Blog — Page 76 of 280

Come from Away

Capitol Theatre

Sydney, Australia

June 9, 2021

Now, what are the ingredients for a great musical? The cohesive progression of the story via integration of dialogue, an effective musical score with leitmotifs, a sharp choreography and believable characters are integral components.

The feelgood Canadian musical Come From Away has all of the aforementioned in spades. With the narrative centred around strangers coming together during an emergency, i.e. the aftermath of 9/11, when thousands of travellers were stranded for close to a week on the island of Newfoundland.

With an omnipresent cast of twelve representing a variety of backgrounds with each playing a number of different roles and a minimal yet clever and strategic set design, the lighting contributes significantly to conjure dramatic atmospheres, realities and moods against which the emblematic stories are played out.

What could be bland and dull in theory is actually a richly diverse tour de force of enjoyment courtesy of the well-oiled ensemble and the nuanced and fast-paced way they navigate through culture clashes, accents, costume changes galore, tumultuous scenes and skillfully portray how trust and friendships are forged.

Musically, the experience is enhanced by an excellent live band, which in view of the audience channel their passion, swap instruments and seamlessly switch from genre to genre.

In essence, Come From Away is a well-written, engaging ode to kindness, empathy and compassion – and one of complex simplicity that could not be more on point as far as technical synchronisation is concerned when it comes to character changes – it takes clever and joyful musical experience to the next level.

Hip-Hop Architecture

Bloomsbury Visual Arts

Hip Hop, the way it was incepted, could not have more epitomized the concept of a movement, pertaining to all areas of life – be it politically, socially or culturally. Needless to say, what it has evolved to sometimes only is at times only remotely connected to its true DNA.

As the title of the book suggests, author Sekou Cooke skilfully traces the history of hip hop through the ages from an academic viewpoint, exploring aesthetics, visuals, its values and the resulting architectural practice.

What makes it interesting is when the principles that are identified to be at the core of hip hop, are applied to the approach to reshaping the planet to revamp the thinking about cities, construction, form and cultural movements to reshape the planet and how the merits of its application could benefit the could impact on the built environment in a meaningful manner.

With Cooke channelling his points through a well-researched, engaging and fresh lens, he strips the paternalizing aspects off, which often pervade the treatises emanating from the ivory towers of academia.

Cooke thereby creates a book that appeals to everyone – from hip hop aficionados via architects to those interested in learning more about how their neighbourhoods have been shaped by hip hop at large – an accomplishment that should not be further wondrous as he teaches explanatory design as part of his lectures.

American Psycho – The Musical

Sydney Opera House

June 8, 2021

I have always enjoyed Bret Easton Ellis’ oeuvre and was specifically delighted when American Psycho was on the literary canon for one of my courses on U- and Dystopian Literature.

Given the greatness of Ellis’ character study of Patrick Bateman and his descent into a world devoid of empathy, it was hard for the 2000 movie incarnation to live up to it as the limitations of the medium resulted in a lack of nuances and depth.

When I learned that a musical was to be staged in 2013, I was intrigued and jumped on the opportunity to see it first-hand at Sydney’s Opera House after having missed its initial incarnation on terra australis at the Hayes Theatre in 2019.

Centred around greed, debauchery, sexism, hedonism and narcissism , the Australian stage adaption of American Psycho has been toned down quite a bit, with the more graphic details of the novel having been channelled into satirical territory rather than relying on excessive shock value.

Lead actor Ben Gerrard does a stellar job stripping the layers of cool aspiration from Patrick Bateman to portray him as the anxious, uncool pitiful creature Bret Easton Eliis originally created.

The rest of the charismatic cast manages to engage the audience from the get go and both the sharp choreography courtesy of Yvette Lee, direction by Alexander Berlage and especially the spinning mirrored set design and lighting are aesthetically and visually brilliant.

A well-executed, deceptively entertaining dark humoured comedic staging of a classic that has not lost relevance or an iota of its thought provoking and chilling qualities – au contraire, the dark undertones still hit the mark given the patriarchal capitalist, narcissistic social media dominated world we still in.

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photo courtesy of Daniel Boud

Audio =-Ground-Zero

For People Who Listen

No matter if it is movies or music – sound reigns supreme. Listening to sound at its best is a delight. It is literally every time that I experience a great sound system that I discover additional layers and ideas from what I am listening to, and it feels like prior, I have not been able to feel it in full.

In this series, light shall be shed on devices and brands that are dedicated to constantly evolving and aiming at creating innovative new kit.

Cambridge Audio is a brand that has refined its approach to saving the world from shit sound for over five decades.

With their ethos centred around producing the best devices to represent what they refer to ‘British Sound’, i.e., audio in its purest form and an unadulterated and true representation of the artist’s intention, they set out to create high fidelity equipment that was not breaking the bank yet still adequately portrayed original recordings by removing any barriers or dilutions.

My hi-fi equipment has seen many incarnations over the years and shrunk consistently over the last thirty years, to the point where literally every song is a ush of a button away, all that is needed is the internet and great speakers.

What I like about Cambridge Audio’s Minx speakers is their compactness. Miniature as far as proportions go, the Minx not only look stylish with their high-gloss lacquer finish and fit into a book cabinet, but they pack a veritable punch: I have yet to come across a similar sized speaker with a deeper, more defined bass and wider dispersion of sound, which lends itself particularly well to highlighting the finer nuances of movie sounds.

It is remarkable how Cambridge Audio’s Minx fills the biggest room with their performance. The fact that they are on the affordable end of the spectrum does not hurt either.

In the earbud department, Cambridge Audio does not disappoint either.

Case in point: Their Melomania in-Ear Stereo Earphones, which can be connected to mobile devices via Bluetooth.

Not only are they lightweight, comfortable to wear while running and deliver nine hours of playback, but provide superb and clear, natural sounds with sparkling but not harsh highs, a delicately balanced midrange, all resting on the foundation of a boosted, boomy bass.

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images from company website

Thus Let Us Drink Beer – Akasha x Robert Stein Collaboration

As we have previously covered, what Dave Padden and his crew have accomplished with Akasha Brewing within its six years of existence is quite something, with especially recent releases pushing the envelope in hoppy excellence and knocking it out of the park.

Given that the warehouse where Akasha set up its operation was an empty shell in 2015 with no electricity, water and gas, it was astonishing to see how they turned it into a hospitable brewhouse in no time. However, I do not think the Akasha crew would have imagine back in the day that their haunt would serve as the backdrop for a fine dining experience.

Fast forward to 2021, where after a successful rebrand and the establishment of Akasha Projects, dedicated to limited releases and allowing for collaboration not unlike the one with Robert Stein winery, which saw both channelling their alchemy in the creation of wine / beer hybrids culminating in a three course meal paired with never-before-seen beer and wines to celebrate it.

After being eased into the proceedings via Akasha’s nod to their neighbourhood, i.e. a tin of their classic Canada Bay XPA, the evening had its first highlight with the Rhyme Or Riesling – an Australian grape ale – flanked by a Robert Stein 2020 Riesling, paired with smoky pork, potato and Mexican chorizo tostadas with avocado salsa, queso fresco and chilli pickle. 

With winemakers in Australia traditionally growing Riesling in areas of higher elevation, or in the cooler areas of existing vineyards in a bid to mimic the cooler climate where the grapes are known to thrive, the offerings unfolded delicious citrus notes with limy, zesty highlights sitting against a backdrop of herbal notes of white pepper.

Course two comprised of Oaxacan-style molé served with Tex Mex rice and black beans a la charra was my personal highlight on the wine front as Robert Stein’s deep ruby Shiraz proved to be an example par excellence for a full flavoured, red plummy, fruity aromatic tour de force of fullbodiedness with an elongated, lingering finish.

Things got experimental and wild with the final course and the Shiraz Sour, which was an excellent palate cleanser before one of the more challenging yet not less interesting emissions of the collaboration materialized, i.e. a Chardonnay Barrel Sour Ale, which accompanied a masterclass panel with the head of Akasha and Jacob Stein discussing the rationale behind joining forces and the common denominator when it comes to their creations.

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images by @k.a.vv