It’s undeniable that Bob Mortimer is approaching national treasure status in the UK. The Middlesbrough lad with two law degrees made his name as part of the absurdist double act Reeves and Mortimer alongside Jim Moir, aka Vic Reeves. More recently , he’s found a more conventional fan base thanks to the panel show ‘WouldContinue reading “Book Review : Bob Mortimer – The Satsuma Complex”
Tag Archives: Books
Nick Cave Virtual Exhibition: Stranger Than Kindness
Available through Nick Cave’s website is the chance to virtually take a trip through his exhibition, Stranger Than Kindness. It’s a fascinating wander through his passions, inspiration, musings and the creative process itself. Featuring artwork by Cave and a painting by old flame Anita Lane, to mocked-up studios, an old bedroom and library, ephemera, toContinue reading “Nick Cave Virtual Exhibition: Stranger Than Kindness”
TV Review: The Other Bennet Sister
It’s not as ambitious as Isobel McArthur’s sly, Olivier Award-winning Pride and Prejudice (Sort Of) but The Other Bennet Sister, a new adaptation of the story by Jane Hadlow, with screenplay by Sarah Quintrell and Maddie Dai,does have something in common: it focuses on the overlooked character, bookish and plain Miss Bennet, Mary. Sure, thereContinue reading “TV Review: The Other Bennet Sister”
Film Review: Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliche
It ‘s tough at the top, and it’s far from easy being the offspring of a punk legend, either. That’s the overarching theme of Celeste Bell and Paul Sing’s critically acclaimed documentary about X Ray Spex singer Poly Styrene. Narrated by Bell herself, who shares a similarly sleepy, childlike drawl with her late mother, thisContinue reading “Film Review: Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliche”
Live Review: Snow White and the Seven Drag Queens
Tonight, the Queen Margaret Union in Glasgow is going off like a frog in a sock, transformed into a kind of panto/ queer club space. Written and directed by Eurovision star David Ducasse, Snow White and the Seven Drag Queens is a cheeky and irreverent take on traditional panto. Amelia Cavagan is a fine SnowContinue reading “Live Review: Snow White and the Seven Drag Queens”
Freelancer’s Blues
It isn’t easy being a freelance arts writer. While I’m fully aware there are worse jobs to have (I previously worked in a call centre, a hotel and in retail, uggghhh) there are a few issues with this bizarre occupation. Firstly, some publications insist that they will pay you, only to renege at the lastContinue reading “Freelancer’s Blues”
Book Review: Lemn Sissay- My Name Is Why
British Ethiopian poet and performer Lemn Sissay writes prose in the same way that he speaks: succinctly, openly and with no time for bullshit. It’s this no -nonsense approach that he brings to his devastating memoir, My Name Is Why. For the first twelve years of his life, he had lived with a Christian familyContinue reading “Book Review: Lemn Sissay- My Name Is Why”
Book Review: Kazuo Ishiguro- A Pale View of Hills
This debut novel from Kazuo Ishiguro ruminates on the unreliability of memory, love, friendship and generational trauma. Skipping between past and present, Etsuko, the narrator, attempts to reconcile both as she weaves a complex story of life in the UK and her past in post-war Japan. But it seems that history casts a long shadow.Continue reading “Book Review: Kazuo Ishiguro- A Pale View of Hills”
Pills, Grunge and Gen X- Prozac Nation At Nearly Thirty
There were of course notorious books before this, like ‘Go Ask Alice’ by Anonymous, a searing account of abuse and drugs set around the sixties counterculture, and seemingly a true story. There was ‘Valley of the Dolls’ (sex,drugs, hippies -but fictional) Then there was Pamela Des Barres and her groupie memoir, ‘I’m With the Band’.Continue reading “Pills, Grunge and Gen X- Prozac Nation At Nearly Thirty”
Overlooked Classics: The Butcher Boy
Both the book by Patrick McCabe and film, co-adapted by McCabe with Neil Jordan, are brilliant. Francis Brady could have been a Holden Caulfield, but he was much, much more insidious: a study in everyday psychopathy. Francis Brady, portrayed with equal parts cheek and horror by the wonderful Eamonn Owens is the titular character. SomethingContinue reading “Overlooked Classics: The Butcher Boy”
Hit The North 