GM FORECASTS RADICAL CHANGE - The Founder

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14 ARTS Monday 29 January 2007 thefounder Arts thefounder beth@thefounder.co.uk Art Editor’s Message Music Seth Lakeman - Shephard’s Bush I’m a little concerned. Since the start of term I’ve found myself reaching for the plastic A LOT. Trips to New York and spending New Year on the Alps aside…I’m relying on Halifax much more than I have done. And in the first term I didn’t exactly hold back. Don’t get me wrong the money spending thing isn’t all that new to me. I am in fact very good at it. The thing is my spending isn’t all that sensible; I don’t really buy the conventional weekly things that other students seem to be spending money on. Don’t worry, I ensure you that a substantial percentage is going towards the liver-deterioration fund but despite that it is this month in particular that leaves me concerned. January s always a scary month financially but just take a look at what the arts world is offering and you’ll forget debt and only concentrate the world-class culture vulture heaven sitting on your doorstep. Our reviews over the past couple of weeks should have given you an idea of what to go and see…but if none of those fit the bill. Here are my recommendations in the world of the arty farty types… revor Nunn’s Theatre Taming of the Shrew - Old Vic Last chance… Cabaret - Lyric The Glass Menagerie - Apollo Amy’s View - Garrick Blasted - Soho Frost/Nixon - Gielgud The Automatic - Koko Guillemots - Brixton Academy Modest Mouse - Albert Hall The Hours - ICA Exhibitions Damien Hirst. Serpentine Gallery Hockney Landscapes -Annely Jud NT photo exhibitions - National Theatre Turner Prize - Tate Britain y Lara Burton George and Ira Gershwin’s popular musical extravaganza has recently been specially adapted for the West End by the highly regarded director Trevor Nunn. This new interpretation condenses the four-hour long epic opera into a fast paced theatrical wonder, proving more pleasing to the demanding musical theatre audiences of today. The hauntingly beautiful musical score has been condensed, but still retains the well-loved clas- orgy and Bess sics including “Summertime” and “I Got Plenty O’ Nothin’”, which received rapturous applause when I observed a performance at the striking Savoy Theatre. Set in South Carolina during the Great Depression, Porgy and Bess is a bittersweet love story between a cripple and the girlfriend of a lowlife on the run for murder. This new adaptation is full of pizzazz, with an incredible cast of forty talented performers creating a breath-taking sound at times. The set design is cleverly constructed to frame this new interpretation, which works extremely well, even in condensed form. I found the first half to be slightly slow moving at times, and the simplicity of costume and use of little special effects is noticeably different from the spectacles in West End theatre today, but this was still an astoundingly tear-jerking performance. Porgy and Bess is currently showing at The Savoy Theatre with tickets priced from £20 - £ 60. It is a relatively small theatre, and so even the cheapest tickets should still have an excellent view of the entire stage. Photo:Tristram Kenton A Photo:Xavier Rashid Decades Dance Show and despite minor hiccoughs, the By Lara Burton applause reflected the shows great TO As fellow students lay in success. bed sleeping off the partying from the first week dancers to breathe momentarily, Supplying brief interludes for the t of term, I sauntered were Balads, and Streetjamz, who i down to the Union to investigate “Decades”, the dance society’s first show of the year. both contributed exciting styles t reflecting different eras in the progression of dance. The RHUL Tom- D D With a diverse range of choreography, cats performed “Thriller” with great accompanied by vibrant vigour, wearing creative costumes and imaginative costumes, my trip and striking make-up, whilst Revelation through from the 50’s to the 00’s was Rock Gospel Choir and MTS both uplifting and entertaining. added vocal contributions, the duet The energy was maintained to an by David Ribi and Laura Mellor being exceptional standard throughout, to an especially high standard. Photo:Xavier Rashid
thefounder Monday 29 January 2007 Imogen Heap: 21 st January Oxford New Theatre amongst the diverse audience and as the lights dimmed there were unexpected whoops from teenage girl. My eyes were fixed on this stage with three corsets on coat-hangers, a transparent glass piano and a big white furry rug. However, as the rest of the ‘show’ would reveal, Imogen Heap is not the most conventional of performer and opened her set with a headset mic walking through the stalls shining a torch towards us. The venue began to make a lot more sense. Imogen Heap has had an odd career so far, but a very successful one at that. At twenty nine years old, she began life in music from a very early age and it was not long before she was snapped up by a label as was part of the London based duo Frou Frou as the lead singer. With hits such as ‘Let Go’-which she perfectly fit into tonight’s set Frou Frou saw much commercial success and were starting to be used in many soundtrack’s such as Shrek 2 and Garden State, but were dropped in 2005. Heap was made for the music industry and just saw this as a progression into her solo career. At the end of 2003 Heap announced she was to release her first solo work. It was as a solo artist that Heap was featured on the OC’s soundtrack, along with other great successes such as The Killers and Sufjan Stevens. The classic eccentric, Imogen Heap mumbled her way through her explanation of songs, revealing and hiding meanings in perfect quantity. The powerful set covered all the eclectic hits from the haunting ‘Just for Now’ to the running drums in ‘Closing In’ and the songs merged to weave us through a beautiful narrative. However a huge part of tonight was not simply her set list but her theatricality on stage and her performance as a solo artist. Only on a handful of songs was Heap joined by any backing or band, namely ‘Nemo’ who doubled up as her support act. Other than the more obvious bass songs such as ‘Say Goodnight and Go’ Heap guided herself through her entire ‘Speak for Yourself ’ album by electronically sprinkling magic dust over orchestral strings, harps and other things. There was of course room for beautiful unplugged versions of songs such as the heartwrenching single, not from the album ‘Speeding Cars’ which she tinkled on her piano to and ‘Hide and Seek’ which opened the encore. It made sense to me why the audience was fairly young. Imogen Heap could come across as a fairly pop-rock idol, having appeared on teen-flick soundtracks and appearing in her floaty flower printed skirt. However, she is pop-rock, although it is not in a bubblegum sort of way. There is no Britney in Imogen despite the catchy pop melodies. Heap writes and performs with insight and intellect. Her pop rock, as with Frou Frou is atmospheric, dreamy and quite ethereal. In terms of stage presence, Heap has it in abundance but once again not in the conventional way. She did not swig on a Stella but had a cup of tea as made by Martha and her water tasted funny because she had just ‘used some rather odd mouth wash’. She did not swear but graced the stage with sophistication and utter grace. She did not only please the crowd by being a reliable artist and playing all the hits; her voice is incredibly velvety and her classical background shone through, hitting every note perfectly and with real ease. An incredible evening of live music, layered with mystic melodies, layered harmonies shaped and formed by Imogen Heap alone before our very eyes. Heap warned us that she will not be back for up to a year and so it’s going to be a very cold winter searching for an artist of such imagination and unique style. introduced to, Heap made us fully By Beth Turrell aware that is wasn’t going to be any ordinary ‘gig’. Heap found her feet Imogen Heap is incredible. quickly and it wasn’t long before she She entered the New Theatre in Oxford as a spectabox sounds and her dreamlike har- was filling the theatre with her beatcle and set the atmosphere monies that characterise her experimental style. Imogen Heap certainly early on. With a feather Mohican loosely poked is not a performer that struggles to through her big brown hair and her hypnotise her audience. repeating electronica parrot we were We took our seats in the stalls ND THE WINNER IS… The Olivier Awards 2006 y Beth Turrell his month has seen the annual in-flux of award nominations announced. From livier’s to Brits and on their way: he Oscars… 2006 saw the success of the musical n the shape of Billy Elliot along with he critic’s hotshots: Hedda Gabler, eath of a Salesman and Guys and olls. Will 2007 bring fresh talent Photo: Alex Parvin onto the West End stage? Will the expected media-popular hits scoop everything or will we see some surprises in the mix? If last year is anything to go by and with most award categories they are only ever really three or four winners. There are of course some surprises but once you’ve seen whose up for best play your pretty much up to date on the nominations for every other category. Think back to the days of Take That, Gary Barlow barely had to sit down at the piano to claim all the gongs for that year, presumably post their latest single ‘Patience’ they will no doubt, within the next couple of years, scoop the Outstanding Achievement Award and be right up there with John Lennon, Elton John and The Who. The same goes with all the award ceremonies. Don’t get me wrong, an outstanding performance is often just that and does not just mean that the acting was superior to all other aspects in the performance. Usually hand in hand with superb acting is a whole team of highly regarded professionals pulling out all the stops to put together a performance along the lines of Mary Poppins, The Lion King or Les Miserables so inevitably the show is likely to claim all the silverware. Just glance below at some of the 2007 award categories for theatre’s most prestigious Olivier award nominations. Only certain plays, actresses and actors can win and whoever it is, is likely to be smothered in awards. Well done Spamalot, well done… Best Actress Eve Best for A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN Sinead Cusack for ROCK ‘N’ ROLL Tamsin Greig for MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING Kathleen Turner for WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? Best Actor Iain Glen for THE CRUCIBLE David Haig for DONKEYS’ YEARS Frank Langella for FROST/NIXON Rufus Sewell for ROCK ‘N’ ROLL Michael Sheen for FROST/NIXON Best New Play BLACKBIRD by David Harrower FROST/NIXON by Peter Morgan ROCK ‘N’ ROLL by Tom Stoppard THE SEAFARER by Conor McPherson ARTS Outstanding Musical CABARET book by Joe Masteroff, music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb EVITA lyrics by Tim Rice, music by Andrew Lloyd Webber at the THE SOUND OF MUSIC music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim Best Director Sam Buntrock for SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE Dominic Cooke for THE CRUCIBLE Joe Mantello for WICKED 15
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GM FORECASTS RADICAL CHANGE - The Founder

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