Thought Provoking

The Virgins by Pamela Erens

(book supplied by Bookbridgr.com)

I saw this on the shelf in a bookshop a few months ago and noted it down as one to read over the summer and then when the chance came to review it for Bookbridgr I was really pleased.

It wasn't an easy read in terms of content and style but I certainly found myself racing through the pages.

Set in an elite and relatively free thinking American boarding school in the late 1970s we follow a few of the students through one academic year, mostly from the view point of the graduating class. Our narrator is truly unreliable although this only comes to light a little while into the book. He however does let us know that a lot of what he is saying is supposition or discovered after the event and so as a reader you are informed of this.

Two of the students develop a passionate relationship and this spirals out of control during the course of the year in many ways and while a lot of reviewers talk of a surprise and shocking ending I did find this signposted throughout by our narrator and enjoyed seeing how skilfully Erens managed to build to the event.

I found the book deeply unsettling, a good reminder of just how far women have come since 1979 - the casual acceptance of sexual assault (although again all from our unreliable and rather nasty narrator) really made an impact on me.

Very much like Stoner last year I enjoyed this book but I can't see myself recommending it to all and sundry - it will make an interesting reading group read for some as there are so many ideas to discuss.

Theatre 2014: Review Twenty-Three

The Elephantom, New London Theatre, London. July 2014.

The best thing about being an auntie (apart from the cuddles) is being able to share books and other experiences with my nephew.  He's already turning into a junior bookworm and I'm pleased to say that his theatre habit is coming along quite nicely too...

His birthday treat this year was an outing to London to see the Elephantom but we were so lucky with the weather that it turned into a whole day of fun including a trip on the river, hunting for book benches, an introduction to the Globe and a picnic before we even got to the theatre!

On a hot day the New London Theatre was a delight with the cool air conditioning but the real excitement was the show.

A little girl is ignored by her parents until chaos ensues when an Elephantom moves in...so far so standard in children's fiction. The Elephantom however is incredibly troublesome even to his new friend and the tipping point is when he invites his friends over for a party.  Gran comes to the rescue however and after a trip to a magical shop the Elephantom is encouraged to move out and cause chaos elsewhere.

This play is almost wasted on children although my nephew sat spellbound throughout - giggling mightily when the elephant gets wind and poops on stage!  It is a wordless play which is choreographed as carefully as any ballet and the ideas are quite complex. The Elephantom isn't on stage all of the time and this could cause a dip in attention but some how it doesn't.

I hope that at some point the National Theatre release a DVD of this, like they did for their Cat in a Hat, because I think it is a play that can be watched many times at all ages. I know I want to see it again.

Like in War Horse the staging allows you to see the puppet operators as they work the Elephantom but again they are forgotten to the extent that when the little girl tugs the trunk of the naughty elephant and he appears to come apart my nephew really did gasp as if it were real.

My favourite thing of this show is that instead of a programme the ushers are selling copies of the book that the play is based on.  What could be better my two favourite things in one place!

The Right Stuff

Sally Ride: America's First Woman in Space by Lynn Sherr

It seems appropriate for two reasons to be reading the biography of Sally Ride at the moment.

July 20th saw the 45th anniversary of the first moon landing by Armstrong and Aldrin (supported by Michael Collins) and this coming weekend is when Norwich holds the city Pride celebrations.

NASA's first quarter century was full of firsts but flying women and non white men was not on the cards - it wasn't until the late 1970s that minorities and females were selected as potential astronaut candidates.

Ride was among this group and was selected to fly on STS-7 in 1983 to become the first American women to leave the planet (although the 3rd female in space). Return to earth left her as a celebrity and this continued after she flew for a second time and then after the Challenger disaster served on the panel investigating the tragedy.

After leaving NASA Ride, and her partner Tam, set up an incredible programme to encourage girls to become interested in science.  These initiative are not just for girls but they are all about making it normal for girls and women to be scientists. I was always lucky in that my family, and my school, always encouraged me to do what I wanted but this breaking down of barriers is great.  To see one of the amazing initiatives for middle school children have a look at EarthKAM.

While NASA had opened up enough to allow women and minorities to fly into space, sadly homophobia (real or perceived) kept Ride from publicly acknowledging much of her life, but now this is being rectified and the message of the book is that it is okay to be whatever and whoever you want.

Sherr, the author of the book, admits freely that as well as a journalist and biographer she was also Sally's friend and so there may be some bias in the book but for me the important thing is that the story is told and that girls continue to dream, to study and to experiment.

 STS-7 launch photo 1983 carrying 1st American female, Sally Ride, into space

Many thanks to the team at Space Lectures for letting me know about this title.

The Spying Game

The Spy Who Changed the World by Mike Rossiter

Book supplied through the Bookbridgr.com programme.

A good non fiction book can read like a novel, and with a topic such as spying fact is often more far fetched than fiction can ever be. This is something I kept thinking about while reading this book.

It was a quick read that held my interest from the start, as with the best non fiction books the details of the topic covered - in this case nuclear power and nuclear weapons - were given with the right amount of information.  Science and mathematics are important to the book but Rossiter never forgets that the reader is more than likely not going to be an expert in these fields.

The intricacies of spying were also kept clear throughout the narrative and at all times I could keep the protagonists clear in my mind even with all of the code names, which is again a bonus as a non expert.

However I am not sure if it is because a lot of the information is still classified or if it is because the book was just aimed a little too much at a lay man that I found it very slightly unsatisfying.  I know it seems odd to praise a book for being accessible and then to criticise it for lack of detail but to me it just felt a little slight when compared to Ben MacIntyre's books in the same genre.

There were lots of reasons that I enjoyed the book, and it complemented another advance copy I'd read in the past few months, The Girls of Atomic City by Denise Kiernan, but it has left me wanting to find the time to read a more in depth biography of Fuchs and his antics.

Theatre 2014: Review Twenty-Two

The King's Peach, The Blakeney Players, Blakeney. July 2014.

As ever this review comes with the caveat that it cannot be impartial as I know one of the cast.

It was the hottest day of the year so far when we left the city for our bi-annual trip to the Norfolk coast for an evening of fun with the Blakeney Players and for once the traffic played ball and we made good time so had a lovely pub supper and then there was even time for a walk on the beautiful marsh before settling in for some laughs.

How to describe this one... erm... apart from the over use of superlatives it is quite hard...
 
Imagine The King's Speech mixed with a little bit of Roald Dahl, Strictly Come Dancing, Celebrity Bake Off, Agatha Christie and Sherlock with a dash of Hitch Hiker's Guide to Galaxy and a large slug of political quips and a soupcon of local humour.

It was a wonderful evening and I'm not sure I will ever recover from seeing Prince George making a toad in the hole whilst waltzing and then singing a re-write to the song YMCA. The special effects were wonderful as well.

(cast photo sneaked during the curtain call)

We actually saw the first show in the run - there are tickets available for the remaining four shows and I do highly recommend it as a showcase of just what amateur dramatics should be about. Oh and with views like the one below just 5 minutes from the theatre how can you refuse?

Blakeney Harbour in the evening light.

Travelling vicariously

Without Reservations by Alice Steinbach

Since coming back from holiday I've been reading quite a lot of travel writing, perhaps in a hope of prolonging the feeling of being on holiday, the books have been of all types and my list of places to both visit and avoid are growing ever longer.

One of the best I've read was The Yosemite by John Muir, this was written in 1912 and is a collection of thought made by Muir after years spend visiting Yosemite National Park.  I'd tried his books before but found them very hard going, however on returning to this one after visiting the area was a delight as I could now really 'see' what he was writing about. If you aren't familiar with the geography/wildlife however I do wonder if you'll enjoy it as much.  It is worth trying just for his descriptions of avalanches and thunderstorms.

Other books I've read have been the autobiographies of National Park Rangers in various areas of the USA.  These are insightful and funny and as someone who has worked in various customer service jobs for years there is a lot to relate to.  The knowledge, advice and friendliness of all of the NPS employees we've met have really added to our experiences of the American wilds and it does make me sad to read how overstretched, under protected and vulnerable they often are.

The last book in the genre I've read broke my book butterfly problem and I have no idea who suggested it to me or why I had it on reserve from the library.

Without Reservations is the story of Alice Steinbach's 9 months spent in Europe in 1993.  She takes a sabbatical from her job (and life) in Baltimore and apart from knowing where she'll be living in Europe she crosses the Atlantic with no plans.  This could so easily have become mawkish - like I found the inexplicable popular Eat, Pray, Love - but was delightful and I sat up until gone midnight as I had to keep reading.
Alice is a friendly person and even when feeling lonely and shy in new cities manages to meet people and turn them into friends where ever she goes which no doubt adds to her experience but her willingness to try anything makes her journey a joy to read.

Cities that I know well revealed new secrets to me through the writing and again yet more destinations have been added to my list of places to visit.  However Alice's experiences in Rome were so different to mine that I wanted to encourage her to go again and give a magical place a second chance.

This book was a pleasant surprise and just what I needed to kick start my reading again.

Book Butterfly

I have a terrible confession.

Just lately I've had terrible trouble finishing a book.
I've started loads and they've generally been really good but  lots of great books have just been added to Net Galley and I've been approved to read them, plus proof copies from Bookbridgr and other sources have been dropping through the door.
This means that however good the book I was reading was I've dropped it in favour of the new.

My to-be-read pile is enormous again and all of the books look appealing and many need reviewing but thanks to Twitter I've just discovered that there are two new astronaut biographies out and we all know that I am a sucker for them...

It is probably a good thing that I am on summer break from uni at the moment and so do actually have time to read without causing the MA to suffer but I really need to settle down to a book and read it from cover to cover. And then review it!

Book-A-Day June

In June, while I was away, I started noticing lots of tweets going around all tagged #BookadayUK.

When we got home, and I'd recovered from the jet lag I looked into this and discovered it was an initiative from Borough Press to get people talking about books on Twitter.  Each day a question about books was given and people from all over the world answered.

I didn't take part as by the time I found out about it the month was more than half gone, but since then I've been thinking about it and decided that all in one go I'd answer the questions.

1st - Favourite book from childhood? 

Has to be Little Women, I still reread it at least once a year and the sequel Good Wives can still make me cry.

2nd - Best Bargain? 

This would be when I found a hardback copy of Two Sams at the Chalet School in pristine condition for just £5, copies are on sale currently for £250!!

3rd - One with a blue cover? 

Captain Corelli's Mandolin. The cover is mostly blue and the book wonderful, just don't expect the film to be faithful to the book.

4th - Least favourite book by a favourite author? 

The Wildflower Path by Sarah Harrison. I loved the detail of Flowers of the Field and A Flower That's Free but this one was slight and just a re-write of the first two books. Long awaited but disappointing.

5th - Doesn't belong to me? 

A huge pile of library books, my library card is often maxed out.

6th - The one I always give as a gift?  

A bit of a cheat but I generally give book tokens so that people can pick their own. 

7th - Forgot I owned it? 

Any number of titles as my shelves are all double stacked. I have got 3 copies of Regeneration by Pat Barker so I do keep forgetting I own this.

8th - Have more than one copy? 

Does it count having a paper copy and an eBook version...

9th - Film or TV tie in? 

My copy of Chocolat is the film version, and possibly also one that I prefer the film to the book.

10th - Reminds me of someone I love? 

This would be any of the space history books around the house as I'd never have become so interested in this topic without Mr Norfolkbookworm.

11th - Secondhand bookshop gem? 

About 70% of my books are secondhand but I think it has to be the aforementioned Two Sams at the Chalet School.

12th - I pretend to have read it?

 I'm not too embarrassed about admitting to have not read things but I've never read 1984.

13th - Makes me laugh? 

I find the most inappropriate things funny but Bill Bryson's books about America always raise a smile, his ones about Europe and Australia are a bit xenophobic but I love the US ones.

14th - An old favourite? 

I'll often re-read the Tortall books by Tamora Pierce, I think I must nearly know some of them by heart now.

15th - Favourite fictional father? 

Struggling with this as so many books I like need an absence of parents for the plot. Probably the Swallow's father from Ransome's Swallows and Amazons.

16th - Can't believe more people haven't read? 

Birds Without Wings by Louis de Bernieres. A real epic in the Homeric style which I think puts people off but a real sweeping story about Greece, Turkey and World War One.

17th - Future classic? 

Too hard to predict but I do think that the Harry Potter books will survive in the way that Hobbit / Lord of the Rings have done.

18th - Bought on a recommendation? 

Numerous books, last one was probably Mr Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore which I adored.

19th - Still can't stop talking about it? 

The President's Hat, great fun all the way through and one that I seem to recommend and defend in equal measures.

20th - Favourite cover? 

Probably the grey covers from Persephone books as they are just beautiful but don't influence your thoughts of the books as they give nothing away.

21st - Summer read? 

Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. Set in snowy Alaska and a real escapist read in a humid, sticky English heat.

22nd - Out of print?  

At least 50% of my books fall into this category and thanks to specialist publishers more are coming back into print. I'll pick many of the Mary Renault books but they are being reprinted in August so they only just count!

23rd - Made to read at school? 

There weren't too many of these but I still don't know the ending to Stig of the Dump as we didn't get to the end of it when I was in the 2nd year of primary school.

24th - Hooked me into reading? 

I can't remember a time when I couldn't read but early favourites were the Garden Gang series of books.

25th - Never finished it? 

Watership Down, tried so many times but the warning given by a teacher that it was a "bit hard" when I was about 7 and it keeps stalling me.

26th - Should have sold more copies? 

The President's Hat. It is very funny but I think that being in translation put many people off.

27th - Want to be one of the characters? 

Generally the book I am currently reading if I am enjoying it.

28th - Bought at my favourite independent bookshop? 

I love all bookshops equally so can't pick a favourite.

29th - The one I've reread the most often? 

Probably Little Women but the Tamora Pierce books are a close second.

30th - Would save if my house burned down? 

I think that eventually most of my books could be replaced but my signed astronaut biographies would be the irreplaceable ones and so the ones I'd save.

The publishers Doubleday have taken up the baton and the same thing is happening through July and again I keep missing these so will do a round up again in August. If you are on Twitter then do check the hashtag as I am creating huge long list of recommendations!

Theatre 2014: Review Twenty-One

Last Days of Troy, Shakespeare's Globe, London. June 2014.

New writing at the Globe has a real hit and miss reputation, however Mr Norfolkbookworm and I seem to have struck it lucky each time.  Last year Bluestockings was fantastic and this new play by Simon Armitage was equally as enjoyable.

The play is based on the last few weeks of the siege of Troy and uses Homer's Iliad and Virgil's Aeneid as source material to create a retelling of the events. The original texts are both sprawling and often confusing with many characters and interfering deities but this version simplified the cast and kept the narrative clear and easy to follow.

A few times the language seemed a little modern for the setting and the outburst from Achilles which was full of obscenity really jarred but apart from that I was swept away from the start.  I also very much liked the framing device of the immortal Gods stuck in a world where no one believes in them anymore and poor Zeus being forced to act as a living statue portraying himself and selling models of himself at an archaeological site!

We saw the last performance of this play at the Globe but if it tours or is revived then I do recommend it as it has certainly moved into my top 10 of plays seen this year so far.

Happy Birthday Yosemite

Exactly 150 years ago today (June 30th 1864) President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill creating the Yosemite Grant. This was the first instance of American land being set aside for recreation and protection and paved the way for the creation of the first National Park (Yellowstone) in 1872.

I was lucky enough to visit Yosemite earlier in the month and I am so glad that even during the American Civil War protection of the wilds was considered important.

Visiting Yosemite was like visiting a old friend as a lot of the scenery was familiar to me thanks to the work of my favourite photographer Ansel Adams and the highlight for me was the chance to visit the Ansel Adams Studio and also to take a guided photography walk run by the gallery.

It wasn't a particularly long walk but we went to some of the iconic destinations and I learned a lot about how to use my camera better, how to compose shots and also how to convert picture to black and white.  I am very happy with a lot of the images I took and I can see an improvement in my photos already.

On our trip we also visited many other amazing places and saw some of the most incredible things ever - if you want to be bored by my holiday snaps then they are all visible on Flickr. Of course travel like this does mean no time for theatre and apart from the loooooong flights not too much time for reading, however when you see a bear while out for a walk other past times are forgotten!

Theatre 2014: Review Twenty

A Bunch of Amateurs, The Watermill Theatre, Bagnor (Newbury). May 2014.

After taking Mr Norfolkbookworm's aunt to Chichester last year she told us all about another beautiful theatre near to her house - The Watermill. After almost a year we found a play we all wanted to see and a date we could all make.

We had a wonderful evening, starting in the restaurant of the theatre having a delicious meal and then moved through the building, across the stream and past the watermill wheel into a fabulous little theatre.

A Bunch of Amateurs is all about a group of village players in Stratford St John who have dwindling funds and audience and as a result are in danger of closing for good.  They hit on the bright idea of inviting a celebrity to star in a performance of King Lear in the hope that this will turn them around.

This triggers a series of comedic events starting with the arrival of a fading American action hero actor who thinks he's been picked by the RSC to play at Stratford-upon-Avon.

It sounds dreadful, cliched and predictable and certainly the last two are fair comments BUT the script, the acting and the staging mean that it is wonderful and funny as well and certainly not dreadful.  The set fitted into the theatre's own decor brilliantly and until it was used I really did think that it was part of the general fixtures and fittings.

Professionals acting as amateurs and not over doing it seems a real skill and the cast managed this wonderfully, even though this was only the 3rd or 4th performance I noticed no hesitations or stumbles and yet the cast did seem a realistic bunch of amateurs. The script itself is very funny and this adaptation has been co-written by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman and is fully of points that are clearly dear to Hislop but are tempered by Newman's influence so that the play works rather than becoming a sounding board for Hislop's opinions.

This play runs until June 28th and if you can get to the venue and there are tickets I think it is brilliant and worth the effort.  I'd love to see it tour so more can have the fun we did but I think that it takes a professional cast to do it justice - too much of the irony would be lost if it wasn't and the fine line between comedy/farce and disaster could easily be crossed.

Around the world in six books

Considering the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize 2014.

For the past few years I've been reading a lot of literature in translation and also taking part in the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize, last year I took part in a Readers' Day based on the prize but this year got a little more glitzy!

One of the reading groups I belong to was approached by The Booktrust and asked to read the six shortlisted titles and then answer some questions on each one. These answers were then collated in to two posts on the prize website. These can be found here and here.

The six books were:

• A Meal in Winter by Hubert Mangarelli, trans. Sam Taylor
• Revenge by Yoko Ogawa, trans. Stephen Snyder
• The Iraqi Christ by Hasan Blassim, trans. Jonathan Wright
• A Man in Love by Karl Ove Knausgaard, trans. Don Bartlett
• The Mussel Feast by Birgit Venderbeke, trans. Jamie Bulloch
• Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami, trans. Allison Markin Powell

All were interesting reads but my favourite was Strange Weather in Tokyo and this is a book I've already recommended to lots of other readers both at work and home.

On the prize ceremony night three of us made it to the Royal Institute of Architects for the main event and it was a lovely evening complete with champagne and canapes themed to the countries represented on the short list.

The chair of the judges, Boyd Tonkin, gave a brilliant speech debunking the myth that 'no one reads books in translation' - on the day the prize was awarded the top 3 bestselling fiction titles were translations as was the bestselling non fiction book!

The winner on the night was The Iraqi Christ which was my least favourite of the six titles but the author and translators were so nice that I can't be too upset!  What was nice is that for the first time in the history of the prize a special mention was given to a book (The Mussel Feast) and this was my second favourite book from one of my favourite publishers.

I love being a part of this prize but have everything crossed that in 2015 a woman will finally win!

Many thanks to Booktrust and The Writers Centre Norwich for letting me be a part of this shadowing group, but again this blog is fully independent and was not a condition of taking part.

Being Selective

A day at Booktrust.

Recently I was very honoured to be asked by Booktrust to join them for a day and work with them to select books that will eventually end up in the Bookstart packs for babies and preschoolers.

Lots of information about the Bookstart scheme can be found on their website but in a nutshell every child born in England will receive a pack containing two books and other items encouraging a love of books and reading in their first year of life, and then a second one at the time they leave nursery ready for school.

I was privileged to be on the panel selecting books that will go in both packs and in a very intensive day I joined 7 other people to look over 150-170 books and decide which ones are 'just right' for all children to receive.

As we read the books we marked them YES/NO/MAYBE and then these votes were added up and the least popular taken out of consideration while we had some (occaisonally heated) discussion about the others to see if they should be considered for the packs.
As far as possible we all tried to read all of the books to make sure that all of the books were considered equally and remaining impartial and also calm when others loathed the books you loved was a challenge, as was seeing the positive aspects of a book you didn't like!

So much has to be taken into consideration when picking books that will go out universally, many things I'd not even thought of and I read some amazing books for all ages during the day. I know that my nephew and other little ones in my life will benefit from the huge list I drew up!

The books we picked will now go back to the publishers to see if it is possible for them to be adapted for the packs (at the very least they have to be smaller than those you find on the shelf in the shops or libraries and some books just might not shrink well and stay readable) and once this is done I will come back and share the books that we all fell in love with on the day and that will be shared with children very soon.

I'd like to thank Booktrust for inviting me to take part in this selection panel, and for covering travel costs but would like to say that this is a personal blog response to the day and not a requirement of attending.

Theatre 2014: Review Nineteen

The Silver Tassie. Lyttleton Theatre at the National Theatre, London. May 2014.

After having a disappointing time at The View From the Bridge which had rave reviews I was very nervous about this play as it has had a very lukewarm reception.

Perhaps going in with lower expectations was the right thing to do as I found this play a real curiosity.  The subject matter meant that it could never be classed as enjoyable but it was challenging and thought provoking in just the right way.

It is a play in four acts, three are set in a very traditional manner and depict life in Ireland during and after World War One and the second act is set in the trenches and is as different to anything I've ever seen on stage as is imaginable.

In a nutshell Harry is our main character and in act one he is the town's sporting hero, in act two we see him at the front and then after the interval he is back in Dublin but this time in a wheelchair after being paralysed from the waist down.

The war scenes are incredible, the pyrotechnic team have a field day and actually blow up the set! The madness of the war is portrayed using song and movement as well as through the way the superior officers act.  The interval is heralded by a howitzer gun turning to face the audience and firing.  I've never wanted to grab the person sitting next to me in fear so much before.

The second half of the play almost depicts the horror of war better as it is all about the maimed survivors.  No one wanted the lads to die but no one wants to actually deal with those who survived but were disabled.

This play is a very early anti-war play, written decades before Oh! What a Lovely War and for those who say that the idea of 'lions being led by donkeys' is a new and revisionist idea should look back at this play and the date it was written.

This is certainly a play that will stay with me for a long time and makes a great foil to both War Horse and Journey's End.

Theatre 2014: Review Eighteen

A View From the Bridge, The Young Vic, London. May 2014.

This play has been received wall to wall rave reviews everywhere  - unusually the press and social media reviewers all agree.  We felt that we were very lucky to get tickets to this.

Well I supposed there always has to be a dissenting voice...

The play strips out any props or scenery and is played on a thrust stage which is a white box with a perspex rim.  The actors all talk in a Brooklyn accent and the setting is kept as Miller intended.

I'm not sure if it was because I didn't know the play in advance but I found this blank setting to alienate me from the words and I just couldn't connect with the plot at all.  This version also plays straight through with no interval and I found that, unlike most of the reviews, that this didn't allow the tension and tragedy to build for me and I just didn't care enough.

The actors were all very good and there wasn't a weak member on the stage but ultimately I just didn't care and when the ending came I didn't think that it was tragic at all.  Just a relief!

I've since read the script of the play and Miller is very, very descriptive in his writing and gives pages of stage direction - all of which was discarded here.  Perhaps this would have worked better for me if I'd seen a traditional staging first?

Theatre 2014: Review Seventeen

Another Country, The Trafalgar Studios, London. May 2014.

It has been an incredible little while for me in May and I've packed a lot into a few weeks. This means that some of the events that happened towards the start of the month are starting to be a little fuzzy around the edges when it comes to details. However as I blog for pleasure and to create a memory for me I'm not too worried about this.

Rebecca and I had another one of our mammoth London weekends recently, and although this time we packed in slightly less than usual due to a mini heatwave we still saw three plays.

The first was the sublime Another Country with a cast of young actors - many of them only just out of college.  You'd never have guessed this and it was a shame that the theatre was over half empty for the matinee, this worked in our favour though as we were upgraded from seats at the back of the auditorium to the third row!

The entire play takes place in a boarding school and has many themes, the main one being that the old boy network rules completely and that to be different in anyway works against you. The school has been rocked by a suicide and there is a lot of soul searching taking place as well as a lot of hypocrisy.  Another plot thread is that one of the character is Julian Mitchell's idea of the Cambridge Spy Guy Bennett and how his experiences at school led him along the path he took.

This last plot strand is often the one focused on most by critics but I feel that in this revival it is a smaller part - mainly because the scandal of the Cambridge Spies is now so far away that many of the younger audience may not have heard of it, and because unlike The History Boys there is no epilogue stating where the boys go after leaving school. The friendships and the hypocrisy are what I drew.

I loved the play, and while I will look out for the film version it is going to have to be amazing to be better than the play I saw.

No Wellies Needed

Norwich Film Festival. Odeon Cinema, Norwich. May 2014.

After our recent trip to Sundance London we had another chance to see films as part of a festival at the homegrown Norwich Film Festival.  Once more we decided to focus on the Short Film programme and managed to get to three of the four evening events.

First up we saw the BAFTA shorts - all of the films nominated at the main film award earlier in the year.  This screening comprised of seven films shown in two hours and surprisingly was my least favourite event.

The films were all technically good (and I'm told that two even were played as part of the 2013 Norwich Film Festival) but with the exception of Island Queen  none of them particularly wowed me. I think that after the variety of Sundance these all seemed too professional and polished and often too long.  I can't quite explain it in a way but I just preferred the shorter, rougher films.

Luckily the other two screenings were more like this, and while (obviously) I didn't like all of the 27 films shown they were much more to my taste comprising a mix of 1 minute films, student projects, animations and some professional films.

My overall favourite films were all animations: The Gravedigger's Tale , Une Aventure d'Escargots and Angels and Ghosts but the A Day in the Life of a Bathroom Mirror  was very funny as was Liars and several others were very moving.

I'm not a huge fan of films generally but 'shorts' are really growing on me and I'm looking forward to next year's festival already.

(ps - all of the links this time are 'worksafe')

Theatre 2014: Review Sixteen

Titus Andronicus. Shakespeare's Globe, London. April 2014.

This was always a play I was nervous about seeing - it was a set text in my first term and even reading it made me feel a bit queasy.  It is beyond violent.

This version of Titus Andronicus was first staged in 2006 and has the reputation for being the play that caused the most faints at The Globe, I'm not sure if it is urban legend or not but the figure of 40 is banded around an awful lot.

Having read the play I was at least aware when the really gory bits were going to happen, and thanks to the directing choices they were usually signposted clearly so I had plenty of time to shut my eyes (and cover my ears!) which helped.  I also liked the way that humour was added to the play with the choices of style given to Tamora and Aaron which again helped  to relieve the violence.

Having studied more about the theatre of Shakespeare's time I did wince a little at the extensive use made of the Groundling area by the actors, and I do think that the scaffolding cages were over-used - just a little too much of the action became invisible from the Upper Gallery, luckily for us this was mostly empty the day we visited so we were able to move around, stand and lean so as not to miss anything.

As for the fainting, well yes it is gory but I think that the smoke and incense that is constantly being wafted around the Groundling area, along with the cloth covers not letting it escape may have a lot more to do with this - luckily being so high up most of this had dispersed before it reached us, but I know the smell of that would have made me feel unwell, possibly quicker than the gore!

I'm really glad that I plucked up the courage to see the play, but I don't think it is one I will want to see again - or that I'll buy the DVD of it should it be released.  I'm just too squeamish.

And no - even after a week we haven't considered having pie for dinner!

The stage covering

Mopping the blood from the stage in the interval

Underwhelmed

The Vikings at the British Museum, April 2014.

I'd like to think that we found this exhibition underwhelming because we were tired but after a night in a nice hotel, a lovely breakfast and then a gentle stroll to the museum mean that this wasn't the case.

I am not hugely knowledgeable about the Vikings but thanks to In Our Time and novels from Kevin Crossley Holland I do know a little about them and I hoped to learn more at this exhibition.

Sadly the set up of this exhibition left me feeling disappointed and trampled.  Once more the curse of the audio guide struck and as soon as you walked through the door there was a crowd - even with our early ticket of 10 am on a Sunday. In addition to that the cabinets were not numbered and so even when you got to the front deciphering the contents wasn't easy.

In the end we mostly skipped the first room and found that it did get a little better further through as there was more space and it was easier to reconcile the displays with the information but on the whole we found this an over priced and over rated exhibition, which is a real shame as we've loved the others we have seen at the venue.

If the exhibition was this busy first thing on a Sunday morning I dread to think how bad it is on a week day when the school parties are also in.

On the plus side getting to see the Lewis chessmen in cabinets that really let you look closely at them was great - plus no one else in the room seemed to want to see them!

Film Festival

Sundance London Film Festival. O2 at Greenwich. April 2014.

Mr Norfolkbookworm is much more of a film and cinema person than I am but as he so kindly accompanies me to so much theatre I am making an effort with films this year and to start this off we both went to the O2 in Greenwich recently to attend events at the Sundance London film festival.

We had tickets to both of the Shorts programmes and over the space of about 3 hours (plus time for a lovely sushi lunch) we saw 18 short films, some of which were really not to my taste and others that I want to watch time and time again.

Screening 1 started at 11.30 so this meant an early start from Norwich to get there in time but it was worth it as the first film screened was actually the Short Film Competition winner and called Russian Roulette. Bizarrely this was all about an Internet dating site used like Russian Roulette and the girl makes contact with a lonely astronaut maintaining a space telescope - the film can be seen here.

Other favourites from the morning session were Marilyn Myller and Cruising Electric (1980) which sadly isn't available on line.

In the afternoon another 9 films were screened and this session included the other two films I liked the best - Metube: August Sings Carmen "Habanera" and the incredibly moving I think this is the closest to how the footage looked. 

I really enjoyed the films but I'm not sure if it is because we were there in the day time and attending niche events but there didn't seem to be much of a festival atmosphere, in fact the "Festival Square" was all shut up when we arrived although by our late lunch there was live music as well as food/drink stalls to visit.

I still prefer theatre to film but I am now looking forward to the Norwich Film Festival in a few days - we have tickets to three short film events at that!

Please note that not all of the films I've linked to are 'worksafe' although none are probably higher than a '15' rating.