The Hut People

A wonderful evening of eclectic folk music as part of the Live Friday programme.  The Hut People – Sam on accordion (and feet!) and Gary on a vast array of percussion instruments.  These included Brazilian stringed gourds through to little wicker parcels with seeds in through to … well it’s all too difficult to explain and I don’t know their proper names …It appeared at first that we were in for a mix of folk from different parts of the world. It soon became clear it was something more inventive. Sam introduced one number as a traditional English morris dancing tune with a Latin rumba beat! As befits the digital age Sam cited itunes as his main inspiration: claiming he trawled through 30 second takes of anything a search for accordion music threw up! But when he demonstrated his mastery of Appalacian tap dancing learnt in a hall in Scunthorpe one suspected the joy of mixing different national styles went deeper. They played 3 sets in the main bar area and their enthusiasm, expertise, and relaxed interaction left everyone wanting more.

Volver

Pedro Almodovar is probably Spain’s most well known and internationally successful film maker, with a distinctive style and always original story lines. I wasn’t sure how his dark humour would go down with the film club members, but the reaction was very positive. The comments I heard from the exiting audience were ‘unusual’ and ‘not what I expected’. It didn’t attract our usual numbers, but I don’t think anyone regretted making the effort despite the sub-titles (which do deter many people).

Volver is a typical Almodovar film – shot in his usual primary colours, with his constant themes of female solidarity, mother-daughter relationships, life in rural Spain, death and continuity and, as always, a quirky and totally original (as far as I can tell) plot. The presence of a Hollywood star (Penelope Cruz) hinted at a more mainstream target, and it has been more successful internationally than many of his films. Despite its star attraction, it was still an ensemble piece, and, I hope, a good example to encourage a more adventurous approach to foreign language films next season.

Just one film left in our current season: Walk the Line in April.  Now that’s more predictable, and we know for sure the music will be great.

Madame Lucinda’s Wonder Show

An extraordinary piece of theatre operating on many different levels and playing to a packed hall. 

At the level of spectacle there were the costumes, make-up, the trapeze, the smoke (apologies to the fire brigade for a false call out!!), mime, dance and wonderful music – to say nothing of the ability to create a collective hallucination of grey elephants in Denmark (we worked out the algebra in the cellar bar afterwards …).   The feel was of a Weimar republic style cabaret (remember the film?) but with a psychological rather than a political theme.

Behind this were the stories of the cast of the circus who had made a Faustian pact to escape their normal lives and join the circus.  Sirus who escaped his office job as Mr Johnston to become the circus strong man; Lo-Lo who adopted her father’s role as the circus clown; and Svetlana the dancing doll (an extraordinary acting performance where she remaining immobile in whatever position the other characters placed her, including while being picked up, danced with and folded into her trunk, and only occasionally flashing her eyes at the action).  Yet none of them were able to find fulfillment in the circus and Sirus and Lo-Lo escape / are allowed to go back transformed to ‘normal’ life – leaving Madame Lucinda to seek new candidates for her circus from the audience.

If you missed this or just want a reprise try Rogue Theatre’s website or watch an extract on YouTube.