> AN AUDIENCE WITH JO BRAND

Northwood House, Isle of Wight
13 October 2019

Jo Brand - The Isle of Wight Literary Festival has gone from strength to strength... this year we enjoy an audience with one of the UK’s best comics, TV star, presenter and writer, Jo Brand, as she talks about her latest book, Born Lippy: How To Do Female.

This hour long audience with Jo was fascinating, the informal conversational format was a great way to help us get to know the real Jo Brand. Often considered as 'overpowering', this rather shy author came across very well... she is sensitive, worldly and wise.

Apparently, Born Lippy is packed with memorable anecdotes from Jo's life and career. It's full of jokes and funny stories, coloured by her experiences as a psychiatric nurse, stand-up and working mother of two. This hilarious book aims not only to entertain but also really help people by touching on such subjects such as how to manage a bully; your family and how to survive it; what no one tells you about the female body; being different; social media is not sociable; how not to fall in love; feminism: a rebranding; you are not what you wear; getting on a bit; and how to do what you want: or not do what others want.

Our ticket price also included a copy of this new publication... I just need to get around to reading it now! Thank you Isle of Wight Literary Festival... Once again, we thoroughly enjoyed our Sunday afternoon with you!

10 out of 10

> IoW STAYCATION

IoW and London
27-31 May 2019

A short break on the isle and a trip to London town - A bank holiday should always be put to good use... bolt on 4 days and make a week of it!... That's exactly what we did. 

Great to get a bit of down time and recharge. Stay at home a bit, explore the isle a bit - and revisit London town. The weather was ok, but it was our dear little island that shone brightly!... here is what we got up to:

Monday 27 - We finish off our new patio and tidy up the garden... we prepare for guests and are able to enjoy pre-dinner drinks on the sun terrace. Perfect!

Tuesday 28 - A day out on the bus! We travel from Cowes to Newport, then off out to Godshill. From Godshill an enjoyable walk via Appuldurcombe House leads us to the the raised raised walk way that was once the railway track. A very leisurely stroll in the sunshine and we are soon at Shanklin. We head to the sea and walk to Sandown via a snack stop at the wonderful Salix beach cafe. Eventually we end up back in Shanklin and visit the beautiful Chine. Shanklin Chine is a pure green oasis... a perfect place to sit still for a while and relax. A couple of beers at the Fisherman's Cottage pub on the beach in the sun is a fabulous way to end the day. A bite to eat at the Steamer Inn on the front and we are soon back on the bus to Newport.

Wednesday 29 - A washout... we shut up shop, light the candles and get out those books that have been waiting to be enjoyed.

Thursday 30 - A better day, the sun is out and it's stopped raining! Today is all about London. We arrive at Waterloo around midday and are soon off to meet up with Jenny, our chum from Africa. Snacks at Spitalfields Market and a walk through Brick Lane to The Whitechapel Gallery take up a few hours. The shows at the Gallery are typically fun and we have smiles on our faces when we leave. Next a walk to Tate Modern where we enjoy a beer outside in the sun. We say our goodbye's to Jenny and are soon off to Greenwich to meet up with Carl and Annette.

Friday 31 - Today we head in to London to enjoy the British Museum. We haven't been here for a good few years, we are eager to explore. Today we have tickets for Manga. A landmark show where we enter a graphic world of art and storytelling. This is the largest exhibition of manga ever to take place outside of Japan. This visual narrative art form has become a multimedia global phenomenon, telling stories with themes from gender to adventure, in real or imagined worlds. Immersive and playful, the exhibition explores manga’s global appeal and cultural crossover, showcasing original Japanese manga and it's influence across the globe, from anime to ‘cosplay’ dressing up. This influential art form entertains, inspires and challenges. We really enjoyed this ground-breaking exhibition. Later in the day we start our travel back to the Isle, we are soon at home relaxing.

Everything gets a very worthy 10 out of 10

> TO HELL IN A HANDBAG

Quay Arts, Newport IoW
24 Nov 2018

To hell in a handbag - the secret lives of Canon Chasuble and Miss Prism! 

Tonight we head to the Quay arts centre in Newport to enjoy a little live Comedy Theatre... While others are preoccupied with cucumber sandwiches and railway cloakrooms, two minor characters from The Importance of Being Earnest are up to their necks in something else. A country rector and a governess, models of Victorian propriety in public. But in private? This is the play behind the play: a tale of blackmail, embezzlement and false identity. A subversively funny new take on an Irish theatrical classic.

Written and Performed by Helen Norton & Jonathan White

A very simple, yet wonderfully entertaining moment from two excellent comedy actors. Brilliant comedy timing, perfect minimal set and a sharp, well observed piece of writing.

10 out of 10

> THE APPLE CART

Apollo Theatre, IoW
31st March 2018

The Apple Cart - a satirical comedy which follows the fictional English King Magnus as he spars with, and ultimately outwits, Prime Minister Proteus and her cabinet, who seek to strip the monarchy of its remaining political influence. The team at the Apollo do it again!

"A comedy in which a King defeats an attempt by his popularly elected Prime Minister to deprive him of the right to influence public opinion through the press and the platform: in short, to reduce him to a cipher. The King’s reply is that rather than be a cipher he will abandon his throne and take his obviously very rosy chance of becoming a popularly elected Prime Minister himself." The play was completed in December 1928 and first performed at Warsaw (in Polish) the following June. Its English première was at the first Malvern Drama Festival in August 1929. 

George Bernard Shaw based King Magnus largely on himself, and Amanda Postlethwaite, the ‘Powermistress-General’, is said by the biographers of Beatrice Webb to be modelled on Susan Lawrence, an old colleague of Shaw’s from the Fabian Society."

Another fantastic production from the team at the Apollo. Director, Michael Arnell, peppered the production with subtlety, energy and a good dose of friction. The cast, the costumes, set and attention to detail are what make this teams productions shine, this show was no exception. We are so lucky to have such a wonderful and creative troop on our doorstep.

10 out of 10

> 9 to 5 THE MUSICAL

Shanklin Theatre, IoW
29th October 2017

The Isle of Wight Savoyards - have done it again! This enthusiastic and highly creative Theatre group did Dolly proud... Their production of 9 to 5 the Musical hit all the right notes and the female leads shone like true stars... Westend quality at Isle of Wight prices - fantastic!

9 TO 5 THE MUSICAL is the hilarious musical comedy based on the hit movie, that centres on three office workers who turn the tables on their sexist boss.

Outrageous, thought provoking and even a little romantic, 9 TO 5 THE MUSICAL is about teaming up and taking care of business. Featuring original numbers from Dolly Parton's Oscar, Tony and Grammy Award nominated score including Backwoods Barbie, Shine Like the Sun and the original hit song 9 TO 5.

We joined in the fun - sang along to 9 to 5 and enjoyed every moment! Great costumes, clever sets and some really nice retro styling too... fabulous!

10 out of 10

> THE LADYKILLERS

Apollo Theatre, IOW
3rd February 2017

The Ladykillers - The team at the Apollo Theatre bring this 'black comedy classic' to life in spectacular style... Originaly a film made in 1955 by Ealing Studios, this 'crime caper' is a guaranteed crowd pleaser from start to finish.

We have just enjoyed another fantastic night at the Apollo Theatre. This busy theatre, based in the heart of Newport, is consistently developing top nights out! Their production of The Ladykillers is a hoot... great cast, a stunning set and immaculate attention to detail. Marylyn Ford plays a wonderfully cautious Mrs Louisa Wilberforce and Michael Arnell plays Professor Marcus like a pro.

 The fantastic set

The Ladykillers – one of Ealing Studios’ finest and funniest offerings, has been reworked for the stage by Graham Linehan, his other credits include Father Ted and The IT Crowd. Di Evans deserves a special mention for her magnificent direction...

Most people will know of this immensely entertaining crime caper as one of Ealing Studios’ finest offerings, in which elderly widow Mrs. Wilberforce, who likes to report suspicious behaviour to the police, rents out rooms in her house to the dapper Professor Marcus (originally played by Alec Guinness) and his cohort of thieves without honour, constantly bickering among themselves. Posing as a string quintet, they pull off a bank robbery, but slip up in front of the old lady as they try to escape. Agreed that they need to murder her, the bumbling crooks prove no match for Mrs Wilberforce’s old-fashioned Victorian values: they’re dispatched to their early graves with witty heartlessness, as she goes magisterially on her way, hatpin firmly in place.

10 out of 10.

> EDDIE IZZARD

Shanklin Theatre, IOW
2nd October 2016

Eddie Izzard - the genius comedian with the big heart brings his marvellous show the the Isle of wight.  

Eddie Izzard has spruced up his previous show Force Majeure, and is presenting a new “reloaded” version for our enjoyment. He is well known for his rambling style of comedy, often bringing a whimsical stream of consciousness to the stage, much to the audiences’ bemusement. True to form, Force Majeure Reloaded delivers laughs a plenty. We even had a short moment dedicated to the concept behind the name of our Island.

For the past three years Izzard has been touring the globe, presenting his stand-up comedy show to audiences in four different languages. Before playing Shanklin, it will have been seen by audiences in Ireland, Russia, South Africa, Canada and the United States.

Mr. Izzard is on the Island filming a new Victorian costume epic with DAME JUDY DENCH. I was graced with a regal viewing of Dame Judy as she entered the Theatre Foyer... Radiant!! AND... All procedes from the show went to Island based charaties... what a nice chap!

10 out of 10.

> HABEAS CORPUS

Apollo Theatre, Newport IOW
10th September 2016

Habeas Corpus - Alan Bennett’s blissfully funny 1973 farce romps onto stage like a live version of a saucy seaside postcard... 

Habeas Corpus is a legal term, meaning 'you may have the body’, but in Bennett’s play, it is physical bodies that are the subject of various characters’ lusts, fantasies and worries.
From the middle-aged doctor dreaming of his young patients to his sister wishing to artificially enhance herself, the situations arising in Habeas Corpus are hilarious in the extreme.

The team at The Apollo do it again. The cast, the set, the styling... everything was perfect. Michael Anrell was a most wonderful Mr Wicksteed while Fiona Gwinnett was sensational as his long suffering wife.

10 out of 10.

> CONTEMPORARY BRITISH PAINTING

Quay Arts, Newport, IOW
27th August 2016

Contemporary British Painting - This exhibition in the West Gallery features the work of 40 artists from the group to coincide with the 40th Anniversary of Quay Arts this year.

This is the inaugural Summer Exhibition of the Contemporary British Painting group. Founded in 2013 by Robert Priseman in conjunction with Simon Carter, the group was formed to seek ways to explore and promote current trends in British painting through group exhibitions, talks, publications, art prizes, as well as the donation of paintings to art museums both in the UK and around the world.
Contemporary British Painting represents some of the most exciting, emerging and award-winning artists, painting in the UK today.

The groups members represent some of the most exciting emerging and award winning painting in the UK today and include European Sovereign Painters Prize winner Susan Gunn, Pollock-Krasner awardee Kelly Jayne, East London Painting Prize winner Nathan Eastwood, John Moores Prize winner Nicholas Middleton, British Academy awardee James Quin, Birtle Prize winner Simon Burton, Venice Biennale exhibitors Marguerite Horner and Phil Illingworth and Griffin Prize exhibitor Matthew Krishanu.

Study for Wharf Piping - Day Bowman

Amulet - Ben Cove

Two Cut - Lucy Cox

Brush-off - Pen Dalton

Bambi - Annabel Dover

Sheffield -  Barbara Howey

(impossible) woman2 - Wendy Saunders

Exciting to see Quay Arts hosting such a prestigious show. A dazzling collection of abstract, landscape, portraiture, still life and multi-media 3D... ensurring there is something for everyone. Contemporary and conceptual is much more the tone and as you walk around the gallery, the emotional energy dips and climbs, a sign of good curation. I was interested to note the various methods of colour application... how does the artist leave a mark with paint? Joyous daubs or delicate strokes?... Fine colour washes or blocky solids?... It's all here to enjoy! Remember, go with an open mind and you will not be disapointed. Cobra by Freya Purdue shown at head of post. Show runs through to 15th October 2016.

10 out of 10.

> THE BIRTHDAY PARTY

Apollo Theatre, Newport IOW
8th April 2016

Apollo Theatre - Harold Pinter’s comedy of menace.  Who are Goldberg & McCann, and why have they appeared on Stanley’s birthday?

The Birthday Party (1957) is the second full-length play by Pinter and one of his best-known. It is both edgy and disturbing ...we left the theatre quetioning the plot, the characters and the outcome. Gripping stuff and amazingly well acted out by the very talented cast. Great set too!

The play is about Stanley Webber, an erstwhile piano player in his 30s, who lives in a shabby boarding house, run by Meg and Petey Boles, in an English seaside town, ‘probably on the south coast, not too far from London’.  Meg organises a birthday party for Stanley, but two sinister strangers, Goldberg and McCann, who appear to have come looking for him, turn the seemingly innocuous birthday party into a nightmare.

Directed by Marylyn Ford
Meg Sue Edwards, Petey Simon Cardew, Stanley Pete Harris, Lulu Ellie Warren, Goldberg Michael Arnell, McCann Colin Ford.

10 out of 10.

> DAN CRUICKSHANK TALK

St. Mary's Church, Cowes
18th October 2015

The Isle of Wight Literary Festival 2015 - an eclectic mixture of writers, thinkers, creators and doers travel to the Island to share their thoughts and experiences... What a great excuse to meet up with people who have inspired, educated and given us hours of entertainment along the way!

Dan Cruickshank is an art historian and BBC television presenter, with a special interest in the history of architecture. He has an infectious passion for this subject and it has taken him all over the world. He has written and presented many TV programmes and published books that explore and share his knowledge and understanding.

We could not resist this opportunity to spend an hour in the company of this likable chap. The talk was free-form and fast in pace. He talked loosely around his experience of researching and producing the new book - 'A History of Architecture in 100 Buildings'... he used stories, anecdotes and slides to bring the presentation to life. Very interesting it was too. The venue was packed with a very appreciative audience who listened and chuckled along. I was lucky enough to meet Dan afterwards and he kindly signed my copy of his new book. A great afternoon!

 Our signed copy of Dan's new book

10 out of 10!

> OLIVER

Shanklin Theatre, IOW
11th October 2015

Oliver - one of the best English musicals ever! Based upon the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens - with music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. 

This Island Savoyards production had to work really hard to stand up to the fabulous 1968 musical film version... That said, I am happy to report that this production was very, very good. I admit, no one can better Ron Moody and Oliver Reed from the film, but the troop did themselves proud. Great sets and costumes also helped to make this a very enjoyable show... nice way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon in Shanklin. Great work!

Special shout out to Jesse Rann for her brilliant portrayal of Nancy and Brad Barnley who made Bill Sykes a force to be reckoned with!

10 out of 10!