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Ballad Of The Burning Star, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Nir Paldi, Orian Michaeli, Amy Nostbakken, Seiko Nakazawa, Stefi Sourial, Deborah Pugh, Pete Aves.

The tale of one boy growing up in the settlements of Israel, the history behind his family and the darkness that seeps through like an admission of youthful guilt is introduced not with the fading bell of entropy but with the sound of music, the reckless, wonderfully stirring style of Berlin in the 1920s and with the gaze of the a man pouring into your soul looking for understanding and a sort of forgiveness, not many plays have this at its heart, there is probably no play around that captures the soul in quite the same way as Ballad Of The Burning Star.

Ballad Of The Burning Star, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(552 words, estimated 2:12 mins reading time)

Doctor Who: The Brood Of Erys. Audio Drama Review, Big Finish 183.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

Cast: Colin Baker, Lisa Greenwood, Nicola Sian, Tori Hart, Chris Overton, Brian Shelley, Glynn Sweet.

Every child feels the need to eventually pull away from their parent, to make their own mistakes, to discover the world by themselves and place their own very big personal stamp in the dust.

For Flip Jackson and The Doctor materialising in a unknown segment of space to do some routine maintenance work on the Tardis has its repercussions as Flip Jackson learns the hard way that sometimes you should not open the door to the creature at your door, no matter if they look benign and childlike, for the parent will certainly bear down upon you with big teeth.

Doctor Who: The Brood Of Erys. Audio Drama Review, Big Finish 183. full post

(484 words, estimated 1:56 mins reading time)

Liverpool Sound And Vision Interview With Mark Moraghan And Jake Abraham.

Full interview originally published in Click Liverpool.

For the city of Liverpool, two topics of conversation are never more than five minutes away from being spoken of with passion, knowledge and enthusiasm; football and music. The subject matter when it comes to football varying wildly between the great teams on both sides of the camp of the 1980s sides who took on the very best and won with consummate ease to the days of the beloved Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley to the current teams battling again for the right to be numbered amongst Europe’s elite.

Liverpool Sound And Vision Interview With Mark Moraghan And Jake Abraham. full post

(1410 words, estimated 5:38 mins reading time)

Paloma Faith, A Perfect Contradiction. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

There should be no doubting the strength of the appeal of Paloma Faith. Like Holland’s Caro Emerald, Paloma Faith crosses the borders between the pop heart and the jazz soul with lots of room for the exuberance of discovery, that tingle you feel run up your spine as she starts to sing and the music that follows her every move, ever sanguine note is like a coiled cobra ready to strike out and bite you pleasantly till you submit to her whim.

Paloma Faith, A Perfect Contradiction. Album Review. full post

(509 words, estimated 2:02 mins reading time)

The Musketeers, A Rebellious Woman. Television Review. B.B.C. Television.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Tom Burke, Peter Capaldi, Santiago Cabrera, Howard Charles, Luke Pasqualino, Annabelle Wallis, Alexandra Dowling, Ryan Gage, Tamla Kari, Maimie McCoy, John Lynch, Hugo Speer, Alice Sanders, Hannah Sharp, Richard Hawley, Christian Jenner, Brian Pettifer.

A Rebellious Woman or a woman who understood the complexity of wanting equality in an age of misogyny and pathetic fear in wondering what education would do to a female mind. Not an episode set in the current era, nor back in the dark days of 1970s Britain in which sexism was incredibly rife but in the days of France in which the rule of law was not in the lap of the King as is supposed but in that of the Cardinal and of the Church.

The Musketeers, A Rebellious Woman. Television Review. B.B.C. Television. full post

(438 words, estimated 1:45 mins reading time)

For A Comrade On The Occurrence Of Her Birthday…

Though you protest that your birthday means nothing to you,

To me, your friend… your comrade and sometime companion in the challenging light

The shoulder each we offered

Upon one another in dark days that we suffered side by side

Only reminds me of how fragile the rhythm between us has become.

Once I made my way to Oxford, a night of comedy in your honour

And in which the only laughter

Was on my head and the gallantry whispered gently goodbye under

The Moon in which we stared at as much at that moment

For A Comrade On The Occurrence Of Her Birthday… full post

(255 words, estimated 1:01 mins reading time)

The Twang, NEONTWANG. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

If there is one part of the country that can possibly rival Liverpool for its attitude to music then Birmingham waves a large flag proclaiming its music history and its adoration of those that made venues such as The Rainbow, the old now seemingly forgotten Hummingbird and the gig area of The Dubliner their home before finding the way to world-wide success.

The Twang, NEONTWANG. Album Review. full post

(446 words, estimated 1:47 mins reading time)

Mike Oldfield, Man On The Rocks. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Like the well timed bus that comes just as the rain starts to pour down or the moment when they person you have harboured a crush on for years tells you that they have always been in love with you; Mike Oldfield’s latest album, Man On The Rocks, provides the little ray of sunshine in a day that can be filled with every aspect of grey imaginable.

Mike Oldfield, Man On The Rocks. Album Review. full post

(391 words, estimated 1:34 mins reading time)

Alexandra Jayne, Gig Review. The Brink, Liverpool. (2014).

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

There is something of a delicious pleasure in seeing a young singer/songwriter on stage just a few weeks after you saw them for the first time and knowing deep down that what you saw on stage was only half the story.

Alexandra Jayne, Gig Review. The Brink, Liverpool. (2014). full post

(562 words, estimated 2:15 mins reading time)

Buffy The Vampire Slayer: The Long Way Home. Graphic Novel Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

The final episode of the television spectacular Buffy the Vampire Slayer thankfully didn’t see the end of the adventures of the woman who had captivated an entire generation and set a standard that many have tried to emulate but few have actually attained.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer: The Long Way Home. Graphic Novel Review. full post

(481 words, estimated 1:55 mins reading time)