Theatre Review: The Hothouse with Harold Pinter panel discussion

Guardian theatre critic and Harold Pinter biographer Michael Billington joined actresses Gina McKee and Lia Williams, writer Nick Payne and theatre director Jamie Lloyd for a special panel discussion of the playwright's work last week, ahead of the production of his play The Hothouse which stars John Simm, Simon Russell Beale and Harry Melling.

The panel discussed the influence of Pinter as a playwright, from the Pinter pause and the real meaning behind what is not said to the importance of timing in his dialogue. Pinter, they said, was revolutionary in the world of theatre and was amongst the first group of playwrights to provide works with ambiguous endings, where audiences could interpret the play the way they wanted to. Every line and every gesture, according to the panel, had significance.


Harry Melling (Lamb) - The Hothouse
Photo Credit Johan Persson

The Hothouse follows the staff of a mental health facility as Christmas Day brings the news of both a birth and a death amongst their patients. Chaos ensues as the chief, Roote, starts to panic about the implications of such events taking place under his roof.

The play moves at breakneck speed with the dialogue delivered as quickly as a Wimbledon tennis match - flying from one actor to the next and back again. The performances are often manic, adding to the hilarity but, though it is hilarious throughout and provides numerous belly laughs, the play is incredibly dark. The patients are never actually seen but hearing the way the staff talk about them is horrifying. They refer to them in numbers and look at them as an imposition and inconvenience. The news that one of the patients has given birth means that one of the staff has been having sexual relations with her but this reveal is met more with indignation at the extra work the birth has created rather than horror at the relationship itself. The most horrifying scenes are that of Lamb (played by Melling) undergoing electric shock treatment. His performance is so vivid that the result is immensely unsettling. 

For the most part, The Hothouse follows a steady rhythm but it leaps, rather unexpectedly, into one of the more shocking and unresolved endings for which Pinter is now so well known.

A clever, insightful but slightly disjointed work.

4/5 FOBLES

The Hothouse runs until August 3rd at Trafalgar Transformed.

New Carrie poster arrives

A new poster has arrived for the long-awaited - and, annoyingly, delayed - Carrie adaptation which stars Chloe Moretz and is out later this year.

What do you think? Will it be more like the Stephen King novel? It certainly looks that way from the trailer...

Source: Shortlist

The ‘reality’ of The Hunger Games

Stanley Tucci and Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games. Credit: Murray Close.

Suzanne Collins, author of 'The Hunger Games' trilogy says she first came up with the idea for the stories when she was channel hopping between the news and reality TV. There was something terrifying in turning the violence and horror we see every day on the news into a reality TV show. Sparked by this idea, the annual hunger games began.

As 'The Hunger Games' begins, viewers see many of district twelve preparing for the reaping ceremony - the ceremony where one boy and girl will be chosen at random from each of the twelve districts to take part in the games. Even though they are sending two of their own to probable death, each citizen must dress up for the occasion, with the girls doing their hair in some special way. If they are not seen to be making an effort, they are likely to be punished.

The entire ceremony is also, of course, televised and broadcast across the nation of Panem. This is not an event you can simply call in sick for. Everyone must attend. Those in charge want the parents, siblings, friends and relatives of those selected to witness not just their selection at the reaping but everything that follows - right up to their death. They want everyone to see their power and what they can make Panem's children do. It is essential to their control.

The violence found in 'The Hunger Games' has, of course, been done before. Children killing children can be found in many stories - from 'Lord of the Flies' to 'Battle Royale'. However, we currently live in a world of reality TV - from Chelsea to the Geordie Shore via Laguna Beach. People film everything on their camera phones nowadays and some even film people being attacked or abused so that others can watch for their 'enjoyment'.

Collins managed to tap into this social phenomenon by incorporating this reality TV element into her stories and it was this focus that made 'The Hunger Games' that much more menacing - and oddly captivating. This is what allows for the film to be both inherently violent and not remotely gratuitous. None of the violence is glamorised. If anything, the focus is more heavily weighed on just how horrific it all is. Viewers of the film watch not just what happens within the games but everything that happens outside them too. As Panem's citizens are forced to watch their loved ones fight, kill or be killed, so is the viewer.

Sumptuous new stills from Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby

As if I wasn't excited enough about the impending The Great Gatsby adaptation release (which I'll be seeing with some fellow book vs film devotees who are all currently reading the book!)... these images have made me even more excited (click to enlarge the images)!

The Great Gatsby stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton and Isla Fisher and hits cinemas in 3D and 2D on May 16th.

Unable to Write: The Perils of RSI

About six months ago, my wrist started to hurt. It got so bad that I asked my boss for a new keyboard and mouse mat with better wrist support. For a couple of weeks, it got better. But then, sadly, the pain returned.

I bought a cheap wrist support from Boots which seemed to stop the incessant clicking but as time went on, the pain only seemed to worsen. By the time I went to the doctor about it, she said it was highly likely that I had RSI. She referred me to a physio who discovered that most of the pain in my wrist (and now arm) had begun from the sheer amount of time I spent using my phone – and was certainly not helped by the amount of time I spent typing. I had apparently angered the tendons in my right thumb, by texting and emailing one-handed.

I immediately cut back on all my typing outside of working hours, greatly reduced the amount of time I spent on my phone (and was very aware of whether or not I was using my thumb too much), and started physiotherapy, chiropractic treatment, and acupuncture. I figured if one didn't work, all three surely would.

I'm happy to say that the treatment does seem to be making a difference, albeit a slow-moving one. I still need a wrist support every time I use the computer, I have to take numerous breaks and have an inordinate number of stretches and strengthening exercises to do every day. I also have one of those fancy pens you can use on a touch phone and have discovered the joy of voice recognition software (thanks to some brilliant advice from a certain author!).

Sadly, though, I don't see returning to full writer mode any time soon. It's only improving because I'm allowing my wrist and arm time to rest and working diligently on strengthening the wrist itself. If I were to suddenly start typing for hours at a time (like I used to!), all of the hard work that has been done so far would surely have been for nothing.

The saddest part of all of this, of course, is that writing is what I love to do. It was never an obligation. I looked forward to going home so that I could write a discussion topic for Novelicious, a review for Filmoria, or delve deeper into the book I seem to have been writing for months. I can't really do a lot of what I used to and it's certainly been an adjustment. However, there does seem to be a very small light at the end of this proverbial tunnel. For example, this entire post has been written using said voice recognition software. So I suppose there really is no shutting me up – no matter how much my body may tell me to.

Have you been affected by RSI? Share what's worked (or not!) for you in the comments.

First Book vs Film Club: The Great Gatsby

I made a new Twitter friend recently - @timothyeraw. This may not seem particularly newsworthy to many of you, were it not for the fact that this Twitter connection sparked an idea. What about a club? A club for those who want to read a great book, see the film adaptation and (most importantly!) discuss it!

But who has the time? So I looked ahead a few weeks and discovered, right there in the middle of May, the new Baz Luhrmann adaptation of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald – and with that, the first #bookvsfilmclub was born!

So, with over a month still to go before the film hits cinemas, there is plenty of time to get your copy of the classic American novel. (Try the gorgeous new edition, designed by Tiffany & Co: The Great Gatsby (Vintage Classics)).

When May 16th comes around, join us – either in a London cinema in person or via Twitter using the #bookvsfilmclub hashtag – to discuss what you thought of both book and film.

For more info, find me at @filmvsbook or check out those already taking part at https://twitter.com/filmvsbook/film-vs-book-club/members!

    

New Interactive Cover Revealed for Stephen King's 'Doctor Sleep': the sequel to The Shining

Fans of Stephen King's The Shining rejoice! The sequel to the chilling story, Doctor Sleep - which looks at where now middle-aged Danny Torrance's life has ended up - is out this September. Check out the synopsis and interactive new cover below...

 

King says he wanted to know what happened to Danny Torrance, the boy at the heart of THE SHINING, after his terrible experience in the Overlook Hotel. The instantly riveting, stand-alone novel, DOCTOR SLEEP picks up the story of the now middle-aged Dan.

 

On highways across America, a tribe of people called The True Knot travel in search of sustenance. They look harmless - mostly old, lots of polyester, and devoted to their comfortable Recreational Vehicles. But they live off the ‘steam’ that children with the ‘shining’ produce when they are slowly tortured to death.

Following a childhood haunted by the time he spent with his parents at the Overlook Hotel, Dan Torrance has been drifting for decades, desperate to shed his father's legacy of despair, alcoholism, and violence. Finally, he settles into a job at a nursing home in rural New Hampshire where his remnant ‘shining’ power provides the crucial final comfort to the dying. Aided by a prescient cat, Dan becomes ‘Doctor Sleep.’

Then Dan meets the evanescent Abra Stone, and it is her spectacular gift, the brightest shining ever seen, that reignites Dan’s own demons and summons him to a battle for Abra’s soul and survival...

Publication of the hardcover, eBook and digital download will be September 24, 2013.