2016/19: Exit, Pursued by a Bear -- Greer Gilman

2016/19: Exit, Pursued by a Bear -- Greer Gilman

"But three days since I asked if he'd a play in hand. He said, one in mind: there'd be a shipwreck in Bohemia. Where there is no sea, I told him, by some hundred miles. Yet might there be, he said, if I do write of it. A snort. Thou wast ever in the mood subjunctive, Will, said I. And he, Thou, Ben, imperative. [loc 373]

( spoilery review: but seriously, your main concern is the plot?! )

Cultural March (March of Culture?)

11-MAR - Norma (Bellini) -- English National Opera

Glorious music, sublime indifference to historical fact. Gaul, circa 50BC. Norma is a Druid priestess, who worships Inmirsul [a Saxon deity, here represented quite authentically by a large tree-trunk, albeit not in its erect state] and believes the Romans will be leaving soon. (True, give or take four centuries.) She is in love with a Roman proconsul, Pollione: but he has traded her in for a younger model, Analgesic Adalgisa -- also a priestess. When Pollione is recalled to Rome, guess who he plans to take with him? Norma is not happy. But she does a selfless brave thing.

Very much enjoyed, and thanks to A for taking our spare ticket and bringing us a bottle of wine for the box!

12-MAR - Hail Caesar!

This was immense fun, even for someone like me who has a poor memory for faces. Gosh, that was Christopher Lambert. And Dolph Lundgren. And ... and ... Gosh, Professor Marcuse. I have heard of him.

The plot is basically 'man has to choose between hard-but-fun job or cushy boring job'. George Clooney is brilliantly stupid; Alden Ehrenreich is hilarious as a star of Westerns thrust into a society drama; gosh, Channing Tatum can certainly dance (and what an interesting take).

Yes, it trivialises the anti-Communist witchhunts, and there's a bit of period-typical homophobia (part of it plot-related, e.g. the threatened outing of an actor; part of it not, e.g. the fact that the villain is a homosexual). But it celebrates the myth of the golden age of Hollywood, and has fun recreating thinly-disguised classics such as Ben Hur, On the Town, Shine on Harvest Moon and Million Dollar Mermaid.

13-MAR - Samuel Pepys: Plague, Fire, Revolution -- National Maritime Museum

Using Pepys as a starting point, this exhibition brought together a great many artifacts from the 17th century, and included some audiovisual items: a painting of the execution of Charles I, with areas highlighted as the narrative progressed; a theatrical section with readings from Shakespeare; an animation of the progress of the Great Fire. There wasn't as much about Pepys' own life as I'd have liked, and more about his marriage (happy) than any of his extracurricular affairs. This being the Maritime Museum, they got into their stride with his connections to the Navy. Gosh, a chain link such as would have been used in Pepys' time ... Very nicely done, though. I was accompanied by a friend who asked me about the history of the period: I recommended she read Neal Stephenson's Quicksilver -- and when we reached the gift shop at the end, there it was.

18-MAR - Scriabin, late Poemes (James Kreiling) Peckham Asylum

Well, I went to this concert suspecting that I didn't like late Scriabin, and I came away confirmed in my belief. I could perceive glimmers of structure and sequence, but I didn't understand the music at all. By way of contrast, Kreiling finished with an earlier piece, and I felt I had more of a handle on that. So: still unappreciative of late-period Scriabin, but it was a very impressive performance by a gifted musician. Also, the venue was astounding: lots of peeling and faded paint, stained-glass windows, tealights and bare bulbs, broken masonry. Photo here.