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@:event) ma fine arts graduation exibition, norwich gallery Like Oedipus and his mother the writing is on the wall when one is invited to an art gallery only to find that whilst the entrance IS free the booze IS not. it doth not bode well. Wh1ch IS somewhat unfortunate given that 1f I'd actually been drunk it m1ght have made this turgid, uninspired, ever so slightly pretentious exhibition seem a little more tolerable. As it was they didn't even have a cloak room and with the heating systems turned up on full, the gallery was hotter than the current politicaj climate in East Timor. So with this shambolic organisation to welcome patrons in from the cold like a thousand spies, or more accurately perhaps, a Vietnam veteran, my expectation were thus suddenly not high. First to catch my eye was a p1ece entitled Moment No. 4: Pub by Cora Glasser. This was a collection of photographs depleting a p1nt of lager sitting on a table in a pub. As the photographs progress the lager is drunk by a woman. An insight into pub culture? A sad indictment upon ladettes? Suffice to say there were several more Instalments in the Moments series.
Other pieces on display included one by Esmond B1ngham with the g1ven name of Gainsborough Princess 1. Which was a dress constructed out of what appeared to be brown paper. However this dress was merely for display and would certainly not withstand anybody actually wearing 1t. To understand the mmdset of these graduating students one could refer to self scribed testaments, a sample of wh1ch by Marilyn Mann follows, "I had to destroy the ego ... Craftsmanship was JOStling for centre stage with my need to make a statement about myself". Marilyn Mann's most arresting piece was a work ent1tled Brief Encounter With Fire, which featured a striking image of a charred but textured canvas. it was an impressive piece until the realisation shined like a lighthouse 1n one's mind that surely it's the fire that deserves the credit. After all, 1t was the fire that d1d all the work. Bland, passionless, without direction .The Norwich School of Art and Design is supposed to be one of the finest in the country, but last year must have been a lemon. A/ex McGregor
norfolk and norwich festival
international literary festival Last year the International L1terary Festival brought to campus an ent1re library of wntmg talent to read and d1scuss their work. These ranged from authors w1th close t1es to UEA such as Char/le H1gson and Creat1ve Writ1ng graduate /an McEwan, to mternat1onally renowned g1ants, for example Gore V1dal and the celebnty status of Richard E. Grant. Th1s year the /me up has proved no different, 1n terms of quality not the actual writers VISiting, obv1ously. Lecture Theatre 1 w11/ be graced th1s semester by UEA's very own employee and, of course, Poet Laureate, Andrew Mot1on. Hopefully Motion w11/ be reading from his latest volume of poetry ent1tled Salt Water and discussing his work as a biographer, most notably of Ph1ilp Larkin and John Keats, and his controversial appointment to the pos1t1on of the <;)ueen's offic1al poet. Other highlights mclude a v1s1t from one of the twentieth centunes most g1fted art1sts, Joseph Helier, author of the polymesmenc Catch 22, and 1ts long awaited sequel, Closing Time. In addition to
this former UEA graduate and past winner of the Sunday Express Book of the Year, Rose Tremain will also be poppmg along to discuss, no doubt, her latest novel , The Way I Found Her. However Trema1n is probably most revered for her novel Restoration wh1ch was made 1nto a lavish Hollywood picture featuring Robert Downey Jr and /an McKellen. In continuation of the script motif, Michael Frayn is also a h1gh profile and very welcome addition to the fest1val. Frayn, JUSt for your own personal edification, wrote the screenplay to the John Cleese vehicle Clockwise and the mult1-award winning stage play, Copenhagen. Th1s truly international line up also includes Kazuo lshiguro, the Japanese born novelist who came to Britain at the age of five, and went on to graduate from UEA's creative writmg programme. His Illustrious work includes An Artist of the Floating World and the booker prize winning novel, The Remains of the Day. For tickets (拢2 for students) call 01603 508050 .
faust at the theatre royal There are so many vanables to cons1der and remember when about to view an opera mounted by a semi-professional troupe in a theatre which 1s not the1r natural home, that one can almost convmce oneself that the following performance will come dnppmg w1th sweat stra1ght from the small of Satan's back. The acoustics, for instance, are one of these variables. The Theatre Royal, whilst a fine venue, is hardly the Colliseum. Which is why it comes as a wonderfully pleasant surprise to be charmed and won over when the goods are delivered, desp1te the odds. This latest retelling of the class1c story of Faust, fi rst made famous by Goethe, certainly falls into th1s category. The story of Faust begins with the ageing philosopher striking a barga1n with The Devil. In return for g1ving Luc1fer his soul, Lou will return Faust's lost youth. However, Mephistopheles, as is the correct moniker, causes Faust to fall 1n love with the delectable and innocent Margarita . it all ends in tears, of course, with Margarita driven mad and imprisoned. Faust attempts to persuade her to foll ow him and Mephistopheles to Hell but she renounces him as evil and ascends to Heaven, leavmg Faust to rue his fate. Staging a production of this repute and scale would be a monumental endeavour for even the most fu nded of professional outfits, so naturally this production, staged by the Norfolk Opera Players, has many naws. Some are generic problems of
mounting an opera of this s1ze, such as a resolution not being found to silence the sound of feet scuffing across the heav1/y amplified stage. This causes an mtrusive interruption to the dramatic ebbs in the opera. Other faults are those such as misjudged metaphors. For example, Mephistopheles seems to bedesigned in his human guise as an Elizabethan era Spaniard. Most of these and other more noticeable mistakes occurred during the lengthy first half and were probably the fault of extensive nerves. This manifests itself in the physicality of the players which seemed to be forced and deliberate where they should have been flowing and lucid. This included key members of the cast bumping into the set, and the lead violin in the orchestra noticeably failing to sustain a note during their solo. However there still remains a great deal to upon which to commend the Norfolk Opera Players. The extravagant and expensive looking set, for one, which was apparently built by the Players themselves, was outstanding and truly reflected the soul and spirit of the production and story. Highlights of this design included a screen for back projection which featu red moving clouds over a blue sky which gradually turned blood red. Faust proved to be an example of "Stand and Deliver" theatre. it was a great effort that was not fully rea lised but was sti ll as good a semi-professional opera as one wi ll see in provincial theatre. Alex McGregor
THE EVENT, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 06, 1999
The long runn1ng and much revered Norfolk and Norwich Festival takes place th1s year from October 1 through to October 17, and takes 1n a variety events ranging from dance to evenings of spoken wBrd to recitals of classical music. In additiOn to the festival Itself there also runs, as with all great and mighty explosions of performing art, a fringe festival in a variety of different locales. Among the highlights at this years fringe festival are Barry Kitson's "From Gotham to Norwich". This IS a collected of art work from the man the big wigs brought 1n to redes1gn Batman for the millennium. Kitson 1s also well known for h1s work on Superman and Judge Dredd. Also heading eastward are the FrantiC Assembly, the 1998 T1me Out Live Award winners, w1th the1r new show, Hymns, wh1ch features the1r own, un1que brand of physical theatre. In addition to th1s Lecture Theatre 1 plays host to the 1999, What the Norf***K's Going On, a conference where an
assortment of DJ's, promoters, musicians and music shop owners congregate to discuss just why it IS that Norfolk IS considered such a cultural backwater. Then on October 17 at Liquid there is the End of the Fringe Party, which features the presentation of the Colman Award for "HottAst Act of the Year". Presumably we're not talking about temperatu re. Highlights of the Fest1val proper include a rare performance of Handle's three "Oxford" Water Mus1c Suites, as performed by The Brook Street Band. On Fnday, October 8 the festival presents The Winged Lion, a programme trac1ng the glonous and long lived mus1ca/ trad1t1on of Ven1ce from Monteverd1 to Vivaldi. Finally, another event to mark 1n the diary is the even1ng of stories, mus1c and song celebrating the anc1ent relat1onsh1p betw1xt men and horse, entitled Psalms from the Horses mouth. Check listings for ticket and venue information.