Friday, 28 May 2010
Wednesday, 26 May 2010
Swan 2 - Goose 0
Yesterday morning I wrote here about the new arrivals on the Basin, and how the fathers seemed protective toward their young. Four hours later we observed this parental responsibility in dramatic form. The calm was shatterd and a fierce scrap broke out. One of the adult geese seemed to be causing concern to the male swan, possibly straying into the ‘home’ territory where the young cygnets had nested. Whatever the cause, it was sufficient to cause an almighty fray and then a fierce chase the length of the basin as the swan protected his space.
I shall keep my eye on events tomorrow: I’m not certain that the goose will make a safe escape a third time.
Tuesday, 25 May 2010
New arrivals on the basin
Thursday, 13 May 2010
Musings on the Election
So it’s all over. Cameron and Clegg have done the deal, they will be sharing offices, and it’s all over - until the next time. Some musings from the past few weeks.
A fascinating session, well attended, with some insights into the differences between the three main parties and their campaigns.
A further thought: sitting in the Kings Place auditorium underneath the Guardian offices, I could almost have been sitting in the Radio Theatre at BBC Broadcasting House; the Guardian panel could have been a Radio 4 panel. How close some of the new-media online events are becoming to the old-media broadcast world. Is the BBC really alert to the growing ambition, talent, and output of this new competition?
The community organisers Citizens UK managed to get all three main party leaders together on the same platform, just four days before polling - something the broadcasters couldn’t achieve – and it appeared to be a very sucessful event, with 2,500 people attending, representing 160 organisations.
Shocking that people were locked-out of the polling stations. Some undoubtedly will have left it late to stroll along from the pub, but others will just have finished work or family duties and been rightly very angry. Good to hear reports of increased voter registration in the days following the first tv debate, reportedly mainly young people.
Of the very many ‘talking heads’, specialists in their own fields wheeled out on tv to explain to viewers just what is going on, my vote for the very best goes to Peter Hennessy. Historian, eminent specialist in the constitution, he presents complex issues in a most simple and appealing way; a pleasure to listen to.
To the pressures of 24/7 broadcasting, the incessant demands of rolling news, must be added the burden of five days of additional coverage required when the polling result was inconclusive. Being generous, I can only assume these are the reasons for the tensions and outbursts witnessed on Sky News. These three separate incidents are now all over the web:
And Boulton again, this time with Ben Bradshaw
Michael Portillo wrote a witty column about his famous 1997 “Were you up for Portillo” moment under the heading “Don’t worry: life’s better on the outside”
In advance of the election there was much written about this being the first internet election. Politicos were heard to say the dread phrases ‘social networking, twitter, facebook’ often without sounding as if they knew what these things were. Journos seemed to play up the effect of the web on Obama’s campaign, with the assumption it would have the same effect over here. In my view the web brought new ways of delivering news and opinions (Michael White’s daily and sometimes twice-daily blog delivered to your inbox). There were some great feeds on Twitter but you had to quickly learn to sort out those which were just ‘interesting’ from those which genuinely broke news, and/or brought a different opinion into view.
I went along to the ‘Fair Votes’ rally two days after polling, when the LibDems were deep in their negotiation with the Tories.
Rupert Murdoch's influence is everywhere
Passing Downing St. I thought New Labour had imposed a ban on demonstrations within 1 mile of Parliament
The cheering and jeering demonstrators passed Sky's open-air broadcast platform, as Kay Burley was live on air. The BBC wisely built an enclosed studio, a wise move given what happened to Sky (see above).
It was sweet to see new fresh faces on Newsnight, new MP’s being quite earnest, nervous, in their new suits, sitting forward eager to get their answers right. It won’t be long before they become familiar faces, trotting out their ‘on message’ lines.
Tuesday, 11 May 2010
Apocalyptic drama - 2
What would you do if the world was going to end on Saturday? Definitely end, that is, there being nothing that could be done – by scientists, governments or maverick heroes – to avert the apocalypse. That's the starting point for A Thousand Stars Explode in the Sky, a new play that, unusually, is the product of not one but three writers, all at the top of their game.
see the full piece here:
Wednesday, 5 May 2010
Three playwrights and an apocalyptic drama
Just over seven weeks until Hannah is due, and here she is dancing the night away last weekend (that’s Patrick Stanier, her ‘buddy’ from their days at Guildhall).
PHOTO c Robin Rochford
She is now working as Assistant Director on her last production before her maternity break. It is the world premiere of A Thousand Stars Explode In The Sky, a new play written by three leading playwrights David Eldridge, Robert Holman and Simon Stephens, which opens at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith on May 7th.
Hannah has worked previously with the director Sean Holmes, and elsewhere with two of the writers.
This is a rare enterprise in British theatre, three writers collaborating on the one piece.* The play is set in the late 1990’s. As the universe begins to crumble a mother gathers her sons on their family farm in the north east of England, where they prepare to face the unknown. Will a lifetime’s worth of closely guarded secrets finally be revealed and will lost love once again be found before time itself comes to an end?
The Financial Times ran a good interview with the writers last week under the headline Three playwrights and an apocalyptic drama which you can read here
A Thousand Stars Explode In The Sky runs from the 7th May for four weeks. Full details, the cast, and online booking can be found here.
*When I worked at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh in the 1970’s we staged a production called Lay By, with seven writers: Howard Brenton, Brian Clark, Trevor Griffiths, David Hare, Steven Poliakoff, Hugh Stoddart and Snoo Wilson. It opened in August 1971 and the text can be found in the November 1971 edition of Plays and Players. I found this article in the Guardian about five women writers collaborating at the Royal Court in 2005, at the foot of which is a piece by David Edgar about his collaboration with Hare and Brenton.