Author Archives: admin

Raz, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: James Cartwright.

Poetry is not confined to the short poetic burst associated with lovelorn teenagers finding the prospect of double Maths with a wreck of a teacher a dull and boring distraction to writing early sonnets to the person who catches their eye, neither is it the sole preserve of the clever academic reaching the very pinnacle of their career as they accept another title, another seal of recognition. Poetry is in the everyday, it reigns supreme in the smallest of conversations or in the biggest of events and it something that the playwright Jim Cartwright proves with devastating effect in his play Raz.

Raz, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(417 words, estimated 1:40 mins reading time)

Rouge, Theatre Review. L.I.P.A.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Francesca Connolly, Myles Harper, Mathilde Caeyers, George Cartwright, Eirik Dreyer, Sellevoll, Synne Eriksen, Emily Fox, Jasmine Gough, Ada Holden, Phoebe Hudson.

The musical Rouge, based on the Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor film Moulin Rouge, began intensely, erratic and emotionally charged and which was maintained throughout the show that made the hour it was on for seem fast-paced and full of rapid delivery. From the beginning it was touching seeing the huge effort both physically and mentally the second year dance students of L.I.P.A. put into the production and with the overall result being that it was amazing!

Rouge, Theatre Review. L.I.P.A. full post

(293 words, estimated 1:10 mins reading time)

Map.

I often thought about running away from home

when I was a child,

not because I was unhappy or ill treated,

neglected or even abused

by those charged with caring for me,

but simply due to the map of the world

that graced the wall of my bedroom,

surrounded by torn out pictures

of Steve Heighway, Johan Cruyff,

Colin Bell on football styled 1978

World Cup designed wall paper

that was all the rage in Birmingham

during Argentina’s rise to prominence.

 

The map became torn and scuffed

Map. full post

(242 words, estimated 58 secs reading time)

Paul Simon, Stranger To Stranger. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

Like chalk and cheese, Paul Simon’s albums normally seem to go from exquisite high to downbeat low, from painstaking beauty to a desire left unfilled. It is in the nature of the listener to find absolute joy and the feeling of cold aloofness throughout every one of Paul Simon’s albums; however it is not one that normally follows in a single album.

Paul Simon, Stranger To Stranger. Album Review. full post

(433 words, estimated 1:44 mins reading time)

Simon Cousins, Forgiven Songs. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

From Given to Forgiven, the song is always in the moulded, sculptured hands of Simon Cousins. It is a sculpture that is worked upon, that is designed and produced with full heart, from Given to Forgiven, Simon Cousins holds the listener close and asks only that the latest creation is known for its honesty.

Simon Cousins, Forgiven Songs. Album Review. full post

(405 words, estimated 1:37 mins reading time)

I, Monster.

Yes, there is a monster in you,

I can see it in your left eye,

its claws sharp, beckoning, dangerous

and demented as its scratches

along the iris, leaving lines that seep

out the pale red of humanity

that it affords you, that the monster,

cunning and deceitful allows you too feel.

 

I see the monster and hear it growl and laugh,

I experience suffering

as I try my damndest to pull away

from the stare, the fixated point of lascivious

longing that comes with natural ardour.

I, Monster. full post

(165 words, estimated 40 secs reading time)

Late Night With Jez, Radio Review.

The radio, in many people’s eyes the perfect companion, unobtrusive, clear and concise and full of mystery. Like a night in the theatre it speaks to you from out of the darkness, it talks to you like an old friend who understands your need for whatever genre it has in store and unlike television and cinema with its blatant chattering and full on meddlesome ways, the radio has a technique, a manner, in which it makes you feel as though you are the only one hearing the conversation; a two way discussion peppered with great music.

Late Night With Jez, Radio Review. full post

(639 words, estimated 2:33 mins reading time)

Cal Ruddy, Maria. Single Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

It is the sound of an old but vibrant soul, of the appealing echo that resonates around the air of authority that hangs around the personality and playing ability of Cal Ruddy which makes him so incessantly cool; for the young man has a natural tendency to come up with a song that not only captures the attention of the listener from the very first hook, he does it a way which makes you think.

Cal Ruddy, Maria. Single Review. full post

(358 words, estimated 1:26 mins reading time)

The Real Job.

The real job,

the well turned phrase

of the unimaginative,

of the angry dull

and the unoriginal irate,

why don’t you get a real job…

instead of…

cause pulling numbers out of thin air,

of chairing a committee looking

into the habits of weasels,

or driving a lorry with firmly entrenched

political views is any more a real job

than performing on stage

with the prospect of thunderous applause…

 

I presume the fuming featureless words

are always said for effect,

The Real Job. full post

(165 words, estimated 40 secs reading time)

Adam Ant, Gig Review. Birmingham Symphony Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

There are entertainers and there are showmen, there are the musicians and songwriters to whom artistic impression is everything and to which a brief single moment in time in their company as they strut the stage is enough to fall in love with them.

There is no doubt that Adam Ant, a darling of the British music empire, a man who broke rules and was loved for it, still has the ability to turn heads, to slay an audience with a single smile and to offer the feelings of youthful unfulfilled desire with a single bound of his incredible presence. The stage would not be anything without the man to whom personality is an overwhelming prospect and outlandish cool but a genuine request to stand in awe of.

Adam Ant, Gig Review. Birmingham Symphony Hall. full post

(461 words, estimated 1:51 mins reading time)