The Critic, a film by Anand Tucker at The Light, New Brighton
This seemed for the start to be a film designed to give vintage stage actor Ian McKellen an opportunity to demonstrate his talent in a setting that would appeal to lovers of class-ridden English historical settings. In that sense it worked; Ian McKellen was exceptional in his role as Jimmy Erskine, an aged, ill-tempered, theatre critic for a right-wing national newspaper. His homosexuality was well-known, but he relied on his privileged position in society to protect him from prosecution. His reputation was such that he could destroy any actor’s career with his reviews.
One of the victims of his poisonous pen was the young actor Nina Land, played by Gemma Arterton, who is encouraged by her mother to challenge his reviews face-to-face. Nina develops a relationship with Erskine, who is at risk of losing his job as a result of unreasonable reviews. He is willing to provide her with good reviews but only at the expense of her agreeing to a sexual encounter with Erskine’s newspaper boss, Viscount Brookes, who is already infatuated with her. There is also a complex and (partly unnecessary in the film version) sub-plot of a mutual relationship between Nina and Brookes’ son-in-law.
It all ends badly, as it should, because we should have no sympathy for Erskine, a totally malicious over-privileged individual. What sympathy for the character the audience develops is a result of the exceptional acting skill of McKellen; so much of his role is played in close-up in a way that can only work on film.
But somehow neither the meticulous attention to period detail, nor McKellen’s acting nor the brilliant Lesley Manville (as Nina’s Mum) can rescue the implausible plot that becomes tedious well before the end. 2*
Nye, a play by Tim Price from National Theatre Live at The Light Cinema, New Brighton
This much applauded play takes the form of a biography of the last years of Aneurin Bevan, Minister of Health in the Labour government of 1945 and responsible for creating the UK’s National Health Service. Initially we find Bevan in his last days as a hospital patient surrounded by NHS paraphernalia and wearing pyjamas. Then, through various tableaux and clever stage management we follow his life from a stammering bullied schoolboy, in his relationship with Scottish MP Jenny Lee, in his pivotal role as a radical in the post-war government and his opposition to the policies of Winston Churchill.
Bevan is played sensitively by Michael Sheen, who is obliged to take part in a number of song-and-dance routines while wearing pyjamas. (Why does so much contemporary theatre feel the need to introduce musical routines?) This unfortunately detracts from the seriousness of the issues — the conflict with the medical hierarchy and, not least, the fact that the man knows he is dying before he is able to fulfil his ambition as a politician, and adds nothing to the enjoyment.
I was left with a sense that a good plot about an important individual has been wasted by an inappropriate production. 3*
The Tailor of Inverness, a play by Matthew Zajac at the Finborough Theatre, London
This one-man play, accompanied in this case by Amy Geddes on the violin, is both written and acted by Zajac. It tells the true story of Zajac’s father — how a boy from a farm in Eastern Poland (now in Ukraine) came to be a tailor in Inverness. It recalls his capture and imprisonment with forced labour by Soviets in 1939 and his release and subsequent role to fight with the Allies in Tehran, Egypt, North Africa and Italy. These are complex stories that require attention from the audience, but there are twists in the plot that start to cast doubt on the veracity of some of the detail. How accurate were these stories passed down from father to son? The accompanying solo arrangements of Scottish folk music added to the emotional content of the sometimes harrowing tale. 5*
Thomas Adès and Anne-Sophie Mutter with the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican Concert Hall, London
An inspired concert with some favourite music: in the first half Mutter played the Partita for violin and orchestra by Witold Lutoslawski, a late 5-movement work from 1984. Two of the movements are for violin and piano alone, the original scoring of the work. After the interval, we heard the first UK performance of Air by Thomas Adès for violin and orchestra, a piece subtitled Homage to Sibelius and written for the soloist in 2020. It is a complex but very accessible piece, worthy of looking out for in a future recording.
Either side of the violin pieces were very satisfying and interestingly conducted performances of music from the two Stravinsky ballets Orpheus and Agon. 5*
Rope, a play by Patrick Hamilton at Theatre Clwyd, Old
This play looked promising as I have seen other adaptations of Hamilton’s novels that portrayed well the atmosphere of early post-war Britain. This one, though, was written in 1929 and is a typical drama of its time — a murder mystery of sorts played out by a group of young people with upper-class accents, ‘just down from Oxford’. The plot is somewhat unusual in that we know right from the start that two of these undergraduates have murdered a fellow student and have cut up his body and placed it in a chest in the middle of the stage. They then host a party and effectively dare those present, including the father and comical aunt of the victim, to believe that they might have committed the murder, a seemingly implausible idea.
The more interesting subplot, which was particularly relevant after World War I and remains relevant, is fairly lengthy conversation from the characters about whether or not a murder can be justified and whether killing in the name of war is significantly different from murder for other reasons.
To reveal the outcome would be a spoiler, but it’s possible to see the play in film format by Alfred Hitchcock from 1948.
Theatre Clwyd’s young cast gave an energetic performance with the sound effects of a thunderstorm critical for the plot hugely amplified by a real thunderstorm pouring rain on to the fabric roof of the temporary theatre building. 4*
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra at the Musikverein, Vienna, Austria
A beautiful early 20th century building that houses this famous orchestra, which is justifiably one of the most famous in Europe. The concert programme was rather conventional and not one I would have chosen, but it was interesting to try to understand why the orchestra has its reputation. In fact, that was easy to hear from the first notes as they played the Rossini William Tell Overture with amazing precision, all 58 string instruments on the stage sounding like one.
Bomsori Kim was the soloist in the Bruch Violin Concerto no. 1. It was difficult to hear the violin over the orchestra (hearing loss coupled with poor seating at the back of the auditorium) but the orchestra completed the concert with a great and very audible performance of Dvorák’s Symphony no. 9.
The programmed conductor Han-Na Chang was indisposed; so we saw instead Anja Bihlmaier, normally conductor of the Residentie Orkest of The Hague, who seemed totally in control of this famous orchestra. 4*
Weinberg and Elgar by the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra at the Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool
The orchestra was in top form with a more interesting than expected first piece: Ballade by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, written in 1898. Sheku Kanneh-Mason brought virtuosity and emotion to the Weinberg Cello Concerto, Op. 43, and the concert ended with Elgar’s Symphony No. 1.
Petite Messe Solennelle by Rossini performed by Birkenhead Choral Society at St. Saviour's Church, Oxton
A very operatic-sounding piece of church music from an aged Rossini, nicely sung by the choir with four professional soloists and harmonium and piano accompaniment (as originally written). Some difficulties hearing the female soloists in the acoustic setting of the chilly and quite uncomfortable church, but otherwise an enjoyable evening. 3*
Shoshana, a film by Micheal Winterbottom at The Light, New Brighton
The film is based on the book by Tom Negev, that tells a true story set in Tel Aviv in British- controlled Palestine in the 1930s. The principal female character Shoshana Borochov works as a journalist for the moderate Zionist group Haganah, who aim for a Palestine where Arabs and Jews live peacefully together. However, the political scene is dominated at the time by the rise of the radical terrorist group Lehi, also known as the Stern Gang after the name of its leader. Their aim is to use force to eliminate the British influence in Palestine and to create a dominant Jewish state to welcome Jews from all over the world (this was before the Holocaust of course).
The British exert their influence through a strong army and police presence that is not averse to using torture and murder to maintain the peace. Some of the murder scenes are presented in gory detail. One of the senior police Tom Wilkin is having an affair with Shoshana and this arguable is the main plot of the film as we see the conflict they experience between their relationship and their opposing political views.
Murder was commonplace in this period of Palestine history as it is now. To avoid a spoiler, I’ll skip to the end, where we see Shoshana radicalised and engaging in armed fighting with the primarily Arab opponents of the Jewish state.
This is a fairly traditional but convincing piece of filmmaking about an interesting and still relevant period of history. 4*
The Unfurrowed Field by the Manchester Collective at Future Yard, Birkenhead
This ensemble, derived from the Hallé Orchestra have a fine reputation for excellence in boundary-crossing music, combining folk, jazz and contemporary classical. The members of the ensemble taking part in this event were a string quartet with piano, percussion and bass.
The musicianship was excellent throughout. The programme was very eclectic, with a world premieres of environmentally inspired music by Fergus McCreadie and Donald Grant. Contemporary classical was represented by works from the Hungarian György Kurtág and there was even a bit of a Haydn string quartet. However, beyond that, I was a bit uncertain as to which pieces on the programme were being played and in what order, as they tended to be announced together after the event and not always audibly.
There was a lot of improvisation, which is one of their primary skills. With a largely standing audience, much of the programme had the feel of a jazz club. I admired all that, but it’s not a programme I particularly enjoyed, particularly since the few seats available were very uncomfortable and not well located. 2*
Death in Venice, an opera by Benjamin Britten at Venue Cymru, Llandudno
Welsh National Opera have excelled themselves in this production of the opera, which was head and shoulders above the version I saw previously at the Royal Opera House.
Firstly, Aschenbach was faultlessly sung and acted by Mark Le Brocq, with the secondary 7 characters all played by Roderick Williams, who seemed able to adopt a completely different persona for each one. The opera contains a substantial amount of orchestral episodes and whereas in the version I have seen before these were acted out by the silent Tadzio — the object of Aschebach’s homoerotic fascination — standing around looking beautiful or throwing a beach ball occasionally, in this production Tadzio and the members of his family were played by acrobats from a professional Belgian circus acrobatic team, who spent the time on trapeze, tightropes, ladders etc. performing hair-raising acrobatic tricks. This was apparently indicated in the original score but is often played down. However, in this production, it was totally successful and brought the character of Tadzio to the front as a character. It has been argued that all these acrobatic acts distracted from Britten’s music, but I thought the opposite.
The production team also excelled with the set, particularly with the background representation of the sea in the lido at Venice and the way in which Tadzio disappeared into the sea at the end was quite miraculous. 5*
Ensemble 10/10 at the Tung Auditorium, Liverpool
The conductor in this disappointingly poorly attended concert was Canadian Samy Moussa, who also composed the violin concerto receiving its first performance played by Thelma Handy. The short concerto is inspired by Moussa’s visit to the volcanic Mount Etna. There are 3 linked highly dynamic movements followed by an elegiac final movement.
The other work in the first half was After Rain for string orchestra by Michael Finnis; this was inspired by the poetry and paintings of Agnes Martin. Finnis was present to explain his work, which sounded as if it might be interesting, but the explanation came in the form of a muttered dialogue between composer and conductor that was barely audible to the audience (why does this happen so often?).
Another first performance in the second half was the 3rd symphony by the late Canadian composer Jacques Hétu and interesting piece that would benefit from a further hearing. Finally, the concert ended with Music from Romeo and Juliet by David Diamond. This didn’t quite fit the expectation of a work at a contemporary music concert; it was written in 1947 and sounded like typical Vaughan Williams-influnced English music of the time. 4*
The Zone of Interest, a film by Jonathan Glazer at The Light Cinema, New Brighton
Another film about the Holocaust (3 out of the last 7 we have seen). Unusually, the subject is viewed from the point of view of the Nazi command. The main characters are the family of concentration camp commandant Rudolph Höss, who lives ‘on site’ at Auschwitz in a pleasant house along with his wife and family. They appear to lead a happy family life, ignoring the smoke emitted from the camp’s furnaces and the cries of the prisoners. When he goes kayaking with his children on the nearby river he is horrified to find bones of prisoners’ corpses in the water and immediately moves his children downstream out of sight.
Apart from that, there is little sign that he or his family are affected by what is happening in the camp. Occasionally the children’s behaviour suggests otherwise, however, and a visit to the house by the wife’s mother is terminated abruptly when she realises that her conscience will not permit her to stay any longer; in particular she is uneasy about her daughter and her friends picking through the clothes of the dead inmates for fashionable items. When Höss is unexpectedly transferred to Berlin, the family do not take this as an opportunity to leave but beg to remain in the house, where they claim they are happy. Höss and his wife agree to remain as a ‘team’ from a distance, rather than as a married couple; we already know that he brings inmates from the camp as prostitutes into his own house and imagine that his wife is aware of this.
The film addresses the very obvious question surrounding the Holocaust: how could otherwise ordinary human beings perpetrate this inhuman act? The real Höss, on whom the character was based, was tried at Nuremberg in 1947 and declared that he could see that extermination of the Jews was wrong, but only in so far that it led to Germany losing the war. Throughout the film you look for any signs that he ever questions his aims. Only at one point, when he is told that he has to return to Auschwitz, you see him vomiting but then continuing to carry our his duties.
A grim but necessary alternative portrayal of that period of history. 5*
One Life, a film by James Hawes at Picturehouse at FACT, Liverpool
A receptacle for actor Anthony Hopkins to play the role of an admirable individual (cf. Hannibal Lector), in this case the very English Nicholas Winton, who was inspired at the start of the Second World War to attempt to rescue Jewish children from Czechoslovakia prior to the Nazi invasion. Played as a young person by Johnny Flynn, Winton is seen to take huge personal risk to organise the evacuation and succeeds in conveying five train loads of children to England, where they are found foster homes.
This is a well-acted and conventional documentary/drama that emphasises the dilemma faced by any humanitarian group or individual that they cannot do more than resources permit. In older age, Winton was tortured by what he saw as a failure to save more children rather than being proud of what he achieved. He makes little reference to that period in his life until he comes across a file containing details of the children whom he helped to escape. As he attempts to find a suitable archive for the material, his story is taken up by the media, in particular the BBC TV programme That’s Life, who engineer to identify many of these children who owe their lives to Winton. The film reaches am emotional climax where Winton is invited to appear in public in front of an audience which turn out to be those children 40 years later. He was eventually knighted for his endeavours.
Cinema may not need more films about the Holocaust, but they continue to appear. This one is a sound piece of film-making, avoiding (only just) over-dramatising the serious topic. I couldn’t avoid making the comparison between the admiration expressed for England’s role in offering asylum and the attitude that prevails now. 4*
Stumbling Stones, a performance by Klezmer-ish at the Music Room, Liverpool
This was an unusual event — the presentation of a recently written book of that title, written by a neighbour of ours, Julia Nelki, that tells the story of her Jewish inheritance. The name refers to an artwork that was installed in the House Villa Russo outside Berlin that was the family home prior to some of the family being forced to flee Nazi Germany and finding asylum in England; many other members of the family were murdered. The building still exists and has been restored as a memorial.
The performance takes the form of an actor Joanna Bending in the role of the author of the book narrating episodes from the family history. These are supplemented by musical interludes from the 4-person chamber group Klezmer-ish, poetry and prose on related themes and a set of Yiddish songs performed by the splendid tenor Darren Abrahams. Klezmer-ish also performed a separate set of pieces in the first half of the programme.
This was an interesting form of storytelling that finds an original way to carry the message. As an entertainment it had moving moments, but some of the readings and poetry were difficult to grasp at first hearing.
The song cycle was a highlight, but that would have been much more effective if the translation of the words of the song had been projected instead of being given out in paper form with the seating area being in the dark. 4*
Poor Things, a film by Yorgos Lanthimos at Barbican Cinema 3, London
The film is based on the novel by the same name by the late cult Scottish author Alasdair Gray. It is an absurd tale about a 19th century anatomist who saves the unborn child of a suicide victim and transplants the child’s brain into the adult body. Emma Stone plays the resulting Frankenstein-like creature Bella and the story centres round how her brain develops from that of an infant to a mature adult, all the time in the body of an adult woman.
When she develops an interest in sex, she is seduced and abducted by a scoundrel Wedderburn, who takes her round the capitals of Europe, where she continues to have sexual adventures. What happens to her later becomes even more implausible, although rather satisfying and positive as an ending to the tale.
Complete nonsense, but entertaining. I’m not tempted to read the book; anything else of Gray’s I’ve tried to read I’ve given up on. 4*
Dido & Aeneas, by Henry Purcell, a concert performance at the Barbican Hall, London
Joyce DiDonato was the star attraction in this concert and all Barbican Hall seats were booked weeks in advance. Her performance as Dido was faultless and merited the visit to London, but the other artists were equally superb: Il Pomo d’oro orchestra and choir conducted at keyboard by Maxim Emelyanychev, and particularly Andrew Staples as Aeneas and Beth Taylor as the Sorceress.
Dido and Aeneas was preceded by the oratorio Jephte by Giacomo Carissimi, whom I don’t recall having heard of (Italian and earlier than Purcell). This had a very militaristic libretto, detailing battles and slaughter against the children of Israel and tells the sad tale of a military hero who was obliged, on account of his exaggerated sense of honour, to kill his daughter. However, he did allow her to go into the mountains prior to the sacrifice, where she spent time lamenting the fact that she would die a virgin.
The story of Dido and Aeneas is much better known but in fact is similarly about a misplaced sense of pride: Dido, Queen of Carthage, ultimately commits suicide because Aeneas, prince of the Trojans abandoned her against his better judgement and, although he was unable to leave her and returned, she could not accept that he had left her in the first instance. So unnecessary, but a perfect story for a tragic opera in which, as always, the dying woman provides the emotional final aria. 5*
American Fiction, a film by Cord Jefferson at The Light Cinema, New Brighton
See my A Year in Books 2023 for the plot of the film, which is based on the novel Erasure by Percival Everett. For anyone cynical about literary prizes and the juries that determine them, this provides a most entertaining insight. Jeffrey Wright is excellent in the role of the academic Thelonius Ellison, who observes angrily that the only way a Black novelist can be successful is to write a novel about Black issues and so decides to write a spoof novel, under a pseudonym, that characterises the worst of such writing. It is hugely successful and leads to various comedic scenarios in which ultimately his identity is revealed.
The novel adds to the book in that it offers the audience three alternative endings, adding a further satire on the clichéd endings of popular movies.
Clever and amusing, like the novel. 5*