The Female of the Species September 28, 2008
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Reviews , add a commentA misunderstanding, and a hasty decision at the discount theatre booth in Leicester Square led me into Joanna Murray-Smith’s The Female of the Species. I knew it is based on the hostage taking of Germaine Greer, but hadn’t expected a comedy.
Anna Maxwell Martin, last seen (by me at least) as Cassandra Austen in Becoming Jane, plays the student Molly, who turns up at the home of Eileen Aitkens’ Margot Mason, a middle-aged feminist intellectual suffering from writer’s block. After telling her how much she admires her, Molly pulls a gun on Mason and handcuffs her to the table, holding her hostage. She calls her to account for her world-changing ideas, and the effect they’ve had on the lives of those who’ve taken them to heart. Molly’s birth mother, having abandoned her as a baby threw herself in front of a train holding a copy of Mason’s seminal work ‘The Cerebral Vagina’. Molly is not happy.
Each of the characters who appears, and does very little about the hostage situation, has a different challenge to Mason’s feminism. The daughter feels unloved, never knew her father and longs for a more assertive husband. Her husband values and supports his wife while they still fall into traditional roles. The taxi driver tried to be a new man but his wife left him anyway, and is now getting back in touch with his inner caveman. The camp publisher just wants his new book. It comes very close to being a direct attack on Mason, and feminists of the seventies, but she is big enough to take it on, and send it back to lead us through the changes to feminist ideologies over the last forty years without losing her integrity.
Aitkens is perfect in the role, slightly unsympathetic, very strong and certain of herself. Martin is wonderful, quirky and awkward, but full of a determination which suggests she’s absorbed more of Mason’s feminist ideals than she may choose to admit. At times, it almost becomes farce (in a good way) and ends with an implied Shakespearean pairing-off. It’s clever, witty and occasionally poignant.
This is a bit of a surprise for a big WestEnd theatre, and was only 2/3 full. It’s good to see something other than musicals and the very popular in Theatreland, though many who would appreciate it would balk at the ridiculous WestEnd prices. At £47.50, I wouldn’t bother, but there are lots of tickets available at the TKT booth, for a more reasonable £27.50. I had a good, if rather small, seat in the middle of the fourth row of the dress circle. The Female of the Species plays until 4 October at the Vaudeville.
What A Piece of Work is (that) Man September 18, 2008
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Reviews , 1 comment so farThere is something disconcerting about seeing a very familiar TV actor on the stage. TV is a very intimate medium, in your home, watched alone or with family and a TV series can be a part of life for months or even years. The intimacy of the stage is different. The actor is right there before you, perhaps only a few feet away, but you are one of hundreds, even as it feels he is talking to you alone. You’re more aware of their physical presence, less able to see everything thats happening.
After months of waiting, and all the hype, last night I finally saw David Tennant in the RSCs production of Hamlet in Stratford upon Avon, and he is wonderful.
The royal party arrive on stage and Dr Who is standing in the corner in a well-cut suit. That’s weird. Then a miserable young man comes to life, mourning his father and appalled at his mother’s hasty remarriage. The royal party leave and Tennant sobs and rages his way through the first soliliquy (frailty thy name is woman) fetal on the floor. It’s heart breaking and the next three and a half hours pass in another world.
It’s not all painful. This company finds far more humour in the play than I’ve seen before. Polonious as the doddery old fool teased affectionately by his children, more arrogantly by Hamlet, Hamlets suspicion of Rozencrantz and Guildenstern. Tennant’s Hamlet is an irreverent student feigning madness but also reflective and selfdoubting, making good use of his trademark manic energy. It could so easily go over the top, but it never does.
Patrick Stewart is, of course, excellent. At times, he seems to anchor the stage while Tennant flies around it. Even knowing the plot, he arouses admiration, at least up to the point where he confesses the murder of Hamlet’s father. Although ruthless, he is calm and noble. His early concern for his nephew seems genuine enough.
But it is Tennant’s play. He speaks 37% of the lines (useful fact from the programme), and most of the audience are there to see him. Watching him, he constantly brings ever more meaning out of the words, with his voice, face, hands, entire body. He is Hamlet, totally and completely.
As I leave, its less with the euphoria of seeing a favourite actor than feeling the intense tragedy of the young prince.
Hamlet plays at the Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon until November, then transfers to London. Both seasons are completely sold out, though there are returns available on the day. If you are booking for the Courtyard, avoid the first few seats at the feet of horseshoe in the stalls. I was in D50, right beside the base of the stage, and saw a lot of backs. The actors do turn to all sides, but when they’re a little way down the thrust of the stage, those seats are behind them.
Ben Goldacre September 15, 2008
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Camden, Miscellany , add a commentMy favourite Guardian columnist, Dr Ben Goldacre, has released a book, so tonight a couple of hundred fans packed into the downstairs bar at the Penderel’s Oak on High Holburn to hear him.
If you don’t know his work, look it up. He does a fantastic job of debunking the sillier myths of medical pseudoscience, particularly taking aim at institutions and explaining how evidence in medicine really works. Various ‘professional bodies’ in alternative medicine and quackery take regular beatings, a nice balance to the normal ‘wellbeing’ tripe which even the Guardian is inclined to peddle.
His basic theme is that most people can understand science if its explained properly, and it is the responsibility of professionals and the media to do that. He is particularly harsh on journalists who do science and health reporting without really understanding what they’re talking about.
Despite the overcrowding, and the lousy sound system, he’s worth hearing if only because his is a rare voice in the midst of the gullible silliness which passes for so much health news. For an added treat, he publishes his del.icio.us feed, so you can follow his wanderings around the web, with frequent gems.
Faith in the Justice System September 10, 2008
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Miscellany , add a commentMy faith in the justice system is restored. The BBC is reporting that the jury in the Maidstone County Court has found the Greenpeace protestors at Kingsnorth not guilty. The treatment of people who protested at the Climate Camp in August was disgraceful in a free country, with unnecessary searches, confiscation of personal property apparently including a board game (did they need something to entertain themselves?) and misuse of powers which are supposed to protect us against terrorism but more often seem to be used to repress anyone who doesn’t agree with the government’s line.
Hopefully the government and police will take heed and stop treating peaceful protesters like terrorists and criminals.
Fear of Ice - Green Party conference Day 3 September 8, 2008
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Green in the City , 2 commentsIf you’re feeling relaxed about global warming, look at this picture of the arctic sea ice in September, 1989.
1989 Minimum Sea Ice
Then look at this for September 2007.
2007 Minimum Sea Ice
Then go and visit the good people at NASA, and see how it’s shaping up for 2008. The ice cover has been retreating at about 10% per decade, and its accelerating. It’s not just the melting ice, its the change from nice, white, stuff sitting at the top of the planet reflecting all that energy back into space to dark blue stuff absorbing it and getting hotter. Any minute now, the Arctic will be an open sea for the first time in human history.
An update on climate research remotivates me in a big stick followed by small carrot sort of a way.
The stick was administered by Kevin Anderson of the Tyndall Centre, who has just published a paper on targets for emission reduction. We talk about reducing emissions by 60% by 2050, but that is meaningless. The planet can only support so much CO2, so we need to worry about the total amount in the atmosphere, not some future rate of increase. This means that we are almost certainly heading for a 2C increase in global temperature whatever happens, and 4C is likely. We might be okay, maybe. Bangladesh and Tuvalu will not.
Even limiting CO2 in the atmosphere to 650ppmv, and a likely 4C increase, requires us to start cutting emissions drastically now, rather than letting them keep on rising as they have ever since Rio in 1992. If the coming recession is drastic (on the scale of the collapse of the economy of the Soviet Union) we might manage it, but there doesn’t seem to be any other way it will happen.
We have to change now. Fortunately, the Center for Alternative Technology believes its possible, and has a plan for doing it. Its not a detailed, do this on Monday, this on Tuesday type of plan which is what we really need, but it does show a way. They show how the UK could be self-sufficient in renewable energy, providing we both reduce demand and invest heavily in renewables now.
So, we know the problem. We have ideas about the solution. Now, its finding the will to do something about it.
Bloggers, Women and Pumpkins - Green Party Conference Day 2
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Green in the City , 4 commentsI start the second day of the Green Party Conference at the fringe session with Make Votes Count, who campaign for electoral reform in the UK. We live in a system which thinks its clever to run elections mid-week, register voters by household and still has guaranteed seats for the state religion, so there’s a very long way to go on this one. I get to vote in four different elections, which might seem like an embarrassment of riches, but there are five different voting systems in all of that. No wonder so few turn out to vote.
Next stop is the founding of Green Party Women, and somehow I end up taking minutes and becoming the secretary. The debate about including men becomes rather heated and its all very uncomfortable though we do get through. I’m proud to identify as a feminist, but its a long time since I’ve engaged with the side of the movement that wants a lot of separate space. I worry that if we marginalise men, we force areas which should be shared to be ‘women’s issues, and that can be very counter-productive. The arguement that men don’t understand women’s issues seems dangerous to me. Why, say, would a childless woman understand issues faced by a mother better than a father does? I suspect I’m going to have a challenging time with this one.
There are no meal breaks in the schedule, and not much food on the site, so a couple of us head over to a Pret, to discuss guerilla gardening and how I’m happy to be the third on the list for the Somers Town ward of Camden Council. I’m a lot more keen on guerilla gardening. There may be an outbreak of marigolds on vacant lots in Somers Town any minute now.
I finally got to meet Tom Reynolds, who is a friendly chap, much slimmer than in the video. He’s manning the Open Rights Group stall, though not a Green himself.
And then lots more bloggers, at a fringe event about blogging, and the launch of Green Home, which will be a central point for Green Party blogers. A couple of people have even heard of CamdenKiwi (*waves at Sue and Jim). It would be good to see the Green blogosphere develop in the way the Conservative one has since Conservative Home was launched - lots of individual bloggers, doing their own thing, but communicating with each other and the rest of the world. Blogging seems like a rather green sort of thing to do.
Finally, another plenary, with motions on buying up the Afghan opium crop (excellent idea) and removing the UK’s ability to opt out of the social and environmental chapters of EU agreements. The Green Party is becoming much more pro-EU, I’m pleased to see. And someone won a prize for his pumpkin in an allotment contest.
Then, to the bar, a few drinks, a deep and meaningful conversation about the Dorje Shugden controversy, and miserable failure in the quiz. But now I know Sheffield United was the first football club in the UK. Useful, no?
Green Party Conference September 6, 2008
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Green in the City, Politics , 3 commentsMy head is full after a day at the Green Party conference. Its the first time I’ve ever been to a large Green meeting in the UK, and I’m not quite sure what to expect. Lots of consensus decision making and very very long speeches?
I start worried. Some people are getting very hung up on the data protection act and policy about campaigning for internal elections. That’s not going to save the planet, now is it? It gets better with a workshop on housing policy and free school meals. Surviving climate change will need a strong dose of social justice in with the environmental policies, which is why a Green Party is so much more than just another environmental pressure group. Later, a motion was passed to set the minimum wage at 60% of the average, which is close to the NZ Values Party idea of a minimum income for all, and would go a long way towards improving social equity.
The treasurers report sparks more interest than I would have expected. Apparently they’ve hired a professional fundraiser to raise money for election campaigning, which seems sensible enough but doesn’t quite sit comfortably with Green ways of doing things.
Its all remarkably well organised. Sessions start on time, with effective chairing making sure everyone keeps to the point and noone rambles on for too long. At the start of each session they have a minutes silence in ‘attunement’ when you’re supposed to focus yourself to the task at hand. A bit hippy perhaps, but it seems to get everyone quiet and concentrating.
The highlight of the day is Caroline Lucas, the new (and first ever) Leader. She’s a credible, charismatic speaker, who sounds like she could run the country but still has a touch of the radical about her. Many of the elected politicians are impressive - Caroline Lucas, but also the other MEP, Jean Lambert, and the two GLA members Darren Johnson and Jenny Jones. The place is full of articulate, interesting councillors from all over the country.
More plenary sessions, then a break because I couldn’t be bothered with hustings for the election of party officers. For me, the last session of the day was the launch of Jean Lambert’s new report on how employment will be affected by climate change, including speakers from the TUC and British Wind Energy Assocation. The BWEA speaker, Dr Gordon Edge, attracted the most interest, talking about the effect of nimbyism on the industry and the problems with the planning process. He seemed much more interested in industrial scale windfarms than smallscale microgeneration, probably reflecting his organisation and the limits of the technology. The UK is hoping to be a major player in offshore wind energy, and may still have a chance to be involved in the manufacture of offshore turbines. The onshore market has been lost to Germany and Denmark.
Prof Tom Thomas, on the same panel, mentioned that Boris has cut funding for the London Energy Partnership, another example of Tory ideas of being green.
The real blog of the conference, with a lot more detail, is over here. Tomorrow, we’ve got voting reform, Green Party Women, and, I hope, the chance to meet one of my favourite bloggers, Tom Reynolds of Random Acts of Reality. It’s odd, not a lot about climate change or the environment.
Britblog September 1, 2008
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Miscellany , add a commentIf you’ve a little time on your hands, click on over to Redemption Blues, who is hosting the Britblog roundup this week. And particularly, take a look at her comments on right-wing women’s attitudes to abortion, a propos the appointment of Sarah Palin as John McCain’s running mate. Quoting Andrea Dworkin, she talks about right-wing women seeing abortion (and presumably contraception) as robbing them of power in dealing with men. If that’s where Palin is coming from, and her view of male-female relationships is that bleak, its a sorry state of affairs.
It looks like McCain chose Palin to appeal to Democrats who wanted Clinton as their candidate. Its a very long way indeed from Clinton to Palin - I wonder if many would be such sore losers?
