Love and Other Battles (Tess Woods) – book review
Three generations of women come together for a heartfelt story in Love and Other Battles by Tess Woods: Jess, the free-spirited hippie, her reserved daughter Jamie, and Jamie’s vulnerable teenage daughter, CJ. This is the blurb: Three generations of women. Three heartbreaking choices. One unforgettable story. 1969: Free-spirited hippie Jess James has no intention of…
Hornet’s Nest (Phil Madeira) – music review
With three jazzy piano albums under his belt in the last couple years, it’s no surprise by now that one of Phil Madeira’s musical heroes is jazz icon Thelonious Monk. That may be a surprise to anyone who’s only heard Madeira at his day job, playing backup to one of country music’s best-loved female vocalists…
Pick of the Litter – movie review
The wonderful observational documentary Pick of the Litter follows five cute puppies on their journey to become seeing eye dogs for the non-profit organization Guide Dogs For The Blind. Every year in America some 8,000 dogs enter into a rigorous training program to become seeing eye dogs, but less than 30% make the cut. The puppies…
FOX (Three Bags Fool) – theatre review
As you enter The Showroom Theatre, there is a faux fox that looks dead lying in the middle of the stage, which has been dressed to look like a road. All over the animal and around it are white feathers. That is the starting point for an original, hilarious and entertaining show, aptly named FOX. As the…
I Am My Own Wife (Old Fitzroy) – theatre review
I Am My Own Wife by American Doug Wright won the Pulitzer prize in 2004. It concerns the writing of this play about a famous German transvestite, Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, who lived in Berlin through the Nazi and Communist regimes. It was directed by Moises Kaufman for his Tectonic Theatre Project, which has developed other…
Godland – movie review
Godland was the centrepiece of the recent Scandinavian Film Festival, and now this slow moving but visually stunning Danish drama gains a cinematic release. The film is set in the frozen inhospitable wilds of Iceland in the 19th century. Lucas (Elliot Crossett Hove) is a young idealistic Lutheran priest who is sent to Iceland to…
Roaring (Chapel Off Chapel) – theatre review
Sex, crime and bad behaviour characterise the ’60s dark period drama romance Roaring, the debut work for writer and director Staz Barres. Vera (Jackie von Lierop) desperately wants to make it in show business. She seeks fame. As it is, she works in a dead-end job as a waitress, alongside her friend Jane (Daisy Paxton-White). The pair…
New music round-up
Our selection of the best new music across a range of genres from the week ending 16 October 2020. The Messenger is Hélène Grimaud’s dialogue between Mozart and the Ukrainian-born contemporary composer Valentin Silvestrov. The recording sessions took place at the start of this year at an historic Mozart site in Salzburg, the Great Hall…
Interview with Dave McLean – director of Schemers
Legendary music promoter and director Dave McLean joins The Blurb’s Patrick Scott to discuss his new film Schemers. The film tells how he came to promote and manage some of the biggest bands ever, like Nirvana, Iron Maiden and Placebo. He also regales on some extraordinary stories about the music business, as well as future…