One Thousand Pages in Two Hours
Lionboy
Complicite
Wales Millennium Centre
06/07/2013
 
From entertaining children with the written word to entertaining children on the stage, Complicite’s production of the bestselling trilogy Lionboy has pulled out all the stops to live up to the books’ high standards.  The production, which follows the plight of 11 year old Charlie Ashanti (Adetomiwa Edun) as he races to rescue his abducted parents, stars a simple but talented eight-man cast.  Of course, it isn’t the thought-provoking idea of the small Charlie chasing down the abductor, the evil pharmaceutical giant, The Corporacy, which appeals most to the children, but his fantastical power to communicate with cats.
With just a flying disk and movable lighting bars in terms of set, the pressure is all on the actors to bring the tale to life.  Each actor speaks and moves with individuality, so much so that at times it is difficult to keep your eyes on one person.  The audience is left astounded by a section of awe-inspiring gymnastics on a suspended hoop by the young Lisa Kerr (who plays a variety of roles in the production.)  Also particularity admirable is acute use of cat mannerisms which allow Adetomiwa Edun to make quick transitions from animal form to human form naturally and effectively.  With no props to aid him, Edun manages to move believingly from the adventurous young Charlie to a hostile lion in just a leap, twirl and feline arm movement.  The superb acting leaves little effort for the imagination.
African style instruments accompany the show, played live by a single musician.  The particular use of the styled instruments is perfect for the setting of the tale, which mostly takes place in Africa.  In addition to this, the actors’ own voices are atmospheric and blend well together to create tension in the most hair-rising sections of the play.  No corny solos ruin the ambience.
One of the most difficult aspects of children entertainment is the children’s short attention span.  However, the strategically placed twenty minute interval fifty minutes into the show provides a perfect opportunity for the younger ones to refresh, and during the show the use of visual creations such as a lion face created by the shadow of three people does not fail to keep the audience’s eyes on the stage.  Similarly to The Britain’s Got Talent 2013 winner, Attraction, who shadow danced their way to the throne, this creative form of entertainment has proved itself to be a big winner with the general public.
Although the interaction with the audience throughout the play also makes the performance more interesting, the cheesy ten to fifteen minute boxing match at the end of the show is a big let-down, in my opinion.  The match, which is between The Corporacy and Charlie, requires the audience to cheer for their preferred side, turning the production into a cheap pantomime, which brings the professionalism of the show down a notch.  The boxing match, which is obviously intended to be an interesting way to get across the positives and negatives of The Corporacy’s controversial methods of finding the cure for asthma, is overly cheesy and drags on.  I personally feel that the actors are a little too reliant on the audience’s responses rather than their own acting skills.
Ultimately, I would recommend Lionboy to anyone looking for an entertaining evening.  With enough visual effects to keep children’s attention and plenty of thought-provoking ideas and superb acting to keep adults and teens more than satisfied, it’s sure to provide a spectacular show.  Although the cheesiness of the boxing match drags down the overall standard of the show, Lionboy is worth a trip to your nearest theatre.

‘Critics are Parasites’

 Meet the Critics at the V&A organised by the Critics Circle 27/04/13

I coordinate the activities of the Young Critics, the new 3rd Age Critics group and helped set up the inaugural Theatre Critics of Wales Awards at Sherman Cymru earlier this year. I read with interest that the Critics Circle was organising a free event for anyone interested in a critical understanding of the arts and went along to learn more.
The morning session was chaired by Paul Gambaccini and comprised of a series of five panels consisting of three critics, one panel from each Critics Circle section, Drama, Music, Film, Dance and Visual Arts, the panellists talked about their relevant fields and answered questions. Critics present included Michael Billington, Mark Shenton, Jason Solomons, Barry Norman, Marine Vaizey, Claire Allfree, Jeffery Taylor, Libby Purves, Fiona Mountford, Richard Morrison, Guy Dammann, Erica Jeal, Sanjoy Roy, Donald Hutera, Simon Tait, Hugh Pearman and Sarah Crompton.
The morning session consisted of the different critic’s panels discussing their entry routes into the world of arts criticism, this being most frequently that of the journalist.
There were some interesting and provocative statements relating to the critical process with Barry Normans definition of the critic as ‘parasites’ appearing to resonate most strongly in the room.
Other statements included,

• The critic must be honest to the audience.
• Don’t bore the reader.
• The opinion of the star struck critic is worthless.
• Don’t be in awe of someone who earns their living from pretending to be someone else.
• Critics shouldn’t be populist celebrities it’s a form in its own right.
• Someone over 40 with considerable life experience and knowledge of their form is a better critic than that of a young person.
• Be brave, failure is good.
• Nobody wants to make bad work.
• A review can be better if the critic understands the artist’s intention.
• Good writing is rewriting.
• The critic provides the match report.
• Make the reader know what it was like to be there.
• The critic is a professional member of the audience.
• Without critics we risk the sound of one hand clapping.
• The best critics are practioners, but not the best reviewers.

The second half of the session was chaired by Mariella Frostrup and devoted to the future of the critic and their trade. Topics for discussion included what might happen to criticism in the age of the blogger, the impact on the critic’s trade and the standards of the on-line amateur with opinions but no qualifications for holding opinions, the tweeter who tweets without thought, and of people who have no experience of life.
I felt this afternoon session focused primarily on many of the negative elements of the internet and the changes currently taking place in the world of arts criticism.
It was immediately apparent that the process of change currently taking place for many arts journalists is a very difficult process but I felt that many of the positive aspects of the internet were overlooked. This also seemed to relate to the opinion of some of the panellists and the Critics Circle themselves, they seemed to think  that for a critic to have a worthwhile opinion they need to have considerable life experience and to have an in-depth knowledge of their subject matter. Whilst I am sure this is true to an extent I feel this risks alienating a huge sector of new potential critic’s especially younger ones.
In my opinion the positive developments of ‘everyone is a critic’ alongside the internet has allowed a more inclusive voice to be heard regarding many art forms. There are a range of audiences/ages for much of the work created and I don’t feel its representative to only focus on the voices of older predominately male critics.
I feel that projects such as Young Critics, 3^rd Age Critics, Wales Arts Review and magazine websites such as A Younger Theatre help to support a more honest, inclusive critical voice as opposed to the Critics Circle ideal critic
‘Which is not to say critics should be dinosaurs just that they should have lived a little.’
 
 
With these thoughts in mind the Young Critics have arranged the event below to continue the discussions in Wales
‘Response’
A series of critical conversations The Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff, Sat the 7th of Sep 10-4 pm.
Subjects for discussion at Response may include

• Venue/producers presentation, an open forum to discuss the relationship with Arts Critics, venues, producers and artists.
• Lack of critical commentary in an area, and what can be done/is being done to support work.
• Looking beyond the traditional routes for criticism, how can engagement go further?
• Producing venues from across Wales will be invited to attend these days to showcase their work and invite a critical response (this will be cross art form).
• The notion of the “professional” critic in the age of blogging; a discussion with arts practitioners about the kinds of criticism (if any) which they find useful.
• Arts Criticism in the Welsh Language (With a focus on work for younger audiences).
• The future role of the Arts Critic.

If you have any suggestions for discussion topics or would like to present at Response please let me know.
 
 
Critic’s Circle article on their event.
http://www.criticscircle.org.uk/Default.asp?ID=330&PID=1

Incubator is a platform for new companies that allows them to develop their productions in the Wales Millennium Centre. I went to see a production called ‘The Violence of Summer’ by Sean Tuan John and Bert Van Gorp which is in development with the Incubator . Throughout the incubator period they have tried out various theatrical approaches to the themes of the outsider and deviant in society. Research into sociological ideas has been carried out through reading definitions of a deviant and criminal court cases to inform their work.
The stage lights up to reveal around 50 rubber pigs all laid out in a sequential order with two older men sat in garden lawn chairs. At the starting moment they have already got my attention, through all the enigma codes being conveyed such as ‘what’s with all the pigs?’ ‘Who are these men?’ I can’t help but be intrigued, and this is something which is great about the production. As the music kicks in these men begin to dance uncontrollably between these 50 pigs for the majority of the 55 minutes, in some parts they slow down and the music gets quieter which gives the show a good dynamic of pace. There’s one prevalent moment when the character speaks about his difficult childhood however it doesn’t tell me enough to really discover the truth of the narrative. The production is supposed to express ideologies about the ‘deviant’ in society and a major downfall of the production is that these ideologies aren’t conveyed enough in the narrative or characters.. The production aims to combine humour and dance however with a big topic that is sensitive to society such as ‘adult males that hurt children’ it doesn’t do it enough justice to make the humour credible.
On the other hand the play is good on how it challenges and is different to other productions with its aim to mix contemporary dance and humour. The production is clearly carried out by a company that are enthusiastic and they makes it much  more enjoyable to watch. Incubator is a great concept as it gives productions like ‘The Violence of Summer’ the tools and advice it needs to grow. I hope that through Incubator it’s narrative and ideologies are improved to be more clear to audiences.

After studying Carol Ann Duffy’s work in school, I can say that my expectations were set high as I sat amongst an audience of restless young minds and excited adults alike.  I couldn’t wait to see how Duffy’s vivid imagination and blunt tone would play out on stage in comparison to the short poems I’d analysed so carefully.

The play featured four young, talented actors that sang and waltzed and even pecked their way across the stage, using the lack of props to their best of their ability as they gave two exemplary performances of the infamous tales, Hansel and Gretel and Ashputtel.
Needless to say, the children in the audience settled down quickly as the production began with the eerily soothing voices of Hansel and Gretel’s family, and they stared at the awe-filled children with big eyes, maintaining enough eye contact with each spectator as to include each and every person in the new world they presented.
Although the tale of Hansel and Gretel delivered a more melancholy side of Duffy’s imagination, the ending was sure to warm the hearts of every parent in the room, enough to prepare them for the big dose of fun the second half of the production was ready to lump on top of them, and, true to its name, Ashputter left in its wake a layer of ashes impossible to shake off after it’s spectacularly bright show.
At one point towards the end of show, a step-sister screeched mid-stage as she used a plastic axe to saw off the tips of her toes that she couldn’t fit into the slipper.  Although the guffaws of the children suggested they found the act funny, I’m sure some parents, as well as myself, found the incessant screaming and fake bloody rag more than a little bit alarming.  This was not a rare occurrence either, as body parts were chopped off on two occasions.
On the whole, Grimm Tales was an eye-opening, funny, and family-orientated production I wouldn’t hasten to recommend to a family with younger children, so long as the members were okay with a little bit of gore.