The Red Guitar Dramaturgy: John Sheldon @ Edfringe 2016

The Red Guitar

 theSpace @ Surgeons Hall(Venue 53)

Aug 9-13, 15-20 9.05pm

John Sheldon has stories to tell... Van Morrison's lead guitarist at 17, songwriter to James Taylor and a chance encounter with Jimi Hendrix. Part monologue, part stand-up comedy and a lot of the kind of guitar-playing that moved Ed Ward of National Public Radio to call John 'one of the great guitarists of our time.' It's a funny, poignant and in the end a story of personal transformation.

What was the inspiration for this performance?

 I was writing a memoir of my youth, then decided to set it to music. While driving to a solo gig, I was struck with the name, “The Red Guitar”. I started performing it that night, and things unfolded from there.

Is theatre (music) still a good space for the public discussion of ideas? 

I absolutely believe it is. A deconstruction of music in front of an audience can be breathtaking if done honestly and without condescension. You find the music connecting with universal human concerns, because it connects to the infinite, both in the physical and etheric realms. That’s what the final melody in the piece is about. The harmonic sequence, the triad, the 4th, the 6th, all have layers of meaning that seem universal.

How did you become interested in making performance?

I approached it as an experiment, the idea of monologue with music. After trying it in front of an audience, there seemed to be a richness there, a world to explore.

Is there any particular approach to the making of the show?

In addition to guitar practice, I write a lot. When the language has a rhythm and a logic of its own, I try it with music. The main way of making the show, though, is to try bits of it in front of an audience. A lot of the piece was improvised into being.

What do you hope that the audience will experience?

When I see a performance, I want a story, and a journey. I want to end up in a different place than where I started. In this piece, I make the trip, and hope that the audience takes it with me. Even if they’re on a different trip than I am, I would hope that they get a feeling of freedom, of possibility.

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?

I didn’t have a strategy going in, only a sense of space opening up. When the form started to take shape, I saw three performers in one: the musician, the story teller, and the witness. I was surprised to feel the presence of all three, and wondered if, on some level, the audience would sense this.

John Sheldon - THE RED GUITAR Excerpts:

https://vimeo.com/159751322

Ruby's Reprise: Elizabeth Godber on the Dramaturgy of Music in Theatre

The idea of the performance as a gig: what qualities do you think make this the case? What do they share?

I definitely think that music can make a performance into a gig in a way, but I think musical theatre is always telling a story, and that’s the difference. That is the thing about ‘Ruby and the Vinyl’, there are great stand-alone songs, but when they all come together they tell a story. A gig doesn’t do that, unless it’s some sort of concept album.

Are there any musicians you'd point to as an influence - or a pleasure that may not influence but gives some sense of your approach to music?

I am not the songwriter, but I know that Ruby is heavily influenced by music of the 1950s and 60s - very do-wop, and also very acoustic. A little bit like early Elvis mixed with a female Johnny Cash…

What is gained by live musicians on stage?

Having three talent musicians on stage in ‘Ruby and the Vinyl’ in an absolute joy because it allows them to be so responsive to the audience. Recorded music cannot change in every performance. I also think there’s something really special about being in an audience and watching live musicians, it’s a performance just for you, and there’s nothing like listening to live music!

And is anything lost?

Maybe you can’t get as many layers of instruments or as many different sounds, but, I would pick acoustic live music over multi-layered digital sound any day.

Ruby and the Vinyl, a new pop-up acoustic musical set in a Hull thrift shop will open at Underbelly’s White Belly Venue on 3^rdAugust. 

Written by Olivier Award and double BAFTA winner John Godber, and emerging talent, BFI film academy screenwriter and winner of Best Play award at the Ovation theatre awards, Elizabeth Godber, the production will run nightly at the Cowgate venue until 28^th August.


The show features original songs, written and performed by Yorkshire based retro pop siren Ruby Macintosh, a BA first-class honours LIPA graduate who studied song-writing under Paul McCartney at the world renowned arts institution.

Ruby's self titled debut album is currently on release, and she is a listed BBC Introducing Artist. She is joined by two Hull University drama first years; East Yorkshire girl Grace Christiansen (whose album Three Corners is currently available on iTunes) and musician and singer Jake Marsden from Halifax, in a tale of love, communication problems, second-hand clothes, retro, vinyl and box sets.

This multi-talented group were described by the Musical Theatre Review as a **** ‘breath of fresh air!’ 

A Broad Dramaturgy: D’yan Forest @ Edfringe 2016

A BROAD ABROAD!

Feisty octogenarian D’yan Forest brings her new cabaret show, featuring songs, jokes, saucy memories and a ukulele, to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for the first time.

Appearing at Greenside @ Infirmary Street from 5^th to 27^th August, she looks back over eight decades of music, madness and foreign affairs, as she recalls her adventures after fleeing to France in the Sixties to escape a disappointing marriage.

Raised conventionally in puritanical Boston, D’yan quickly made up for lost time while working as a chanteuse in Parisian clubs, taking lovers of both sexes and extending her amorous horizons to Italy, Austria, Jordan and beyond. Her racy memories are punctuated by songs, both original and standards, accompanied by James Cleeve on piano and herself on ukulele.

What was the inspiration for this performance?

I wanted to share the exotic experiences I've had travelling around the world. I am 82 years old and feel I can use this opportunity to inspire others to travel and to find happiness. Coming from a more traditional standup comedy background, I wanted to use music and storytelling to move audiences a bit more than they would get with traditional standup.

How did you go about gathering the team for it?

Well, it's mostly me - but I did work with my director on the structure and developing some jokes and bits. It's so important to be on the same page...and luckily we both have a similarly radical sense of humor.

How did you become interested in making performance?

I had piano lessons when I was 5 years old. It was classical music. I don't know any better! I thought that was ALL piano playing. Then when I was a teenager in 1947, my mom dragged me to Boston to see the very first musical, "Oklahoma." I fell in love with the singing and dancing. I came home and acted out the show in front of my mirror.

I was hooked on musical comedy. So I took more piano lessons and singing, and my parents finally allowed me to do pop music - which at that time was a sin! I had a fight with my parents over it. My first song was "You Can't Get a Man with a Gun." Maybe I should add that to my repertoire?

Was your process typical of the way that you make a performance?

What process? We all have our own process. After making a living as a cocktail pianist and cabaret singer for 40+ years, and dabbling in standup for many years after that, it was time to marry my life experiences into this show. I guess my process was my whole life. I didn't want my whole life lived in vain.

What do you hope that the audience will experience?

That life can be adventurous even at 82. I want to give audiences hope and hopefully, they'll laugh and cry and wonder "Is this all really true?" Trust me...I can't make this stuff up. 

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?

I worked to make the show an arc...like a good story should. I connect with the audience and joke with them and even have them sing along  with me. I want it to be like an intimate cocktail party. Who doesn't enjoy cocktails?

Do you see your work within any particular tradition?

No. I do my own style. Just 100% D'Yan Forest. Let's hope it works over there.

the idea of the performance as a gig: what qualities do you think make this the case? what do they share?

This is my job...being an entertainer. And it's been that way for me for 60 years. So, I want people to get their money's worth. They get an exotic, erotic, charming entertainer who sings, tells stories, plays piano, plays a ukulele, and also rolls around the stage singing a song from "The Rocky Horror Show."

are there any musicians you'd point to as an influence?

Well, Ethel Merman certainly had a huge influence on me - even though I don't claim to have her singing chops. Cole Porter. Rodgers and Hammerstein. All the classic musical theater composers have influenced me - not only as a singer, but also as a songwriter. I have a great deal of fun with parody lyrics. I still love classical musical and I can still play it, but you won't hear any in this show. It's revenge on my parents!

what is gained by live musicians on stage?

It's more in the moment. There's an interactive element when the musician or musicians are with me on the stage. I not only need my pianist to accompany me, but I also use them as a secondary character as much as possible.

and is anything lost?

Unless their dress is more sparkly than mine, nothing is lost. I have to make sure my pianist doesn't upstage me so I ask them to dress down. Once you see my opening headdress, you won't be looking any further than the top of my head.

On returning to the US, D’yan became a regular performer in Manhattan cabaret clubs such as The Metropolitan Room, The Ukulele Cabaret and The Cutting Room, and – after launching herself as a stand-up ten years ago – comedy venues such as the Gotham Comedy Club, Caroline’s Comedy Club, The Broadway Comedy Club and Dixon Place.

It was in this milieu that she developed A Broad Abroad!, in conjunction with co-writer/director Eric Kornfeld, who has written for Bette Midler (Kiss My Brass, the Emmy-nominated The Showgirl Must Go On), Betty Buckley, Elaine Stritch and Rosie O’Donnell, amongst many others.

A Broad Abroad! premiered to rave reviews at New York’s Frigid Festival and D’yan performed it at the Orlando Fringe Festival in May before bringing it to the Edinburgh Fringe. Expect pithy songs, witty stand-up, risqué stories, ukulele-playing – and yodelling!

5-27^th August (not 14-15^th, 21^st-22^nd), 18.25 (60 mins). Suitability: 18+.

Greenside @ Infirmary Street (venue 236), 6 Infirmary Street, EH1 1LT.

£9 (£8); previews 5-6^th August £5; 2-for-1 8-9^th August.

Box Office: 0131 618 6967 

Duplex_Cutdown 1_16 from Dana Rubin on Vimeo.

Dramaturgy and Me: Richard Shelton @ Edfringe 2016

RICHARD SHELTON PERFORMING 

SINATRA AND ME

Frankensteins Pub 5th-14th August

What was the inspiration for this performance?
I have a life long connection - what some may call a spiritual connection to Frank Sinatra, which can’t be ignored or avoided. The synchronicity between us keeps coming and coming - and coming. For example, Frank Sinatra’s tuxedo literally walked into my life and only last week, I was in a very intimate setting watching AJ Lambert (Sinatra’s grand daughter) sing and sitting opposite me were Nancy Sinatra Sr. aged 99 and Nancy Sinatra Jr. who’s birthday it was. All by co-incidence.

How did you go about gathering the team for it?
I know Mike Leigh who runs the venue from my last show at the Fringe in 2011 called iCroon. Earlier this year, I spent a day thinking how I’d like to return to the Fringe and the very next day he called me, asking if I’d be interested in his venue. Sarah and I meet through Sally from Hob Publicity - and the rest is all me!

How did you become interested in making performance?
It’s in my blood. It chose me, not the other way around.

Was your process typical of the way that you make a performance?
This show is a departure from my usual performance because it’s about what links Frank Sinatra and me together in real life, as opposed to interpreting or ‘acting’ him in a drama. The music is has been selected to present the him at his best singing wise but it’s acting Frank Sinatra which really interests me - capturing the complexities of his character and many varied moods which inform the music. That’s all in this show.

What do you hope that the audience will experience?
Surprise, delight, seeing what makes a show business icon tick and enjoying the timeless music which is selected with a purpose.

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?
Only telling the truth - telling it as it is and keeping it all very simple.

Do you see your work within any particular tradition?
I work across the spectrum - movies, jazz, recording and cabaret. As an actor I've portrayed villains, murderers, charming aristocrats and Frank Sinatra. As a singer, I’ve performed for Royalty, with the BBC and in great halls and Ronnie Scotts. You might say my tradition is the very old fashioned, working across all genres of show business, not being restricted in one arena - much like Frank Sinatra!

Shelton who hails from Wolverhampton started his acting career off in the UK and became quite a household name with a long running role in the soap Emmerdale as the evil Doctor Adam Forsyth and numerous other TV and film appearances. 

However it his fascination with Frank Sinatra, which started as a young boy lead him on an extraordinary journey of coincidences and synchronicities with the late legend. Shelton could be described as the living embodiment of Frank Sinatra, with his uncanny resemblance and voice which has taken him to London’s West End stage with an award winning performance as Sinatra in ‘Rat Pack Confidential’ and invitations to perform privately Prince Charles and Elton John. He is now LA based and takes his new show to Edinburgh where he will sing some of Sinatra’s best loved songs as he reveals to audiences tales of how he came to own Sinatra own tuxedo (verified by Roger Moore) which fits him perfectly as he and Sinatra share the same body measurements and have the same size hands and feet as he discovered when they fitted into the moulds Sinatra made on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 

He has a long and respected association with Sinatra estate and was afforded the opportunity to record his studio album ‘An English Man in New York’ at Capitol Studios with Franks Band and microphone. He was also one of the last people to visit Franks house in LA before it was demolished! There is an opportunity to see Shelton perform in London in July ahead of his Edinburgh run.

Fallopian Dramaturgy: Fallope and the Tubes @ Buzzcut

(Conversation in the Bunkhouse, Kerrera during Fallope & the Tubes residency weekend March 5th 2016 making new songs for Buzzcut Festival.)

“Welcome to the surgery. We have got a few questions to browse....Well you’ve got the questions. Sorry."

First question. CAN YOU TELL US A BIT ABOUT THE WORK YOU ARE BRINGING TO BUZZCUT? 

(Silence) 

What are we doing? We are just doing what we always do. Same

old. What are we doing always just doing? We are just getting on stage and performing some songs that we wrote as a group, some old, some new. 

Is that enough? 

Well we could say things like we’ve written some of it here in Kerrera. Which is true. Are we not also creating songs considering the audience that we are going to have and the space that we are going to be in and the type of energy that we want to produce? We are going to be in a space near the bar. 

We do like bars. We will be making a lot of noise. But you do need to always let people know that there is an escape route. You can leave. You have to keep reminding people throughout the performance that they can leave whenever they want. That will be implicit in the set up.

WHAT IS IT ABOUT BUZZCUT THAT ATTRACTED YOU TO PERFORM AS PART OF IT? 
(Laughter) The vibes. It’s handy. Their open approach to working with different kinds of people. The financial support to make new work. 

We’ve heard really good things about it. And it just started as friends doing something together which we respect. It’s in an area of Glasgow that doesn’t often host this kind of thing. Yes, that feels quite liberating in a way as well doesn’t it. The space is really nice.

It’s great that it’s all in one place. It was refreshing to apply for something to people who were other performers, it didn’t feel like we had to bow down to a funder or curator. That comes across as well in their approach to how they ask different artists to submit.


It’s a far more realistic and equal way of working and probably makes for a better festival experience for everyone involved.

HOW TYPICAL IS THIS WORK COMPARED TO OTHER WORK YOU HAVE MADE? DID THE PROCESS FOLLOW A FAMILIAR OR NEW PATTERN? 
Very typical and familiar. We are approaching it in the same way as would when we make anything together. We don’t really know what we are doing. Let’s just go away and we will do something and hang out and see what happens and then we’ll write something and be like omg this song’s amazing. 

Organic, innit. 

Ruby do you want me to check on the rice? Does anyone else want a top up? I feel like I’m totally charging through the wine. Me too. Let’s do it, let’s all do it. I might have to swim to shore tomorrow and get another box.

BUZZCUT IS CONCERNED WITH THE

IDEA OF 'COMMUNITY'. DOES COMMUNITY HAVE A SPECIAL MEANING FOR YOU, AND WHAT RELATIONSHIP DO YOU FEEL YOUR WORK HAS WITHIN WIDER COMMUNITIES?
What community? Community as an idea. I was thinking of us as a community. A collective. I definitely wouldn’t be having the same experience if I was on my own. It’d be totally dire. I’d be crying into my pyrex dish. I’d be sleeping right through this. I think that’s mostly part of it. 

That’s mostly it. Spending time together, forming a communal space, getting away from home. Trekking to new zones. We have to go abroad every time and share the same space and survive together. 
And food, obviously. 

Are those sausages alright Catherine? Yeh, I’ve turned the oven off. (Laughter) Anything else about communities? Friendships. The art community. The music community, festivals. Have we got girl power in yet? Girl power....community? Then there’s people that take us in, support us. Pals, people we have met through the band, projects like the Bothy Project, Supernormal Festival, Soakin Records. 

There’s lots of new friends we’ve made, like those folk we met when we went down to Bristol. People are a big part of it. It’s fun. Anyone can do this. Come in with us! 

Do you guys want bowls or plates?

WHAT ARE YOU HOPING THE AUDIENCE WILL EXPERIENCE? 
Walker. The big O. The ultimate orgasm. Mutual climax.

WHAT STRATEGIES WILL YOU USE? 
Well the music? Lyrics. Props. Blinding colour. Visuals. Fireballs. Unbelievably horrifically made visuals and props. Very loud sounds. Sweets? We’ll throw sweets. Ohh look at you and your cutlery tree. Get that on the stage!

WHAT IS IT ABOUT PERFORMANCE THAT ENTICED YOU - AND KEPT YOU MAKING IT? 
It’s free. It’s cheap. It’s free and cheap. It’s a laugh. You can do it with others. I can’t speak so I might as well dance. 

There's four sausages. I’ll nominate someone to have mine.

Fallopé and The Tubes is Sarah Messenger, Ruby Pester, Nadia Rossi, Rachel Walker and Catherine Weir. The band are a group of Glasgow based artists who work collaboratively to devise live performances as Fallopé and The Tubes.

Each live show features their lovingly hand crafted yet somewhat tasteless visuals, shameless zero-budget costumes, sculpture and visual props.

The group was established in January 2014 at Insriach Bothy, Aviemore and have developed their practice during numerous residency experiences across Scotland. 

By living and working together ‘off grid’ the group have developed experimental techniques to create a collective energy. Fallopé and The Tubes draw influence from a wide range of fringe and mainstream musical genres, as well as sexuality, elements of social satire and self promotion and leftist political ideologies.

New Dickensian Dramaturgy:Dean Johnson talks contemporary satirical parody

HAZELL ICON NICHOLAS BALL RETURNS WITH TIMELY DICKENSIAN PARODY


Legendary actor Nicholas Ball returns for a

very rare London appearance: for the first time over four decades he will tread the boards of a West End fringe theatre.

The former TV heart throb who created the iconic 70's detective Hazell, stars in the world premiere of New Dickensian, a dark social satire which features spoken word and song, to be staged at the award winning Jermyn Street Theatre in January 2016.

The term 'Dickensian' was coined to describe anything that reflects the dark, squalid times in which Charles Dickens lived and wrote about. 

He drew inspiration from his many visits to Liverpool, from where writer Dean Johnson hails. This contemporary parody of A Christmas Carol follows his success with Bullets and Daffodils (which was also debuted at Jermyn Street).

New Dickensian asks if we have returned to the bleak bedlam of Dickens' age. It tells the story of one Ethan Shrewd, a ruthless stockbroker, and his beleaguered junior partner, single parent Rob Cadgit, whose self-harming teenage daughter Emily he desperately strives to bring up alone.

The cast also includes Dean Johnson, Jane Hamlet, and introducing Leah Taaffe as Emily Cadgit.

Music, lyrics and book by Dean Johnson

Sunday 17th January 2016 – 8pm (duration 70 minutes)

The Jermyn Street Theatre, 16b Jermyn Street, London, SW1Y 6ST

What was the inspiration for this performance?  
It comes straight from everyday life, the scenario is that we have returned to the same social environment of Charles Dicken's time: mass homelessness, extreme cases of poverty, people literally going cap in hand to charitable institutions for handouts, people boarding up their bedrooms to avoid paying the tax, former financial institutions (ie banks) ironically used now as food banks. 

The Dickensian metaphor seems perfect for the times we are living in now , using A Christmas Carol as a template gives endless scope dramatically as the original plot is so strong , and its pathos and sentiment remains true to contemporary themes  

How did you go about gathering the team for it? 
I have my own little company around me , they are kind enough to believe in what I do and are keen to take part in my productions for little financial reward.

Our star Nicholas Ball has been involved in my last 2 shows Bullets and Daffodils (the Wilfred Owen Story) and Ice Picks and Violets (The Mallory and Irvine Story ), Jane Hamlet has been working with me for the last year. But singer Leah Taaffe is brand new , she is a very cool and edgy youngster , and I feel I need a contemporary young voice for this show. After all, they will  inherit this situation that we find ourselves in. 

How did you become interested in making performance?
I have been a singer /songwriter for 30 years , I've recorded over 20 albums , when I turned 50 I just thought  the album /tour treadmill has become stale to me, I would like to embellish my writing to tell a bigger story and to have the words illustrated by actors and narrators instead of just my vocal. 

My shows are not strictly musical theatre, they are a mixture of lots of live performance mediums,coming from the rock world I didnt see any rules. So everything gets thrown in the pot, it tends to freak out the London theatre critics .

Was your process typical of the way that you make a performance? 
No because I don't have a regular process , I just use the best techniques to tell the story , that's all that concerns me ...the words and the story and ultimately the message of the piece , did it get through . 

What do you hope that the audience will experience? 
Something that they have never seen before, and a level of honesty that they won't be used to within popular theatre. I'm not really interested in entertaining, more engaging, the audience.

If people want escapism ...they know which shows to go to for that. My ambition would be that the show makes them think , and maybe even recognise a little of themselves in the piece, the most powerful thing that you can offer on stage is a mirror ..you cant make the audience look into it ...but its there if they want to .

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience? 
If it excites me and the performers and we get a buzz rehearsing then hopefully that will transcend out to the punters, this show is very dark and so the comic moments really stand out because they are seen as such a relief from the rest of the narrative.

At the end of the day I think its a great set of songs and they would work just on that level. But with lyrics and spoken word you can really hammer home a point . 


Do you see your work within any particular tradition? 
This show is based in the 'satire ' tradition of the writers and  maybe the art school bands of the 1960's   the Bonzos, Scaffold , the Mersey Poets , music and words with live action. 

Parody is a really strong tool to hit people over the head with. I think even Shakespeare was a satirist.

Are there any other questions that might help me to understand the meaning of dramaturgy for you in your work?  
The tradition of the great rock critics of the early 70's ( Lester Bangs, Nick Kent etc) they used to write articles that did not have a traditional structure ...they became known as 'Think pieces' the content could go all over the place and then veer back to the main point , I would like to think all my stuff is Think pieces.

Luca Wu & Reverse Context @ Edfringe 2015

Luca Wu and Reverse Context Live

theSpace @ Symposium Hall (Venue 43) 
14.50pm 
17/29 August 
(duration 1 hour)

In contrasts we see change and creativity: light and dark, yin and yang, Luca Wu and Reverse Context.

Two diverse musicians alternating on stage, sharing the same band and a standard of excellence, presenting a complex, yet captivating mosaic of music landscapes and songs to the backdrop of projected images and videos tailor-made for their Fringe debut: yes, you are going to be spoilt.

Luca Wu is an eclectic singer/songwriter, pianist and composer with a captivating pop/rock sound and a wide international experience. 

Born in Italy, based in London, Luca has lived and worked in China where he has a substantial and loyal following.

Reverse Context is a composer, singer/songwriter active in the international arena of avant-garde arts, performing at festivals of such importance as the Venice Biennale. He expertly blends influences spanning from experimental electronic music to alternative rock.

Leave the incessant cacophony of words that the Edinburgh Fringe can be and enter this welcoming stream of contrasting cascading notes: you’ll be happy you did! 

What inspired this production: did you begin with an idea or a

script or an object?
We were inspired by the idea of creating a show in which our songs and personal styles could coexist side-by-side.

Why bring your work to Edinburgh?
Edinburgh and the Fringe are famous for having a particularly refined and curious audience…or so we are told…can you confirm, please?
What can the audience expect to see and feel - or even think - of your production?
The fact that the show will see two composers/singer­-songwriters performing in alternation offering a rich palette of musical landscapes makes of it an unique and intense visual-acoustic experience. It's a unique itinerary designed to guide the audience in a narrative music-driven.

The Dramaturgy Questions

How would you explain the relevance - or otherwise - of dramaturgy within your work?
Luca Wu & Reverse: Our show is a concert, but nevertheless there is a journey to be undertaken, using music as a guide.

What particular traditions and influences would you acknowledge on your work -  have any particular artists, or genres inspired you and do you see yourself within their tradition?
Both of us has always been strongly inspired by Anglo-American pop-rock and are classically trained. A few names: Luca Wu – Elton John, Billy Joel, Queen, Genesis, Pink Floyd; Reverse Context: Radiohead, Bjork….how do we get along nobody knows, but we do.

Do you have a particular process of making that you could describe - where it begins, how you develop it, and whether there is any collaboration in the process?
Each one of us composers wrote his pieces on his own. Then we selected the songs we thought could fit better in the show, and we worked jointly on the visual projections that will be an integral part of it.

What do you feel the role of the audience is, in terms of making the meaning of your work? 
The audience's energy is fundamental for the show. Their response to our artistic output contributes heavily to a powerful performance and makes every concert different.

Chris Lyons - The Ill-Tempered Klavier Album Review: Saturday's Child by Ray Banks Book Review: Interview - Maps

Chris Lyons - The Ill-Tempered Klavier
Album Review
Apart from boasting the most pretentious sleeve-notes since Yes quoted the Shastric Scriptures on Tales of Topographic Oceans, The Ill-Tempered Klavier is simultaneously a brave attempt to push forward fusion and a lesson in why virtuosity is held in suspicion by the rock community. 

Chris Lyon is at his best when he sticks closely to the classical tradition - on opener Der Klavierspiel his proficiency supports an astounding array of moods and Molly's Blooming is a sensuous Cool Jazz strut. Unfortunately, Kevin Glasgow's busy bass frequently overburdens the songs, tipping Pterodactylic Hexameters towards the pomposity of its title and Lyon's tendency to noodle renders Free Market Orgonomics and Offa's Dyke as soporific as Elton John instrumentals. 

Still, when he lets the drummer have some - notably on Thus Swung Zarasthrustra and the almost rocking Everything You Know - he generates an intellectual art-rock excitement. His skills are not to be doubted, but Lyon is fusing the wrong influences, heading back to the overblown super-groups and Miles Davis' electric period rather than thinking about how God Speed! or Talk Talk allow jazz and classical to inform their music.

Saturday's Child by Ray Banks
Book Review
A Northern England of incest, alcoholism, drug abuse and casual violenceCal Innes is a hardboiled ex-con caught up in the search for a mobster's missing daughter. Leaving no cliche unturned, Ray Banks drags his ill-defined cast through a Northern England of incest, alcoholism, drug abuse and casual violence towards an unsatisfying conclusion.

Attempting the taut prose of Chandler or Spillane, Banks mangles working class patter into short sentences and garish similes, never capturing the authentic voices of his unpleasant and ignorant narrators. The protagonist Innes comes across as a moron, emotionally needy and ill-suited to his role as Private Investigator - his sudden rampage across Newcastle is jarringly out of character; his antagonist Mo is little more than a stereotyped thug. Female characters are, inevitably, defined by their sexuality. The worth of men depends solely on their ability to hand out or receive beatings. Dialogue is stilted, and the plot stumbles along driven by obvious surprises.

Ironically, there is nothing shocking about the violence: it is described with a glib realism that has been done before, and better. The descriptive passages are ponderous, characters lack interior lives and fail to learn from mistakes. If this suggests some purpose to Saturday's Child, the unsympathetic lead and mediocre storytelling render it impotent.

Donkey Punch by Ray Banks
Book Review
By transplanting his thuggish noir from Manchester to LA, Ray Banks' second Cal Innes novel has two sets of mean streets to pace. Not that his grasp of characterisation has gotten any stronger: Donkey Punch is as terse and macho as Saturday's Child, although his hard-boiled writing style has become more poised and confident.

As before, Innes is an incompetent investigator: it is his own stupidity that generates the various dramas that enliven the slim plot. Sucked into a world that turns out to be far less corrupt than it appears, Innes stumbles through his adventures, using his fists when a little intelligence would suffice. Other characters shamble in and out, barely defined beyond their usefulness - the rowdy youth, the boxing wannabe, the ambitious father.

The twists and turns of the narrative are evident to the reader, if not to the characters: if Banks is trying to create a grim reality where ignorance is dominant, he would do better if his protagonist was likable. As it is, Donkey Punch is like a British boxer - promising a great deal at the start, but lacking the discipline, persistence and strength to really take down the Americans. 

Maps: Not so much shoe-gazing as star-gazing.
It could be the consequences of a night out in Glasgow, but James Chapman is difficult to interview. He isn't surly, or rock-star arrogant - indeed, he is charming, enthusiastic about music and witty. At the same time, he appears slightly surprised at finding himself on tour and being interviewed.

"It's taken me a long time to get here," he admits, when asked about his expectations for the tour. "I never thought that I'd do a live tour, because I never thought that I'd get signed."

It is this humility - as well as the years spent working away at his distinctive fusion of melody and electronica - that separates James from many of his peers. His well-received album, which has been variously compared to My Bloody Valentine and the intelligent techno that inspired Radiohead's foray into experimentalism, harks back to the original fusions of dance music and guitar pop. Having one ear for the melodic hook and another for lush texture, Maps' tracks are concise bursts of distorted exotica. James' presence on record is gentle, even melancholic, whispering secrets within whirls of guitar and keyboards. His tastes, and approach to making music, are eclectic.

"It's quite mixed: years of hanging around, working on it. I do like stuff that is ambient, but I love classical music as well. Vaughan Williams' Fantasia blows me away every time. I don't listen to a lot of really old stuff - except maybe the Beach Boys. But my real love is electronica: I got into it at university and it was a whole new world for me."

This doesn't mean, however, that he is trying to copy his influences. "I don't make music on a computer - but I use a sixteen track tape recorder and a drum machine. Every song is made differently - sometimes I record the melody first, sometimes the lyric. And I always wanted to have a band, and not just be me and a laptop. It's more interesting."

In performance, Maps recreate their studio sound using state of the art technology and old school guitar effects to whip up the orchestrated chaos that bands like Sonic Youth pioneered back in the late 1980s. Yet Maps are lighter, more pastoral - perhaps because of James' own background.
"I live in a village outside of Northampton - a nice place to relax in: there's a good vibe and a good scene. I am not really part of the Northampton gothic tradition!"

But comparisons have been made the shoe-gazing scene: bands that followed in the wake of My Bloody Valentine, but were swept away by Britpop.

"Some of my new stuff is a bit more poppy. I'm not so much shoe-gazing as... star-gazing. Yeah, you can use that. Star-gazing."

Dramaturgy gets Drummed Up: Sébastien Rambaud and Yann Coste @ Edfringe 2015

The Fringe

GKV: What inspired this production: did you begin with an idea or a script or an object?
Questions answered by Sébastien RAMBAUD and Yann COSTE.We try to ban all frontiers from our imagination. We pick ideas from everywhere, it can be a disco rhythm, a bird singing, or a jig saw singing.

Why bring your work to Edinburgh? At the start of the show a few years ago, we had no idea it would become international. We’ve recently performed in Canada, China, an even at La Réunion, a remote French island in the middle of the Indian Ocean, and we want to take the show everywhere around the world, basically. And the best place to meet the world is Edinburgh Festival Fringe!

What can the audience expect to see and feel - or even think - of your production?
The audience will laugh, dance, shout, clap their hands, air drum, sing a Miles Davis tune, and feel the beats of percussions through their whole body. Audience participation is welcome!


The Dramaturgy Questions
How would you explain the relevance - or otherwise - of dramaturgy within your work? Our show is a mix of a music gig and a theatre performance. We are two drummers-clowns, or clowns-drummers, or even better, we are ‘drumourists’.

What particular traditions and influences would you acknowledge on your work - have any particular artists, or genres inspired you and do you see yourself within their tradition?
To name only a handful of influences in theatre and music: Michel Courtemanche (1), AC/DC, Stomp, Benoît Poelvoorde (2), Manu Katché (3), Mozart (4).

(1) Michel Courtemanche is Canadian actor and comedian

(2) Benoît Poelvoorde is Belgian actor and comedian

(3) Manu Katché is a French drummer who’s recorded and toured with pop artists such as Sting, Peter Gabriel, Simple Minds, Dire Straits

(4) Mozart is an Austrian musician (we think)

Do you have a particular process of making that you could describe - where it begins, how you develop it, and whether there is any collaboration in the process?
Oops. Sorry, we don’t have any method! Anything can potentially fuel creation. The only rule is: every idea is tested, challenged, tested again and in the end only la crème de la crème is kept.

Of course we are surrounded by a few friends and companions who we think help to make the show improve. I’m especially thinking of our stage director Gil Galliot.

What do you feel the role of the audience is, in terms of making the meaning of your work?
The show comes to life as soon as we have at least one person in the audience. When the second arrives, it starts to get crazy, when we hit the hundreds it goes bonkers!

Are there any questions that you feel I have missed out that would help me to understand how dramaturgy works for you?
Our show is 100% no-spoken-word, and we’ve already used a lot of words in answering this questionnaire. You will understand everything when you come and see Fills Monkey perform live!

Alien Dramaturgy: Fiona Soe Paing @ Edfringe 2015

ALIEN LULLABIES

Out-of-this world live music/cinema hybrid set to take off at Made in Scotland Showcase 2015 during Edinburgh Festival Fringe at Summerhall

“Very, very cool!” Vince Clarke (Depeche Mode)

Cutting edge electronic producer/vocalist Fiona Soe Paing’s unique and immersive show Alien Lullabies combines otherworldly electronica soundscapes and compelling live vocals with 3D animation by New Zealand artist Zennor Alexander to create an unsettling and mesmerising live music/cinema hybrid. The show features tracks from her forthcoming album, and the new single Heartbeat due for release on Hotgem Tunes this Friday 19.6.15 alongside a video premiere on on-line music and culture magazine The 405.

"...you won't fail to be hypnotized by the parallel world created by Paing's haunting electronic arrangements and Alexander's deeply creative design….so fantastically disturbing and unsettling that you can’t help but be enveloped..." Stephen Bevan, The 405

What inspired this production: did you begin with an idea or a script or an object?
This has been a slowly evolving project since about 2007! It started with one song, which needed a video. That song/video needed another.... and another... there wasn't any overall plan... we just followed what the work seemed to need to do naturally... until we had a whole set of songs which when viewed/listened to in one sitting, from beginning to end... seemed to have an underlying, unstated narrative... so we then added a beginning and an ending, and decided to present the whole package in a more theatrical format, and so ta-dah, it became a show.

Why bring your work to the Edinburgh Fringe?
It's been quite hard finding audiences for our work, as it's not the kind of music that you'd find at a regular gig, and neither does it fit iinto film or theatre... and being based in rural Aberdeenshire there's not a big "scene" to tap into... so I decided to apply for the Made in Scotland funding, as it gives a platform to innovative and cross-discipline work, and since Summerhall is known for it's adventurous programming, I think it might find a supportive audience there for the Fringe. I also wanted to challenge myself to see if I could pull it off, and to see if I can up the game a bit... I'm also looking forward to making some new collaborations with other artists and companies in the fringe and meeting some new and inspiring people!

What can the audience expect to see and feel - or even think - of your production?
It's like watching a surreal animated film with an electro score and a live singer... it really takes you off somewhere else and is quite mesmerising ... some of it's quite unsettling... but some of the music is really danceable too.... The animations combined with the music and live vocals, is something quite different I think


The Dramaturgy Questions

How would you explain the relevance - or otherwise - of dramaturgy within your work?
It became clear during the making of the music and visuals that the overall piece needed to be presented and structured into a story-like form, rather than as separate songs or music videos.... the recurring images that we use in the separate pieces imply an underlying narrative, without spelling anything out.... and we shaved off some edges of the puzzle pieces to fit into the overall picture that was fuzzily emerging! So yes, that was really relevant, for the work to make more artisttic sense, rather than being just eye and ear candy.


What particular traditions and influences would you acknowledge on your work - have any particular artists, or genres inspired you and do you see yourself within their tradition?
There are so many traditions and influences it's hard to know where to start.... punk rock maybe? Dance music of all kinds, from ballet to house, electro and techno... experimental theatre and dance, Brecht, Martha Graham, Laurie Anderson, Meredith Monk, Bjork, David Lynch, Kraftwerk, free jazz, PJ Harvey, Peaches, opera.


Do you have a particular process of making that you could describe - where it begins, how you develop it, and whether there is any collaboration in the process?
Working on my laptop, I play around to see if i can find some sounds that are unusual or that have a sort of character of their own, and usually build something rhythmic around that... usually looking for sounds that suggest a specific atmosphere or feeling... other instruments fit around that and then I improvise some vocals sounds... sometimes I write lyrics to fit the melody, other times just keep the original improv and fine tune it and memorise the "words" so that I can do overdubs or harmonies. When there's a finished song with a structure, I send it to Zennor and he uses whatever images it sparks off to him to create his animations. 

What do you feel the role of the audience is, in terms of making the meaning of your work? 

They make all of it.... I still don't know what it means yet...   It has to be reflected back to you by the audience before you can start to see it clearly. 

Fiona will perform Alien Lullabies for ten dates at Summerhall for the Made in Scotland 2015 showcase during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

“I’m delighted my work has been selected for Made in Scotland - its a great opportunity to perform alongside world-class artists on an international platform.” Fiona Soe Paing

Made in Scotland Showcase performance details

Dates: Wed 12-Sun 16 / Wed 19-Sun 23 August

Time: 10.35pm

Venue: Red Lecture Theatre, Summerhall, Edinburgh EH9 1PL (Fringe Venue 26)

Tickets: From Summerhall www.summerhall.co.uk or the Fringe Box Office 0131 226 0000


Of Scottish/Burmese origin, and living in rural Aberdeenshire, electronic producer/vocalist Fiona Soe Paing has been crafting her sound since 2005, and since 2007, has been collaborating on visuals for her live shows with New Zealand animation artist Zennor Alexander.

Her first home produced demo which she sang using random words from a Burmese tourist phrasebook, was found on Myspace by the legendary BBC world music DJ, the late Charlie Gillett, who included it on the album "Sound of The World 2007" on Warner Music, one of his annual compilations of the best in world music.

Her EP release in 2012 ‘Tower of Babel’ was widely praised in the media, receiving a Four Stars rating in The Skinny.

Fiona recently worked with Brit Award winner Beth Orton at a collaborative residency for Brighter Sound Manchester, and performed at the Wide Days music convention at the Pleasance Theatre, Edinburgh.

Review - Alien Lullabies review

Alchemy @ Southbank Centre

The festival will present collaborations, new works, premieres and legendary artists across dance, music, theatre, design, fashion, comedy and literature, plus talks and debates providing a unique insight into the region.
Southbank Centre is pleased to announce three very special shows for next year’s programme plus more details about touring the festival to UK regional partner venues for Alchemy Oldham, Alchemy Doncaster and Alchemy Black Country.

Rock On Music will be joining hands with Alchemy and bringing the new nightingale of India, Shreya Ghoshal (23 May), to the UK for a one off performance at Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall. Shreya will give a magical performance at Alchemy following a series of sell out shows across the globe.

Nirbhaya, written and directed by Yaël Farber, comes to Southbank Centre (22 -24 May) for Alchemy. The internationally acclaimed playwright creates a searing work with an extraordinary cast and creative team from India that cracks open the silence around women whose lives have been shattered by gender-based violence. A BSL performance will take place on 24 May. 

Nirbhaya is presented by Southbank Centre, Oldham Coliseum, Cast and Black Country Touring and touring to all venues in 2015.
The world famous Jaipur Literature Festival returns to Southbank Centre for a second time (16-17 May). This two-day programme gives an insight into 'the world’s largest free literary festival'. The festival showcases South Asia's multilingual literary heritage, oral and performing arts, books and ideas, dialogue and debate, Bollywood and politics. In true Jaipur Literature Festival style, the residency will begin with music and finish with a huge, celebratory party.

Alchemy has grown to become the largest festival of Indian and South Asian culture outside India. 2015 will see Alchemy tour for the first time across England. Support from Arts Council England and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation has enabled Southbank Centre to work with Oldham Coliseum (Oldham), Cast (Doncaster) and Black Country Touring (across the Black Country) to build a tour of regionally instigated work inspired by Alchemy themes. These venues will present Nirbhaya to regional audiences on 28 May at The Arena Theatre, Wolverhampton, 1 and 2 June at The Grange Arts Centre, Oldham and 4, 5 and 6 June at Cast, Doncaster.



Rachel Harris, Creative Producer, Festival Development, Southbank Centre, said, "We are delighted to be able to announce these projects for our sixth Alchemy at Southbank Centre and we look forward to revealing the full programme in Spring 2015. Once again we are welcoming artists from increasingly diverse backgrounds and places from across the Indian Subcontinent as well as reflecting the talent and breadth of artists from across the UK. I am delighted that among them will be the world renowned songstress Shreya Ghoshal and the mould breaking theatre piece Nirbhaya, both new to Alchemy and who both have electrifying performances to share with our audiences. It is also great to be welcoming back the Jaipur Literature Festival for a second year running for a very special expanded residency, the only one of its kind outside the festival’s Indian home.”




The BBC Asian Network feature highlights, performances and exclusive content from Southbank Centre’s Alchemy. Broadcast details will be announced early Spring.


Southbank Centre is the UK’s largest arts centre, occupying a 21-acre site that sits in the midst of London’s most vibrant cultural quarter on the South Bank of the Thames. The site has an extraordinary creative and architectural history stretching back to the 1951 Festival of Britain. Southbank Centre is home to the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and the Hayward Gallery as well as The Saison Poetry Library and the Arts Council Collection. For further information please visit www.southbankcentre.co.uk