Cultural Review i.e. things what I did that wasn’t music.

Well outside the sphere of live music I’ve seen:

Dido, Queen Of Carthage(play):
Based on a chunk of the Aenead and written by Chrostopher Marlowe it was in The Chapel of the House of St. Barnabas near SOHO. The action moves around the venue from room to room to courtyard with even the audience been split in two at one point. It was brilliant I love classics and this was a great version of the tale told brilliantly by a talented troupe of actors. It was easily worth twice the £10 it cost.

Over The Hedge(film):
I like kids films, I like Shrek and this is from the same studio who outside Shrek actually don’t make great flicks e.g. Madagascar and A Sharks Tale so I din’t hold out for much. That was probably the best way to approach this though, honestly this won’t change the world but it had some great moments and of course the anti-hero learns his lesson and everyone lives happily ever after but I have seen a lot worse.

Thank You For Smoking(film):
If you haven’t seen this yet get off your ass and get into the cinema now. This was easily the funniest film I’ve sen in years. Great acting, thought provoking and leaving the thinking up to the audience. Is it pro-smoking? No. Is it anti-smoking? No. This film is not necessarily about smoking but about spin which seems to make our world run and makes you think about decisions people make etc.. stop reading this and go see it now.

The Wind That Shakes The Barley(film):
About a pivotal time in Irish history as we fought for independence and then promptly ripped ourselves apart once we got it. A very personl account of a time which has shaped, and still influences, Ireland. It follows a local column from young men playing Hurling to being driven apart by the treaty. Cillian Murphy is very good in it and makes you wonder and think about the difference between Black & Tans and Free Staters, is it OK to kill one but not the other? Go see but there are some bits which are not for the squeamish.

Also went to see two Buster Keaton films which were being shown as part of The City of London Festival on the HMS President(1918) for free. They were Nautical and Steamboat Bill Jr saw all of the first and a chunk of the second they were really funny, view wasn’t great due to the room layout so it was tiring trying to see the screen eventually which is why I didn’t stay for the entire second one.

Later days,
Halo