Author Archive
Film review: My Neighbour Totoro – in cinemas again over summer
Aug 08 2024- Madeleine
- 0 Comments
Totoro on the big screen, a perfect outing for a rainy day. The animé Titan Hayao Miyazaki has produced dozens of big hitters, but Totoro is often considered his greatest. Totoro has the cult status of Winnie-the-Pooh here.
A common theme in his movies is a childish sense of awe at the majesty of nature and the importance of respecting it. He expresses nostalgia for a pre-industrial 1950s Japan, of un-butchered mountains and pristine paddy valleys, when man was more at one with nature. In the wildernesses, magical creatures could live in peace, such as Totoro and his kind; shy, lazy, furry, blobby mammals who fly and have the power to make things grow supernaturally fast. The story is the growing involvement between the two worlds, through the adventures and misadventures of two sisters, where the Human world is shown to be in urgent need of the Magic.
Theatre Review: SH!TFACED SHAKESPEARE, A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Leicester Square Theatre
Jul 24 2024- Madeleine
- 0 Comments
5/5 stars: Sublimely Ridiculous. SH!TFACED SHAKESPEARE at Leicester Square Theatre may first appear a dummit – down stunt to ensnare the Shakespeare-virgins, and my companion this evening was a perfect road-tester; a proud petrol-head who avoids Shakespeare like the pox. We look forward to hearing what he has to say.
Discos for Grown-ups – 02 Shepherds Bush Empire, 31 August 2024
Jul 15 2024- Madeleine
- 0 Comments
Wanna dance, but gotta get back for the babysitter? Discos for Grown-ups is the perfect solution, starting early, ending early, and playing all those hits that rocked you as a teen.
Theatre review: People Places and Things at the Trafalgar Theatre
May 22 2024- Madeleine
- 0 Comments
People Places and Things is a hard-hitting exploration of addiction from all viewpoints: the addict, the counsellor and the family. I learnt a lot about addiction in general, how it’s a toxic combo of low self-esteem and self-glorification. I suspect every member of the audience did, since we are all harbouring some kind of compulsive behaviour to make life enjoyable. I’m watching the effects of alcohol abuse in a neighbour’s family, how it ravages their trust with its exasperating helplessness, its manipulative narcissism, its fatuous resolutions. Meanwhile the justification for substance abuse is made in a highly intelligent way.
The 1885 Singers Mother’s Day Concert
Apr 15 2024- Madeleine
- 0 Comments
The 1885 Singers – Mozart and Dvorak Masses for Mother’s Day. What an unusual combo, a rarely-heard early Mozart piece followed by a more mature Dvorak work, both technically difficult and sung beautifully. I didn’t know either of them, but there’s no question of ‘Will I like the pieces?’ – the 1885 Singers deliver a delightful evening every time.
