Time for a reality check

It is no secret that I’ve been really upset by many things our government is doing in the name of austerity. It feels like there is a conspiracy to protect & enrich the wealthiest in society while systematically attacking the most vulnerable. This frequently turns me into ranty Steph, which isn’t a great look for me.

Part of me knows that our government isn’t full of evil Bond villain types that sit in big swivel chairs rubbing their hands together, gleefully laughing as they plot the downfall of the everyday man. Just because they are putting forward laws & actioning cuts that will heartlessly and viciously make the life of many of the most vulnerable in society that much more of a struggle, that does not mean that they themselves are heartless, vicious bastards. They probably mean well and sleep the sleep of the righteous thinking that they are doing their best for society.  Right? I have to try to believe that to keep my faith in humanity alive. Plus I think reducing the conversation to name calling and finger pointing is exactly why our political system isn’t working.  Many Commons debates wouldn’t be out of place in a primary school playground (sorry but small kids can be just as mean, let’s not sugar coat childhood)

Why am I sharing the above thoughts? Because I’ve realised that we can easily be distracted by all the anger these policies are creating and are, as a result,  focusing too much of our energy in the wrong place. I still believe that we should protest against these changes, use our indignation to speak up for the most vulnerable. But that should not use up ALL our energy.

On Monday (15^th July) a friend of mind invited me to the opening of Emmaus Lambeth’s Brixton shop. If calling it a shop is really doing it justice, but more on that subject later. He had been working with them on the launch. I’ll confess to knowing nothing about Emmaus until I looked at the website after receiving his email.  What I read made me book the afternoon off work so that I could attend. You can find their site here: http://www.emmaus.org.uk/

In a simple snap shot Emmaus provide:

•           a way for the homeless to get off the streets, learn new skills & feel like part of society again
•           help and support for the local community
•          restored furniture/white goods for those most in need in the community or to be sold on to raise money to support the Charity

What I discovered on Monday is that the shop in Lambeth has been opened as part of a joint project with the council: a council who are on the front line dealing with many of the cuts that are making me (for one) so angry.  They have seen what Emmaus can do and how that can provide a practical & cost efficient solution to help many of the most vulnerable within their own borough.

This isn’t about the opening of a furniture shop. It is about an organisation that has given homeless people a second chance: the opportunity, through their own hard work, to earn money & have a home.  While also creating hubs for the local community, places they can go to when they are in need. 

It was great to hear Lib Peck from Lambeth Council talk about the relationship with Emmaus and the positive impact the opening of Emmaus Lambeth’s Brixton shop is going to have on the borough.  It made me feel very humble. For all my raging against the government, what have I done that is actually helping the people that I’m so indignantly defending? Naff all is the honest answer.

So I’ve made a promise to myself. Instead of howling at the moon (although I cannot promise NO howling at all, not ready to go cold Turkey & those petitions needs to be signed), I’m going to take time to think. If things aren’t going to get any better (and the reality is they aren’t, the forecasts I’ve seen are terrifying in terms of number of people expected to be living in poverty in  Britain in the next 10 years), what can I do to help?  I can’t trust the government to fix it. They may not be Machiavellian villains but, at a National level at least, they are part of the problem.  I do, however, know lots of very smart & caring people (including those of you reading this blog – yes you!). Surely if we all stopped & took inspiration from the folk at Emmaus, maybe we could find ways that we could help too. It is worth a shot, right? 

Round up of theatre & other goodies

Once again I've lost track of time and 2 months have passed by far too quickly and un-blogged about. Scandalous I know. So here is a quick snapshot of the things I've seen in my on-going glut of theatre & stuff.

Late September we have:

Oh the Humanity at the Soho Theatre: a wonderful cocktail of short plays brought to life expertly by some truly exceptional performances.

Rachel Sermanni at Bush Hall: she was so good I bought her album (which continues to delight) and I got the added bonus of discovering a fabulous new (to me) venue

In October the theatre train kept rolling:

A double bill of Ding Dong the Wicked and Love & Information at the Royal Court, both by Caryl Churchill who is a playwright I hugely admire. Lots of short pieces, some funny, some shocking, some sad but all reflecting the lives we (the broad mass of humanity) are living today. 

Chavs at the Lyric Hammersmith - the theme of short plays continues here. Fabulous collection of short works inspired by  "Chavs, the Demonization of the Working Class" by Owen Jones. Loved them, really true to the spirit of their source of inspiration, resulting in powerful and enjoyable political theatre.

Josephine Hart poetry week at the Arts Theatre - I sadly couldn't do every night but I did make it along for the Philip Larkin evening. I remembered loving his work back in my school days and hearing them read by such a talented group of actors was uplifting. Hopefully next year I can further expand my repertoire.

Timon of Athens at the National Theatre - what a great production! By the interval I was questioning why this is such a rarely performed piece by Shakespeare.  The answer was clear by the end, as the play does lose its power in the 2nd half. Saying that, this is more to do with faults with the source work and not in the production or performances, which were of an exceptional standard throughout.

Hello November, I'm almost up to date

The Divine Comedy at the Royal Festival Hall. It was Neil Hannon's 42nd birthday and a great time was had by all. The evening included party hats, party blowers (oh the noise), a cake, a giant no 42, lots of big present shaped boxes, a hidden string quartet, the whole of Promenade from start to finish and guest appearances by the fabulous Tom Chaplin and Alison Moyet.  As per usual Mr Hannon completely over delivered and I left the event feeling exhilarated. Bloody awesome.

A double bill of Chewing Gum Dreams and Chapel Street at the Bush Theatre as part of RADAR 2012, their new writers festival. Both were strong pieces.  The stand out for me was Chewing Gum Dreams, a solo performance that really got under my skin. A very truthful and affecting work of theatre.  Chapel Street was definitely an interesting piece, some really clever ideas in there but there was something a little distracting about it, which stopped it being as powerful a piece as it could have been.

The Magistrate at the Olivier (National Theatre). Both the set and costume designers deserve accolades for their work on the Magistrate, as from the first you are struck by the visual impact of the production.  In terms of the overall piece I understand that the critics haven't been overly rapturous about it, which I don't believe is fair. It is a really strong production of very lighthearted and frivolous farce.  I'd give this a firm 3.5/5 stars if I was into that sort of thing.  A fun, enjoyable and visually stunning confection. Plus it has the added benefit of still being on (ok so I'm rubbish at timely reviewing)

The Story Book Project 4 at Theatre 503. Collection of 10 short 10 minute plays by up & coming playwrights.  The quality of the collection was exceptional (to quote my mum).  Both the writing and acting talent on display makes me excited about the future of theatre (now if only our government could get with the program and stop cutting funding to the Arts, I could get really excited)

Berenice at the Donmar Warehouse.  Anne Marie Duff is a consistently wonderful actress and as Berenice she was magnificent. For Racine, this was a virtually perky story (SPOILER ALERT: no-one dies! But they do all agree to live in the misery & loneliness of lost love).  Overall a strong production but I did feel that both Titus and Antiochus could have had more emotional clout, in places it felt like the actors were tripping over the language. Racine can be a tad unwieldy.

Well that brings us almost up to date but the final review will wait until tomorrow. This is because I promised my friend Mark I would write it and if I don't do it justice I'll never hear the end of it (Mark you know it's true). So tomorrow evening you can look forward to my review of Cabaret. This is not for the current West End production featuring the ever gracious Will Young but the City of London school production. An ambitious piece to pick for a school play but, not to give too much away, they rose to the challenge.