Monthly culture: July
Monday, August 8th, 2016 06:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tamaranthQueens of Syria, Young Vic, 8th July
The Guardian review says it best: the most urgent work on the London stage. The play takes Euripides' Trojan Women as a starting point: women in a war-torn land, wondering what will become of them. The 'stars' are thirteen Syrian women, none of them professional actresses, all of them speaking -- mostly in (surtitled) Arabic, some in English -- about their experience of war.
It was an incredibly moving experience, and I was surprised at the parts I found most moving: a woman talking about her lost garden and the scent of basil and roses; the view of the river from a balcony; a meal taken with family.
I don't know if you'll have the opportunity to see this, but I'd urge you to take that opportunity if available.
Derek Moss, Open Studios -- Cambridge, 17th July
Artwork made from bog oak, driftwood, bronze, teeth, bone ... all displayed in a hot sunny garden with the sound of bees and the scent of roses. Beautiful work, though some of the descriptions were hard to unravel.
website here
Ghostbusters, Greenwich Picturehouse, 23rd July
Yep, it's unapologetically feminist. The four female protagonists aren't defined by their (apparently non-existent) relationships with men or family; they objectify their pretty-but-vacuous receptionist Kevin (Chris Hemsworth, comedy gold); they eat, just like real women, and don't worry about their weight. There are moments where male characters seem to be trivialised (death by defenestration -- yep, the original movie is literally out of the window) but that's identical to the treatment of female characters in many summer blockbusters.
It is absolutely worth staying through the credits. Not only does Kevin boogie on down in a charming way, but the Sigourney Weaver cameo is delightful. For me the star of the film was Kate McKinnon as Jillian Holtzmann, flirty steampunk engineer.
There are some special effects. They're pretty good.
Great fun, and highly recommended (emerging from the cinema, I realised just how many deep, powerful, tragic productions I've seen lately: yes, they moved and provoked me, but sometimes one needs frivolity.)
The Guardian review says it best: the most urgent work on the London stage. The play takes Euripides' Trojan Women as a starting point: women in a war-torn land, wondering what will become of them. The 'stars' are thirteen Syrian women, none of them professional actresses, all of them speaking -- mostly in (surtitled) Arabic, some in English -- about their experience of war.
It was an incredibly moving experience, and I was surprised at the parts I found most moving: a woman talking about her lost garden and the scent of basil and roses; the view of the river from a balcony; a meal taken with family.
I don't know if you'll have the opportunity to see this, but I'd urge you to take that opportunity if available.
Derek Moss, Open Studios -- Cambridge, 17th July
Artwork made from bog oak, driftwood, bronze, teeth, bone ... all displayed in a hot sunny garden with the sound of bees and the scent of roses. Beautiful work, though some of the descriptions were hard to unravel.
website here
Ghostbusters, Greenwich Picturehouse, 23rd July
Yep, it's unapologetically feminist. The four female protagonists aren't defined by their (apparently non-existent) relationships with men or family; they objectify their pretty-but-vacuous receptionist Kevin (Chris Hemsworth, comedy gold); they eat, just like real women, and don't worry about their weight. There are moments where male characters seem to be trivialised (death by defenestration -- yep, the original movie is literally out of the window) but that's identical to the treatment of female characters in many summer blockbusters.
It is absolutely worth staying through the credits. Not only does Kevin boogie on down in a charming way, but the Sigourney Weaver cameo is delightful. For me the star of the film was Kate McKinnon as Jillian Holtzmann, flirty steampunk engineer.
There are some special effects. They're pretty good.
Great fun, and highly recommended (emerging from the cinema, I realised just how many deep, powerful, tragic productions I've seen lately: yes, they moved and provoked me, but sometimes one needs frivolity.)
