LADIES DAY
by Amanda Whittington
The Royalty Theatre, Sunderland
Directed by Billy Towers

Do you remember when Royal Ascot came to York? Well, it was in 2005 and that is when the events of Ladies Day are played out, in another wonderful production from Sunderland’s Royalty Theatre.

The main protagonists are four women who work in a Hull fish factory, and like most of us who have to do the daily grind, dream of bigger and better things. To celebrate the retirement of one of the women, the four decide to go to Royal Ascot at York for Ladies Day.

The four don their glad-rags, and once they gain entrance to the racecourse, and the drink starts to flow, their lives, and the secrets contained within them, begin to be revealed. But which of the women do you think is having an affair?

Like all of us, each of the women longs to be loved and happy, and like each of us, they all have different ways of seeking that love.

Those of us who face the daily struggle, and cherish those moments when we can really let our hair down, or confide in someone we think we trust, can easily identify with the women, and we can really feel for them as they try to make the best of what they’ve been given. Escapism has always played a role in the lives of the working classes, and the women from Hull are no different. Whatever would they do if they actually won some money at their day at the races?

Ladies Day is at times funny, and poignant, and is a great nights entertainment. It is also a great reminder that we are all in this together, and none of us are better than anyone else.

BRASSED OFF
The Royalty Theatre, Sunderland

The Royalty Theatre have produced another gem of a play, with their production of Brassed Off, a play by Paul Allen. The play was directed by Pauline Craig and features a great cast who give some wonderful performances. The music is performed by the Tavistock Chester-Le-Street Riverside Brass Band and is performed beautifully.

The play is set in Grimley, Yorkshire and the year is 1994, during the height of the miners struggles with the Tory Government of the day. With the pit facing closure, and with it, the decimation of the social fabric of the area, the drama unfolds with a tale of love, despair, pride, personal relationships and, of course, the colliery band.

As well as the much-documented backdrop of national politics, the play focuses on family struggles against increasing poverty and despair and the bands struggle to make it through to the national finals in the fabled Royal Albert Hall. Personal loyalties are tested to the full and the play has some poignant moments, as well as being funny and real.

As the miners and their families picket and vote on the future of the colliery, the band try to pull themselves together for a performance of a lifetime to reach the national finals. Members of the band are playing out their personal tragedies but trying to hide them and put a proud and brave face on what they can expect from their loved ones and the future. Relationships are pulled and tested, but as life, and one of the actors, tells us, if people aren’t important, then nothing is.

Brassed Off is a very good play, and I recommend it. It is thought provoking, funny and very moving. You leave wanting everything to work out for those portrayed and for one thing to be cherished above all else: love. Brassed Off runs until Saturday 28th June.

COOKING WITH ELVIS
The Royalty Theatre, Sunderland

Cooking with Elvis is a play by Lee Hall, who wrote the screenplay for Billy Elliott and who’s Pitman Painters has moved to the West End, after a run at the Live Theatre. The Director, Anna Snell has wanted to bring Cooking with Elvis to the Royalty Theatre for some time, and has now achieved that goal.

The play itself centres around a family, featuring a mother, father and daughter. The father, who used to be an Elvis impersonator, has been paralysed in an accident, and the relationship between mother and daughter is fragmenting as they employ different methods to ease the pain. They are soon joined by the mother’s new boyfriend, which is when their relationships and emotions really start to become complicated.

The subtext focuses on how humans cope with life, trying to make the best of it and trying to make sense of it. It explores how the relationships we have with each other and the world evolve via life changing events, and touches on how we try to deaden the pain when our dreams don’t quite work out, and how we try to find a little love and happiness. The play features some wonderful nuances but is not all dark. There are some poignant moments, but there are also some very funny moments, not least the opening scenes of each act.

There is also the poignant use of the songs of Elvis, conveying the mood of the play and the actors, which reminded of the work of Dennis Potter, although the ending reminded me a little of Mel Brooks. The play is aimed at a younger audience, although adult themes are explored, and the humour from the start is aimed at an adult audience.

I thought the actors did a great job throughout, but I feel I must give a special mention to Corinne Kilvington, who played the daughter Gill, who I thought was superb. I really enjoyed the play and would recommend it those who have experienced emotions at both ends of the scale.

The Royalty Theatre say that if you go along on Wednesday 21st dressed as the king, they will let you in for free.

Cooking With Elvis runs until Saturday 24th May.

LOVE - Laing Gallery, Newcastle

How do you express love through art?

Well, the new exhibition at the Laing Gallery shows how artists over the centuries have done just that. The exhibition shows us depictions of maternal love, familial love, courtship and good old romance.

As you enter the gallery on the ground floor you are confronted with Marc Quinn’s ‘The Kiss’, which is a marble sculpture showing two lovers embracing. What’s interesting about the sculpture is that the figures aren’t perfect, which makes them more human.

Also in the exhibition are paintings by Rossetti, Turner, Tracy Emin and David Hockney. One of the highlights for me was ‘The Madonna of the Pinks’ by Raphael, which is small but striking.

Harun Farocki: Deep Play
Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art in Sunderland

The latest exhibition in the Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art in Sunderland forms part of the AV08 festival. It is called Deep Play and is by German film-maker Harun Farocki.

Deep Play re-runs the 2006 world cup final between France and Italy but shows it in a unique way. There are 12 screens, with each showing the game from a different aspect. One screen shows the Producers directions to his vision mixer, indicating what cameras to show and when. This, for me, makes the game seem like a play, and the whole thing stage-managed.

Another screen focuses solely on the managers, letting you view their mannerisms and how they behave as the game unfolds. A different screen follows specific players as they get involved in the game, showing how much, or how little, they actually run during the 90 minutes.

Have you ever wondered how the stats are out together after the match? Well, another screen show the men who click a mouse every time the ball is touched, thus counting the passes from both teams.

The exhibition gave a fresh perspective on the game of football and shows how differently people interact with it to those on the terraces.

Outside on the landing are three films, each showing a fresh perspective on every-day things. Firstly, there is a man doing a handstand. This is filmed upside down, making him look like Atlas holding up the world. Secondly, there is a film showing synchronised swimmers. This is shot from the bottom of the pool, and again, makes their actions seem incongruous to what is seen above the water.

Lastly, there is a film showing short snatches of films from holiday destinations, which fade in and out in quick succession. This gives the locations an almost apocalyptic feel, as they seem to emerge from mushroom clouds.

AN EFFECTIVE DEADLY CHOP
Star And Shadow Cinema, Newcastle

The North East arts collective Little Chops – who organised the “Little Chop Of Horrors” show in Durham’s Millenium Place in 2007 – return with a new exhibition, this time at the Star And Shadow Cinema in Newcastle.

As with the previous collection, no overall theme could be picked out, but there were a number of different strands that could be picked out - from sexual fetishism to paparazzi culture.

Among the more interesting works was Jo Burke’s “Children Are Watching” – a video piece that created an uncomfortable, creepy atmosphere with its static, fuzzy footage.  It reminded me of Chris Morris’ equally unnerving TV series ‘Jam’.  Oonagh Hegarty’s “Doilies, Geometric Colouring Books, Designer Logos, Alchemy, Paper Art In My Heart!*!*!” – which featured magazine pictures altered to allude to tabloid queen Amy Winehouse – was also worth a mention.

Murdered To Death
The Royalty Theatre, Sunderland

The Royalty Theatre is a small theatre in Sunderland which stages around six plays a year, on top of seasonal pantomime and several small ad-hoc plays.

The current production is ‘Murdered To Death’, which is written by Peter Gordon and Directed by Jim Mackenzie. The play is a spoof of the Agatha Christie style dramas seen on TV and is centred around a 1950’s country house and includes the usual line up of characters, including a stuffy old Colonel, several well to do ladies, a suspect French Painter and a rather useless Inspector.

The characters introduce themselves one by one setting the scene, and at the end of Act 1, the first murder occurs. The host, and owner of the house, is shot after she discovers some paintings she has bought are forgeries. But who is the prime suspect? As the plot unfolds, the characters each reveal they have secrets they wish to keep hidden, and thus, a motive for murder.

The actors deliver some wonderful little one-liners and the play is gently amusing, each character being well acted and conforming to stereotype…or do they. The proverbial searchlight is cast around the boards until the truth is revealed.

Each play at the Royalty runs for a week and the main auditorium holds around two hundred people. I can recommend Murdered To Death, as it is enjoyable, amusing, well written and well performed.

Future productions at the Royalty include Cooking With Elvis, by the writer of Billy Elliott, which promises to include food, sex and the king, and a stage version of Brassed Off. Details of Murdered To Death and future productions can be found at www.royaltytheatre.co.uk and the booking office number is 0191 565 7945.

Baltic Preview
Feb 08

There are some visibly arresting sights currently on show at the Baltic. On the fourth floor there is Run, Black River Run by Mark Titchner which features eight large banners, mounted on scaffolding, which show ‘positive’ statements, akin to those corporations might use. The statements lead me to think of some of the mindless statements people employ and how they are employed and presented, and then accepted by the public.

At the end of the space is The Eye Don’t See Itself, which is a projection of an unblinking eye and obelisk and is set to the same frequency as the brains electrical activity. The work represents a memorial to ancient belief systems, such as paganism.

The artist himself is giving a talk about his work on Thursday 6th March at the Baltic so get yourself along. The gallery say that pre-booking is essential as these events are always popular.

On the second floor is They Don’t Make This Anymore by Barry McGee. McGee is a graffiti artist from San Francisco and his work is a statement on blanket advertising and consumer culture, highlighted for me by a skip full of ‘rubbish’. McGee invites you to look at what information you are fed and why it is accepted without question. Look out for bottles that are painted with human faces, I thought they were fantastic. Are our lives as throwaway as the goods we use…

Filling the ground floor is the work of Barthelemy Toguo, called Heart Beat. This work focuses on the overload of information we a re presented with on a daily basis and invites us to think about how we process it. Toguo presents newspapers with the text blackened out, leaving us with photographs and adverts. This lead me to think about what the story could be about, and what were the images conveying to me without words telling what I should be seeing. The work also features paintings of humans expressing emotions, but not via facial expressions. Again, the work makes you think about what they may be expressing and what they are feeling.

Also featured are some postcards featuring individual thoughts on the occupation of Iraq. Again, it makes you consider your own thoughts and the mess we have made in that part of the world.

Go! Internal Migration In China
by Rhodri Jones
The Side Gallery

As you will have read and heard in the news during the recent past, China has experienced rapid economic growth over the last twenty years or so. One of the things that is rarely reported is how badly the regime, and society, has treated those made poor by the changes, and how they are forcibly migrated out of developing cities to make them appear problem free, or move to the cities in the pursuit of a living wage. An example of this is down to the Olympic Games in Beijing this year. Millions of people have had their traditional accommodation bulldozed and have been given no alternative, being forced to move on without shelter or possessions in order to survive. This is the untold story and no doubt will remain untold during the blanket media coverage of the games.

Rhodri Jones’s wonderful photographs tell us their story in a thought provoking and informative way, highlighting the day-to-day problems they face and their, often squalid and desperate, living conditions. The photographs also highlight the differences between the haves and the have-nots. One picture that displays this vividly is of a disabled man begging in front of a brand new office block.

As ever, the exhibition is informative and enjoyable, regaling us of the fact that the average working week in China is seventy two hours and they only get two weeks paid holiday a year.

The official estimates of the numbers of those displaced is put at the 200 million mark, with the same number again due to be affected in the future.

The exhibition is part of the East ’08 project and ties in with the Chinese season of films being shown in the Side Cinema during February and March.

ROY CHUBBY BROWN
Sunderland Empire - 30th October 2007

Roy 'Chubby' Brown returned to his native Northeast last night for the 39th consecutive year in his long and successful career but have his best years been and gone? As a fan of the local loudmouth this is 4th time in recent years I have been to see him and it may possibly be the last. Chubby Brown has always put a lot of effort into his stand-up shows, even down to the littlest detail on the stage design. So as I sat in my seat and noticed the lack effort put into the stage set up, I started to question if this was a sign of what was to come - a lack of effort.
8.15pm and out he comes, to the ever consistent tune of  "you fat ba*tard", he got straight into a couple of great one liners and to prove he wasn't dying down on any politically correct gags, the first "racist" joke was told within 30 seconds and got the response you would expect…mixed.

It seems the Chubby today as opposed to the Chubby of 10-15 years ago has lost the magical touch he had during his peak. On a couple of occasions he was telling a joke that everybody already knew the punchline to and sometimes a joke that could be found in any lads mag over 12 months old. Also Chubby has been known for being extremely controversial about telling jokes relating to deceased celebrities, but even these jokes now were all ones I have received as a text message days after they died, come on Chubby, where's the creativity gone?
Don’t get me wrong, there were laughs, there was a LOT of laughs and he had clearly taken time into writing a new act, which must be hard year after year. I just think £20 for a show that lasts a little over an hour doesn’t really feel like you're getting your money’s worth.

Roy Chubby Brown has always been known for his superb put downs to hecklers, quick, off the cuff and effective to the hecklers. In tonight's show he had three or four blatently scripted heckles that he dished out early on and then did something I never thought I would see the famous comic do…walk off stage because of a heckler! Nothing offensive was being shouted, just a local fan, with a couple of beers inside him. However, Chubby couldn’t handle it, he asked for the lights to be raised and apologised to the audience as he walked off the stage and asked for security to remove the heckling fan!

ROSS NOBLE - NOBLEISM
Newcastle City Hall - 23rd October 2007

Ross Noble returned to his home turf once more in what must now be a yearly – or more – outing for most of the audience. Yet, despite the familiarity he never disappoints.

For those not in the know, improvisation is key to a Ross Noble performance. Audience interaction is not just expected – it’s mandatory. Ideas and strange notions fly backwards and forwards as he desperately tries to steer his train of thought back to what he was originally talking about.

A throwaway comment or heckle from the audience can often leads to a half-hour’s worth of material. While I have no doubt that such a seasoned comic as Noble always keeps a stock of jokes to fall back on, it rarely gets a look in. Rather, Noble actively puts across the feeling that he’s simply walked in off the street with no preparation whatsoever.

You get the impression that you could buy a ticket for every performance on the tour and come away each time without having seen or heard the same gags twice. There are no other comics who I could comfortably say that about. With only the odd appearance on 'Radio 4' and 'Have I Got News For You', Ross Noble is one of those rare comedians for whom stand-up is their job rather than a means to getting their own sitcom. For this, the man should be praised - and regularly is during his performances, by crowd after crowd of laughing punters. AW

THE BALTIC - Autumn ‘08 Exhibition Preview

Currently at the Baltic there a re a number of different works to delight and excite you. On the fourth floor is the current exhibition by Kendall Geers. This is Geers first major solo exhibition in the UK and it is a powerful statement on violence and brutality (very often state sponsored and in the name of religion) throughout the world. If features barbed wire sculptures, broken glass, burnt out cars, police batons, body bags and reports of brutal events from newspapers. This exhibition runs until 6th January 2008.

The third floor features works from Newcastle born art collector Anita Zabludowicz. She has amassed a collection of work from both new and established artists, including Gilbert and George and Gavin Turk. A couple of highlights for me were a group of photos and sketches called the Judas Group from Ed Templeton and a lit sign and closed shutter, called open 24 hours by Elmgreen and Dragset (I would love to install it on a high street, permanently lit but permanently closed). This exhibition runs until 20th January 2008.

On the 2nd floor there was an exhibition featuring the photography of Nan Goldin from the personal collection of Elton John. Unfortunately, Some half-witted, narrow-minded people complained about one of the photos, which was subsequently removed, which led to Elton John requesting the whole exhibition be removed. Well done eh, one or two morons spoil it for everyone else once again and show just how culturally bereft they are.

The 1st floor displays some photos by Linder, which feature naked bodies merged with household objects (it’s a wonder they weren’t removed as well) as well as Suky Best’s animated narrative of competitors accounts of completing the great north run. These run until 14th October.

The ground floor features the work of Kader Attia and is called Square Dreams. In it he has transformed 150 discarded fridges into a metropolis skyline, which has an odd, but likeable effect and is a comment on the identity of metropolis skylines and their similarity/differences with each other. As you walk through it, it is like wandering through a glittery maze, which led me to think how great it would be to have a glittery maze in a nightclub. This exhibition runs to 13th January 2008. AC

MEETING JOE STRUMMER - The Gala Theatre Durham (20th Sept 2007)
by Paul Hodgson

"Meeting Joe Strummer" follows the story of two young guys, one working class Steve North (London's Burning), one middle class Huw Higginson (The Bill) from impressionable teenagers in 1977 through to middle age, their lives are transformed and governed by The Clash and in particular Joe Strummer's mix of iconic rock n' roll imagery and rebel culture. Being a big Clash fan myself I could relate to this and see that these two weren't acting as much as living out their own pasts.As well as being billed a comedy it is also a lesson is social history and politics and no one blended the two better than Joe himself. It was at times like watching my own life in a mirror, jumping about the bedroom to White Riot, talking endlessly about song lyrics, and when life dealt them a bad hand, asking themselves how Joe would have coped with the situation. As the decades pass by they carry this agenda with them, something myself and anyone else who was touched by The Clash still do.

Joe Strummer wrote the rule book for a whole generation and Steve and Huw pull off a sincere and inspiring performance, and in the closing moments when Joe's death is announced on the radio they act out a moving scene and share a toast with the audience in honour of the man himself. A recommended fast flowing celebration of comedy, attitude, friendship and passion. If you were there in 1977 this is nostalgic poetry, if not, then this piece of theatre will make you wish you were. IJ

30 Years of the Side Gallery - Side Gallery (September 2007)

To celebrate its 30 year anniversary, the Side Gallery is displaying some the fantastic work they have exhibited since 1977.
Amber film and photography opened the Side Gallery as they couldn’t find a venue in Newcastle to show documentary photography, such was the narrow mindedness on display in the arts arena. Great photographers were attracted to the gallery from the start and it found an enthusiastic audience.

There are some compelling images throughout the exhibition, ranging from innocent (and not so innocent) children playing on building sites in the North East and America to one of British soldiers lying in a front garden in Northern Ireland whilst the family stand on the door step an look on. There is also a remarkable photo of a Mexican firing squad taking aim, ready to shoot three people.

As with everything shown at the Side, this snapshot (pardon the pun) of the work displayed over the years is wonderful. Here’s to another 30 years of first class exhibitions.
The exhibition runs to Saturday 10th November and more images can be seen on-line at www.amber-online.com AC

THE PRODUCERS - Sunderland Empire (Tues 5th to Sat 23rd June 2007)

Good news, a stage production of Mel Brooks’ ‘The Producers’ musical is on at the Sunderland Empire Theatre. Bad news, you have until Saturday the 23rd to see it.
Starring Joe Pasquale as Leo Bloom, Russ Abbot as Roger DeBris and Cory English as Max Bialystock, The Producers is story about a Broadway producer (Bialystock) and his accountant (Bloom) and their crazy plan to make a Broadway flop in order to make a fortune. It goes without saying that any production by Mel Brooks is going to cause offence to most people, as well as causing controversy along the way. And let me tell you, this stage play is no different. Whereas Brooks’ masterpiece Blazing Saddles was widely regarded as racist, The Producers just about covers every taboo you could think of. So how does he get away with it? And why is the man’s work so popular? One word to answer both: COMEDY. Brooks’ is simply a master at doing screwball and hilarity, or he was. He kind of lost his touch after Spaceballs.

Thankfully he made The Producers just as his creative talents were starting to peak. And the screenplay lends itself perfectly to the stage environment mainly due to the fact its story centres on a Broadway show. However, it’s the actors and wonderful sets that really gave this production its uniqueness. Pasquale and English played off each other perfectly, as demonstrated in the brilliant ‘Blue blanket scene’. It was also refreshing to see an actor break character, although Pasquale didn’t have much choice. Just after English threw himself over a couch, the high-pitched comedian broke into a fit of giggles – presumably because it sounded like English fell awkwardly and thumped on the stage floor. He just couldn’t control himself and as he continued to laugh, the audience laughed with him – it’s said laughter is infectious. English then took the opportunity to comment on the news that legendary actor Mickey Rooney has signed up for the Sunderland Christmas Panto. He said ‘Can you believe that? My fellow American doing Panto!’ He also went on to question if Rooney would put as much effort into his performance as he did. After Pasquale was calm and ready to look his co-star in the eye, the show continued.

Although the start was slow in terms of comedy, as we got more into the story some hilarious scene were played out. My personal favourites were undoubtedly the scenes with singing and acting. The comic acting and timing within the scene where Bialystrock and Bloom visit Debris house was mega funny – incidentally this was the first time former ‘Funniest man on TV’ Russ Abbot took the stage. And the scene where the two producers visit Franz Liebkind to have him sign the contract was nothing short of genius. The character of Franz was fun to watch, his overtop animated actions and off key German accent made for a rich character. However, It was the six foot blonde Ulla who almost stole the limelight from her fellow lead actors. Her Swedish accent, the inability to pronounce most words and her tall curvy frame distinguished her from the rest of the cast. It was fortunate too, that she was given some killer lines and scenes. I still cant get the the way she pronounced Bloom out of my head. I am going to stop there because I don’t want to spoil any more.
So sound the horn and beat the drum, this week forget about the soaps, ditch Big Brother and spend a couple hours of your life watching some real talent live right here in the Northeast. Here is a link www.theproducerslondon.com GS

THE BALTIC EXTENDED PREVIEW (May to August)

Currently at the Baltic there is an eclectic mix of images and expressions. On the ground floor is an installation by Fabien Verschaere called After Seven Remix, which is like half film set, half fantasy night club, which take you to a dream like state, achieved through either imagination or chemical enhancements.

On level one, you can catch a series of black and white photographs by the singer Patti Smith, which coincide with her performance at the Sage. Be quick, as they are only on display until 28th June. Also on level one, and by the entrance to other floors are paintings and films by Graham Dolphin, showing a series of album covers with the lyrics to the songs inscribed on the covers and the vinyl. He also has a short film repeated on twelve screens of Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock, with a single note on the first being repeated sequentially. It makes for a visual and aural experience. Also on that floor is a film by Vasco Araujo called About being different, in which people give their thoughts on what it means to be marginalised in the community.

On level two is a film and photos by an artist called Serhiy Bratkov, which depict Ukrainians visiting the mud baths of the Azov Sea. As you will discover, the mud baths are said to cure all manner of ills.

Level Three is a homage to Andy Warhol by current artists, called Dazed and Confused Vs Andy Warhol, including a filmed performance and a wall of Polaroid’s by the band The Kills, a series of photographs by Rankin and Matthew Stone and an installation called Silver Clouds by Gareth Pugh.

On Level four is Freakshow – An unnatural history, which asks us to look at what we consider to be nature, and includes a large skeleton of a cat and a humorous interpretation on the seven ages of man. The inclusion of weapons in these photographs led me to consider the beauty of nature versus the brutality of man.

The Baltic is open from 10.00 am to 6.00 pm every day. Visit their site for more info here The Baltic AC

THE UNCONQUERED
by Stellar Quinces Theatre Company at the University Of Teesside - (20th Feb 2007)

The Unconquered is a play set against a background of social revolution. It focuses on a family whose daughter (Pauline Turner) is fiercely intelligent, continually immersing herself in political literature and is vehemently anti-establishment. She is rebelling against her family’s (Jane Guerier and Kevin McMonagle) middle class existence, and the play as a whole challenges middle class values and your beliefs and what people hold dear.
The play begins with a discussion about the values of modern society, families and teenage children, and what their parents want for them.
Against the backdrop of the revolution, which the daughter feels she has missed due to her continual reading, the family home is stormed by an invading soldier Nigel Barret), who reveals his, and the families (society’s) insecurities. What we learn later in the play is that the soldier rapes the daughter and makes her pregnant. The writer uses the soldier’s language to convey the fear, anger, sense of insecurity and uselessness in a bleak situation.

The soldier re-appears as a supposedly reformed character, as a fully signed up capitalist, and invites the family, who are on the edge having not eaten due to the revolution and the breakdown of public services, and society’s fragile existence, into a world where they will be safe and catered for as long as they abandon any conscience, their daughter and the people who have lived alongside them. They enter a world where they become more privileged, and uncaring, due to the fact they are now comfortable and supposedly above the people who were once their peers.
For me, it exposes the lengths and moral lows people will go to in order to be part of what they perceive as a better class, and the soldier character, and the repugnant behaviour of the parents, represents all that wrong with the middle classes and their fake morals and beliefs.
The play is at times darkly humorous, thought provoking and poignant. It challenges your ideals, lifestyle aspirations and social conscience and dares you to examine the fragility of all that we seem to hold dear. It also, for me, has some political overtones, indirectly commenting on the leaders of so-called free world and the conditions people live under.
For more information you can visit the theatre company’s website at www.stellarquines.com
AC

The Side Gallery is a regional treasure. It is a small photographic gallery, which has featured some superb exhibitions. I have seen some moving, dark and joyous photographs there, by some of the most renowned photographers. The current exhibition fits that bill perfectly. It is entitled Survival Programmes: In Britain’s Inner Cities and it features work by Chris Steele-Perkins, Nicholas Battye and Paul Tanner. It documents the issues of inner city poverty and social injustice and many were published in a book of the same name (published by the Open University Press). The exhibition features photos taken from Britain’s inner cities, during the late seventies, mainly of the environment people were forced to live in and some individual and family portraits.
The photographers travelled to the inner cities of places such as Glasgow, Newcastle, London, Birmingham and Liverpool and there is also a section documenting the troubles in Northern Ireland. They spent time with, and gained the trust of the people they were photographing and interviewing, living in their flats and squats. The images portrayed are very hard-hitting and bleak, and show the brutal truth of the inequalities suffered in this country and the hardships faced by ordinary working class people. They show families living in rooms with no plaster on the walls, or with virtually no possessions, making the best of their lot, despite no prospects and no money. They also show the innocence of the children bought up in these tough conditions, playing with what is available to them. Some of the most stark images are of those in Northern Ireland, including one showing armed soldiers carrying out identity checks on those walking the streets.

The Side Gallery is situated at 5-9 The Side, Newcastle, and is well worth a regular visit.AC

The Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art is a £14.2m development in the centre of Middlesbrough town centre, which had it’s grand opening on Saturday 27th January 2007.
So what’s it like? The building itself is a modern design, by Erick van Egeraat and houses Middlesbrough’s collection of modern art, which includes pieces by David Hockney, Bridgit Riley and Stanley Spencer.
It will also house visiting exhibitions, including the first showpiece called ‘draw’, which includes works by such luminaries as Marcel Duchamp, Francis Bacon, Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol, Damien Hurst and Gavin Turk. This collection is in the ground floor gallery space, which when you enter, you are addressed by a huge piece by DJ Simpson, which features coloured panels, laid upon laminated birch plywood, with carvings made into the wood, which is a great visual opener.
The exhibition continues on the second floor with work from Pablo Picasso (right), Chantal Joffe, Henri Matisse and Chris Ofili.
In the first floor gallery space is currently housed Geographics by Dan Holdsworth and Paul Shepherd, which features aerial views of Middlesbrough and some of the structures that you identify with it, such as the chemical works.
The fact that such a gallery has opened in Middlesbrough should be celebrated, and adds to the continual development of the northeast as a whole.

Draw is at MIMA until April ’07. Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, Middlesbrough Centre Square, Middlesbrough, TS1 2AZ.

Opening times: Tuesday – Saturday 10 am – 5 pm. Sunday 12noon – 4 pm.
AC

Here is the pitch; The Rocky Horror Picture Show meets Jackass.
The Circus of Horrors is something I have always heard about but never paid much attention to. In fact it has been touring across the world constantly since its birth in during the 1995 Glastonbury festival. Conceived by its flamboyant front man Dokter Haze, who also performs in the show, TCH grew and developed in Universities across the UK.
Today its cult hit, and a regular in the arts calendar. Before today’s performance I virtually had no idea of what to expect, I heard that performers swallow swords and breathe fire, the usual circus tricks. Which in no way prepared me for the a night of perverted characters, burlesque girls, torture, gore, nudity, acrobatics, rock music and blatant filth...
The Show opens with a explosion of fire and heavy rock, the curtain is pulled and immediately you are thrown into a world that has been carefully constructed to freak and scare you...especially if you are sitting in the 3rd row from the stage. Its overpowering, fast, raw and full energy, there's goblins, vampires, skeletons and midgets. It really does mess with you and your mind! Now at this point I could go on forever talking about how good each individual sideshow was, but I am not going to. I only recommend you should kill to get a ticket next the carnival passes your town. However here is a taster...
After all of the chaos and destruction, the show was brought to a dramatic bloody halt (I wont spoil it for you, go and see the show!). It stirred the audience and within seconds there was silence. Soon after a quiet haunting piano melody started to bounce around the theatre, it was Mike Oldfields 'Tubular Bells', made famous by classic horror flick 'The Exorcist'. The lead female 'Regan' is then seen to rise from the dead and fall into a suspended ribbon acrobatics routine joined by the lanky 'Priest' character. The acrobats had total control over their moves and routine as they shared the ribbon effortlessly suspended 20ft above the stage. Only ever using the rope and their only body strength as support during the stint, the performers hit every note to perfection. Ironically this stunning peaceful act was the highlight of a high-octane energy filled show for me.
No sooner had this act finished the evil returned, slamming the sleaze and sheer rawness of show in your face. Fans of horror films will not disappointed, as there are constant references b-movies, splatter flicks and more. The uniqueness in the show is found in its subtle humour and not so subtle humour (check out Captain Dan the Demon Dwarf! and his Henry Hoover...) and if that doesn't float your boat, you can always take pleasure in watching somebody trying to pull the skin of their neck over their mouth. The Circus of Horrors is definitely a show to see, to fully appreciate it in its entirety. GS

Northern Print studio is funded by the Arts Council England and situated in Ouseburn Newcastle. The studio recently moved premises from North Shields Fish Quay, where they had been based for 13 years. The artists who work here specialise in a variety of printmaking techniques, from screen prints to monoprints. The current exhibition is the ‘Shore’ and ‘Tobacciana’ collections.
The Shore collection contains Eunice Routledge’s body of work. Her monoprints explore the relationship between the processes of using print techniques to the process of oceans tides. This approach is reflected in the work produced, each print holds its own uniqueness and beauty. Its the type of work that offers different meanings and interpretations for each viewer. You can really appreciate printmaking when you get up close and personal, Eunices techniques are time taking and it shows in the depth of the layers visible. A nice finishing touch to each print, are the torn edges applied to Rives Gris paper. Contained in the same gallery space is Eunice’s ‘Islands, worlds and constellations’ series, created using etching, collage and collagraph techniques. In stark contrast to the shore pieces, these are lighter in tone and more direct in representation. The group of six continues with the coastal theme and complements the ‘Shore’ work by remaining within the seaside narrative. I have my eye on one piece, which would hang nicely in my study...
Another Northern Print regular Sarah Ogilvie, has won numerous awards building up an interesting portfolio with a good wad of her prints finding their way into The Moscow Contemporary Art Museum and The National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh. Sarah’s latest offerings are displayed under the Tobacciana title. Her illustrations deal with the habit of smoking and what part it plays in our society. Choosing to finish her concepts in screenprint resulting in some solid work been produced. I placed ‘Daddy Bear’ as my number one print, it brought a smile to my face, depicting a large bear smoking an pipe caught jumping in mid flight.
Also on display is a range of belts and accessories designed and made by local artist Josie Brookes. Like Sarah, Josie screenprints, however she has opted to print on belts, earrings and cuff links. It’s a novel way of working and expressing her ideas which generates some extraordinary and limited edition products. If you can’t make the exhibition check her website out at: www.prodleather.com
Residing in the glass cabinet you will find a selection of Bronwen Deane’s illustrated jewellery. Based at her own studio the Mushroom Works, Brownen draws inspirations from source material from the 1950’s and 60’s. The structure of the piece, whether it be an unusual Globe ring or a necklace, centres on the graphic or image used. For me the stand out piece or pieces has to be the Cardinal Brooch and Earrings.
I urge you to go along and have a wander...
Northern Print is running the exhibition until 4th of March 2007.
For more details click this link:
www.northernprint.org
GS

EDWIN DROOD - The Customs House (22nd October 2006)

On paper this show looked irresistible. A Victorian whodunit production seeped in fog and atmosphere. To be acted out in a perfect venue like The Customs House. Sadly on the night, only the opening 5 minutes lived up to what the posters and flyers claimed.
My main qualm was the script and story was just too confusing, a real mystery it was! The director opted to use three actors to play out a monster cast - which defiantly contributed to my frustration. And it wasn't that I couldn't fathom watching three people tackling multiple roles, it was simple done badly. The year before in the same venue I watched an superb production The Signalman, which was performed by Raymond Sargent. He took on ALL of the roles to perfection...so it can work. I am now going to admit to something I have never done before. The play got under my skin so much at the interval I decided to leave and salvage what was left of the night. In fact I am not even going to waste any more time on this review. Sorry... GS

Sunderland born comic Matthew Reed, started the night off with a clean stand-up show (there was kids in the crowd) It was nice to watch a fellow Mackem mock the North east culture and remind us why we are truly ‘unique’. ‘Charvas’ in particular got some stick, as Reed describes them ‘A lot of sportwear without much sport going on’. A heckler try to take him on, however was shot down in couple of perfect put down one liners. Soon after he turned his attentions to a little old lady sat by herself in the front row, and he didn’t hold back at insulting her, which seemed so wrong but funny. All in all, his routine didn’t stray from the stand-up formula and he delivered a tight stint, which led perfectly into the main act.
I could never do a show like this justice by writing a review about it, you needed to be there to witness the energy and commitment put in by Charles Ross. Here’s the pitch: one actor plays all the characters in the original Star Wars trilogy in one hour, on stage. Before hand I was curious to how he would achieve the proposed show. I thought maybe he would at least have a couple of props or maybe a backing track with a few sound effects. I was wrong. Ross slowly walked on stage dressed in a black boiler suit, black boats and a head microphone. And began using what any good actor relies on, the tool of his trade...his body. He exploded into movement as he hummed the trademark theme tune to the opening credits to Star Wars: A New Hope. Every spaceship, person and android was created using his body to form abstract shapes that strangely resembled each one. Obviously he could never recite every word from each script in one hour and the films ultimately are condensed down to key scenes. It took me a couple of minutes to adjust to this bizarre spectacle, here is a middle-aged man darting about the stage acting out several parts at once. The precision and accuracy Ross achieves is very refreshing to see. The only hitch to this performance is, the audience needs to know what he is acting out. If you haven’t seen all 3 films then you are caught in limbo and left wondering what the hell is this madman doing? In effect the show relies on the spectator to use their imagination to compare and relate Ross’s stage show to the George Lucas’s original celluloid versions.
The show has been a huge success across the globe and its clear to see why. Ross is clearly a fan of Star Wars himself and knows the material so well. He is also a superb actor and recreates each part perfectly, in particular he mimics Mark Hammil’s Luke, Alec Guinness’s Obi Wan and Frank Oz’s Yoda. He gives his all and donates every inch of his energy and commitment resulting in him actually spitting on the audience and violently throwing himself about (at one point as he acted out a AT-AT crashing, and his chin actually bounced off the wooden stage) He injects subtle humour and alternative sub plots into the script, regularly making fun of the script, actors and more recent Star Wars movies. The audience received him well and were constantly applauding, laughing and grinning like that ginger moggy from Alice in Wonderland. Verdict: Instant success.
I was totally convinced and enjoyed watching the trilogy played out in an abstract form. My favourite installment has always been Return of the Jedi, and tonight version was my favourite again. As I sat in The Customs House I realised that live entertainment is superb art form. And it is my intention to report on more theatre gigs in the future. Charles Ross’s One Man Star Wars has now finished in England and moved onto India and Dubai, however he has promised to return next year with ‘One Man Lord of the Rings’ at the same venue. Although he has his work cut out fitting nine hours of material into one hour...GS