Singing in the Bath: Art at Brighton Festival

At the beginning of Brighton Festival, I planned to go and see some of the art exhibitions that were incuded in the listings. The festival is nearly over, and I still hadn't seen any, so yesterday I went off into the city with my neighbour, to see what artistic wonders we could find!

Brighton is a fantastic place for art exhibitions. It's a city so rich in history and architecture, with countless spaces hidden off the beaten track that are perfect for hosting exhibitions large and small.
Such a place is Circus Street Market, which looks derelict and empty, but could hide all manner of things behind those graffiti-smothered shutters. (Unfortunately it looks like there are plans to 'regenerate' this street and turn it into another characterless redevelopment that will suck more of the soul out of the colourful and surprising city that Brighton once was. Bah.)

Complaints aside (I promise that was the last one!) here are some pictures and summaries of the exhibits we saw. And more pictures. Pictures are great, right?

An Audience with Henry VIII

Continuing with this month's massive injection of culture via Brighton Fringe, I went to see another play yesterday evening, this time with my Dad.

We saw An Audience with Henry VIII at The Lantern Theatre, a one man play performed by Ross Gurney-Randall.

I really enjoyed this play and would watch again if I had the chance!

The premise of the play is that King Henry VIII has been dead for 468 years, and is still waiting to meet God. But God is nowhere to be seen.

Instead, Henry has the audience, to whom he tells his story. He boasts, he grumbles, he laments, he shouts...occasionally interrupted by an infernal imp playing Greensleeves. The music maddens him--he didn't write it, he hates it, and it's there everywhere he goes!

Within his speech, Henry rattles off a list of some of the notable figures he bumped off, and gives reasons why the wives had to go. Also, he insists, he definitely did not have syphilis.

The show ends with Henry storming off into another room of his own personal purgatory, shouting for whoever is playing Greensleeves to shut up.

The pompous, boastful, short-tempered attitude of Ross Gurney-Randall's Henry VIII was a brilliant characterisation of England's most notorious king, with excellently-delivered lines that really made me chuckle.

Written by Ross Gurney-Randall and Pete Howells, An Audience with Henry VIII was a great show and very amusing, filled with little historical factlets--why don't they teach history like this?

If you're hankering after a little comedic Henry VIII, you can find out more information and get tickets on the Brighton Fringe website. The 30th May show is sold out, but there are tickets left for the 27th!

Not a Fairy Godmother, but a Wizard

Another month, another selection of books read towards my goal of three per month!

It might appear that I've been sailing through these books fairly easily, often managing to meet my monthly goal within a couple of weeks. However, this is because I pile pressure on myself to Stop Procrastinating and Start Reading.

....Even though reading is sometimes procrastination in itself!

This month I bring you three Cinderella stories.

Okay, so calling Darwin a Cinderella character might be pushing it a bit!

As per the norm, I've rated these books out of five according to my enjoyment of them.

Howl's Moving Castle - Diana Wynne Jones (5/5)

Until only a couple of months ago, I didn't know this book existed. The only Howl's Moving Castle I knew about was the Studio Ghibli film. Which I haven't seen, but - as I discovered when looking up it up - was based on Diana Wynne Jones' book of the same title.

I liked the plot synopsis and commented to my a friend about wanting to watch the film and read the book. Then she gave me a copy of the book for my birthday! (Thanks Lianne!)

Anyway, I'm going off on a tangent here.

Howl's Moving Castle is a young adult novel about Sophie, a girl who has already come to terms with the fact that, as the eldest daughter, she'll live a dull life running the family hat shop. Jump forward a few scenes and Sophie has been cursed by the Witch of the Waste. Now with the visage of an elderly lady, Sophie leaves and begins a journey, which leads her to the moving castle of the fearsome wizard Howl, who is rumoured to eat girl's hearts...

Help! My Books are Taking Over!

Remember how, back in March, I said No More Books?

And then bought more, and then I really said No More Books.

Well, it was my birthday at the end of April. 

I received books. And money. Which I spent on books...

The picture on the left was taken on 27th April. The picture on the right was taken today, after delivery of a parcel of books (bye bye birthday money!)

I did read a book from the pile. And I gained a book from a friend which never got added to the pile, because I read it immediately. 

But then more books happened. 

It is a daily struggle as they take over more space, and I procrastinate on reading them.

These are mostly second-hand books, because a) they're cheaper b) I can't justify spending so much on new books c) most are from charity shops and therefore money to a good cause.

It's also so much easier to spend 'just 20p' or 'just £2' on a second-hand book. 

Instead of £9.99+ for one book.

Which is probably why used books are taking over my cupboard.

I should probably read more, shouldn't I?

Shakespeare in the Garden: Henry V

Today I once again went to Brighton for another of the Fringe events. This time it was 'Shakespeare in the Garden', and Dad came along with me.

The Shakespeare in the Garden event is being run 12-13 and 15th May, with all productions by The BRIT School. Today the performance was Henry V, though according to the Fringe brochure, they will also be performing Coriolanus and A Comedy of Errors.

Plate? That's a Tray! (Full English at Caffe Aldo, Brighton)

Yesterday a friend came down this way with her housemate, for a day trip to Brighton. Being local, I joined them!
As it was pouring by the time we were parked up, we opted to go for lunch first and stopped at the cafe right around the corner from the car park (it helped that their A-board advertised, in large letters, a full english breakfast).

Vlad the Impaler @ The Rialto Theatre

Yesterday, I took another trip into Brighton for the second play on my Brighton Fringe 'Must See' list!

This time I saw Vlad the Impaler at The Rialto Theatre.

I've been past the theatre a few times, but aside from admiring the architecture, never realised that a theatre lay beyond those doors.

Unfortunately I couldn't get a decent photo of the venue as the traffic and parking in that area is endless!

Upon arrival at the theatre, everyone was directed into Bacall's, the theatre bar, which had lots of comfy seating and some nifty art deco style lighting!

After a few minutes wait, we were called to the auditorium. I was surprised to find not the usual kind of theatre seating, but instead small tables with chairs set around them, each with a candle burning behind red glass. Add to that the haze of smoke, and the scene was most definitely set!

Blithe Spirit @ Brighton Little Theatre

Brighton Fringe has begun, and on Saturday I went to the first of the events on my Fringe Itinerary: a production of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit, at Brighton Little Theatre!

After meeting up with my friend Lianne, we sought out the venue.

Brighton Little Theatre is really central and close to the shopping centre, hidden away down a little lane of cottages.

Let's Play in May!

May is nearly here, and with it comes Brighton Festival and Brighton Fringe!

Last year, I went to several free events and exhibitions that were happening as part of Brighton Festival/Fringe, and also went to a ticketed comedy/music show.

I might have gone to more, but due to lack of organisation, I didn't find out about any of the events until it was too late to buy tickets.

This year I am far more organised! I've got tickets to several plays, and plan to head into Brighton for some of the free events too, especially art exhibitions.

Here are my plans so far:

A History of Gods and Royalty

Once again I have beavered away at my ongoing reading goal, achieving my monthly target of three books just a few days ago.

This month's trio of novels were similar in that they related to history, religion and royalty, but my impressions - and therefore my ratings - varied greatly...

Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles - Margaret George (2/5)

I picked up this book because I'd previously read Margaret George's The Autobiography of Henry VIII, and loved it. Also I knew little of Mary Queen of Scots, and like historical fiction, so it seemed a good choice.

For the plot of this book, you need only look at the historical records of the life of Mary, Queen of Scots--this tome follows her birth, her life growing up in France, her return to Scotland as Queen and subsequent escapes from plots and imprisonment, until she finally winds up a prisoner in England, upon the orders of Queen Elizabeth I. And of course, the book also follows the events that led to Mary's inevitable execution.

Perhaps having read another of Margaret George's books set my hopes too high for this one, as I was a little disappointed by it. Or maybe it's that I didn't find Mary's life interesting another. The Mary within the books was stubborn, or perhaps naive and ill-informed, too self-righteous and altogether annoying--though not as annoying as John Knox! Portrayed as a manipulative preacher with fanaticism that bordered on madness, I hoped that each of his appearances within this book would be his last.

I found that this book went through fits and starts of holding my attention. It took me quite a few chapters to truly get into the story as I found little interest in Mary's early years and life in France. For a while, I was riveted by the storyline, then again bored by it, and then captivated once again.

The latter part of the book, about Mary's exile (and imprisonment) in England, started off promising but ended up tedious, as Mary was moved here and there whilst Queen Elizabeth evaded the matter of her lords and advisors pushing for Mary's execution. Of course, the fact that Mary was executed eventually is no surprise - being historical fact, after all - but I wound up just wishing Elizabeth would behead her and get on with it!

This book is probably more interesting to someone with a greater interest in Mary Queen of Scots than I have.

I won't read this book again, but if you like long tales about royals of the past, this one may be your cup of tea.

I also totally recommend Margaret George's The Autobiography of Henry VIII (which Ionce wrote about on my other blog, here).