Lyndsey Fineran enjoys a little black comedy at HCTC’s prodcution of Friedrich Durrenmatt’s ‘The Visit’, 4th – 6th February 2010
“I can be best understood if one grasps grotesqueness”, wrote Durrenmatt of his theatrical style. True to this encapsulation, his 1956 tragicomedy, ‘The Visit,’ depends heavily on its interpretation. At once fairytale, parable, satire and farce, with a basis in realism yet moving into areas of the grotesque and the absurd, ‘The Visit’ is a play which demands a lot from its audience.
Indeed, it was this dependence on audience response that the …
Paul Powell-Blake takes a straightforward, direct and no-holds-barred look at how the internet has affected the gay scene…
From coming out of the closet through to cruising gay websites for local sexual encounters, there is no denying that the internet has not only revolutionised the way the world as a whole connects, but has revolutionised and perhaps re-invented the queer world. For any…
Chris Wright tackles the latest round in the BNP-DUS debacle…
Facebook groups have proliferated, emails have been sent – I feel somehow compelled to contribute to these keyboard recriminations on the subject of the second DUS cancelled invitation to the BNP.
The stirring sound of ‘Rule Britannia’ blaring from a BNP truck outside the library the other day reminded me of the phone-call I made to a local BNP activist a couple of years ago: he had…
Jo Gandon wonders why V-day has suddenly turned into D-day…
it just me? Or does anybody actually look forward to Valentine’s Day? I don’t and I don’t know anybody who does. Our calendars illuminate the day in evil bright red writing. Everywhere seems to be caked in sickly pink fluffy hearts. The whole day is difficult to ignore and about as subtle as Amy Winehouse’s weave.
If you’re single then you spend it with your sad…
Sarah Trotter sheds light on those supposedly animal-friendly products…
Waterproof, volumising, “sexy curves” mascara, an artist’s palate of brush colours to apply: surveying the local cosmetic shelves is, frankly, exhausting. Sexy, chic, “natural” looks are bombarded…
Emma Grimwood looks forward the final season of Lost…
I am absolutely wetting myself with excitement about the final Lost series. It is going to be dramatic, funny, stressful, tense, and probably depressing.
OK, I don’t actually know that many people who stuck with this hugely successful American drama after it moved to Sky; of those who did, many got bored by what some might call the perplexing and highly convoluted plotline, abandoning their viewing a few series ago. Some might…
Donnchadh O’Conaill checks out the Durham Revue’s Christmas Comedy for a Quid Assembly Rooms, 15 December 2009
there was a natural balance to the performances and some impressive chemistry when the right performers were placed in the right sketches
Another year, another new Revue. Christmas Comedy for a Quid was the first chance for the great Durham public to pass judgement on a troupe which, Matt Mulligan apart, consisted entirely of new faces. The verdict ought to be: promising, but can do better. Much of the required improvement will simply be a …
Stevie Martin reviews, and is underwhelmed by, Fergus Leatham’s production of Talking Heads
Both series’ of Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads were broadcast in 1988 and 1998 respectively and were comprised of numerous monologues delivered by various characters ranging from the humorous to the downright tragic. To perform such a play…
Tom Walker considers a world of scientific mass ignorance…
The current world we happen to inhabit is also one of breathtaking scientific richness. We can manipulate DNA to create specific forms of life, map the movement of atoms in inconceivably intricate biological systems, unlock deep secrets of the universe and learn the exact physical forces which allowed a few carbon atoms to come together for a brief period of…
Jess Jones reviews R.J. Cutler’s ‘The September Issue’…
It might be surprising to hear that a documentary about the process of putting together American Vogue’s biggest and best selling issue in September 2007 contains some memorable and tender moments, but it’s true. They do not however, come courtesy of renowned Editor in Chief Anna ‘nuclear’ Wintour, but of…
Alex Dibble looks forward to the new Tennis season…
On 6 May 2007 Kim Clijsters announced her immediate retirement from the game of tennis. A year later, her compatriot and world no. 1 Justine Henin followed suite, to the shock and disappointment of fans across the world. Between them they had won…
Jess Jones looks at British style versus Parisian chic…
It’s only since moving to France for my year abroad that I have truly come to appreciate British style; it’s like not appreciating what a great family you have until you become homesick. And what a family. Exciting, adventurous and ever so eccentric, one thing’s for certain
Samantha Banks takes a look back at how such a prestigious award affected the little city of Durham…
As a decade passes since Durham’s bid for the UK Capital of Culture ‘13 was shockingly granted, it would be prudent for D21 to take a look at the effect this prestigious award had on a once quiet city nestled twixt the northern, slightly aggressive arms of Newcastle and Sunderland. Most reading this won’t recall…
Tom Walker on how the recent Togo assault is just another reminder of an ongoing saga…
The machine gun attack on the Togo football team bus, killing three and wounding two, is the latest miserable day to record in the heavily blemished diary of world sport. Hostility has frequently found its way into the newspapers via sporting events and the genuine possibility that Emmanuel Adebayor, a Premiership…
Heather Fulton gives the non-nonsense facts behind some of science’s most obscure theories…
Dark Matter is a difficult concept to understand. Many separate discoveries have led scientists to conclude that we can’t actually see all of the matter in the universe. For example, from observing light from other galaxies, we can see that some of their properties require much more mass than can be seen from starlight. Now, even a…
