At last week’s UK premiere of Einstein on the Beach at the Barbican, critic Mark Shenton went off (“in full Patti LuPone mode,” he says) on a fellow patron who took flash photos throughout the show. That patron turned out to be Bianca Jagger, who brushed him off. Shenton also accuses Barbican staff of refusing to control Jagger.
Month: May 2012
Implosions, Hollywood’s New Favorite Means Of Destruction
“For the Hollywood blockbuster the implosion has many advantages over the explosion. The first and most obvious attraction is novelty. The implosion takes the rather well-worn Hollywood explosion and turns it inside-out – with none of those pesky balls of fire covering up the destruction.”
Opera In Cinemas Doesn’t Attract New Audiences, Says ENO Chief
“English National Opera artistic director John Berry has claimed the current trend for arts organisations to screen their work live to cinemas in a bid to extend their brand was a distraction from ensuring a company delivers the best live performances possible.”
Yo-Yo Ma, Paul Simon Win 2012 Polar Music Prize
“American singer-songwriter Paul Simon and Chinese-American cellist Yo-Yo Ma were named winners of Sweden’s Polar Music Prize,” worth one million kronor (roughly $146,000).
An All-Native American King Lear
Fulfilling a dream he’s carried for 45 years, Mohawk actor August Schellenberg heads an all-First Nations cast in a National Arts Centre production that sets Shakespeare’s tragedy in the Algonquin nation in the 17th century, not long after the first contact with Europeans.
Chronicle Of An Academic-Media Firestorm
Things got a bit heated at The Chronicle of Higher Education when one of its contributing bloggers, in an attack on the discipline of African-American Studies, mocked the research in some dissertations that had been featured in a Chronicle article – without having read any of the papers she was attacking.
A Book Of Taliban Poetry (The UK Army Commander Doesn’t Approve)
Retired army colonel Richard Kemp accuses the publishers of “giving voice to terrorists.” The anthology’s editors “argue that its 235 [translated] poems, including love poems, verses exulting in the Afghan landscape and patriotic ballads, provide a unique insight into the human side of the Taliban.”
Meet India’s Oprah (Who’s Male, Muslim And A Movie Star)
Aamir Khan’s new television show, Satyamev Jayate (“Truth Alone Prevails”), “takes elements of the female empowerment talk show associated with Oprah Winfrey, journalism, public service announcements and reality TV interactivity and throws them all together.”
The Maurice Sendak Illustrations We May Have Forgotten About
“Before he began writing his own tales, he illustrated children’s book written by others. When he began illustrating his own stories, he created a world unlike any other. ‘Children’s books were always very pretty,’ [said curator] Barbara Gilbert. … ‘But Sendak wanted them to be honest.'”
What Maurice Sendak Understood About Children: They Want To Be Scared
“[He] wasn’t afraid of writing very dark and disturbing children’s books. In fact, he understood that what children really want is to be disturbed, ruffled, terrified. He wasn’t interested in writing sweet or charming books for children like Angelina Ballerina, or Olivia. ‘I refuse to lie to children,’ he said. ‘I refuse to cater to the bullshit of innocence.'”