Mint: Thoughts on a Play

The Royal Court on Sloane Square is putting a different play each week, written by new and upcoming playwrights, with the same cast. This week, running until the 6th of July, is Mint. The play, written by Clare Lizzimore is one which is impressively strong even without considering the harsh schedule demanded of the cast.

It is the story of Alan, imprisoned for an unspecified crime, told through visits from his family spaced over the length of his incarceration. The blend of comic and tragic writing is perhaps the strongest point of the production. At times however the contrast is very stark, with the second act having a notably more sombre mood than the first. The vision is strong, but the bridge between the two elements fails at some points. The dialogue is witty and quick in places, however it still maintains a strong sense of emotion throughout. While the actors, notably Alan Williams playing Colin, the father of Alan, show their strengths in different aspects of this two tone play, the cast overall, and especially Sam Troughton, who plays the lead, carries both angles of the play off well, exhibiting both the humour as well as the angst of their characters strongly at all times. Angela Terrence, playing the younger sister Nicola, is the chief mark of time, transforming her character from young school girl to college graduate. Though she over exaggerates the postures of youth, this was perhaps a necessary measure since she had few lines as her older self. Her physical acting was enough to show how much time had elapsed from when we first meet Alan.

Time is an another character in this play. The passage of years, the chalking off of time served and the echoing of a ticking clock are constantly being referenced. The production and staging of the play also bear this out. Alan is housed in a cell, and his interactions take place like that of the cuckoo in a clock. The room he spends his life in is literally opened up for the few times he can communicate with his family and the audience. Housed in a place where the ticking of a clock is all that matters the staging is used to make the audience empathise with Alan's situation. The past, unknown, hangs over the entire length. It casts a long shadow and gives the play a mystery which the audience tries to piece together and unravel. It is a cute hook which works well.

My reading of this play is probably by recently finishing 'The Sense of an Ending' by Julian Barnes, a novel dealing with the past and how time erodes and exaggerates. I do feel that this play does, however, carry something of a similar sensibility. As with any piece of art there is not completely correct reading of it; that will differ depending on the audience member themselves. As the play progresses, and a bit part becomes the antagonist, we do see how forgiveness and coming to terms with one's, and one's family member's, past is the main thrust of the play. It is subtle in it's approach and I do not want to give the impression that one is bludgeon about the head with this idea.

Overall I greatly enjoyed the experience. The funny parts were funny, and the emotional parts did carry real weight. Given the brief rehearsal and preparation time it is all the more an admirable achievement. A great play which was riveting. I only thought about the acting afterwards, something which is always a mark of a strong cast. It's only on for a short period of time, so I'd suggest you go see it as soon as possible.

Pandora's Box

'What type of music do you like?' is one of those questions which helps break the ice. It serves to create a connection between new acquaintances, revealing but not personal. I like folk-rock, 60's influenced bands as well as some electronic music. It's a range which travels from Shakey Graves through Dr. Dog all the way to Four Tet and Booka Shade. I rely on various sources to hear new music but one of them, like for a lot of my generation, is not radio. It was before my time. I don't even buy music much any more, relying instead on streaming services such as Grooveshark and after finding a work around for their US only site Pandora too. After keying in bands and music which you like it provides you with a 'radio station' playing similar music. When you rate it's selection up or down it refines it's selection process. It's good, I enjoy it. You can leave it open in your browser and not have to think about what you what to listen to next. However one of my issues with it is how accurate it sometimes is. I have already given you my own potted description of my musical tastes, but Pandora's would justify it's choice 'because it features synth rock arranging, electronica influences, a subtle use of vocal harmony, call and answer vocal harmony (antiphony) and repetitive melodic phrasing.' That's for a Postal Service track, a group I had listened to and enjoyed before but I hadn't told Pandora that.

My issue is really that I wouldn't think I was that predictable. Music is something very much at the heart of humanness. It is very much unsatisfying to think that an algorithm can predict what type of music you would like when you view musical taste as something above scientific scrutiny.

I will still use Pandora; it is right most of the time. I will take heart from when it gets something wrong, and feel a little unpredictable human pride when I use the downvote option. A computer may be able to guess, with a fair degree of accuracy, my musical tastes, but it will never get it right all the time.

Listening to (with the help of Pandora):

Patrick O'Hearn - Beyond this Moment

Mike Costa - Miss Magnolia

Joris Laarman

The Dutch tourism board recently launched their 'Holland, the Original Cool' campaign telling us that the Netherlands is a cool place to visit. Though not featured in the video one person who adds to the image of Amsterdam as a vibrant, artistic centre is Joris Laarman. He is a Dutch furniture designer who blends the natural shapes which surround him with cutting edge technology drawn from fields as diverse as computer animation to engine construction. It's a blending of form and function which makes it something more than art.

Joris Laarman - Bone Chair

His Bone Furniture is one of his most intriguing works, not just for the organic yet ethereal shapes which are created, but also because of the story behind that creation. A section of General Motors had developed a program which mimicked the way trees and bones reinforced weak parts of their own structure, balanced between strength and weight. Aided by new developments in 3D printing Joris took this tool and applied it to furniture, with striking results.

One of his first creations was 'Heatwave', a Rococo-esque sculpture. At least that's what I thought when I first saw it. However, it wouldn't just be a piece of sculpture, that's not how Joris thinks. It's a radiator, a perfectly boring piece of equipment, sitting plainly on the wall - usually.

Heatwave

Joris makes art, but art with a function. It's cool and it's original and it's Dutch.