A play, books and some tv
We've been unusually busy recently. Over the past few days we have seen a semi-staged performance of Carmen by a Russian opera group (much better than we thought it would be); been on a tour of the Reform Club with my mother (far more interesting and relaxed than anticipated); gone to a family dinner (chaotic); and taken delivery of our new and much bigger television (exciting).
Yesterday we were lucky enough to go and see Red Velvet starring Adrian Lester and written by his wife Lolita Chakrabarti.
This is a play about the African American actor Ira Aldridge who appeared on stage in London as Othello in 1833 and was the first black actor to play the role. The first scene has Ira as an elderly, famous actor performing in Poland and being questioned about is life by a young female journalist trying to make a name for herself, who he is quite unwilling to speak to. Then we go back to 1833 where Edmund Kean, who should have been playing Othello, had collapsed, and Aldridge has been hired by his friend Pierre Laporte the theatre manager to take over the part. Not everyone in the company knows he is black so there are several examples of racism, both overt and accidental, watched silently by Connie the black maid. Aldridge shakes things up not just because he is black but because he tries a more naturalistic style of acting than that favoured by Edmund Kean, which was heavy on dramatic gesture. There is a very amusing scene with everyone acting in this style, and this is one of the strengths of the play, in showing that though racism was the predominant cause of Aldridge's failure in London it was also caused by conflict of acting styles, jealousy and partly his own personality. The jealousy of Charles Kean, Edmund's son and the fiancee of Ellen Tree, who was playing Desdemona opposite Aldridge, and the hostile reaction of the critics causes Laporte to cancel the rest of Aldridge's performances and they confront each other over this in a very powerful scene. By the end of the play it has become apparent that Aldridge's career did recover and he became a star in Europe but the most devastating twist is left until last when Adrian Lester, as Aldridge, made up to play Lear, turns to face the audience in white make up. It's a shocking and disturbing moment and was a very powerful end to a fascinating play. The acting by everyone was fabulous and I think Adrian Lester just gets better and better every time I see him.
As it's Wednesday it's time for the Book Meme
What I Just Finished Reading
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson. This was one of the most absorbing books I've read for a long time. Ursula Todd is born in 1910 and lives her life over and over again, sometimes dying very young, sometimes making bad mistakes, other times avoiding those only to meet another fate. She's not really aware of what's happening to her but does experience a kind of deja vu which helps her at times. This all builds up layer on fascinating layer to create a picture of a life lived in the first half of the 20th century which culminates in a stunning portrayal of Ursula's life during the Blitz and the various fates that befall her there. We don't just see Ursula's life but the life of her family and friends, sometimes altered, sometimes not, by what Ursula does. Kate Atkinson's prose is so vividly readable and the premise was so fascinating it was very hard to put the book down. Some people might find the ending unsatisfying but I felt that it fitted the Ouroboros image discussed at one point and it worked for me. A really terrific read.
What I'm Reading Now
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. I didn't know what to follow Life After Life with so I picked this almost at random from my TBR pile where it's been sitting for a disgracefully long time. I'm very glad I did because I'm completely immersed in this book too. It is heart-wrenchingly sad and I suspect it won't end happily but it's a fascinating journey to be on as the main character struggles with guilt for something he did, or rather didn't do, as a child in Afghanistan.
What I'm Reading Next
I'm not even attempting to make a prediction as The Kite Runner was so unexpected.
TV seems to have picked up a bit at the moment. I'm still enjoying The Musketeers though I haven't seen Sunday's episode yet. It's good to see Silk back and we're both finding Line of Duty addictive. We enjoyed the first series but I think this one is better and I'm not sure I'd have recognised Keeley Hawes as DI Lindsey Denton. I'm pleased that Elementary is back on too, though Virgin Catch-Up managed to let us down with the first episode. Hopefully our new TV and the resulting upgrade to our Virgin service will solve this problem!
Signing off now as we'll be in Lincolnshire, the land of no internet, for a few days.
Yesterday we were lucky enough to go and see Red Velvet starring Adrian Lester and written by his wife Lolita Chakrabarti.
This is a play about the African American actor Ira Aldridge who appeared on stage in London as Othello in 1833 and was the first black actor to play the role. The first scene has Ira as an elderly, famous actor performing in Poland and being questioned about is life by a young female journalist trying to make a name for herself, who he is quite unwilling to speak to. Then we go back to 1833 where Edmund Kean, who should have been playing Othello, had collapsed, and Aldridge has been hired by his friend Pierre Laporte the theatre manager to take over the part. Not everyone in the company knows he is black so there are several examples of racism, both overt and accidental, watched silently by Connie the black maid. Aldridge shakes things up not just because he is black but because he tries a more naturalistic style of acting than that favoured by Edmund Kean, which was heavy on dramatic gesture. There is a very amusing scene with everyone acting in this style, and this is one of the strengths of the play, in showing that though racism was the predominant cause of Aldridge's failure in London it was also caused by conflict of acting styles, jealousy and partly his own personality. The jealousy of Charles Kean, Edmund's son and the fiancee of Ellen Tree, who was playing Desdemona opposite Aldridge, and the hostile reaction of the critics causes Laporte to cancel the rest of Aldridge's performances and they confront each other over this in a very powerful scene. By the end of the play it has become apparent that Aldridge's career did recover and he became a star in Europe but the most devastating twist is left until last when Adrian Lester, as Aldridge, made up to play Lear, turns to face the audience in white make up. It's a shocking and disturbing moment and was a very powerful end to a fascinating play. The acting by everyone was fabulous and I think Adrian Lester just gets better and better every time I see him.
As it's Wednesday it's time for the Book Meme
What I Just Finished Reading
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson. This was one of the most absorbing books I've read for a long time. Ursula Todd is born in 1910 and lives her life over and over again, sometimes dying very young, sometimes making bad mistakes, other times avoiding those only to meet another fate. She's not really aware of what's happening to her but does experience a kind of deja vu which helps her at times. This all builds up layer on fascinating layer to create a picture of a life lived in the first half of the 20th century which culminates in a stunning portrayal of Ursula's life during the Blitz and the various fates that befall her there. We don't just see Ursula's life but the life of her family and friends, sometimes altered, sometimes not, by what Ursula does. Kate Atkinson's prose is so vividly readable and the premise was so fascinating it was very hard to put the book down. Some people might find the ending unsatisfying but I felt that it fitted the Ouroboros image discussed at one point and it worked for me. A really terrific read.
What I'm Reading Now
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. I didn't know what to follow Life After Life with so I picked this almost at random from my TBR pile where it's been sitting for a disgracefully long time. I'm very glad I did because I'm completely immersed in this book too. It is heart-wrenchingly sad and I suspect it won't end happily but it's a fascinating journey to be on as the main character struggles with guilt for something he did, or rather didn't do, as a child in Afghanistan.
What I'm Reading Next
I'm not even attempting to make a prediction as The Kite Runner was so unexpected.
TV seems to have picked up a bit at the moment. I'm still enjoying The Musketeers though I haven't seen Sunday's episode yet. It's good to see Silk back and we're both finding Line of Duty addictive. We enjoyed the first series but I think this one is better and I'm not sure I'd have recognised Keeley Hawes as DI Lindsey Denton. I'm pleased that Elementary is back on too, though Virgin Catch-Up managed to let us down with the first episode. Hopefully our new TV and the resulting upgrade to our Virgin service will solve this problem!
Signing off now as we'll be in Lincolnshire, the land of no internet, for a few days.