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Hiolrar& Iarvson
ir $ev elayt Sr:nnerball l8th August
a year or so since I saw either of these twp J.ocal (Newaastle) heroes. IrE ueed. to the nore cosy r re1axed r uost-are*f ri end,s-ui th-the-singers crowds. $o tkis ca.ue as eonething of a shock. I{'ot that a larger c=owd or e grander verme rnad.e a dlfferenear but aonethlng sociologicalr or anthro polog$.cally &i.fferent, about horn the crord reLated
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Itve wd.tten bef,ore (in an olil geordle monstere fenaine) about how &lchard lawson f,eels }i.ke a shamanl and about the function of an
eestetics commrral oeromorlr - I kior thls sounds ri&iculous on paler but I waE read:ing a Lot about archaeol"ogica} shamarrism, $iberla etc. & tnrst me, the role fit. Br:t that waE him a,mongst a commurit;r, who l"oved. hiu to bi.ts and. was pea.lcing together and. being a bit lnessy and. stil"l ln&ividuals auongst the
mouent. ft felt L1ke your mate on stage. We felt we were at houerand i-f we rowned.r the experience it was only in a casual, domestie way. i
Tonightl the show was great. Both performerg cha:med. the au&ience, sang & played stiraainglS and in the sulluter heatwave I wes exultant and proud to be sharing their e:qrerlence to a nffi }istener. (Ooagy graflIllar there, bear w:ith ne) But ttre crord; ao offeneel wâ‚Źre &icks. Hot real1fl; not deeply: in*ivi&ra1]y they were just fine, and. Irye nowt rea1Iy to coidcorr then withl except in the gxoup sâ‚ŹDeer fhe way th"yr colleotivelyr related. to rthe showt,, the performeuel the stagel tJre frontrwas not the same &,s I remeuober from pastr hone gigslthough. Ytith Nev Clayr there was space at the front. Proof: we sat dolnn thero. He chattered one cha:muing chuokles anel snorts out of the crowd. ffis guitarplaying was on partic ularLy emeezing fom too' He was a bit c:rrder in his banter than usuaL, but we sti11 all wanted. to be his love.
lg-gggg-gl
he finlshed playing, l'ong bef,ore the
interra}
reaIly startedl let alone the toiLet trips and' chatter a'r:d people and. late LrrtvaLs h.ad happenedl l"tttle knotE of pusuea to the front. we were trxrshed adde, and f,elt Btif}ed. tJrat you get i,n not deEcrc.bing the usuaL nrsh to the front no teeni+"'gerst no *ttf, ,r.y deeent big gig here - there ll.erettyegh
wae
the raonent intentions;-no reaL nioe innocent hasarrivedrletrefomalovingknotrrtypeatmmsphere' shesewere$aoa].l.,tsolatedgroupsofuid,d]"eelasettrirtyyr oLds cLaimring spaoe 9991*9! the rest of ttre crow&' Readers oneE that of a certain type of-frr[6ii-rnagaaine, the hlghbrow raally is lvho of highground cl,nin to identlfy the snobblsh guees. Y{ervc I worth it* ar.rogance of uusic intell-ectual"sl all got a bit of lt withiu ue. the toil"et triPtdr{"nkgett ok checkandwaitinga}lhappened.withthecrovrdd.Smanriesall sudd.enly, aud r"mnecessarilyl a blt sh:it' I felt bad for people. T{try co.:.ldntt they be one (*ramnically unifiedl) fo1k? Se were now hoLding spaoe, disLiking tal1 peoplee Ari"n"#ta'lking to the sna1l Sroup of Eates cone to consume the experience eeparate to tha '"u*'*U the glg fel't Esmehow it was great. ft Just rade me a bit ead'And Likeonenoref,aLl..&ilcha:dI)aveonrsselectionoftour &IQ tr:nesl the onee rad:io$ and such harre brouâ&#x201A;Źht fo:mardr than I presented. in a way nr[h *or* art'fu1'Ly wifdfbo*Aers & persona elearerl is fur*r" I remeuberr Sls performance ccitiolsm zem have aet to the fore. And itts aLl. good', I to these of tr,{u or how hets &a'king hie way out t'hereimpreosing and audieneeEry he dleeerves to be out there and Eowe 01d Poor realised never hers doing it realLy welL. I and short was stij"l in hls Llie repertoj.re either, ctranged. brrtgtil.]-bl.ood"ypowerfir].andthsnkfuokhe|sgolngforit tnaiustresn! iul hiq style, by }i-g choS-ees; not any other s er66[i ons/moderati ons . But Yeah, e gig erPerienee is a very anxiety persona3. thing. Youth, nosta}gi'ar ego and emotional I it'So iu iff Set a workout when you are roally iumerse& <J-arrce-
donltapo}ogiseforbelngabitsltinthenebrrlousdetail ia this '***'r* was a d.lfferent content. The cbange in co
context wa6 caused by the dlfferent way of looking to the artiEt tirat thio m:*icp:rers* browsin6, choosy, self-i-rnportaxrt Edinburgh crovrd brought ( co1Iectivetrilr not individually in a christj.an bla.me way) to the oceasion. Selng at the EiLinburgh festival"fninge probably helghtened these tend.encies amongst that d.enographl"c tool and he115 I{ev C1ag and. }ic}rard }awson sa,*Ied over It and gave another latot of people a eo&ert to renember. Btrt in &y osn nythol ogised personal" history, this wes a shed.os of the ti.mes when I hare felt rooted.l felt part of a coomrn:iQr-crowd. Irll- find out eoon if that is due to E*inburgh as a city, $uceess finding the girys we used to feel w6re roursr, or Just another patch of d:ifferent weather 1n the conetaatly rr*rellal;La ntnd of mee t&e g"lg-going Long:ing lnr$anr t:
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Itm neither a connoisseur nor regulai theatre-goer so tkis was & blt of a steB ant of the normal for me (for us). Not hav:ing had a suurner holiday away, here was an intematlonaL enrent on our d.oorstep so letrs (thought we) give it a go! E&inburgbrs not uy home city go btlt I caxr out in the eveningr here, whereae u;r orm houe city of NewcastLe is currently closed to me in the everrings, due to hatring moved out onto an infrequent trainline. Th:is areans ttre venues a.ud the city topography here are all qulte new to mer bit bmrild.erir:gr bit fresh. So entenlng a properl oldfaehloned. theatre tnrllding, walki.ng up the stcirs-a0ter*stalrsr md emegg:ing out \r the ceiling with its pl.aater oxra&e&tation md rud.dent odd cl.iff dosvn the sLope ahead of you - thts was greatl A young $/oman atread of us was ha:i:!ng palpltations or a gasping attack of nerrreEp presumably due to that loveIy theatrical" vertigo these weird, grand.s bi.essed buildings
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offS and up to see the facC.al erpressioUs of the actors, We didart know the ptray, & the one Bennessee WiLliarns play I once had seenwas utter shlt (visiting a friend at Universiffr he took usto see a sue1l production of some playsf tugaents that [!Y had"ntt flnished before dylng. fhey should never have seen light), We were captivateil. Tle felt the pomer ancl quality of his writing (pLaycraft?) ime*iate1yl and throughout. Se dfld nr t knorry rvhere the sitrrations would lead" nstr and were Be were too f,ar
wit
and" deeision and. drame throrghout to not not feeL dlstanced by what wao happening. The ad.verri;ised. rleadr character is fanous fron US telJ"y, vrhlch neither of us watchr hrt she was strong and she was captivating (and anr:oying and. claustrophobia-inducing as intended) n so well done U$ te13.y and well done the advert. In factl each of the Lid.te. d. group had. Leed. momentsr and with most scenes feah:.ring just two talking togetherr r
gLlren enough tire, and to
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attentionA*#""tt""1**ootle yfuff thesps a^nd actors &re mocked. for believi:rg about themsslves has some tluth aftor a}l. a.nd'
special effectsy no bi6 cha::g*of scene ::"ff:.i* A 3:ared-dau::, charactlr * and" _ ", text based. thing that f now suppose tc be a classie exa,rnpie of wha$ good" theatro looks like, feels liken d.an:.ee.
theatre in a stare of rqoaderment *oe ,*uprl*']tl#i* a chance on one recomnend.ed piece of theatre had. the best decisj.on tve eould hape made" I was e\ren been ing f noukl see semethi"ng every month from notr onrsay But eince thffi f looked. at m;, *u**y a;id it ain, happen. fhank goodness tf:m itrat the ,proper t gonua ftay, jr6 d:id. ehoose io see was euch a one.-r,?eil 5,^.ood. d;;;; *heatre types, maybe yourre ace aftsr all.
l^le 'rtl7"+a lt' Sc'fe+â&#x201A;ŹJ thz*'t s)r.**L;3 ^6"1 " PGfe- of ) *h*a*r< ' pir.** *. 6.si, a. vzll'r't.tl i-f arna111+-+ica "^ 2las*er 3l"ss'
th^} fr"r o[a] it was /cr on{ of *'n' ptnJs *qenli<s I'JJu.'.eJ -s ^ scr:?* uuien :n t*f'
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uost erpensive ticket I bought' fl'1"8'',0t & I d"ont pfo* mof.ing f ee. f *ianlt lmow t'he venuein plenty of ti set off reaL1"y knor Edinhrrgh wel"l", so I
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I hed ttrree ful1 daytimes in Ed:inburgh on ry ownt 4,8 my si;1f"i""d *ent to work (what a losert) I reallY enjoYed' walking larily dowa the BoyaS' $&i1'e where aLl the JuggS'ers1 busklng spots 1 srrlppets-of -Korean-danoe-shows lmagi c tri cks and streeinlocking tourists r{Gxâ&#x201A;Źr I blocked streets myse}f. of vrh:i-ch And I d.ecid.ed. 'to see a couple of pay shovrs toos this $as the best.
are always a bit
E&ir:burgh when you enter a show you uasure if ;routIl get picked ol:'t or raade to
In
Joi"niru.I|moneofthosewhohateslt.Partly&re't;othe sh;rness of a Sritish {Oyr oId na1el .but also du'e an experie to tlu wa6r that I teke t5ings inl and appreciate then watching eyea with nce ! if i an told to do something mel after w'ith anay I have pretty no Demory at all to take to order' If I warde, o""pt that I had' to do sonething atghthavetospeak,Ithinkverylittleaboutwhatothers And Aere t waated to see what they were showing. ""I ""yt"g.
uptight
lheywereALexElliotlplayingbothanaincharaeter'If,ark' and ana-vartous other bits n pi-ecesl including narratbu. the its mention ou RoEs Mi}lard whose }'uturehea'do past has played' a confortable Hâ&#x201A;Ź postelt$r adverts and his face on the sat wit'h his moetl'y version of irimslef , I sruppoee' He guitar in the cortrer, aoodLing or l'ea&!ng otherg in msic'to told' us not He wag the one who rade 1s feel comfortablel worrf,p and acted' out the role of nlce rnrrsi-cy bloke Yexy uuch
in hls eonfort sone. Slie most bonkers
onel often
ha$nringitupvi:ithA1ext$aEMariaCroc)cer'actingoutthe euotlons of charactar: Ha':-'k1 or o'i;i:e3 c'l:"tr3'ct3a:' often singing in a more musicals-styIe than Ross' It ras greatl t spend' did'nt ard it was wa:m*rearted and a litt1e ssdr nostly too long producing pxoper acted'-otrt thgatre.brit westtre a tact-and.-forth t"t""e" tJre acto:rg addresEing uBt ;aI"""", airectfyl explaini'ng rhat was going od (soue the weLl writtenl pithy lines in thisl eg' I reuember
drafts of_ Lettersl each not q ri6ht; being discard.ed and rswritten by Mark, with a compelling gazet and e quiclmees spareness, that only got quicker i sparer). ' ftve never been in a band. frve never loved. end nissed so deeply an instruaant ln a way they could. ccnjure up. But it made me want to join inl to take up ny dnixrkit that I played. in midd.le schooL but never knw how tocarrXr on into upperr 3ut lrn sidetracked: bach aul forth uith the addresses to
$e the au*ience calne songsr loads of son$s1 some little more than musleaL interlud.es but snne fulL clap yr hand.s rrr:sibers. Tlhlchr happlIy, was the liln:it of what we as the others in the roon had" to do. CLap a3.ong, a 3-ittl"e call & resBonse. ?hew; I felt invisible/irntouched. enough to enjoy. Unexpectedly, fo me, a hand.ful of audi.ence members &id. stand up and Jotn the stage halfiray th:orrgh r they weue temporary ncmbers of the House 3an11 ruknolyn to each other beforehand aJnd not necessarily wittr an o'Luxce of mrsi.caL erperioncor The show advertised for arrybody rho wanted. to1 to turn up for an hour eaeh aftexnoon and work on jaming together, to practiee simple tunes and tha peir{o:m ttrem nol. fhis wa^s a dea.d. nieil rra3i' of elisiaating any sease of polilhed. d:istance fron it all. l{o balriers here. .6nd while I felt at the tine that the mrsical rlrbbers ran oa too sooa from one tothe nextl eliuiaating the sense of space or developnent frpa the mpin storyz I suspeet thatt E due to tJris being a shorter veiij.on of the ahow tha.n the one that ffill be toured. lnd they were certainly easy to watch and part of a package of entertal"rmentl da,ftness and cham thetr yep, nade a great showr
Edi$burgh fringe is nuch betterl I feel, if you can fork out the dash to see things Like thls. I rernembdr the awful disappoiritment a few years backl when a a gang of us {oured some free stuff. Bad" songs, uncomfortable
silencesl moments that were okay trut not enough to feel morthr'zhile. I adnr:lre'the networks of peop)-e i,rho make the Fringe happenl I think their sultnral get-together 6s one of ihe best, most unpredictabLe nand &iveree things going. 3ut r like too feeling.like rrm garn:ing something, like r did hereo
9gx!i*s-9lsse tv !Bs-lg*el-ryeEe!-!IEst353 ?t3*-ts*ss3
thts piece of well done, lmersive theatre. It was powerfuS.l and verywith people was getting 1 star rernievrs and sell'irâ&#x201A;Ź; out'
I
was
left
unsettled" arid unhappy by
for spare ticlcets on the steps of the chrrch nowl veii*.-nrt af,ter a week Itn iust asr unconfortabS'e r:ncomfort Left ; t;" the same broad. reasons that was and.which I ab3.e by the filnl llhe Rrssian Woodpecher' wrota irp ot my liog, rine-i"t*yourself 'bLogspot'co*uk beggr"ng
Yisually str{"king; dyrmnric with t'he tableEr flagst just thrown roissil,ers-Sn*^fgttt I rioteops' $hrs1911Iy and beautiful. ltearislirringly beautiful tra*itionaL
piece; keerring rnrsic ! one of t'he two creators of the et]rnoilusie in 3,{arichia lflarczyk, h'as a deep background to bear ol"ogy, and Urought her experience' and talent'important PoLitically' nJiL' aston:ishingLy effecttively' emotionaL and clear' raw iopical righteous date::nrined we were much Less 1Ye sat in the ga1Leryp wh:ich neent and adverts) rerniews a1] ;;;;;-t (the [ewori'usea bv fed party were I'rho look down upon, than ttros* *"
"orrld ro"ai"s&aLLwhiteboslslt7eleuovedth:iswayandthat tomakespaceforbarcicade-riaising,forsweepeofcops' wereselectedtobespunroundinfo]lrdarreesandwhor be seen grinnlng or ;;; ;"; safe/borir6'vanta6el couldthe epot as they excited, Juanprng up or learni$g on is a really i-rorked out how to ]oin in' T'ike I sayr,it sing' ef f ective pi eoe of relivi ggf t ecxeating/ararnati carne fron' To ect At firste that i$ where roy *isccrnfort shot out as a play; an uprising by real people *rho were recently only up stood by suiperi, beaten io aeattr, who pretty dirty to real fo*ces of oppreesion. It feels aourselves' P1"ay tr*.ck by m{dd"l,e cfasse weEterners like while they are lqtlled. 3uy your ticket; taste the cherry
,rro-u-*;t;i/*;c/emotilnal snippets' Like Tice 'witbj-tsphotoessa.fobsessionswithfenaleKur*ishfigh'ers exotisised product and a flleht u"crei homne to seLl" the it before buyin8 back to u$r Yorr kr:ow ttre argur'ent' I knw in. 3nd" knouring the theatre company is not Ukrii-nian hrt magazine
fron
Canada nade
thlsrrecuperative &isplayr more evid'ent1
thoughactually Leos sharp.
to tut tut, being the
in the endry I
Anyhow I nken I was in no position aud:ience member myself I and. this is
left
fee1in6. To be taken throrgh the playactlons of insurrection is, even to a bourgeoS.s crowdl powerfully emotJ"onaL. To be p)-aced between tinesl to be approached by tJre storm*roopers and to be to1d. that no riotcopl sniper or other state kill"er $as ever brought to justi-ce is something that resonates.
no$ hon,
was
Sluls, however, was not ttre only najor ingredlent here. 0n top, nas the mrsical scorerthe laneats that Rete sung as the nevt;rwed wouan screaned, at the death of hes husband.l killed there :bn the squ&re where they foughtl feastedl danced.. Ukrainian folksoni:s, vid.eo of Orthodox priests at the site. The notley of flagsrsone SUl scme national.r some foLklshl Volkisch. The treatnent of martyred blood' as a gaeranent and new d.avfia. the ftrssian eul@t;r. the ethn:ie arrd. incatting eneryr I a.m not argui$gn of course, th&& tkis was a fascist product5"on. But there are fascistsl neonazis and folhrational"ists in the moment of lnsurrection, in the beauW of song, in the current coal.itions ru1irL, Ukrane. llhey push th.eir version of events, tbey f111 out the nearrirg of the iasurredtionl and. they elaim ttre bLood. of nartlrrs for whatl freedom? 0r for the ner populai ld'entity. Bas ttrsir ar5r critieal efuesr arf selfd'oubtsr sn3r edge of disillusioll or werrings aâ&#x201A;Źeinst na masterd in this play?
i t ads rith us all, wo tbe balcoay seatsr being erptied, elDtieil ort froa the andieace to pess throtrgb the site of battlel of fea:r aail hope at[ ileatJr enci deteuinatioa. iie pass the backdrcp a,rrct are henled \r soldie:rs tith guns to stand togrtber, as a coll.ecii.ve stityr fasing th.e guns. Scrolling tert tells us hf, rnnJr erl,rotestera jolned the arqr togo fightr in seeningl5r' peruaneat rarr against the Rrssi.ens in the east. It is not speller} out that this is a sad, let alone rorr5;:ing ending. [}re repeatetl chant that all j-nvolved end on, of the llkiainian nationaL bloodl it isnot bracketed. or llad.e nrl"ne,cable. Ilo they mean this conjuring up Ho,
of the surge to national"ism? Are they dolng us a se:sricel by waming us? I got no $ense of t'hat (&
not having read beyond tJre adrrert-reyienr interrievrs I do not; as I write thisl sr-rspect 1t), Fear &rssi.a, Join the arryr ftrt aside your peacetime conoertrs and bear the ethrrieriflag. fhatts the impact I got. And it is the opposite of what I believe ls our duty in these d.ays of potrmlist scaxemongeringl fascist reern*ttrnent and the erosioa of critieal thought.
Arkady0strovsky
Richarrl Shirreff
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14:15 WhyRussiaisonaKnife-Edg. \ Garilen Thearre, *::.lu ie lu.tOl
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whatever \4adimir Putin does, it will be met with suspicion in Western minds. Too much has happened during his presidency for tt,rrt to U. restoied. Moscow iorrespondent Arkady Ostrovslry reports ! f.o- the froot Line of this battle of wills, I 25 1'ears alter the end of the Sor-iet Linion. In Tlte Invention o.f Rrr.s-iln he asks horv the promise of ireedon heralded bv
into br
Gorbacheris perestroika descendecj and a nerv cold \\-ar. Chaired paranoia -nhil
Harding.
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17:,15 Political Parables and Putins
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17:00 PlaywithPutinatyourPeril llailiie Giffortl l,lain ']'he*tre
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After Georgia in 2008 and Crimea in20l4, the next target for Russia will be the Baltics in Z:!!, signalling direct confrontation with NATO and the West. This is the stark warning issued by General Sir Richard Shirrefl former NATO Deput,v Supreme Allied Commander Europe, in his r-rew book 2017 War with Rassla Closely modelled on his NATO erperience of t:1:.g",rring future contlicts, the book is a eiderq
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1-1:00 Putins Polonium
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lbr The photo oI a df ing Alexander Litvinenko Absurdism and satire are r'ltai rvays of?utin's comment to hars become a deiining image Russian and Ukrainian writers murder in 2006' his to Prior Russra' Russiatbestof one ut","f ..atties' ", Liil,inenko had been supplying information known political commentators, oieg had him set to NlI6 about horv organised crime oflen vieu's Kashins forthright state' Russian the of heart the to ,ilii, ,"irf, 1frJ establishmer.rt. Here, he penetrated 'l'lo,v Moscow Guardian's the Harding' Russia! Luke Fardwor' ;;.;t;i;;,irical novel Kafka' Kiev-based- correspondent u,til 2011' has written fi;J;;;;i-so"itt Pois'on' the definitive Andrev Kurkovs latest novel rhe Bickt'ord A very Erpcnsive of the So'iet accotlnt of l'itvinenko! murder' Lhaired il:::lnilt':"il
"u'"Ji"t' mentality in the years running up to nation\ i980s collapse Chaired by Rosie Goldsmith.
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