Bizet’s opera Carmen holds a special place in my heart. Not only was it the first opera I saw, but Matthew Bourne’s danced version – The Car Man – was the first time I really understood how a story could be told so well only by movement. So, when I heard that the King’s Head…
I enjoy writing, but I’m certain nothing I write will ever change the world, and that’s probably true of most writers. However, in 1897, a certain Irish author by the name of Bram Stocker wrote a book that not only changed the world but also set the standard for every book, play, radio show, film,…
Back in 1940, Walt Disney decided that for his third animated feature film he was going to do something different. So, unlike Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Pinocchio which were based on fairy tales, Disney went for the idea of putting together a movie consisting of eight animated segments set to pieces of…
There’s often nothing better than a new play that covers some well known moment in history from a new, and possibly unknown angle. A case in point is the latest offering from the Arrow and Traps Theatre Company who are presenting Ross McGregor’s new play The White Rose at the Jack Studio Theatre in Brockley….
Most of us will have heard of Quentin Crisp. Although I knew virtually nothing about him, growing up it just seemed to be a name I recognised, even if I wasn’t sure why. Well, thanks to a visit to the Jack Studio Theatre in Brockley, and the wonderful Quentin Crisp: Naked Hope I have a…
Have you ever been banjaxed? I first heard that word a good many years ago when Terry Wogan used it in his radio show. It’s a good Irish word meaning among other things confounded. The reason I mention this is because I was left feeling banjaxed after seeing Conor McPherson’s The Night Alive at the…
