Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
There are many reasons to believe that the 1980s was a decade in which to forget musically, it cannot be denied that the pop scene, aided by the advance in music television and the mass appeal of the accompanying video, was something of an extravaganza, it was the raging hulk that couldn’t be slowed down and few other bands and their music from other genres were able to corner any type foothold in the minds of the music fan.
I ventured along to a fireworks display but twice,
yet somehow the ritual of putting up an effigy
on a stoking hot flame, of the misreading
of ceremony that has been tainted and abused
long enough,
especially as the value of Government has fallen
and who now has not wanted to say
a big fuck you and place a single digit,
perhaps with closely chewed nail standing out
as the nervous realisation
of our collective plight takes hold,
who now would not want to see Parliament ablaze…
In 2016 Everyman & Playhouse will stage a new adaptation of Madame Bovary with Peepolykus at the Everyman, while at the Playhouse there will be a major revival of Frank McGuinness’ Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme. The Massive Tragedy of Madame Bovary! is directed by Artistic Director Gemma Bodinetz in a co-production with Bristol Old Vic, Southampton Nuffield and Royal & Derngate, Northampton. Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme is co-produced with the Abbey Theatre, Dublin and Citizens Theatre, Glasgow and Headlong and is directed by Jeremy Herrin.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
John T. Davis certainly knows how to pack a dramatic punch. Arguably from his days as the foremost documentary film maker in Ireland, the ability to lead either the viewer, or in this case the listener, down a certain way of thinking, of believing in a clear route towards an enlightenment, and then pulling back the whole picture, the seamless, confident and flawless scene to reveal another kind of truth, a missing link between what we know and what can only be learned; this is the world that John T. Davis shows in both his album Last Western Cowboy and the distinctive country hooks that flood Indigo Snow.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
The relationship between humanity and the sea is one that can be seen in everyday life. As a species we are both fascinated by its calming allure and we are wary of the might and savagery it holds. As an island race, the British in particular feel the pull of the sea, it is the greatest defence and it is a source of food; it is also arguably one of the muses for beautiful poetry and majestic music that writhes like an eel through the veins of all who come into contact with it. For Iain Sutherland it is the reason, the inspiration, to go Back To The Sea.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Cast: Michael Cavanagh, Will Burn, Maria Hutchison, Faye Caddick, Stephen Kinsella, Ian Gray, Elaine Stewart, Yahya Baggash, Peter Durr, Alan Bower.
The price of having it all, of truly understanding everything, is far too high, especially if you have to make a pact with the Devil to achieve it.
The crumbling well worn path has weeds
and cracks strewn through its disjointed route
and I find it difficult not to fall in, to step away from
the gaping, yawning holes and the urge
to attempt to smell the ugly flowers, attractive in
their resilience and keeping away,
shyly and with purpose from the roses that bloom
on the safe and preserved verges.
The path has not always been friendly,
on some occasions I have strayed too close
to the middle, where the traffic, the bikes, the skateboards,
Perhaps in the end
you have to wonder whether it was all worthwhile,
that perhaps somewhere the life you have
is not just the only one
you will ever see, but when the rewind
button is pressed by eternity’s clumsy fingers,
when it is paused by a calculating and obnoxious mind,
that the mistakes come flooding back
and the day slips into the crowded desire
to shoot the barking dog once and for all…
that sitting in the light is only a temporary respite,
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
The mercurial band may be missing from his latest release but that’s not to say that the music on offer, the delicious Northern attitude and fiery wit is any the less impaired or any less fruitful because of it.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Cast: Ian McKellen, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Watson, Sarah Lancashire, Edward Fox, Vanessa Kirby, Tom Brooke, Matthew Cottle, Ian Conningham, Helen Bradbury, Isabelle Estelle Corbusier, John Ashton, Annalisa Rossi.
The Fool and his King are soon parted and the Fool will always regret being so in thrall of a man who despises him. The fine robes of stately oratory soon shed, the Fool sees his master as nothing but rags and as man whose life is but a mask.