As I slowly emerge from my grad school-induced coma, I come out not only with my Master’s but also with many forgotten blog post items, which final projects and class kept me from posting. When I was writing for The Playgoer over the summer, theater blogger Chris Wilkinson mentioned my work twice on his weekly theater blog roundup for The Guardian. I’m so flattered, and I wanted to share some of the great attention, albeit a little late.

Noises off: Theatre bloggers of the world, unite (The Guardian 9/3/09)

Noises off: Should theatre critics and artists be friends or foes? (The Guardian, 8/26/09)

Just a bit of a miscellaneous, metaphorical desk tidying.

Scandals

We start with scandals: This is why we avoid the fringe and this is just bizarre.

Crosswords

We’re disappointed with – as Alan Sugar would say – the bladdy lot of you. Except for Mary McM who indulged our whim and dutifully solved the first ever West End Whingers crossword.

Asked which of our prizes she would like to claim as a reward, Mary wrote “Off the top of my head –  at the cocktail hour: Jay Rayner’s pen? A vegetable sculpture of Mr Hytner? A squeaky seat from the Old Vic? But if none of these are possible, your continued dispatches from the front stalls will be reward enough.”

Be careful what you wish for, Mary. And well done.

For those of you who attempted it and failed, the solution can now be found by clicking on the image above.

Fantasy Hamlet

We seem to have inadvertently tapped a rich vein of enthusiasm through our recent mention of Jessie Royce Landis (left) and our idle musing that she would have made an excellent Gertrude in Mr Doran’s production of Hamlet.

She is perhaps most familiar as Cary Grant’s mother in Alfred Hitchcock’s North By Northwest and she turns in a very good performance for Hitchcock again in To Catch A Thief as Grace Kelly’s mum.

Pat Miller approves of our choice of JRL for a fantasy production of Hamlet while  Michael Sharpe exclaims, “Good Grief! I didn’t think anyone, other than myself, remembered Jessie Royce Landis. I can’t wait for you to drop Enid Stamp Taylor’s name.”

Well, Michael. We confess we had to look EST up on IMDB but were thrilled to realise that we actually saw her quite recently in The Wicked Lady (right) at the NFT and jolly good she was too.

But back to JRL. Given the similarities in the Freudian themes between Hamlet and North By Northwest (not to mention the echo in Hamlet’s “I am but mad north-northwest; when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw”) it seems only logical to imagine a production of Hamlet with the following dream cast from the film:

Claudius/Old Claudius: James Mason

Hamlet: Cary Grant

Gertrude: Jessie Royce Landis

Polonius:Leo G Carroll

Ophelia: Eva Marie Saint

Laertes: Martin Landau

So there you are, a new parlour game for you to keep yourselves entertained while the Whingers take a well-earned break from all this self-imposed nonsense.

Above: Cary Grant as Hamlet and Jessie Royce Landis as Gertrude in the West End Whingers production of Hamlet.

Writing in his blog, theater & performing arts, yesterday, the Guardian’s Chris Wilkinson writes “there is a new colour seeping into the politics of this year’s fringe — and it’s distinctly green.” But, aside from works with clever titles like Global Warming is Gay, Wilkinson admits that the subject was hardly touched at the Edinburgh Festival — and certainly not in a way that he thought adequate, considering how prevalent the idea of sustainability is today.

“Ultimately,” Wilkinson writes of playwright Ian Heggie’s work, “the comic form for the piece sits uncomfortably with its subject matter. For much of the time Heggie’s humour relies on some highly imaginative scatological references which, while funny in themselves, do not really illuminate the play’s politics.”

For a less direct, but decidedly more meaningful approach, Wilkinson notes that The Caravan, a “verbatim play” based on testimony from those affected by last year’s floods may be the clearest piece on the subject of the environment.

Check out Wilkinson’s blog — it’s worth a look.

First off I wanna preface this by saying that it was rather exciting to be mentioned and linked on Chris Wilkinson’s blog on the Guardian.

I’ve wanted to comment on this little web video for a while now so I will take the time to do so.  Chris himself tackles the video, as does Kelly Nestruck at the Globe and Mail – who has become by the way officially my favourite critic, partly in the way he entices Morris Panych into discourse.  Anyway, here is my  take on this video:

One of my first professional experiences as an actor (doing a reputable gig in which I was paid a sum of money) was a production of INTERROGATION for Modern Times Stage.  To this day I consider it one of the most artistic and memorable experiences I’ve ever had as an actor.  I shared the stage with fantastic actors, and was directed by now multiple Dora winner, and proud to say mentor, Soheil Parsa.  It was performed at Theatre Passe Muraille.  We had the mainspace, and we shared the back space with another theatre company that was performing a play written by a female Canadian playwright named Hannah Moscovitch.  The play was The Russian Play and it was the hit of the festival.  I never got a chance to see the play, but when Hannah’s next play East of Berlin premiered at Factory Theatre I made sure to see it.  I will say this bluntly, East of Berlin gave me a profound sense of hope.  Hannah’s script was impeccable – wrenching, intellectual, humourous, and filled with passion.  Hannah Moscovitch is a bright light in Canadian theatre at the moment.

The other playwrights in the video while I am not fully familiar with them are from what I’ve heard wonderful as well.  I know Anita Mujumdar as a wonderful actor as she played The Boy in Modern Times’ production of Bloom. And I remember swooning after seeing her at a production of Interrogation – yes my friends she is beautiful.

I recognize wholeheartedly the talent of these women, which allows me to recognize the irony and the humour of the video.  In fact by reading the comments on the Summerworks blog itself, those who are familiar with the playwrights and their works recognize exactly what I did. I hope that this video in no way leaves the impression that the women present are not brilliant, because they are.  The mere notion that they are succesful female Canadian playwrights means the world to our country.  Let us hope that no one watches this thing and decides against going the festival.  I do not want to make judgments on the two theatre festivals that happen in Toronto in the summer time, but from my experience, Summerworks is where you will find a consistency that is not found at the Fringe.

But honestly, I pretty much agree with playwright Adam Pettle who poses the real question that needs to asked, and I paraphrase, “OK…but who’s the hottest??”

Critical Visions, 2008 RAIA National Conference

From the moment Chris Wilkinson walked on stage and then (unusually) proceeded to sit down on a lounge for his keynote address, I thought he would be an interesting speaker. It turned out, however, the reason he was sitting down was his bad back but it suited his laid-back yet confident delivery nonetheless. Established over 25 years ago in London, the firm of Wilkinson Eyre are probably best known for their iconic Gateshead Millennium Bridge but there is a greater breadth to the practice “striving for the beautiful idea” as Wilkinson presented.

Gateshead Millenium Bridge, Newcastle-upon-Tyne (by Xavier de Jauréguiberry)

Wilkinson said he strives for “aesthetics, atmosphere and meaning” in projects where there is an ambiguity between art and science. And as Wilkinson noted, in order to make the art, you have to understand the science.

Wilkinson Eyre’s understanding of the “science” is apparent in many of the projects presented, especially the series of bridge projects. Starting with the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Wilkinson explained that the curved deck, acting as a horizontal arch, met the brief requirement of not establishing foundations on the banks of the river as well creating an accessible promenade. Two arches, one spanning the river vertically and the other is a horizontal arch, supported a series of cables, is the promenade deck. Both arches pivot around a pin joint which makes the structure look like an eyelid or helmet visor. This architectural metaphor reflects the art/science blend Wilkinson mentioned earlier.

The big eyelid, aka. the Gateshead Millennium Bridge (2001)

Cultural Destinations
Wilkinson explained that he aimed to create cultural buildings that people wanted to go to rather than have to go and on basis he presented a trio of projects to meet that objective; the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea, Wales, the Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth and the speculative the House of Human Rights in Milan for Amnesty International.

Facade detail, National Waterfront Museum, Swansea (by chilledoutdude)

Window and stacked stone cladding detail (by chilledoutdude)

Of these, the most intriguing is the project to display the Mary Rose – Henry the VIII’s flagship from 1511- to the public. Subject to 25 years of archeology and restorations, only half of the ship’s hull was preserved in river mud and Wilkinson’s proposition is to create a virtual mirror hull from (hopefully) cast glass. Over 18,000 objects pulled from the river will be displayed in this glass hull where the exhibition aims to capture a specific moment in time of Tudor England. The “composite” hull is enclosed by a large span shell-like shed which is clad in black timber panelling.

Model of the Mary Rose Project (by galuppi)

Light & Geometry
Wilkinson presented a range of bridges, of which the practice is justifiably well-known, including the Floral Street Bridge, London, the University of Limerick “Living” Bridge and the interactive “Challenge of Materials” Bridge at the Science Museum in London. Each bridge is a characteristic blend of art and science in response to context. The Floral Street Bridge provides a discreet connection between the Royal Ballet and the Opera House for dancers and employs a square frame rotating using spiral geometry. Pre-fabricated entirely offsite, the bridge elegantly resolved the misaligned (in plan and section) heritage building openings. Wilkinson called it a “bridge of aspirations”. Indeed.

Underside street view of the twisting Floral Street Bridge (by ly wylde)

Ballet Dancer on the Floral Street Bridge (by cybele_skydancer)

Whilst the Floral Street Bridge responds to context, the Challenge of Materials bridge responds directly to the user(s) by adjusting hundreds of 1mm wires supporting the 6mm laminated glass-on-edge deck according to the load imposed. The wires are connected to a stainless steel baseplate attached to a computerised load monitor. This amazing bridge paved the way for the Tensegrity Bridge, in collaboration with Cecil Balmond, proposed for the National Building Museum in Washington.

Wilkinson ended his presentation discussing the “Complex Geometries” of the Liverpool Arena & Conference Centre, and the (unfortunately named) Guangzhou Twin Towers in China but neither of these large scale projects quite managed to elegantly blend the art of architecture and the science of structure as well as Wilkinson Eyre’s bridge portfolio.

Facade detail, Liverpool Arena & Conference Centre (by johnybes)

Projects Presented (in order)

• Gateshead Millennium Bridge [PDF], Newcastle-upon-Tyne (2001)
  
• The Magna Project [PDF] (Science Adventure Centre), Rotherham (2001)
• National Waterfront Museum [PDF], Swansea (2005)
• Mary Rose Museum [PDF], Portsmouth (ongoing)
• House of Human Rights, Milan (project)
  
• Floral Street Bridge [PDF], London (2003)
• University of Limerick Living Bridge [PDF], Ireland (2007)
• Challenge of Materials Bridge [PDF], Science Museum, London (1997)
• Gardens by the Bay [PDF], Singapore (ongoing)
• Tensegrity Bridge [PDF], Washington (ongoing)
• Liverpool Arena & Conference Centre [PDF] (2008)
• Guangzhou Twin Towers [PDF], China (2009)

Additional Wilkinson Eyre Resources

• Official site of the Gateshead Millennium Bridge
• Structural analysis case study of the Gateshead Millennium Bridge
• Primer of 21st century steel bridge design (inc. Gateshead Millennium Bridge)
• Gateshead Millennium Bridge on Galinsky
  
• National Waterfront Museum (official site)
  
• Architectural Record’s Building Types Study on the Floral Street Bridge
• More details about the University of Limerick Bridge on e-architect
• Details and photos of the Challenge of Materials Bridge
• Gardens by the Bay visualisation by Squint Opera
• A so-called “virtual flythrough” of Liverpool Arena & Conference Centre

Also in this series… Billie Tsien: Resistance, Brigitte Shim: Site/Situation

On a chilly evening the week before Christmas, I had the pleasure of dining at The Oxford Retreat with Mawuli Ladzekpo, Editor of The Gateway. Mawuli (currently a 3rd year PPEist from Exeter College) and I had bumped into each other at the Oxford freshers’ fair a couple of times in the past. However, the incredibly hectic environment hadn’t afforded us the opportunity to get to know one another properly. Now, months later, we were sitting in GroupSpaces’ local at a very exciting time for both of our young companies.

Onto The Gateway. Not only is it the UK’s first national student newspaper, but it’s also the first student paper in the UK to solely focus on business and finance. Together with Mawuli, it was set up by fellow Oxford students Max Lewis and Chris Wilkinson last summer. With an initial motivation to help students get jobs in investment banking, the concept has evolved and broadened to now cover consulting, law and (hopefully) a good level of information about other careers.

What I particularly like is the relevance of its content for students. Having done a few internships myself, and run the application-interview gauntlet more times than I care to remember, I understand the common pains well. For instance, here’s one situation encountered far too often: you’re starting to prepare the night before an interview. No, wait – probably 1am on the morning of a 9.30am interview. You’re weighing up the relative value of 2 hours cramming and 4 hours sleep against 4 hours of cramming and 2 hours sleep. You want a source that provides up-to-date information on the markets and current macroeconomic environment at a suitable level, and you also want a source that reminds you of the nitty gritty detail on key interview techniques. At the very least, you need to put together a few thoughtful arguments that you will fit into a good cross-section of interview scenarios.

Well The Gateway does much of the hard work for you. You pick up copies of the last couple of editions, check what the hot topics are, get the lowdown from the people who do the recruitment – so you know it’s not some off-the-wall analyst take on things, and there you have it – you’ve got your arguments right there and then. All that’s left is to check some company-specific information like the Thomson Financial rankings, recent deals and your done.

Having published the first edition on 8^th October with fortnightly 8-page copies being distributed across Oxford University for the rest of Michaelmas Term, the newspaper has just gone national, distributing tens of thousands of 24-page copies across many of the UK’s top universities.

Going back to dinner with Mawuli – during the evening he mentioned that he had come across my blog and he asked what subject I’d studied and where else I had written. When I owned up to this blog being the first time I’d written anything outside of an e-mail client or application form since my GCSE English exam, and that I was also a mathematics student, he became a little hesitant. Nevertheless, he proceeded to ask if I could write a new column on entrepreneurship for The Gateway this term.

It was an honour for me to accept, and on Wednesday, my first article was published. You can view it in its original context here (page 8).

It was my first ever experience of writing something that would be edited, and despite a significant cut in length, I’m pretty happy with the final result. Some readers have said my recent posts were too long anyway…

I’ll post the rest of the series here over the coming weeks.