Crime and Punishment

I have a beautiful hard back copy of the literary classic, Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.  Even my copy with its font size 7 type it is the size of a brick.  I have been looking at it for years thinking about reading, feeling guilty that I hadn’t, so a few days ago I finally picked it up and read the foreword.   The following day one of my best friends rang me to say she had two tickets to watch Crime and Punishment at the Citz in Glasgow and I jumped with glee to be given a sneak preview into the book later that evening.

Sweet Bird of Youth

“Oh god” my friend gasped “what a tacky poster for a classic play, you can see his nipples for God’s sake”. He was referring to Sweet Bird of Youth by Tennessee Williams currently showing at the Old Vic.

The poster that so disgusted my well-heeled friend was of Kim Cattrall all glammed up in a 1950s feverish pose over a lovely naked man half her age.

Sold!

I went to see the play this week with three girlfriends and all of us, yes ALL of us, couldn’t think of a better combination of seeing our favourite SATC gal and Ripped Torso Man getting it on in our favourite theatre.

The Winslow Boy

I feel bad recommending a play that’s coming to the end of its season but there is still a chance to get a ticket to The Winslow Boy by Terence Rattigan at The Old Vic, London.  Believe the hype and Daily Telegraph reviews, it is so much fun to watch.

Set in Edwardian England, Winslow’s son is accused of stealing and expelled from school.

Germany: Only Traditional Racism

A rather shocking tale from Germany.  The author of the award-winning play Clybourne Park, Bruce Norris, has refused permission to a Berlin theatre company to perform the play after learning that a lead character would appear blacked up.

Managers at the Deutsches Theatre said a female African-American character in the play was being performed by a white actress and producers would “experiment with make-up”

Etch A Sketch

Does everyone remember the Etch A Sketch? What a fabulous toy. My children have one and it goes everywhere. I was so pleased to see the Spanish basketball coach using one to convey strategy and tactics.

In the modern days of electronic tablets, the most common of which, the IPad, this was somewhat surprising. He was able to quickly draw and erase his messages to each of the players, making it all look as simple as child’s play.

The Spanish team beat Team GB whose coach decided to take them to the classroom by using a whiteboard. Not quite as cool.

Bunty

 

Loyalty

I went to see a play last night at Hampstead Theatre called Loyalty and it was very enjoyable.  It’s only on until 13 August so if you can squeeze it in to your diary, do!

Loyalty is a fictionalised account of the lead up to the war in Iraq and subsequent events from the perspective of the wife of Tony Blair’s Chief of Staff but it is drawn from her very real experience.  Who cares/ I hate Tony Blair/ we know he lied you think,  but actually it’s amazing how many secrets there aren’t in a relationship

Behna Gets A Big Round Of Applause

Imagine sitting in someone’s house watching a play being performed right in front of you. There is no stage. An audience of 20 sit on stools in the kitchen and watch the drama of Behna unfold as if they are part of the guests invited to a house.

Are Our Children Lazy?

BBC London had a phone in today discussing whether our children are lazy. This was supported by research suggesting that one in six children cannot swim and one in ten cannot ride a bike. The study found British children were more than twice as likely to spend their free time watching television (79 per cent) than playing sport (34 per cent).

The study apparently surveyed 1500 children. This surely cannot be representative of British children to make such a brash statement that our children are lazy.