Chatterbox - still talking nonsense

I know it’s a classic but I hadn't ever seen The Crucible performed before.  Of course the NT Olivier has the opportunity for dramatic stagings, and the water cascading on to the stage as we entered got things off to a spectacular start.  I was pleased we were up in the gods rather than my frequent cheap front row option though, when I saw the waterproofs being handed out! I wasn't at all sure if I would like it - some 'classic' plays can be a bit too worthy, weighed down with their own self importance, and this one comes with its own trolley load of significance, so I deliberately hadn't read any reviews in case they put me off.     The play is based around the Salem Witch Trials of the 1690s, and was written as Arthur Miller's commentary on the McCarthy era and the activities of the Un-American Activities Committee.  The action starts with single accusation to deflect blame and settle a score which swiftly spirals, capturing and then devouring everyone it...

I've fed wild birds for years, and although I only rarely get more exotic visitors, I love watching the sparrows, robins, blue tits and occasional finch snacking on the offerings, the starlings squabbling between themselves, jackdaws working out how to get food out of the feeders designed to stop them, and even the doves and wood pigeons scoffing food down and bringing their growing families to visit. In 2019, after reading an article about the decline in hedgehog numbers, I decided to follow one of the 'top tips' on how to help. Physiological - Food and shelter According to the article, all that was needed was to leave out kitten food for hedgehogs during the month of October which is the main fattening up period before hibernation.  Seemed simple enough I thought, commit to one month of a bit of faff, with the benefit that I would have cute visitors dropping by in the evenings.   Three years later I realise I had no idea what I was letting myself in for.  In that f...

  Yesterday I joined a Rejoin march.    Previous protests have had up to a million attend, and this was a bijou c50,000 instead.      Full disclosure I could only get there for the final bit, but it was good to see that it was still a very civilised and enjoyable experience.     One of the things that struck me though was the older demographic.   Of course, this has become a thing at other protests too, not least I suspect because with the new scary laws to criminalise even peaceful protest, the young can’t really afford at the moment to take part.   Retired people though have far less to lose (at the moment anyway!).    For me, the most interesting bit was the train journey home – the carriage was almost empty, but included a conservative, a hardish lefty and softish lefty who had all been to the march (and to the previous ones).   Sounds a bit like the start of a joke, but we had a really good conversation and it was a...

This isn’t original, just a stream of consciousness wail into the wilderness! Since 2016 I seem to have spent my life in a cloud of rage about the state of our country. One of the things that makes me the most angry is the ‘culture war’ designed to manufacture anger and grievances against minorities or in fact anyone who disagrees with the bullies in charge and as a side effect, making people like me very angry too. I did my bit too late in the Brexit referendum, believing, stupidly, that people could see through the lies being told to the self interest sitting behind it. Obviously I got that wrong, but not by much, which gave me hope. So, I campaigned and marched my way through to 2020. The pandemic gave another outlet for disinformation, division and hatred on social media, but also seeping into the real world, and this seems to have now become the norm, rather than, as I think some of us hoped, leading to a kinder and more rational world.  Since then, I deliberately took ...

I  first saw Mark Rylance play Johnnie Rooster in those glorious pre-brexity days of 2010 when Cool Britannia was fading but not yet a distant memory. I was not sure I wanted to see it again but I am glad I did.  With Mark Rylance back again it was another memorable experience.  The same play, but where the divisions between the different classes and cultures of Englishness had seemed to be the start of something in 2010, there was now an air of tiredness and decay, a sense that this might be the end instead.  I love when a play flexes and still speaks to the times.   What I don't know is whether it will survive another lead actor, as Mark Rylance continues to be the life force of the play.  I'd quite like to see him do it again in another 10 years, although he might have to forgo the handstands then.

  Jodie Comer is a force of nature.  Not sure anything more needs to be said but I am probably going to say it anyway.  I saw this powerful new play by Suzie Miller at a NT live screening. This is a solo performance which takes us through the bruising journey of a rape case through the legal system.  I felt completely wrung out by the end it was so beautifully done.  What I didn't enjoy was the 20 or so minutes of documentary/round table discussion at the start of the evening, slotted in before the play, covering the issues and realities around how the legal system treats sexual offence cases.  It was all good and meaningful stuff and the charity that was highlighted clearly does important work, but it gave me too much of a steer on how to think - I don't like being told how to think!  I wanted my outrage to come from experiencing the play, not from being told about it first.  For that reason it took me about 10 minutes to settle down and just get...

Immersive experiences are becoming a bit of a thing aren't they?  I'm not that bothered about virtual reality (the headsets give me a headache) but the less technology  heavy alternatives are something I am beginning to love.  I have just visited the Yayoi Kusama exhibition at the Tate, which includes a couple of her infinity mirror rooms. There is something a bit like awe when completely immersed in light and darkness, which felt a bit like being a single mote in the universe. After the years of lockdown, with screens being the main interaction with the world, it feels liberating to be engulfed in something.  Earlier this year I went to the Van Gogh immersive experience, which didn't give the same sense of transcendence, but 'walking through' the paintings certainly gives a different perspective, and somehow a more complete one than just looking at them.  Not the same as looking at a picture at all.  Obviously the immersive art experience has been around f...

I am in love, that giddy sort where you want to tell everyone about your new love, and your heart leaps every time someone mentions them. One of the features of a crush is the need to mention them as often as possible to anyone who will listen. So, I am going to gush - look away if it is too painful.  My new love is Alice Oseman's Heartstopper series. I had read some of the graphic novels and webcomic and thought it was beautifully done, but missed the Netflix series when it first appeared. I've made up for it since.  The TV series is a real gem, a shining jewel which has unfrozen my cynical old heart. There have been a lot of reviews celebrating the inclusivity and importance of authentic casting and the representation of the LGBTQ+ teen experience in this series, and they absolutely are some of the reasons it is so successful but not the only ones.  Using fresh takes on romcom tropes, idealised and pure of heart it may be, but these feel like real 3D teens navigating...

After a 10 year gap in blogging or writing a journal of any kind, I'm feeling the need to empty my brain of thoughts and opinions that don't really sit well in Facebook, Twitter, Insta or any of the other multitude of places that exist for immediate and definitive responses to people and things.  So, I am starting off with some recent jottings, and see what happens. It might be a bit of a diary, or a place to work out what I think about something. Or sometimes I might just want to write something a bit more nuanced and so this is going to be my new sketchpad. It's going to be a bit messy but let's see how it goes!