A new musical to be premiered at Newcastle’s Live Theatre is exciting for lots of reasons – not least because it highlights, in poster-sized letters, the songwriting brilliance of Alan Hull. Lindisfarne’s charismatic frontman – just 50 when he died in 1995, a few months after a barnstorming 25th anniversary gig at Newcastle City Hall – wrote all the songs in the show, including the one which provides the title, Clear White Light. Ray Laidlaw, for many years Lindisfarne’s man on drums, is musical director and will also perform in the on-stage band along with Billy Mitchell who stepped up to the mic when Alan passed away. Clear White Light is also the first show at Live Theatre directed by Joe Douglas who succeeded founding artistic director Max Roberts at the Quayside theatre in April. Joe and Ray found time to chat about a show which should spark a box office flurry (and best not hang about because Live Theatre, while punching above its weight in … [Read more...] about Newcastle legend’s songs inspire musical drama
Broad city theme song
How Nicaragua’s good guys turned bad
1 August 2018 NicaraguaViolence Carmen Herrera traces the history of the Sandinista National Liberation Front, from socialist liberators to ‘institutional dictators’, under the increasingly brutal rule of Daniel Ortega ‘It hurts to breathe, please don’t let me fall asleep. If I sleep I won’t be able to wake up again.’ These were the last words of 15-year old Álvaro Conrado, the first victim of a bullet in Nicaragua’s current freedom struggle. He was taken to the first nearby hospital and was denied attention due to a macabre order from the government of Daniel Ortega that the wounded should receive no treatment. Álvaro bled to death during the search for another hospital that might see to him. His crime: bringing water to protesting students who had been attacked by the police. Advert It’s three months since the start of the civil society protests against the regime of Daniel Ortega – the once respected leader of … [Read more...] about How Nicaragua’s good guys turned bad
Prague Fringe almost over
By Raymond Johnston | Prague Daily Monitor | 31 May 2018 If you still haven't gone to Prague Fringe, time is running out. The festival of alternative theater ends June 2. The shows are all about an hour long, and run in nine venues in Prague's Malá Strana district. Several new shows have started to replace the ones that closed earlier in the week. Some shows that will be running until the end stand out and are worth making the effort to see. The Fringe this year has had fewer plays in the traditional sense than in the past. One good one is A Parcel for Mr Smith, an absurd one-man play about a certain Mr Smith, living on Detritus Lane, who gets an unexpected package. The rather nerdy and reclusive man overthinks the implications of opening the box, which he did not sign for. He also overthinks the implications of not opening it. An energetic performance by the actor emphasizes the dilemma. The show by UK's Cloud Nine Theatre Productions is at Café Club … [Read more...] about Prague Fringe almost over
Interview: Bruce Rioch on why he shouldn’t have played against Peru
0 Have your say One of the most treasured documents in Bruce Rioch’s possession is his father’s military file, dad Jim having been a regimental sergeant-major with the Scots Guards. The file runs to 268 pages, covering many different postings, which ensured young Bruce could enjoy the school run in a tank. For an extract, the former Scotland captain chooses three words from the opening testimony penned by the old man’s commanding officer: “Loyal, sober, exemplary.” “My two sons were reading the file,” explains Rioch. “Maybe they then remembered a conversation we’d had about Argentina. ‘Look at the wording, Dad,’ they said. ‘Loyalty.’ I think in that World Cup Ally MacLeod was too loyal. I was the beneficiary, in that he picked me to play against Peru, but he shouldn’t have done.”Wow. That’s a sober assessment from Rioch about the calamity in Cordoba 40 years ago. You’d have … [Read more...] about Interview: Bruce Rioch on why he shouldn’t have played against Peru
Manic Street Preachers on new album, new studio and turning 50
It’s been four years since their last album and much has changed in the world of Manic Street Preachers . David Owens meets the band as they release their new album Resistance Is Futile. There's a cloud hanging over the Manics and it’s not just because of the rain that’s beating a path from the grey, slate scratched sky on the outskirts of Newport. This is Wales after all, as wet as a country can get without officially being declared part of the sea. Close to civilisation but through winding lanes and hedgerows, and at the head of a valley, there lies Manic Street Preachers’ new home Door To The River. While the name of their former studio Faster, which they departed in late 2016, bristled with the furious polemic of the song it was named after, Door To The River breathes in a lung full of country air. It’s not quite Last Of The Summer Wine with James, Nicky and Sean recast as Compo, Clegg and Foggy, but it does see the middle-aged, former firebrands … [Read more...] about Manic Street Preachers on new album, new studio and turning 50