Emma Rice’s stylish stage adaptation of Hitchcock’s classic
Endlessly inventive, clever and stylish. Words that are routinely applied to Alfred Hitchcock classic 1959 spy thriller can easily be applied to Emma Rice’s endlessly inventive, clever and stylish stage adaptation. We could also add funny and crowd-pleasing.
North By Northwest is in many ways, typical Hitchcock. On one level, a shaggy dog yarn of mistaken identity, on the other a Cold War thriller about the post-War landscape. And in Rice’s hands, done with a dry martini and a laugh.
Rice takes Hitchcock’s story – the best of his four films with Cary Grant – and gives it music and verve, some great lines and a fantastic 50s inspired soundtrack. “I have loved getting to grips with Hitchcock’s incredible mind. He is one of the greatest storytellers of all time and I wonder at the way he uses glamour, sexual tension, intricate plotting and complex characters to make the cogs of his super-stylish worlds turn,” Rice has said. What Hitchcock didn’t do was use song and dance, humour and ‘fourth wall’ nods and winks to create a wonderfully entertaining night out. For all that playfulness, the story surprisingly straight and the lines faithful, to the point of even recreating the famous bi-plane crop-dusting scene with style – and humour.
Ewan Wardrop, who was excellent, takes the Grant role of Roger Thornhill, mild-mannered advertising exec Roger Thornhill, who gets mistaken for George Carlin, a…well, we’re never too sure about George Carlin. But it’s a wild ride that takes Thornhill deep into the Cold War, and from New York to Chicago to Mount Rushmore taking in love, betrayal, a bit more love and no little interference from his mother.
The cast – Wardrop, Mirabelle Gremaud as Anna, Patrycja Kujawska as Eva Kendall, Simon Oskarsson as Valerian and Karl Queensborough as Philip Vandamm – all excel, but Katy Owen steals the show as the narrator, revelling in the witty script and constantly bringing the audience into the story, always effortlessly, never to the detriment of the story. The whole production, from the staging to the clothing to the singing, flows with wit and style. No one left the sold out theatre without a smile on their face. It was apparently over two hours long. You’d never have known.
As the summer months draw near, the ability to be outdoors in more desirable weather is more than possible for local residents. Even for activities held indoors, there will be outdoor events for those hobbies to provide an alternative to sitting inside a venue for a few hours this summer.
If you’re keener on films, then Picturehouse will have you covered. Organised by staff members at the Duke of York’s Picturehouse, Picturehouse Outdoor Cinema is an ongoing addition for over a decade to Brighton’s cinema landscape, taking place at Preston Manor South Lawn & Garden.
The benefit of the Outdoor Cinema, according to Sam Harris, a regional marketing executive for Picturehouse’s London and Brighton cinemas, is the increased amount of freedom they have when it comes to going about their showings. As Sam puts it, “It gives us a bit more space to have more fun, it’s not just people turning up for the film, getting their popcorn, and going into the screen, it’s more like event cinema, and everyone there is on the same page and relaxed.”
Outdoor Cinema will have 12 different screenings over two weekends each in June and August. Cult classics, personal favourites, and films from the 1970s to today, Sam ensures that the programming offers films that cater to everyone’s taste. He believes that because of the wider freedom of Outdoor Cinema, “You can have a lot more fun with the programming in that sort of way.”.
Undeniably, the higher temperatures during the summer months can result in higher chances of extreme weather, which could lead to screenings being cancelled. Sam is aware of this, and jokes that “You can’t go to an outdoor cinema in Britain and expect it to be sunny all of the time”. However, depending on the film, it could add to the experience. Sam remembers doing a screening of Top: Gun Maverick a few years ago on an incredibly windy day, and noted “It’s like 4DX, it’s like you’re really in the sky flying.”
Previous showings at Preston Manor have included the likes of Jaws, Mamma Mia, and Rocky Horror Picture Show. Whilst the selection for this year’s offerings at Preston Manor is still undecided, Sam promises that there are “some really fun ideas, there’s going to be some music, some bangers, some old favourites, the lineup is maybe the best we’ve ever done, I hope.”
If outdoor cinema isn’t appealing, perhaps outdoor theatre may interest you. Brighton Open Air Theatre (or BOAT for simplicity) has been at Dyke Road Park since 2015, founded by the late Adrian Bunting, whose vision of an outdoor theatre has lived on through the founding trustees of BOAT. Last year, to mark 10 seasons since opening in 2015, BOAT opened with Adrian’s play ‘Kemble’s Riot’, an Edinburgh Fringe award-winning play.
BOAT themselves are a charity organisation, meaning they don’t get any funding, and instead fundraise themselves each year through ticket sales, donations and profits from the bar. Nevertheless, Tanya Macleod, the operations manager at BOAT since 2018, believes there is a certain kind of magic about the venue. Calling it ‘the theatre that friendship built’, she said, “The site and location are gorgeous, when all the wildflowers and the sun are out, it’s magical, and it’s quite traditional, not just because it’s a Greek amphitheatre, but because we’re part of a touring circuit of companies who arrive, they perform their show and then they go off. It has that village community feel to it that’s quite rustic.”
The longstanding nature of BOAT has meant they have built strong relationships with companies over the past decade. Whilst Tanya understands that some companies might not come back, owing to reasons such as some shows not translating to outdoor theatre compared to indoor theatre, she said: “We’re always encouraging new companies, there’s a lot of handholding, to begin with, whilst they get used to this unique setup. It’s an overview of a giant puzzle, but we want to give everyone a fair chance.”
BOAT’s lineup this year starting from the 2nd of May, as described in their brochure, ‘offers a wide selection of shows, including some old favourites as well as new and exciting productions’. From the likes of Shakespeare plays such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream, to their annual Summer Comedy Festival, where the showing featuring famous comedian Romesh Ranganathan sold out in a record 8 hours, to I Joan, a modern re-telling of the story of Joan de Arc, there is something for everyone this summer.
As the summer draws nearer, perhaps it might be worthwhile to experience a new change of scenery and experience screenings in the warm and sunny outdoors at either Preston Manor or Dyke Road Park. You’re more than likely to end up finding something worthwhile that you won’t regret attending.
It can be said that Brighton is a hub for cinema. There are a wide variety of cinemas in the area, ranging from multiplexes to independents, with someone to offer for anyone somewhat interested in film. But what if cinemas don’t offer a specific niche that you happen to be craving? That is where film clubs come into play.
Brighton itself has a few film clubs to go around, ranging a variety of genres and niches. One of these clubs is the Toad Lickers Collective (TLC), although it is not strictly a film club. Founded last year by Keziah Keeler and Liz Rose, TLC’s wider programme includes free exhibitions and workshops alongside film screenings once a month at the Rose Hill, an independent music venue.
Regarding why they wanted to do more than just film screenings, Kez said, “There’s a lot of things you can express through film that can reach a wider audience, and we’re quite interested in the idea of film as the eye of the workers. We thought it was a cool way to get a lot of people in a room talking about the same subject which feels a bit missing in this era.”
TLC themselves don’t make much of a profit, due to being a Community Interest Company, so any profit made from screenings goes towards running free workshops and exhibitions, due to their desire to make themselves as accessible as possible.
The choice of The Rose Hill as their venue for film screenings was one that TLC are happy with, as Rose points out the difficulty of finding places to host events. Rose said, “The Rose Hill are really welcoming and really care about the community, and I think you feel that in the atmosphere they create, it’s all very casual and we really like how comfortable it is as well, it’s cosy and intimate.”
TLC’s most recent exhibition was Folklore, which set out to explore why folklore is having a revival and how contemporary artists are using its legends, techniques and aesthetics to describe their experiences. This fits in with what Kez describes as the core of the club, “this idea that storytelling is really important, and there are all these different ways of storytelling that we can use the rules and the methods to help us describe social issues and real problems.”
Whilst they’ll be looking at other interests when their film screenings return after the summer in September, Liz wishes to explore working class culture in a potential future film season, looking at joyful working-class films such as Billy Elliot and The Full Monty. Their reasoning is because, to them, “Folklore has a history that belongs to people and has the potential to be much more linked to working class cultures. As funding disappears, it’s becoming increasingly hard to see diverse voices, and if you’re working class or from an underrepresented background, those stories don’t get told in a genuine way by people telling them.”
Similarly to TLC’s recent folk-based exhibition, Bom-Bane’s Folk Horror Film and Ice Cream Club may be of interest as well, a film club that explores the many films belonging to the folk horror genre. Hosted by David Bramwell at Bom-Bane’s in Kemptown, each film screening features an intermission, a discussion halfway through the screening, a food break, and what David describes as ‘an avant-garde unsettling performance from a group calling themselves the Bewilderkin’
David himself is no stranger to folk horror, having been performing a Wicker-Man singalong for 16 years. To him, the club is a chance for him to ‘explore the genre and see how far we can stretch the boundaries of the definition of folk horror, and not present the obvious choices like The Wicker Man. We try and delve into weirder fringes of Folk Horror, including folk horror films from around the world, not just Anglo-centric, and presenting films from parts of the world that wouldn’t necessarily be associated with the genre.’
The difficulty of running any film club largely revolves around the financial aspects. Despite most screenings at Bom-Banes selling out tickets-wise, thanks in part to the venue capacity being just 25, David notes there is difficulty in spreading the word about his folk horror film club. He said, ‘It’s too expensive to put posters up around town, and I’d be making a loss on the night if I paid for 50 posters to go up for a week or two.’
Regardless of the financial aspect of keeping the film club going, David is still optimistic for the club’s future. Whilst there is no showing at Bom-Bane’s in May due to David’s work during Brighton Fringe, his next screening will be the film ‘Wake in Fright’ from 1971. As David describes it, ‘It’s one of Nick Cave’s favourite films, it’s similarly themed to ‘Straw Dogs’, about the breakdown of civilisation in remote places and about the schoolteacher through unfortunate circumstances finds himself trapped in this town and how he descends into this toxic-machismo culture.’
While these two clubs are just two examples of film clubs across Brighton, there are undoubtedly more than these two, and if your interest is not in folk horror or folk in general, there will likely be other film clubs that will satisfy any cravings for film clubs of a certain genre.
“A lot of our songs are influenced by literature”. Alex Hill talks music and The Great Escape
Sometimes you interview a band and they only have to say one thing and you’re hooked. “We’re all big Big Patti Smith fans” said Kate from The New Eves, one of the brightest sparks to be playing The Great Escape. Patti Smith. That’s us sold. It gets better. “We’d have to write a book listing all our influences, but Talking Heads are a big inspiration…”. And it gets more interesting. “… as well as more unique inspirations such as Bulgarian choir music”. Wasn’t expecting that.
If you’re even a little tired of the regular ‘guitar-bass-drums-vocals’ set up, The New Eves should make you smile. The Brighton based band feature Nina Winder-Lind (cello, guitar, vocals), Ella Oona Russell (drums, flute, vocals), Kate Mager (bass, vocals), and Violet Farrer (violin, guitar, vocals, dance) and it’s a little more arty – and can we say darker – than your average band.
“A lot of our songs are influenced by literature”, says Kate and there’s a lot of the unexpeced here. Their new single, “Highway Man” is a darkly-energised, female-first retelling of Alfred Noyes’ classic 1906 romantic poem that, as they put it, flips the lens. “In the original version it’s this dude, who’s being the dude, and the girl doesn’t do anything and then dies,” says Nina. “So I was like, ‘We can’t have that…’”
If all that sounds a bit too much, there’s still a bit of guitar solo rock’n’roll. “It was when I first started to find my guitar style, which is basically just weird noises and bashing” said Violet. And it is. Kinda cool though. The distorted guitar turns into adistorted cello – which is also kinda cool.
“It’s really good to play The Great Esacpe but it can be a bit overwhelming. We’re also playing The Alternative Esacpe because more of our friends can come and there’s more of a local buzz.”
The New Eves are playing Chalk on Friday May 16 at 6.15pm
“Yeah, I saw them a few years ago at The Great Escape”. Everyone likes to be ahead of the game, everyone likes to catch the New Big Thing before they become the new big thing. And there’s no better place to do that than at The Great Escape. But so many bands, so many venues, so many names, so many… places to go and have a drink. What do you do? Where do you go? Who do you see?
Man/Woman/Chainsaw
A fascinating band with an intriguing and unrevealing name. They’ve been described as ‘one of the most exciting and unpredictable young acts in the town’, and with their mix of atmospheric indie style, joint vocals, melodic guitar and bass and haunting violin playing, you can understand why. It’s not their first time in Brighton either – they put on a brilliant show at Green Door Store a few months ago and I’ve been awaiting their return ever since.
Rizzle Kicks
OK, not new, but they’re Brighton legends – yes they are – and we love them. This local hip hop duo grabbed national attention with their fresh sounding, early 2010’s hits ‘Down With The Trumpets’ and ‘Mama Do The Hump’ encapsulating a groovy and upbeat spin on hip hop which incorporates elements of reggae, funk and jazz – they’ve even sampled classic punk tracks for their tunes. These guys definitely have the knack needed to get a crowd moving with their unique and catchy feel-good sound that’s immediately recognisable. It’s great to have them back.
Heavy Lungs
One of the heaviest bands playing this year’s festival, as their name might have led you to believe, and their hardcore punk sound immediately grabbed my attention. With riff driven songs, relentless drumming and Johnny Rotten-esque vocals – they pay homage to classic punk while making it their own; I’d liken their sound to an intriguing mix of Black Flag and The Damned brought to the modern era – which can be heard in their most popular ‘(A Bit of a) Birthday’.
Peter Doherty
Again, not new, but am I looking forward to this. The daring, yet loveable frontman of The Libertines and Babyshambles is one of the headliners for this year’s festival and an obvious choice for first place on this list. He plays Brighton beach on the 14th May championing the release of his new album.
I saw Doherty play live last year in a grotty industrial estate in Wolverhampton. While perhaps an unlikely location, this intimate acoustic set with Doherty playing a mix of Libertines and Babyshambles songs along with his solo material was a fantastic gig. He has the brilliant ability to captivate an audience with just his guitar, oftentimes accompanied by Bob Dylan style harmonica playing. Doherty maintains the poetic songwriter charm that made him famous.
Queen Cult
One of the newest acts around are one to keep an eye on. With a high energy indie rock sound and heavily distorted instruments, Queen Cult have hints of garage rock greats Royal Blood and Queens of the Stone Age and are unforgivingly loud and proud. Just the thing we need to see. Their new single, ‘Figure It Out’, last month is hard not to like.
The Whistler 