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...And the second of the group reviews of both International and Fringe shows was published in the Morning Star on Saturday. It is available here. It covers reviews that I posted in my previous blog post, (Cathy, Out of the Bad, and The Remains of Tom Lehrer), plus reviews of Yo Carmen and Drainage Alley.
There will, I think, be a further two compilation reviews in the Star in the forthcoming weeks but a couple of shows that have slipped through the net are printed below.
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| John McDonnell MP |
The increase of spoken word events in the various festivals, means we need to find a reviewing standard to rate them. John McDonnell MP (*****)may have provided us with a standard in this interview (by comedian and presenter, Susan Morrison).
The Shadow Chancellor, and de facto deputy in the Corbyn leadership can sometimes appear severe and harsh in political interviews. In fact he proved to be an entertaining and engaging subject. He ranged over his life, both political and non-political – not the least of his revelations was that he didn’t want to be a politician – he wanted to be manager of the Co-op!
Moving from Liverpool to London when very young, and taking a number of jobs after school, he eventually became active via the TU movement. Handling questions well, he seemed to charm even unconvinced members of the audience – while showing an impressive grasp of economics! A performance that did neither him, nor his interviewer any harm.
In contrast, Michelle Shocked's show - Truth vs Reality (**) will not have helped her career. She is a
great singer, and songwriter, but in this show her undoubtedly pure voice plays second fiddle to an onstage exorcism of her treatment by big business. Nobody has any illusion about the music industry, but sometimes you can be too close to your own story for others to follow, even (or maybe especially) if it is read from a script!
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| Michelle Shocked. pic Chad Batka |
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