Category Archives: People

Jessica Ennis, Andy Murray Make Who’s Who

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Who’s Who in 2013?

The new edition of Who’s Who is out with some exciting new entries. Including some of Britain’s brightest athletes.

The 165th edition of Who’s Who brings together over 33,000 autobiographical entries from people of, influence and interest in every area of public life. Featuring just over 1,000 entries new for this edition, Who’s Who 2013, published on 3rd December 2012, celebrates the achievements of British Society. An invaluable research tool and a unique way of measuring social change, it is the longest established and most comprehensive general biographical reference book. An invitation to appear in Who’s Who recognises lasting distinction and influence. An entry in Who’s Who is for life.

Preface by Arianna Huffington

Arianna Huffington, President and Editor-in-Chief at the Huffington Post Media Group, is a new biographee for the 2013 edition. She has written this year’s foreword, in which she considers the ways in which technology is rapidly transforming the media.

Olympic Idols

Included for the first time in the 2013 edition is Heptathlon darling, Jessica Ennis, who won gold at the 2012 Olympic Games. At just 26 years old, her impressive resume includes an Olympic gold, two World Championship medals, two World Indoor Championship medals, a European Championship medal and a Commonwealth Games medal.

Double Olympic gold medallist, Mo Farah makes a welcome entry this year, as does professional tennis player and Olympic gold medallist Andy Murray. Born in 1987, Murray is the youngest non-hereditary new entrant.

Entertainment

Presenter and journalist, Gabby Logan is a new addition to Who’s Who 2013. She represented Wales in rhythmic gymnastics at the 1990 Commonwealth Games, before carving out a career in broadcast where she recently presented at the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Included in the 2013 edition is author and Times columnist Caitlin Moran, who was named Critic of the Year and Interviewer of the Year at the 2011 British Press Awards. She lists her recreations as ‘hair biggening, cava, eyeliner, The Struggle’.

Comedian and songwriter Tim Minchin, who composed the music for Matilda the Musical is included in Who’s Who for the first time, as is fellow comedian Richard Ayoade. Richard starred in The IT Crowd and has directed music videos for the Arctic Monkeys and Super Furry Animals, amongst others.

Cooking Sensations

Two star Michelin chef, Michael Caines is a new biographee for the 2013 edition. Head Chef at Gidleigh Park in Devon and Bath Priory, Michael appeared in Celebrity Masterchef 2011 and is one of Britain’s most acclaimed chefs. He is joined by Nathan Outlaw, another South West based chef, who enjoys ‘collecting cookery books’. Star Wars fan Nathan is a two star Michelin chef who has two restaurants at the St Enodoc Hotel, in Cornwall.

Family Connections

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson’s brother Leo, Partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers Sustainability and Climate Change and sister Rachel, Editor-in-Chief of The Lady, are new names for 2013. Boris, another brother Joseph and father Stanley are already in Who’s Who making them one of the most successful families in the yearbook.

Another well-connected new entrant is Rachel Wolf, Director of the New Schools Network, who began her career as a researcher for Boris Johnson and whose mother and father are both already in Who’s Who.

Trivial Pursuits?

Lord Haskins, former Chairman of Northern Foods and Express Dairies plc, has updated his recreations to include ‘only-in-emergency harvest tractor-driver’, while Zai Bennett, Controller of BBC 3, and a new entrant for the 2013 edition, reveals his pastimes to include ‘impersonating primates for baby daughter’.

Writer and broadcaster on architecture and design, Thomas Dyckhoff’s recreations include ‘gluttony, staring out of the window, butchery and pie-making’ and Antonia Romeo, Director General of Transforming Justice at the Ministry of Justice, enjoys ‘Star Wars, Lego’. Host of Radio 2’s The Art Show, Claudia Winkleman, is another welcome addition to the 2013 edition. She lists her recreations as ‘sleeping, cuddling and bothering the children’.

Who’s Who in Numbers

4.5 tonnes – the weight of Who’s Who if all the UK’s inhabitants were in it (the weight of an Asian elephant!). It would be 94 metres thick, which is the height of the O2.

6th – where Who’s Who would have come in the medal table if it had been a team at the London Olympics (12 golds, 4 silvers)

80 – the number of jumbo jets it would take to transport everyone in Who’s Who

91 – the age of the oldest new entrant in Who’s Who 2013, Professor Yoichiro Nambu, Emeritus Professor at the University of Chicago

Who’s Who 2013

Published by A&C Black, 3rd December 2012

Hardback £235.00

Print-and-online edition £325.00 (available from Oxford University Press, visit www.ukwhoswho.com

Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet | Film Review

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This documentary is about something that you would think is a depressing subject: one of the best guitarists in the world, with a glittering career ahead of him full of fame and fortune instead gets what is possibility the worst disease a person can get with has a staggeringly high fatality rate attached; Lou Gehrig’s Disease, an incurable and fatal neurodegenerative disease. But the documentary is far from depressing, instead what you get is a film of hope, and perseverance against all of the odds.

When I put the screener into my computer I braced myself, I though the film would be very sad, and there is sadness in it of course, but Jason Becker and the people around him are the best that humanity has to offer. Jason looks great and his father came up with an eye sign language so he could communicate with his son. For someone who had such riches in front of him he does not seem bitter, he just seems like an incredibly talented man who has made the most of his life, who has an amazing family and who did not let a terrible disease stop his talent for making music.

Jason was told he would not make it past his 25th birthday, but he is still alive 22 years later.

This film should be seen by everyone who thinks there life is hard, and definitely seen by anyone who is full of self-pity. A wonderful, joyous film that should be seen by all. I hope it becomes a classic.

‘Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet’ is a feature-length documentary that tells the extraordinary story of Jason Becker, a musical prodigy and guitar legend, who has been battling with ALS for 22 years. A paralyzing, terminal illness with no cure, the disease has trapped Jason inside of his body rendering him completely paralyzed. Using an eye communication system invented by his father, Jason is able to escape the confines of his body and release the music that is trapped inside of his mind. ‘Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet’ is a story of dreams, love and the strength of the human spirit.

The year is 1989, and all the dreams of Jason Becker, a down-to-earth teenager from
California, have just come true. Jason has just landed himself the biggest rock guitar gig
on the planet. He’s on the cover of every rock guitar magazine and is being hailed by
critics as a musical prodigy in line to become one of the all-time greats. Jason and his
family have found the American dream and are about to start living it.
One week from now, during an examination of his leg, their dreams will turn into a
nightmare when Jason is diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and given just 3-5 years to live.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease) is an incurable and
fatal neurodegenerative disease. In just a short time, victims of ALS become completely
paralyzed while their minds remains 100% in tact; essentially trapping them inside their
own bodies. In most cases, ALS affects people in older age but Jason was just 19 when
he was diagnosed. There is neither a cure nor any real treatment available, and the
majority of sufferers die within 2-5 years. Jason was diagnosed with ALS 22 years ago
and is one of the longest known survivors.

Jason Becker grew up in an artistic family from Richmond, California, a lower income city
located in the San Francisco Bay Area, where his parents Gary and Patricia Becker
nurtured his interest in music. Jason started playing guitar at the age of 5 and his rare
talent immediately began to show. Jason’s true brilliance became apparent when he was
able to play Eric Clapton solos note for note at the age of 12 and was shocking audiences
at his school and local open mic shows.

At the age of 16, Jason answered a call for demo tape submissions by local Shrapnel
Records label founder, Mike Varney, who was looking for the best new guitar talent.
Mike was blown away by Jason’s tape and gave him a recording contract. Jason
graduated from high school early to record his first record and to tour the US and Japan
where he dazzled audiences with his incredible guitar playing. After releasing three
groundbreaking and influential records for the genre, Jason began looking for his next
big challenge.

In 1989, ex-Van Halen singer David Lee Roth was looking for a new lead guitarist for his
band. Mike Varney played Jason’s demo tape for Roth over the phone who immediately
sent Jason a plane ticket to come audition in Los Angeles. Shortly after the audition,
Jason was offered the biggest rock guitar gig on the planet. At the age of 19, Jason was
set to become the hottest guitarist in the world.

A week later, Jason went to the doctors to have them check his left leg that had been
limping for the past few months. After a series of painful tests, doctors confirmed that
Jason had Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and gave him just 3-5 years to live. Jason’s
parents were devastated but Jason shrugged off the diagnosis as he had big plans for his
future. He was going to tour the world and live out his dream of being a rock star. But
during the course of recording the new album for Roth, the limp feeling in Jason’s leg
worsened and began to spread to his hands making it difficult to play. Luckily Jason
finished the album (which went Gold) but he was unable to make the tour and had to
leave Roth’s band

Jesse Vile, the director says: I’ve wanted to make a film about Jason Becker since I was a 15-year-old kid trying to learn, rather unsuccessfully, all of his songs on the guitar. Jason is the most amazing
human being I’ve ever known and, like many others around the world, he has been a
personal source of inspiration for me for many years. I’ve always felt that his unique
and powerful story needed a much wider audience and I felt compelled to be the one to
tell his story.

Although I’m a fan of Jason’s music, I didn’t want to make just a fan film as I think that
would be selling his story short. I wanted to make a film that was universal and that had
a human story at its core that many people could identify with. Jason’s story is an
interesting one in that it isn’t your typical rock star tale. It isn’t a “musician-becomes-
famous-gets-hooked-on-drugs-nearly-dies-and-then-redeems-themselves” kind of story
you hear so often. Those are all fine but Jason’s story goes so much deeper than that. It
is really a story about love, family and the strength of the human spirit.

This film is also a chance for Jason to tell his story and to show the man behind the
legend. This is an authorized documentary and a collaborative project with Jason and his
family. Their involvement has been key to the film’s success

Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet [DVD]

http://jasonbeckermovie.com
Facebook/JasonBeckerMovie
@JasonBeckerFilm

HRH The Duchess of Cambridge unveils Natural History Museum Treasures

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Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge was guest of honour at the grand opening of the Natural History Museum’s new Treasures gallery this evening. Treasures displays 22 of the most extraordinary specimens that have ever been on show at the Museum, and opens 30 November to the public.

The Duchess, who wore a green Mulberry dress for the evening, commented:

‘The Natural History Museum has a very special place in the heart of this nation. William and I are just two of millions of people who have passed through these doors, and marvelled at the spectacular wonders of the natural world, housed in this beautiful gallery. I care passionately about what this museum stands for.  Being here tonight, seeing some of nature’s finest treasures, reminds me just how precious and awe inspiring the natural world is. That is why the opening of Treasures is so incredibly exciting.  If it were ever needed, there is now even more reason to visit this wonderful museum.’

The Duchess met curators and viewed four star specimens in detail:

  • Archaeopteryx fossil – the most valuable fossil in the Museum’s collection, this 47-million-year-old rock slab contains the remains of the earliest known bird. With its combination of bird and dinosaur characteristics, it is a famous snapshot of evolution in action.
  • Audubon’s The Birds of America – the world’s most expensive book and one of the best-known natural history books ever produced. It was first published in double elephant folio size between 1827 and 1838 and is famous for its stunning life-size illustrations of birds.exquisite glass models of marine life
  • Charles Darwin’s pigeons – Darwin’s pigeons provided him with the crucial evidence for the theory of evolution by natural selection. He bred them in his garden as an experiment and donated these fancy breeds of rock dove to the Museum in 1867
  • Wold Cottage meteorite – earliest surviving meteorite seen to land in the UK. The rock formed during the birth of the solar system, 4.6 billion years ago, and was seen to fall near Wold Cottage, Yorkshire, in 1795, confirming the extra-terrestrial origins of meteorites.

Each of the 22 objects have been hand-picked by Museum scientists for the fascinating story it has to tell and all objects represent an important part of the Museum’s scientific, historical, social and cultural worth.

Treasures in the Cadogan gallery is free to visit, giving a snapshot of the vast collections in a short space of time. It is located in the upper mezzanine floor of the awe-inspiring Central Hall, overlooking the iconic Diplodocus.

Dr Michael Dixon, Director of the Natural History Museum said;

‘We are thrilled Her Royal Highness joined us to celebrate the opening of Treasures. We hope that she is the first of many visitors to discover everything the Museum represents in this special gallery.’

The Barclaycard Mercury Prize. Plan B, Florence Welch, Mark Ronson Attend

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Plan B, Florence Welch, Mark Ronson and co celebrate after The Barclaycard Mercury Prize

November the 1st saw a whole host of music’s finest celebrate the Barclaycard Mercury Prize at The Box including shortlisted artists Plan B, The Maccabees, Jessie Ware, Ben Howard, Django Django The party featured a special performance by Marina & The Diamonds.
Florence Welch turned up dressed as Joan of Ark choosing to leave The Machines Birthday bash to party with Mark Ronson, Jamie XX and the shortlisted artists.

Celebs in attendance were 

Plan B
Django Django
Maccabees
Jessie Ware
Ben Howard
Florence Welch (Florence & The Machine)
Mark Ronson
Jamie XX
Luke Treadaway
Sam Brandon
Ty Wood
Mat Horne
Will Poulter
Marina Diamandis (our guest performer)
Grace Woodward
Charlie Speed
Isaac Ferry
Otis Ferry
Sasha Bailey
Fin Munro
Billie JD Porter
Gizzi Erskine
Orlando Weeks
Percy Parker
Will Best
Zoe Ball

Kate Moss: I Was Forced To Pose Topless

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Kate Moss has told Vanity Fair that she suffered a nervous breakdown after being pushed into posing topless. The model also said she was in tears after being forced to pose topless and that she had no one to look after her apart from when she dated Johnny Depp.

Moss told Vanity Fair magazine that she felt uncomfortable on the shoot with The Face magazine with photographer Corinne Day which made her famous.

I see a 16-year-old now, and to ask her to take her clothes off would feel really weird,’ Moss said.

‘But they were like “If you don’t do it, then we’re not going to book you again”. So I’d lock myself in the toilet and cry and then come out and do it. I never felt very comfortable about it.’

 

The supermodel said that she suffered mental health problems while working for Calvin Klein in the early 1990s.

‘I had a nervous breakdown when I was 17 or 18, when I had to go and work with Marky Mark and Herb Ritts,’

‘It didn’t feel like me at all. I felt really bad about straddling this buff guy. I didn’t like it. I couldn’t get out of bed for two weeks. I thought I was going to die.’

She went on: ‘It was just anxiety. Nobody takes care of you mentally. There’s a massive pressure to do what you have to do.’

Moss also said that after she broke up with Johnny Depp she ‘cried for years’.

What do you think?

58th London Evening Standard Theatre Awards, in association with Burberry

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Cate Blanchett, Anne-Marie Duff, Rupert Everett, Adrian Lester, Eddie Redmayne, Joely Richardson, Michael Sheen, Sheridan Smith and David Suchet are among the stage stars tipped

 

 

The London Evening Standard today unveils the longlist for its 2012 Theatre Awards, presented for the first time this year in association with Burberry.

 

·       In a remarkable year for Nicholas Hytner’s National Theatre, it leads the longlist with 22 entries; followed by the Royal Court with 13.

 

·       With four nods, the most longlistedplay this year is The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Simon Stephens’ adaptation of Mark Haddon’s novel about a boy with Asperger’s.

 

·       Olympic Closing Ceremony set designer Es Devlin is longlisted in the Design category for The Master and the Margarita, at the Complicite at the Barbican.

 

·       Eddie Redmayne, Simon Paisley Day and Michael Sheen battle it out for Best Actor with their leading Shakespeare roles in Richard II, Taming of the Shrew and Hamlet.

 

·       It is a good year for women, with inaugural productions from new female artistic directors recognised and a host of stellar performances in strong female roles.

 

·       This year a new award has been announced with the Burberry Award for Emerging Director. The award celebrates a young director who is set to be a star of tomorrow’s London stage.

From Hollywood A-listers to Britain’s most celebrated playwrights, the longlist for the 2012 London Evening Standard Theatre Awards, in association with Burberry, puts an array of big names – and rising stars – in the running for a statuette. All are recognised for contributing to a stellar year in the capital’s theatres.

This year’s winners will be revealed at an evening dinner and Awards ceremony, presented by One Man, Two Guvnors star James Corden at the Savoy Hotel on Sunday 25th November 2012.

The event is co-hosted by London Evening Standard Owner Evgeny Lebedev, Burberry Chief Creative Officer Christopher Bailey and American Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour.

 

The longlist reflects a heavy-weight year for women, with the Natasha Richardson Award for Best Actress category featuring some of the biggest female roles for the stage. Three Ibsen plays provided meaty roles for: Sheridan Smith, thrilling as the capricious Hedda in Hedda Gabler; Hattie Morahan, moving as the trapped housewife Nora in A Doll’s House; and Joely Richardson, luminous as Ellida in Lady from the Sea. In this role, Richardson follows her mother Vanessa Redgrave’s 1979 portrayal and the 2009 performance of her late sister, Natasha, in whose memory this award is given.

 

Cate Blanchett’s sellout performance as Lotte in the translation of German play Big and Small is also recognised, along with Imelda Staunton’s Mrs Lovett in the hit West End production of Sweeney Todd.

 

It is a good year for women behind the scenes too, with two new artistic directors hitting the mark with their inaugural productions. New Donmar chief Josie Rourke is up for Best Director for her exciting staging of The Recruiting Officer. At the Tricycle, Indhu Rubasingham’s opening production, new play Red Velvet, wins a longlist place for its first-time author, Lolita Chakrabarti, in The Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright category. Red Velvet also offers Adrian Lesterthe chance to pick up the award for Best Actor, as real-life 19th century black actor Ira Aldridge, who was hounded off the London stage.

 

Also featuring on the longlist is Es Devlin, the Olympic Closing Ceremony set designer whose work for Master and the Margarita puts her in the Best Design category.

 

Battling it out with Lester and others for Best Actor are Eddie Redmayne, Simon Paisley Day and Michael Sheen – all for their leading roles in Shakespeare productions, with Redmayne playing Richard II at the Donmar Warehouse, Paisley Day playing Petruchio in Taming of the Shrew and Sheen in the Young Vic’s production of Hamlet.

 

The most longlisted play this year is The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Simon Stephens’ adaptation of Mark Haddon’s novel about a boy with Asperger’s. The National Theatre production, in the Cottesloe space, is mentioned in four categories:  Best Director, Best Play, Best Actor and Best Design.

 

Two musical productions that originated at the Chichester Theatre and transferred to the West End are rivals for the Ned Sherrin Award for Best Musical: Sweeney Todd and Singin’ in the Rain. The consistently strong fringe venue Southwark Playhouse also fields two shows in this category: Floyd Collins (directed by Derek Bond) and Mack & Mabel (directed by Thom Southerland).  Swallows and Amazons, which features the music and lyrics from Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon, is also in the running.

 

The National Theatre leads the longlist, with 22 entries across its three stages. Next, the Royal Court, home of new writing, has 13.

 

This year’s awards has eight categories: with Best Play, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Design, Natasha Richardson Award for Best Actress, Ned Sherrin Award for Best Musical, Milton Shulman Award for Outstanding Newcomer and Charles Wintour Award for Most PromisingPlaywright – an award named in memory of the former Editor of the Evening Standard and Anna Wintour’s father.

 

In addition to eight longlisted awards, which are decided by a panel of theatre critics and London Evening Standard’s editor, Sarah Sands, five other special awards will be presented on the night. These are the Burberry Award for Emerging Director (new for this year), the Lebedev Special Award, the Editor’s Award, Beyond Theatre and the Moscow Art Theatre’s Golden Seagull.

 

The shortlist will be announced in the London Evening Standard on 12 November.

 

The London Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2012 in association with Burberry.

 

BEST PLAY

 

Choir Boy  by Tarell Alvin McCraney,  (Royal Court Upstairs)

 

Constellations by Nick Payne (Royal Court Upstairs)

 

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Simon Stephens (National’s Cottesloe)

 

Jumpy by April De Angelis (Royal Court Downstairs)

 

The Last of the Duchess by Nicholas Wright (Hampstead)

 

Love and Information by Caryl Churchill  (Royal Court Downstairs)

 

Love Love Love by Mike Bartlett (Royal Court Downstairs)

 

Reasons to Be Pretty by Neil LaBute (Almeida)

 

South Downs by David Hare (Chichester Minerva)

 

This House by James Graham (National’s Cottesloe)

 

The Witness  by Vivienne Franzmann (Royal Court Upstairs)

 

 

BEST DIRECTOR

 

Benedict Andrews for Three Sisters (Young Vic)

 

Lucy Bailey for Uncle Vanya (The Print Room)

 

Tom Cairns for Scenes from an Execution (National’s Lyttelton)

 

Carrie Cracknell for A Doll’s House (Young Vic)

 

Marianne Elliott for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (National’s Cottesloe)

 

Polly Findlay for Antigone (National’s Lyttelton)

 

Sean Foley for The Ladykillers (Gielgud)

 

Jeremy Herrin for This House (National’s Cottesloe)

 

Nicholas Hytner for Timon of Athens (National’s Olivier)

 

Jonathan Kent for Sweeney Todd (Chichester Festival and Adelphi)

 

James Macdonald for Love and Information (Royal Court Downstairs)

 

Roger Michell for Farewell to the Theatre (Hampstead)

 

Lindsay Posner for Noises Off  (Old Vic)

 

Ian Rickson for Hamlet (Young Vic)

 

Josie Rourke for The Recruiting Officer (DonmarWarehouse)

 

Lyndsey Turner for Philadelphia, Here I Come! (Donmar Warehouse)

 

 

BEST ACTOR

 

Simon Russell Beale, Collaborators (National’s Cottesloe)

 

Charles Edwards, The King’s Speech (Wyndham’s) and This House  (National’s Cottesloe)

 

Rupert Everett, The Judas Kiss (Hampstead)

 

Laurence Fox, Our Boys (Duchess)

 

David Haig, The Madness of George III (Theatre Royal Bath and Apollo)

 

Douglas Hodge, Inadmissible Evidence (Donmar Warehouse)

 

Alex Jennings, Collaborators (National’s Cottesloe)

 

Rory Kinnear, The Last of the Haussmans (National’s Lyttelton)

 

Adrian Lester, Red Velvet (Tricycle Theatre)

 

Simon Paisley Day,  The Taming of  the Shrew (Shakespeare’s Globe)

 

Eddie Redmayne, Richard II (Donmar Warehouse)

 

Adrian Scarborough, Hedda Gabler (Old Vic)

 

Michael Sheen, Hamlet (Young Vic)

 

Scott Shepherd, Gatz (Elevator Repair Service at Noel Coward)

 

David Suchet, Long Day’s Journey Into Night (Apollo)

 

Luke Treadaway, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, (National Theatre’s Cottesloe)

 

 

NATASHA RICHARDSON AWARD FOR BEST ACTRESS

 

Eileen Atkins, All That Fall (Jermyn Street)

 

Pippa Bennett Warner, The Witness (Royal Court Upstairs)

 

Eve Best, The Duchess of Malfi (Old Vic)

 

Cate Blanchett, Big and Small (Sydney Theatre Company for Barbican)

 

Anna Chancellor, The Last of the Duchess (Hampstead)

 

Anne-Marie Duff, Berenice (Donmar Warehouse)

 

Mariah Gale, Three Sisters (Young Vic)

 

Tamsin Greig, Jumpy (Royal Court Downstairs andDuke of York’s)

 

Sally Hawkins, Constellations (Royal Court Upstairs)

 

Martina Laird, Moon on a Rainbow Shawl (National’sCottesloe)

 

Helen McCrory, The Last of the Haussmans (National’s Lyttelton)

 

Laurie Metcalf, Long Day’s Journey Into Night (Apollo)

 

Hattie Morahan, A Doll’s House (Young Vic)

 

Joely Richardson, The Lady from the Sea (Kingston’s Rose Theatre)

 

Sheridan Smith, Hedda Gabler (Old Vic)

 

Imelda Staunton, Sweeney Todd (Chichester and Adelphi)

 


NED SHERRIN AWARD FOR BEST MUSICAL

 

Floyd Collins (Southwark Playhouse)

Directed by Derek Bond

 

Mack & Mabel (Southwark Playhouse)

Directed by Thom Southerland

 

Singin’ In the Rain (Chichester Festival and Palace Theatre)

Directed by Jonathan Church

 

Swallows and Amazons (presented by the National Theatre in association with The Children’s Touring Partnership at the Vaudeville Theatre)

Music and lyrics by Neil Hannon

Script by Helen Edmundson

Directed by Tom Morris

 

Sweeney Todd (Chichester Festival and Adelphi)

Directed by Jonathan Kent

 

Top Hat (Aldwych)

Directed by Matthew White

Adaptation for Stage: Howard Jacques and Matthew White

 

 

BEST DESIGN

 

Hildegard Bechtler, Top Hat ( Aldwych)

 

Miriam Buether, Wild Swans (A Young Vic/American Repertory Theatre/Actors Touring Company co-production)

 

Bunny Christie, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (National’s Cottesloe)

 

Kevin Depinet, Detroit (National’s Cottesloe)

 

Es Devlin, The Master and Margarita (Complicite at Barbican)

 

Soutra Gilmour, Inadmissible Evidence (Donmar Warehouse ) and Antigone (National’s Olivier)

 

Richard Kent, Richard II (Donmar Warehouse)

 

Ian MacNeil, A Doll’s House (Young Vic)

 

Peter McKintosh, Noises Off (Old Vic)

 

Vicki Mortimer, The Last of the Haussmans (National’s Lyttelton)

 

Lucy Osborne, The Recruiting Officer (Donmar Warehouse)

 

Michael Taylor, The Ladykillers (Gielgud)

 

Jamie Vartan, Misterman (National’s Lyttelton)

 

 

 

CHARLES WINTOUR AWARD FOR MOST PROMISING PLAYWRIGHT

 

Stephen Beresford, The Last of the Haussmans (National’s Lyttelton)

 

Lolita Chakrabarti, Red Velvet (Tricycle)

 

Ishy Din, Snookered (Bush)

 

Vickie Donoghue, Mudlarks (Bush)

 

Nancy Harris, Our New Girl (Bush)

 

John Hodge, Collaborators (National’s Cottesloe)

 

Luke Norris, Goodbye to All That (Royal Court Upstairs)

 

Nicholas Pierpan, You Can Still Make a Killing (Southwark Playhouse)

 

Tim Price, Salt, Root and Roe (Trafalgar Studios)

 

Hayley Squires, Vera Vera Vera (Royal Court Upstairs andTheatre Local Peckham)

 

Tom Wells, The Kitchen Sink (Bush)

 

 

THE MILTON SHULMAN AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING NEWCOMER

 

Jonathan Bailey, South Downs (Chichester Minerva and Harold Pinter)

 

Denise Gough, Our New Girl (Bush) and Desire Under the Elms (Lyric Hammersmith)

 

David Fynn, She Stoops to Conquer (National’s Olivier)

 

Cush Jumbo, She Stoops to Conquer (National’s Olivier)

 

Abby Rakic-Platt, Vera Vera Vera (Royal Court Upstairs and Theatre Local Peckham)

 

Matthew Tennyson, Making Noise Quietly (Donmar Warehouse)

 

Joshua Williams, Shivered (Southwark Playhouse)and  Love and Information (Royal Court Upstairs)

 

Emi Wokoma, Soul Sister (Hackney Empire and Savoy)

 

A Tale of two Cities

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Good Vibrations and Spike Island at the London Film Festival

I had great plans for the London film festival, with many press screenings marked out on my diary.  Unfortunately timing was against me, as it turned out to be a very busy period in my other two jobs (acting and teaching), and apart from “A Liar’s Autobiography,” which got cancelled (read the article here), I actually only ended up at two screenings.  But they were good ones.

Good Vibrations

My regular readers (if there are such people) will be aware that I enjoy a bit of music from the 1980s, so I was in a positive frame of mind when I turned up to see Good Vibrations – The Story of Terri Hooley.

For every Richard Branson, there are probably hundreds of Terri Hooleys.  Known as the Godfather of Ulster Punk, Terri was the owner of Good Vibrations record shop and label, was responsible for discovering the Undertones, and encouraged punk and alternative music to flourish during a dark time in Northern Ireland’s history.  I imagine that there were people like him in towns and cities all over the UK and Ireland during the 70s and 80s; running record shops, managing and/or playing in bands organising events.  Do these people ever make a profit in the long run or do their charming mix of naivety and idealism work against them in the end?  Good Vibrations never released a top 40 record, and Terri sold the rights to “Teenage Kicks” for £500 and a signed photo of The Shangri Las (which he never got.)  But that isn’t the point, as this film shows: Terri Hooley made a lot of people very happy, which was in itself no mean feat in Belfast at the height of the troubles.

This was a highly enjoyable film from start to finish.  Richard Dormer made an excellent Terri, and I particularly enjoyed Jodie Whittaker’s performance as his wife.  It’s hard to pick out anyone else as cast lists are not given out at press screening, but everyone performed very well.  It would have been nice to have a few more female characters – maybe some girls who hung around the record shop for instance – but apart from that I completely loved it.  One particularly memorable scene is when an RUC officer is hassling a girl in a bar for suspected underage drinking and Terri comes over and tells him he’d like to report a civil war.  Scenes like these show the bravery of the character as well as the naivety and idealism.

Of course, being a film about music, the soundtrack is a major part of the experience.  Set in a fertile time for Northern Irish music, the tracks chosen add to the energy and exuberance of the story, as obviously does the setting with its air of menace just under the surface.

Go and see this if you’re interested in music, Belfast, or just plain enjoy a good film.

Spike Island

Good Vibrations is a true story about a real man, with a real record shop/label, and the punk scene in Belfast, whereas Spike Island, my second choice of film, is a coming of age drama set in Manchester in the 1990s with the music of the Stone Roses providing more of a secondary theme.  As such it worked well, and the soundtrack (a mix of the Roses and the characters own band, Shadow Caster) added greatly to the ambience and power of the film.  The characters did seem to blend into each other a bit at points, and some of what could have been more potent moments could have been better explained (I was never sure why one boy joined the army for instance).  Having more female characters would have added more variety, and this film does not have the excuse of being a true story as a reason for not doing so.  Teenagers since the 1960s or 1970s onwards generally tend to hang around in groups of both sexes (I did) and the whole male bonding theme seemed to me a little old-fashioned.

That said, the music really lifts everything up, and the festival atmosphere of Spike Island and young love is captured perfectly (leaving aside the dubious morality of deserting your father on his deathbed to go to a Stone Roses concert that you don’t even have tickets for!)

Once again, I am hampered by a lack of a cast list, however everyone concerned gave a very competent performance, with Emilia Clarke standing out in particular.

Go and see this film if you enjoy a good coming of age drama with an excellent soundtrack, or want to recapture your youth!

 

A Liar’s Autobiography

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Anyone who knows me reasonably well will be aware of my penchant for Python (almost to the point of annoyance sometimes to those who don’t share my sense of humour), so, as you can imagine, I was looking forward to this film enormously. Unfortunately, I am still looking forward to it! Due to technical hitches with both the 3d and 2d versions, the press screening failed to take place at the allotted time, and the press conference went ahead with the majority of journalists present (myself included) not having seen the film. Which could be described as just a little bit silly …..
Director Bill Jones described Graham Chapman’s memorial service as the first time he got drunk, and spoke of the film as a way of celebrating Chapman’s life and achievements. Terry Jones spoke of Graham as a complex individual who didn’t really understand himself and who was looking for who he was. Michael Palin described the film as a homage to Graham, and confirmed that it was as close to a Python reunion as we were ever likely to get. Both spoke of Graham’s sense of stillness, and described him as their leading actor. As the press hadn’t seen the film yet, a lot of the questions from the floor were more generally about the Python oeuvre than specifically about the film in question, which led to some interesting reminiscing such as Terry Jones describing smuggling the tapes of Series I out of the BBC to copy on a Phillips VCR before they were destroyed.
The screening has been rescheduled for 4pm this afternoon, but unfortunately one of my other jobs prevents my attending (plug for The Castle at the Lord Stanley in Camden, opening tonight:) but I can tell you that the film uses audio recordings of Graham’s reading of his book, subtitled The Untrue Story of Monty Python’s Graham Chapman, combined with different styles of animation to reflect the different styles of humour, with fourteen different animation studios being involved in the production. Not having seen it yet, I cannot give an informed opinion as to it’s watchability, but with John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Michael Palin and Terry Jones all involved (Terry Jones plays Graham’s mother, apparently), not to mention the late Graham Chapman (as himself) I know I definitely will be giving it a viewing as soon as I get the chance.
And now for something completely different.
A Liar’s Autobiography is showing tonight at 9pm at Leicester Square Empire and on Friday at VUE West End at 3pm as part of the London Film Festival.