Theatre Review: RSC Macbeth 2011

We managed to get tickets to the Michael Boyd production of Macbeth at the RSC in September.  Despite having taught Macbeth for around 4 years I've yet to go off it - a fate that often meets the other texts we study (Hamlet - shudder).  Anyone who knows me well knows I'm a bit of a fan-girl of early modern drama.  Shakespeare, Middleton, Marlowe...  I just love that good ol' tragic action and spectacle.

Now I haven't seen Macbeth live for years - not since Derek Jacobi played the lead in 1994 at the Barbican! How would the 2011 production compare?

The setting offers clues to this interpretation.  We are faced with a stark, eerie stage, full of broken statues and stained glass fragments.  Perhaps a reminder of the reformation and iconoclasticism?  The characters stride across these ruins, oblivious to their tragic arc and the workings of fate.  Interestingly, Ross is played sympathetically as a priest, trying to find meaning where there is none.

Ghosts literally haunt this performance.  Aside from Banquo, the ghosts of Macbeth's victims begin to fill the stage, following the King round and round.  Whilst this is visually effective, in the flurry of short scenes in Act 5 the audience is treated to a lot of feet clumping around as they gallop on and off stage, chasing the tyrant like Roman Furies.  This really is a play at the interstices of the reformation - broken remnants of Catholicism vie with very Catholic revenants.

One of the most intriguing aspects is the directorial decision to have the witches played by children: Macduff's children.  So we see a circular pattern of fate and violence where the children set up Macbeth's destruction on the heath, and are also the victims of this initial meeting, savagely slaughtered on Macbeth's orders.  I'm still not quite sure about this.  Shocking, yes.  But it hurt my head a bit - like some kind of Gordian knot.  There's no denying the power of seeing the witches for the first time however, hanging like broken lifeless dolls above the stage - before they start to jerk.  Freaky children eh?

I like Jonathan Slinger's Macbeth.  He's earthy and natural.  Lady Macbeth on the other hand is played quite safely.  Big hair harshly swept back and swinging dress - a real hard bitch.  I'd have liked to see a bit more subtlety in her.

The porter and Seyton though - wow.  Both played by the same actor, the porter's scene (you know the one - when he's pissed at the gate) reminded me a bit of Guy Fawkes.  Jamie Beamish swaggers around, yelling "knock knock" and getting lots of laughs before chucking a load of explosives.  But this comic character quickly develops into much more.  He often stays onstage, watching Macbeth and Lady M with knowing eyes.  And when the elusive Seyton appears in Act 5 (pleasingly pronounced "Satan") we begin to understand his role.  The porter/Seyton straddles this world and the after life, but he definitely seems to be of the devil's party.  Finally we see him surveying Macbeth's crumpled dead body left on stage.  The tyrant moves, starts to get up groggily, and moves to Seyton's beckoning finger, as he ushers Macbeth's ghost into the ominous door at the back of the stage...

In short, it's a wicked performance.  We stayed in Stratford overnight and were amazed at the lack of places to go after.  We found an Italian restaurant eventually.  I've already booked tickets for the production of Julius Caesar next year (part of the Shakespeare World Festival).  I'm an absolute sucker for any of the Roman plays.

Important Star Trek Musings

In life, there are many important questions.  Will I be famous?  Will I be rich?  How much time do I have?  Which is the best series of Star Trek?

I'm going to try and answer that last one today by a simple method.  I shall put the main/recurring characters into three categories and see where we stand at the end of all this division.  I'm not using TOS or Enterprise by the way.  TOS can't really compete as it's a whole different ball park, and I don't do Enterprise.  So it's between TNG, DS9 and VGER.

Firstly TNG (1987-1994).  Onto a winner already here as we've got Patrick Stewart and some amazing episodes such as Tapestry, Best of Both Worlds, Redemption, The Inner Light and Chain of Command.  S1 is a bit sucky, but once you hit the S3finale/S4 opener it really hits its stride.  So here we go (warning - a few spoilers):


Awesome characters



Jean Luc Picard: God I love that man.  He's honourable, clever, strong and diplomatic.  He quotes from Shakespeare and Moby Dick.  He hates children.  He likes tea.

Worf: He's Klingon and all exciting and warrior-like.  Plus he gets even better in the later seasons when his hair gets all long and wild.  Worf enables episodes that focus on Klingon culture too.  Plus he's not unpleasant to look at by any means.

Guinan: I think it's more the fact that Whoopi Goldberg's on the Enterprise D's bar.  She knows stuff about the Borg too.


Okay characters


Deanna Troy: Now I know it didn't help that she had no defined role initially and said vague things like, "Oooh I feel a presence", but she was quite annoying.  Only quite mind.

William Riker: Ahh the Kirk substitute.  I still remember that episode when he was lumbering around in his bathrobe, chasing the ladies.  At least he grew a beard after S1.

Tasha Yar: We never really got a chance to know Tasha before her untimely demise from an encounter with an oil puddle.  So I couldn't go out on a limb either way.  Denise Crosby is good in the later alt timeline though.

Beverley Crusher: I always wanted to like Beverley more, what with her red hair and vague Picard-love interest link.  But I never could muster the energy.  I like her more than Deanna though, but not enough for the AWESOME rating.

Wesley Crusher:  Bless 'im.  Precocious lad who burns out too early and becomes all hippie-ish.  Mostly harmless.

Data:  Now I can hear you all howl at this one, but Data did do my nut quite a lot.  Part of me likes him, sure. But the other part finds his incessant search for humanity irritating rather than endearing.  I would say sometimes he moves into the AWESOME category though.

Katherine Pulaski:  We only had this prickly doctor for S2 so never really got to know her that well.  She was a bit like a female McCoy.


URGHH



Geordi La Forge:  Geordi's features in some of my most hated episodes and story lines.  You know - the ones where he falls in love with a computer/hologram/robot/dream/whatever as he's incapable of normal human interaction.  Add to that a does of Data in his most "how do I become human" mode and it's a total URGHH.

Miles O'Brien:  I just can't like the man, with his little squinty eyes and gruff voice.



DS9 (1993-1999).  I really like DS9 - it has a bigger supporting cast and I like the space station set up.  It allows for more developed story arcs with an emphasis on Cardassian/Bajoran/Wormhole politics.  But how do its characters work out?



Awesome characters:


Ben Sisko:  I love him!  I know at the beginning we get a bit of conflict between Sisko and Picard because of Wolf 359, but Sisko's a different kind of guy and I like his leadership style.  He's more action orientated and isn't afraid to bend the rules when needs be.  Plus from S4 he becomes incredibly delightful to look at (it's the beard okay?).  As much as I love Picard, I feel Sisko is more the kind of commander/captain I could follow.  When I enter Starfleet.

Kira Nerys: She's a strong female character but that's tempered with her religion.  Her dual loyalties makes her subject of some interesting story lines.

Jadzia Dax:  She's pretty, intelligent and a great gutsy lady.  Once her character develops she's a bit of a cheeky minx too.  She loves everything Klingon - a girl after my own heart.  And I love her spots.

Worf:  As above!  Plus here he makes a super couple with Jadzia and his hair is very long and wild.

Quark:  How can you not love Quark?  I'm still not sure why some say "Quark" and some say "Quork" though.

Garak:  I love Garak with his shady past and tailoring abilities.

Gul Dukat:  There's just something about him...A total trickster character whose loyalties continually change - capable of immense cruelty and kindness.  I do think they missed a trick with his daughter and could have done some more work on her storylines.

Okay characters

Odo: Sometimes he does enter the realms of AWESOME, but I don't gel with Odo all the time.  I prefer how his character interacts with others and his impact on them, more than him, if that makes sense.

Jake Sisko:  Aww Jake.  I actually prefer him a LOT to Wesley Crusher, but he's still not AWESOME.

Nog and Rom:  They're fairly inoffensive...


URGHH


Miles O'Brien:  As above.  Plus there's even more of him in this series.

Julian Bashir:  He's a hit with the ladies?  Seriously?  I wish he'd just stay in the holodeck with O'Brien.

Ezri Dax:  I don't even have words to describe how annoying she is.



Voyager (1995-2001).  The god of sci-fi (DS9's Ronald D Moore) left Voyager quite early on due to creative differences.  It's often been said that VGER suffered from having a "reset" button.  They're lost in the Delta Quadrant for seven years but the ship looks all brand new and spanking each episode.  I'm not going to lie though - I shamelessly enjoy a lot of Voyager.


Awesome characters



Kathryn Janeway:  I was a little unsure at first but once she got rid of that stupid hair bun and wore it down she was great.  Although she completely contradicts herself sometimes (I'm more inclined to blame bad script-writing here).

Seven of Nine:  Okay okay.  I know she's effectively Data but in a more attractive body, but I don't care.  She's ex Borg and she's cool.  She may be dressed in an outfit that leaves little to the imagination but she's still a female character with lots of depth and guts and why shouldn't she look good too?

The Doctor:  You can't help but love the Doctor and all his weird peculiarities.  Especially when he and Seven have a little sing-song (my bf hates those episodes).

Seska:  Seska was cool, but then she went.  If you hadn't noticed I like strong and interesting female characters.


Okay characters


Tuvok:  I want to put Tuvok in the AWESOME, but he's just not developed enough.  What we see of him is really promising (all that stuff about his rage and dark depths etc) but it goes nowhere.  I think it's partly due to the appearance of Seven - she monopolised a lot of airtime at the expense of others.

Tom Paris:  Tom's almost in the hated category. Almost.

B'Elanna Torres:  And Torres was almost in the AWESOME but she becomes quite wet and boring.

Chakotay:  Just what is the point of Chakotay?  If anyone knows please do tell.  I can't muster up any energy to despise him though.

Kes:  They got rid of her to make room for Seven just as she was getting more interesting.  I could listen to Jennifer Lien's voice all day though.


UGHH



Harry Kim:  He's just another Geordi! Nooooo.

Neelix:  I utterly, utterly detest Neelix.  Utterly.  At least they phased him out a bit in later seasons.


I know I've missed out a few odds here and there, but let's tot it up.

TNG:
Awesome - 3
Okay - 7
URGHH - 2

DS9
Awesome - 7
Okay - 4
URGHH- 3

VGER
Awesome - 4
Okay - 5
URGHH - 2

So there we have it - scientific proof.  Of what I have no idea.  I guess DS9 is the winner - 3 UGHHs (and I've got to be honest - Neelix probably counts for about another 5 URGHHs alone) but a resounding 7 AWESOMES.

Film Review: The Gits

Chances are you haven't heard of The Gits.  But if things had gone according to plan, you probably would have. The Gits were a band on the Seattle scene in the early '90s, on the cusp of "Big Things".  They'd played with Nirvana, just toured Europe and had a deal on the table from Atlantic.

You can see how things should have progressed.  But on a summer night in 1993 everything was blown apart when the singer with the gloriously strong voice, Mia Zapata, was beaten, raped and murdered walking home from a night out with friends.

The Gits (2005) is a documentary which follows the roots of the band, from their birth in 1986 at Antioch College, through their early years in Seattle to Mia's murder and the subsequent demise of the band.  Filmed 12 years after her murder, the Police still haven't arrested anyone and it looks like they never will.

It's quite a hard film to watch; there's so much footage of Mia, plus load of photos.  You really get a sense of a community based around music, and friends hanging out together, supporting each other.  One particular clip shows a house party where The Gits performed a few songs (bet the neighbours loved that).  Mia's singing 'The Drinking Song' with the lyrics 'Here's to them - to all of my friends'.  Interviews with the other members of The Gits and other bands and people on the scene still show a raw pain and anger over a decade on.

But what's so strange about this documentary is that it doesn't end how you expect.  Part way through filming DNA evidence caught the killer.  The killer's saliva had been held since the case, when DNA techniques were less advanced.  12 years later, things had progressed and a full DNA profile could be taken.  And a match was found...

Jesus Mezquia was a Cuban national now living in Florida.  He'd been in Seattle in 1993 and had a previous history of violence against women.  He was found guilty after an eight day trial.  It's quite odd seeing the courtroom verdict - obviously here in the UK cameras aren't allowed inside.  Mia's friends and family are there, crying and hugging each other as he's cuffed and sent down.  He didn't know Mia - Detective Gagnon who headed the investigation believes he was a predator out looking for a victim.  Mia was in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Actually scrap that - there's no reason why any woman shouldn't be able to walk home alone at night in safety.

The Gits is powerful stuff.

Jersey Devil Press

My story 'Exposure' is up on Jersey Devil Press today.

This one went through a few changes - mainly in tense and perspective.  It was first person for a while but I think the change to third works much better.

Direct web link here: Exposure or you can download the whole edition and see the other stories as a PDF here: Jersey Devil Press Aug 2011.

My Foxy Friends

I've had some orange furry visitors in my garden for the last few months: a whole family of foxes.  There's mum fox and her little foxy brood (the most I've seen in one go is seven).

I feel quite privileged to have the little blighters ambling around.  They have an established routine which happens most days:

5-7am: Mum stands around whilst the kids frolic round the garden

7-9.30am: If it's nice weather time for a bit of sunbathing

9.30-3pm: Nap time.  Everyone back to the den.

3-5pm: Back out for sunning, frolics, play-fighting and also digging for worms

5-9pm:  Back to the den for, um, tea I guess

9pm onwards:  I head out with my jam sandwiches and leftovers and feed my brood.  Sometimes I catch one unwares in the grass and he gives me a funny look before slinking off.  Normally I head back to the house and watch them eat.

The rest of the night: Woken up periodically by foxes screeching.  They come right up to the house and sometimes steal the shells I've put outside the kitchen window.

Apparently the young will move out at the end of July.  I'll be sad to see them go, but at the same time it will be nice to have my garden back.  I haven't mowed the lawn for weeks.

It's been great seeing the babies mature - their coats changing from brown to orange.  They all have super white tips on the ends of their tails.

Metazen

I've had one of my stories put up on Metazen (which I'm most pleased about).

It's called My Body, by Starlight.

Metazen is always worth a look and has some great pieces up every day.

Book Review: The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas

The Slap follows the stories of eight characters who were all guests at a suburban Australian barbecue, tied together by their roles as witnesses.  A child is slapped at this barbecue, by a man who isn't his father.

Who would have thought such a small screaming brat could have created such a flap?  If Harry hadn't slapped him I would have.

The cast of The Slap is very multi-cultural and PC (although quite a few of them aren't so PC themselves).  We have the extended family of Greek immigrants, now settled; the white Australian girl converted to Islam; the Aboriginal man also converted to Islam; the Jewish woman dating a younger guy; the young guy who's just come out the closet; the white trash alcoholic man; the hippie woman who breast feeds her kid till it's like four or something; the girl whose father became a woman and then died from an AIDS related illness, along with her mother; the Indian vet married into a Greek family....You get the drift.  But against this liberal leftie ensemble we get vitriol, misogyny and general unpleasantness.

The trouble with The Slap is that I didn't really like any of the characters.  They're all proved to be sly equivocators who say one thing and mean another.  They all seem to be two-timing their partners.  In the end I sympathised most with the two teenagers: Connie and Richie, although I do worry about their future after reading the whole novel.  I really do.

But the reader ends up having to spend time in all these different characters' heads.  Harry, the child-slapper, is the most unpleasant.  We view "the slap" from the perspective of barbecue host and Harry's cousin, Hector.  Harry seems okay from Hector's view.  He was just protecting his own child (the screaming brat looked set to brain him with a cricket bat).  But once we get into Harry's head, well, we just want to get out really.

In a way this works, this constant reappraisal of character that we're forced into.  Eight sides to every story after all.  I like how we're given a glimpse of the character and then move onto another, never to return, unless through another characters' view.

A few things annoyed me however.

For example, some sloppy writing.  The hippie mum has no money.  Her white-trash-alco-husband-who-wants-to-be-an-artist keeps on spending it all down the pub.  They're skint.  Utterly.  Yet she spends an afternoon getting her hair done at a salon before she goes to meet the girls and orders champagne.  

But mainly it was the sex.  Please God Not Another Sex Scene.  I was reading this on a busy train and I actually had to re-angle my book so the person next to me couldn't look over and think I was reading some Black Lace story.  What's with the cringe worthy mild erotica?  The low point for me had to be when the teenage Connie had a bath and found herself appraising the girth of a shampoo bottle.  PLEASE GOD NO.

I've not really read any modern Australian fiction before.  But what I've learnt from this novel is:
- Australia is a melting pot of diversity and ethnicity
- Yet there are a lot of sexist views
- And class is an issue too
- Quite a few parents are so liberal they don't mind their kids doing drugs.  They even chat about it before the kid goes on a night out
- Some of the parents look after kids while speeding
(disclaimer - I'd like to read some other fiction to get a more rounded view)

So The Slap eh.  If you're expecting an investigation about the ethical issues about hitting a child then you won't find it here.  The actual slap is a trigger to explore these (mostly) seedy lives.  But if you're looking for a load of unpleasant, egotistical, mean and lying characters, well, here you go.  And that's fair dinkum.