Issue 1247 - The Courier

24.arts
thecourieronline.co.uk/arts
c2.arts@ncl.ac.uk
The
book
that...
taught me all I
needed to know
Grace Harvey on why
Wikipedia isn’t always her
first port of call
Most of us have a treasured
book from our childhood
that we can happily reminisce
over. I however refused to
stop reading my most beloved books, and
after the BBC commissioned the series
into a CBBC programme presented by
Stephen Fry, I knew that I was not alone.
Terry Deary’s best-selling collection
of Horrible Histories, is not only a guilty
pleasure, but a genuine academic source
that I cherish greatly. Although I do
hold myself to be a reasonably intelligent
student, I do manage to learn a great deal
from The Horrible Histories. Whilst my
hard-working lecturers will despair at this
confession, the knowledge Deary imparts
to the young and apparently mature
reader is generally historically accurate
and guarantees to irrevocably imprint
itself into your brain.
Unsurprisingly my reason for returning
to these books is effectively procrastination
and after attempting to
plough my
way through
the ever
growing
stack of academic
books
on the Stuarts,
I turned
back to my
copy of Th e
Slimy Stuarts
for light relief
and found
myself reliving
the fond
memories I
once had of
these books.
And in a bid to
avoid “the final-year fear” decided
I would reread the lot.
Bizarrely this was not an afternoon wasted,
and the banal facts that overwhelm
the book are actually quite useful. And
from a gingerbread recipe from the Restoration
era to Stuart beauty tips, and their
contemporary slang (Slabberdeguillion is
potentially the greatest word in existence
but unfortunately rarely used anymore)
are not only funny but strangely practical
for a humanities student.
Yes, it might be ridiculous that a 21 year
old student should find these books so
hilarious and engaging but I defy anyone
to argue otherwise. The humour in the
books is real and not just for the younger
reader. Fair enough, there is a line and
when you realise all you can contribute
to a renaissance literature seminar is
the ‘King of Bling’ rap you know you’ve
crossed it. Each time I re-read The Slimy
Stuarts I find an extra gem of political
comedy that convinces me that Milton
really should have drawn pictures.
The BBC’s decision to turn the books
into a television series has been possibly
one of the wisest decisions to have
left their commissioning office and I’m
exploiting this too for its obvious academic
prowess. Whether you’d agree with
me or not it is truly impossible to deny
the charm and real hilarity of the books
which have entered the hearts of anyone
who has ever been bored in a history
lesson.
Going past the
razzle-dazzle
Alexandra Walker talks
glitz and glamour with
Chicago star Ali Bastian
Perhaps best known for her roles
as Becca Dean in Hollyoaks or as
Sally Armstrong in The Bill, Ali
Bastian has taken the leap from
screen to stage as she now plays Roxie
Hart in the UK touring production of
Chicago. During an interview with her, I
was able to get an insight into her hectic
training schedule, her dedication to this
new role and her distinctly successful
transition from soap actress to musical
theatre star.
Fresh from two full house nights at
Hull’s New Theatre, Bastian is exhilarated
to perform her starring role in
front of a live audience. ‘’It’s funny, you
rehearse the show and it’s not until you
get the audience in that you get a real
feeling for it.” Both the public and critics
have given the prestigious production a
thumbs up and Bastian is exhilarate by
this response as she says that “to get that
kind of feedback is amazing, it seems to
be going down really well”.
With six Tonys, one Grammy, one
Olivier, two Baftas and six Academy
Awards the West End production of
Chicago holds about as much critical
esteem as musically possible. In response
to any pressure felt for the success of the
touring production, Bastian said that
“the wonderful thing about this production
is that we’ve all joined the company
together, I think if you go to the West
End, you’re dropped into something
that’s already up and running, but we’ve
all learnt the show at the same time.”
Northern
Stage 5-7
March
Tickets are £7
and available online,
the Northern
Stage’s Box
Office or outside
the Union
Bastian stars alongside a host of
soap stars, West End stars and other
musical prodigies and on this subject
she notes that “we’ve all really bonded
and there’s amazing chemistry on stage,
mixed with a feeling that we want to
put our own stamp on it, so I hope we’re
achieving that.”
Part of Chicago’s charm is in its sharp,
dramatic and seductive dance routines,
to which Bastian gives all her praise to
the incredible musical choreographer,
Bob Fosse. “Fosse’s style is a very, very
precise, immaculate and stylised kind of
dancing, very different from anything
I’ve done before, but I absolutely love
it.” When I asked about the amount of
training she went through, she laughed
and said “it’s getting better, Tupele and I
(Tupele Dorgu plays Velma Kelly) were
given a lot of training and we started
training before the rest of the company
in order to get all our numbers under
our belts. But once you’ve learnt the
choreography, you really enjoy it and it’s
a lot of fun to perform.”
I wanted to know how her success on
Strictly Come Dancing elevated her theatrical
career and whether the show was
necessary for the transition from screen
to stage. To this she excitedly responded
that “this is the first musical I’ve done as
an adult, so it’s all very new to me, but
I’m absolutely falling in love with it. Doing
Strictly really did add another string
to my bow… that’s the whole thing with
doing a show like that, I found some-
Pictured above
Ali Bastian as
Roxy Hart
Broadway, the
world of glitz,
glamour and
non-stop sensa-
tionalism but look past
the sequins and the glitter
and you will see a whole other
world. A Chorus Line provides you
with a behind-the-scenes glimpse into
the world of theatre and ambitions of 17
Broadway hopefuls.
A Chorus Line reveals the struggles,
triumphs and failures of aspiring actors,
all of whom have stories to tell and songs
to sing in order to win the chance to
dance on Broadway. This is a chance to
see dreams made and destroyed all under
the hot lights of the theatre, showing that
razzle dazzle is one side but it is blood,
sweat and tears on the other.
Watch as the contenders put it all on the
line in order to achieve their dreams, find
themselves and finally become part of the
lusted after chorus.
A Chorus Line when first opened on
Broadway in 1975 was a box office and
critical hit, receiving 12 Tony Award
nominations and winning nine of them.
In addition the show won the 1976 Pulitz-
er Prize for Drama, and was the longest-
running Broadway production until
surpassed by Cats in 1997. It has achieved
world-wide success, with theatres all over
the world falling in love with the passion,
Tuesday 6 March 2012
Th e Courier
thing
that
I really
love.”
She went on
to say that “off the
back of Strictly, I got a job
called Burn the Floor (a ballroom and
Latin dance show), I learnt an awful lot
as a I was given daily lessons with the
choreographer Jason Gilkison, who’s a
world-champion ballroom dancer, so I
think it opened a lot of doors for me and
for that I’ll always be grateful.”
Bastian held long-term positions on
both Hollyoaks and The Bill, so I wanted
to know how she finds the transition
between both performance styles and
whether she has any preference between
the two. In response to this, Bastian said
“they’re totally different; it’s like asking
which of your children you like best! I
suppose nothing beats the buzz of a live
performance, there’s a certain magic
around a live show that I really enjoy.
Television is so fast-paced and you don’t
always get the opportunity to get into
the text as much as doing a play or show.
With television it’s much more organic
and very quick, but at the same time, I
really enjoy it.”
Bastian will be starring in Chicago at the
Sunderland Empire from 26 – 31 March;
Student Offer: £20 from noon on the day of
the show (Mon-Thu eve and Fri matinees).
Hot pants and high kicks
Sally Priddle sells you singing, sex and sensationalism
with NUTS’ musical A Chorus Line
music and not to mention the many, many
high kicks.
If you’re still not convinced, here are
five reasons that are sure to persuade
you to go and see NUTS’ A Chorus
Line:
1
2
3
4
5
There are girls in very short
shorts, doing high kicks and
singing about tits and arses.
There are some very beautiful
men who will melt your
heart with their lovely
voices.
There’s a great love story in
amongst the glitter and hot
pants.
The show works through
some real issues too including
homosexuality, plastic
surgery and self -esteem.
There are many many great
songs and the NUTS’ cast.