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Post by joem on Dec 16, 2023 13:13:38 GMT
Still no pub re-opened below unfortunately. I usually go to the Sunday afternoon performances, and have a walk in Brompton Cemetery if I’m early and it’s not raining. There’s a cafe in the cemetery too. But I agree about the awkwardness of waiting at pub theatres if you’re a solo theatregoer and/or don’t want to drink. Are they still insisting on masks and Covid Passes on Sunday?
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Post by joem on Dec 5, 2023 7:29:35 GMT
I have no doubt that Kenneth Branagh is a well-meaning guy (despite being a Tottenham fan) and that helping out RADA was one of the driving motivations behind this production BUT I have to say it ends up feeling like very good youth theatre rather than the loftier heights you expect to be reached in a West End production. The cuts made to the text mutilate the play, all it does is cut down the running time but even then a couple of the key pathetic (in the right sense) speeches are delivered rather briskly by Wor Ken instead of milking them for dramatic effect. Branagh's Lear looks too young and spry to be retiring from tyranny and his fall makes him petulant rather than tragic. Unsympathetic casting doesn't help either, I am very relaxed with flexibility in this but seriously, what did we gain by having a female actor play Kent? Sum total: a cheap laugh from the audience when she declares "I'm a man!". I don't want to knock it too much because I think the idea comes from a good place but Branagh surrounded by students in a chopped-up text doesn't sound great and ended up being deficient. I don't think someone new to the play would have got what it's about and that's a shame because it might dissuade them from going back to the theatre or to Shakespeare. 3/5 if I'm generous. King Lear supports Spurs? Well who knew. Nothing can come of nothing... Odd I know... he should be supporting Newton Heath maybe?
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Post by joem on Dec 4, 2023 23:04:36 GMT
I have no doubt that Kenneth Branagh is a well-meaning guy (despite being a Tottenham fan) and that helping out RADA was one of the driving motivations behind this production BUT I have to say it ends up feeling like very good youth theatre rather than the loftier heights you expect to be reached in a West End production.
The cuts made to the text mutilate the play, all it does is cut down the running time but even then a couple of the key pathetic (in the right sense) speeches are delivered rather briskly by Wor Ken instead of milking them for dramatic effect. Branagh's Lear looks too young and spry to be retiring from tyranny and his fall makes him petulant rather than tragic. Unsympathetic casting doesn't help either, I am very relaxed with flexibility in this but seriously, what did we gain by having a female actor play Kent? Sum total: a cheap laugh from the audience when she declares "I'm a man!".
I don't want to knock it too much because I think the idea comes from a good place but Branagh surrounded by students in a chopped-up text doesn't sound great and ended up being deficient. I don't think someone new to the play would have got what it's about and that's a shame because it might dissuade them from going back to the theatre or to Shakespeare.
3/5 if I'm generous.
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Post by joem on Dec 4, 2023 0:46:08 GMT
I've enjoyed Maestro tonight. I have been interested in Bernstein for many years - I recommend the Humphrey Burton biography for anyone wanting a broader perspective - and thought this film captured his character and persona pretty well. It isn't a straightforward biopic from cradle to grave but that's how they've chosen to do it, playing up the drama of character conflict to appeal to a broader audience, and I don't have a problem with that. End of the day it even has time to muse on creativity and what it is to be an artist (genius?). The music sounds pretty good too. It wasn't heard on the soundtrack but Bernstein's last concert, where he was seriously ill, is compelling listening, especially the awesome Seventh Symphony by Beethoven. Highly recommended.
Also went to see Fallen Leaves. If you've never seen a Finnish comedy (no it's not an oxymoron), try this one!
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Post by joem on Dec 4, 2023 0:36:51 GMT
It's good to see there are other big Divine Comedy fans here! Their residence at the Barbican last year was one of the most memorable concert series I've been to in my entire life.
Definitely looking forward to this.
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Post by joem on Dec 1, 2023 23:41:51 GMT
A faithful adaptation of the novel, barring the continual time switches in the novel which would simply have been too confusing on stage, especially for those unfamiliar with the novel.
Competent rather than exciting, the style and production will be familiar to anyone who's ever attended an RSC production. Well acted, brisk (sometimes a little too much so) with music - which sometimes jars in its modernity - and a good use of space, especially in the conversion of the stage to the Globe Theatre in its last scene.
Clearly the play is not about Hamnet, even less than the novel was since his character's role in the play is diminished by the (correct) decision to present the narrative in a linear fashion, but he has a crucial role in how the characters of Agnes (Anne Hathaway) and Shakspear and their relationship develops. It is the name of the novel so it would have been confusing to have given it a different name, in my view.
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Post by joem on Dec 1, 2023 0:12:27 GMT
If I'd seen this play at the Park or Southwark I might have rated it better. There are funny moments and I think the acting of the two leading ladies is pretty good, if not helped by their parts. But this is a very expensive product and the audience has a right to be more demanding when it is being asked to pay very high prices for tickets.
Nice set, nicely staged but whilst I have seen plays which combine tragic and comic elements successfully, here the laughs and the serious stuff work against each other which - when combined with the pretty average writing - leaves you wondering if the whole thing is just built on a fantasy and makes you question what the writer is trying to achieve. The KST character is like a stray from a Tennessee Williams play who has wandered into a sequel for The Lady In The Van so the trauma being experienced by the Lily James character pales and you end up watching the two key characters bumbling along in clumsy slapsticky routines which diminishes the dignity and credibility of the roles.
I have to say the audience reaction was fairly positive and wonder... might we end up with theatre where the actors, or celebrities, become the only reason to see a production? The critics may hate it, discerning theatregoers might scoff but if bums are put firmly on seats at prices well skywards of £100 and now moving beyond £200... the producers may worry less about quality. Like blockbuster movies which are panned but make tons at the box office. Is this a potential future for theatre?
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Post by joem on Nov 19, 2023 22:22:40 GMT
He made it to the grand old age of 95 but sadly Joss Acland has passed away.
I remember him as Peron in the original production of Evita. He was an authoritative presence, getting the character's mix of power and cunning exactly right, not the stooge he has sometimes represented as - although she undoubtedly helped him to get more popularity he was already a made man when they met.
Acland had a distinguished career on stage, film and television but it's on the stage where he actually played most of his leading roles. RIP.
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Post by joem on Nov 17, 2023 17:08:06 GMT
Based on Haruki Murakami's novel of the same name this is a beautifully staged production which uses different media and levels to create a magical atmosphere full of mystery and insinuation. Adapted by Melly Stills and directed by Bryony Lavery.
However I find, as with much of Murakami's work except perhaps some of the films, that it adds up to a lot less than what it promises. Stylisation is no substitute content. When you peel away the layers, the effects, the poses, the razzmatazz.... you end up with a fairly humdrum, sort of three-sided, relationship which could have been summarised in five minutes. The emperor may not be naked, but he is very lightly dressed.
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Post by joem on Nov 10, 2023 20:32:29 GMT
No expectations as I didn't know the work of Mustapha Matura and it was the positive comments here which made me see it - together with an unexpected free night in London.
I am glad I went. This is a very good play, well written and shaped with important themes and three very interesting characters, all interesting in their own ways. I didn't see the Jerusalem link - I think Johnny Rooster Byron is a character rooted in conviction (and convictions) whereas Hugh is actually trying to find his real self. Perhaps there is a thematic link though, both of them understand (Hugh, eventually) that there are elemental forces which have an effect on us humans.
What I do see is a very Ibsenian quality to the crafting of the narrative and in the way the inter-personal relationships between the characters are presented and developed. If Halvard Solness (the Master Builder) had married Hedda Gabler or Nora Danvers this is the marriage we might have got. And beyond the relationship and Hugh's angst there is also the societal theme in Jean's promoting a dangerously unhealthy product and how our actions can come back to haunt us - a la Ghosts?
In making the Ibsen comparison I can't help wondering if Matura's stage writing might have been influenced by the theatres he was getting produced in? Good as the actors were my one quibble is that the play would have benefited from some attendant lords - the doctors, or mayors, or lawyers, or servants who turn up in Ibsen's plays providing valuable information and helping us to see the main characters in a slightly different light, away from the struggles between themselves. Maybe I'm seeing too much in this and Matura was happy to cut them out and just keep the important characters in the play. But I'd have loved for the maid's grandma to have appeared on stage and maybe the businessman dealing with Jean.
Excellent performances from the three-strong cast. I am glad to report that the Orange Tree was pretty much full and that the audience was wildly enthusiastic about the evening. Great stuff. Once again thanks to those of you who recommended it, I'd have missed it otherwise.
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Post by joem on Oct 11, 2023 19:37:31 GMT
I hadn't done any homework on this so chose it primarily on the strength of Niamh Cusack and my favourite sushi haunt, next to the Orange Tree Theatre.
I found an Ibsenesque play for our times with a very powerful performance from Ms Cusack and a very strong foil in Kasper Hilton-Hille as her son. I have to say it felt a little out of place amongst the Orange Tree audience profile but, to the fair, it was very well received indeed. As it should have been.
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Post by joem on Oct 11, 2023 19:15:49 GMT
The second part was a slight improvement - mainly due to the musicians and the excellent soprano who sang beautifully. The story was also less compressed which allowed for a bit more development but my comments on the first half hold and the overall experience, and I was very excited about this, was very disappointing.
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Post by joem on Oct 6, 2023 21:55:36 GMT
Agree with the thrust of the previous comments. I did think the first half was quite zippy and the mother/daughter team worked well together, but the second half definitely sagged and the failure to include the crucial turning-point in Emma Hamilton's life (Nelson's death) in the play does leave it rather bereft of action.
The second half felt like an epilogue - April de Angelis might have been better advised to have written it as such (in a shorter version) and given us some more meat on the Hamilton/Nelson romance.
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Post by joem on Oct 6, 2023 21:49:41 GMT
I was eagerly anticipating this and expecting it to be a major event, one of those theatre experiences you remember forever but the first part, which I saw today, certainly wasn't.
The set and staging looks promising and the musicians and singers playing as you walk into the auditorium sets the scene nicely but then the problems start. Show don't tell is always good advice, unless you're a storyteller. The problem with this is it's tell, tell and tell again. And after that a bit more tell. Good as the narrator is (sorry can't tell you her name as the Barbican is not selling programmes anymore) there's simply too much of her.
Second problem, and this really is a biggie, the language is pretty basic, prosaic. The story is complicated enough with multitudes of characters being constantly named, and the characterisation is pretty sketchy, so when the text is not that descriptive or evocative it falls rather flat. Sort of like an average GCSE drama group trying to dramatise a classic myth. "Aided" by a dearth of costumes and unsympathetic gender and age-blind casting, the whole spectacle ends up as a confused mish-mash of legends and stories which fails to grip the attention. Which is a shame because this should have been a generational moment of total theatre.
And I still have the second half to watch...
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Post by joem on Sept 28, 2023 12:24:31 GMT
A sad, sad day indeed. Apart from being a great actor, and a great stage actor to boot, he was universally known as a great person too.
Until I saw Rylance in Jerusalem I always thought of Michael Gambon in A View from the Bridge as the best performance by a male actor I'd ever seen. It was truly awesome.
The second great Dumbledore we've lost.
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Post by joem on Sept 18, 2023 20:18:29 GMT
Finland and South Korea.
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Post by joem on Sept 15, 2023 22:39:35 GMT
Regarding other plays about football, I'm surprised no one has mentioned Jumpers for Goal posts by Tom Wells. This was actually on at The Bush a number of years ago and is one of the very best things I've seen there. It is one of my favourite plays ever. It would make a brilliant small scale British film and the play should be a set text for every school. (in my humble opinion) As someone who still plays Jumpers for Goalposts regularly, I concur.
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Post by joem on Sept 12, 2023 8:55:47 GMT
My memory has dimmed but I seem to recall little participation just that palpable air of embarrassment when audience members try to shrink in their seats to avoid being put in the spotlight and made to engage with something they don't fully understand. In a comedy it can sometimes work but in a drama or a tragedy breaking the wall rarely works - notwithstanding Brecht and his ilk. You're there to see someone else's misfortune, not to take part in it. Ha ha. It was just that I couldn't imagine anyone who had gone to see a foreign language production at the Barbican standing up and saying "You know what ? I couldn't care less about climate change". Did you see the Richard Jones Scandi day-glo production at the Young Vic ? I thought the public meeting scene in that was very well done and that engaged with the audience although I don't remember anyone actually saying anything, I certainly didn't. No, must admit I never caught that. I think most audiences have a firm us/them division with the actors. Where there is "audience participation" it tends to be either scripted or forced - the former I'd say was "Food" which I saw recently at the Edinburgh Festival, made to look spontaneous but totally scripted, and the latter something like James Graham's "Raving Monster Loony" which was easy because the audience was given different bits and pieces to join in - party hats, whistles etc and then told when their use was appropriate. But yeah, professional theatre is spectacle not communion.
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Post by joem on Sept 11, 2023 19:20:18 GMT
I saw the Barbican production. Was there any actual debate during the audience participation or did the Barbican audience all agree with Stockmann anyway ? My memory has dimmed but I seem to recall little participation just that palpable air of embarrassment when audience members try to shrink in their seats to avoid being put in the spotlight and made to engage with something they don't fully understand. In a comedy it can sometimes work but in a drama or a tragedy breaking the wall rarely works - notwithstanding Brecht and his ilk. You're there to see someone else's misfortune, not to take part in it.
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Post by joem on Sept 11, 2023 11:20:05 GMT
I saw the Barbican production. As an Ibsen groupie I'd say try avoid making this your first Ibsen or your first "An Enemy of the People". Too busy, too cavalier in its attitude towards the text.
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Post by joem on Sept 8, 2023 22:56:16 GMT
Oh I hope not, remember what transpired the last time they did that... I mean, say what you like about Kev but you can't deny he's a very good actor. Meltdown?
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Post by joem on Sept 4, 2023 10:14:58 GMT
I have had my tickets for this for a while. A friend wanted to join us but we've been caught by the "you cannot leave an empty seat" outrage. So if anyone is having difficulties in getting a single please pm me. It's the evening performance on Saturday 2nd December.
To avoid any confusion - I haven't bought the two tickets and won't do so unless I know someone is interested in the spare.
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Post by joem on Sept 4, 2023 10:07:55 GMT
Has Jerusalem ever toured, I cannot recall it doing so. Would it being a lengthy play be a reason why it hasn't as it may not appeal to the more casual regional theatre goer? There was a production of Jerusalem at the Watermill Theatre with Jasper Britton which I wasn't able to see. I am not aware of any tours but would suspect the set/staging might be prohibitively expensive if they were to try and replicate the West End version. Although the other Butterworth plays I've seen do not come remotely close to Jerusalem in its epic awesomeness they were still very good and this will be a highlight for sure.
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Post by joem on Aug 26, 2023 23:56:11 GMT
I have to agree with much of what is said above. Although I really wanted to like this and some of the visuals were beautiful it really took ages to get going and the character development was very slow. The overlapping stories all have some interest but they detract from each other in the first half especially as we struggle to make connections.
An impressive debut by Hiroki Berrecloth but this really could have been better with a tighter script and punchier start.
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Post by joem on Aug 17, 2023 23:59:01 GMT
Last day! I wish I could live my entire life like this.....
And This Is My Friend Mr Laurel
Jeffrey Holland reprises his role in this one-man show by Gail Louw as Stan Laurel, reminiscing about his life and career whilst visiting his terminally ill buddy, Oliver Hardy. Very well acted although the hysterical laughs from one member of the audience seemed rather OTT to the point where Jeffrey had to stop the show and wait for it to die down and actually joked "can you come back tomorrow?"
Violets and Vinegar
Hilarious but also at times poignant play with three different (unrelated) stories told by three women - a cancer survivor whose husband is probably cheating on her, a mature virgin who decides to go for it and a young Scouser on holiday in Magaluf looking for sex and booze. Really packed with laughs, one o them had a slight accident in the performance I attended - fell off the back of her seat - but got right back and stuck into her part. A real trooper. Very highly recommended.
The Grand Old Opera House Hotel
A triumph. This needs to tour and be seen in London. Part rom-com, part play with music with an aesthetic reminiscent of Wes Anderson's "Grand Budapest Hotel" movie, the cast rollicks its way through a bunch of scenes with influences from Carry On to Saint Saens and delivers some of opera's greatest hits into the bargain - adding some new "operatic" dialogue to move the story along. Marvellous.
Colonel Anne
Amdram with interesting tale from the '45 about a Scottish aristo's wife who calls her clans to action in the face of her hubby's vacillation. Did feel some of the cast were a little overripe for their parts but it was an entertaining watch.
Ay Up Hitler
Bad taste play about Hitler and his chums surviving the war and moving to Yorkshire which is saved by the fact it has plenty of laughs, even if it is overlong. Interesting to see what one can laugh at these days, given there are increasingly things one is not even allowed to talk about let alone use for a laugh. Punters will be reassured to hear though that at the end Hitler and Goebbels are joined on stage by usual suspects Johnson and Trump, no sacred cows are used for mirth.
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Post by joem on Aug 16, 2023 23:11:56 GMT
Getting towards the end.
Shortlist
Very good two-hander by Brian Parks about warring authors competing for literary awards and more, then embarking on a sort-of joint quest. Particularly strong in its first few minutes, highly recommended.
Sunshine on Leith
Good quality production amdram revival of this musical with songs from The Proclaimers. If you enjoy their music (I do) you'll love this, especially seeing it where the whole thing started for the twins.
The Ballad of Truman Capote
Despite his cattiness and the way he wasted his talents in later life I love Truman Capote's writing but - good as the performance/impression of Capote by Patrick Moys in this play by Andrew O'Hagan is - listening to Capote's constant lithpy whine for nearly an hour grates. This would have benefitted from some variety of tone.
Food
My only dip into the "International" bit of the Festival and easily the nadir of the week so far. What a waste of resources when compared to the limited budgets on the fringe. Starts off like a comic turn then churns onto interminably long dumb shows. If its about waste and/or the environment, then boy this is one huge waste. An hour and a half of my life I'll never get back.
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Post by joem on Aug 15, 2023 23:20:18 GMT
Another day's hard work...
Richard Pulsford
My one concession to stand-up. This guy tortures puns in such a way it is only a matter of time before he is investigated by the ECHR. I love it!!! Great short jokes too.
Persephone
On pregnancy. And grief. Tangentially reimagines the Persephone myth but too much emotive writing, not enough meat on the bones despite a strong performance from writer/actress Isabelle Woolley. It feels more like prose than dramatic writing.
Land Under Wave
More fine storytelling at the Scottish Storytelling Centre, this time from the Young Edinburgh Storytellers, three actor/musicians who take us on an underwater journey to Faery. Each of them tells a tale, backed by the other two, and then there's a bonus tale. Really enjoyable for anyone who likes myth/folk tales or storytelling.
Hekabe
Euripides' play on the aftermath of the Trojan War gamely tackled by a young cast from Edinburgh University.
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Post by joem on Aug 14, 2023 22:32:35 GMT
Busier day today.
Casting The Runes
Though I still have to see a frightening play on stage this was a very good production of MR James classic horror tale with intelligent use of puppets, props and space and well acted by the two-strong cast.
Lost In Translation
Passed me over I'm afraid. Made the mistake of reading some promotional bumpf which called it "absurdist" and it set up expectations which were not met. This play s difficult to understand, not absurdist, but the character of the poet and whether he was in a coma, dreaming or making up a relationship for his analyst simply didn't interest me. Some technical problems but they managed to sort them out on the go.
They May Have Eaten Ham!
Autobiographical sort of revue by Naomi Paul, a British Jewish writer/actress, with songs and anecdotes and a good-humoured look at her family's history and its travails before and after emigrating to UK.
Top of the World
Charming piece by a young writer, Fabien O'Farrell, zippily acted by Neath Champion-Shorr and Maisie Jack as loving/sparring sisters Audrey and Evelyn. If you wondered what the Z generation is like, this might give you an insight.
Three Sisters and Them
More sisters! Sort of sequel to Chekhov's Three Sisters which gets rather bogged down with gender and unrealistic narrative leaps.
Mohan: A Partition Story
Good storytelling, history more problematic.
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Post by joem on Aug 13, 2023 23:32:05 GMT
Quiet day.
The Brief Life & Mysterious Death of Boris III, King of Bulgaria at Pleasance Dome
This has already received plenty of attention, rightfully so. A hugely entertaining account of a relatively obscure episode in World War Two - Bulgaria's participation and the reign and actions of the king in place at the time Boris III. Starts off in an Ubuesque manner then gradually focuses mainly on the struggles of Boris to save his Jewish subjects. Music and high jinks lighten the heavier aspects of the play but it is undoubtedly a success and deserves a London outing - Park? Southwark? Interestingly I recognised an actor I last saw overacting terribly at the Finborough a few years back (no names mentioned). Still hamming it but more successfully this time.
Heavy-handed ushering from the Pleasance team cramming people into every hole and trying to force those who arrive early to occupy the sh*test seats possible to leave the best ones for latecomers. All to do with the absurd turnovers (faster than Ryanair) to maximise the number of performances and therefore the bucks for the venue. Not me guv.
Afterwards dinner at Dean Banks at the Pompadour Room. Food as art or as drama.
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Post by joem on Aug 13, 2023 0:33:06 GMT
Today's haul.
Boudicca
A modern take on the events following the historical Boudicca's widowhood and dispossession, in this case as owner of a business corporation, but only up to the moment of her triumphant repossession. The revolt against Rome does not feature. Starts off well but tends to become rather shouty and melodramatic.
The Humans
Despite this Tony winning play by Stephen Karam (Best New Play 2016) being well acted and staged I'm afraid I find it rather pedestrian. One of those American plays that passes me by, I can't quite see the point of it.
Mr Fox
A one-man show with Polis Loizou writing, acting and telling the classic folk tale about a werefox is told in an updated version using a framing device of a fallen aristocrat being interviewed by an (unseen and unheard) blogger on an incident with his female research assistant. In a style reminiscent of the great Vincent Price, with many wry asides and snide remarks complementing the story, this was a pleasure to watch and the opening and closing music was the folk-song "Reynardine" which roughly tells the story of Mr. Fox. The Fairport Convention version, with Sandy Denny singing, is particularly recommended..
Two-Gun Cohen
Although this is mostly an account by a colourful real-life character of his exploits - born to Jewish refugees in Victorian London in the late 19th century, involved in petty crime, then farming, trading and bizarrely becoming a General in the Chinese army - with occasional prompts from the British Hong Kong CID chief incarcerated with him in a Japanese camp, it still works a treat. Jonathan Meyer is a pugnacious, sort of Bob Hoskinsish, Morris Cohen. A bit shaky on lines at times but a good watch.
Dinner at Ondine's was a highlight. One of the best restaurants in town, with excellent seafood and friendly staff.
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