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BELFAST FESTIVAL AT QUEEN’S REVIEW: The World’s Wife

Martin — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:53:39 +0000

Written in 1999, before she became poet laureate, ‘The World’s Wife’ is Carol Ann Duffy’s re-imagining of the great men in myth and history, through the eyes of the women around them.

In this adaptation of the anthology for stage, director Di Sherlock and actress Linda Marlowe have created something which is difficult to categorize. Part poetry recital, part theatre, Marlowe performs 19 of Duffy’s poems, as 19 different characters, over the course of 75 minutes.

(THE GOWN DISCOVERED TODAY THAT THE NEW LIBRARY AT QUEEN’S DOES NOT HAVE ANY POETRY BOOKS BY CAROL ANN DUFFY, DESPITE HER BEING POET LAUREATE)

BY CONNELL LOCKE

Disregarding convention and pretense, these monologues dazzle with crescendos of emotion, and twists of incisive wit. A collection of consciousness, observation and humor; the poems are a radical, often surreal reinvention of familiar and unfamiliar female characters.

No longer a helpless victim in need of rescue, Little Red Riding Hood is now a sexually charged teenager preying on the wolf. ‘Beauty’ (of Beauty and the Beast) is a domineering cynic, while Greek monster Medusa owes her serpentine hair to the bitterness and rage she felt at her lover’s betrayal. Jabs at the weakness and stupidity of men abound in this feminist series, but it would be utterly wrong to accuse Duffy of cliché, at all times her verse is intelligent and witty.

Linda Marlowe’s performance in service to these wonderful poems has been met with well-deserved acclaim. From the raw and impassioned Mrs. Quasimodo, to the imposing terror of Queen Herod, Marlowe convincingly assumes an astonishing number of accents and mannerisms in bringing these characters to life.

The show’s only flaw is that it doesn’t always straddle the distance between recital and play successfully. Although minimalist, the set design and use of props felt clumsy, the music often intrusive. In fact, almost every theatrical ploy seemed redundant, serving only to draw attention away from the central power of Duffy’s words and Marlowe’s magnetic performance.

Despite these minor quibbles ‘The World’s Wife’ is an impressive achievement, delighting the audience and showcasing two extraordinary talents.

BELFAST FESTIVAL AT QUEEN’S REVIEW: Amnesty International presents ‘Stand Up For Justice’

Martin — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:48:44 +0000

The annual comedy night in aid of Amnesty International took place in the Ulster Hall this year, instead of its usual home at the Whitla Hall.Starring five different comedians, the night was kicked off by Karl Spain who is from Limerick, “Europe’s murder capital”. According to Spain, it is where the gay pride marches feature marchers saying things like, “If anyone sees me here I’ll never be able to say another mass in Ennis again.” Spain told the audience of how he thinks of the IRA and U2 in a similar way in that, “Some of their earlier stuff was good, but their recent stuff is a bit off.” He was a definite audience pleaser.

BY CATHERINE WYLIE

Next up was Kevin Gildea, who used some old material which he had already performed in Mandela Hall last year at a student comedy night. That joke about skinny jeans not really making you skinny is a bit old in 2009, considering skinny jeans were at the height of fashion three years ago. Get with the zeitgeist Gildea.

A female comedian was next on the bill, which made me nervous, as more often than not female comedians can be painful to watch. However, Maeve Higgins’ unique style of performance won over the majority of the audience, perhaps alienating older audience members with her “random” (I hate that word but it was made for Higgins) personality and body language.

And then came the best two acts of the night in the form of Scotland’s Craig Hill and comedy winner David O’Doherty. Hill entered the stage in a kilt to the blast of Madonna’s ‘Hung Up’, and mimed and danced through the entire track, prompting much uproarious laughter from the audience. Much like Cheryl Cole on Sunday night, but without the laughter. Everything he said was hilarious and the quick wit he displayed whilst interacting with audience members was very impressive. David O’Doherty went on to tell great jokes, and finished up with a fabulous song slagging off everything that has made 2009 (and arguably the entire noughties) irritating and ridiculous. Making a comment about news values, he sang at the end, “And the death toll of the earthquake is expected to rise to 6000 by next week…In other news, Christina Aguilera’s cat has a alopecia.” He also expressed his annoyance at absolutely everyone being obsessed with their iphones and what applications they have. However, he said that when he’s bored talking to someone he’ll whip out his ipod and pretend it’s an iphone, “Ah, sorry, I have to take this, it’s Prince calling.” Very funny indeed.

I would argue that the venue change effected the atmosphere of the gig somewhat. I have been at all the Amnesty Stand Ups in the last five years, and I definitely prefer the Whitla as a venue for this event. I also found that there was very little emphasis on the Amnesty aspect of the night this year. In other years, a DVD would have been screened at the beginning and the audience would have been given more information about what Amnesty do.

I say bring it back to the Whitla next year, and bring Craig Hill and David O’Doherty with it.

Your student newspaper

Martin — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 20:29:37 +0000

Welcome to a new year at Queen’s, and welcome also to your brand new Gown website.

Through this website, The Gown will bring you regular student news and gossip, as well as all the latest from the Belfast entertainment scene, engaging features, and QUB sport analysis.

Building on our previous blog, you are again able share your views on stories by posting comments, but you now have the chance rate other people’s comments using our ‘thumbs up/down’ system. You can also take part in our topical student polls to instantly get your view heard on an issue.

More than ever before, The Gown helps you to keep in touch with student news and events: You can sign up for free news updates via RSS or email, and our fortnightly newspapers are available in PDF format through our ‘downloads’ page. You can also join the growing Gown community by following us through our new Facebook, Bebo and Twitter networks.

As for the newspaper, it is now available for free every Monday fortnight across the Queen’s campus. Click here to find the pick-up point most convenient to you.

The Gown is written by and for students, so we’d love you to get involved. Over the next year, tell about your student experiences: What do you like/loathe about student life? What issues are important to you? What achievements are you proud of?

Better yet, why don’t you contribute to the paper? Our office is on the top floor of The Union, so feel free to call in to have a chat. You can also contact us via email.

If you eventually manage to stumble through the Qsis registation system, good luck with the new term, and know that the colourful hurdles of University life will always be covered in The Gown- your student newspaper.