Posts Tagged Music
Skylon’s the limit for Festival of Britain rerun
Posted by The Sheet in Architecture News on January 20, 2011
South Bank re-creation of confidence-boosting 1951 festival aims to provide a similar tonic on a slimline budget
It was one of the most austere of years but the Labour government spent a fortune on buildings and cultural events to cheer up the battered nation. Yesterday, 60 years on from the Festival of Britain, the Southbank centre announced plans to mark the anniversary with a similar summer of celebrations – on a fraction of the budget. The four-month event will see the centre, including the Royal Festival Hall and Hayward gallery, taken over in celebration of what was a defining moment in 20th-century Britain. The Festival of Britain cost £8m – more than £200m in today's money. More than a quarter of the population came to visit the "people's palace", or be amazed by the "dome of discovery", or be photographed next to the 296ft Skylon which towered over everything.
While the rerun may not have the same levels of financial backing, Jude Kelly, the Southbank centre's artistic director, said it hoped to bring some of the joy and optimism of the 1951 festival. "We're going to celebrate everything that the thinking conjured for us in that period and then re-interpret it for now."
The festival will see Tracey Emin taking over the Hayward gallery with a show of old and new work; Billy Bragg leading performances over the royal wedding weekend; Ray Davies curating a Festival of Britain-themed Meltdown and Heston Blumenthal updating the Afternoon Tea.
There will be talks by "national treasures" such as Meera Syal and Tony Benn; and a "great thinkers" series with people such as Francis Fukuyama and John Berger.
The designer Wayne Hemingway will bring his successful Vintage festival, which debuted last year at Goodwood, to the South Bank in July. He is also co-designing a museum of 1951 memorabilia.
Among the musical events is a May visit by pianist Lang Lang, who aims to inspire a new generation of musicians, and there will be weekends given over to guitars, choral music, light music, black British music and hip-hop.
For some people, the Festival of Britain could only be properly marked if Skylon – the architect-designed tower that stood on the South Bank throughout the festivities – was returned or rebuilt. It was dismantled on the personal instructions of Winston Churchill, who saw it as a symbol of socialism and the Attlee government.
There are no plans. "We don't even know where Skylon is," said Kelly. "It's like the Loch Ness monster. People have sightings of Skylon – they think – and bits of it, but nobody really knows what happened to it.
"Skylon is a very potent image and when you see it, the design elements of it are amazing, unbeatable. It's very hard now to understand why they threw it away."
There are stories of it being simply thrown in the Thames or buried in Jubilee Gardens. Kelly said there was also a story that it was dumped in the river Lea and she might, with the Museum of London, send divers in to search for it. A spokesman for the Museum of London later contradicted that and said there was no evidence of Skylon being in the Lea.
The festival, taking place between 22 April and 4 September, will be the first of three themed festivals on the South Bank, all sponsored by MasterCard.
Letters: Prefabs, Fabs and mass demolition
Posted by The Sheet in Architecture News on January 6, 2011
The Twentieth Century Society and English Heritage are barking up the wrong tree in trying to "save" the prefab Excalibur estate in Lewisham (Anger over plans to demolish historic prefab estate, 3 January). The Excalibur residents' long struggle is a lesson about how people want to live together. It is not about preserving the fabric of damp, decaying homes well past their habitable lifetimes.
It is not a miracle that these homes have survived for so long. It is almost wholly due to hard work by the tenants and their management organisation. Stability and a supportive community at Excalibur grew from a feeling of "being in control", living in homes which are compact and easy to run, providing dignity and independence at an affordable rent.
Sadly, the pressures on housing in inner London don't encourage building detached bungalows. This has been taken on board by Excalibur residents, who for years have been developing plans to translate their ideals into achievable new homes, fit and decent, as they deserve.
Yes, let's study and respect the prefab history. A few examples to demonstrate one short-term solution, fitted to its time in the immediate devastation of war, would be better placed in a museum.
Caroline Mayow
London
• The campaign to save 9 Madryn Street is as much about stopping the council erasing an entire neighbourhood as about preserving Ringo Starr's birthplace (Comment, 4 January). The Ringo connection is important, and useful – as it grabs headlines – but the real story is the battle to stop a deluded council pursuing a regressive policy of mass demolition.
William Palin
Secretary, Save Britain's Heritage
‘This is not criticism in a vacuum’
Posted by The Sheet in Architecture News on October 28, 2010
From demolishing Alice in Wonderland to deciphering Macbeth, our young readers bowled over the judges with their wit
Fresh bands, young directors, hot new actors and artists straight out of college are the lifeblood of the arts. And, to ensure that criticism doesn't get stale, it's essential that their generation is represented in our reviewers. The Guardian's annual young critics competition is designed to ensure that arts criticism can reflect the voices of a younger arts audience. That said, youth alone is not enough. These days, it's easier than ever to find a platform on which to voice your opinions – by blogging, tweeting, or posting on comment threads – but with all that competition, it's more essential than ever that you have something worthwhile to say.
The entries confirmed that there are 10-18-year-olds out there with perceptive, funny things to convey about subjects ranging from the Selfridges building in Birmingham to tattooed LA rockers Buckcherry. What's more, the best of our critics seemed to be predominantly female – of the 14 finalists, only three were male. There were eight categories and two age groups in each: under 14s and 14-to-18s, though not all art forms had enough entries to qualify. Classical music critics aged under 14 are still thin on the ground.
The overall winner, 15-year-old Rebecca Grant, won the judges over with her demolition of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, which she described as a "beautifully eccentric odyssey" reduced to "disgusting dregs". "She managed to be witheringly critical without sounding as if she was grandstanding," said Liz Forgan, the chair of Arts Council England. Rebecca will win a trip to a film screening with a Guardian film critic, and get the chance to write about it in g2.
All runners-up get a £25 book token, and have their review published on guardian.co.uk today. Two were highly commended. Pandora Haydon's review of All My Sons at the Apollo theatre, London, "brilliantly captured the taut physicality of David Suchet's performance", said Andrew Dickson, our online arts editor. Frances Myatt – a winner in the under-14s dance category last year – impressed dance critic Judith Mackrell once again with her review of Mutatis Mutandis at the Macrobert theatre in Stirling.
Yinka Shonibare – the artist who put a ship in a bottle on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square – judged the visual art category with the Guardian's chief art critic Adrian Searle. Twelve-year-old Mark Hardy won the under-14s category with a review of Fiona Banner's installation of two fighter jets at Tate Britain. Jo Waugh, 15, won the 14-18 category with a sophisticated review of Recollection Has Not Been Mentioned by Tony Swain. "This is not criticism in a vacuum," Shonibare said. "I like the way the work is contextualised in relation to modernism, surrealism and Kandinsky. She also describes the ambiguity in the art world very well."
The winner of our architecture category, India Miller, was also prepared to look beyond the work and discuss its significance in the wider world. Her review of Selfridges in Birmingham impressed architect Amanda Levete, whose practice Future Systems designed it. "She sets the context of a 'city left in tatters', and alludes to the paradox of the democracy of impact that the building has had on Birmingham in becoming symbolic of the city while at the same time representing a 'bubble of wealth'," said Levete.
Sasha Millwood, 18, won the classical music category with a fluent review of the National Youth Orchestra conducted by Semyon Bychkov at the Royal Albert Hall. Ella McCarthy, 13, won the under-14s theatre category for what the Guardian's Michael Billington termed a "graphic account" of Macbeth in Regent's Park.
Two entries stood out in the TV category. Seventeen-year-old Lilith Johnstone's review of Mo "showed good awareness of the context, and of the elements that were generic and original," said critic Mark Lawson. A special mention should go to Nathan Ellis, who was a winner in the same category last year, and whose review was enjoyed by Lawson's fellow judge Fearne Cotton. "He gets straight to the point with his slick, humorous and analytical review. Rounded off nicely with a heartfelt quip, it didn't drag."
There was only one winner in the pop category – Fin Murphy, 17, for his Buckcherry review. Michael Hann, the editor of the Guardian's Film&Music section, said it had "a good opening that tricked me into believing I was going to read a string of cliches, then undercut expectations". His fellow judge Tinchy Stryder was moved to check out Buckcherry's music online "in spite of the genre not being my kind of thing" – or the review being all that positive. It was a reminder that reviews can expose you to art you wouldn't otherwise have considered or known about – and that's something valuable whether you're 10 or 80.
• This article was amended on 21 October 2010. The original misspelled the name of the winner of the classical musical category as Sasha Millward. This has been corrected.
What to see in the arts this autumn
Posted by The Sheet in Architecture News on September 14, 2010
There's a double helping of the Dane, Wall Street returns, Wallace and Gromit take up presenting – and Robyn goes for broke. Our critics pick this autumn's hottest shows
Theatre
Hamlet
Prepare for the latest battle of the princes. John Simm is first in the field at the Sheffield Crucible; then Rory Kinnear enters the running in a Nicholas Hytner production for the National Theatre. It's not, of course, a contest – but comparisons will be inevitable. Crucible, Sheffield (0114-249 6000), from 16 September; and Olivier, London SE1 (020-7452 3000), from 7 October.
The Thrill of it All
Forced Entertainment continues the British experimental tradition with an evening of vaudevillian capers, Japanese lounge music and tarnished sequins. Nuffield, Lancaster (01524 594151), 12-13 October. Then touring.
Tribes
Nina Raine follows her impressive debut play, Rabbits, with a drama about an unconventional family that has its own private language and rules. At its centre is Billy, who is deaf and desperately wants to get a word in edgeways. There will be both captioned and sign-language performances. Royal Court, London SW1 (020-7565 5000), from 20 October.
Love Steals Us from Loneliness
Playwright Gary Owen grew up depressed and suicidal in Bridgend. Now he returns to the town that's seen more than 20 suicides in recent years, to explore what's gone wrong and what's going right. Hobo's Rock Club, Bridgend (029-2064 6900), 7-16 October.
The Lady from the Sea
David Eldridge unveils a new version of Ibsen's tale of watery passion. Sarah Frankcom directs a production the Royal Exchange calls "Anna Karenina meets The Piano". Royal Exchange, Manchester (0161-833 9833), 13 October to 6 November.
The Picture
Jacobean dramatist Philip Massinger's play revolves around a Bohemian knight who sets off to war with an enchanted image of his wife that changes colour according to her fidelity, or lack thereof. Philip Wilson transposes the action to the mid-19th century, at the time of the birth of photo-graphy. Playhouse, Salisbury (01722 320333), from 4 November.
King Lear
Derek Jacobi teams up again with director Michael Grandage for a King Lear that will both tour nationally and be broadcast to more than 20 countries. Donmar Warehouse, London WC2 (0844 871 7624), from 7 December.
Beasts and Beauties
This blissful take on fairytales, drawn from Carol Ann Duffy's poetry, was first seen at the Bristol Old Vic in 2004 and is now being remounted in Hampstead. Hampstead theatre, London NW3 (020-7722 9301), 10-31 December.
Film
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
Just as the financial world goes into meltdown, Michael Douglas's Gordon Gekko is back with a sinister new plan to make more money and to destroy more lives. He's desperate to be reconciled to his environmentalist daughter, played by Carey Mulligan; she's engaged to a idealistic young Wall Street trader, Shia LaBeouf, who falls under Gekko's awful spell. Released on 6 October.
Eat, Pray, Love
Julia Roberts stars in this showy journey of personal growth, based on the bestselling memoir about a newly single woman finding herself. Reportedly, Roberts converted to Hinduism as a result of this film. Released on 24 September.
Made in Dagenham
Sally Hawkins stars in this real-life drama, based on the 1968 strike by women workers at the Ford Dagenham plant, who object to getting paid less than their male counterparts. A star-studded British cast includes Bob Hoskins, Rosamund Pike and Miranda Richardson as Barbara Castle. Released on 1 October.
The Kids Are All Right
This easy-going comedy has won hearts and minds across America. Julianne Moore and Annette Bening are a gay couple who have had children through artificial insemination – one each, from the same father. Now teenagers, these kids wish to contact their father; the parents have no choice but to agree. Released on 29 October.
Countdown to Zero
This terrifying documentary by British film-maker Lucy Walker assembles an impressive array of talking heads, including Gorbachev and Tony Blair, to talk about the real danger of a nuclear explosion by accident, or from committed terrorists. A cautionary tale for anyone who thinks that a nuclear catastrophe is something we don't need to worry about. Released on 12 November.
Architecture
RIBA Stirling prize 2010
The 15th instalment of British architecture's answer to Big Brother. A coterie of architects attends a gala dinner at London's Roundhouse (shown live on BBC2) to select the best building from a shortlist of six. The winner gets £20,000. Bookies' favourites are Zaha Hadid's Maxxi gallery in Rome and David Chipperfield's revamp of the Neues Museum in Berlin. 2 October. Details: architecture.com
World Architecture festival 2010
More than 1,000 architects from around the world will converge on Barcelona for this festival, at which an expert panel will name the world's best new building. Last year, the award went to the Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre, by Peter Rich Architects, which was built in South Africa on a confluence of the Shashe and Limpopo rivers. Barcelona, Spain, 3-5 November. Details: worldarchitecturefestival.com
Comedy
Tommy Tiernan
This is the first UK tour for the 1998 Perrier award winner since he got into hot water last year for Holocaust material in his native Ireland. (His Canadian tour was cancelled as a result.) A comic, said Tiernan in reply, has to be "reckless and irresponsible". Expect more saying of the unsayable, in a lyrical Donegal lilt. Sheffield Memorial Hall (0114-2789 789), 6 October. Then touring.
Tim Minchin
Having written his musical of Roald Dahl's Matilda for the RSC, which premieres in November, the shock-haired Australian troubadour Minchin returns to live comedy. His UK tour promises new songs, old favourites – and a 55-piece orchestra. Birmingham NIA (0121-780 4141), 8 December. Then touring.
Josie Long
Before this year's Edinburgh festival fringe, Josie Long's standup was big on crayons and kookiness but low on bite. Her fringe set retained the idealism but added sass, sharp teeth and a rousing call to political arms. Now she takes her message to the nation. The Stand, Edinburgh (0131-558 7272), tomorrow. Then touring.
Armstrong and Miller
Perrier nominees in 1996, Armstrong and Miller's TV fortunes were flatlining until they found mid-career success with their BBC1 sketch show. Now they take those popular primetime characters – including their toff-but-common RAF pilots – on the road. Bristol Hippodrome (0844 847 2325), 23 September. Then touring.
Dance
Nearly Ninety
Merce Cunningham created this, his final work, just months before his death last summer. For all the poignancy surrounding its UK premiere by his dance company, it's also a piece alive with invention, fusing dance, music, video and a futurist set. Barbican, London EC2 (020-7638 8891), 26-30 October.
Cinderella
A new staging of Prokofiev's fairytale score from Birmingham Royal Ballet mixes darker themes of loneliness and loss in among the tinsel. Hippodrome, Birmingham (0844 338 5000), 24 November to 12 December.
Iphigenie auf Tauris
In the months following Pina Bausch's death, her work has enjoyed a rich showing in the UK, culminating with this London premiere of Iphigenie auf Tauris, her 1973 staging of Gluck's opera. Sadler's Wells, London EC1 (0844 412 4300), 27–31 October.
The Nutcracker
English National Ballet celebrate their 60th anniversary with a fresh take on the Tchaikovsky classic. Where the last version had a cartoon-coloured tone, this will be Victorian picture-book pretty. Coliseum, London WC2 (0871 911 0200), 10-30 December. Then touring.
Classical/Opera
Promised End
English Touring Opera premieres what composer Alexander Goehr says will be his last opera: a Noh-style treatment of King Lear. Linbury, London WC2 (020-7304 4000), 9-16 October. Then touring.
Nine Rivers
Scotland's greatest living composer, James Dillon, finally gets proper recognition in his homeland with the first complete performance of his magnum opus. Rolf Gupta conducts the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. City Halls, Glasgow (0141-353 8000), 14 November.
Rebecca Saunders
The expat British composer is in residence at the Huddersfield Contemporary music festival, bringing with her a whole sheaf of UK premieres as part of the festival's rich spread of new music. Various venues, Huddersfield (01484 430 528), 19-28 November.
Tannhäuser
The Royal Opera's final new show of 2010 brings Wagner's "grand romantic opera" back to Covent Garden after more than 20 years, in a production by Tim Albery. Semyon Bychkov conducts. Royal Opera House, London WC2 (020-7304 4000), 11 December to 2 January 2011.
Visual arts
Brighton photo biennial 2010
This city-wide survey puts photo-graphers such as Robert Mapplethorpe alongside counterparts from across the globe.Venues around Brighton, 2 October to 14 November. Details: bpb.org.uk
Paul Gauguin
France's quintessential bohemian painter hasn't had a UK show this large in 50 years. This one leads us from Brittany to Polynesia, where Gauguin died in 1903. Tate Modern, London SE1 (020-7887 8888), 30 September to 16 January 2011.
British Art Show 7: In the Days of the Comet
The five-yearly whip through what's hip in art will be inspiring and annoying in equal measure. Venues around Nottingham, 23 October to 9 January 2011, then touring. Details: britishartshow.co.uk
Ai Weiwei in the Turbine Hall
The first non-western artist to take on the space, Weiwei is an outspoken critic of the Chinese government. How far will he go here? Tate Modern, London SE1 (020-7887 8888), from 12 October.
Move: Choreographing You
Explores 50 years of interaction between art and dance. Could be fascinating. Hayward Gallery, London SE1 (0844 875 0073), 13 October to 9 January 2011.
Pop
Robyn
Swedish starlet Robyn is as fiercely individual as it's probably possible for an unabashed pop star to be. Her latest venture involves releasing three albums in one year (a reaction to touring her last record for five years). Expect the highlights, from foul-mouthed hip-hop to sparkling electropop. O2 ABC, Glasgow (0844 477 2000), 18 October. Then touring.
LCD Soundsystem and Hot Chip
Spectacularly good value: James Murphy's outfit on (apparently) their final lap, with Hot Chip, touring their career-best album One Life Stand. Cardiff International Arena, 12 November. Then touring. Details: livenation.co.uk
Vampire Weekend/Janelle Monáe
Vampire Weekend, whose bookish, Afro-influenced indie really comes to life on stage, make an intriguing choice of support for their final tour date: the year's breakout soul star. Alexandra Palace, London N22 (0844 277 4321), 3 December.
Suede
Briefly the Indie Band Most Likely To (before they were swept away by the less complex pleasures of Oasis), Suede parlay the momentum from their reunion concert for Teenage Cancer Trust earlier this year into a huge London show. O2 Arena, London (0844 811 0051), 7 December.
Arcade Fire
Arcade Fire's burgeoning success suits their music: what can sound a bit overinflated on record makes perfect sense booming around stadiums with crowds singing along en masse. LG Arena, Birmingham (0844 338 8000), 8 December. Then touring.
Television
The Special Relationship
Michael Sheen steps back into Tony Blair's shoes for the third time in a new feature-length drama from screenwriter Peter Morgan. These are Blair: The Action Buddy years, as he enters centre-left on the world stage to find Bill Clinton – his husky sincerity nailed by Dennis Quaid – waiting with open arms. BBC2, this Saturday.
Community
Joel McHale (host of E!'s sarky entertainment news show The Soup) plays a dodgy lawyer sent back to college to get the degree he's been pretending he's had for years. Viva, October.
Any Human Heart
This adaptation of William Boyd's novel promises to be one of the season's classiest offerings. Jim Broadbent, Matthew Macfadyen and Sam Claflin take turns to play writer Logan Mountstuart, who tumbles through the 20th century while crossing paths with Jackson Pollock, Virginia Woolf, James Joyce and a succession of lovers. Channel 4, November.
The Walking Dead
Andrew Lincoln (Egg from This Life) plays a police officer who wakes up after an accident to find himself in the middle of an undead apocalypse. Based on the cult graphic-novel series, The Walking Dead could be the moment zombies get a True Blood-style makeover. FX, November.
Wallace and Gromit's World of Invention
Well-loved duo try out TV presenting for this six-part series, celebrating the mothers and fathers of scientific invention – as well as quirkier projects that never got beyond the drawing board. BBC1, November.
World music and jazz
AfroCubism
The original idea for Buena Vista Social Club is revived, uniting Malian stars including Toumani Diabaté with Cuba's finest. Barbican, London EC2 (020-7638 8891), 21 November; Usher Hall, Edinburgh (0131-228 1155), 2 December.
Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares
This all-female Bulgarian choir return to the UK for the first time in more than a decade. Queen Elizabeth Hall, London SE1 (0844 875 0073), 2 November. Then touring.
Vandermark 5/Atomic
Chicago saxophonist Ken Vandermark references everything from Sun Ra to rock; the Norwegian/Swedish Atomic ensemble splices old and new with ferocious vivacity. Vortex, London N16 (020-7254 4097), 16 September. Then touring.
London jazz festival
Includes Herbie Hancock's Imagine Project and shows by Sonny Rollins and Brad Mehldau. Various venues, London, 12-21 November. Details: londonjazzfestival.org.uk
Books
Freedom, by Jonathan Franzen
Franzen's first novel since 2001's The Corrections is getting rave reviews. 23 September.
Jump! by Jilly Cooper
The bonkbuster queen returns to what she does best: sex among the horsy set. 16 September.
Conversations With Myself, by Nelson Mandela
Mandela's collection of private letters, diaries, doodles and conversations has a foreword by Barack Obama. 12 October.
Map of a Nation, by Rachel Hewitt
The story of the Ordnance Survey map, from the 18th-century adventurers who slogged up hill and down dale, right up to today's digital database. 7 October.
• Chosen by Michael Billington, Peter Bradshaw, Andrew Clements, Robin Denselow, Alison Flood, John Fordham, Lyn Gardner, Jonathan Glancey, Brian Logan, Judith Mackrell, Alexis Petridis, Adrian Searle and Richard Vine.
• This column was amended on 14 September 2010. The original gave the opening date for Hamlet at the Crucible, Sheffield as 22 September. This has been corrected.
This week’s new events
Posted by The Sheet in Architecture News on June 18, 2010
London Festival Of Architecture, London
This family-friendly, cerebral celebration of the built environment in the capital encourages everyone to uncover new city nooks and dig out fascinating facts about the buildings they might simply walk past most days. The event begins with a paean to London's very own Ramblas, which, in case you did not realise, is John Nash's Regent Street. You can download an iPhone guide to the area, though further afield you can also find out a huge amount by attending special events in Stratford, the City and even on the Thames. Walks and talks are to the fore in this informative festival and you may even discover a new urban forest as you traverse a new artistic route through Bankside.
Various venues, Sat to 4 Jul, visit lfa2010.org
Iain Aitch
CREATE10, London
This six-week long event could provide a distraction from sport this summer, even if it is set in London's five Olympic boroughs. CREATE10 starts today with Young London: Into Music, an eight-week course for aspiring young musicians, culminating in live sets from artists including Rising Tide. Other highlights include Roam (5-21 Jul), set in a renovated library van. With presentations on bird watching and map-making during the day and acoustic and DJ sets in the evening, this should be the smallest, most diverse attraction in the East End. Also featured are numerous FutureHistories events, where two strangers are given "conversational menus" of 25 popular topics.
Various venues, Sat to 1 Aug, visit createlondon.org
Euan L Davidson
Africa Oyé, Liverpool
Sefton Park's trees can fool you into thinking you're far away from Liverpool city centre, not to mention the aroma of African, Caribbean and Indian food. The country's largest free world music festival, Africa Oyé attracts a cross-section of society to its markets and huge outdoor stage that's replicated at too few summer festivals. Haitians Boukman Eksperyans and Latin-influenced folk-blues man Victor Démé are among today's live acts. You'll need a few quid to enjoy the masseurs and exotic instrument stalls but local teens can just as easily wander down and have a cracking free day out.
Sefton Park, Sat & Sun, 12.30pm-9.30pm, free, visit africaoye.com
Marc Rowlands
Out & About
Home Of Metal Open Day, Wolverhampton, Saturday
Get your photo taken in your favourite metal T-shirt by Steve Gerrard and bring memorabilia to add to the first digital archive of metal music.
City-10, Queen Square
Team Green Britain Bike Week, Nationwide, Saturday to 27 Jun
"The UK's biggest mass participation cycling event", with a massive list of events for cyclists of all ages and experience levels.
Various venues
Exhibition Road Music Day, London, Sunday
With English songwriter Emily Maguire, grime artists Manga and Target and DJ Rob Da Bank among the folk, electronica, funk and classical acts appearing at various cultural institutions.
Exhibition Road, SW7
Vauxhall UK Beatbox Championships Grand Final, London, Friday
Twelve finalists compete, plus PAs from judges Tyte, MC Zani and Bellatrix, and a showcase from all-female crew the Boxettes.
O2 Academy Islington, N1
What to see in summer 2010
Posted by The Sheet in Architecture News on May 24, 2010
Stevie Wonder hits the UK, Toy Story goes 3D, and it's the last ever Big Brother – our critics pick the unmissable events of the season
Pop
Stevie Wonder
Anyone who can't face braving Glastonbury to see the Motown legend's Sunday-night set can head to London's Hyde Park for this headlining show. It's likely to be heavy on the hits, but a little too heavy on the audience participation, if complaints from disgruntled punters at Wonder's recent shows are anything to go by. And be warned: Jamiroquai seems to have been enticed out of retirement to provide support. Hyde Park, London W2, 26 June. Box office: 020-7009 3484.
This beloved Scottish festival is prized as much for its atmosphere as its lineup. And they're certainly wheeling out the big hitters this year: Eminem, Muse, Kasabian, Jay-Z, Black Eyed Peas, Florence and the Machine, La Roux, Dizzee Rascal and Paolo Nutini, among others. Balado, Kinross-shire, 9-11 July. Box office: 0844 499 9990.
There are those who would argue that going to a festival with no camping doesn't strictly constitute going to a festival: equally, there are those who wouldn't countenance doing anything else. Either way, this year's Wireless lineup looks strong: it includes Pink, the Ting Tings, LCD Soundsystem, Lily Allen, Missy Elliott, Jay-Z, Plan B and Friendly Fires. Hyde Park, London W2, 2-4 July. Box office: 020-7009 3484.
If you're prepared to travel abroad for your festival jollies, Spain's Benicassim can offer things no British event can: a beach and guaranteed good weather. This year you can also catch Kasabian, Ray Davies, the Prodigy, Lily Allen, the Specials, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Vampire Weekend, PiL, Dizzee Rascal, Hot Chip, Goldfrapp and the intriguingly named Love of Lesbian. Benicassim, Spain, 15-18 July. Box office: tickets.fiberfib.com
Of all the boutique festivals, Green Man is the longest-established. This year's eclectic bill sees something of a shift away from its nu-folk roots – but they presumably know their audience well enough to know what they'll like. Doves, Joanna Newsom and Flaming Lips are among the headliners; also on the roster are Billy Bragg, Fuck Buttons, Wild Beasts and Steve Mason. The traditional end of things, meanwhile, is held up by the Unthanks and Alasdair Roberts. Brecon Beacons, 20-22 August. Box office: 0871 424 4444.
Film
Greenberg
An indie comedy from Noah Baumbach, creator of The Squid and the Whale. Ben Stiller is Roger Greenberg, an unfulfilled middle-aged guy who house-sits for his more successful brother Phillip in LA, and begins a relationship with Phillip's nervy assistant Florence, played by mumblecore star Greta Gerwig. Released on 11 June.
Inception
The Batman movies made Christopher Nolan one of Hollywood's biggest hitters; now, he raises the stakes with this non-superhero film. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Cobb, a guy with a unique gift in a strange dystopian future where corporate espionage has engendered an unsettling new technology. Released on 16 July.
Toy Story 3
The first two Toy Stories were sublime, so hopes are high for the third instalment. Woody, Buzz and his toy pals are facing the much-feared betrayal/abandonment issues hinted at in the previous film. Their owner has grown up, and they are headed for the charity bins, to be played with by kids who do not appreciate them. So the toys plan a daring escape. Released on 21 July.
Mother
This movie from South Korea has acquired cult status on the festival circuit, and makes a welcome appearance in the UK. Kim Hye-ja plays an elderly woman whose twentysomething son still lives with her. When he is charged with murder, it is up to her to right what she is convinced is a terrible wrong, and to track down the real killer. She is a formidable amateur sleuth. But what will she – and we – discover? Released on 20 August.
The Illusionist
Sylvain Chomet, the director of the hugely admired animation Les Triplettes de Belleville, has scored another hit by resurrecting an unproduced script by Jacques Tati and bringing it to life with complete fidelity to his spirit. It is a gentle, melancholy tale about an old-school vaudevillian magician and entertainer who finds that modern showbusiness is leaving him behind. But a young girl still thrills to his act. Released on 20 August.
Scott Pilgrim vs the World
Comic fans suffering from withdrawal after Kick-Ass can find comfort in this adventure. Based on the graphic novel by Brian Lee O'Malley and directed by Edgar Wright, this stars Michael Cera as the introspective rock musician Scott. He falls hard for Ramona Flowers, but discovers that he has to vanquish her seven ex-boyfriends before he can win her heart. Released on 6 August.
Books
Ghost Light by Joseph O'Connor
In Edwardian Dublin, a young actress begins an affair with JM Synge. This latest from historical novelist O'Connor, author of Star of the Sea and Redemption Falls, is loosely based on the real story of the great Irish playwright's affair with Molly Allgood, moving between 1907 Dublin and 1952 London. Harvill Secker, 3 June.
Imperial Bedrooms by Bret Easton Ellis
Twenty-five years after Ellis burst onto the scene with Less Than Zero comes this sequel to his story of disaffected LA teenager Clay and friends. Middle-aged Clay is now a screenwriter, returning to LA to cast a movie and catch up with ex-girlfriend Blair, childhood best friend Julian (now a recovering addict running an escort service) and their old dealer Rip. Picador, 2 July.
Faithful Place by Tana French
Every holiday needs a good crime novel and French's skilful thrillers are tailor-made to terrify. This follows the story of Frank Mackey, who planned to run away to London with his girlfriend Rosie, aged 19. She failed to turn up; 20 years later he's still in Dublin, working as an undercover policeman. And then Rosie's suitcase is found. Hodder, 19 August.
A Truth Universally Acknowledged: 33 Reasons Why We Can't Stop Reading Jane Austen
Authors from Jay McInerney to Fay Weldon, Alain de Botton and Susanna Clarke ponder Austen's enduring appeal in this collection, edited by Susannah Carson. Martin Amis, for one, dreams of a 20-page sex scene between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy, with Darcy "acquitting himself uncommonly well". Particular Books, 3 June.
Visual art
Francis Alÿs: A Story of Deception
Belgian artist Alÿs, now based in Mexico City, has pushed a block of ice through sweltering streets, had 500 volunteers move a Peruvian sand dune, and walked the 1948 Armistice line between Palestine and Israel, trailing green paint behind him. This will be the largest survey of his work ever held. Tate Modern, London SE1 (020-7887 8888), 15 June-15 September.
Martin Creed: Down Over Up
A mid-career survey show of the Turner Prize-winning artist who made the lights go on and off, filled galleries with balloons, and had runners sprinting through Tate Britain. Creed works increasingly with performance, both with his band Owada and with dancers. His art can be funny, touching and outrageous, all carried off with wit, charm and a lack of pretension. Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh (0131-225 2383), 30 July–31 October.
Alice Neel: Painted Truths
Alice Neel (1900-1984) was a tough, single-minded and wonderful American portraitist whose subjects included her family and art-world friends, such as Andy Warhol (whom she painted in bandages after he was shot). An artist's artist, her work is idiosyncratic and acute. Expect art schools to be filled with teenage mini-Neels next term. Whitechapel Gallery, London E1 (020-7522 7888), 8 July–17 September.
John Cage: Every Day Is a Good Day
Cage did much more than compose 4 minutes and 33 seconds of silence. The composer, writer, mushroom-hunter, unconventional artist and collaborator with Merce Cunningham and Jasper Johns is undergoing a major revival. This show is curated by artist, writer and long-time fan Jeremy Millar, and is organised according to Cage's ideas of chance and indeterminacy. Baltic, Gateshead (0191-478 1810) 19 June‑5 September.
Picasso: The Mediterranean Years (1945-1962)
Complementing Tate Liverpool's current Picasso show, this exhibition, curated by Picasso biographer John Richardson and Bernard Ruiz-Picasso, focuses on the artist's Mediterranean roots, with portraits, sculptures, ceramics and prints, mostly taken from Picasso's own collection. Gagosian Gallery, London WC1 (020-7784 9960), 4 June–28 August.
Wolfgang Tillmans
Based in London for 20 years, Tillmans takes his relationship with the city as the starting point for this show. Abstract photographs and snapshots, portraits and places, old things and new: Tillmans's subjects are as rich and varied, as surprising and askew as the world itself. Serpentine Gallery, London W2 (020-7402 6075), 10 July–17 October.
Close Examination: Fakes, Mistakes and Discoveries
An exhibition for anyone interested in the skulduggery of forgery; the mangling of old paintings to make them fit later taste; or in the science of restoration and CSI-type investigation. The show analyses work from the gallery's own collection. National Gallery, London WC2 (020-7747 2885), 30 June–12 September.
Theatre
Women, Power and Politics
Nine dramatists, including Bola Agbaje, Moira Buffini, Rebecca Lenkiewicz and Sue Townsend, join forces to create a two-part show exploring the role of women in British politics. Given that there are more Lib Dems than women in the current cabinet, it seems a timely venture. Tricycle Theatre, London NW6 (020-7328 1000), 4 June-17 July.
Morte d'Arthur
Having adapted The Canterbury Tales for the RSC, the writer-director team of Mike Poulton and Gregory Doran now give us a compressed version of Malory's epic on Arthurian legend. Expect the round table, the holy grail and the hot, adulterous passion of Lancelot and Guinevere. Courtyard, Stratford-upon-Avon (0844 800 1110), 11 June-28 August.
Alice
Playwright Laura Wade and director Lyndsey Turner have just had a hit with Posh at the Royal Court. Now things get curiouser as the pair collaborate on a new version of Lewis Carroll's novel, in which Wonderland looks suspiciously like Sheffield. Over-eights only. Crucible, Sheffield (0114-249 6000), 17 June-24 July.
Greenwich and Docklands International festival
This outdoor festival can hold its head up proudly among its European peers. French company Ilotopie return with a new show, Oxymer – and there is a dazzling array of work from Catalonia. All events are free. Various sites around London, 24 June-4 July.
The Critic/The Real Inspector Hound
Sheridan is matched with Stoppard in two of the funniest plays ever written about theatre. In the first, a ludicrous play about the Spanish Armada descends into chaos; in the second, two critics get caught up in a Christie-style whodunit. Jonathan Church, who has boldly restored Chichester's fortunes, directs. Minerva, Chichester (01243 781312), 2 July-28 August.
You Me Bum Bum Train
Two hundred performers and an audience of just one – you. This show has been six years in the making, and now gets a full-scale production courtesy of the Barbican's BITE programme. LEB Building, London E2 (0845 120 7511), 6-24 July.
Earthquakes in London
Rupert Goold directs a Mike Bartlett play promising a rollercoaster ride through London from 1968 to 2525. Themes include social breakdown, population explosion and paranoia: a chance for Goold to exercise the expressionist talents he used in Enron. Cottesloe, London SE1 (020-7452 3000), from 28 July.
The Gospel at Colonus
Classic Greek drama is given a twist by US director Lee Breuer, who relocates Sophocles's tragedy to modern America and throws in a gospel choir, Blind Boys of Alabama, to collectively play the role of Oedipus. Edinburgh Playhouse (0131-473 2000), 21-23 August.
Architecture
The Serpentine Gallery summer pavilion
The gallery's 10th summer pavilion is as red as a London double-decker. It's also Jean Nouvel's first building in Britain, but only just: the French architect, best known for the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, has nearly completed a controversial office block in the City of London. This boldly geometric pavilion will be home to a series of cultural events. Serpentine Gallery, London W2 (020-7402 6075), 10 July–17 October.
Venice Biennale
The 12th International Architecture Exhibition is curated this year by the Pritzker prize-winning Japanese architect Kazuyo Sejima. This is one of the most delightful places to encounter the latest ideas in architecture. Venice, 29 August–21 November. Details: labiennale.org
Television
Secret Diaries of Anne Lister
Anne Lister was a woman way ahead of her time. A Yorkshire industrialist, land-owner and traveller, she was also a lesbian and lived with her lover, long before lesbians officially existed. Best of all, she was an avid diarist, recording her life in great detail – and often in code. Maxine Peake stars as Lister in this one-off 90-minute drama, written by Jane English and directed by James Kent. BBC2, June
Big Brother
Love it or hate it, there's no denying BB's influence and impact on the first decade of the 21st century. Remember the chickens, and Nasty Nick? And how much nastier it got over subsequent series? This is the end – the last BB ever. (To be read in Marcus Bentley's Geordie voice: It's D-Day in the Big Brother house ...) Channel 4, June
Father & Son
A four-part thriller written by Frank Deasy (Prime Suspect: The Final Act and The Passion) about an ex-crim who returns to Britain from a quiet life in Ireland, to save his teenage son from prison. Starring Dougray Scott, Stephen Rea, Sophie Okonedo and Ian Hart. ITV, June
Vexed
A three-part comedy drama about a pair of cops (Toby Stephens and Lucy Punch) with a lot of chemistry between them, as well as issues at home. Written by Howard Overman, who penned the hit show Misfits for E4. BBC2, August
I Am Slave
A one-off drama from the people who created the feature film The Last King of Scotland, tackling the issue of slavery in contemporary Britain. Inspired by real events, it tells the story of a young woman's abduction from her home in Sudan to London, where she is enslaved. Channel 4, August
Classical and opera
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Bryn Terfel finally sings a role he was born to play – that of Hans Sachs, in Wagner's most life-affirming work. Welsh National Opera presents Richard Jones's new production in Cardiff and Birmingham, before bringing it to the Proms as a concert performance. Millennium Centre, Cardiff (029-2063 6464), 19 June-3 July; Hippodrome, Birmingham (0844 338 5000), 6 & 10 July; Royal Albert Hall, London SW7 (0845 401 5040), 17 July.
What are Years
The highlight of Pierre Boulez's first-ever appearance at the Aldeburgh festival promises to be the world premiere of 101-year-old Elliott Carter's Marianne Moore song cycle, with Boulez conducting soprano Claire Booth and Ensemble Intercontemporain. Snape Maltings Concert Hall (01728 687110), Aldeburgh, 26 June.
The Duchess of Malfi
English National Opera and the theatre company Punchdrunk join forces to take over a vacant site in London's Docklands for an "immersive" production of Torsten Rasch's new opera, based on John Webster's 17th-century revenge tragedy. Great Eastern Quay, London E16. Tickets are not yet on sale, but you can register your interest here" 13-24 July.
Bach Day
As usual, the Proms will mark most of the year's significant musical anniversaries – Schumann, Chopin, Scriabin, Mahler – and will devote an entire day to Bach. John Eliot Gardiner conducts the Brandenburg Concertos, David Briggs plays organ works and Andrew Litton takes on an evening of orchestral arrangements. Cadogan Hall & Royal Albert Hall, London SW7 (0845 401 5040), 14 August.
Montezuma
The European colonisation of the new world is the theme of this year's Edinburgh international festival – and Carl Heinrich Graun's rarely performed opera from 1754, with a libretto by Frederick the Great of Prussia, fits into it perfectly. A Mexican production team stages this story of the Spanish conquest of Mexico, with a cast drawn from both the old and new worlds. King's, Edinburgh (0131-473 2000), 14, 15 & 17 August.
East Neuk festival
Expect high-class chamber music at this Scottish event, with both the Belcea and Elias quartets in residence. Programmes range across more than three centuries, from Tallis to Britten. Various venues, Fife (0131-473 2000), 30 June to 4 July.
Jazz
Wynton Marsalis
Marsalis and the Lincoln Center orchestra celebrate 80 years of big-band jazz history with three big London concerts, as well as workshops and jams at the Vortex Club and elsewhere. The Hackney gigs feature both an afternoon family concert and evening show, while the Glasgow performance is part of the Glasgow international jazz festival. Barbican Hall, London E8 (0845 120 7500), 17-18 June; Hackney Empire, London E8 (020-8510 4500), 20 June; Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow (0141-353 8000), 27 June.
The Necks
Every performance by Australia's cult improv trio the Necks is different – though you can be sure that each will be a seamless episode of free improvisation. Hypnotic hooks emerge and fade from trance-like drones, jazz phrasing is touched on and abandoned, and drum sounds are both textural and rhythmic. It's a unique ensemble, with a big cult following. Tron Theatre, Glasgow (0141-552 4267), 22 June.
Pat Metheny Band
Guitar star Metheny came to Britain with his one-man-band Orchestrion project earlier in the year, but this show represents the Metheny his long-time fans know: the leader of an accessible quartet fusing Latin music, jazz themes and lyrical guitar. Regulars Lyle Mays (piano), Steve Rodby (bass) and dynamic drummer Antonio Sanchez complete the lineup. Barbican, London EC2 (0845 120 7500), 10 July.
Kurt Elling
Jazz singer and multi-award nominee Elling has it all – Sinatra's soaring sound and charismatic cool, a dazzling jazz-improv technique, and an intelligent audacity about picking unusual material. Ronnie Scott's, London W1 (020-7439 0747), 30 June-3 July.
World music
Womad
This festival can either be a miserable mudbath or an easy-going weekend in the Wiltshire countryside – but it's worth risking it for an impressive lineup. From Congo, Staff Benda Bilili play rousing rhumba-rock from their wheelchairs; and from Australia there's the soulful Aboriginal star Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu. Plus Nigeria's master drummer Tony Allen, the Kamkars from Kurdish Iran, and great American veteran Gil Scott-Heron. Charlton Park, Malmesbury, Wiltshire, 23-25 July. Box office: 0845 146 1735.
Cambridge Folk Festival
There are dozens of good UK folk festivals this summer – but Cambridge still has the highest profile, partly because it has become an international event with increasing emphasis on American stars. This year the line-up includes country legend Kris Kristofferson, the Carolina Chocolate Drops and the multilingual Pink Martini, along with Malian star Rokia Traoré. The British contingent includes the Unthanks and Seth Lakeman. Cherry Hinton Hall, 29 July to 1 August. Box office: 01223 357851.
Dance
Pleasure's Progress
Will Tuckett visits the dark underbelly of 18th-century England, mixing dance and opera in this homage to William Hogarth. The cast includes the excellent Matthew Hart. Jerwood DanceHouse, Ipswich (01473 295230), 18-19 June, then touring.
Russian ballet in London
Heavyweight Moscow ballet giant the Bolshoi and the St Petersburg featherweight, the Mikhailovsky, fight it out for London's summer ballet audience. The Bolshoi have a new staging of Coppélia and Ratmansky's Russian Seasons, while the Mikhailovsky bring the classic Gorsky-Messerer Swan Lake, as well as Chabukiani's uber-Soviet ballet Laurencia. The Mikhailovsky are at the Coliseum, London WC2 (020-7632 8300) from 13 July; The Bolshoi are at the Royal Opera House, London WC2 (020-7304 4000), from 17 July.
Carlos Acosta
Acosta returns with his latest mixed programme – and his performances include debuts in the beautiful Russell Maliphant solo, Two, and Edwaard Liang's Sight Unseen, with Zenaida Yanowsky. Coliseum, London WC2 (020-7632 8300), from 28 July.
Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch: Agua
Following Bausch's death last year, her company opted to continue touring her work. Agua, seen here in the UK for the first time, is a tragicomic take on life played out against Brazilian landscapes. Playhouse, Edinburgh (0131 473 2000), 27-29 August.
Comedy
Penn and Teller
Stand aside, Derren Brown. Perform your disappearing act, Paul Daniels. Las Vegas magic act Penn and Teller are coming to town, for five nights in London this July. The duo's 30-year partnership has yielded multiple Emmy nominations, an appearance on The Simpsons – and, of course, their hit 1990s Channel 4 series, The Unpleasant World of Penn & Teller. This is their first live UK appearance in 16 years. Hammersmith Apollo, London W6 (0844 844 4748), 14-18 July.
Hans Teeuwen
Already confirmed for the Edinburgh fringe this year, the once-seen, never-forgotten Dutch comic Teeuwen unleashes his new show Smooth and Painful on an unsuspecting world. Even if you've seen the twisted cabaret of this demoniacal Nick Cave of comedy before, you've no idea what he'll come up with next. Pleasance Beyond, Edinburgh (0131-556 6550), 4-29 August.
My Name Is Sue
Winner of a Total Theatre award at last year's Edinburgh fringe, this frumpy cabaret once again unites the talents of composer/performer Dafydd James and director Ben Lewis, of the terrific Inspector Sands theatre group. James dons a blouse and skirt to play the titular housewife, who sits at a piano and whacks out the musical story of her unheralded life. Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff (029 2031 1050), 4 and 5 June. Then touring.
Emo Philips
A UK comedy favourite since the 1980s, Philips returns for the first time since 2006 to play – er, a tent in a field in Suffolk. Signing up the falsetto-voiced man-child is a real coup for Latitude: judging by his last British shows, age (he's now in his mid-50s) hasn't mellowed this relentless dispenser of disturbed one-liners. Latitude festival, July 18, then touring; at the Pleasance Cabaret Bar, Edinburgh (0131-556 6550), 5-29 August.
• Previews by Peter Bradshaw, Alexis Petridis, John Fordham, Michael Billington, Lyn Gardner, Robin Denselow, Brian Logan, Andrew Clements, Sam Wollaston, Judith Mackrell, Adrian Searle, Jonathan Glancey and Alison Flood
• This article/item was amended on 24 May 2010 to remove a box office
phone number at the request of ENO, as tickets must be registered for
online.
Video: From rock to rubble – how Manchester lost its music
Posted by The Sheet in Architecture News on March 31, 2010
Loops writer Owen Hatherley explains how, in the city that helped break the Sex Pistols and Joy Division, property development became the new punk rock
Culture from chaos: where next for Iraqi art?
Posted by The Sheet in Architecture News on March 16, 2010
We know about the devastation and looting – but what impact has war had on Iraq's artistic heritage? Seven years after the invasion, Hadani Ditmars returns to Baghdad to find out
We hear plenty about the horror of Iraq. There are bombs in market places, at hotels and official buildings. There are sectarian rifts, dozens of militias and politicians who claim to be fighting terror yet who have their own private armies. Fifty-three billion dollars has been spent on post-invasion aid, and yet 40% of Iraqis are without drinking water. Iraq is currently ranked the fifth most corrupt country in the world by Transparency International.
Freedom isn't, perhaps, the first word that springs to mind when you think about Iraq. But it is the word used by Haydar Daffar, an Iraqi film-maker in his late 30s, whose 2005 documentary The Dreams of Sparrows recounts the chaos and tragedy of post-invasion Iraq through the eyes of its artists. He supports himself – like film-makers everywhere – by making commercials. "There is freedom here today," he smiles when I meet him on a late February afternoon at the Hewar Gallery, one of Baghdad's remaining few. "Freedom of expression and freedom to kill."
I returned to Iraq after seven years away, a few days before last weekend's election. The last time I was here, it was in the wake of the 2003 invasion; I was researching my book Dancing in the No Fly Zone. Now I'm here as a co-editor at New Internationalist planning our May issue on Iraq. As gangs of journalists in full body armour roam the streets of Baghdad looking for stories on the election, I'm on a different mission entirely: to find signs of cultural life in a place that was once called the City of Peace.
As Daffar and I drive through Baghdad's toxic traffic in our beaten-up old car – it can now take two hours to cross town, if you don't die of exhaust inhalation en route – he tells me his story. He was threatened by both Sunni and Shia militias and forced to flee. He's not sure why, but suspects it's because The Dreams of Sparrows contained references to Baghdad's thriving underground drinking culture (one that he thoroughly enjoys, he lets slip). Admittedly, that was back in the bad old days of sectarian militia terror – days that, depending on who you ask, lasted anywhere from 2004 until very recently.
As we drive past a plethora of election posters depicting candidates promising peace, prosperity and even national unity, those ideas seem very far away. Pistols with silencers are big these days in Baghdad, as are mortar rounds lobbed at the green zone, car bombs and police violence. A whole family was recently beheaded here by an unknown hit squad, and a university professor gunned down in the street.
But at an old Ottoman villa on the banks of the Tigris – apparently once inhabited by Gertrude Bell, who was here with TE Lawrence in the 1920s and, amazing as it sounds, helped draw up the borders of present-day Iraq – I encounter a parallel world. The building has recently been converted into a theatre, and a group of young actors and dancers are rehearsing for a new play – a fusion of dance, drama and film – about Iraqi poet Mudaffer al-Nawab. Imprisoned after the 1963 CIA-backed Ba'athist coup, al Nawab, a communist writer, now makes strident statements against both American occupation and the Iraqi government from his home in Syria. The play's choreography carries echoes of the jazzy yet balletic style of diva Twyla Tharp, as well as break dancing, and even the Iraqi folk circle dance called chobi.
Their enthusiasm is so infectious that I put down my notebook and join in. Afterwards, I get talking to the cast. A 21-year-old from a poor Shia neighbourhood says that he was threatened by Mahdi militia a few years ago for "having long hair" and "being an actor", but that now the situation has improved. One of his colleagues, an 18-year-old named Ali from the same neighbourhood, who does a mean moonwalk, tells me that his father was killed by Saddam Hussein for belonging to the Dawa party. He says his two brothers – both religious – disapprove of his theatre work, but his mother comes to all his performances.
Another actor, Bushra Ismail, is a veteran of the Iraqi theatre scene and recently won the award for best Arab actress in Cairo. "Under Saddam we suffered from censorship," she recounts, "but now it's the religious parties we have to be careful about offending. There are a whole new set of red lines that we can't cross." Still, everyone is excited about opening night.
In the nearby neighbourhood of Karradeh, the National Theatre (a once-grand, now slightly derelict building, built during the Iran–Iraq war) is closed for restoration when I visit. Now surrounded by colourful election posters, the theatre began evening performances again at the end of 2008 (safer daytime performances were the norm following the invasion).
The National's information director Nabeel Taher, a serious-looking man in his 40s, tells me that although there is still insufficient arts funding from the government, he feels hopeful about the future of Iraqi culture. "We feel much freer than before," he says, citing a recent political satire by Iraqi playwright–director Haider Monather that lampooned the then head of parliament Mahmoud al-Mashhadani. "[Al-Mashhadani] sent the actors flowers and a congratulatory card," he explains. Such a thing would have been unimaginable a decade ago.
The theatre, which under the Ba'ath party provided much-needed relief from the twin terrors of sanctions and Saddam, met with hardships after the 2003 invasion. It was bombed twice in 2008; the first time during a production of an anti-militia play, and the second when the organisation's celebrations for International Theatre Day 2008 clashed with a huge anti-occupation demonstration lead by Shia leader Moqtada al-Sadr just across the street.
"Some militiamen crossed over and threatened to hang us from a pole unless we stopped our celebrations," says Taher. "But I tried to reason with them, saying: 'Look, we are just artists, not politicians, and we are all Iraqis after all.'" The result was a National Theatre-sponsored play about the life of the Shia Imam Hossein, produced on location in Sadr City with a mixture of professionals and local amateurs – including a few militia members. One even left the militia to become an actor, Taher reveals, but won't talk to us about it because he doesn't want to dwell on his past.
Dwelling on the past is a big deal at the Iraqi Museum in Karkh, an area of Baghdad that shares borders with an old quarter of the city turned tough innercity neighbourhood. The museum was famously looted after the invasion – as US tanks stood by – although several of the artefacts stolen were allegedly part of an inside job. It officially re-opened last year after extensive repairs and renovations, with at least half of the objects yet to be found.
Making my way past security checkpoints flying Shia banners, I meet up with Muwafaq al-Taei, an architect and town planner who was both lionised and terrorised by the old regime. He was the designer of some of Saddam's more grandiose public projects, but also an unrepentant and spied-upon communist. He walks with a limp after being shot by US forces a few years ago while working on a housing project for Marsh Arabs in the south. Now 68, he possesses an unbridled enthusiasm for his country's heritage.
As it turns out, Taei is to be my guide around the museum – valiantly stepping in when the official curator refuses to do the job without a $500 fee. What follows is a fascinating two-hour lecture on Iraqi history, from the Babylonian queen Semiramis, who successfully dammed the Euphrates for both irrigation and defence purposes, through to caliphs who made deals with various sects and factions to stay in power. "You have to understand the past to make sense of the present," Taei says.
Sadly, the glories of Iraq's civilisation are displayed for a lonely few. Any hopes of a surge in cultural tourism have been quashed by the precarious security situation. There are far more people working at the museum – including a swarm of middle-age men smoking and chatting in the lobby – than there are visitors.
Later, Taei takes me to Sheikh Ma'rouf, a tough neighbourhood only 500 metres from the museum, to see the tomb of Zumurrud Khatun, a caliph's wife. This exquisite example of Seljuk-style Abbasid architecture should be, by rights, a Unesco world heritage site. Instead, it lies derelict in a neighbourhood full of guns and garbage. When the keeper of the tomb makes threatening noises, Taei saves the day through sheer charm.
Iraqis always seem to find a way of rising to the occasion. The next day, as I made my way through the seven circles of security hell at Baghdad airport (the same day that bombs ripped through Baquba), the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra performed a triumphant concert of Beethoven and Brahms at the Institute of Fine Arts in the Mansour neighbourhood, attended by several hundred people, mainly students and families. An excited young music student Skyped me. "It was amazing," he said. "It made me feel proud to be Iraqi."
• Hadani Ditmars is an editor at New Internationalist and the author of Dancing in the No Fly Zone. She was in Baghdad researching the May issue of NI on Iraq, seven years after the invasion.
TwiTrip to Leeds – the verdict
Posted by The Sheet in Architecture News on February 25, 2010
Benji Lanyado's Twitter-led trip in search of the soul of Leeds took him from baroque music in a Grade II-listed building to a punk gig in an old working men's club - via the oldest pub in the city, naturally
This TwiTrip had a tough act to follow. The finale of my last Twitter-fuelled adventure - to Blackpool - involved a transvestite cabaret act. Hopefully, Leeds was up to the challenge.
As with all of our previous adventures, nothing was planned. I was to turn up at Leeds station, sling questions into the Twittersphere, and wait for tips to be fired at my profile. Then I would do exactly as I was told. You can see how it played out here ... and below you'll find what the good people of Twitter helped me find.
The Twitter tips
It has become TwiTrip tradition to precede the day's events with a little train-time trivia. As I set off from King's Cross, whizzed through snow-covered Peterborough and headed for Leeds, I requested some intriguing facts to keep me entertained. The Twitterers delivered. I was informed by kateigray that the tripe stall in Kirkgate market was the first on the internet; by Seven_Arts that Jimmy Saville lived in Roundhay Park; and by MatMurray that he once saw a woman fall over in the Leeds City Markets, after which a nearby dog tried to mount her. Not all trivia is created equal.
Then I was there, posing like a hopeless tourist in front of the station. And I was hungry. The mob roared loudly, and there seemed a near-unanimous recommendation. According to BigLittleThings, LeedsGrub, and tenderbranston, the best sarnie in town was to be found at Pickles & Potter. It seemed dangerous to ignore the sandwich advice of anyone who traded as 'tenderbranston', so I duly plodded into the town centre and joined a queue stretching out of the door and into the Queens Arcade - this was clearly a popular choice. Inside, they made me a thing of beauty: slices of red-centred beef joined in gastronomic matrimony with a hunk of smoked cheese, a wholegrain bap, and some kind of marmalade. A very good start indeed.
Next up, I requested some cultural tips ... a wide remit that was answered by scores of tips. I was most intrigued by Marc_Leeds' suggestion of a "forty-part motet" at Opera North in the Grand Theatre. The installation is housed in an assembly room on the upper levels of the Grade II-listed Grand Theatre on New Briggate, and comprises 40 audio speakers arranged around the room, each playing an individual part of Thomas Tallis' Spem in Alium. The effect was extraordinary. In pale midday light filtered by stained-glass windows on all sides, people were drifting in and out, settling on benches equidistant from all 40 speakers, and closing their eyes to listen. I joined them, and - quite literally - became surrounded by music. Have a listen for yourself below.
I needed to refuel, and took the advice of amandeep86 and loveleedsmore by nipping to the Opposite Cafe stand in the Victoria Arcade, where a nifty barista made me a coffee topped with a beautiful swirling foam motif. It powered me onwards, to the marvellous tiled hall of the Leeds Art Gallery, as recommended by djdavedanger and leedslibraries, who had tweeted at me from their offices inside the building.
Having tasted the cultural offerings of a couple of Leeds blockbusters, I wanted something a little off-grid. Luluartist came up with the goods, directing me to Project Space Leeds, a fascinating venue on the ground floor of a newly-built block on the banks of the canals south of the train station. Inside the industrial, high-ceilinged space, the work of local artists was displayed on sparse walls - Matthew Shelton's piece was a collage of drawings on pieces of paper found scattered across the city, including certificates of achievement, shopping lists, and ASBOs. Inventive.
It was Friday, and it was 5pm. I had little choice but to go to the pub. Tonypreece directed me to Whitelocks, the oldest pub in Leeds, first licenced in 1715. It took me half an hour to find it. The pub is hidden down a tiny alley leading off Briggate, accessed by a blink-and-you'll-miss-it gap in between a Carphone Warehouse and a branch of Northern Rock. Once located, under a illuminated lantern and a fug of cigarette smoke wafting from the smokers congregated outside, it was superb; a nostalgic ye olde pub of polished brass pumps, stained glass and a cacophony of post-work chatter.
Onwards. More pubs. Jccgardner, lindseyhampton and steererscott aided my crawl, pointing me towards The North Bar, home to a creative crowd and more beers than you could shake a drunkard at. I opted for a delicious pint of Roosters, brewed just north of the city in Knaresborough, before moving on to my next stop. Mostly due to its name, and Talullah and guyatkinson's recommendation, I headed to trendy bar A Nation of Shopkeepers, where the stringent door policy refused entry to those wearing sportswear, pirates, fancy dress, large groups, jefforys (anyone?), and grumpy faces. A largely student crowd were largely drunk, crammed on to leather sofas under arty projections as electro music beeped around the room.
My stomach needed lining, and foodiesarah and ecalpemosgreen recommended Nash's as the finest fish and chips in the city ... perfect. A giant lump of cod coated in thick batter and pillowed by chunky chips basted in salt and vinegar. Yes and more yes.
Fuelled by delicious carbs and salty fat, I headed for Headingley for my final stop of the day. Tips had been flying in about the Brudenell Social Club since the TwiTrip was announced - one tipster, djthedutchess, described it as a "gorgeous, shabby, ubercool ex working men's club in Hyde Park". The band playing that night, The Eureka Machines, had noticed the Twitter noise, and invited me along, too, bless their little punk rock socks. The venue was superb; on a suburban backstreet in the Hyde Park area, where a community pub hosts live music in a musty low-ceilinged side room. I also managed to snap my favourite photo of the day just outside, as an immaculately-Mohawked local loitered near the entrance.
And the Eureka Machines did the business, blasting out punk to an adoring local crowd as front man Chris Catalyst cracked jokes in between songs. Their final number even came with a wonderfully soppy intro that you can treat your ears to here:
From baroque polyphony in a Grade II-listed building to a punk gig in an old working men's club ... another end to another excellent TwiTrip. Thanks for all your help.
• Benji stayed at the Quebecs Hotel (doubles £89 per night including breakfast and VAT; +44 (0)113 244 8989; theetoncollection.com/quebecs), as recommended by LoveLeedsMore and tonypreece, which has double rooms from £89 B&B. East Coast's trains operate direct up to every half hour between London and Leeds. Advance returns, booked online, start from £26 Standard Class or £94 First Class. Times and fares also on 08457 225225 or by visiting any staffed station
• All photographs by Benji Lanyado