Wednesday, December 14, 2011

A siren song I'm choosing to ignore

On the weekend I spent some time playing videogames with friends, specifically games 1 and 2 of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series, as well as Call of Duty: World at War – for the zombie level – and then some old-school Halo: Combat Evolved, the game that we used to play regularly six or seven years ago.

Each of the friends involved owns an X-Box 360, and all expressed the opinion that I, too, should get one so I could join them in their online sessions.

Because, as it is, I don't own an X-Box; nor do I own a Wii or a Playstation. And I don't intend for that to ever change. But it's not because I wouldn't enjoy having one (or even all) – quite the opposite; I enjoy video games, so it's something I'd no doubt get hours of fun out of – and therein lies the problem.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

A theatrical discussion

Sorry about the title. I couldn't come up with anything better.

Anyway, a recent back-and-forth following a comment on a Facebook group set up for people involved in the Adelaide theatre scene has revealed some very strong feelings about several issues, with one of the most significant being the divide between amateur and professional – amongst both performers/producers and critics.

Since I'm an occasional performers/producers and a regular critics it's a discussion I've been following with more than a little interest.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

The week that was #25

Probably the last truly busy week of the year for me: a theatre info night, a film and two concerts.

South Pacific info night

Because I've been assistant webmonkey1 for the ATG, I've been seeing all the audition notices for upcoming shows; one that I was particularly interested in was for The Met's production of South Pacific.

All of the shows I've involved in recently – as cast or crew – have tended toward the serious (while Arsenic & Old Lace and The Tempest were both comedies, I played the least funny roles in both of them; Jonathan Brewster and Alonso respectively) and I'm thinking that it's time I did something lighter – either a musical or a (proper) comedy.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

The week that was #24

One of those weeks where a few things have happened but none of them, alone, warrants a standalone blog post. I saw a film and a couple of plays, saw a lecture by one of the world's leading public intellectuals, and had one of my tweets get retweeted a surprising number of times.

Midnight in Paris

Woody Allen's latest, it is the story of Gil (Owen Wilson), a Hollywood screenwriter on holiday in Paris with his fiancee Inez (Rachel McAdams); he is hoping to switch from script-doctoring to novel-writing, and finds himself nostalgic for the glory days of Paris in the 1920s, when it was a haven for the world's artists and intellectuals.

Monday, October 31, 2011

Soundtrack Albums

Using pop music in films is a great way to establish mood (either on top of or instead of the film's instrumental score) and, for those set in a specific point in time, an easy way to help establish the period. Releasing these for sale to has proven to be a rather handy moneymaking venture, since soundtrack albums sometimes sell very well indeed – The Bodyguard, Dirty Dancing and Saturday Night Fever are in the top ten best-selling albums of all time.

And whether the songs are specifically written for the film or not they often provide very interesting combinations that you wouldn't otherwise find together in one place. I've bought quite a few over the years, and, after some thought, I came up with four albums that I consider my favourites – as well as some notable mentions.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

The Pillowman

It's been, as the saying goes, an amazing ride. I came straight from appearing in Macbeth (which I wrote about here) to stage managing this production – almost literally; rehearsals for The Pillowman started before our run finished, and the afternoon following our final night cast party I was back at the Little Theatre for a rehearsal.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Pride and Prejudice

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."

I've just finished Pride and Prejudice, and I'm very surprised by just how much I enjoyed it. I'd only read one other of Austen's works prior to this: Emma, which I felt I needed to read after being cast1 as Frank Churchill in a stage adaptation of that story back in 2003. While I didn't hate it, I didn't think it anything special.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Fright Night

This week I saw a film I've keen to see since I'd heard it was getting made: the remake of the classic 1985 comedy/horror, Fright Night. I liked the original, which starred William Ragsdale, Chris Sarandon and the delightful Roddy McDowal. But it was the fact that the Roddy McDowal part (well, sort of) would, in this version, be played by ex-Dr Who David Tennant that really drove me to go see it.

So, it's about a guy (Anton Yelchin) who discovers his neighbour (Colin Farrell) is a vampire, and with his mother (Toni Collette), his girlfriend (Imogen Poots) and an eccentric stage magician/vampire expert (David Tennant channeling Criss Angel), tries to defeat him.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Milestones

A couple of interesting – well, if you're me that is; if you're not, they'll probably seem meaningless – milestones went by over the last few days.

Number one

My blog registered – according, at least, to the attached stats-counter – it's ten thousandth hit. And here's a picture (click on it to enlarge; the important heading is 'Pageviews all time history':

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Sons of Anarchy

While it's not a new show – it first aired in the US in 2008 – I've become a big fan of the tv series Sons of Anarchy, ever since One started airing it earlier this year. I'm now a couple of episodes into the second season.

It's about an 'outlaw' motorcycle club, the Sons of Anarchy – usually referred to as SAMCRO, which is an acronym1 for 'Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Redwood Original'2, and their activities, most of which are either quasi-legal or blatantly illegal – gun-running, mostly; there are even more nefarious activities such as extortion and murder-for-hire.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Cowboys and Aliens

While I like to think I've developed, over the years, a somewhat sophisticated taste when it comes to film – manifested more in what I'm choosing to not see than in what I'm choosing to see; I refused to see the last Transformers film, for example – but I'm still a sucker for the occasional 'popcorn flick'.

And, based on what I had read/seen about it, the recently-released Cowboys & Aliens fell under that category. Directed by Jon Favreau, whose work I'd admired in the two Iron Man films, and with Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford in the starring roles, it certainly had some potential.

So, off I went. Spoilers ahoy.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

The Scottish Production

Well, it – the University of Adelaide Theatre Guild production of Macbeth that I first wrote about in my post The Scottish Audition – finished up on Saturday after eleven performances. And it's going to go down as one of the best productions I've ever been involved with.

The combination of such a rare opportunity to do Macbeth1, combined with getting to work with such a great cast, a talented crew, a thoughtful and inspiring director and in a space as enjoyable to work in as the Little Theatre just doesn't come along that often.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 2)

This week I saw one of the most anticipated movies of all time: part two of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. And since I wrote a review of the first one – and almost always need an excuse for a blog post – I thought I'd do the same for part two.

The story – oh, and you'd better believe there are spoilers

So, the first film ended with Harry and friends escaping from the clutches of Bellatrix Lestrange and her unpleasant cohorts at Malfoy Manor – but losing1 Dobby the house elf in the process. Meanwhile, Voldemort raids Dumbeldore's tomb and takes what he finally realised was the Elder Wand – the most powerful wand in the world.

Friday, July 15, 2011

Death Cab for Cutie

A few weeks back I picked up Seattle band Death Cab for Cutie's latest album, Codes and Keys, and that's inspired me to write about the group that, over the past few years, has – with their melodic, atmospheric sound and singer Ben Gibbard's distinctive voice – become one of my favourite bands.

Warning: embarrassing guilty pleasure alert

The first time I really became aware of them was via the television series The O.C., which I wound up watching for no particularly good reason other than people talked about it a lot and I – as I tend to do with such things – wanted to find out why, and got sucked into it.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Cabaret Season 2011

Forgive me, audience; it's been several weeks since my last confession blog post1.

But I've been busy. Between rehearsals for the production of Macbeth that I'm in (which started in the first weekend of June), seeing shows in the Adelaide Cabaret Festival and Cabaret Fringe festival, and writing reviews – which sometimes takes more time than the show being reviewed – I just haven't had much time to sit down and put fingers to keys – at least not for anything that wasn't a review.

Monday, May 30, 2011

Ben Folds

On Sunday May 22 I went to see the Ben Folds gig at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre Theatre1. It's the second time I'll have seen him since he went solo; the last time was quite a while back, when he played with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra at the Festival Centre. Prior to that I saw him twice when he was still with Ben Folds Five.

I was huge Ben Folds Five fan; their first (self-titled) album is one of my favourites, and I rate it as one of the best – maybe even the best – debut album of all time. While I'm not quite as fond of the later albums with the group or his solo stuff – which isn't to say that I think it's bad, per se; it's that the debut album is so damn good, with an amazing energy and some truly kickass songs like Underground, Philosophy, Best Imitation of Myself, Video, Julianne and Uncle Walter, it's hard for anything else to compare – there are good songs on each. So I'd always be up to see him live.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

A Wicked good time

From the moment during last year's Cabaret Festival when the crowd of people emerging from co-creator Stephen Schwartz's show, buzzing with excitement because he'd let slip that the hugely popular show would be coming to Adelaide in 2011, I've been looking forward to seeing Wicked.

Obviously I could have travelled to Sydney or Melbourne or Brisbane to see it while it played in those cities, but I'm generally of the opinion that if the producers of a show aren't willing to bring it to Adelaide, then they don't deserve my money.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Needs More Banjo

As I was driving home from a friend's place the other night, my mp3 player – in shuffle mode – gave me two consecutive songs featuring banjo: Electrolite by REM, and White Blank Page by Mumford & Sons, and it reminded me of just how much I enjoy the use of that particular instrument.

I'm not sure where I first heard a song with banjo, but there would have been a few songs floating around while I was young.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Frankenstein & Sucker Punch

I visited the Palace cinema twice in two days (Sunday and Monday) for two somewhat different kinds of entertainment, despite them being broadcast in essentially the same medium.

Frankenstein

Not a film – a filmed version of a play; England's National Theatre have done a series of these over the last few years – I saw their Hamlet (which was brilliant) a few months back – and they seem to be successful enough to be continuing with them.

This particular production was a stage adaptation directed by Danny Boyle (director of one of my all-time favourite films, Trainspotting, and winner of the Best Director Oscar for Slumdog Millionaire) and starring Johnny Lee Miller (also from Trainspotting) and Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays Sherlock Holmes in the brilliant BBC tv series, Sherlock. One of the more unusual aspects of the production was that Cumberbatch and Miller would alternate the roles of Frankenstein1 and the creature on different nights.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

The Scottish Audition

I, like most actors, have a theatrical wishlist1. On that list are modern plays shows like Noises Off, Arcadia and A Few Good Men; and there are, of course, more than a few Shakespeares. I've already done four – A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing and (most recently) The Tempest. But that still leaves a few2, and amongst those at the top of the list is Macbeth.

What I've also wanted to do for quite a few years is work with the University of Adelaide Theatre Guild (henceforth known as 'the guild' for short), whose shows I've been seeing for almost as long as I've been living here, including Twelfth Night, The Underpants, A Streetcar Named Desire, Antony & Cleopatra, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Influence, Richard II, The Importance of Being Earnest and The Real Inspector Hound.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Adelaide Fringe 2011 - Fringesanity Part 2

In an effort to actually get this blasted thing finished, I've not been as thorough as I probably should have, and for that I apologise.

Goering's Defence

I'd seen Ross Gurney-Randall's one-man show Goering's Defence back in 2008 when it was on in the Balfour's Bakery and enjoyed it; therefore, I was quite happy to be assigned the review.

It was almost as good the second time around, with the major difference being that this version's being in the Royalty Theatre – a much bigger space – meant that the intimacy the smaller space the room in the bakery provided was lost. But Gurney-Randall is an excellent performer, and the script – based on transcripts from Goering's trial – is very good.

Review here.

S.O.V

One of my co-workers is in this group, which falls loosely under the banner of Ukrainian folk/world music. They've played a few shows over the years, but I'd never managed to get to one until now.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Adelaide Fringe 2011 - final week plugs

It's the last week of the Fringe, and there are a lot of shows still on. Here is a list of those I think you really should go see, by category. All the shows have links to the FringeTix page where you can buy tickets.

Now that I've done most of the work for you, go see some shows!

Theatre

Bound

Amazing show, given 5 stars (or the equivalent) in every review, including mine. Simply one of the best things I've ever seen, and should not be missed. If you live in Adelaide and I find you haven't gone to see this, expect me to become...unpleasant1.

At: Holden Street Theatres
Ticket info: here
My review here

1Okay, even more unpleasant than usual.

Phoenix Rising...DH Lawrence – Son & Lover

A show worth seeing simply for the wonderful performance by Paul Slack. His ability to play a wide range of characters is breathtaking, particularly the accents.
At: Higher Ground
Ticket info: here
My review here.

Monday, February 28, 2011

Adelaide Fringe 2011 - Fringesanity Part 1

Well, we're just over two weeks into the greater Fringe festival and, as planned, I've been to see a bunch of shows. Here's what I've seen up to the night of Friday February 25. I'm sorry I can't go into more details about the shows; there just isn't enough time to give everything the full treatment.

Viva La Franglaise

I saw this was on and was hoping to go, but then budgetary issues kicked in and it didn't make the cut. However, composer/performer Matthew Carey asked me if I'd like to go and write a review of it for Cabaret Confessional, and I did. It's a great show and I really hope he and singer Nikki Aitken make good on their plans to bring it back later in the year, since I'd like a) to see it again, and b) other people to see it as well.

Friday, February 25, 2011

Fringe Review - The Max & Dagger Show


Max is a fast talking, ukulele-playing, whip-cracking Texan; Jack Dagger is a Louisiana knife-thrower with nerves – and blades – of steel. Together they present The Max & Dagger Show, a mix of songs, comedy and death-defying stunts.

Shelby Bond is a Fringe veteran, having performed here over the years with Sound and Fury, mostly recently in their hilarious, highly acclaimed 2010 show Private Dick – which I wrote about in my post on last year's Fringe. It's Jack Dagger's first time, but, as his website indicates, he's no less accomplished a performer, being an award winning knife-thrower who has appeared on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

The week that was #23

The Fringe loometh1

Pre-Fringe (i.e. those shows that start prior to the official Fringe opening on February 18) begins this week so this will probably be my last weekly update for a while as my time will become, well, scarce. But I will be making regular Fringe updates while it's on.

At this point I'll be seeing around forty shows, twenty reviews and about as many more by choice. There are quite a few I'd like to see but am not seeing, mostly because of lack of time and opportunity – I've also got to fit in a couple of non-Fringe things, like a buck's party and a birthday party – but also because of budget; as it is I'm looking at spending upward of $600 on tickets, and that's around the limit I'd set myself.

But I should have plenty to write about.

1Yeah, yeah, I know it's not a word, but I'm feeling a bit retro this evening.

The Walking Dead

I got my hands on the first season of the tv series The Walking Dead a few months back and have just finished the last episode – not that it was much of a marathon, given that there are only six.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

The week that was #22

It's been a fairly busy week. When I haven't been out and about doing stuff, I've been trying to put my Fringe schedule together – and you can read about what I plan to see here.

Twilight (the film) with RiffTrax

Given how I felt about the book – which you can read about here – seeing the film adaptation of the first Twilight book wasn't on my to do list.

But then I discovered RiffTrax.

The brainchild of the guys behind Mystery Science Theatre 3000, which took old b-grade sci-fi and horror film and added commentary ('riffs') to them, RiffTrax is the continuation of that, only now the movies they give the treatment to are modern, big-budget films.

All you do is download the mp3 – the cost varies, but the Twilight one was US$4; you can buy packages, which works out a bit cheaper – and then let it play. You have to synch it up with the film, but that's relatively easy, since there's a regular reminder ('Disembaudio') which speaks a line of dialogue; if it's spoken at the same time as it's said in the movie, you're at the right spot.

And what it provides is snarky, smartass commentary about the plot, characters and dialogue – and if you're a regular visitor here you'll know that's exactly my idea of a good time.

Friday, February 4, 2011

The Red Shoes

I got to see a very interesting show last night: Kneehigh Theatre's The Red Shoes, at Her Majesty's Theatre.

Based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale about a girl who winds up with a pair of red shoes that are cursed so she can't stop dancing or take them off, it's done in what can best be described in a dark, twisted cabaret style1. There's a cross-dressing narrator, four performers (three of which play multiple characters) and two musicians, and between them they tell the story on a relatively simple set: mostly a raised platform with an arch (upon which the narrator perches) and a set of folding doors.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

The week that was #21

Not a lot going on this week, but there were a couple of things worth noting.

The Millennium trilogy

Over the last couple of months I've read the three books in Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest.

I'd heard of them, but not much about them; in fact, the first time I really started thinking about reading them was after the success of the film version of Dragon Tattoo1. So, when my friend and co-worker Rachel said she had them if I wanted to borrow them, I – having nothing else to read at the time – jumped at the chance.

Having studiously avoided reading much more about them than the titles, I wasn't really quite sure what to expect. But I was a little taken aback by how unimpressed I was when I started reading Dragon Tattoo, since it took quite a while for it to get interesting. But it did get interesting, and so I stuck with it all the way to the end.

Monday, January 24, 2011

The week that was #20

Do I think this song is about me?

In the last The Week That Was I wrote about the weirdest thing I'd ever seen; what I came across this week may actually top that.

It's this:



Yeah, it's a YouTube video of a song by The Sensational Mary Barclay Band, called, of all things, Jamie Wright.

That's my name!

Really, it shouldn't have come as much of a shock as it did. I have one of the most common given names (which is actually James; Jamie is just what I go by, mostly because I think it suits me more than James); Wright is also a very common name amongst people of English descent – though, as noted in this post, 'my' branch of the Wright family comes via the USA.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Fringe 2011 Preview

Most of you probably know that I'm a theatre reviewer (it's not like I don't mention it on at least a semi-regular basis), but I've probably never explained just what a big deal the Adelaide Fringe festival has been for me over the years.

In many ways it was a validation of my choice to move to Adelaide from Townsville, all the way back in late 1997. It certainly wasn't why I moved here, since I'd never heard of the thing before I got down here, and it wasn't until the Fringe guide showed up in January 1998 that I even knew it existed.

I asked my then-friends/flatmates about this Fringe thing and they – being, for want of a better expression, woefully culturally deprived – couldn't tell me much at all. So I flipped through it and found a show that sounded interesting. And then another, and another and another. All up I think I found a dozen shows to see.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

The King's Speech

Even though I'm in the middle of writing my Fringe 2011 preview, I had to take the time to write a quick review of The King's Speech, which I saw Monday night.

It is 1925 and Prince Albert1, Duke of York (i.e. the younger son of the current monarch of England, at this point George V; the elder son is always the Prince of Wales) has a problem; he has to give speeches – the King having embraced radio as an effective means of communication – and he stutters badly.

After trying numerous different 'experts' his gives up. His wife Elizabeth (who we know better as the Queen Mother), however, does not; she visits Lionel Logue, an Australian speech therapist (and failed actor), and she convinces Albert to seek his help.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

The week that was #19

It's been a while since I did a catch-all post, but a few things have happened over the last week or so; however, none is really worth devoting a standalone blog post to. So, I felt it was time to resurrect The Week That Was series.

Of course, whether or not there'll be another is wholly dependent on what else goes on – though I know what my next post is going to be: my 2011 Adelaide Fringe preview.

Pete Postlethwaite

A sad thing that happened this week was the passing of legendary actor Pete Postlethwaite, aged 64. The distinctive-looking Englishman appeared in several of my favourite films – Romeo + Juliet (as Friar Lawrence), The Usual Suspects (as Kobayashi) and In the Name of the Father (as Guiseppe Conlon) – as well as numerous others; he was someone I was almost always pleased to see in a film because he always added so much.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Tron: Legacy

As soon as I heard it was finally being made, I knew I wanted to see Tron: Legacy. The original was one of very few films I saw at the cinema as a kid1, and I remember being completely blown away by it.

Yesterday I got myself to the cinema to see it.

1My parents weren't exactly cinema enthusiasts, and we lived too far away from my town's cinema for me to get there by myself.

Story

Spoilers ahoy.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Hello, 2011!

Well, it's now 2011. And I'm looking forward to another year of doing what I do: work, theatre and other forms of amusement, and blogging.

Theatre

Big things on the theatre calendar include the 2011 Fringe festival – while the full details won't be out for another couple of weeks yet1, some great acts have already indicated they'll be coming to town: Amanda Palmer and The Sound & the Fury being two I'll definitely be seeing; no doubt there'll be others of a similar pedigree – fingers crossed for Theater Simple, The Jane Austen Argument and whoever Guy Masterson finds to bring along – to add to that.

And there's plenty more theatre: The State Theatre Company of South Australia season – which I wrote about here – is something else I'm keenly anticipating. Next week I've got the professional production of West Side Story, and in May I'm seeing probably the most-anticipated musical of the last few years, Wicked.