I went to see the Wales National Theatre’s production of WW1 drama Mametz today. It was an outdoor production in a forest in Usk. We weren’t allowed to take photos so I sneaked this one before the main part started. It was amazing, really well done, mixing time frames and locations, and deeply moving. For the final scene we were in the middle of the forest, and it was raining heavily, but that seemed appropriate.
I’m not a big theatre fan, I hate musicals, and I struggle with the staginess and luviness of many shows, so an outdoor production suits me. It’s only on for a few days, so I urge you to see it if you can.
Category Archives: art
Tate Modern
Went to the Tate Modern today, here we approach it across the Millennium bridge
Tate Liverpool
It is half term, but I am an external examiner at Liverpool University and had to come up for an award board tomorrow So, I brought my daughter with me, and we went around Albert Dock, including the Tate Liverpool, the Slave Museum and then a film at the Picturehouse.
Singleton Abbey
had a meeting in Singleton Abbey at Swansea Uni this morning. Outside there are two statues of rather friendly looking dogs standing proud. I have no idea why.
Marketing a masterpiece
I was in Amsterdam today, for a board of examiners tomorrow. I had a spare couple of hours, so I went to the Rijksmuseum, and took in some Rembrandts and Vermeers. In the gift shop they had every conceivable piece of merchandising – mugs, puzzles, fridge magnets, bookmarks, rubiks cubes, and this Nightwatch umbrella. I mean, really?
(not a) War Horse
This horse statue, constructed from horseshoes is at the stables where my daughter rides. On a related note, we saw Spielberg’s War Horse on Friday. Daughter is a big Michael Morpurgo fan, and sobbed for the last half of the film. Afterwards she declared that she needed water as she was dehydrated.
