A Saturday night with Joseph and the Pharoah

Last weekend my Son Sam and I attended Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat stage production at the Play House in Edinburgh. Front seats for a later 8pm kick off on the Saturday of this Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. The stage set did look wonderful and the Pharaoh, aka Elvis. Former EastEnder Matt Lapinskas) adds extra pelvis-gyrating rock to the role, but Elvis as the Pharaoh just did not work for me but the audience loved it, perhaps EastEnders fans of Matt Lapinskas. Based on the ‘coat of many colours’ from the Book of Genesis, Dreamcoat tells the tale of Joseph, the twelfth son of Jacob. After telling his brothers that visions of a colourful coat will bring his siblings to bow before him, they sell Joseph off as a slave. Despite the biblical theme, however, the most notable thing about Webber musical is the juxtaposition of styles and genres. From country-singing cowboys of the Wild West to the Charleston of the 1920s, from French accordion-led ballads to Las Vegas-era Elvis - even Egyptian God, Anubis (suited up as an American footballer), gets a groove on with the cheerleaders. 2009 X-Factor finalist, Lloyd Daniels, Plays Joseph Showing no sign of nerves, he coasts through the show, all blond hair, shiny teeth. (looking a bit like a skinny Rocky from Rocky Horror Picture Show) Making her stage debut, Amelia Lily, another X Factor recruit, gives the impression she has been performing the Narrator role for years. For me Amelia Lily was the highlight. The whole production did have the feeling of an overrun and the many encores had Sam saying “ohh not again” The who things was a bit over-bloated but some finest tunes from Andrew Lloyd Webber such as “any dream will do” Overall neither Sam or I was too in awe of it all, I am in no way qualified as a theatre critic so this is my own opinion and seems to contrast the audience who gave standing ovations at the end holding up placards about Lapinskas (EastEnder fans)and clapping like crazy. Ah well, looking forward to seeing Shriek the Musical later in the year. Saw it in London a few years back and Sam was in giggles but our seats were up the in the gods, this time its front A-row centre to appreciate it more fully.

Killing Mocking Birds in Edinburgh

A couple of weeks ago I attended a wonderful production of To Kill a Mocking Bird at the Kings Theatre in Edinburgh. Mockingbird is of the greatest stories ever written about growing up and the loss of innocence and is certainly one of the most revered novels of all time: it is Depression-era Alabama where we meet the Finches, eight year old Scout, her older brother Jem, house-keeper Calpurnia, eccentric friend Dill (based upon Lee’s life-long friend Truman Capote), reclusive neighbour Boo Radley and father Atticus, who is preparing to defend Black, odd-job man Tom Robinson, against a false charge of rape. The first act opens on Jon Bausor’s spare set of the single tree upon which Scout plays, the actors filing out the detail by scrawling chalk drawings of the town on the floor, and literally and metaphorically fills us in on the local colour in small town Maycomb. The tale unfolds as the players, acting in turn as narrator, appear in the auditorium, reading from various, dog-eared editions of the novel in their own and very varied UK regional accents: a device which continues throughout the performance, filling the gaps in the narrative that the on-stage action cannot. Whilst this firmly established the universal nature of the work, it ultimately detracts from both the fluidity of the narrative and the establishment of the atmosphere of the Deep South. The second act is almost entirely courtroom drama. A not-guilty verdict never going to be an option from this all-White jury, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. No easy tale to bring to the stage, dealing as it does with themes of racism, injustice, the loss of innocence and class, courage and gender roles, it uses the authorised, standard and it could be said, constricting adaptation by Christopher Sergel. Director Timothy Sheader, in trying to bring something new to the table; a strolling folk musician and the multiple narrators, has in someways robbed it of its fluidity. The pace throughout is as languid as a hot summer’s day in the Deep South and whilst the subject matter merits full and careful attention, there’s a danger that the lack of variation in pace and tone leads the viewer to lose focus. It does however engender the right amount of outrage in the audience: there are frequent and audible sharp intakes of breath from the auditorium at the injustices played out onstage. Stand out amongst the able cast is Daniel Betts and his portrayal of Atticus; it is a perfectly measured performance of stillness and soaring, quiet courage and Ava Potter’s Scout has all the necessary sass that the role requires. Zackary Momoh is also deserving of praise as tragic Tom. To end a perfect evening before driving back to Falkirk I nipped next door and got a bag of chips from the chippy which I devoured wandering back to my car parked up the road at Holy Corner contemplating prejudice and injustices of the world.

New Eyes

This week I laid back on a table in Glasgow with suction cups prising my eyeballs up from my skull whilst the corneas of my eyes shall be sliced then hinged back like a lid with a small bent needle exposing the inner surface which then will be tasered by a laser after which the corneas were pressed back in a place like a cd drawer!!!! No, this was not a trailer for a new Saw movie…..This was me taking the plunge and went for “iDesign custom Lasik” (new improved wavefront) got a 3d scan of my eyeballs then a laser was used to remove any and all lumps and bumps which cause visual problems precisely .....as used by NASA and the US Navy for fighter pilots and SEALS...not going to make me flying into work any quicker but won't have to worry about losing my glasses in a concert mosh pit. 20/20 vision or better or my money back, 20% discount as I work for BT (who probably screwed up my eyes in the first place, either that or the years of self abuse) and on post op checks the day after it has been confirmed I now have a line better than 20/20 vision (so no refund but I am happy) and it may even get better once it settles over the next few weeks. After the op once the anaesthetic wore off my eyes felt really gritty and watery. During the procedure there was no pain but it was very strange looking at the little hook the surgeon was using to fold back my cornea like a page of a book, very strange visual sensation. Certainly no pain but a uncomfortable experience, especially the burning smell of the laser I was told the difference between the more expensive custom “iDesign” lasik compared to the standard lasik was like normal TV compared to HD TV as the “iDesign” is precise to my eyes were as the standard one is a common template to fit your prescription. I am very glad I went HD. I had to travel to Glasgow to the clinic in St Vincent street on the Day and the following day for the post op (traveling by train until I got the all clear to drive) For the next week I must use antibiotic drops 4 times daily followed by steroid drops to heal the healing then artificial tear drops every hour and wear sexy googles to bed every night so I don’t scratch my eyes as I sleep. Worth every effort as I now have crystal clear vision and so very happy with the result I would hand on heart recommend this to anyone.