Arts Tony Hogan Bought me an Ice Cream Float before he stole my Ma: Kerry Hudson: Book Review Tony Hogan tells the story of a Scottish childhood of filthy council flats and B&Bs, screeching women, feckless men, fags and booze and drugs, the dole queue and bread and marge sandwiches. It is the story of an irresistible, irrepressible heroine, a dysfunctional family you can’t help but adore, th By Eric Page • 2 min read
Arts Poseidon-T: Franze: Book Review Franze gives his cool modern and funky illustrations enough tension to drive the story on and enough tongue in cheek humour to please graphic novel fans; Franze satirises these well loved genre By Eric Page • 1 min read
Arts The Charioteer by Mary Renault: Book Review This positive, sincere and heartfelt classic novel has just been reissued by Virago modern press who are also undertaking a project to reissue all of Renaults books, Hurrah! Her work can be divided into two strands: the searing, evocative historical novels she is justly famous for, which couldn’t be By Eric Page • 2 min read
Arts HALBWELT KULTUR: Review Halbwelt Kultur is musical cabaret opening with a wonderfully engaging chorus and using the lives of seven dynamic and sensual women from the Weimer republic to highlight the tensions between freedom of expression and oppressive conformity. By Eric Page • 5 min read
Arts Satyagraha: ENO: Review Satyagraha: Phillip Glass: English National Opera: Review Following the early life of Gandhi in South Africa and his non violent campaigning against segregation and racism and named after his word for Non-violence (for which there is no word in any language in the whole word, which is worth noting.) By Eric Page • 5 min read
Arts Burning Ashes: Book Review It’s warm and cozy and not in the slightest bit threatening and I can imagine a few men who would rather enjoy this optimistic story of modern gay love. The author has certainly done their research regarding the cricketing world and it feels authentic enough.. By Eric Page • 3 min read
Arts The Magic Flute: ENO : Review From its clever opening to the dramatic close this new production directed by Simon McBurney’s of Complicite caught the attention of the audience and kept it held close like one of the delightful flapping paper birds that followed Papageno around. The setting feels organically oppressive, set in som By Eric Page • 4 min read
Arts TRANSGENDER SEEKIN: Sunny Drake: Review An eclectic and heart warming UK premier show presented by Pink Fringe and The Basement. This charming and disarmingly clever young antipodean performer takes us on a no hole barred tender and hilarious confessional journey of the experience of being a queer romance-a-holic and how, even in a harsh By Eric Page • 3 min read
Books MALARKY: Anakana Schofield : Book review Schofield’s love of prose, the soft lilting dance of Irish dialect and speech and her spot on rendering of the spiralling decent into madness makes this book twist and shimmer and change from one thing to another as you read it, or rather listen to it as the narrators voices are so clear even when t By Eric Page • 3 min read
Arts JOE LYCETT @Brighton Comedy Festival: Dome Studio: Review From his first off-stage moment, doing some good old audience warming up from the wings with his distinctive nasal voice prompting the up for it audience to whoop, ohhhh and clap I relaxed, Lycett has that rare and difficult talent; threatening camp. By Eric Page • 2 min read
Arts ALEX HORNE @Brighton Comedy Festival: Brighton Dome Studio: Review The 30 year old served up a show full of observations, impressions and lies. Dropping his usual PowerPoint for a more experimental and successful routine Horne slowly wound the audience up into a state of hilarity. His honesty about his fibbing is delightful and you never quite now if he’s pulling y By Eric Page • 2 min read
Arts Die Fledermaus: ENO : Opera Review With saucy wit and a hefty dollop of dark camp this was not just bubbly froth, but gave the whirling swirling melodies a dark foundation of obsession and decadence on which to do their frivolous waltz. It was more dance macabre in places but then making this Strauss operetta relevant to the tired cy By Eric Page • 5 min read
