My review of Claire Cunningham's show: ME/Mobile Evolution just went up on The Skinny Website!

Reviews The SkinnyMe Me Me: Mobile Evolution by Antony Sammeroff

Check out Claire Cunningham's Website.

The Heart of Matters

We've tried for so long to get on with each other,
That somewhere we went wrong and forgotten ouselves,
We created a mess just to blame one another,
It's a shame if this mess is the best we can do...

Our blame and shame's our claim to fame, we're always finding flaws,
Though we complain for all our pain we really are the cause,

Let's get down to the heart of matters,
'Cos it's the heart that matters most,
And these are matters of the heart,
Lets dig down to the root of the problem,
'Cos with our problems taking root,
It's the root where problems start.

My Child by Mike Bartlett and One Good Beating by Linda McLean - Rekindle Theatre Review

Philip Larkin - This Be The Verse

They fuck you up, your mum and dad.
  They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
  And add some extra, just for you.

But they were fucked up in their turn
  By fools in old-style hats and coats,
Who half the time were soppy-stern
  And half at one another's throats.

Man hands on misery to man.
  It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
  And don't have any kids yourself.

(above supplied in the program note)

            Rekindle theatre invite us to some existential musing on the product of power dynamics within family relationships in two psychological works of drama directed by Bill Wright.

            The first, My Child by Mike Bartlett, presents us with the mild-mannered, kind-natured “nice guy” (played by John C. Gilmour) striving for a meaningful relationship with his son, and his rather cruel ex-partner (played by Sarah McComish) who has paired with a high-powered, cynical, go-getter who has more to offer her both financially and in terms of emotional edification for herself and her child. The play, which was critically acclaimed when it premiered in 2007 at the Royal Court Theatre, ultimately asks us to consider whether those values taught as morally correct (turning the cheek and putting others first) are really the way to get ahead or even find happiness in life. Aristotle believed that every virtue was a midway point between to vices (such as courage between cowardice and foolhardiness) and Buddhist teachings also speak of a middle path. My Child leads us in the search for that golden mean between the mercenary life and that of the self-sacrificing victim.

The second play, One Good Beating, by Linda Mclean, is a bizarre black comedy about a pair of grown up children taking revenge on their sociopathic father for the way he raised them by locking him in a coal shed. The children, one of them softened and the other hardened by his abuse, fail to teach him a lesson as he talks around them in eloquent rings, forcing them to examine the short comings of their own psyches. The most poignant and skilled element of Linda McLean’s writing is that one can easily see how the personalities of these children could have been moulded as the product of their father Robert’s parenting. Again we are lead to look at two extremes of personality and seek a middle path between the calloused and soft-skinned. This piece was the highlight of the evening, with perceptively distinguished performances by Eric Robertson as the nonchalant, piercingly dismissive and truly mendacious father, Michelle Gallacher as his headstrong and countenanced daughter, and Scott Cadenhead as his soft-natured and less than self-assured son.

           

Illich - The High Brow Sketch Show (Episode Two)

Here's Episode 2 of the Illich Sketch Show created in collaboration with Euan Sinclair :-)



Recorded and engineered by Jono at the Soular Power Suite.

Illich - The High Brow Sketch Show (Episode One)

The long awaited lauch of the Illich Sketch Show created in collaboration with Euan Sinclair :-)

Recorded and engineered by Jono at the Soular Power Suite.

Nympholepsy

Nympholepsy  (March 2005)

Things that are and things that were lie heavily on me,
Like things that have yet to come...
"Would-have-beens" and "could-have-beens" and "never-ever-will-bes",
The things that I should have done

Nympholepsy!
I hope you find what you're looking for,

Father-Time won't save me from this
Not in this life or the next,
The past is dim, the presents dark,
Time will never clear this mist,

Father-Time won't save me from this
The future brings no light forever,
Father-Time won't save me from this,
Can't save me from the never...

Things we've seen, places we've been and where we go tomorrow,
There's something we're searching for...
I've lived this life, I've tried and strived but never have been able,
To find just that little bit more...

Nympholepsy!
I hope you find what you're looking for,

Father-Time won't save me from this
Not in this life or the next,
The past is dim, the presents dark,
Time will never clear this mist,

Father-Time won't save me from this
The future brings no light forever,
Father-Time won't save me from this,
Can't save me from the never...

I hope you find what you're looking for
I hope you find what you're looking for
I hope you find what you're looking for
I hope you find what you're looking for

Love is Selfish

You can't be in a relationship with someone except for 'selfish' reasons otherwise it's not a relationship it's doing someone a favour. You want to be involved with someone because You Want Them. You want someone to be involved with you because They Want You not because they feel they should because you want them.

Love is, and should always be, Selfish.