PEER GYNT AT THE THEATRE ROYAL

Peer Gynt was originally written as a prosepoem play in the late 1860s.Once published it received mixed to hostile reviews , never being performed for nearly a decade.Thereafter stagings have been few and far between , and the quality of productions has been similar.Some have wondered if the play could ever really be staged at all , whilst others have opined Radio airings are about the best limit to bring the play alive.

And so it was until a courageous and innovative production company from Dundee hit on the inspired notion of stage production , but adding their own words to make the play modern and accessible , whilst retaining the original themes.Too add a plethora of "FUCKINS" to spice up the prose of Ibsen would seem a bit of sacrilege , at least on the surface.Alas , the Dundee Rep. company approach worked , all credit to them for bringing a dead play to life.

The original play was to be accompanied by incidental music , music by Edvard Grieg which was in time to become far more famous than the play itself , so much so that a lot of People believe Griegs music came first and Ibsens version later.

The play itself has many universal themes , to that extent you could call this play as close as Ibsen came to straddle the line between The Romantics and the ushering in of the age of realism.After this play , as the wounding response of some critics , Ibsen was to focus wholly on prose , and realism in general.But , he was never to relinquish the over-arching Universal Romantic notion of a closed circle , unlike Chekov who was to start a brand of realism that begins and curtails ( rather than ever ends) in a more inter-active linear fashion.

The Dundee version plays strongly to the inner search of the Empire , Peer goes all around searching for it , only to realise he was looking for the wrong thing in the wrong places.

In the dream sequence in the troll kingdom , Peer finds society corrupt , Kierkegaards "to thyself be true" is made in the troll society of the time a rather Thatcherite " Be true to yourself-ish".

After winning his fortune in the great race , he loses it in the great grab his "friends" partake of , leaving him all alone on the shore , the sea on one side , a mirage on the other , and angry savages ready to pounce on the beach , a stint in a nuthouse is a welcoming solace , though a sobering as you may well guess.So much for Empire.

At last he goes home ( on easyjet) , eventually to discover the Empire that counts most is the constant love that waits for one , when one is true to their Faith ; Hope and a True Love.

NEIL YOUNG AT ABERDEEN

I have never been to Aberdeen before.Been to Dundee but got no further.With Neil Young playing his only Scottish date there it was a perfect time to make a debut.

After Dundee the land is a very lush Green , with Prime Beefstock all around and undulating lowish hills.The richness of the land oozes out like a convection.

Aberdeen itself seems to show its glory and wealth in its headstones.The lampposts are also of a regal nature , beefeater scarecrows drawing , rather than repelling , with sheen and lustre.I have heard many times the description the granite city.The granite is not of the marble type , rather the cement coloured hue , somewhat disingenuously complimented by newer buildings made from cement stone trying to blend in.The council offices in the centre are made of a regimented art deco rectangle and cube lego style assortment.You get a very grand impression not far removed from the cathedral at Barcelona , though on a much smaller , yet more minimalist way.




Just before we hit Aberdeen the weather turned , driving mist obscured visibility to only a few yards , which was a shame as the satvav was showing the sea was only a few yards away , on the clear day im sure it would be an inspiring sight.It is an odd culture shock when you go to a place from Glasgow and need to sympathise with the incremental weather.

Having arrived early we went to the legendary Ashvale Chip Shop restaurant , a joint so popular it even has its own wiki entry , one showing the many Best Chip Shop in the UK wards it has won
I had the Whale , a big 1IB fish said to be so difficult to finish you get a reward of a dessert and a certificate if you can tackle it.I was quite hungry and downed in next to no time.It was so easy an undertaking i couldnt even be arsed asking for the certificate.The dessert on the house was glory enough.The whole package is a little like Harry Ramsden but a slight quality higher.


As for the concert , early was the theme again , we managed to casually position ourselves near the front of the queue , once we got in we were at the very front , which is the best place to be not only visually but also because you can lean on the barriers , therefore you dont get tired.

Neil started of with the brilliant Hey, Hey , My , My , aided and abetted by two gentlemen who looked as if the were going to keel over at any moment , but like neils voice never do break and get more masterful as time went on.

Guitar frenzy extravaganzas Down by the River and Cortez the Killer kept the euphoria going.

The song below ive included as it just about captures the exact view we got , as well as the energy of the performance.

JAMES KELMAN AT HILLHEAD LIBRARY

James Kelman is quite hard to get into if you are not from Glasgow , he uses the Glasgow vernacular of the middle part of the last century as his contribution to honour and keep the culture alive from suffocation by formal English.

This may seem like a cheap position to take , but as he correctly points out minority groups within a colonial set-up must keep their culture alive or else they will be wiped off the face of the earth , the way to protest is to keep your language alive , keep your identity from being smothered and pushed out of existence.

The same thing is happening today as the Palestinians try to keep their culture alive in the form of poetry , whilst the colonialists try to silence it as an essential step to crush Palestinians as an entity all together.

Keeping Glaswegian alive may not seem as essential or dangerous a task as the plight of the Palestinians , but , as he argues there is a modern market corporate pressure to dispense with Glaswegian in order to maximise the market by watering down the culture , to ultimately produce a mass appeal musac that sells volumes , whilst selling the soul of local experience.

Despite being a very local writer there is no doubt that Kelman is a world class author.In my favourite Book of his You Have To Be Careful In The Land Of The Free he keeps the reader captivated for a full 95 pages as the main character considers whether he should order another Pint or go for a Pish.The reader is riveted as the proponent weights the pros and cons of the decision , in the end one is on the end of his seat as both the character and reader are bursting , bursting to be free of the tension and pressure.

To Kelman , writing is like sculpture or painting , requiring constant revision , careful refining , patient manipulation.Done properly, writing is a cultural tool to fightback imperialism.Writing is an aesthetic to be harnessed , dont even think about the market.




His newest Book is a brilliant conception , he tells the story from the point of view of a boy from the age of 4 , and the Book ends when he is just about 13.For a Glaswegian from the 60s , his images are immediately familiar , from "scrambles" at weddings , to being at Football matches when you can hardly see if front of you , to being chased by rowdies in and out of closes.

The reading he gave was mesmerising , read like a prose poem , layer apoun layer of vibrant bursting excitement , all the enthusiasm of a small boy , yet told with such precise concise language.A quite inspirational performance from a truly wonderful artist , a master of his craft.

Here is a review of his latest Book.

SAMUEL BECKETT "FILM" AT ASHTON LANE

Two intriguing events at this years West End Festival that caught my eye were a Talk by James Kelman and a rare public performance of the only Film Samuel Beckett made.There was also the promise to hear Sammys Friend and Publisher John Calder discuss the film and give his take on Art and Culture for the 21st Century in view of Becketts legacy.

But first we had ice cream , the most tasty ice cream you could want on a summers day from a small parlour just opposite Cafe Andaluz on Cresswell Lane.It is the kind of place you could easily miss if it was not recommended by a person beforehand.Columbus may have discovered America , but the person that told us of this discovery of a wonderful jewel deserves our most heartfelt compliments and fondest appreciation.

Being High on Ice Cream and Coffee we went to the Ashton.

The "Film" was made in 1965 , staring Buster Keaton , who had been brought out of retirement and was directed by long time most trusted of Becketts stage production arrangers Alan Schneider.

The film is 21 minutes long and features only one piece of audio ( when one character cautions silence in the form of a "ssshhh") , apparently that one piece of audio doubled the cost of the film and they had to have a audio team brought in.

Here it is in 3 parts:









The first doubt that John Calder would not be able to shed any inner light on the themes of the film came when he boldly stated Beckett never ever discussed the Film with him , even though they sat down together to watch at least once.

Then Calder throw not one , but 2 curveballs when he started talking about Sex , im sure you will agree the film has many themes but Sex is not one of them.But the real disorientation came when he suggested with much conviction the out of focus sequences were due to Schneiders lack of ability to utilise the equipment rather than a deliberate fuzziness to show the vision from the point of view of Keatons character.He never quite explained why the lack of focus was only when the film portrayed the objects from the characters personal observation , though never when things were viewed from other perspectives.

It was heartwarming to see incorrectly maligned director Alan Schneider , who was Becketts chief stage production collaborator , which explains the brilliantly constructed sequence segments of the film inside the Room , so much like the work of a natural master of the stage set , yet given deeper moods and feeling by use of the Film format, being given his rightful credit by the audience.


Alas , by the time the very intelligent and perceptive comments from the audience finally brought things round to discussing the aspects and themes brought out in the actual film we seemed to run out of time.

It would have been fascinating to explore the political topics of alienation ; isolation ;dislocation inside and out.I would love to have seen more of this type of discussion about the work and its implications for culture lovers and artists today.

I especially enjoyed the many observations and interpretations of the tearing up pictures scenes.It just shows what a wonderful and highly stimulating piece of art this was.

The very best synopsis of the Film and the history of the technical team around it is a superb article from Barney Rosset on the Tin House website.

It is well worth giving a special mention for the organisers of this showing , The Film has never been put out on any form a national release , of a very rare and special treat.Check out their website below:

I am One ( This particular link also contains pics from the showing).