Weekly Musings

2015 - Week 8
'We can do whatever we want 'cos we're born young and free'

(Marmozets - Young and Free)

 

I had this week off work, which has been really cool, I've managed to have a couple of little trips away to recharge despite not getting to go abroad as I'd hoped. On Monday I met up with Abi and Tasha for a coffee and then had a chilled evening of yoga, and on Tuesday I drove to Laura and Dickon's in Aldershot near Guildford to see little Ernest for the first time! He's an absolute cutie, and so well behaved considering he's only a month old. We had pancakes for dinner as it was Pancake Day, and then on Wednesday we wandered for a coffee and cake before I headed back home.





On Thursday I had another date with Jason (guy from the last couple of weeks) - I was told to pack an overnight bag and a bikini and be ready for 1.30pm, very exciting/ nervewracking! Turned out we were going to Blackpool to see his friend perform in Saturday Night Fever there, and stayed at the Hilton so had chance to go in the sauna/ pool. Was such an awesome surprise; don't think anyone's ever done anything like that for me before! I guess it was quite intense considering it was our fourth date, but we really get on so it wasn't awkward at all. We went to Bella Italia before the show, where I had a chicken and spinach calzone which was incredible, and afterwards had a few drinks with his friend and a couple of the other cast members (the performance was so good!). Everyone was lovely and I ended up getting quite drunk, the hangover on Friday when we had to leave early wasn't pretty!

 

Yesterday Hana was back from Australia! The girls and I haven't seen her for over six months, some of them longer, so we planned a fun day together. I held a tea party at my flat for us all, and everyone brought food with them and we had some prosecco and caught up with everything. In the evening we all headed into Manchester for some drinks in Spinningfields at Grand Pacific, and then later on Jason joined us and we moved on to Soup Kitchen. So lovely to get everyone together, and despite the break it was like nothing had changed between us all - I'm so lucky to have such a gorgeous group of friends!

 

Today I had a nice lie in and then went to get my eyebrows tattooed! It is something I have considered for a while since I am an eyebrow connoisseur, and I finally decided to take the plunge. It takes two sessions, an initial consultation and first shape, with a followup retouch and final shape four weeks later. I am so happy with them so far, and it wasn't anywhere near as painful as a normal tattoo which I was surprised at considering it is on your face. Afterwards I went for another Bella Italia, this time with Mum and Jasmine (I had a barbecue chicken pizza) and now Jason is on his way 'round for a chilled evening.  

Spring Performances...

Spring Awakening

Last night my friend Hannah and I went to The Kings Arms in Salford to watch a performance of Spring Awakening by Assembled Junk productions, Directed by James Baker. I heard about it as my friend Rick (who directed me in a performance of Twelfth Night at university) was one of the cast members, playing Georg, and as Hannah is a massive fan of the musical, she came along with me to support him.

I'll be honest, I am not a lover of musicals. I usually find them a bit twee and awkward, and I also had no idea about the storyline in Spring Awakening, so I didn't really know what to expect. Hannah gave me a brief breakdown before we went in, informing me that it was quite rocky and had a lot of sex in it, so sounded like my kind of thing!

The space it took place in was very small, there were only 40 members in the audience, and a live band took up most of one end of the room. The cast was made up of thirteen, who were on stage altogether at various points throughout, so you can imagine that it was quite an intimate show - at one point characters were sat on audiences knees, and singing right in their faces which was entertaining!

The plot is basically about a group of teenagers coming to terms with growing up and discovering their sexuality; and ambitiously tackles topics such as suicide, domestic and sexual abuse, self harm, masturbation and homosexuality, amongst others. It is set in Germany in 1935, and the attitudes to such issues reflect this - the leading girl Wendla Bergmann (played by Francesca Swarbrick) begs her mother in the first scene to tell her how babies are made, to which she is told that a woman must love her husband with all of her heart. Wendla later is completely confused when she becomes pregnant after having sex with lead boy Melchior Gabor (Matthew Kirk), and tragically dies when a backstreet abortion she is forced into by her mother, goes wrong.

This is not the only tragic occurrence in the musical, there are many heart wrenching examples of when the teenagers closeted lives cause them suffering, and all were performed with utmost sincerity and really evoked empathy with the audience. This performance of Spring Awakening was both hilariously funny, and desperately sad, and was a testament to why independent theatre companies really should get more praise and coverage than they do. I would definitely attend another musical or play if I saw it was by the same team, and I was hugely impressed with Rick's portrayal of his character - I didn't know he was such an awesome singer!

Winter Views...

Les Miserables - 3 stars ***

Last night I went to see Les Mis with Tasha, Hannah and Emily. I didn't know the storyline at all, and probably wouldn't have ended up seeing it at the cinema, but it was suggested as reason for us all to get together so I thought I'd go along.

The film is 2 1/2 hours long, so understandably this summary is very much abbreviated! The story takes place during the French Revolution and focuses around a man called Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) who is given parole after serving 19 years as a slave for stealing a loaf of bread. Wishing to escape, he goes on the run and manages to successfully carve a new life for himself as the mayor of a local town. At the same time, a young girl called Fantene (Anne Hathaway) is sacked from her job in the town when it is discovered she has a child, and Valjean (the owner of the factory) does nothing to prevent it. Forced into prostitution, Valjean finds her a few weeks later close to death (and with no hair, which the actress actually cut off for the role!), and as she dies he vows to take care of her child as repayment for the injustice he has caused.

He rescues the child, Cosette, from the couple that are currently looking after her, a pair of dodgy innkeepers played by Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen. However, a police inspector called Javert that used to be in charge of Valjean when he was a slave has reappeared and suspects his true identity, so the pair have to run away to prevent being caught and punished. As well as this, there is a love triangle between Cosette, Eponine (the innkeepers' daughter) and Marius, a rich young man who has cast aside his wealthy background in favour of helping his friends with the war effort.

To say that this is a musical performed by normal actors, I was impressed at the singing talent of the majority of the cast. Amanda Seyfried as Cosette was rather annoying for me as she is incredibly high pitched and warbly, but she was the single weak link in my opinion. Samantha Barks as Eponine really stood out, and she had a gorgeous couple of solos that really made the film. The duo of Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen provided some comedic relief that was well needed, even if their roles were a little typecast - it is what they do best after all.

I wouldn't be too fussed about seeing this again at the cinema, but when it comes out on DVD I would re-watch it, as it is entertaining, and has some emotionally charged scenes that really resonate. I appreciated the overall picture, and the talent that was clearly in abundance (not to mention the presence of Eddie Redmayne, who will always perk up a film for me!), but at times I find all filmed musicals a little cringey to watch, especially one such as this where literally every line is sung, so I'll keep it on three stars.