The back of the downstairs theatre at the Tap Gallery is covered in A4 sized colour images of films, albums, and odd bits of iconography that represent a mood and a philosophy rather than a time or place. At first they look like a teenagers bedroom, the images internet-stolen, hand printed, blu-tacked to a wall, […]
Author Archives: lisathatcher
November
29
Triune – Brave New Word take the audience back, forward and sideways through time. (Theatre Review)
posted by lisathatcher
November
27
The Counselor – Cormac McCarthy and Ridley Scott bring writing to front and centre. (Film Review)
posted by lisathatcher
One can usually assume the swelling vortex of Oscar contenders brings with it more quality films this time of year than any other, and there are some excellent films out at the moment, but the best I’ve seen do not have any hope of competing for Oscar glory. It is also fair to say some […]
November
26
Sister – Ursula Meier and the tragic world of children forced to be adults. (Film Review)
posted by lisathatcher
The opening scene of Sister shows us an as yet unnamed Simon (Kacey Mottet Klien) in a toilet cubicle examining items he has stolen from the wealthy people around him for their re-sale value. His face is covered by a black ski mask, and he adds a helmet and goggles to the outfit in order […]
November
26
New Theatre ends a brilliant 2013 with the promise of an even better 2014.
posted by lisathatcher
Several of my favourite theatre experiences in 2013 happened at The New Theatre in Newtown. Top Girls, Jerusalem and The Ham Funeral were all stand out performances, beautifully executed with fine direction and great actors bringing the words of great playwrites to life. Alice Livingstone, undaunted by the complex nuances of Caryl Churchills fabulous Top Girls, […]
November
25
Kiss Land – The Weeknd goes global. (Music Review)
posted by lisathatcher
The cover of Kiss Land says it all. Abel Tesfaye, aka Weeknd looking down his nose at the camera with a stare unconvinced by his own seriousness. I was a fan of the first three albums; House of Balloons scared the shit out of me (initially), Thursday really took the subversion to a whole new […]
November
25
Dying for It – Nikolai Erdman is remembered through Moira Biffini and New Theatre (Theatre Review)
posted by lisathatcher
“You can’t sentence a man to live.” “Why not? He deserves it!” There are times when absurdist satire becomes prolific due to control by an oppressive regime and there are times when the regime is successful in stamping out its influence, a case in point being Nikolai Erdman, an enormous Russian talent built belonging to […]
November
19
Harvest – Jim Crace speaks through time. (Book Review)
posted by lisathatcher
Wheat – like men and women – benefits from being crushed. To be without the words to say it, is to be inhuman. Jim Crace has claimed that Harvest is his final novel which means this is the end of writings that seek to give voice to the voiceless in history. Harvest is a style of […]
November
19
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire – Francis Lawrence brings us an even better round two. (film review)
posted by lisathatcher
There is an interesting and surprising theme in Catching Fire, the second of the phenomenally successful The Hunger Games trilogy ( inevitably to come out as four films) that sees love as the central motivator for young sixteen year old girls being posited against the falseness of love as an instrument of media manipulation. It […]
November
18
Sweet Nothings – John Kachoyan and Pantsguys Productions bring David Harrower to new life. (Theatre Review)
posted by lisathatcher
There is a reason Arthur Schnitzler’s play Liebelei (Flirtation), also known as The Reckoning when it was adapted for film by the great Max Ophuls, Dalliance when it was rewritten by Tom Stoppard and Sweet Nothings when it was rewritten by David Harrower, has been adapted and rewritten so many times by such great artists as […]
November
18
Christina in the Cupboard – Paul Gilchrist and the magical world within. (Theatre Review)
posted by lisathatcher
You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait, be quiet still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet. Franz Kafka An arrival at the […]
Lisa Thatcher 