I admire you;
in a sea of black,
plastic umbrellas,
yours
is the only face
not afraid
to let the tears
outrun
the rain.
Ian D. Hall 2016
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The Rains Of Williamson Square.
The rains of Williamson Square
fall with precision, with orchestrated beauty
on the words of the poet
below,
whimsical in nature,
they dance round Liverpool’s heart,
the words of every seaman’s tale
and Hen night drunken serenade
as shoes are carried
like wedding vows
through the cold whale spouted water;
the water tangos with their toes
and for the children who explode with weather warmed
August days, the chance to ballet and disco
in between the rain drops is second only
to the waltz enjoyed
They Call Them Fearless.
The midweek floodlit match
and Stevie Heighway on the wing,
the memory of Bill Shankly
and the time when Kenny was King…
the band I listened to called them Fearless
and as images of Hamburg days and leather jackets
filled the fluid nature of my very existence;
got to choose between the Stones and The Beatles,
my vote went north every time
and went stratospheric the first time
I heard Pepper take the band out for a spin.
They are the Fearless, they are the glue
that frightens the Westminster village
The Human League, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. (2016).
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
You only have to go by the sound of the crowd to understand what music means to the people. In the end it is not about mass popularity, the endless soul destroying fight with fame and supposed fortune, it is how your art makes others feel deep in their souls and if you can have a sold out Philharmonic Hall audience singing their hearts out, making the foundations and the walls shake slightly in anticipation and the low moan of pleasure in the ears as hearts spill open over 35 years worth of love and affection for arguably one of the architects of British Synth Pop, The Human League, then the crowd cannot be wrong.
Anthem.
It is an act of patriotism
it is decreed
to stand during your national anthem
before a film goes on
in your local cinema
as the National Anthem plays out.
I know people who used to stand
as the British National Anthem
played on the television
as close down for the night commenced,
they would be erect
as they thought of the Queen
last thing at night
and the Government backed signal
to turn off
and go to bed came;
A huge part of me is thankful
we don’t have that nonsense now…
Ian D. Hall 2016
The Star, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.
Eithne Browne in The Star. Photograph by Robert Day.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast: Eithne Browne, Michelle Butterly, Helen Carter, Kevin Harvey, Danny O’Brien, Jack Rigby, Michael Starke.
Musicians: James Breckon, Elliot Chapman, Danny Miller.
Looking up into the Heavens, one can see the gallery of happy faces, the stars are there to perform, and they find no reason to ever stop beaming their light on the world below. For audiences making their way to the Playhouse this festive season, The Star is shining brightly and it is one that captures all that is good about modern theatre and the remarkable memory it invokes of hearing about the good old days of the music hall experience.
Rillington Place, Television Review.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast: Tim Roth, Samantha Morton, Nico Mirallegro, Jodie Comer, John-Paul Hurley, Christopher Hatherall, Tim Bentinck, Sonya Cassidy, Bryan Parry, Eiry Thomas, Chris Reilly, Pearl Appleby, Erin Armstrong, Kevin Mathurin, Sarah Quintrell.
There are some names that fall through history’s tentacles like poisoned water, the seeds of their crimes going undetected at the time and yet their title living on for all eternity, gruesome and disturbing, shocking and vile, there is no other way to describe the horror that was committed by John Reginald Christie at Rillington Place.
Doctor Who Conundrum.
Starry-eyed
She pounced in my direction
and in a loud commanding,
masterful voice that betrayed in its heart
a sense of innocence and wanting
desperately to please
She proclaimed,
“Oh Ian,
you were right, I have just finished
watching the first episode of Doctor Who;
isn’t it just so fabulous?”
Cheered by this revelation
I asked her if she enjoyed William Hartnell’s performance.
Clearly confused, her face screwed up,
contorted and thoughtful in her puzzlement,
she replied after much deliberation,
“Was he one of the monsters?”
Aladdin, Theatre Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast: Natasha Hamilton, Sean Smith, Jordan Davies, Mark Byron, Michael Chapman, Lewis Pryor, Lesley Butler, Tom Burroughs.
The Christmas pantomime, one of the great cornerstones of life and nowhere in the world really captures the point or the reason of it as much as the British, it takes sheer guts to perform so many shows to an audience to whom many are arguably having their first taste of theatre, of the slapstick fun that is at times extraordinarily paced and presented and the fun that goes with it. It is the possibly the finest of traditions and Aladdin at the Epstein Theatre is no different and one that is all too enjoyable, no matter the age of the person in the seat.
Alistair Anderson & Northlands, Album Review.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
If we don’t sit down occasionally and see life through the medium of our senses and just keep going on to derive some ludicrous pleasure from over consuming then how do we ever hope to grow and listen, to think, to enjoy art for what it is, the prospect of hope in a world of diminishing responsibility, one that can thrill, make you ponder without ever having to aggressively become a stunted and single thought human being.