Recently, I had the misfortune to read the WORST review ever (naming no names, or the offending publication). It wasn’t an indictment of the show, but rather, a really badly executed piece of writing. So here we go again, here’s a short guide to the foibles of a Crayon Critic. The grammar has to beContinue reading “How (Not) To Be A Crayon Critic”
Category Archives: Lorna Irvine
Hedgehog
When I was five years old, in my music and movement class in primary school, the gym teacher asked us all to pick an animal to portray. I was a hedgehog, I immediately decided. I scrunched my little body into a small ball like a piece of paper, a discarded draft, and swung there onContinue reading “Hedgehog”
How Jennifer Coolidge Became A Queer Icon
Jennifer, Oh Jenny!There was always more to her than just a MILF. Jennifer Coolidge, the sixty two year old icon of the silver screen, became one of Time magazine’s recipients of “100 most influential people” last year, which is proof of her longevity as a comic actor, but also a Hollywood legend who still getsContinue reading “How Jennifer Coolidge Became A Queer Icon”
Festivals Are For Poshos, Part 2.0
I’ve just returned from the Edinburgh Festival, and it was the usual melee of lunacy, irritation and genuine beauty. On an average year, I’d cover thirty shows, but given my recent surgery, I managed a paltry five. The problem is this: despite the Free Fringe, there’s not any way for newcomers to get a chanceContinue reading “Festivals Are For Poshos, Part 2.0”
Lost In Music: Geneva Jacuzzi- Art Is Dangerous
Featuring cameos in the video from legendary artists of many disciplines- from Ron Athey to Drab Majesty- the new single from Geneva Jacuzzi is part manifesto,part cheeky deconstruction of art and its function in contemporary society. It’s sexy, smart and danceable. Based in Los Angeles, her work is multi-disciplinary, fusing music, visual art and performanceContinue reading “Lost In Music: Geneva Jacuzzi- Art Is Dangerous”
Lost In Music: Pearl Jam- Black
It’s funny how music can evoke one thing at a particular point in your life, then take on an entirely different meaning later on. Pearl Jam’s epic song Black does that for me. In the early nineties, my best friend B moved near Seattle from Scotland and got a job as an au pair. SheContinue reading “Lost In Music: Pearl Jam- Black”
We Need To Talk About Lisa
I watched Girl, Interrupted for about the fifth time the other evening, having seen Leah Shelton’s brilliant show Batshit. (My review of it is up on Fest magazine). I was wondering if it still held up, having not watched for a while. It’s good, if flawed : James Mangold directs brilliantly, but the narration andContinue reading “We Need To Talk About Lisa”
Fringe Fatigue
The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is a cruel mistress. It’s a special kind of hell if you’re tired or disabled, as I discovered working there the other day. I knew it would be insanely crowded, but take a wrong turn and it’s hard to navigate. Steps, students and tourists who, lost, stop dead in front ofContinue reading “Fringe Fatigue”
Lost In Music: Cocteau Twins – Treasure
Elizabeth Fraser and Robin Guthrie may have said to the British music press, “Treasure was such an abortion. I hated it”, but the 1984 classic is still one of the band’s best-selling, best-loved studio albums. Originally, this, their third studio album, was to be produced by Brian Eno, but the band’s Robin Guthrie took thatContinue reading “Lost In Music: Cocteau Twins – Treasure”
Album Review: Marcel Wave- Something Looming
This is a hell of a debut. Featuring members of Sauna Youth and CoId Pumas, Marcel Wave are a promising lot. Singer Maike Hale- Jones delivers witty, gobby vignettes on the state of Britain, flanked by Oliver Fisher and his bruising guitar, and organ from Lindsay Corstorphine. It’s in the grand tradition of UK post-punkContinue reading “Album Review: Marcel Wave- Something Looming”
