Guest Review: Nivelli's War by Cahoots NI at the MAC Belfast

By Dylan O'Rawe, aged 10

Tonight my mum and I went to see Nivelli's War.  It was the story of how a little boy called Ernst was evacuated to his aunt's house in the country when his city was bombed in World War 2.  He loved his mum very much and did not want to leave her, but it was too dangerous for him to stay and so he had to go so he would be safe.

When the war was over, a nice man helped him to find his way home even though when they first met each other they hated each other.  He showed Ernst magic tricks and then Ernst learned to do them himself.  When he grew up he became the great Nivelli, a magician.

I thought the story was really nice and I thought it was happy and sad.  I loved the magic tricks and the smoke which made it really spooky sometimes.  The music was cool and sometimes made me feel like something bad was going to happen.

My mum knows some people in the show and I knew Michael and Kerri because I've met them before with my mum.  All the actors were great but I thought that the great Nivelli was the best because he was really old and remembering back a long time and that was hard to act.  I loved Michael's smoke too and wanted there to be more, but I'm glad I wasn't sitting at the front.

I think all children should go to see the show because stories about the war are important for children to know about and history is really interesting.  If you like magic then you will love the trick at the end but my mum said not to write it here or I would spoil the surprise!

Dylan

Nivelli's War is at the MAC Belfast until Tuesday 11 March. Click here for tickets 

For tour dates check the Cahoots NI website by clicking here     

    

   

Can't Forget About You at the Lyric Theatre Review

It was with some trepidation that I reserved my ticket for Can't Forget About You at the Lyric Theatre. With an 18 certificate, a statement advising of 'scenes of a sexual nature' and half naked photos of Declan Rodgers plastered all over Facebook, it was a show I had to carefully choose a companion to go with.

David Ireland developed this script in his year as Artist in Residence at the Lyric.  My top two shows since the Lyric reopened 2 years ago are 'Brendan at the Chelsea' and 'Molly Wobbly's Tit Factory', both of which opened on the Naughton Studio stage, so Can't Forget About You had a lot to live up to.

In the first few scenes my heart sank as the Troubles were referred to and the stereotypical Ulster mother appeared.  I'm not a lover of 'troubles plays', but I don't think we should rewrite history either.  A story which ignores our troubled society is as misguided as one which showcases it.  With this play however, David Ireland shines a light on just enough of our cultural differences to provide a believable backdrop to his modern day love story.

Declan Rodgers does a fine job of portraying Stevie, a young man of Protestant upbringing who has broken up with his Catholic girlfriend much to the delight of his religious mother (Carol Moore) and bigoted Ulster-Scots loving sister (Abigail McGibbon).  When Stevie finds a new female companion in Martha (Karen Dunbar), his sister is delighted as Martha's background, perceived religion and heritage seem a perfect fit.  That is until she finds out what age she is...

While his God-fearing mother believes in traditional ideas such as marriage before children and staying with your husband no matter what, Stevie is concerned with more relaxed ideas.  Religion is not important, after all he defines himself as Buddhist; you don't have to be in a relationship to have sex, never mind married; and being unemployed is as good a job as any. Stevie doesn't want the traditional way of doing things and his family don't want to consider more modern ideas about relationships and religious tolerance.  But of course his family eventually accept Stevie's choice and he finally realises that he wants the traditional way of living after all.  

This is what the play does best. Yes the script is really very funny, there is partial nudity and bad language and it's lovely to see an audience leave the theatre with huge grins on their faces, but to say that's all this play is about is to do it a disservice.  The tension between traditional and more modern ways of thinking is reflective of contemporary society in NI.   While one section of our community looks forward to a future of tolerance and a less judgemental society, another section looks back to our troubled past and wonders how we can ever move on.

The idea that tradition may in fact have something to offer is served up in a witty way by David Ireland, as is the idea that tradition is not everything. We are so busy fighting for what we think we believe in that maybe we need to realise that we all need a little of what the other side believes in after all.  With a strong cast of fine actors, a well put together script and an enthusiastic audience, Can't Forget About You finds it's place as the highlight of the Lyric's 'Tales of The City' programme of events.

Oh and Wonder Woman makes an appearance...if that's not a reason for booking a ticket, then what is?        

Can't Forget About You runs until 16th June at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast. Click here to book tickets.

Karen

http://twitter.com/classygenes

Planet Belfast at the MAC REVIEW

Given the amount of money I seem to spend on theatre tickets, I thought I'd have to miss out on this show by Tinderbox.  However every time I opened my facebook profile, someone had posted a photo of Tara Lynne O'Neill on the phone and peering through what looked like fishing line.

Other production shots shimmered with lights and projections and at last, just a few nights before it closed, I bit the bullet and booked a ticket.

Not knowing what the show as actually about stood me in good stead, as a story about a Green politician in Northern Ireland wouldn't really have attracted me.  However I'm glad I booked something I wouldn't usually have attended, as otherwise I would have missed out on what was a really strong show.

Abigail McGibbon played Alice, a Green party MLA who is confident and ballsy, opinionated and volatile. These traits do not make her a likable character and she certainly didn't seem the maternal type despite her impatience to be a mother.  Her husband Martin, played by Paul Kennedy is hiding in the sidelines of her success. He is given a job solely so his employer, Danny from the victim support centre can get her to attend his event.  He is on the wrong end of her short temper on many occasions and when he commits adultery, I guiltily thought she deserved it. I really enjoyed the chemistry between these two actors.  The scenes of closeness always had a hint of restraint about them, normal in this kind of relationship where one partner is always watching for a mood swing or violence.

Conor Grimes as Danny, from victim support, was a revelation.  I think I expected a 'Grimes and McKee' type performance but what we got was a straight-faced character, played with a hint of lunatic. Claire, played by Tara Lynne O'Neill is the beautiful blast from the past who encourages Alice's emasculated and bullied husband into an 'almost affair'.  As with Martin's employer, the only reason why he is picked out for special attention is because he is an easy route to Alice.

The show has a lot to say about our local politicians and their inability to look beyond the small things, and highlights the enhancement and perpetuation of our victim status in NI.  However the thing that works best about this script is that at no point did I actually like any of the characters, but somehow I still cared.  The relationships between a violent bully, an ex-paramilitary/ victim, a feeble husband and a manipulative bitch should not make for a touching story.  It's testament to Rosemary Jenkinson's characterisation that each of these relationships has something to offer the audience. Despite their faults we all recognise ourselves or our family on the stage.  A minor annoyance was that some of the dialogue jarred a little and seemed unnatural coming from a Belfast mouth, but it was only a minor thing that didn't detract at all from the script.  A dark Belfast humour is present throughout and for someone who never laughs out loud at theatre shows, the script made even me let out a few guilty guffaws. For the most part I enjoyed the more naturalistic way the characters' conversed, at times talking over one another, or answering simply with a laugh as they would in real life.

I can't sign off without mention of the set by Ciaran Bagnall.  Beautiful and different, it gave the whole piece a futuristic science-fiction feel which only added to the production.  I would really like to borrow it for the backdrop to my wedding renewal ceremony, if anyone from Tinderbox is reading!

Thanks

Karen

http://twitter.com/classygenes