Dvd/150: A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (Elia Kazan, 1951)

To celebrate Tennessee Williams' birth day I watched the greatest of the film adaptations of his works, Kazan's A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE which, nearly 70 years later, still grips like a vice.

Released four years after Kazan's original Broadway production, he was reluctant to repeat himself but relented and cast three of his original actors - Marlon Brando as 'Stanley', Kim Hunter as 'Stella' and Karl Malden as 'Mitch' - but had to replace Jessica Tandy with the more famous Vivien Leigh, who had played 'Blanche' onstage in London.

In retrospect, the casting was inspired: Vivien's 'outsider' status against the established bond between Brando, Hunter and Malden echoes the disturbing presence of Blanche in the working-class world of Stanley, Stella and Mitch.

Much has been made since of the opposing acting styles of Brando and Leigh with his gaining the more stature, but even he grew to respect her extraordinary performance.

Shelf or charity shop?  Really??  You even have to ask?  Tennessee Williams' extraordinary words, Harry Stradling's cinematography, Alex North's pervasive score, Kim Hunter and Karl Malden's multi-layered performances, the intensity of Kazan's direction, the electricity of Brando and of course, the gossamer, iridescent, quicksilver, haunting brilliance of Vivien Leigh.

SWAN LAKE at the Opera House Covent Garden - Swansong...

The Royal Ballet's big Spring presntation was scheduled to be the first revival of Liam Scarlett's SWAN LAKE; we saw it in 2018 and wanted to see it again as our favourite dancer Steven McRae was finally due to dance the lead role of Prince Siegfried.  Back in 2018 he was recovering from an injury so we saw William Bracewell instead.  But last October, we were in the audience when, while dancing des Grieux in MANON, Steven snapped his tendon onstage and he is still recovering, so again we saw a replacement, this time Federico Bonelli.

Devil Works: 1

This revival, while being well-reviewed and successful at the box office - hey it's SWAN LAKE!! - has yet appeared under a cloud as Liam Scarlett, instead of reaping the benefits of this revival of the Tchaikovsky classic, was suspended in January by the Royal Ballet for allegations of sexual misconduct which are still ongoing.

Devil Works: 2

This is all a shame as Scarlett's production - here staged by the Royal Ballet's Director Kevin O'Hare - is a wonderful, sweeping version of the 1895 Imperial Ballet, his choreography building on the legendary work of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov as well as the Neopolitan dance by Sir Frederick Ashton.  Unlike the museum piece that the Bolshoi Ballet presented a few years back, Scarlett's version seems vivid and new.  There are even overtones of Matthew Bourne's version when at the end Siegfried carries Odette's body towards us while behind him she appears floating illuminated behind the backdrop.

With the romantic design by John Macfarlane and moody lighting by David Finn still proving a triumph, we again had Akane Takada dancing Odette / Odile and, while I still feel her to be a bit antiseptic, she still dances with a fluidity of movement, like the ripples on her swan's lake.  It would be good to see one of the other female soloists do it such as Sarah Lamb or Natalia Osipova.

There was exquisite support from the ever-whirling James Hay as Benno, Kristen McNally as the Queen who realises too late the error of her ways, and the always hissable Thomas Whitehead as the nasty Von Rothbart.

Of course one must also praise the wonderful corps de ballet for the always dazzling work they do as Odette's swans - shaping and re-shaping themselves into dazzling groups, they are always an arresting sight.  We were lucky to have in the cast Itziar Mendizabal as one of the pairing of lead swans and a special shout-out to Gina Storm-Jensen for her dazzling Spanish dancer.

The Royal Opera House Orchestra as usual got the biggest ovation under the baton of Koen Kessels.  The night we saw it danced marked the 1,032nd performance of SWAN LAKE at Covent Garden and I am so glad we saw it again - I even had an icy tear trickle down my cheek at the end which has never happened before, unlike the Bourne version which has me full of sobs. 

But now what?  I cannot recommend you see it as thanks to the Coronavirus pandemic, Covent Garden as well as all other theatres has closed for an indefinite period.  Who knows how many months I will be robbed of that unique experience of alchemy between performer and audience.

Devil Works: 3

Somehow The Bard - as usual - sums up the moment best:



The rest is silence...

Exit Through The Giftshop - Postcards at an exhibition....

Well it has been more than six months since I explored my many postcards from exhibitions and galleries, so let's dive in again...

1) THE PRISON COURTYARD (1890) - Vincent van Gogh

I was immediately struck by this absorbing painting when I saw the VAN GOGH AND BRITAIN exhibition at Tate London in 2019.  Van Gogh based his painting on a Doré engraving but whereas the original of prisoners in the cramped exercise yard at Newgate Prison was dark and dingy, van Gogh's painting lightens the tone considerably but with a sickly green-yellow paint that makes me think the skies are about to open and drench the inmates.

Van Gogh painted this in the last year of his life while still hospitalised in Saint-Rémy asylum and the endless circular trudging of the depressed prisoners surely echoes his mental condition; the ghostly stare of the Vincent look-a-like, the only one looking at the viewer, haunts you when you consider what happened later in 1890.

2) THE SISTINE CHAPEL (1508-1512 / 1536-1541) - Michelangelo

This was bought at the Vatican in 2017 after a pricey but marvellous tour of the Vatican palace - including the little-seen Niccoline Chapel with it's Fra Angelico frescos - which ended in our small tour group getting about 15 minutes in an empty Sistine Chapel.

It was a strange experience, as it is whenever you are finally confronted with anything huge and iconic that you have only seen before in manageable forms like books or films; here it was even more surreal to be actually inside the art. The ceiling and side walls were too far away to fully engage with but the Day of Judgement fresco was just magnificent because you could get so close to it by the altar.  A memorable day...

3) CAVALCATA DEL MAGI (detail) (1459=1461) - Benozzo Gozzoli

This was bought on our first visit to Florence when we visited the imposing Palazzo Medici-Riccardi; inside the Palazzo is the small Magi Chapel which houses the remarkable Gozzoli fresco on all four walls. showing the lavish process of the three wise men to visit Christ, along with various members of the all-powerful Medici family, their noblemen and King John VIII (seen here), the last Byzantine Emperor.

Like the Sistine Chapel, here you are in the middle of the art which surrounds you but due to it's much smaller size, you can appreciate it all the more.  Gozzoli was a pupil of Fra Angelico and helped him with several of the San Marco cell frescos and, indeed, the previously mentioned Niccoline Chapel in The Vatican.  Because of it's intimacy it is easier to become fascinated by the masterly detailing on the clothes and livery, the rolling landscape, the draughtsmanship of the animals and the many faces on display, although here it looks like all the pages had the same model!

4) DAVID (detail) (1501-4) - Michelangelo

I of course bought this in Florence at the Galleria dell'Accademia where Michelangelo's David stands in solitary majesty in a stark setting.  At the gift shop, they have multiple postcards of David from every angle - you either go tasteful or out there, I was definitely Out There.

David was originally placed outside in the Piazza della Signoria beside the Palazzo Vecchio where he stayed for 369 years until moved to the Galleria in 1873.  David done be serving some serious arse, surely the most famous in art history?  Michelangelo certainly had a loving hand...

5) THE BATLLÓ MAJESTY (1150?) - Anonymous

I bought this at my only visit to the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya in Barcelona which we tried to do it all in one day which was a bit of an error - by the end of it you are slightly jaded by the constant shout of "Yes I know everyone was doing this but Catalonia did it too!" - and there is so much of it as well.

To be honest the only rooms I really liked were the last few with it's charming impressionist-style paintings but the early medieval rooms are impressive just for the sheer volume of items in there - this crucifix really caught my eye with it's vivid colourful cross and the doleful Jesus dressed in a multi-coloured robe - this 'Majesty' clothes style, as opposed to other more realistic representations. was to signify Christ's triumph over death.  Me? I just like the disco Jesus.

Dvd/150: LOS ABRAZOS ROTOS (Broken Embraces) (Pedro Almodóvar, 2009)

Almodóvar's 17th film is a multi-layered tale of love, loss and film-making; it also continues his collaboration with Penelope Cruz as well as featuring cameos by his favourite acresses.

Former film director Mateo was blinded in a car crash 14 years ago and now lives as a writer under the name 'Harry Caine'; he is cared for by his agent Judit and her son Diego.

As Mateo cares for Diego after an accidental drug overdose, he learns that the tycoon Ernesto Martel has died; it allows Mateo to tell Diego of the events in the 1990s that involved him, Judit, Martel and Martel's mistress Lena who became Mateo's secret lover when he cast her in his latest film, events that ended with the crash which blinded him and killed Lena.

Penélope Cruz is radiant and touching as Lena, adored by Mateo, Ernesto - and, ultimately, by Pedro's camera  too.

Shelf or charity shop?  It's a keeper for Almodóvar's rhapsodic film-making, Alberto Iglesias' score with it's Bernard Herrman overtones and the performances of Lluís Homar as Mateo, Blanca Portillo as Judit, José Luis Gómez as Ernestro, and the delightful previous 'Pedronista's Lola Duenas, Angela Molina, Rossy de Palma, Chus Lampreave and Kiti Mánver.

THE VISIT or THE OLD LADY COMES TO CALL at the Olivier, National Theatre

It is sad there are plays disappearing from the repertoire of the major theatres who are now putting on new tick-box State Of The Nation plays or Woke-To-Caffeine-Level revivals with gender bounced characters in drab modern dress using hand-mikes.  Where are revivials of particularly 20th Century European dramas to be found - the ones not that well-known enough to become a West End star vehicle for a GAME OF THRONES actor.

Step forward the National Theatre, all the more surprising as it has become The National Theatre of The Crashingly Obvious under Rufus Norris' PC Worldview.  But here we are back in 1956 in the strange, blackly comedic world of Friedrich Dürrenmatt for his most famous play THE VISIT. Dürrenmatt was a Swiss writer whose novels and plays did much to elevate German drama in post WWII.

THE VISIT is a deadly cocktail of the harsh judgemental world of Brecht peopled with the conniving, small-minded citizens from the plays of Oden von Horváth while shot through with Dürrenmatt's own satire. It has proved his most successful play in English language versions including the sanitized 1964 film with Ingrid Bergman and Anthony Quinn, but was also the basis for an opera as well as the last Broadway musical of John Kander and the late Fred Ebb starring Chita Rivera and Roger Rees (his last show before his death).

Jeremy Herrin's production of Tony Kushner's US-based adaptation takes up the whole of the Olivier's stage and makes much use of the under-stage drum to make whole new sets appear before us, although it must be said that there is not much joy looking at Vicki Mortimer's drab and murky sets for the depressed town of Slurry in upstate New York.

Slurry is a town in sharp decline: businesses are failing, mainline trains don't stop there anymore and the city government is running out of money.  Only one thing can save them and it looks like it might be about to happen - Claire Zachanassian, the world's richest woman, was born in Slurry and she is coming back to visit.  Although she left as a young girl under scandalous circumstances, the mayor begs her former lover Alfred Ill to put the city's case to the eccentric widow.

The imperious and glamorous Claire arrives and soon has the whole town at her feet - although she reveals there's not just a monetary change in her life as she now has two false legs and a false hand!  Alfred discovers this while asking her for the (ahem) hand-out for the city.  Claire says she is willing to help the town on one condition which she will reveal at that night's gala reception. After a lavish, dull homecoming ceremony with child athletes and a huge choir, Claire announces she will give the town one billion dollars - half for the town's coffers, half to be divided between Slurry's families.

After the ecstatic applause dies down, Claire reveals her condition: Alfred was her lover when she was young and after she became pregnant, he disowned her.  She tried to bring a paternity suit but the trial judge and Alfred fixed the hearing by introducing two male witnesses who purjured her and the case was dismissed forcing her to leave the town in shame.  Now the trial judge is Claire's butler and her two clownish courtiers are revealed to be the two witnesses whom she tracked down to blind and castrate.  Now she wants her final revenge on Slurry: one billion dollars - if Alfred is killed.

And that's about it - the following two acts tread water for the inevitable to happen, the second act is purgatorial as it is the same scene replayed again and again as Albert begs his community not to kill him while also noticing that all his neighbours now own credit cards and are spending out on the expected windfall.  Albert tries to escape but the town turn out at the station to stop him getting the train.

The third act is a strange mix of tension and obviousness as Albert's fate is revealed when the town make their decision, watched dispassionately by Claire.  It is no surprise that it was adapted into an opera; it's basic plotline would be well suited to the medium.  Like Brecht, Dürrenmatt does nothing to make Alfred sympathetic so - because she has the best lines - I was totally behind Claire to triumph.  It makes for a very lop-sided battle of wills.

None of Dürrenmatt's characters have anything that equals depth so well done to Sara Kestelman and Nicholas Woodeson for bringing vigour to their roles of the disenchanted school head teacher and Slurry's garrulous Mayor.  Hugo Weaving brings increasing levels of unbelieving panic to his role of shopkeeper Albert Ill as one by one, his friends and family choose Claire's promised money rather his safety, it was good to see him on stage after having only ever seen him on screen before.

The ice-cold heart of the show is the wonderful Lesley Manville who delivers every killer put-down with a soured thud; in her hands the improbable Claire becomes a very human-sized avenger.  It was a measure of her performance that - rather than the usual replication of Scutari hospital on a wet Wednesday night - the audience was silently attentive and, during her denunciation of Slurry and Alfred, you could hear a pin drop.  Seemingly modelled on elements of Madonna, Lauren Bacall and Elaine Stritch, it's Lesley Manville's show.

An evening of revenge and retribution which I would recommend although Tony Kushner really does like crossing his t's and dotting his i's... I would suggest having a foyer bar break for the dull second act.

ISADORA NOW: A TRIPLE BILL at the Barbican Theatre - "a beautiful end"

It is ironic that those most likely to commemorate the iconoclastic dancer Isadora Duncan are the performers she disliked the most, trained ballet dancers.  But it was ex-Royal Ballet soloist Viviana Durante's company who staged a triple bill to celebrate Isadora and her influence at the Barbican last week.

Durante was due to dance in the triple bill but - frustratingly - was injured and could not dance for any of the week's performances; however she was able to take a bow with her company which must have been bittersweet but good that she was there to acknowledge the ovation for the relatively short but impressive programme.

Isadora Duncan was born in San Francisco in 1877 and was encouraged to dance from an early age, but was frustrated by both the constrained ballet training and the accepted professional dancing in music halls.  She moved with her mother and siblings to London aged 21 and started to dance for wealthy clients' salons to make money, usually dancing in flowing draped shifts to a solo pianist, using her own free-form style of movement based on the Grecian images found at the British Museum.  A later move to Paris gave her further inspiration by her visits to the Louvre. She became the talk of European dance with her tours and artists of the calibre of Rodin attempted to capture her unique movement in art.

Isadora once mused that she would like to be remembered for her breakthroughs in modern dance but would probably be remembered for her love life and so it transpired: unconventional relationships which resulted in two children by theatre designer Gordon Craig and American businessman Paris Singer, the subsequent tragedy of the children drowning when their car toppled into the Seine, her move to Soviet Russia in 1921 when the Russians offered to build her schools which led to a violent year-long marriage to the poet Sergei Yesenin who later shot himself, the mid-1920s found her aimlessly drifting from hotel to hotel on the Riviera one step ahead of her creditors until her now-legendary death on the 14th September 1927 when her trailing silk scarf caught in the spokes of the sports car she was being driven in and broke her neck.

The blazing individuality of her life - and death - means she was ever-present throughout the 20th Century: her autobiography MY LIFE was published the year she died and has been followed by countless biographies - I have, um, six!, in Ken Russell's tv film and Karel Reisz' big screen biopic with Vanessa Redgrave and the two Royal Ballet productions featuring her.  Isadora was particularly lauded in the 1960s and 70s when her proto-feminism made her an icon.

ISADORA NOW went one step further and Durante recreated with Duncan expert Barbara Kane one of Isadora's own ballets: DANCE OF THE FURIES danced to a passage from Gluck's "Orfeo ed Eurydice" was originally danced by Isadora in 1911 as a solo but was later expanded to include a number of her pupils.  In this staging it was wonderfully atmospheric, lit by shafts of light and burning flames in a large urn as five dancers ran, cowered, threatened and whirled around the urn; it was haunting and wonderfully vivid despite lasting only 10 minutes.

The dancer Begona Cao had no time to rest after that as, after a few moments, she appeared lying on the stage in a pink diaphanous shift to dance - in place of Viviana Durante - Frederick Ashton's short but beautiful FIVE BRAHMS WALTZES IN THE MANNER OF ISADORA DUNCAN which he choreographed in 1976.

Sir Fred had seen Isadora dance in 1921 when he was a teenager and had been totally captivated by her unique quality - he remembered a run she did across the stage when he felt "she left herself behind" - so when called upon to do a short piece for the Ballet Rambert's 50th Birthday gala he choreographed FIVE BRAHMS WALTZES for the wonderful Lynn Seymour.  His Isadora runs, skips, pivots, and strikes attitudes, all the time with her arms caressing the air and the music, when she is not whirling a silk scarf behind her or fluttering silk pink petals around her for her final waltz.  I suspect Durante would have made it more of a 'moment' but Begona Cao was captivating.

The final piece was called UNDA and was choreographed by Joy Alpuerto Ritter who also joined the indefatigable Bergona Cao and four other dancers in a Duncanesque work which melded her techniques to a more Akram Khan style.  It was performed by cellist and vocalist Lih Qun Hong who sat at the side of the stage and provided the other-wordly score for them to dance to.

Again the urns were featured including a lengthy phrase where the dancers soaked their long hair in the water-filled ones and threw their heads back amid a spray of droplets which made a great visual.  At 40 minutes it did eventually outstay it's welcome but certainly proved that Isadora lives on in modern dance techniques.

Two quotes from Isadora to close:

"I hate dancing; I am an expressioniste of beauty.  I use my body as my medium, just as the writer uses his words.  Do not call me a dancer."

"No pose, no movement, no gesture is beautiful in itself. Every movement is beautiful only when it is expressed truthfully and sincerely.  The phrase "the beauty of the line" is - by itself - absurd.  A line is beautiful only when it is directed towards a beautiful end."

I think she would have approved of the truth in Viviana Durante's company.