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EDITORIAL Thursday, 31 October 2019

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www.palatinate.org.uk

STAGE 3 Drama School Ambitions FEATURES 4&5 Durham’s Forgotten Viaduct & Encountering Isolation & Alienation

FILM & TV

6 Netflix of the North: Your Halloween Guide BOOKS 7 The White Lady of Crook Hall FASHION 8&9 Five Figures of Fashion FOOD & DRINK 10 Durham’s Drinking Culture: Is it too much?

TRAVEL 11 Livin’ the American Dream MUSIC 12 Spotlight on strobe lights VISUAL ARTS 13 Religion and the grotesque INTERVIEW 14 & 15 Alistair Petrie & Mark Gatiss CREATIVE WRITING 16 Discovery

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Email indigo@palatinate.org.uk Logo: Chloe Wong Cathedral Artwork: Anna Gibbs Front Cover: Heidi Januszewski

It’s getting to the point in term where we can’t use “I’m still getting into the swing of things” as an excuse any more. Essays are beginning to be set, dissertation meetings are becoming unavoidable and it’s getting harder to manage extra-curriculars alongside academic work. It’s nice though, in the midst of all this, to have a distraction.

Halloween always feels like a marker in Michaelmas term, it comes just at the right time to alleviate stress and also remind yourself that academics aren’t the be all and end all; it’s hard to take everything seriously when you’re walking through Durham dressed as a zombie, or a viking, or in my case, a pig.

Bearing Halloween in mind, Books looks at a local ghost story in the form of ‘The White Lady’ of Crook Hall (p. 7), Film & TV recommends some horror films set in the north of England (p. 6) and Visual Arts looks at the relationship between religion and the grotesque in art forms (p. 13).

But it’s not all about the gross and the gloomy, Stage talks to graduate Rosie Weston about life in theatre after Durham (p. 3), Features looks at Durham’s forgotten viaduct (p. 4) and Travel reminisces about life outside the bubble- documenting working life at an American summer camp (p.11).

Handily, Interview have been talking to Alistair Petrie and Mark Gatiss (p. 14 & 15), so if you missed the talk at the Durham Union, they’ve got you covered.

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INDIGO EDITORS Shauna Lewis Imogen Usherwood (deputy) FEATURES EDITORS Kleopatra Olympiou Mary Bradshaw (deputy)

CREATIVE WRITING EDITORS Catriona Inglis Meadbh Ni Mhorain

STAGE EDITORS Martha Wrench Gabriella Sills (deputy) VISUAL ARTS EDITORS Faye Saulsbury BOOKS EDITORS Clara Knight Lotte Hall FASHION EDITORS Molly Goetzee Freya Ellingsen(deputy) Hugo Millard(deputy) FOOD & DRINK EDITORS Elle Woods-Marshall Imogen Higgins TRAVEL EDITORS Abir Mishra Alex Bicknell-Cummins (deputy) FILM & TV EDITOR Aadira Parakkat Madeleine Rosie Strom MUSIC EDITORS Matthew Prudham Theo Golden INTERVIEW EDITORS Kiara Davies Rachael Brown

STAGE Thursday, 31 October 2019

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Drama School Ambitions An interview with Durham alumnus Rosie Weston

By Martha Wrench Stage Editor stage@palatinate.org.uk

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t’s that time of year when wannabe actors and actresses are starting to think of applying to drama schools.

Having received increasingly bad press in recent years for their inaccessibility caused by high fees and expensive livingcosts- drama schools aren’t for everyone.

However, year after year, thousands of budding artists descend upon these schools in the hope of winning a prestigious place on one of their programmes.

The process of applying to and auditioning for drama schools can be an intimidating process. What was your experience?

I found the audition process incredibly fun. Obviously, everybody deals with nerves differently but my strategy has always been to get into a mindset of excitement for the unexpected rather than of nerves.

Currently studying an MA in Music Theatre at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Durham graduate Rosie Weston knows a thing or two about the audition process for drama schools. I sat down with her for a chat about her experiences auditioning and what she has learnt so far.

Did you have any memorable experiences during your audition process?

You studied Music at Durham before deciding to go on to do an MA in Music Theatre. What made you decide to go to university first?

I have always had so many different musical interests in addition to theatre. I wanted to go to university first, so that I could explore my love of conducting and interest in music therapy as well as theatre. As soon as I got to Durham I immersed myself in theatre and music from the getgo and continued to do so for the rest of my time there. I am hugely grateful for the opportunities I received in theatre at Durham, which spurred me on audition for a drama school masters. I’m certainly finding the benefits of doing an academic degree pre drama school in the analytic and reflection elements of my course here.

It sometimes feels as though there is no end to what you can do to prepare, but I felt it was important to focus on the things that were of greatest interest to me. I definitely felt that there was a big pressure to find the most obscure song just to stand out. Instead, I tried to think of it as a nice opportunity to delve off the beaten track to find something that really showed off my best qualities. I spent a lot of time thinking about what it is that might make me marketable or appealing to a panel. This way I could go into the audition and be confident in the fact that I was showing the best version of myself.

My most memorable moment was entering an audition and being paired for every section of the audition day with a girl who was my height, my build, and sounded just like me! Luckily, she was a lovely girl so we just laughed about it and supported each other through the day.

You’ve just finished your first half-term at Central, how has it been so far?

I auditioned for 3 places: Royal Central, Mountview and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. I chose these for many different reasons: I wanted to be in London so the transition into the industry would be smoother because I’d be accustomed to life in the capital and be aware of the endless amount of art being created right on my doorstep. Royal Welsh had its appeal because of the cheaper cost of living in Cardiff and that it was close to home.

The first few weeks at Central have been so exciting! The opportunities here are endless and I have already been exposed to such inspiring teaching. It has been so lovely meeting people on my course who have the shared experience of going to university first. I am extremely excited for every challenge and the inevitable breakthrough that will be heading my way, guided by the school.

Image by Rosie Weston

FEATURES 4

Thursday, 31 October 2019

Durham’s Forgotten Viaduct Luke Payne ventures north of the city centre and encounters a forgotten piece of history

By Luke Payne features@palatinate.org.uk

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urham hosts many fantastic feats of beautiful engineering and one would struggle not to include its viaduct amongst them. Completed in 1856, its eight mighty archways standing 40 meters high and spanning 213 metres across are an impressive sight. But this isn’t the iconic Victorian infrastructure that cuts through the north west of Durham city centre. This viaduct crosses the Wear just North of Durham and was once part of the railway branch that connected the North Eastern Railway (now the East Coast mainline) with the former Leamside Line which connected Durham to Gateshead, South Shields and Sunderland.

Surrounded by trees and spanning the deeper Wear valleys found north of the city, the Belmont Viaduct, also known as the Brasside Viaduct, is only accessible by foot along the muddy footpaths hugging the river as it snakes out of Durham.

After hiking through the woods and seeing little but river, rock, mud and trees, it is quite surprising to be staring at such a monolithic man-made structure. It’s easy for you

to feel as if you have just discovered something important, old and forgotten out in the middle of nowhere.

Apart from bushes and vines growing up the viaduct’s stone bricks and contributing to its “lost temple” look, the structure appears to be good condition. The Wear’s waters calmly pulse through the viaduct’s impressive archways and there doesn’t appear to be any sign of visible damage. Perhaps, indeed, a testament to levels of over-engineering present in much of what was built in the era.

Access to the top of the viaduct is thoroughly sealed off from the west by a various fences of different ages and design.

A bastion of cows and sheep quietly keep guard in the surrounding farmers’ fields.

However, it has certainly been demonstrated that access from the east side is possible, a number of videos and photos have been posted online by those so determined to stand upon the crossing.

After 40 years of lying in disuse, plans for a new cycle path that would reopen the viaduct emerged in 2007. The path would connect Belmont with Durham City centre via Newton Hall. Following a large campaign, £500,000 of funds were

acquired from the People’s Lottery Fund to initiate the project.

“The Viaduct remains steeped in stillness” However, after several years of delays, the funds were directed elsewhere in 2012 due to difficulties securing land at Belmont that would have enabled the project. The regeneration group behind the original project (amongst others), Durham City Vision was scrapped, and so hopes of its regeneration collapsed.

Today, the Viaduct remains steeped in stillness, disused. However, those strolling North of the city, along the banks of the Wear, encounter a magnificent, towering stone crossing. If you are one of them, take the opportunity to stop, sit, listen, and take in the beauty of Durham’s forgotten viaduct. In the silence, it stands as witness to the past.

Photographs by Sam Bailey

FEATURES 5

Thursday, 31 October 2019

Encountering Isolation and Alienation Iqbal Ahmed talks about experiences of international postgraduate students

By Iqbal Ahmed features@palatinate.org

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illicent Machell’s brave and forthright account of Durham University’s privileged student culture is an inspiration for this article. In this narrative, my hope is to counter-reflect Machell’s experience and everyday lives of the ‘poshest’ and ‘blondest’ students with the diaspora of international postgraduate students, particularly those who are from the Global South and faced with encountering the anxiety of isolation and alienation of being a student in a city far from their own.

These apprehensions are not just different but also can be similar to that of the students from privileged backgrounds. In Machell’s view, the anxieties of deconstructing identities emerge from the necessities of reaching beyond a culture of privilege. Similarly, fitting in with others remains an everyday struggle for many international students, trying to adapt to the unfamiliarity of Durham’s homogeneous heritage and searching for ways to reach out to their own communities at the same time.

‘There was a time when I did not talk to anyone from Friday to Monday because I did not know any one,’ says an international postgraduate research student (PGR) who wishes to remain anonymous. ‘It was extremely emotionally challenging for me.’ I asked †hem how they dealt with that. ‘I took charge of my emotional state of loneliness by persistently trying to meet people within my department and outside of it,’ the PGR said. ‘I went around and asked people if they wanted to be my friend’, they added. ‘Were you successful?’ I pressed on. ‘No, but I remained hopeful although I did not have any expectation,’ was the reply.

Durham’s long and cold winter months also cause an anxiety of isolation, which force many international students to stay indoors with limited social interactions. According to the anonymous student, the coldness of the UK can be linked with the metaphorical perception of ‘cold’ British people who can be polite but not welcoming. ‘People do not say it explicitly but it can be obvious.’ The sentiment of Muzzammil from Malaysia offers a relevant insight into the alienation of international students in the local community in Durham. ‘Honestly, we cannot adapt to this culture fully.

Why don’t they listen to us more?’

“We cannot adapt to this culture fully” Paying attention to cultural integration and assimilation remains an

area which can be difficult to resolve all across the board.

Muzzammil suggested that students who struggle with the English language can benefit from tutorial sessions more geared to learning ‘informal’ English.

He also added that a ‘match-making’ family hosting scheme for the duration of postgraduate studies could be beneficial, giving them a chance to ‘mingle closely with the locals’.

The issues that international students confront at Durham represent an inevitability of their conscious decision to come to a foreign country.

As much as it is the responsibility of this institution to offer a space of comfort and confidence, the students also need to do their best to assimilate.

To confront isolation and alienation, students must actively seek to socialise with other people, the anonymous PGR advised. ‘Go to the pubs – they are the best places to meet people’.

Photograph by Kleopatra Olympiou

FILM & TV 6

Thursday, 31 October 2019

Netflix of the North: Your Halloween Guide The essential films to watch this spooky season, all filmed in Northern England

By Madeleine Rosie Strom Film and TV Editor film@palatinate.org.uk

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Macbeth (2015)

ou have seen the decorations adorned in shops, the facepaint on sale and the scissors ready to customise your outfit. This can only mean one thing - Halloween is on its way. Of course, this pagan festival can only be complete with a long list of horror movies to binge-watch. So get your popcorn out of the microwave and get ready to scream to these films - all filmed in our very own North of England.

This classic GCSE English Literature play may not strike you as a classic Halloween flick, but let me convince you.

It features ghosts, murder and a moving forest - everything one could want in a scary movie. Featuring the likes of Michael Fassbender, David Thewlis and Marion Cotillard, this star studded cast will truly get you in the Halloween spirit!

Under The Skin (2015)

The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue (1974)

Another horror movie set in Scotland, this one features Scarlett Johannson as an alien trying to lure people into a van, leading to their untimely deaths. Science fiction and gore combined into one, put this on your television screen and you may not be able to sleep for days.

The title of this film certainly gives away its location. Ever wondered what Manchester would look like if zombies were let loose and were taking over the city due to radiation poisoning? Here is your answer. With a Rotten Tomatoes score of 80%, it would be silly to not watch this 70s horror movie.

The Awakening (2015)

The Woman In Black (2012)

It is 1921 and there appears to be ghosts hiding in a boarding school in Cumbria.

Expect bangs, screeches and menacing supernatural entities with this one. Halloween is only complete when one watches a ghost thriller, so get your blanket ready to hide under, it is going to be a scary one

Daniel Radcliffe graces our screens not as Harry Potter but as Arthur Kipps, a lawyer sent to retrieve documents from a deserted mansion house in a small, unnerving town.

The Yorkshire Dales serve as the primary filming point, allowing for beautiful scenery with sinister shots and jump scares so frightening, the lights in your house may hardly be switched off after watching.

Images: Bekir Donmez, Cederic X and Freestocks via Unsplash

BOOKS 7

Thursday, 31 October 2019

The White Lady of Crook Hall Books uncovers a local Durham ghost story this Halloween

By April Howard books@palatinate.org.uk

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ou are attending a banquet, an evening of wine and laughter held at a beautiful and historic house.

You, along with your friends and family, are moving into a medieval passage from an exquisitely laid out banquet hall, when you hear a gentle rustle, like leaves blowing idly in the wind or the long dress of a woman whirling through the air.

Then there is a crash, loud and piercing; it is the sound of destruction. You feel your heart beating in your chest, your throat dries up, and you, like all the guests, rush

to the hall to see what all the noise was. The tables are overturned, food and drink destroyed and then out of the corner of your eye you see an unfamiliar figure. A woman with ivory skin and a long white gown is seen by all the guests leaving the hall, a flickering figure whose presence surges through the room, until no one dares move.

This sighting of the White Lady of Durham’s Crook Hall is perhaps the most convincing local ghost story. She is said to be the niece of Cuthbert Billingham, who inherited the hall in 1615. He was a temperamental character, once cutting off Durham’s water supply in a fit of anger.

On Crook Hall’s website it is stated that, rumour has it, he murdered the White Lady in one of his rages.

There is something in ghost stories which never fails to capture our imagination and creates a vivid fear within us. Perhaps it is the thought of there being more beyond this life, traces of long-lost people never quite leaving this realm, that means we still long to hear creepy stories of discontented spirits who walk among the living.

With Halloween approaching, I became interested in the prevalence of ghostly legends in Durham. As a medieval city, Durham has naturally cultivated a reputation as a prime location for paranormal activity. There are many ghost stories that contribute to the allure and mystery of Durham. Crook Hall’s White Lady is among the most haunting of them.

In 1989, the then co-owner of Crook Hall, Mary Hawgood, was asleep in bed and awoke at 2am to see a figure of a woman. Hawgood described the figure as wearing a long dress and her outline as being illuminated by a pool of light.

The White Lady is said to descend the wooden staircase (no longer usable by the living) in the Jacobean room every St Thomas’ Eve on 20th December.

I find ghost stories such as these both endlessly interesting and worrying. The empathy and sadness felt when reading such stories as a woman murdered by her cruel and short-tempered uncle, is lost in the excitement of the supernatural.

The thrill of these ghost stories is found in the adrenaline created by a possible sighting, such as the one the guests at the banquet witnessed. The conversion of sad stories into ghost stories is a deadener, a means of dehumanising the dead.

“A city steeped in so much history”

Nonetheless, the world of ghosts and ghouls is an exciting and irresistible one.

Take advantage of living in a city steeped in so much fascinating, yet creepy, history. Perhaps visit one of the haunted spots such as Crook Hall or Durham Castle, or go on a ghostly walk. There are plenty of chances to come into contact with the paranormal, if you dare.

Illustration by Heidi Januszewski

FASHION 8

Thursday, 31 October 2019

Five Figures of Fashion Amana Moore looks at influential black figures who underpin British fashion

By Amana Moore fashion@palatinate.org.uk

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ritish Fashion has been informed, challenged and revolutionised by black individuals for decades. The threads of black influence that run through music, art and fashion have creaed the tapestry that is British culture today.

From fashion designer Ozwald Boateng to supermodel and founder of Gurl’s Talk Adwoa Aboah, the work of black British figures has transformed British fashion, while this encounter of cultures has brought a dynamic and ever-changing richness to the industry.

Fashion in today’s Britain is defined by black influence, and it’s important to know where their infleunce lies.

Edward Enninful Edward Kobina Enninful OBE is Editor-in-Chief of British Vogue, becoming the first black male to be given this position in 2017. After moving at 13 from Ghana to Ladbroke Grove he was spotted by a stylist from i-D magazine, Simon Foxton, and, starting as a model at

16, was editing the magazine by 18. With a father who was a major in the Ghanaian military, and a beloved seamstress mother, Enninful navigated his own path to success as a fashion editor, describing his younger self in one interview as “fearless”. “I had a duty to reflect the world I saw around me, growing up in Ladbroke Grove”, he explains. “People said it was edgy, but for me it was normal – it was literally what I saw.”

Now, at 47 years old, he is still making waves in the fashion industry, more so than ever, with British Vogue’s September issue ‘Forces for Change’ – which sold out in under twelve days – sparking controversy in its collaboration with Meghan Markle as guest editor.

Enninful has hit the ground running as head of British Vogue. From pioneering a fashion culture which looks after young models through mentorship programmes, in which models under 18 are accompanied onto shoots, to publishing the first Vogue cover to feature a hijab-wearing woman of colour, Halima Aden, in May 2018. Ambitious, bold and innovative, he is sure to redefine fashion for years to come.

Pat McGrath

Image Credit: Flickr

Pat McGrath is a British makeup artist of Jamaican descent. She is founder of Pat McGrath Labs and became Beauty Editor-at-Large at British Vogue in 2017. Declared the second most influential black person in the UK and among Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in 2019, McGrath’s impact on fashion is monumental. She had no formal training in fashion or makeup after completing her art foundation in Northampton where she

Image Credit: Flickr

grew up, and credits much of her inspiration to her mother, who, according to Time Magazine, would mix the pigments of her makeup in order to create the right shade for her skin colour, in the absence of the correct pigments being available to buy. In a time where colourism is being increasingly called out, with actor Lupita Nyong’o describing it as “the daughter of racism”, McGrath’s approach to makeup and her development of cosmetic collections were ahead of their time, with supermodel and first African-American on the cover of Vogue, Beverly Johnson, describing her as “a creative genius” who “allowed us to be seen” in a time when “there were no black makeup artists” let alone makeup artists who understood her skin colour.

Nadine Ijewere Nadine Ijewere is a London-born fashion photographer of Jamaican-

FASHION 9

Thursday, 31 October 2019

Nadine Ijewere, “Phantasm”.

Image Credit: Flickr Nigerian heritage. At just 26 years old, she has photographed the likes of Dua Lipa and Letitia Wright, and in 2019 became the first woman of colour to shoot the cover of Vogue.

As an artist of mixed ethnic descent, her work celebrates the beauty of this intercultural dialogue; in an interview with Vogue, she describes how at university she began to move away from the “looks” she had always seen presented in fashion by actively casting “mixed-race girls who fell outside the industry norm”. In recognising the powerful role played by the person curating and taking the image, she works to override negative and misled perceptions of people of colour as stereotypically “angry, wild, exotic or ‘the other’”, through her constructive and empowering presentations of black figures.

Adwoa Aboah Adwoa Aboah is the British supermodel everyone is talking about. At 27 Image Credit: WWD/Rex/Shuttershock

she was voted Model Of the Year in 2017 and has modelled for a multitude of big names, from Versace to Calvin Klein, and even has a Barbie made in her likeness. Model is only one title by which Aboah is known, having tried her hand as a Creative Director, Fashion Editor and Stylist. Her greatest achievement, however, is perhaps Gurl’s Talk, a mental health charity which she founded in 2015 and has since gone on to include a weekly podcast and a series of global events facilitating conversations between women and girls about mental health. Her events have run all over the world, spanning across Europe, Africa and America; starting with her own brutal honesty about her experiences in fashion, as she fought through struggles with bipolar disorder, drug abuse and at points, suicide, she has helped pave the way for a more open and honest industry. In 2017, Aboah was named

by British GQ as “Woman of the Year”.

Ozwald Boateng Ozwald Boateng OBE is a British fashion designer of Ghanaian descent, known for his bold and international approach to traditional British tailoring, his distinctive use of colour and fabrics bringing new life to the trade of tailoring.

He grew up in Portobello Road in London, using his mother’s sewing machine to make his first collection which he sold to menswear brand Sprint in the late 80s, and dropping out of college – where he was studying computer science – to sew, he went on to become the first ever black tailor to open a shop on Saville Row in 1994. That

Photo Credit: Flickr same year, he established his title as the first ever tailor to feature in Paris Fashion Week. Since his early success, he has redefined menswear in his bold and unapologetic fusion of traditional British tailoring and instinctive approach to colour, cut and fabric. His work is defined by its striking use of colour, reminiscent of his Ghanaian heritage, but he resists any presentations of his work as “flamboyant”; for Boateng, colour is a tool by which he is able to modernise traditional forms while maintaining the foundation of tradition he seeks to preserve. Boateng’s own dress sense – sharp, defined and confident – reflects the clarity of vision he believes are essential to his designs.

The influence of black individuals in British fashion is evident at every turn and these five figures only scratch the surface. Black culture not only underpins fashion in Britain,but these threads of influence are what holds together the patchwork that is British culture.

FOOD & DRINK 10

Thursday, 31 October 2019

Durham’s drinking culture: Is it too much?

Meghna Amin discusses how strongly alcohol features in our social lives at Durham

By Meghna Amin food@palatinate.org.uk

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n 2015, Durham Students’ Union announced a £50,000 campaign to promote positive drinking behaviour. Whilst freshers will have heard so much about responsible drinking over the last few weeks, it’s time that we face the reality that Durham, like most other universities, does promote a drinking culture and that this can be a huge issue.

Whilst we all love college bars for cheap drinks and a casual catch-up with friends, this isn’t actually the only place we can socialise with friends.

And a movie night with Echo Falls isn’t a replacement either. Our social lives at university seem to be revolving around alcohol, and whilst I’m no saint myself, having booked onto a ‘Paint & Sip’ class in a few days’ time, I’m more than aware of the repercusssions of having a little too much fun.

“This culture of free shot vouchers and hangover cures” Sports societies, socials, and even meeting your college parents all seem to revolve around drinking, which makes it apparent that Durham’s drinking culture is a huge problem. I can’t say myself that a social in Jimmy’s filled with drunk, dressed-up rugby players is my idea of a good night out, and I’d much prefer a parents’ brunch to a drunken family trip to Klute.

For those of you who don’t like getting drunkenly out of control, or prefer a cider to hard shots, or simply

don’t drink, Freshers’ is a terrifying week. It seems to have instilled in all of us this culture of pre-ing in corridors, free shot vouchers for SNK, and hangover cures that’ll mean you can go out the next day, but this is an incredibly toxic environment to have started your university experience with.

That’s not to say that there isn’t a balance out there somewhere, one which most of us are far from reaching, but maybe the problem is we don’t know how to reach it. I myself love a night out, one that involves several pink gin and lemonades, but it’s taken me a while to realise that a good night out doesn’t involve just pink gin. In fact, it doesn’t need any pink gin at all.

Maybe it was meeting someone who doesn’t drink at all that made me realise you can still have a great time. They showed you can still socialise with friends who do like getting smashed minus having to wake up the next morning with a deep need for Berroca.

In fact, the nights out I spent not getting completely wasted seem to have

definitely been some of the better ones.

At the end of the day, of course you’re at university to get a degree, but also to have the experience of a lifetime, make unforgettable friendships and memories that will last forever; why is it that all of this seems to revolve around getting drunk? Especially when half the time it’s the alcohol aspect that will ruin relationships, leave no memories, and result in a wasted Paddy’s that you’ll be chundering up the next day.

You can enjoy your three or four years here if that involves being drunk to have a good time – going on the 13-stop bar-crawl, turning everything into a drinking game, and making new friends via your over-confident and alcohol-induced state on a night out. Just remember that university isn’t like that for everyone, and it certainly doesn’t have to be like that for you. There are so many other alternatives to having a massive sesh.

Image via Pixabay

TRAVEL 11

Thursday, 31 October 2019

Livin’ the American Dream Aimee Dickinson speaks on her summer of wonder at camp

By Aimee Dickinson travel@palatinate.org.uk

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ummer camp. More specifically, American summer camp. We’ve all seen how its depicted in the classic films, from the charming Parent Trap to the ‘80s slasher Friday the 13th. A sparkling lake, cabins scattered around a pleasant forest, smores and campfire songs. A phenomenon that you don’t really get in Britain. So, when I signed up for my first ever camp experience this summer teaching drama at Camp Chateaugay in Merrill, New York, I thought I had a clear idea of what to expect.

Upon arriving, the picture was pretty similar to what I had imagined. Nestled in the heart of the Adirondack mountains on the banks of a beautiful lake, the aptly named ‘big house’ was home to a cheerful dining hall, cozy living room and windows which looked out onto the waterfront. The cabins were divided into lower and upper camp and were spread out around a massive field used for sports and special day activities. So far, this fit the bill. But this slight feeling of familiarity was quickly obliterated; when the campers arrived and things really got rolling, I realized there were many things for which the movies had failed to prepare me.

Of course, being responsible for fifteen loud and mischievous 11-year-olds provided its own set of challenges. But even the atmosphere was radically different to what I was expecting. Firstly, Americans are excited about everything. The term ‘camp spirit’ doesn’t even begin to describe the energy and pure craziness of it all. Wheth-

er it was cheering for their team on the fourth of July or singing grace for meals, they really didn’t hold back. To someone from London who has learnt not to make eye contact on the tube for fear of being sworn at, this was a very new and yet welcome experience.

“Energy and pure craziness” Which brings us to the singing. There was a lot of it. All the time. At 7 a.m. the big bell would summon us to the big house, and we would all shuffle over in our pajamas for a lifeless rendition of the national anthem as the flag was raised.

Every age group had their own songs, and meals would quickly descend into full on battles of who could stand on their chairs and scream them the loudest.

Then there were the activities. Sure, you had the camp classics, like horse-riding, sports, arts and crafts, and many others.

But then some days, this curriculum was abandoned for activities which can only be described as a health and safety nightmare. My personal favourite was aptly named ‘bonkers’, when half the counsellors were equipped with socks filled with flour and the other half with water guns.

The aim was to hit the children with the sock as they ran shrieking through the Afield, upon which they would be frozen.

Then those with water guns would spray them to set them free again. I’m not saying it was cathartic to chase the children who

had prevented me from sleeping for the past three nights with a sock full of flour, but I will say that was by far my favourite day.

But, all this aside, I really do think they got a few things right. The children were given large amounts of freedom in a way I don’t think they are in England. Sending your kids away for three weeks every summer may seem callous, but I quickly realized that, for many of these children, camp was their happy place.

Similarly, the camaraderie that developed between us as camp counsellors was truly special: there’s nothing that brings people together like running on five hours of sleep a night. Parts of it were hard.

Many of the kids were missing home, and comforting them was hard when you were homesick yourself. The energy constantly required was physically and mentally exhausting, especially at first.

But, looking back, I realize there are some memories I will definitely never forget. My co-counsellor tipping me, fully dressed, out of my kayak and cackling as she paddled away; victoriously jumping into the lake with my cabin after we won Olympic Day as the whole camp cheered; and one particularly beautiful sunny day off, driving shotgun through the mountains in a convertible, the wind in my hair, blaring AC/DC, and truly feeling like I was in one of those American movies.

Photography via Pixabay & Wikimedia Commons

MUSIC 12

Thursday, 31 October 2019

Spotlight on Strobe Lights Music discusses the potential dangers and inequalities caused by strobe lighting

By Matthew Prudham Music Editor music@palatinate.org.uk

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eeds Festival, 2017, Saturday night. I wake up disorientated in the medical tent. Immediately, I sense that something has gone very wrong. Seizures were my worst fear, after five fit-free years and university starting in one month. The medics later confirm that I had experienced a seizure in the Kasabian crowd that evening. I was back to square one.

Strobe lighting is commonplace across all major music venues and festivals, but its life-threatening side effects are not well known. The presence of strobes at these events, prevents people with photosensitive disabilities, such as some forms of epilepsy and flicker vertigo, from accessing events and venues. While venues and production teams do support people with physical disabilities, it appears that they are either ignorant or reluctant to make change that would enable people with hidden, photosensitive disabilities to have the same access as a non-handicapped person.

Many festival attendees are aged between 16 and 21, when new epilepsy diagnoses are prevalent. Therefore, it is irresponsible for strobes to be used, as they can lead to lifechanging circumstances from developing a new condition at a concert. I had never

experienced a photosensitive seizure prior to Kasabian; now they are a risk.A 2019 study carried out by four Dutch neuroscientists at 28 EDM festivals of over 400,000 test subjects across the Netherlands found results of a potential threefold increase in risk of seizures, and only a third of these seizures were due to substance abuse.

“Strobes have to be banned” This case study is typical of occasions of first-time seizures at gigs: a 20-yearold spectator, undiagnosed with epilepsy, sleep-deprived and having consumed a lower quality of food than normal, suddenly with a short tonic-clonic seizure. In much rarer cases, experiences like these could kill. SUDEPs (Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy) can be triggered by the mere presence of strobes if other atmospheric conditions are right. Epilepsy’s amnesia adds further danger; a person who dies through a SUDEP may have their condition triggered for the first time, or just cannot remember previous episodes.

How do people with hidden disabilities go to concerts? Wallis Leahy, a guest

blogger for Attitude is Everything, discussed the unnecessary stress that attempting to persuade the events manager not to use strobe lighting on what should be enjoyable leisure. At most gigs, I wear sunglasses and try to close my eyes and look in the opposite direction when strobes flash. Like Wallis, concerts are a large part of my life. I echo her remarks that lighting, when used safely, can be a great addition to atmosphere at a concert.

I disagree on principle with Wallis, however, that making the use of strobe lighting clear at the point of purchase would be a step forward – rather, this would exclude, rather than include, those with disabilities.

The concert industry takes advantage of these disabilities through their ticketing methods. At no point before entering the venue are you told that the concert will be using strobe lighting.

There is no alternative, after entering the venue, than just to walk away, cheated of cash, and an experience ruined.

What can be done to address this issue? The Epilepsy Society states that ‘if lights are flashing at between 3-30 flashes per second, they could potentially cause a problem for someone who is photosensitive’. Strobes often flash in this range. HSE England seems to allow strobe lighting to be implemented in shows, only being involved at base level of event setup. Their website links go straight to NHS guidelines on epilepsy and avoiding triggers, not providing any public guidance on the safe use of strobes.

Just as with pyrotechnics and other stage effects, there should be absolute assurance that lighting is safe. Right now, strobe lights mean this is not the case. To include, rather than exclude people with photosensitive, strobes have to be banned.

Photography by Leonardi Samradi via Flickr

VISUAL ARTS 13

Thursday, 31 October 2019

Religion and the grotesque The immortalised relationship between religion and horror in visual arts

By Hyeonji Kim visual.arts@palatinate.org.uk

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orror lovers, beware: it’s Halloween. It’s the time of the year when we are given an excuse to let our imaginations run wild and dress up as horrifying creatures. Whilst we pick out spooky costumes and fake blood for the recently commercialised and secularized celebration, it is important to note that this fascination with the world of the unknown isn’t new. In fact, grotesque beasts have stimulated our imagination since the beginning of time, especially within religious art.

Horror and the grotesque are no strangers to religious art. Demons? Hellish afterlife?

You name it. Religions are full of narratives of supernatural figures, and religious art doesn’t hesitate to explore such personifications of evil as devils and demons.

Depictions of wicked demons or evil spirits in religious art never fail to grasp our attention with their nightmarish look.

Satan and other devilish themes in Christian art are a prime example. Although the depiction of Satan in Christian art is constantly evolving, the European Christian art in the Middle Ages was instrumental in shaping a frightening vision of Satan.

Painted with monstrous horns, tails, fangs, long ears, hooves and wings, this hideous otherworldly appearance of Satan and demons in medieval art makes it clear that Satan and other demonic minions are the ultimate forces of evil and the object of sin.

The grotesque depiction of Satan is not the only method of encapsulating the horrors and mysteries of the afterlife in Christian paintings. Paintings of the same title: ‘The Last Judgement’ by Giotto, Jan van Eyck, Michelangelo, and Fra Angelico as well as the ‘Garden of Earthly Delights’ by Hieronymus Bosch, are some of the most impressive artistic representations of the horrors of hell. Full of grotesque imageries and evocative depiction of human suffering, these harrowing visions of hell effectively construct hell as a symbol of violence,

despair and torment. The aim was to scare viewers into living morally good lives, in order to avoid being banished to hell.

This stark visual contrast between beastlike demons and a terrifying hell compared to elegant angels and a serene heaven are not only present in paintings but other forms of religious art. Engravings, stone carvings and mosaics such as the 13th century ceiling mosaic of Satan and Last Judgement by Coppo di Marcovaldo in the Baptistery of San Giovanni, Florence; the famous bronze sculpture

by Auguste Rodin named ‘The Gates of Hell’; collections of medieval stained glasses such as the ones in Fairford Church in Gloucestershire all remind us of the horrors of hell and the aftermath of sinners who have deviated from God in the most graphic way possible.

“Numerous nude bodies, entangled in chaotic agony” Hell, and the afterlife are also popular motifs in other religious art. Although manifested differently based on the regions and branches of Buddhism, Buddhist murals depicting Naraka (the Buddhist equivalent to hell) similarly contain grotesque scenes. Generally, the dead are judged by Yama – the ruler of the afterlife - and are then punished by hellwardens in various disturbing and violent ways while progressing through different levels of hell such as being boiled and burned alive, if they had committed misdeeds in their previous life.

Interestingly, Naraka is a theme that exists in both Hinduism as well as Buddhism.

Accordingly, Hindu art also depicts the torment of Naraka, through the means of panel paintings, temple murals and intricate stone carvings such as the ones in Angkor Wat, Cambodia. Meanwhile, Jahannam – the Muslim equivalent of hell – doesn’t have such prominent visual presence as in other religions, for geometric motifs take the dominance in Islamic art.

In many of these diverse religious depictions of ‘hell’, and the accompanying torture, common artistic elements can be noted. The colour scheme of red and black is commonly used to symbolise destruction, fire, despair, death and hopelessness. Numerous nude bodies, entangled with each other in chaotic agony form a grotesque scene.

As seen from the examples above, many religions have employed visual art as a way of educating the people on the danger of these adversaries to God, and to teach why they should never stray from God. The artists have drawn on their fertile imagination to convey moral warnings to the believers of the religion. Such didactical visual reminders in religious art effectively manufacture the visual and tangible concept of heaven and hell and strengthen the collective consciousness of the believers as well as non-believers.

Image: Jeremy Lishner via Unsplash

The Student Art Prize Launched in October 2019, the Student Art Prize is a competition open to current, registered Durham University students. Three winners will be selected to receive cash awards; £1500 is being offered for first place, while second and third places will receive £1000 and £500 respectively. There will be an Art Prize Exhibition for shortlisted works, as well as an opportunity to have work acquired by the University art collection.

To find out more, contact artcollection@durham.ac.uk.

INTERVIEW 14

Thursday, 31 October 2019

Alistair Petrie: Actor, Father, Ambassador The Star Wars actor talks about his childhood, upcoming roles and Me Too

By Rachael Brown Interview co-Editor interview@palatinate.org.uk

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itting in the lobby of Hotel Indigo with Alistair Petrie, known for his stern, authoritarian roles in Star Wars and Sherlock as surly, stone faced generals, I can’t help but be impressed by his acting skills. In person, he has the air of a typical suburban dad, his friendliness and enthusiasm for our questions is miles away from the surly superintendents he embodies on the silver screen.

as a person and his outlook on acting. He feels it has liberated him from the constraints of a “born and bred” mentality, giving him a greater fixation on external rather than internal identities. He says it has also instilled in

In this vein, he praises the modern breakdown of the white man’s creative and representational monopoly in film and theatre.

He celebrates the newfound role of award shows to showcase independent and estoric films such as 2019’s Gwen; creating space for more diverse voices in a process akin to “the de-mystficiation of a grand social mirror.”

“It’s because my resting bitch face is so utterly sensational,” he laughs, when we note how often he is typecast into total “bastards”- his words not ours. However, this typecasting does not make Petrie feel unfufilled. Despite its myopic nature, he takes it as a quiet personal challenge - the challenge he feels all actors embrace: to elevate and inhabit characters and stories beyond the two dimensional plane.

“Film at its best is lightning in a bottle” But in some sense, this typecasting is beyond the two dimensional, the militaristic flavor seeming almost destined, considering his childhood. Born in Yorkshire, he grew up all across the world, spending lengthy stints of his upbringing in Saudi Arabia and Nigeria due to his father’s career as a pilot in the RAF. This quasi-nomadic lifestyle which forced him to adapt to entirely new cultures and environments has, in Petrie’s eyes, greatly informed his development

On that topic, we leap from one patriarchial kingdom to another, discussing the toxicity of Hollywood, specifically the impact of the ‘Me Too’ era post Harvey Weinstein. “Vigilance is key” Petrie says, when discussing the women who came forward to expose Weinstein’s sexual abuse, stressing abuses of power like his exist in all industries, so the bravery to expose them “should never be taken for granted”.

him a sense of empathy and appreciation for cultural differences.

This level of self awareness can be seen in his upcoming series. Despite his own idyllic experiences, there is no romanticisation, which takes into account their appalling record on human rights, specifically women’s rights. This is understandable, considering Petrie’s endeavors in the area- setting up his own charity, Bourne, to investigate the causes of premature births and advance the fight against the issue of women’s reproductive health.

If art is a sociological mirrior, we propose to Petrie, what if you can’t afford to see yourself reflected? One of the most unspoken hurdles in the face of greater acting diversity is the issue of financial accessibility.

Petrie recognises, as someone who had the privilege to attend drama school, that the majority are London centric, but that their fees are also astronomical.

“I dont subscribe” Petrie says, crossing his legs “to the snobbery that you’re not a true actor if your roots aren’t in the theatre.” As an actor who began in the theatre, and admits he misses it often, Petrie’s statement is a testament to the diversity of his work and his appreciation for the art of film: “Film at its best is lightning in a bottle, reality on tape”.

On that note , we turn off our tape and get back to reality.

Photograph: Kristen Price

INTERVIEW 15

Thursday, 31 October 2019

Mark Gatiss: Actor, Director, Writer We talk to the man behind Sherlock, Doctor Who and his new mini-series Dracula

By Kiara Davies Interview co-Editor interview@palatinate.org.uk

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eginning his career as part of the comedy troupe The League of Gentlemen, Mark Gatiss has become somewhat of a national treasure. Witty, intelligent, and looking very much the epitome of Mycroft (sans umbrella), he spoke to us about his role in Sherlock, the acting industry, and his upcoming show Dracula.

same beats as the novel. You can say we love Dracula because we’ve absorbed all the other versions into our own”. The new mini-series will air on both BBC and Netflix.

The BBC found last year that nine in ten secondary schools have had to cut back on lesson time, staff, or facilities in at least one creative subject. He blames this all on the government, who “have continuously failed to invest.”

With Brexit looming, and the entertainment industry being a hugely succesful industry in the UK, Gatiss is perplexed as to why the government do not place any value in encouraging young people into entering the field, particularly when there are so many opportunities.

Historically, Gatiss’ roots run deep to the area; he was born in Sedgefield, County Durham.

While some would think that growing up opposite the Edwardian Psychiatric Hospital would be a bit sombre, Gatiss has a strong connection with the county so much so that he is willing to come back from his home in North London to talk at the Union.

“It’s like coming home, I’ve always loved Durham.

We used to come rowing here. The cathedral is one of my favourite places in the world.” The North East is also the place he was recognized for Sex Lives of the Potato Men, which Gatiss himself calls a “disaster”. The production itself was exceptionally controversial in that nearly one million pounds of National Lottery money was used in its production.

“I have always loved Durham” Gatiss recovered, and as a childhood fan of both Doctor Who and the character Sherlock Holmes, Gatiss is known by many for his adaptations of classic stories. His new mini-series is based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and is in collaboration with Steven Moffat. “Dracula, has very much the

Gatiss gets serious when he talks to us about these struggles: “It is something I feel really passionate about. I hugely benefited from having a local youth theatre, just down the road in Darlington, which used to be the second largest in the country and is now gone. Those things have been absolutely throttled; music and all the arts in schools are in crisis.”

“Persistence is all you really do need” When we ask about the implications of the shift towards online streaming Gatiss identified, “that while people will claim that everyone just wants to watch everything instantly, and the family audience no longer exists, that’s not actually true.

People still do come together communally to watch certain things which can be done on something like Netflix. So, while a lot of things have rapidly changed, things do quite often stay the same.” One of the things that does stay the same is the difficulty of getting into the industry.

But besides all the barriers to getting there, Gatiss is still encouraging people to give it their best shot. “Persistence is all you really do need. You just have to keep at it.

There is a huge amount of battling against miserable odds but there are ways to do it.”

He jokes that he has far too many people tell him they wished they had become writers and he always questions why they didn’t: “there is nothing stopping you from giving it a go, all you need is a pen and some paper”.

Photograph: Kristen Price

CREATIVE WRITING 16

Thursday, 31 October 2019

Discovery Creative Writing explores a sense of self through relationships and mythology

By Amelie Maurice-Jones creative.writing@palatinate.org.uk all eyes on me the bedsheets fold and melt like spilling paints. there’s a reddish low-lit bulb that pulses carefully. could be Sunday. could be in the middle of the sea. i hold your face in my bare palms and blend into it. could be dawn. you wake up in slow-motion and blink out sleep in yesterday’s colours. i touch your cheek and find an eye there, drowsy but aware. i kiss your neck; 3 eyes unfurl in sooty goldsdousing skin with glitz. they follow me as i move my hand through the indent of your wrist and a host of eyelids shyly rise in dull electric greens. they’re sequinned to skin and shrewd like a peacock who stretches her feathers for beauty over pride. you are a mirror and i finely splinter you. you are a mirror and i break myself through fixing you. i unlock the irises from your thighs, suspended like the cyclic wisdom of an oak sliced into circles. there are eyes bright and filled with milk. livid and flushed, clenched with tears. i trade skin for a set of secrets. it could be Sunday. could be the middle of the sea. we are waking up for the first time.

oedema: the eye of polythemus strange relic really. wrought by athene’s runt: from unmeshed flesh then skinned a double-soul to this sackful of raw larvae, a rot of nervy meat and all around (in absent wasteland found) my father’s wrath by which eye mean sea and bitter salt all hounding towards the ship-mass and

stone-mass, harped spine where nobody goes. and i my sour sceptic spy, pinprick: my bare waist, wine-dark thighs, through forsaken fungi chasing rabbits only remembering the embryonic slick, nothing softer than grizzle liver in my fingers and a sweet-lung in my mouth. eye see me diffuse into a clunky tavern. i spy stone and home. i beg for revenge and my father hears my prayers.

Image by Tomas Jasovksy via Unsplash