by
one of the company!).
The play combines salty colloquial prose with charming songs, a
great score by Nigel Hess and there are some delightful performances
including Paul Rider's somewhat demented Old Merrythought who looks
like a cabbage on legs and sings on every entrance. Director Adele
Thomas's production skips along at a nifty pace and Hannah Clark's
costumes are a feast for the eyes.
In 1607 The Knight of the Burning Pestle was one of the first madcap,
mash-up, screwball comedies to hit the English stage and this production
celebrates that with great wit and style. Highly recommended.
We should be grateful that we once again have the chance to see
the excellent play SIZWE BANZI IS DEAD, a co-production
with Eclipse Theatre, in the attractive Studio Theatre at the Young
Vic (until 15March, then touring*. Box office: 020 7922 2922) |
I first saw this play, created in 1972 by (white) Athol Fugard
and the black actors John Kani and Winston Ntshona, many years ago
with the original cast. In Matthew Xia's revival, the difference
between the first comic part and the more serious second half seems
to be more clearly brought out. The terrible treatment of black
people in the apartheid regime comes to our attention immediately
as there is an attempt to segregate the audience by race on entering
the theatre. |
Sibusiso Mamba as Sizwe Banzi
& Tonderai Munyevi as Styles |
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The trio devised plays that were able to show how
those under apartheid managed to show dignity in the face of awful
treatment. Quite obviously the authorities in South Africa disliked
their work.
The first part, which is very funny shows Styles, (Tonderai Munyevi)
working in his small photographic studio in Port Elizabeth. He chatters
away to the audience in a very lively manner, bouncing around and
talking non-stop about his former work. He is now very content being
his own boss, working as a photographer of black South Africans.
Suddenly the whole tone of the play changes: a smart black man
comes in, not quite sure of his name. As he tells how he came to
be in the studio, we realise that his story shows the dark side
of South Africa. With Munyevi now playing the part of Buntu, who
encourages Sizwe to take on the identity and use the passbook of
a dead man, we learn how Sizwe is forced to undertake this deception
in order to keep working and thus support his wife and four children.
Tonderai Munyevu is very entertaining as Styles, acting with his
whole body and charming all of us with his banter. He is also good
in the second half in an entirely different kind of role, but key
to the story of Sizwe Banzi. Sibusiso Mamba moves us considerably
as Sizwe who is loth to give up his identity, "I don't want to lose
my name" he asserts.
In its short running time - only 90 minutes - the play is an attack
on the apartheid pass laws that determined where black people could
and couldn't live and work. It is a truly great play, well written
and in this production by Matthew Xia, both parts are finely delineated
and the whole show is very well acted.
- *7 May to 10 May: Theatre Royal Plymouth Box Office: 01752
267 222
- 20 to 24 May : Crucible Studio Theatre Box Office: 0114
249 6000
- 27 to 31 May: The Albany, Deptford Box Office: 020 8692
4446
- 5 to 7 June: Mac Birmingham, Box Office: 0121 446 3232
- 10 to 14 June: Liverpool Playhouse Studio Box Office: 0151
709 4776
Without even thinking about it, so many words from the play 1984
are in common usage today, such as doublethink and, of course, Room
101 and Big Brother, both of which are now part of Reality shows.
But these were all new when George Orwell's manuscript was first
published in 1949. Not only do we have the words but in our present
day life we also have surveillance cameras and reality TV, both
of which were envisaged in Orwell's novel. Not only do cameras watch
people on the street but we find cameras in nurseries so that parents
can observe their children from screens at work! |
The new adaptation by Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan of the
play 1984 (Almeida Theatre until 29 March Box Office: 020 7359
4404) is a co-production with Headlong and Nottingham Playhouse.
Unusually it begins at the end of the novel, the appendix, with
a group of people looking back on events and the audience can see
their reactions. It works well and brings the terrifying story of
Winston to life. |
Seated Mark Arends as Winston
with the rest of the cast |
Most of the action takes place in a kind of office
with files, archives and so on. The narrator tells us about Winston
writing a diary "for the future." We see a group examining and talking
about the novel. The audience watches events unfold and also listens
to the group discussing these events. And some are truly awful -
the worst, to my mind, being the removal of Winston's nails (we
presume as his finger tips are all bloodied) in the dreaded Room
101. Winston is tortured until he agrees that "If the Party says
not 4 but 5 fingers" then he is to acquiesce. And what Winston fears
most - rats - are introduced into Room 101 and they are not the
friendly ones we see in I'm a Celebrity, Get me Out of Here!
When Winston has sex with his girlfriend Julia he is reminded of
the past but berates her, "You're only a rebel from the waist downwards."
Big Brother on a large screen is omnipresent.
The production is strong with some very chilling moments. Sound
and lighting effects are most evocative and contribute greatly to
the frightening atmosphere. Mark Arends is a nervous hero, who realises
exactly what he is doing when he begins writing - by disobeying
the rules he is likely to die. There are, too, good performances
by Hara Yannas as Julia and Tim Dutton as the interrogator, O'Brien.
It is a very good idea to let the play run for an hour and a half
with no interval - the level of tension in the cast and audience
remains high.
One of the most enjoyable nights I have had in the theatre recently
was watching THE FULL MONTY (Noel Coward Theatre
booking until 14 June 2014 Box office: 0844 482 5141)
Although there is much fun to be had from the performance by the
unemployed lads in Sheffield who decide to put on a strip show to
get cash when there is no work to be had, the poignancy of the men's
situation is also conveyed in a moving and at times much quieter
manner. The production builds up nicely showing us how the men live
and how they cope, or, in most cases, do not cope very well, with
being unemployed. |
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Simon Beaufoy, the writer of the hit film, The Full Monty, made
in 1997, has adapted it into this stage play. Now directed by Daniel
Evans, the pair manage to show the terrible plight facing the men
who have no jobs and no prospect of finding any in a lively and
at times uproariously funny manner. There is nothing against putting
across tragedy in a comic manner - Shakespeare did it many, many
years ago. |
Here we meet Gaz Kenny Doughty), who is in danger of losing access to his son if he doesn't give his wife maintenance payments. We also meet obese Dave (Roger Morlidge), who has become impotent through the loss of his masculinity through being unemployed. There is, too, Lomper, (Craig Gazey), who is suicidal as he has no friends until he realises he is gay. And the men's previous foreman, Gerald (Simon Rouse) who pretends to his wife that he still has a job and goes off to "work" every day while she continues spending money they now haven't got. Another of the characters we come across is Horse (Sidney Cole), a black guy who whispers that he has this nickname because he is not built that way.
Having lost their jobs, the men are also facing the loss of their self-respect and self-worth, so when Gaz suggests a way of regaining their confidence and also earning a lot of money they reluctantly agree. Of course the show wouldn't be anything without the two iconic scenes from the movie - the auditions and the dole queue when the strippers begin to dance to "their" tune on the radio.
Set in Thatcher's Britain in the late 70s, a strong political point about work and pay and the rights to both, is made. The era is caught nicely by the wives of the male strippers who appear in appropriate beehive hairdos and clothes of the period. There is a superb set, a decaying steelworks box designed by Robert Jones. The whole cast perform with gusto and the individuals are well delineated. A moving little performance of Gaz's young son was given on the night I went by Jack Hollington. The audience loved the show and the end….well, that would be telling, but it well deserved the huge standing ovation it was given.
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Carlie Newman |
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