Theatrical Interlude 16

Merchant of Venice, Norwich Cathedral. July 2013.

A Shakespeare Festival has been held at Norwich Cathedral for the past few years but for some reason I've never been - or even really noticed it taking place.  This year after some mocking by friends on Facebook about how often I go to the theatre the same friends asked if I'd be interested in going with them to a play at the festival!

In the end these two original companions couldn't come and my companions on the evening were Mr Norfolkbookworm and a friend/colleague Jon. It was a perfect evening for outdoor theatre - not too hot, not too cold, not windy and best of all for this summer not raining.

The Merchant of Venice was a new play to me although I knew the basic premise of the plot, I was surprised to see that in the first Folio had categorised the play as a comedy. I know that sensitivities were different in the late 1500s but still I wasn't sure how the topic could be funny...

This version really showed be just why it was classed as comedy - without over acting the humour was apparent throughout, especially in the characters of Portia and Nerissa.  In fact the comedy character, Launcelot Gobbo, was one of the weaker areas - the two leading ladies stole the show!

I very much liked how the play was performed, once more the idea that the players were travelling actors from times gone by was clear. The stage was simply some boarding with steps to the left, right and centre and all the props were either carried by the actors or stored in two trunks on the stage which doubled as seats.

The evening we saw Merchant was the first time the company had performed the play in public and just occasionally there was a stutter or stumble but as I can't imagine how actors can keep one part in their minds let alone several for more than one play I don't feel I can criticise.

There are downsides to performing outside (not including the weather) at the Globe the actors contend with helicopters flying low over head. In Norwich the outside noise came from the peregrine falcons that nest on the spire - every time Shylock appeared in the first act it appeared the birds took off and flew around the cloister screaming.

The uncomfortable moment in the play when Shylock is 'reprireved' so long as he renounces his Jewish faith and converts to Christianity was met with a big hiss by the audience in Norwich and that I feel was a nice way to deal with the worst moment of antisemitism whilst still enjoying what was a great performance.

I know that I will be keeping an eagle (or peregrine) eye out for the announcement of the festival next year.  I might even pack a picnic and really soak up the atmosphere!

Photo taken from my iPhone - the weather was really much nicer than it looks!

Vive La France

An Englishman Aboard - Charles Timoney
Road to Rouen - Ben Hatch

Travel writing can be very good and sometimes it can be self indulgent rubbish, in the past 10 days two titles about France have come my way - one from the library and one through a competition on Twitter.

Although I am only a little way into Road to Rouen so far both books are fun, enjoyable reads although very different. Both have made me want to visit France and to get off the beaten track once there...

Charles Timoney built a row boat to the amusement of his French friends who at a New Year party challenge him to circumnavigate the length of the Seine.  He quickly realises that it won't be possible to do this in his rowboat and so we are spared long passages of him complaining about blisters and backache but rather have anecdotes on towns and villages near to the river, food and drink reviews of the areas travelled through and a few expeditions on the river in various crafts.  Towards the end I got the feeling that he remembered that this was supposed to be about a boat on the river and not about all the other things and, for me, it petered out a little but on the whole it was a fun read.

Ben Hatch on the other hand is travelling around France with his family and on a mission to write a travel guide.  He is trying hard to find things to review but travelling with young children isn't making this as easy as he'd hoped BUT is very entertaining to read from my (childfree) point of view.

I feel that parents will be nodding along and sympathising with Ben Hatch but I'm afraid I am just enjoying knowing that when we travel it can be spontaneous and that as long as Mr Norfolkbookworm and I have plenty to read and access to nice food we are easily amused.

A few other books have come in to the library for me that I can only borrow for a couple of weeks as there are long reservation lists on them so I shall only be dipping into Road to Rouen for the next few weeks but I know that I'll be looking forward to those moments!

Imperfect?

Perfect by Rachel Joyce

Last summer I was swept away by The Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.  There was something very sweet and compelling about the story of a man who decided to take a letter by hand to an old flame rather than put it in a post box.

I was excited to read on Twitter that Rachel Joyce had a second novel ready for this summer, and even more so when I was approved on Net Galley to read an early copy.

The premise is lovely - two school boys hear about leap seconds being added to the year 1972 and then when something happens are convinced that it occurs during these extra moments in time.  A perfect summer and a perfect family then fall apart dramatically and tragically.  Interspersed with this tale is a modern one of a man called Jim trying to readjust to life outside of institutional care.

I struggled with the book, there was so much I should have liked about it but it just didn't grip me. The writing was lyrical and the movement between 1972 and the present was very well done but... And I can't explain why I wasn't gripped.

The tension was such that I did have to stop reading frequently but this was constant - there was no let up and perhaps that is what made it hard going for me.  There was no urgency to the tension and equally no respite, I didn't feel I had to race through the book to find out what happened but there was no slow build either...

I am glad that I read to the end but rather than be surprised I had more of an "oh right" reaction.

I can see from reading reviews on line that I am in the minority (so far) with my views on this book, and it would have been hard to replicate the magic of Harold Fry but this second novel was decidedly 'meh' for me which was a shame.  It is going to be popular with book groups and readers, just not my cup of tea.

Your Country Needs You...

Dorothea's War by Dorothea Crewsdon

In my stack of books from the library were two more of my weaknesses - published diaries from people serving in World War One.

The first was from a horse-mad doctor who signed up at the out break of war and served in France throughout the war.  Henry Owens' family came from Long Stratton here in Norfolk and I had high hopes for the book but sadly I found the detail too sparse. While there is no doubt that Henry was a brave man - he served with his units in the trenches and didn't take the safer option of working in the hospitals behind the lines - I didn't find anything to connect with in his story.

The second book was far more to my taste and the tale of another brave person.

Dorothea trained as a VAD before the out break of WW1 and once war was declared, along with a friend, she volunteered for overseas service. From autumn 1914 until spring 1919 Dorothea worked in hospitals behind the lines in Northern France, she nursed the wounded and those out of the fighting due to illness and rarely returned to the UK on leave through the 4 1/2 years.  Towards the end of the war the hospital she served in was subjected to air raids and her brave actions (and injury) lead to a medal.

Despite surviving the diseases of war, air raids and the Spanish Influenza there sadly isn't a happy ending to the book - this isn't a spoiler it is mentioned in the introduction - and by the end I had a huge lump in my throat. Dorothea's writing style, anecdotes and drawings really made her live and I felt like I was reading about a friend.

I'm sure that with next year being the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War there will be many books published on the subject - all I can hope is that I have time to read them, and that they are of the quality of Dorothea's War.

The Women Left Behind

The Astronaut Wives Club by Lily Koppel

After that very busy weekend I'm spending some time at home and thanks to some less than seasonal weather I've spent a lot of the time not at work reading.  This was helped by a huge stack of my library reservations arriving in time for this weekend.

From reading back through my review and holiday posts it is clear that I have an interest in space history and it feels like I've been waiting for months for this book, it was the first one I grabbed from the pile and I spent all of Sunday reading it.

Whilst I enjoyed the book I am glad that it was just a library copy, I think because I have read so many of the astronaut's books I knew most of the stories recounted here, and often the men had recounted them in less politic terms!

I very much liked the learning about how the women felt their behaviour was an important influence on the trajectory of their husbands' careers, and also about the infighting between the wives of the different astronaut classes but for me the book rarely felt deeper than an interview in a women's magazine.

Perhaps the author had become too friendly with the women so didn't feel a warts and all book was possible? Perhaps in broadening the book out to all of the Mercury/Gemini/Apollo wives there was just too much material.

The book was enjoyable, the photos lovely but for someone with such a keen interest I found it just a little superficial, perhaps after all it is the technical detail that I like as much as the personal story?

Theatrical Interlude 15

Othello, Olivier Theatre at the National Theatre, London. June 2013

After a wonderful performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream in the original setting was the decision to see Othello in modern dress a mistake?  I've found in the past that seeing Shakespeare in a dark theatre far harder to engage with...

I needn't have feared.  The Olivier Theatre stage isn't a proscenium arch and the lighting set up meant that the theatre wasn't pitch black!

In this performance the action has been transposed to modern Cyprus and is set on a modern day army base - this worked very well for me and I engaged with the characters from the outset.

Othello is a play that I have previously studied a little and I think that this did help with the interpretation. Othello comes across as easily led and you can't understand how such a respected man can be so weak, but knowing that he feels out of place as a black leader in a white world makes this corruption comprehensible.

While the play is called Othello for me Iago was the focus and Rory Kinnear played him wonderfully - keeping him from being a total pantomime villain whilst still being delightfully evil and scheming.  The cast as a whole backed up the two leads and although Shakespeare didn't write strong female characters in this play both Desdemona and Emilia made the most of their roles.

The modern setting worked very well, and the staging was simple but brilliant - it really did look like a hurriedly constructed army camp, all concrete blocks and offices in former containers.  The only thing that jarred with the setting was when Othello hits his wife in public. While in the late 1500s this would have passed without comment I'd like to think that the modern army would have punished him on the spot.

I saw this play with Rebecca and I think I enjoyed it more than her, perhaps because it was my first time seeing the play or perhaps because I did have the little bit of insight for a play that did have some ambiguity.  The one thing that I hope passes soon is the fashion for having characters throw up on stage - at least this was more off stage than in Macbeth but is it really necessary?

Ancient Rome in London

Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum, The British Museum, London. June 2013.

The European ancient world has long fascinated me.  I think I was in the first or second year at primary school when we studied the Ancient Greeks, I know we'd already 'done' the Egyptians and while it was fun learning to write hieroglyphs it took the Greeks to really capture my interest.

Visits to Greece and Italy in the decades since, plus a love of historical fiction (for children and adults) has kept the love alive and although a trip to Pompeii and Herculaneum is high on the to do list we weren't going to miss the chance to see this exhibition in the Reading Room at the British Museum.

We picked an early timed entry slot but even then the exhibition was busy.  We snuck past the introductory film - we've watched a lot of BBC documentaries on this bit of history and wanted just a little bit more room to look at everything!

The exhibition is very cleverly laid out, you start with a general idea of what 79AD life in the area was like  - things like inn signs, graffiti and murals as well as shopping artifacts are all displayed and then slowly you realise that you are entering a Roman house. You take a tour around the house popping in and out of rooms and the garden and each one is fully of frescoes, mosaics and household items which really bring the period to life.  Mr Norfolkbookworm had read the accompanying catalogue in advance of our visit and so it was like having my own private guide - I'm afraid my point of reference were the Roman Mystery books by Caroline Lawrence.  Both references really did complement each other and the exhibition.

Once you've wandered around the house the exhibition becomes a little darker - it is like the ash cloud from Vesuvius is descending over the exhibition. The first things you see are some of the molten and burned items then there are some of the preserved bodies from the area.  There aren't many but they are incredibly moving and one that has been preserved in resin not plaster and in that you can see the tendons, muscles and bones.

Despite there being lots of people in the space I didn't feel cramped and could always see the items I was interested in. In such a small place the exhibition organisers have done a great job in bringing Ancient Rome to life and now I really want to visit the 'real thing' more than ever.

Plaster cast of a dog

(NB for the faint hearted some of the 'restricted' items are on show including the infamous Pan and Goat statue)

Theatrical Interlude 14

A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Globe, London. June 2013

This past weekend Mr Norfolkbookworm and I had one of our periodic London weekend splurges - two plays, and exhibition and a night in a hotel.  We're home again and shattered but had a great time.

It was a nice leisurely weekend with lots of time to explore new areas of London and to revisit other places without a rush.  Lunch at The George Inn was lovely and the experience of time travel started early as we were entertained by sword dancers while sitting the yard.

Our run of good weather whilst at the Globe broke this time but as we were tucked up at the back of the top gallery we stayed totally dry - unlike the poor actors and Groundlings! Mind you the rain came down so hard at one point that it was rushing off the thatch so fast it was like watching the stage from behind a waterfall! Jokes about the day being more suited to The Tempest abounded!

Despite the rain the performance was, as ever, fantastic.  I was a little wary of this one way back in January when I booked - there are so many staging of this play every year could the Globe do something different?

From start to finish the play lived for me, the miming of Theseus' conquering of the Amazonian queen was a delight and set the tone - light hearted and fun but with just a little edge.  This is magical mischief rather than malevolence and was great fun with all characters having funny lines/mimes/actions not just the mechanicals and Bottom.  It was the play within a play towards the end that really made the play for me - to perform Shakespeare in such a slapstick and funny way without losing the words or rhythm is an achievement.

As with most Globe productions I found this to be a full ensemble piece with all of the cast being equally good although occasionally I couldn't here all of Oberon/Theseus' speeches but as it was so wet this may have been the reason. From reading the programme afterwards I found out that this was the first time a lot of the actors have performed in the space and so congratulations to all of them in such conditions!
Spotting actors from previous productions is always fun and Bottom was played by the scene stealing Grumio from last year's Taming - his acting with the asses head has to be seen to be believed.

Another great play reinforcing how much I love seeing them performed as they would have been at the time.

The quartet of lovers fighting under the influence of the fairies (from The Times)

Theatre at the Pictures

The Audience, National Theatre Live. Cinema City, Norwich. June 2013

It has been a while since I've seen a live broadcast at the cinema. Several of this season's plays I've seen live and one I just couldn't make it to any of the showings however I knew I had to see this one if at all possible.

I'd really have liked to have seen this one on stage but lack of time and unavailability of tickets when I was free made it impossible, so the next best thing has to be the National Theatre Live.

The play is deceptively simple - once a week, when possible, the Queen meets in private with the Prime Minister. What is discussed in these audiences is not known...

There have been 12 Prime Ministers in the 61 years since HM came to the throne and not all of them get a mention here but those that do are very cleverly portrayed. The 'audiences' depicted are usually from momentous points in the political life of the PM and the interesting view is that the Queen is actually more of a therapist than monarch.  In her constitutional role she can't give opinions or change how parliament is working but through these conversations you see her try to influence outcomes through her guidance, advice and experience.

Through very clever costume and wig changes the play moves backwards and forwards in time  - Major is the first PM that we meet, then back to Churchill then forwards again.  One scene must be re-written weekly, if not daily, as the conversation between HM and Cameron mentioned Prince Philip's current stay in hospital.

The play is genuinely funny, heartwarming and moving - I don't think I've been to a NT Live screening where there was so much laughter.  I was unsure at first about the conversations held between the Queen and her childhood self and while they grew on me and I can see why they were included I did find that they did break the flow a little.

The only thing I really didn't like about the broadcast was the tight focus on characters - this often meant we missed the clever costume changes, and made it hard to suspend belief and see Dame Helen Mirren as a 20 year old.  Seated in the theatre at a distance from the stage this would have been easier to see - although then of course you'd miss the subtle eye rolls and facial ticks that show what HM is thinking during the audiences.

In the interval there was an interview with the play's author and I really liked what he had to say about truth and accuracy.  Obviously no one knows what happens in the audiences but as he said from biographies, memoirs and interviews you can get a feel for how they go - thus these exact words might not have happened but the audience would have gone along those lines.

I laughed lots and I did have a lump in my throat at the end, I wish I'd managed to see the play live on stage but this was a great alternative.  If it is shown as an Encore and you aren't sure if you'd like it I'd say go - it doesn't matter if you are to the left or right politically or a rabid republican it is just a great play!

image taken from the NY Times

Something entirely different

War Requiem (Britten & Jarman)

Having just read a book featuring Benjamin Britten and it being the centenary of his birth Mr Norfolkbookworm and I visited the cinema recently to see this film.

I'm not sure what to make of it.  The film is Jarman's response to the Requiem and the first 3rd was stunning telling the simple narrative of a soldiers and nurses in the First World War.

After this I'm not sure what it was about apart from the segment that was set to a crescendo of music as it showed the futility of all wars since 1914.  It was graphic but the images really fitted the music.

The parts of the film that were obviously symbolic passed me by totally I just didn't understand the images at all.

If the whole piece had been like the first movement I think I'd have been totally spellbound and profoundly moved. In the end I was just confused.

On reading about the piece of music I can see why it moved away from being totally a WW1 story - it wasn't written about that war, and wasn't about the 'Glorious Dead' of this war despite using the poems from then.

The music also wasn't quite to my taste, I can see (hear?) that it is technically good but I didn't connect with it totally.

On the whole I'm really glad that we had the chance to see this on a big screen thanks to having a great art house cinema but I don't think I shall be hurrying to anything else by either Britten or Jarman.

Theatrical Interlude 13

Rocky Horror 40th Anniversary Show. Theatre Royal, Norwich. June 2013.

I've seen the film version of this a few times and often listen to the sound track on my iPod but this was my fist time seeing it live, and even then it nearly slipped by as I didn't notice it listed in the brochure at first.

What is there to say about such an iconic show? It was brilliant - all of the actors were great with stunning voices and it was just a laugh from the very beginning.  Mr Norfolkbookworm and I didn't go in costume (the world is not ready for either of us in a corset and I fall off 1/2 inch shoes let along stilettos!) but many in the audience did and they were audacious and daring as well as very clever.

There were a lot of people in the audience who knew the "heckles" for the stage and it seemed that sometimes these had a particularly Norfolk twist to them for the narrator was occasionally hard pressed not to giggle but even then he managed to come back with some witty lines.

You either like Rocky Horror or you don't I feel - I loved it. It was like pantomime for grown ups and left me smiling and humming for the rest of the week.  If it had been possible I think that I'd have got tickets and gone again, I had so much fun.

Advance copies

The Time by the Sea by Ronald Blythe.

This book is published by Faber and Faber in the UK but this review is based on the electronic proof copy provided by Net Galley

Ronald Blythe came into my reading world late last year from two different directions.  I attended the East Anglian Book Awards and sat with on a table with his publisher and just after this his name was mentioned several times in conjunction with other authors - Robert Macfarlane and Roger Deakin - who's writing I enjoy greatly.


The Time by the Sea covers just a few years in Blythe's life, when he lived in Aldborough (Suffolk) and came into contact with the influential Aldborough Set.  This group of people was as important in East Anglia as Woolf's Bloomsbury Set had been earlier in the twentieth century.

Blythe comes to this specific area of Suffolk thanks to his connections to John Nash and quickly meets other important figures from the world of art, music and literature such as Britten, Forster and Hambling.

This book could so easily have been a "luvvie-fest" but instead of feeling like Blythe is name dropping I felt that he was really sharing his memories of these people in their Suffolk setting nearly sixty years ago.

The landscape around Aldborough is vital to all of the memories and as I am familiar with the landscape and towns talked about I felt that I was wandering around the area with Blythe and his friends.

Some names I knew but many of these important and influential people I'd not come across before and I read this with the book in one hand and the Dictionary of National Biography open on my computer!

Not knowing all of the characters didn't matter to my enjoyment of the book, and having read works from friends who appear later in Blythe's life, it was nice to travel back in time with him.  My list of books to look out for has grown a lot and in this Britten centenary year it was nice to learn more about him from an informal point of view.

Reading this book in electronic proof form was not without issue however as many of the chapter heading images weren't shown and the formatting didn't make it clear when Blythe was quoting - either poetry or memories from other people - which made it hard to follow at times.  This is why I've reserved the physical book from the library so I can see the bits I've missed.

My other slight criticism of the book is that sometimes Blythe leaves a person's tale before you've really got to know them. I realise that this is because it is a book of his own memories and not a biography of his friends, but tantalising little snippets are given and then not expanded on.  Sometimes I wasn't sure if this is because Blythe is a genuinely nice person who doesn't want to speak ill of anyone or if because he wasn't actually a full member of the 'set' and so doesn't actually know the whole story. I am just a nosey person who wants to know the full story!

Blythe's whimsical style really appeals to me and his love for East Anglia shines through, as does his respect for people, buildings and nature alike.  I can't wait to read more of his books now.

Tea for four...

Bucket lists were all the rage a little while back and while my mum, aunt and I don't exactly have a full bucket list we've decided to do the things we want rather than keep putting them off.  As another relative said to me - you don't regret the things you've done, only the things you don't do...

With all of this in mind the three of us and a friend met in London on Thursday last week with the sole intention of being entirely ridiculous and having champagne afternoon tea at the Savoy Hotel.  To mark the importance of the occasion I even wore a dress!

From the instant we stepped from the Strand into the side street that the Savoy occupies we felt special, not at all out of place or patronised simply special.

We had a large table in the corner of the beautiful art deco Thames Foyer and two very attentive and knowledgeable staff looking after us.
The food was delicious - sandwiches that were nothing like I put in our lunchboxes on a daily basis, light scones, jam, cream and lemon curd.  There were two champagnes to chose from and 32 teas...

Trays of petits fours were offered, tea cups refilled and tea pots replaced with fresh.  The only slight disappointment was the cakes offered at the very end weren't quite as nice as the petits fours. Should we go again (or if any of my readers go) we'd pass on the last course and ask for more of the petits fours!

The live piano music was of a very high standard, if a little loud at times, and the service what you'd expect.  The best bit for me (apart from the food and company)? Even at the Savoy they can't get teapots that don't drip.

To bring the blog back around to it's origins again one of my all time favourite authors, Michael Morpurgo, has set a book at the Savoy making it a top literary destination as well as a foodie one.  Kaspar Prince of Cats is a really sweet tale and well worth searching out!

I'm not sure that I'd go to the Savoy for tea again but it would be very easy to get used to that level of luxury...are you listening Mr Norfolkbookworm?! 

Theatrical Interlude 12 (2013)

Noises Off. Theatre Royal, Norwich. May 2013

I loved this play so much last year that when I found out it was coming to Norwich I instantly booked tickets for Mr Norfolkbookworm and I because I wanted to share the pure joy of this farce with him.

Since making the booking I've had several wobbles about doing so.  Was it really that good in London? Would seeing it a second time be a let down? Would the touring version be as funny? And lastly after the let downs that I found the Ladykillers and The Mousetrap, was this actually a funny play?

I am so pleased to say that yes it was a funny as I remember, yes the touring version was pretty much as good and no I really don't regret seeing it a second time.

I think that this is a play that requires timing and trust something the cast had in abundance on opening night in Norwich.  Looking at the Old Vic's touring schedule then the Norwich run corresponds with about the second act and if that is what is going on behind the scenes then professionalism shone through and you'd never have known!

The element of surprise had gone for me as I'd seen the play before but i found the humour to be as fresh as every, the prat falls as funny and from the laughs around me so did everyone else.

I am so pleased that the touring versions of London shows are making it to Norwich - it is so much easier for me to get Mr Norfolkbookworm to them!

Found in Translation

Independent Foreign Fiction Prize and Readers' Day, May 2013.

Being on the 8am train to London on a Saturday was a bit of a shock to the system yesterday, not helped by the fact I'd been out at a Norfolk and Norwich Festival Event the night before. However it turned out to be a great day and one that I really hope I can repeat in 2014!

I posted just under a month ago about the IFFP 2013 and the book I was reading - and I'm pleased to say that the author did manage to wrap the book up in the last 150 pages.  I won't say it happened in a totally satisfying way but it was very appropriate for the rest of the book, and yes we did have some great chats about the book at our meeting and on the train yesterday.  We also talked a lot more about it after hearing from the author and the translator and were very proud of ourselves that we had spotted what he was trying to do!

The second book I had to read was The Detour by Gerbrand Bakker (translated from the Dutch by David Colmer) and back in April I was looking forward to reading it as light relief from Traveller of the Century.  It really drove home the maxim of not judging a book by its cover. It might have been short with a large font and lots of small chunks but it, for me was also so unrealistic and stylised that it ranks with some of the least enjoyable books I've read.  If there was a 'deeper meaning' to be found it was so deep that I couldn't find it and made the books feel very shallow.

Before the Readers' Day I also managed to read Bundu by Chris Barnard (translated from the Afrikaans by Michiel Heyns) which was enjoyable but although sharing similar themes with Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie came nowhere near the latter's brilliance.

The Readers' Day was held at the Free Word Centre in Farringdon and gave us the chance to hear from translators, authors, judges, bloggers and readers.  I hoped to be able to make lots of notes and to tweet form the day but I found myself so engrossed that all I have are odd notes and phrases that have stuck in my mind.

We heard from the authors and translators of the six books on the IFFP shortlist and this really altered my thoughts on some of the books I'd read and cemented other opinions!  What really came across was the authors' views on their translators.  We've heard a lot from translators at our reading group but not really met many of the authors who've been translated. We've thought about and researched the original work but yesterday it was interesting to hear from the authors and how generous they can be to their translators.  Andres Neuman for instance sees a work that has been translated as being only 49% his...

After an incredible lunch we took part in a focus group thinking about the IFFP, book groups, translated fiction, book buying and anything else that came up. This was followed by 2 short talks - one from a blogger who spent a year trying to read a book (translated into English) from each of the 196 UN recognised countries - ayearofreadingtheworld.com  and one from the English branch of PEN talking about the importance of reading books from other languages.
After this there were some fun creative writing exercises.

The last session of the day was great fun - a translation duel.  No violence or swords involved just the mighty pen! Two translators had been given the same passage to translate independently and then these were put side by side and compared.  Not even the title of the chapter was the same!
The first few lines were then discussed with a third person (also a translator) as he got them to explain their choices, decisions and thought patterns.  It has been many years since I did any (minor) translating but this session reaffirmed how hard it was and how there weren't really any right answers of how to do it - just personal preferences!

At the very end of the day the winner of the IFFP as chosen by us readers was announced and a book that has been translated from Croatian was declared the winner - Trieste by Dasa Drndic, translator Ellen Elias-Bursac.  My copy is still on reserve from the library but the notes I made yesterday lead me to believe that although hard going this is going to be a fascinating read.

I was left with a few thoughts from the day that are going to be hard to shake and will influence my reading:

In English we are spoiled by being able to read in our own tongue so many books form so many places but we have to also read books translated into English to get a real feel for the world.

Only 4.5% of the books we find in the UK are in translation and of these women are woefully under-represented.  We realised that this is something we've unconsciously noticed at our Reading Group as we were actually struggling to remember more than 2 books by women that we've read in the 3+ years we've been meeting.

As readers we are all translators - what we actually take in from a book is our version of the text and can't be what the original author had in mind as he/she wrote.

Pens must be bisexual - it shouldn't matter if a man writes a female and vice versa just as it shouldn't matter if a female translates a man. The quality of the writing and content should make any scenario work and if it doesn't then this is the problem not the gender of the author/translator.

I'd really like to thank The Booktrust, The Reading Agency, English Pen, BCLT, The Free Word Centre, the authors, judges, translators and speakers (plus anyone else I've forgotten) for making the shadowing process and the Readers' Day such a great experience.  I hope we can take part again next year and I'm really looking forward to finding out which book the judges pick as the winner!

Theatrical Interlude 11 (2013)

 The Tempest, The Globe, London. May 2013

The Season of Plenty presented by the Globe is really spoiling us this year, as well as seeing 6 plays at the London theatre I am also hoping to catch another  two as plays tour around the country.

Yesterday's trip was to see The Tempest and the weather forecast wasn't hopeful that we'd avoid our own bad weather...

I saw a version of The Tempest back in September 2011 where I found it a mixed play.  This version blew me away.

From the shipwreck at the beginning to the reconciliation at the end  felt I was an interloper on the island watching the story unfold.  Roger Allam as Prospero was a joy to watch - he played the magician as a kindly father who was trying to right wrongs rather than a cruel enslaver of the spirits on the island.

Unlike in other productions Miranda and Ferdinand were stronger characters than expected - with the lines Shakespeare wrote they are never going to set the world on fire but they showed some spirit and humour.

The scenes with Stephano, Trinculo and Caliban stole the show (especially Caliban) and I think that due to judicious cutting their scenes were just the right length, always funny and never over stretched.

Ariel and the other sprites were otherworldly and used the whole theatre to create their effects, making particular use of the original lines to do this.

The slight flat point for me were the scenes with the King and his followers, although boasting a few of my favourite actors from the Globe their scenes were, for me, underplayed and I almost missed some of the important plot points.

The nature of the play really allowed for audience participation and in jokes - Caliban in particular managed this yesterday as he was amazed by helicopters and interacted wonderfully with the person in a wheelchair at the stage edges being particular highlights!

This version seemed a lot less episodic and much more coherent than the version I saw in 2011 and once more Mr Norfolkbookworm and I came away from the theatre saying that this was the best play we'd seen there! I am pleased to have seen Roger Allam on stage at The Globe after missing him as Falstaff in Henry IV a few years ago.

The weather did smile on us too, and the rain didn't start to fall until the 'curtain' calls!

Theatrical Interlude 10 (2013)

 Mamma Mia! Winter Garden Theater, New York. May 2013.

The Norfolbookworm and her mum went international last week as we treated ourselves to a few days in New York.

The weather was amazing and in 3 1/2 days we walked about 20 miles and saw loads of the famous sights.  Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge towards Manhattan under a glorious blue sky, sailing in front of the Statue of Liberty aboard the Staten Island Ferry, the views from the top of the Empire State Building and the Rockerfeller Center were all highlights.

I did indulge in a bit of a busman's holiday with a visit to the New York Public Library - a truly amazing building and home to the original Winnie the Pooh and friends:

We had a list of things we really wanted to do while in The Big Apple and seeing a something on Broadway was pretty high on that list.  On our first full day we arrived at the famous TKTS booth in Time Square and queued for discount tickets for a show that evening.

The booth opens at 3pm for the evening discounts and even though we were there before 3.30 the queue was huge - happily there were also lots of shows and tickets available.  We'd decided that we wanted to see something fun and lively, set ourselves a price limit and joined the queue.  Barely anytime later we were at the counter and came away clutching tickets for the orchestra stalls at the Winter Garden Theater to see Mamma Mia! at 8pm.

One of my earliest musical memories is ABBA's Super Trouper plus as Mr Norfolkbookworm and I got married in Greece the year the film version of the show was released I've always felt an affinity to the show but never managed to get around to seeing it in London.

We weren't disappointed at all - from walking into the theatre and being given a *free* playbill (programme) until the final curtain we had a ball. The energy of the performers, the set, costumes, music and acting made it a magical evening.

There were a few negatives - audiences in New York seem to be worse behaved than in London, people were talking quite loudly throughout, especially in dialogue/quiet song moments. The walls to the theatre seemed quite thin and unlike in London it wasn't just drums you heard in the auditorium - it was all traffic and people chatting just outside. You could even smell their cigarettes...

However all in all we had a great time, and as we joined in during the last number (participation encouraged, not crashing the stage!) we can now say that we too have sung and danced on Broadway!

Theatrical Interlude 9 (2013)

The Mousetrap, Theatre Royal, Norwich. April 2013.

This play has been on my 'would like to see' list for quite a while but because it shows no sign of closing in London it keeps slipping down this list. When the 60th Anniversary tour announced it was coming to Norwich it seemed like the perfect opportunity, especially as Mr Norfolkbookworm will come with me to the Theatre Royal.

As all audience members are sworn to secrecy regarding this play it isn't the easiest play to review.  It wasn't helped by my reaction to it.

The set was beautiful, all the action takes place in the sitting room of a large house that has just been turned into a guest house, there are various entrances to this space and it evoked the late 1940s wonderfully.

The actors were all very good as well.

However I'm not sure if this was a straight comedic play or a farce.  I do know that all the way through I was expecting the cast to break into song and or dance routines - a la Blakeney Players.  To be honest I think that would have improved my enjoyment.

The script was beyond stilted and I guessed 'who dunnit' before the interval. I didn't even find it very funny. Perhaps this is the point?

I like Agatha Christie as a rule - one of the few crime writers I do like - but to be honest how this has survived 60 years is beyond me.

Lost in translation

First thoughts about the 2013 IFFP

For the past three years I've belonged to (and help run) a book group that reads books that have been translated into English.  We've read our way around the world and all manner of genres and met a lot of interesting writers and translators.

This year we are shadowing the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize and have been sent two books to read and discuss in advance of a reader's day in London which some of us will be attending.

I've been reading the first of the two "Traveller of the Century" by Andres Neuman (translated from the Spanish by Nick Caistor and Lorenza Garcia) for over two weeks now and this is very unusual for me as I generally either race through a book or give up on it.

The book is nearly 600 pages long but that isn't the reason for my slowness, in fact I am at a loss to explain how I am reading it.  The story is very slow and ponderous, to be honest after 460 pages not an awful lot has happened, but there is just enough plot to keep me interested. I like the translation strand of the tale, many of the same questions we've grappled with as a group are discussed but I really could do without the sex scenes. I'm not a prude but these seem both badly written and gratuitous.

I want to know how Neuman can resolve so many threads in 150 pages without changing the style. I fear that I am going to feel unsatisfied but the skill shown so far is keeping me hopeful.

I think there are going to be some good discussions around this book both at our next meeting and at the reader's day.  I am glad that our second book is a bit shorter however...

Theatrical Interlude 8 (2013)

Macbeth, Trafalgar Studios, London. April 2013

Where to start with this one?

It should have been so good, in fact early reviews and talk were what encouraged Rebecca and I to squeeze this in to our schedules. I wonder if it was this buzz/hype that has left us feeling so ambivalent about this one?

The chance to see the Scottish Play with a predominantly Scottish cast from a director whose work we've previously liked - on paper is sounded perfect.  If only it had lived up to it all for us.

Before we went I knew that it was going to be a bloody performance and it certainly lived up to that.  I wouldn't be surprised to know that there was a nationwide shortage of Kensington Gore by the time the play closes! However it wasn't just blood as a bodily fluid that was represented on stage.  I'm pretty sure that the original stage directions didn't include Macbeth throwing up on stage...

I'm struggling to find many positive things to say here. The production was dark - as in I couldn't see the actors a lot of the time.  It was shouty - I'm sure that there are other ways to express emotions rather than raising the voice. It was incomprehensible at times - characters wore masks and then didn't enunciate. It was violent - so violent and gory that by the end it had lost all impact and was like a cartoon.

For me the biggest problem was the Scottish accents - rather than adding to the play they also seemed affected and overblown (despite that being the natural accent for several of the cast). All I could hear throughout the play was the exaggerated, comedic accents of Hamish and Dougal as voiced by Graeme Garden and Barry Crier.

All in all this wasn't an afternoon I enjoyed and at all. It felt all style and no substance and I couldn't connect with any of the characters at all. I'm sure that actors were very good but as I either couldn't hear them clearly because of the masks or because they were shouting I'll have to take other people's opinions on that!

I'm just hoping that I enjoy the version of Macbeth that the Globe are staging later on in the year...it is one of the classic Shakepeare plays after all!

Theatrical Interlude 7 (2013)

Wicked, Apollo Victoria, London. April 2013.

My love of theatre is spreading again - this time my companion was my aunt. In fact this was her long postponed Christmas treat - bad weather and ice thwarted our planned trip in January.

I've seen Wicked before but I often listen to the soundtrack and was pleased to be going again. This time we had seats in the stalls, only a few back from the stage.  I was a little worried that we'd be too close (and a little too much to the side) but in the end I think that we were in almost perfect seats.

I've sat in the stalls at a large scale musical before but never so close and it was a real treat to see just how much performers in a big theatre do still act - being able to see the facial expressions really added to the experience.

It has been quite a while since I've been to a large musical and I'd forgotten just what a feel good spectacle they can be, I was swept away from curtain up and 3 hours haven't passed so fast in ages.

Our day wasn't just the theatre however as we also became ladies that lunch with a two course meal (and champagne) at the nearby Grosvenor Hotel.  Our food here was delicious, the setting stunning and the service attentive and unobtrusive.  If you are ever looking for a reasonably priced but fancy meal in London I heartily recommend the Brasserie here.

The sun shone all day and we had a very nice walk around Belgravia beforehand - although it was a disappointment at the time I am now very pleased we had to reschedule as this was a perfect spring day.

Book review including Cakes and Ale...?

Shakespeare's Local by Pete Brown

On the main road leading from London Bridge, a spit and a cough from The Globe Theatre, is a pub whose origins can be traced back to the time of Chaucer. In fact it stands near enough next door to the Tabard Pun, from where Chaucer's pilgrims departed in the Canterbury Tales.

In this book by beer writer Pete Brown the fascinating 600 years of the building's history is peeled back slowly and carefully. The reader learns about the history of the area, the history of beer and of the Inn itself.

As some one who likes this sort of personal history, and Pete Brown's style, I liked this book immensely. Unusually for me I did find it a book to dip in and out chapter by chapter as it was quite dense but I still read it over the course of 2 weeks rather than it laying discarded for months!

On my first trip to the Southwark area in a while I did search the building out, and while I only had time for a lemonade this time I will be back to have a more detailed look and to poke around into some of the remaining galleries.

As for whether or not this was Shakespeare's Local - you'll have to read the book to find out!

Theatrical Interlude 6 (2013)

Proof, Chocolate Menier Theatre, London. April 2013.

It finally seemed as if spring had sprung. It was a warm(ish) day, the sun was shining and the daffodils were in bloom along the South Bank. Were Rebecca and I mad for spending so much of a lovely day on trains and then in a dark theatre seeing a play which we knew little about?

The simple answer to this was absolutely not.

We had a very nice morning pottering in the sunshine, and while we didn't manage lunch outside we did have a swift drink outsides at The George Inn, this pub is the subject of Pete Brown's book Shakespeare's Local which I read recently and will blog about soon.

As well as the play being new to us so was the theatre, but when I mentioned it to my mum she instantly said that she knew it because she could see it form the train when she comes to London. This hint was invaluable as we were wandering around the side streets of Southwark as we started our zen navigation by looking for the railway arches!

We knew that the venue was small however it was a little unnerving to get to a theatre 10 minutes before curtain-up and see practically no one around.  The theatre was accessed through a bar/restaurant and then down a few steps into the auditorium.  Due to the size I don't think that there can be a bad seat in the house and for this play the stage was dressed as the back porch of a run down house which was revealed to be in Chicago and while small was used to far more purpose than some of the larger ones in the West End.

The play itself was a four-hander, a mathematician father, his two daughters and a former student.  It was about many things - metal illness, death of a parent, family relationships, love, maths and proof being the topics I saw.  I feel that every person who sees this play takes something different from it, depending on personal circumstances. Being married to someone who works in a science based department at a university I found a lot of the throw away lines about faculty departments funnier than the people next to me for instance.
The scenes between the family members felt very realistic and unlike some domestic dramas I found the  ensemble piece to be true to life and neither under played nor overblown.

Proof wasn't a long play but I found it to have quite a punch, and I am really glad that I saw it.  I wish more plays like this happened in the provinces.  If we are honest the draw of this play was the actors. If we hadn't and admired Jamie Parker in other plays we'd probably never have tried an unknown play, in an unknown theatre and that really would have been our loss.
This was worth the seat price and the train fare, it has given me a lot to think about - like the best books, plays and films should.

To infinity and beyond - or Low Earth Orbit

Spacewalker by Jerry Ross

I was lucky enough to obtain a copy of this through NetGalley just before a recent trip to the Space Coast in Florida.

I am a great fan of astronaut memoirs, while I can appreciate the beauty and engineering of space craft it is the human stories that really interest me. I've read many of the Mercury/Gemini/Apollo memoirs and I am on the look out for translation of Russian memoirs and Space Shuttle era books too.

A few months ago NetGalley offered Reaching for the Stars by the first Mexican Astronaut but due to the style of the book (Hernandez appears to have written it in English although this isn't his first language or translated it himself) I had to give up - it didn't flow at all and I wasn't captivated by the story enough to persevere with it.

Spacewalker by Ross on the other hand was a treat from cover to cover. He manages a nice blend of technical details, family details and impressions of space to make the book readable and enjoyable.  He had to work hard to get where he did and isn't afraid to talk about the failures in his own life and in the space program overall.
In total Ross took flew on 7 missions, including the very first mission to construct the International Space Station. He was an expert spacewalker and was the only astronaut to be involved with the entire lifespan of the Space Shuttle.

What was even luckier was that while we were in Florida Jerry Ross was at the Kennedy Space Center giving talks on 3 days and so I got to hear him in person and to tell him  how much I liked his book.

It might be that the Space Shuttle program doesn't seem to be as captivating as the early missions but with memoirs like this around this could easily change.

Theatrical Interlude 5 (2013)

A Life of Galileo (RSC), Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, March 2013.

I saw this play a few weeks ago now on an over night trip to Stratford. I'd hoped to see something by Shakespeare in his birth place but unfortunately the dates didn't work out this time.

In the end it didn't matter as I loved every minute of this play. The theatre itself reminded me of an indoor (and if I am honest more comfortable Globe) and the staging very much of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime.

However as time has now passed since I saw this (Mr Bookworm and I went to the States to indulge in our other interest - space travel) all I can think of to say about A Life of Galileo is that if it transfers or tours I urge you all to go and see it.

At times it isn't easy watching - Galileo (in this version) was very lucky that his daughter was a forgiving person or he could have been in a whole heap worse trouble. It is however intelligent, fun and very thought provoking and I am sorry that I didn't have the time to write a proper review while it was fresher in my mind.

From a lot of books I've read about theatre it seems that you are either a Beckett or a Brecht person. I've now seen one of each and at present I feel I am more drawn to Brecht, but that could just have been thanks to the new translation...I shall have to try more of both to come to an informed decision!

Norfolkbookworm at the gallery

Ansel Adams from the Mountains to the Sea, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. March 2013

When I'm not reading or at the theatre photography is another time consuming hobby that I pursue, one that I was introduced to by dad.

I think I had a camera from about the age of 5 - I remember a very early trip to London Zoo with my dad and a camera, one that had a screw on flashbulb. I know I also had at least one 110mm camera and that I wasn't a teenager by the time I had my first SLR - an Olympus OM10.

Since the advent on digital I've been through a few cameras but Canon DSLRs and their lenses really inspired me.  I'm not great at indoor photography or portraits but I love taking landscape and nature shots and for years Ansel Adams has been a great inspiration.

The exhibition at Greenwich was wonderful when dad and I visited in early March.
It was housed in a light and airy room (unlike the rest of the over heated museum) that has wonderful white walls making the images really stand out.
The exhibition was reasonable empty as we wandered round and so we could stop and really stare at images that caught our eye. We could also wander round in any order we wanted and backtrack at any point.

While a lot of my favourite images weren't included (they don't have any link to water) I discovered dozens of new images that I hadn't seen before and fell in love with dozens of them. We were surprised at how small the originals were and how ingenious his methods for making the huge images!

There was a film show in one corner of the exhibition with footage from interviews with Adams and a couple of things he said really resonated.

There is a lot of talk about how 'real' photos are today with all of the technology out there to alter them, yet Adams himself spent up to a day working on a negative to get just the print he wanted.  The dates of his pictures are just when the shutter was pressed - the prints can be from anytime as he manipulated them in the dark room.

He also talked about photography and editing as being like music. A composer writes the score but it is up to the conductor and musicians how it sounds. Thus a dozen people can stand in one spot and take the same view but each of us will produce something different.

I've always been a little unsure about editing my photos in programs such as photoshop because I thought it was cheating - now I can see it as creating art from a basic start.  I still won't be doing things like substituting one sky for another and changing the basic image that much, but I won't feel guilty about enhancing the colours, converting to black and white and cropping.

One day I dream of taking just one picture half as good as Adams but this exhibition has inspired me and has not depressed me.  I'm now looking forwards to a planned trip to California, Yosemite and the Sierra with my camera.  And hoping that the schedule will allow a long visit to the Ansel Adams Gallery. I'm already saving hard!

The one disappointing thing about the exhibition was the gift shop. Both dad and I had fallen in love with a couple of images, including one of the huge feature pictures, but they weren't available to buy.  I am still debating whether to buy the exhibition catalogue as this may be the only way to get a copy of these images.

Theatrical Interlude 4 (2013)

The Ladykillers,Theatre Royal, Norwich. March 2013

I was introduced to the Ealing Comedies by Mr Norfolkbookworm not long after we started going out together. There is something timeless about a lot of the films and they are real comfort films that stand rewatching.  

The Ladykillers took London by storm when it opened in late 2011 and went on to be nominated for many awards in the 2012 season. It wasn't one that hugely appealed at the time - I'm always wary of adaptations of well loved films/books as I've written before.  A friend, whose opinions I trust, also wasn't blown away by it when she saw it and so it passed me by.

However curiosity (and priority booking/discounts) got the better of me, when it was announced that the touring version would come to Norwich I booked the hubby and I seats.

I'm glad we saw it, the acting was very good and I think that the set is the best I've ever seen in Norwich - it was so intricate and clever. It has been a while since I last saw the film but the story felt fresh and yet at the same time also managed to feel like a 1950s Ealing comedy - no mean feat.

Ultimately it was a nice evening. Mr Norfolkbookworm isn't a great theatre person or a fan of London  so seeing a play together is always a treat but (and didn't you just know this was coming!) for me the play just lacked a little something. 

I laughed and I was amused but I wasn't swept away at any point. 

I do wonder if the pacing had anything to do with it - perhaps making the play 10 minutes shorter and doing away with an interval would have made an entertaining play into a great one?

I'm glad we saw it but I'm glad we didn't pay top whack for the seats and travel to London for the experience.

Theatrical Interlude 3 (2013)

Privates on Parade, Noel Coward Theatre, London. February 2013

Simon Russell Beale is one of my favourite actors and when the chance came up to see him in Privates on Parade before the limited season comes to an end I was a very happy Norfolkbookworm.

Rebecca and I knew very little about the story beforehand and once more this worked in our favour.

The play is set in Malaya at the end of the British Empire and follows an entertainment unit on tour.  Women are in short supply and so a lot of the 'acts' are done in drag and the humour and poignancy comes through as it becomes clear that most of the company are actually gay and those that aren't are accepting.

When not watching the company rehearse and perform we learn more about the behind the scenes actions of the unit commanders and it is here that the plot turns darker and more serious.

The play was wonderful from curtain up to curtain down the often hilarious first half was always balanced by the slight foreboding that things couldn't last and this balance of laughs and seriousness really worked for me.  I did go from crying with laughter to welling up in sadness at the sounding of the Last Post.

I can see why some people are a little uncomfortable about the casual racism of the play but when you realise that this is actually making a point as well as being typical for the time it becomes understandable and in a way a very clever plot device.

The audience in the theatre are addressed frequently from the stage by the cast and it took me a while to see that this wasn't a pretentious 'breaking the fourth wall' event but because we were part of the play. When the SADUSEA company were on stage we had become the Armed Forces audience they are performing to and not just the audience seeing Privates on Parade.

For a cast that were primarily not trained in musical theatre I take my hat off to them all as they sang and danced wonderfully throughout and stayed totally in character and accent as they performed. It was a real ensemble piece and while Simon Russell Beale was the draw for me the entire cast were fabulous and balanced the over the top aspects of Beale's persona wonderfully.

The language, topics discussed and full frontal nudity in this play mean it isn't for everyone (including the school party at the performance we attended!) but for me it was a great play and I am so glad that I found the time to see it - a real pick me up at the end of a drab, cold February.

and for those wondering - yes there were plenty of 'privates' on parade!

More praise has to go to the cast as the play was struck by tragedy when the original actress playing Sylvia died during at the start of the run a few weeks after being diagnosed with cancer. The rest of the performances have been dedicated to her memory.