Tag: reviews

In truth no-one is ‘unique’. The best thing we can do is to avoid turning to the single issues that fuel ‘moral panic’.

March 24, 2025

I need to answer this obliquely in order to avoid any validation of the notion of unique personalities. They do not and cannot exist. The argument might be worth taking up another day but my aim today is to assume that we should and must avoid the tendency in single-issue thinking to invoke moral panic. … More In truth no-one is ‘unique’. The best thing we can do is to avoid turning to the single issues that fuel ‘moral panic’.

The queer confidence of a shy man: George Mackay Brown (GMB) and his late novel ‘Vinland’, where “boys love to range freely in the country of their imagination, and there they are captains and jarls”.

March 16, 2025

What is it to be confident? Usually mythologies are based around what ‘confidence’ should mean. The Viking sea captains and jarls of the Orkneyninga Saga are a strong subject for a literature in which boys dream of the men they might become but adolescence was a fraught and painful thing for George Mackay Brown (GMB), … More The queer confidence of a shy man: George Mackay Brown (GMB) and his late novel ‘Vinland’, where “boys love to range freely in the country of their imagination, and there they are captains and jarls”.

Tomorrow I travel to London. My first destination experience is travelling to ancient Thebes recreated on the stage of the Old Vic Theatre to see Ella Hickson’s free adaptation of ‘Oedipus’.

February 25, 2025

Tomorrow I travel to London. My first destination experience is travelling to ancient Thebes recreated on the stage of the Old Vic Theatre to see Ella Hickson’s free adaptation of Oedipus. Reviewers’ comments have ranged from deliberate disdain to the usual passive-aggressive attempts to take down the reputation of visiting Hollywood stars alongside praise of … More Tomorrow I travel to London. My first destination experience is travelling to ancient Thebes recreated on the stage of the Old Vic Theatre to see Ella Hickson’s free adaptation of ‘Oedipus’.

‘In matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity is the vital thing’. Hence why be Earnest, Ernest? Seeing Max Webster’s version live-streamed at the Gala Durham 20th February 2025.

February 21, 2025

My photograph of the screen in the interval of ‘ The Importance of Being Earnest’ at the Gala Theatre Durham The words cited in my title are from Gwendolen Fairfax, one of the two young women in this play in love with the name ‘Ernest’. Is the name or style of a man his reality? … More ‘In matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity is the vital thing’. Hence why be Earnest, Ernest? Seeing Max Webster’s version live-streamed at the Gala Durham 20th February 2025.

Many of Iris Murdoch’s characters feel they are in a drama not of their own scripting (which, of course they are) that can only be changed by getting out from ‘under the net’ of a web of false relationships. This blog contains some thoughts on reading a play I had neglected by the great novelist.

January 8, 2025

Many of Iris Murdoch’s characters feel they are in a drama not of their own scripting (which, of course they are – as Bradley Pearson and Hamlet are in The Black Prince and Hamlet respectively and both together in the first) that can only be changed by getting out from under the net of a … More Many of Iris Murdoch’s characters feel they are in a drama not of their own scripting (which, of course they are) that can only be changed by getting out from ‘under the net’ of a web of false relationships. This blog contains some thoughts on reading a play I had neglected by the great novelist.

Sequestered:  The art of self-discovery might be no more than facing up to being  locked-in with your own doubts & uncertainty . A reflection after seeing Edward Berger’s film Conclave.

January 6, 2025

Sequestered:  The art of self-discovery might be no more than facing up to being  locked-in with your own doubts & uncertainty . A reflection after seeing Edward Berger’s film Conclave. [The film is directed by Edward Berger and written by Peter Straughan, based on the 2016 novel by Robert Harris]. There is a truly impressive moment – … More Sequestered:  The art of self-discovery might be no more than facing up to being  locked-in with your own doubts & uncertainty . A reflection after seeing Edward Berger’s film Conclave.

‘Stop saying words, my sister whispered back. I want to hear the story’. This is a blog  on Ali Smith (2024) ‘Gliff ‘.

November 26, 2024

‘Stop saying words, my sister whispered back. I want to hear the story’.[1] The paradox may be that we express our identity in words and names not in the process of telling and hearing our stories. I think Ali Smith thinks that may be true of the configuration of sex/gender too. This is a blog  … More ‘Stop saying words, my sister whispered back. I want to hear the story’. This is a blog  on Ali Smith (2024) ‘Gliff ‘.

A performance of Pat Barker’s art in ‘The Voyage Home’ merges the voice of the Durham working class and rich music.

October 12, 2024

A performance of Pat Barker’s art in ‘The Voyage Home’ merges the voice of the Durham working class and rich music. I have blogged on The Voyage Home in preparation for this event (see the blog at this link) and had it been for the fairly run-of-the mill interview with Barker conducted by Adelle Stripe … More A performance of Pat Barker’s art in ‘The Voyage Home’ merges the voice of the Durham working class and rich music.

Alan Hollinghurst says that even if the first person narrator has a ‘testifying force’, it ‘is also filled with the omission of not knowing everything’. This is a blog on Alan Hollinghurst (2024) ‘Our Evenings’.

October 9, 2024

Alim Kheraj of GQ magazine starts his interview regarding Our Evenings (2024) with novelist Alan Hollinghurst with a question about  the ‘distinct first-person narrator’, asking: ‘How did that voice develop?’ Hollinghurst’s answer gives the reason why he thought a first person narrator was ‘inevitable’ because the events must be seen by someone ‘racially distinct from … More Alan Hollinghurst says that even if the first person narrator has a ‘testifying force’, it ‘is also filled with the omission of not knowing everything’. This is a blog on Alan Hollinghurst (2024) ‘Our Evenings’.

A note about ‘Bajazet’ by Racine and translated by Alan Hollinghurst and featuring in ‘Our Evenings’

October 8, 2024

Alan Hollinghurst’s newest novel opens with the memoirist, who is the novel’s focus, Dave Win, thinking about his present life in his 80s. He is ‘two weeks into rehearsals for Bajazet at the Anvil’, where he is ‘playing old Acomat, the grand Vizier, a gift of a part, …’. This blog is a starter before … More A note about ‘Bajazet’ by Racine and translated by Alan Hollinghurst and featuring in ‘Our Evenings’