A Lost City

 

Review - Our Lady of Blundellsands

There haven’t been many, if any, theatre productions I’ve walked out from and wanted to watch again straight away but this was certainly one of those moments. When the writing is superb, the direction is superb and the acting is superb, then there is only one result – Yes, SUPERB!

From the moment Josie Lawrence as Sylvie walked on stage, I was mesmerised. She has a quality that you can’t learn in any drama or stage school – you are just born with it and Josie Lawrence had it in abundance. Her physicalness changes the personality of the character and her use of voice gives her the range that not many people can do.

Josie needs someone who can match her ability and there aren’t too many around but they certainly found a gem in Joanne Howarth as Garnet. If there was a picture in the dictionary next to the word ‘wow’, then there would be a picture of Joanne. There is something beautiful in her eyes when she acts – a realism that makes you believe what she is saying. Some people when they act say the lines but Joanne believes in the lines. I could watch Joanne and Josie perform every day and never get bored – a remarkable duo.

The two ladies are supported by excellent actors who are perfectly cast. Gemma Brodrick playing Alyssa punctures the drama with beautifully delivered one liners that gives the audience their release in tension. Her partner Lee Lee played by Nathan McMullen gives us comedy, mystery and drama all in one. His calmness on stage can easily be overlooked but he gives such a believable performance especially his Peter Pan!

Mickey Jones playing Mickey-Joe never misses a beat in his delivery and shows a great range of emotion particularly when he is having one of his rants! His partner Frankie played by Nana Amoo-Gottfried is the ideal partner. He has the ability to bite back when needed but doesn’t over play it which is easily done.

The writing by Jonathon Harvey is some of the best I’ve seen. His ability to make you laugh and make you cry within a short space of time reminds me of another brilliant writer John Sullivan. These writers don’t come long often but when they do it is magical!

Nick Bagnall directs this brilliant piece of theatre and I honestly don’t think it could be directed any better. The perfect mix of highs and lows and the use of the stage throughout was wonderful. One word sums up the ending – Beautiful!

A piece of theatre that everyone should see. The Everyman theatre is a perfect venue for this, as getting close up to the actors is what makes the show work. If you can get a ticket then get one as you won’t be disappointed!

Control

It's 6:30 in the morning and another groundhog day

Staring in to nothing, hypnotised, not having a say

Wanting all this fame to disappear straight away

Management controlled me, moulded me to think this way

Chorus

How do I escape?

How do I break free?

Why are they doing this?

Why can't they see me?

When will this all end?

When will they hear my plea?

Will you come and rescue me?

Another day alone surrounded by people I don't know

Forever in the spotlight but I have nothing at all to show

People passing judgement, they don't want to let me grow

Management don't ask just in case that I say no

Bridge

Always losing never can I win

Can't escape this place I'm in

Head hurting, always in a spin

Stay strong, never will I ever give in

Strange things happen when suddenly I want a voice

No longer taking orders, all I want is to have a choice

Standing all alone, laughing as I begin to rejoice

Decisions are made and at last I happily have a choice

Dance in the rain

 When you've been broke

And there is nowhere to turn

Life has been cruel

Just you alone in the world

Shadows become your enemy

Walls become colder

Demons take over your mind

And there is no way out

Chorus

Come dance in the rain

Let your spirit take flight

Your heart releases the pain

Come dance in the rain

Feel the freedom

Let the negativity drain

Come dance in the rain

Let your soul shine bright

Relive the moment again and again

The morning sun no longer rises

Light you no longer see

Blinkered with a closed mind

Bad choices continue to happen

Friends no longer call

Isolation becomes the norm

Skies falling closing in too quick

Escaping the only option

Bridge

Recharge the batteries and let yourself become alive

Live for the moment and don't let life pass you by

Feel your inner self and let your passion drive

No longer in the shadows, no longer asking why

Corona Virus and the change in the curriculum.

 

The Corona Virus should be seen as an opportunity for change in education.

For the past 12 months or so, we have been in uncharted waters with many schools making decisions on the fly on how to best run their schools and the best way to provide an education for their children.  There is already talk of how the children will 'catch up' and the proposed 'summer school', 'extra tuition, and dare I say it - 'longer school days'.

Firstly, I wanted to point out that the children don't need to catch up.  Who are they catching up?  All children across the UK are in the same position so there is no-one I can see they have to catch up.  Of course, what people are referring to us the curriculum in schools.  The curriculum, which has been a bug bearer of mine for years, is already over flowing with objectives in every subject and had become something of a 'tick box' for many educators to prove how much they can 'teach', but have the children really understood it?

As far as I can see, speaking to colleagues and my own professional judgment, children don't retain as much knowledge as they need to in order to move on to the next small step.  Children have cognitive overload when too much information is thrown at them bu an over-hyped adult rushing to get to the next objective to prove how good a teacher they are.  Surely we have got this wrong and will continue to get it wrong unless we change, and now is as good a time as any.

We've already seen organisations such as NCETM provide a recovery curriculum, or as they call is 'Ready-To Progress' documentation.  This document outlines the key objectives for each year group so that the children can build on their prior knowledge thus deepening their understanding.  My argument is, if this works, and I believe it does, then why isn't this something we do anyway.  i believe that by teaching key objectives and cutting down objectives lower down the schools, for example in KS1, gives the children time to digest the objectives and really understand the,.  This, I believe, will have a greater impact as the children progress through the school, thus covering more deeper.

Now of course, this isn't just in Maths, but I believe that we have over complicated the English curriculum so much that children are now unable to grasp the basics and 'mess' around with language in writing to engage the reader.  We are so consumed in getting in the latest 'trick' to make the writing fir the writing examples given to us by the government.  Again, having a tick-box curriculum takes away the writers creative ability, to make sure the children 'achieve' the standard grade.  If we are not careful, we will lose the next generation of writers.

In conclusion, the way forward seems quite simple to me.  Reduce the number of objectives in each subject thus giving greatest gift to educators - time.  Time to teach, time to reflect, time to discover and time to deepen the understanding.