Chatterbox - still talking nonsense

 Another double bill day, this time to see the new Ai Weiwei exhibition at the Design Museum and then on to Private Lives at The Donmar. Ai Weiwei - Making Sense One very large room with lots going on in it, I loved the ‘fields’ on the floor, all made of various found objects. Lovely to look at and each one raising questions of their own.  Studio material, made of the remains of the porcelain sculptures smashed when Weiwei’s studio was demolished by the Chinese state, alongside the beautifully laid out porcelain balls that turned out to be ancient cannon balls, and then the porcelain teapot spouts in their thousands, all broken off during or after the manufacturing process for being imperfect.  They all say something about destruction but have been made into something beautiful instead.  I liked the Lego reinterpretation of Monet’s Waterlillies too, each single block a pixel in the field of colour, and with the entrance to the hideaway used by Weiwei and his father t...

My diary notes for this week include an interesting theatre trip and a selection of movies The Lehman Trilogy This week's theatre trip took us to a matinee of The Lehman Trilogy, which I missed first time around.  At nearly three and a half hours long (although with 2 intervals) this is a bit of a marathon, but it actually didn’t feel like that, in fact the last act felt a bit rushed in the end.   A great revolving set with a cast of three embodying all of the characters with just a change of physicality and voice, and a live pianist to accompany the action and set the mood.   This history of a family and brief history of the growth of America and capitalism at the same time,  was really interesting and enjoyable, particularly in walking us through the journey from middle men to traders to the consumerism bit where they were lending people money they don’t have to buy things they don’t need. The tone was a bit elegiac and I would have liked a bit more anger at t...

We decided to make the most of the day with a trip to the Lightroom before heading on to the theatre David Hockney Bigger & Closer (not smaller and further away)  This needed to live up to its ticket price and I am pleased to report I didn’t feel robbed by the end.  We struggled a bit to find the entrance that was open, so did that comedy thing of trying every single door before  finding the one that actually worked.   Once inside though, the show is a huge 360 degree tour through Hockney’s work, with the artist as our guide, and complete with a musical interlude.    I enjoy these ‘experience’ type events which present the work to you in a different way, meaning you see things you may not have caught before.    And for me that included a better understanding of Hockney's photo collage work as well as seeing some of the newer work for the first time.   Colourful and engaging,    I loved the accessibility of it all too, ...

I’ve been on leave so I’ve had time for a bit more film and tv than usual.  This is my half time report…   God’s Creatures   I saw this at the proper cinema which was great for the cinematography on display with the wind blown seascapes.  A domestic drama set in a run down Irish fishing community where people don’t learn to swim because if they did they might be obliged to help anyone in trouble.  We get this nugget early on and it sums up the sort of place very succinctly.  A very slow burn which is all built around Emily Watson and Paul Mescal’s performances as a mother and son.  I love the choices that both of these actors make and their abilities to deliver such moral ambiguity in a compelling way.  This is a story about a sequence of tiny choices that turn out to have big and ultimately devastating impacts. This is particularly true for Watson’s character whose adoration for her son has blinded her to his faults but finds herself torn between...

A few films I have watched over the past week, all perfect to while away the Bank Holiday with your Easter eggs and alcohol of choice. Brian and Charles   Such a sweet film telling the tragicomic story of the relationship between a man and his robot Charles Petrescu. An odd couple buddy movie, with emphasis on the odd, this story explores loneliness and the joys of friendship.  Along the way we get to see Brian experience some of the pains of parenthood  whilst also dealing with bullies and falling in love.  Charles, an innocent with some entertaining dance moves, gets to find out about the world including the bad bits, but his optimism pulls him through.  This superficially silly story has real heart and looks great with the jumbled dark interiors and light wide open spaces. And hang around for the rap in the credits.  Loved it.  (Streaming on Prime)  Tetris  Taron Egerton plays the real life character Henk Rogers with a 1980’s moustache and...

Well that was an unforgettable hour and a half!  High expectations preceded this and I am pleased to say the production definitely delivered.  I saw Helen McCrory’s  Medea at the National and she was amazing -  all powerful ice cold fury.  Sophie Okonedo’s Medea is different again.  A powerful wounded creature emerging from her lair,  prowling the stage seething with rage and vengeance but with sharp wit and intelligence too, gaining sympathy which made the horror all the more effective.   The performance in the round in a brand new and very comfortable theatre meant that the whole audience was gathered round and somehow complicit whilst also being horrified onlookers unable to stop the headlong rush to disaster.  The cast positioned in the audience certainly helped with that as they wrung their hands and tried to persuade of better ways.   There were a few things that are clearly fashionable at the moment - slow motion movemen...