Wednesday Round Up

 The Last Week of joys from Wednesday 22nd to today

                

Gigs : Marni Stern at Islington Mill, great night, ace venue and Tartufi were a real treat

 

Films: Moon, hmmn a little disappointing, but the score was it’s saving grace by Clint Mansell “Requiem for a Dream and Solaris”and also Sam Rockwell was no rehashed Zaphod Beeblebrox this time         

                                                                                                                                                                                        

Books: Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman, an amazing graphic novel recounting Spiegelman’s father’s experience as a holocaust survivor, it won the Pulitzer prize in 1992. I had never heard of it up until a week ago and I rattled my way through it.

Also finished another Jewish life story The Colour of Water by James McBride. Now onto Malcolm X

Theatre: As We Forgive Them

Readings: Central Library, Geoff Ryman, entertaining reader

Purchases I can recall:  a new laptop, a demon lamp, a breast pump, a lion ziefer, at least 8 frappucinos, 10 americanos, 4 large Sharon fruits, coconut water, gurana can, Brew dog Dogma and Chaos Theory, a solero ice lolly, a chicken Shaslick from the Gurkha grill, the guardian on Saturday, 1 bottle of Belgium finest wheat beer and 1 Leffe Brun for £5

Sold items I remember:  Kickers, Ravel snake skin boots, Inside I’m Dancing DVD, Denim jacket, moto jeans

Drunk: more than I care to remember, and my bank won’t let me forget

Memorable things I’ve heard: “This might be the book to change your life,” response “maybe I’m happy with my life as it is”           

Stupid things I’ve done:  Fallen off my bike in my Gran’s car park, accused Joe Sims of murder, read a sign saying tortoiseshell cat lost and told my mum to look out for a micro chipped tortoise, thought the moon was made of cheese reading NASA’s announcement made on April 1st in You Magazine of all things

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As We Forgive Them

24/7 Theatre hosts As We Forgive Them by Richard Vergette from Pure Nightclub in The Printworks.

I have to say that my vision felt clouded at the start because of the venue being a trashy nightclub and the condom machine in the women’s toilet’s bleeping out of order, I decided to let go of that and judge the play based on it’s own merit, and after all at least in this nightclub they use condoms.

A teacher arrives at a state penitentiary to give lessons to, Lee Fenton, a convicted murderer classed as retarded. As the play unravels, we learn that the teacher, played by Vergette himself, is Congressman John Daniels and it was his daughter who was murdered by Lee.

All of the action takes place inside the prison’s interview room where the 3 scenes move from 2008 to 2016. We see the relationship between Daniels and Lee shifting, from an uninterested Lee with a focused Daniels, to the education of Lee in mid flow.

Lee reads a passage from One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest beautifully illustrating the irony of role reversal, reflecting what we can see happening within Daniels and Lee’s relationship. At this point I realise I am unsure as to either of their motives, but I start to empathise with Lee and see that boundaries are blurring.  At first I am convinced that forgiveness is taking place.

As the play moves through various subtleties, confusion as to what the real truth is behind either of the characters becomes more obscure. Daniels bounces between the role of a passionate educator to a media hungry states congressman who is desperately trying to further his career and reputation. Lee emerges from a simpleton to a real thinker, who can read Daniels, whether he reads him correctly or not is something I’m still not sure about.

It left me as all good art should with plenty of thoughts especially about the nature of broadening the mind and if that was the ultimate punishment one who does something without thought could face.

I’m still thinking about it.