twilightdawning

A writer's thoughts – mainly about music, sport and theatre. Shakespeare, Bob Dylan, live shows, New York Yankees

Down To The Waters’ Edge

Posted on February 20, 2015 by twilightdawning

Who: The Daughters of Davis

Where: Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith

When: 18th February 2015

Being piggy-in-the-middle on a three act bill is never an enviable task but when even the opening act is allowed access to the higher ranges on the volume sliders of the mixing desk that you’re not and the top act’s target audience is very different from your own then it’s somewhat more problematic.

But having said that Daughters of Davis blew everyone else off stage when it came to artistic integrity and provided a great set for an audience who entered not really caring who they were and exited won over in some numbers.

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The Shakespearience Too!

Posted on February 19, 2015 by twilightdawning

In the second half of March, our theatre “Ravenscourt Arts” will host “The Shakespearience Too”.

This is the latest venture for our own production company “The Shakespearience” which Darren Hirst founded in 2009 to present an introduction to Shakespeare for young people of pre-GCSE school age.

When the Shakespearience first began to work together, it was actors, a tour bus and props but since our own theatre opened, life has been much easier.

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The New York Yankees Off Season Update 5

Posted on February 2, 2015 by twilightdawning

Well, the New York Yankees have had a weird off-season and it just keeps getting weirder. As we walk through the trades the Yankees made in January, I just keep hearing warning bells ringing that tell me that unless almost everyone who had an injury or a downturn in their career last year encounters a significant upward surge than this team looks worse on paper then the one which won 84 games last season and missed out on the post-season. Unless they give their manager Joe Girardi the right tools to work with, he doesn’t have a hope of turning this team into a winner.

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The New York Yankees Off Season Update 4

Posted on January 5, 2015 by twilightdawning

The last update I wrote saw the Yankees in a peculiar position and making some seemingly bizarre moves. The outfield looked set (if a little prone to injury), the infield had a gaping hole at second base (following the trade to Miami of Martin Prado), the starting rotation looked vulnerable to say the least and missing at least one piece and the bullpen looked fine if a little over-manned.

So it really shouldn’t surprise our readers to see the Yankees making moves which primarily concern the bullpen and leaving the starting rotation and 2nd base quandaries untouched.

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The New York Yankees Off-Season Update 3

Posted on December 24, 2014 by twilightdawning

Sometimes an article changes direction just as you’re writing it and this is one because the Yankees’ progress over the last month has had more twists than the average tornado.

First there was their majorly disappointing decision not to make an offer to David Robertson. If you’d asked me in September who was the most important player that the Yankees must re-capture in 2015 then there would be no doubt in my mind that it would have been Robertson.

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It’s Cheaper Than Paintings ….. And Doesn’t Need Explaining

Posted on December 23, 2014 by twilightdawning

Who: Sparks & the Heritage Orchestra (conducted by Jules Buckley)

What: Kimono My House (40th Anniversary Performance)

Where: Barbican Hall. The Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London

When: 19th December 2014

There have been various rock bands down the years who have performed albums and other projects with an orchestra (Deep Purple and Emerson, Lake and Palmer have done whole shows, Eagles used an orchestra on certain sections of their “Hotel California” tour, for example) but for a band like Sparks who are regarded as more of a pop outfit a show like tonight was quite unusual.

Sparks, of course, are an underestimated outfit amongst large sections of the general public and could be said to only really understood by their dedicated band of followers.

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Chasing that Goose!

Posted on December 22, 2014 by twilightdawning

What: Goose Chase

Who: Riding Lights Theatre Company

Where: Ravenscourt Arts

When: 9th December 2014

This was Ravenscourt Arts’ (a new venue in Hammersmith) first attempt to stage a play / pantomime for families with young children. This reviewer attended two performances on this date – a free daytime one for local school children which was packed and a evening one which carried a ticket price for which there was a good number of spare seats.

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The New York Yankees Off-Season Update 2

Posted on December 1, 2014 by twilightdawning

The second part of our update will look briefly at one change to the infield group and then moves on to survey the outfield and designated hitters. Since our last report, both the Boston Red Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays have made upgrades to their roster whilst the Yankees have been slow to make moves. The outfield looks like one of the few areas that is reasonably well set.

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…I was born to speak all mirth and no matter…

Posted on November 23, 2014 by twilightdawning

What: Much Ado About Nothing (promoted as “Love’s Labour’s Won”) by William Shakespeare

Where: Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon

When: 20th November 2014

So I was back in Stratford-Upon-Avon for the second half of this strange coupling that Gregory Doran is determined to promote as “Love’s Labour’s Lost” and “Love’s Labour’s Won”. In reality, as I suggested in my earlier review these two plays share no common ground other than their humorous tone and those imposed by the director’s decision-making.

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Panic? Not quite…

Posted on November 5, 2014 by twilightdawning

What: Luna Rossa

Where: The Borderline, off Manette Street, London

When: 2nd November 2014

Luna Rossa are one of the new kids on the block in terms of live shows. This was their second live show on a three-date stretch which precedes the release of their second album “Secrets and Lies”. That such a little known band is able to pull a decent sized crowd is primarily due to their connection with one of rock music’s best kept quality secrets: Panic Room.

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