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cultural responses to a summer of looting

explore incredible new artistic work

UK’s largest fright fest: terrifying or terrible?

features & recommendations

interviews & multimedia

top cultural picks

issue #01 / nov.2011 / londonsideways.co.uk

free / monthly / online / download

London:

Sidewaysbringing fringe culture to centre stage

riot act

london horror festival

electronic music wobbles up a storm

wobble revolution

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page 13/mammoth minatUre marvel: trafalgar’s ship in a bottle

page 14/banishing sin: interview with Peter Bramley, creator of The Fumidor

page 16/ mUltimedia: comedy, music and photo previews from Tom Webb, Edward Aczel & more

page 17/liKed this? try these... old faves and new cultural recommendations

page 18/toP PicKs: 5 comedy, 5 music, 5 arts, 5 theatre

Big Pics/page 4/ operation greenfield page 5/ showstopper page 12/ love question mark

arts etc.

comedymusic

theatre

page 3 /london’s riot act: cultural responses to summer looting. “how successfully can art defend this new brand of ‘shopping with a crowbar’ rioter?”

page 6/electronic mUsic’s woBBle revolUtion: “It’s a bit like being sonically attacked by a blancmange”, (plus: 10 simple steps to wobble like a pro)

page 8/celebrating 40 years of Richmond’s orange tree theatre: director Q&A plus upcoming diary

page 9/mix match meet: a comedy quiz

page 10/london horror Festival: terrifying or terrible? theatre with a “proven ability to make audiences feel physically sick or even faint”

click to skip to...

Editor: Will SawneyDesign: sideways.me.uk

Writers: Steve Platts, Nic Mcquillan, Joe Frost

The london: sideways team could include you... londonsideways@gmail.com

made by

electronic music’s wobble revolution, page 6get wobbly

GEORGE CONDO, page 17 LONDON HORROR FESTIVAL, page 10

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feature

london’s riot! act cultural responses to summer looting by Steve Platts

Between the 6th and 10th of August 2011 London burned. yes, it was social catastrophe of the worst kind, but reactions to such events are always, I’m somewhat ashamed to say, rather amusing. The news filled our screens with so many apocalyptic images of the poor gone feral that you would have been forgiven for proclaiming complete social meltdown (especially if you owned an electrics store). The powers-that-be were quick to embark on a new campaign of fire-branding platitudes and everyone else soon scolded the police for not being the tear gas pumping fascists that everyone usually tells them off for being.

Predictably, some months down the line from August’s mayhem, many of London’s artistic community are are asking ‘why’. Of all these

of ‘tribunal’ plays, director Nicholas Kent and writer Gillian Slovo seek to bring the voice of the masses to, well, the masses, quite literally.

The play claims to be the public enquiry that the British government never had. Built from over 40 hour-long interviews with various affected parties, the production also mixes in live twitter feeds and accounts from a freephone witness number set up by The Tricycle. All this gives considerable weight to The Tricycle’s claim to build up a ‘real-time picture of the riots as they unfold’. Impressively ambitious in itself,

perhaps, though their promise to analyse ‘why it happened and what we should do towards marking a better future for ourselves and our city’ seems just a little over optimistic.

What I will enjoy is trying to see through the Tricycle’s reputed balance and impartiality to find if and where the production’s sympathy lies. Often, it is the job of theatre to speak out in defence of the downtrodden but how successfully can art defend this new brand of ‘shopping with a crowbar’ rioter?

“how successfully can art defend this new brand of ‘shopping with a crowbar’ rioter?”

voices, The Tricycle Theatre’s creation The Riots seems one to watch given their reputation for thoughtful, topical verbatim theatre. Using everything they’ve learnt from their long list

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Operation Greenfield. 18 Nov, 19:30. The Albany. / 23-24 Nov 20:00

Jackson’s Lane. / 25 Nov, 20:00. Arts Depot. littlebulbtheatre.com“In the beginning there was nothing.

And then, there was Christmas.”

One production that has already grappled with this crossover of shopping and violence was The Wardrobe Ensemble’s recent Edinburgh Fringe (then Soho Theatre) production Riot, inspired by an uprising not only set in a newly opened Ikea, but sparked by the store’s opening. Focussing on the commercialism and greed of shop riots, their production, predictably, proved popular.

When students got a bit naffed-off about being lied to and took the streets, artists were quick to react then too. James Cauly’s A Riot in a Jam Jar exhibition [pictured right] was an artistic backlash of ‘riots, past and future’ that sought to highlight the absurdity of packaging up acts of mass violence into easy to swallow news bulletins by literally packaging riot scenes in jars. Given that these scenes included Prince Charles being behead by rioters, Nick Clegg meeting with student justice at the end of a rope and Take That taking a savage beating from riot police, I can be forgiven for thinking that perhaps his work was as much to do with Cauly’s personal fantasies as it was with political statements. (Fair play to him for the other two but Prince Charles seems alright in an aristocratic, runs-his-car-on-port-and-cheese kind of way).

As is often the case with verbatim theatre, what is said in The Tricyle’s The Riots will be of less importance than what is said in response to it. Indeed, numerous performances throughout the run will be followed by talkback sessions where you can discuss the issues and no doubt take a good verbal swing at a politician of your choice in front of a room full of theatre goers. I’m not sure if the production alone will bring about the revolutionary charge that it wants, but at least the diligent ground-work research

put into it should provide a good bit of dinner party fodder for the next few months.

There will of course to be the usual dirge of panorama-esque documentaries following the events of this summer and I wouldn’t drop my petrol bomb in surprise if someone turned the riots into a reality TV show (Strictly Come Looting, anyone?). I for one will try my best to ignore them and instead see what London’s artists can come up with.

“Strictly Come Looting, anyone?”

feature

introducing

Police enact a savage beating in a jam jar, as created by James Cauly, ariotinajamjar.com

THE RIOTS (By GILLIAN SLOVO)17 Nov - 10 Dec. Tricycle Theatre. £10-20. (Talkback post-show discussions Mon, Wed & Fri’s). 020 7328 1000, tricycle.co.uk.

RIOT (THE WARDROBE ENSEmBLE) Soho theatre run ended. March 2012 tour TBC.

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5Showstopper! The Improvised Musical. Criterion Theatre. 4, 11 & 18 Nov, 22:30. showstopperthemusical.com Photo: Gabriella Motola

“You Gotta Pick A... / Mighty King, So Enemies... / Who Will Buy...? /

Just A Spoonful Of... / Oklahoma... / Listen To The Music Of The Night / ......???”

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by Nic mcQuillan

We are in the middle of a dance revolution. The airwaves are punctuated with fast beats and heavy drops and there seems to be an infinite series of new additions, ranging from the laddishness of pop-dance stalwarts Chase and Status to some more eclectic approaches. These more underground forms bring their own variation on the dance theme and enjoy a suitably weird name to boot. Anyone for some fidget? Anyone?! But it seems to have reached a new high (or low, depending on how you view it) with the emergence of... wobble house.

wobbly revolution

“It’s a bit like being sonically attacked by a blancmange. Or if Rolf Harris’ wobbly board had been put in a tumble dryer”

electronic music’s

I should probably say that I’m fairly new to dance music, so I find the wobble sound a bit bizarre and slightly intimidating. It shares the dizzyingly repetitive nature of house and dance music but also leans heavily on the build ups, bass lines and drops of dub-step, finally adding its own quite frankly bonkers spin on things, with the introduction of a noise that sounds like…err…a wobble. It’s a bit like being sonically attacked by a blancmange. Or if Rolf Harris’ wobbly board had been put in a tumble dryer.

There isn’t a huge amount of information available on it (i.e. there is no Wikipedia entry), but I do manage to stumble across a group spearheaded by the puzzlingly named DJ Gimpmode, who runs Wobble House Records. He says that the label was set up in 2001 to cater for a rapidly expanding base of people interested in

Zed’s Dead (Toronto-based DC and Hooks) wobble up a dubstep storm. The bass-heavy duo DJ’ed in London this September. Photo: Jeff Corrigan

feature

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feature tutorial

by DJ Sideways Sawney

the dub-step scene. Its aims are to “make people smile, scream, throw their hands up and beg for more”, which leaves me wondering why he didn’t just build a rollercoaster. Now it’s bigger than ever (the music, not the rollercoaster), with wobbly remixes of Deadmau5 and Skrillex rearing their heads on daytime radio. But interestingly, there is a large number of underground and bedroom DJ’s producing seriously wild wobble. Dj’s like people like Punk and Rolla, Zii and Fog have all posted entire wobble mixtapes on websites like Soundcloud.

The wobble movement, then, has a strong DIY ethic besides the more obviously apparent remixes of established artists. But I wondered if this was only an online phenomenon. So to investigate I went clubbing to see if it is more than just a forum fad. I should again preface this by saying that I am not a good clubber; my unfortunate habit of breaking out into a sweat at any temperature over 17 degrees largely ruins the fun for those around me. But in the name of research I heavily deodorised and joined the (unbelievably cool looking) crowd at Edinburgh’s Cabaret Voltaire.

Cab Vol’s mix of dub-step, dance, house and electro proved, extremely popular, at least I think it did. There was an awful lot of dry ice, and for one disconcerting moment I thought I might have wandered into a very special Tina Turner concert in a dungeon. But I managed to (nervously) get into the swing of it all, the jerky movements and the dancing in a circle thing. It was all going really well actually, and revellers were having a great time. But then something strange happened. Out went the dance and in came the wobble, sounding quite frankly like a fart in a bath. It proved a powerful dispersant as it managed to spray punters across the room. It was like being woken from a trance to

wobble like a pro in 10 simple steps

1 Load any drum and bass tune, such as Serial Killaz’s ‘Murda Ya Sound’, to deck 1.

2 Loop a tiny section until it sounds like a bee trapped in a thimble.

3 Pitch the buzzing down until the bee sounds like Barry White.

4 Lay on a touch of bypass filter.

5 Whamp up the hybrid relational feedback.

6 Twizzle in some depth, then fiddle with the speed until the

sound begins to warble.

7 Spinning the deck now adds a pitch bend, sounding like the tone slide sound of those little

wooden flutes with the stick that you slide in and out.

8 Over on deck 2, drop a bitchin’ beat, which your wobble should now neatly complement.

9 Out of your bedroom door, moan loudly about the ‘incessant

jackhammer’ out on the street.

10 Crank up the volume.

TAkEOVER 4 Nov. Lightbox, Vauxhall £10.00. Feat: Hazard, Grooverider, Original Sin, J Rapture, Escape & others. skiddle.com/events/11520560

DRUmATICS’ 9TH BIRTHDAy 10 Dec. £10 payback. Area, 67, SE1 7TP. Feat: Sleeper, Andy Burby & more. ravetickets.co.uk

WE FEAR SILENCE 19 Nov. 10pm-6am. £12 advance. Feat: Total Science, Storm, Neighbourhood, Wookie, Blue Fontaine. wefearsilence.com

wobble at:

find you’ve been dancing along to the sound of someone beating a soggy bean bag.

So overall trying to find out what Wobble House is has been a funny experience. It isn’t easy to listen to. Or dance to, it turns out. It’s even harder trying to find a simile trying to describe it. But it is gaining in popularity, with a cottage industry of professional and amateurs all contributing mixes. So perhaps it’s just me?

Half of Punk Rolla proves himself a total rave wobbler, Photo: Toria Brightside

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the orange tree: 40yearsQ&A venue profile

so what’s up next? upcoming diary

London’s only permanent theatre in-the-round celebrates 40 years since spritely director Sam Walters planted its metaphorical seed.

happy birthday, sam. tell us all about the orange tree’s genesis...

An alternative roving theatre movement around 1971 was swinging into phase two, finding spaces to settle in after touring. I was a young director

whose search for somewhere took the form of a pub crawl. We found a room above The Orange Tree pub whose landlord welcomed us, saying “if you can get people in here at lunchtime, you’re a better man than I am.” In fact, so many people attended the first event that we had to perform twice. Noticing the increased takings, Youngs Brewery became very supportive and invested in our makeshift theatre. But the building we’re now in, directly across the road, hung like a carrot under my nose for 18 years (and it was hung, frustratingly, at end of a long ‘council planning’ stick). Eventually, though, when we moved in, we were allowed to build exactly the space we wanted.

why should audiences travel all the way out to richmond for an evening show?

First, we really aren’t far from central London. Three railway lines converge just outside our theatre. We’re also London’s only permanent theatre in the round, while so many are brainwashed to recognise only end-on staging.

Our small size - each side is only three rows deep - affords The Orange Tree a great intimacy. In luring people away from TV and computer screens into theatres, distinction is key; we’re as different from watching a screen as it’s possible to be and a large part of our audiences’ enjoyment comes from the sense of shared experience. Theatre should be small.

Presumably writers enjoy creating work for your unique space?

Surprisingly few, actually. We produce our own work partly for that reason. David Lewis, whose production we’re staging this month, was an exception. His play Sperm Wars literally just fell through our letterbox in 1998 and since then we’ve produced five more. We did the same with Martin Crimp in the ‘80s. Once one discovers – often by luck and chance – a new and exciting playwright, we give them the opportunities to make The Orange Tree feel like home.

congratulations and many happy returns.

David Lewis writes and directs this one sofa, two family dual drama. The author of a self-help guide’s battles with depression are only to be expected considering his failing marriage, misguided daughter and unpublished novel.

by Will Sawney

HOW TO BE HAPPyOrange Tree. 5 Oct - 5 Nov, 19:45.

GETTING TO THE ORANGE TREE1 Clarence Street, Richmond, Surrey (but, the part of Surrey that’s nearest London.) Turn right out of station, it’s 50m away. Tube: District Line. Train: SWT and Overground. orangetreetheatre.co.uk

visiting...

James Saunders’ 1963 self-referential play-within-a-play takes inspiration from Alexander James Mason, who spent his last 36 years living completely alone in an Essex hut. Close, rather surreal, examination of one man in a hut sheds light on human relationships or lack of them.

Can societal humour hold its own a century since its 1905 premiere? St John Hankin’s play asks whether dinner party guests should be friends, or simply those most worthy.

NExT TImE I’LL SING TO yOUOrange Tree. 9 Nov - 10 Dec, 19:45.

THE CHARITy THAT BEGAN AT HOmEOrange Tree. 14 Dec - 4 Feb. 19:45.

Above: Graham (Steven Elder) measures his happiness in HTBH. Above left: The Orange Tree.

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matchmixmeet

ANSWERS AND EVENT DETAIL[a. Jupiter matches 1. Phil Jupitus (example) / b. a lady in a garden matches 3. Lady Garden / c. fluffy hand puppet matches 5. Isy Suttie whose surname is pronounced the same way a chimney sweep looks / d. a child named Mohammed (the UK’s most popular name for newborns) matches 4. Nick Mohammed who is also called Mohammed, or at least his surname is Mohammad / e. surgary tasting flavoured condoms match 2. Jonny Sweet.Lady Garden & Friends Residency. Leicester Square Theatre. 9 Nov, 21:30. £13-£15. leicestersquaretheatre.com

MIx ThEM

MATCh ThEM

MEET ThEM

A. JUPITER B. C. D. E.

5.4.3.2.1. PHIL JUPITUS

eg.

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feature terrifying or terriblethe new theatre of horror

by Will Sawney

Prepare to be battered as twelve terrifying performances make up the country’s first live fright festival this month. Dragging October 31st’s scares kicking and screaming throughout the whole of November, London Horror Festival at Courtyard Theatre should provide enough fear to turn even hardened viewers into quivering wrecks.

London Horror Festival sits atop an emerging trend, a trend for scary theatre that also achieves the status of good theatre. For every advantage horror theatre has over horror movies (intimacy, control of the house lights, the ability to sneak up behind unsuspecting audience members) it suffers at least equal disadvantages (lack of special effects, corny-looking props, the knowledge that the bloke behind you probably just graduated drama school and therefore can’t be all that scary.)

London’s most popular horror, The Woman in Black, this year celebrated 23 spine-chilling years in the West End. Literally petrifying,

the show has immediate appeal for horror junkies, but this incredible longevity surely must be attributed to something more than temporary goosebumps. The Woman in Black’s achievement, then, is its status as a master class of theatre full stop. Success for this month’s festival, then, should not be measured merely in the inches that frightened girls jump from their seats, but rather if it can hit the targets of both ‘good horror’ and ‘good theatre’, getting under the skin of horror buffs and theatre critics alike.

Headlining throughout the month, Theatre of the Damned stage four scary shorts as Revenge of the Grand Guignol. Directors Stewart Pringle and Tom Richards say that “theatre is in fact a far more potent medium for developing fear, intrigue and outrage, and that for audiences increasingly desensitised by mindless Hollywood horror, our productions offer a far more affecting and visceral experience.” The paid are proud not only of their award success, but also their proven ability to make audiences

“audiences ‘increasingly desensitised by mindless Hollywood horror’”

Courtyard Theatre: London horror Festival

paving the way for successful combinations of ‘horror’+’theatre’+’good’?

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alterrnatives(or)

feel physically sick or even to faint.

How, then, do Theatre of the Damned claim to compete with the Exorcists, Shinings and Rings of the screen? They tout, first, a classic naturalistic influence, with stories originating from classic tales and also contemporary new writing. Revenge, the sequel – naturally – to the original Grand Guignol contains everything from experimental science to wartime worries, from old-time classic plots to startlingly contemporary scares. Technically too, expect more than a torch under a storyteller’s chin, as the company pays careful attention to lighting, sound and even smell design, with systems being installed specially for the run.

Downstairs meanwhile, Courtyard Theatre’s studio will resolutely challenge perceptions of horror theatre’s limitations with an enormous range of events spanning lectures, storytelling, even improvised comedy. Newly-written scares come in the form of The Monster Hunters and camping catastrophe The Woods are Lovely, while old tales are revived as The Dunwich Horror and The Orgy in the Lighthouse. Then there’s solo tale-telling from Professor Gary Cranks in Camden’s Most Horrid, Doc Austin’s spoof lecture on the science of zombies and, brilliantly, three entirely improvised horror shows by The Improsarios who call their night Fresh, Live – And Dead; I feel they missed out on an ‘Improv-Rising Dead’ pun.

As a genre, then, horror theatre is ripe for resurgence. Extending long past Halloween, London Horror Festival enjoys the chance to prove that horror can be refined beyond supermarket pumpkins and spray-on cobwebs, the chance to prove that horror theatre can brush aside the kitsch to present genuinely scary live experiences, the chance – moreover –to compete as theatre rather than tacky novelty. Here’s hoping.

feature

“proven ability to make audiences feel physically sick or even faint”

LONDON HORROR FESTIVAL Multiple shows. 25 Oct - 27 Nov. Courtyard Theatre, Bowling Green Walk, N1 6EU. thecourtyard.org.uk / londonhorrorfestival.com / 0844 477 1000.

REVENGE OF THE GRAND GUIGNOL25 Oct - 27 Nov, 19:30. Courtyard Theatre. £12-16.

Until 5 Nov experience terror 2011, a macabre cabaret of spine-tingling story telling and scary guests. £10-20. sohotheatre.com

Henry James’s tUrn oF the screw comes preceeded by Bram Stoker’s short the JUdge’s hoUse as double bill at Baron’s Court from 15 - 17 Nov. £8-12. 020 8932 4747.

Chris Bond adapts the science-horror-fiction classic dr JeKyll and mr hyde, layering on extra music and comedy. 28 Oct - 19 Nov. queens-theatre.co.uk (Hornchurch.)

Above: The Grand Guignol gets its revenge.Right: Woman in Black’s 23 year reign of terror.

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Love, Question Mark. Tabard Theatre. 8-23 Nov 19:30. £12-£14. tabardweb.co.uk

“Aristotle Onassis, that ugly, ferocious goat...he got so he could look up over his

coffee at a girl on another table and know she was coming right there in her pants.

But I’m Michael Smith, an estate agent, and I can’t play in that league.”

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feature mammoth miniature marvel

past plinths

by Joe Frost

From 1841 to 1999, Trafalgar square’s fourth plinth stood empty. Now, directly in front of Nelson’s, it hosts a replica of his own HMS Victory encased in an enormous glass bottle. The ship, colourfully adorned with flags and tribal patterns, will be moored on the fourth plinth till the 14 January 2012.

For artist Yinka Shonibare, this type of work (known as phototableaux) is surprisingly familiar territory. The African artist has previously staged scenarios and sculptural installations. The sails of her bottled ship are a telling trademark, using the cultural aesthetic of race using coloured fabrics bought in Brixton market.

“I decided to produce a replica of the ship

but to change the sails into African textiles.” said Shonibare. “There was a time when African people and artists were trying to become part of the mainstream - that’s no longer the case.”

Mayor Boris’ take, meanwhile, was somewhat less profound. “Nelson had a lot of bottle” he offered. Catch a look yourself in Trafalgar Square before the boat sails on 14 Jan.

“the first installation to deal directly with nelson’s column and the colonial past of the location”

Appearing like a scaled-up model of the classic miniature marvel, the work required rather differerent creation methods to its smaller counterparts. The bottle itself is perspex, moulded by aquariam specialists. Scaling up has its advantages; before the giant wax cork was inserted, creators were able to literally climb inside the bottle to build Nelson’s ship.

Since 1999 Trafalgar Square’s Fourth Plinth has hosted a strange menagerie of artistic works, performance artists and commercial stunts created by everyone from leading international artists to Gormley’s gormless try-hards, drawing tourists’ camera lenses away from pigeons, fountains and Nelson himself.

Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle, however, is the first installation to deal directly with Nelson’s column and the colonial past of the trafalgar location.

2007 Thomas Schutte’s Model for a Hotel, 21 storeys of coloured glass costing £27,000.

2005 Marc Quinn: Alison Lapper Pregnant, a marble bust of an artist born without arms or legs.

2009 Anthony Gormley gave 2,400 Joe Bloggses one hour each to use it as they saw fit. Nudity, advertising, chickens and other bizzarities ensued.

Yinka Shonibare’s HMS Victory in a bottle will be moored beside Nelson until 14 January 2012

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interview

banishing sinby Will Sawney

The multi-faceted man behind the stunningly crafted Ovid’s Metamorphosis returns with a new group of Rose Bruford graduates to stage The Fumidor. Though not a sequel, how will this production fare against inevitable comparison? London:Sideways meets Peter Bramley.

the Fumidor portrays a town taking extreme efforts to banish sin. does this come from your personal experience of sin?

Partly. The play explores religion. Whilst I don’t think I’ve got anything definite to say about it, I feel angry about my Catholic upbringing. As a gay man I’ve frequently been confronted with the notion of sin and the argument that my existence is sinful… understandably I take great issue with that. It’s always been a frustration, particularly when people talk in definite terms about what good behaviour is supposed to be.

peter bramleyThe play explores those narrow beliefs. Having said that, criticising religion – even though it criticises me – is something I find problematic.

is this a warning, story, fable or expose, then?

I describe it as a dark fairy tale, certainly an adult one, hopefully also a fantasy. We don’t mention country, we don’t mention dates, but the aesthetic is certainly eighteenth century French.

surely that’s a fairly specific setting, so how do you maintain a fantasy ‘timelessness’?

My memory of fairy tales are always set around that period. We’ve also included various jarring elements to mix things up and loosen the setting: there’s a typist in our courtroom; modern car and horn sounds in the streets; even a few puritan outfits. We included what seemed relevant and also borrowed styles and fashions from extreme religions like the Ahmish.

how do your roles as both teacher and artistic director fit together?

“the argument that my existence is sinful… understandably I take great issue with that”

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interview

I’m head of movement at Rose Bruford, then set up Pants on Fire in 2004 to facilitate my own work. Pants on Fire certainly owes a lot to the college – for The Fumidor alone they’ve provided costume, rehearsal space, transportation, and of course talent. Even as the company’s grown bigger and more people have come on board (we went international last year as Ovid’s Metamorphoses travelled to New York) it’s still very much me. I end up driving the van, picking things up, sorting the dry cleaning.

so are your visions being staged by students, or are you channelling the students’ own creativity?

It’s a bit of both. Whilst there is a script we describe our work as devising. When devising you rely on creative people responding to the ideas you have. During this they’ve always come up with ten times as many ideas as originally

...meeting peter bramley

existed. Everything is open, which allows the actors to feel an important sense of ownership of what they are performing.

you have written, directed and even starred in The Fumidor. taking the metaphor of an aeroplane, if you’d built it you wouldn’t also take on the roles of pilot and cabin crew. what’s behind your decision?

I don’t think of myself as a writer. I think of myself as a devisor. This project has been through various stages with different actors, stories, settings. For me writing was more of a rearranging effort, rewording the script and making religion a more central component. So in a way I agree with that concept of someone flying their own plane!

Finally, what are your other cultural recommendations for november?

Pants on Fire people Mabel Jones and Sam Wyer run a company called Wooden Fingers. Usually their shows operate out of a suitcase-turned-theatre, but their new show at Suspense puppet festival will be their largest, hopefully most spectacular show yet. It’s even got a live band. Other than that I’ve been in the dark of my own theatre really – theatre people don’t often get to see much theatre.

[Wooden Fingers ‘The Tragic & Regrettable Life of Teofila Teodora...’ is at Pleasance, 1 Nov, 19:30 & 21:15. £10/£12. ‘Ruprecht & Pelznickel’ is booking for Christmas parties in Nov/Dec.]

“the actors feel an important sense of ownership of what they are performing”

pants on fire: quick update

THE FUmIDORCroydon Warehouse. 21 Oct - 20 Nov, Various times (18:30 Tue, 20:00 Wed-Sat, 17:00 Sun, no show Mon.) £12.50-£22.50. Transport: East Croydon station. pantsonfiretheatre.moonfruit.com

2004 - Founded by Peter Bramely.

2005 - Tossed! (a recreation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest staged at People Show Studios, London and the company pays a first visit to Edinburgh Festival Fringe with Splice, a theatrical ode to cinema at Underbelly.

2006 - Whilst Splice visits Arena Festival, Erlangen, Germany, Labyrinthine is created.

2007 - Arena festival commissions Oink!

2009 - Work begins on Ovid’s Metamorphoses [pictured above], a spectacular piece of visual storytelling, at Rose Bruford College.

2010 - Alongside critical acclaim, Ovid’s Metamorphosis is spotted in Edinburgh by Carol Tambor, who transfers the show to New York.

2011 - First accross the UK, then New York, Ovid’s Metamorphoses goes international. Now, later in the year, The Fumidor emerges from numerous creative processes at the Warehouse, Croydon.

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EDWARD ACzEL DOESN’T ExISTSoho Theatre. 18 & 19, 25 & 26 Nov, 22:00. £12.50-£15. 020 7478 0100. sohotheatre.com

THE xCERTS, ‘SLACkERPOP’ EP LAUNCH21 Nov. Old Blue Last. 18+. Free entry (because it’s a celebratory party.) thexcertsband.com

TOm WEBB’S PARTy PIECE (OPEN mIC)Every Tuesday, 19:30 . The Queen’s Head, 66 Acton Street. Free. tomwebb.info

WORLD PRESS PHOTO11-29 Nov, 10:00-23:00. Southbank Centre, Royal Festival Hall. Free non-ticketed. worldpressphoto.org

EDWARD ACzEL PRESENTS A CHART OF HIS PREVIOUS SHOW’S ATTENDANCE

View it on youtube: youtube.com/watch?v=MEqyW7pNG_A

multimedia

comedy videos

photo gallery music streaming

TOm WEBB NARRATES HIS PUBLIC-SAFETy CAmPAIGN: STOP THERE!

View it on youtube: youtube.com/watch?v=aJm-js38-kY

THE xCERTS: SCATTERBRAIN

View it on youtube: youtube.com/watch?v=8tyzgSfSM80

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introducing...

George Condo: Mental States. 18 Oct - 8 Jan. Hayward Gallery (Southbank Centre). £10. southbankcentre.co.uk

Tom Allen’s Society. 29 Nov, Doors 19:00 Show 20:30. £5. comedycafe.co.uk

Fanta Orange. 1-26 Nov, 19:30. Finborough Theatre. £5-15. finboroughtheatre.co.uk

Mungo’s Hi-Fi. Plan B, Brixton. 19 Nov.mungoshifi.net

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PABLO PICASSO

Le Baiser (The Kiss), seen above, epitomises Picasso’s inspirationally daring approach to subject matter.

ITV’S JONATHAN ROSS SHOW

Wossy, King of chat, hopped terrestrial borders to don a new crown. He hopes this ITV one doesn’t damage his hair.

LAST kING OF SCOTLAND

Forest Whitaker won an Academy Award for his portrayal of Idi Amin in this Ugandan political expose.

SkANkING

As the jive is to rock’n’roll, skanking is to reggae, ska and punk music. Tuck in those elbows and sort of... punch out.

GEORGE CONDO

Dividing opinion, Condo’s paintings display tragedy comically. A greusome backstabbing takes on new meaning when the victim is a colourful clown, and yet more when that clown wields a cigarette and a snarl. Bodily displacement and crooked faces recreate classic works in a bizzare manner. Try www.skarstedt.com/artists/george-condo before you visit.

TOm ALLEN’S SOCIETy CHAT SHOW

Unlikely to be booted off the BBC (primarilly because he doesn’t currently work for them), Tom Allen hosts a chat show that knows its social boundaries. His Afternoon Tea show at Edinburgh Fringe entertained audiences with comedy, parlour games and conversation; will Society maintain its airs and graces at this later evening slot? Sean Keaveney and Miles Jupp are booked, and two more soon will be. Previous guests include David Tennant, Mark Gatiss and Ed Byrne.

FANTA ORANGE

Sally Woodcock’s new play is a modern African saga of inter-racial relationships. Set in the playwright’s home country Kenya the action brings together a Kenyan servant, white farmer and visiting English student, the latter of whom is greeted as “another clueless white woman turned up in Africa with her conscience-stricken hat on to save The African from famine.” Gap year yuppies beware.

mUNGO’S HI-FI

Glasgow-based prolific promoters Mungo’s bring pounding reggae/dub/ska to Brixton. Featuring Mungo’s Hifi, RSD, Earl 16, Onlyjoe, Ruben Da Silva, Exel & Moodie, Ramon Judah, Dub Hunter, Snuff... all of whom are bound to instigate lots of sweaty skanking.

Photo by www.bartphoto.co.uk.

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1Beautifully chirpy garage beats appropriate for beaches, ballrooms and bars from remixer

and producer mJ cole who joins Fantastic Mr Fox, Bass Clef and a bunch of others at Corsica. ‘Them 9’. 18 Nov, 22:00. Cosica Studios. wegottickets.com/event/140052

1 Once upon a little while ago, The Invisible Dot decided to concoct a fusion of jazz and

comedy. The result, the horne section, is a delight that’s grown into something of a phenomenon. Late night in the West End. 5, 12, 19 & 26 Nov, 22:30. Criterion Theatre. £20. theinvisibledot.com/3229

1SUSPENSE London Puppetry Festival grinds to a highlight with grotesque strung and

unstrung compendium PUPPet grinder caBaret. Ventriloquist Nina Conti presents. 6 Nov, 20:00. Jackson’s Lane. £12.50-15.50. jacksonslane.org.uk

1Take one of the worst imaginable evenings and turn it into a riotously hilarious immersive

event; only oFFice Party could pull it off. Disregard inhibitions and join a department. 4 Oct - 21 Jan, 19:15-21:00. Pleasance Islington. £30-55. pleasance.co.uk [Photo: Idil Sukan.]

music

comedy artsetc.

top picks

theatre

2Heroes of the New Jersey punk rock scene saves the day play a special show in

Kingston in support of ‘Daybreak’, their new album, with support from Young Statues and the fast rising Social Club.24 Nov. Kingston Hippodrome. £7.

3Mercury nominated James BlaKe fuses electronic sounds into sublime, partly

etherial, sometimes meaty music. 30 Nov. HMV Forum. jamesblakemusic.com

4Wiggle and shake with Jamie rowan as the ever-energetic New Orleans style blues

pianist plays Jump Jive and Shout. 12 Nov. Kennedy’s Bar, 297 Caledonian Rd. £5.

5against me! begin November in Germany and Austria before arriving in London for

two gigs; one big, one tiny.Supporting Frank Turner. 27 Nov. HMV Apollo. / 28 Nov. The Peel, Kingston. againstme.net

2 Double bill of andi osho and matthew crosBy at a room above a gig venue

(though this is the Royal Albert Hall we’re talking about, so think classy rather than crummy.)9 Nov, 20:30. Royal Albert Hall. £12. royalalberthall.com

3If Mock the Week is described by comedians as a ‘bear pit’, perhaps no PressUre to Be

FUnny is its antithesis. Pleasantly mediated, non-competitive topical comedy panel show. 2, 9 & 16 Nov, 20:00. Leicester Square Theatre. £8-10. leicestersquaretheatre.com

4Even improv groups need a USP; lights! camera! imProvise! have chosen - you

guessed it - film. They’ll create a movie from scratch, live, including all the DVD extras.5 & 19 Nov, 19:30. Canal Cafe. £6-8.50. canalcafetheatre.com

5 Hilariously cheesy blood and gore galore at wwe raw. The fellas stop off in London as

part of a world-tour of beating each other up. 11 Nov, 19:30. O2 Arena. wwe.com/worldtourUK

2 Laban Theatre comissioned Israeli contemporary choreographer Hagit Yakira

to create sUnday morning. Four dancers respond to identities of childhood, family, home, and a longing to belong.17 Nov, 20:00. Jackson’s Lane. £10.95-12.95. jacksonslane.org.uk

3Paul Caffell’s Paintings and PlatinUms have been carefully crafted, but then that’s

half the point - his abstract work and folded sculptures are as much about creation as result.10 Nov - 17 Dec Wed-Sat, 11:00-18:00. Mummery and Scnelle. Free. mummeryschnelle.com

4 Brand new musical (no covers) BUrlesqUe is an homage to glamourously theatrical

days gone, perhaps with a sprinking of plot too.9 Nov - 10 Dec, 19:30 (14:30). Jermyn Street Theatre. £17.50-20. jermynstreettheatre.co.uk

5 Christmas is a cabaret as la soiree returns to Roundhouse, where it was born in 2009

before touring worldwide.23 Nov - 29 Jan, 8/7/10pm (Check daily details). Roundhouse. £15-65. la-soiree.com

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2Lizzie Nunnery’s the swallowing darK responds to first-hand experience gleaned

through Refugee Action. Escaping Mugabe’s Zimbabwe, Canaan thought his arrival in Liverpool had put an end to his dark past.1-26 Nov, 19:45. Theatre 503, Clapham. £9-14. theatre503.com

3Teaching science to a community torn apart by its most violent effects, a tornado; that’s

the job of Susan in how the world Began. Accompanied by four ethical discussions.15 Nov - 10 Dec, 20:00. Arcola. £11-15. arcolatheatre.com

4Neil Labute’s beauty-concious back end of a theatrical trilogy (The Shape of Things / Fat

Pig), reasons to Be Pretty poses questions about realationships and physical appearances.10 Nov - 14 Jan, 19:30 (14:30). Almeida. £8-32. almeida.co.uk/event/reasons

5Two ane-act plays: Blind date by both Horton Foote and Tennessee Williams, and

27 wagons FUll oF cotton by Williams.1-13 Nov, 19:45 (17:00). Riverside Studios. £12-15. riversidestudios.co.uk

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