The Event - Issue 141 - 02 October 2002

Wednesday, October 2, 2002

getting beneath the fringe • • •••

interviews// mr scruff, michael sheard (tv's mr bronson), ed ling eatures// comedy in norwich, fighting typecast, the bangles revi ws// martin amis, a drew mo ·on,

h

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Editorial 03

Event Editorial:

Conten s:

Fringe Benefi s.

Inside:

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03 The Event Editorial

ast week I was involved in something called Settee of Culture, which basically involved sitting on a very nice Habitat couch and yelling something 'punchy,' and 'lively ' about the arts scene in Norwich to a video camera. This promotional video was then used in the press pack for Norwich's bid to become European City of • • • Culture 2008, as our fine city strives to make it down to the final four . But we 're up against the likes of Newcastle, Belfast and Brighton , to name but a few , so do we actually stand any chance at all?

The answer is a resounding yes. Whilst it is unlikely that we will beat Newcastle or Bristol to the title of European Capital of Culture, whispers on the grapevine suggest we are tipped for the shortlist . So how has a city, better known for incest and sheep fornication, become a breeding ground for highbrow literary endeavours, and underground cutting edge arts?

This fortnight's edition of The Event aims to provide some answers to that .

We look at the fast emerging comedy scene that is developing in Norwich, and our centre spread focuses on the fourth annual Norwich Fringe Festival. This year the theme is punk and the DIY festival, basically meaning that in answer to their lack of funds they can provide an ethos. And why not, the Fringe has been running against all odds since 1998. No one ever gives them any money and stil l they produce a festival to be admired and respected by all kinds of different people; whether you're an arts buff, or a grunge chic student with an penchant for punk golf, they have all angles covered. lt is certainly a worthy cause and should be supported locally. If events like this one can survive maybe the Arts Council pull its ugly, w hitened covered head out of its arse and support more projects at a grass-roots level. At the moment it tends to accept briefs from pompous, money grabbing idiots with great PR and fuck all talent, who then commission the struggling artist to work on projects they feel little or no affinity with.

Fringe Benefits. Contents and Credits.

04 The Comedy in Norwich Comedy Store , and now Banana Splitz, the 'laugh ing art ' is settling down in our fine city

06 The Public Property Event gets to grips with the Laureate's first col lection since he took the post in 1998

07 Mr Bronson

We meet the old Grange Hill 'star', remembered for his wig and bad temper

Almost Famous -

Ed ung

07 Burn Out Fade Away Whatever happened to The Bangles?

08 Robin Identity Crisis Williams, Demi Moore, Arnold Schwartzenegger, and Helena Bonham Carter. Hollywood's biggest stars and their need to change their typecast.

08 Cinefile 10 Mr Scruff

After Storming the Waterfront last week , the eclectic groover talks to The Event about his love of all things DJ

12 Fringe Benefits Norwich

W

e also feature Michael Sheard, Grange Hill 's Mr Bronson, who, at last week's Skool Daze Disco, was the latest in a long line of TV stars from our childhood to make an appearance at UEA . Why? Well, they make great nostalgic comedy don 't they? We can all have a laugh at this geriatric has-been's desperate performance, revel in our Freudian insecurities, and get off our faces whilst doing it.

But, on the other hand, these people are getting paid to do very little and watch a rather desperate performance by a much younger and more foolish generation of people. it's all balance, isn 't it?

Then there's the reviews. Andrew Motion's first collection since becoming Laureate, Public Property, is given the time of day, and Misc ha Pearlman attempts to make peace with The Libertines, rediscovering the rock 'n' roll on their first studio release. Oh, and there 's a whole load more stuff as well. .. so read it .

A preview of the forthcoming Norwich Fringe Festival.

Reviews: 14 Albums

Supergrass; Leaves; The Libertines; Nightmares on

Wax

15 Singles Nelly; DJ Shadow; Bent; Puressence; The Strokes

16 Film One Hour Photo; The Road to Peridition; Lilo and Stich; Zoolander; Blade 11

19 Arts

Othel/o; Martin Amis; Literary Festival preview; Catch 22 Re-viewed

Luke Wright, Editor Pictures: (Above, in descending order) The

20 N/Radio

Comedy Store logo; Supergrass; Robin Williams in One Hour Photo; Andrew Motion

Credits: Editor-In-Chief · Katle Hind • Editor · Luke Wright • Arts Editor · Kathryn Hinchllff • Assistant Arts Editor · Toby Lewis • Film Editor · Jlm Whalley • Assistant Film Editor · Phll Colvln • Music Editor · Mlscha Pearlman • Assistant Music Editor · Clalre Burwell • Picture Editor · Ed Webb-lngall • Listings complied

by Paul Wade • Text · Wlssam Asfahan · Janine Azzam · Ally Barnard · Gavln Bates · Oliver Bates · Clare Butler · Mike Cranny · Kate Herrlngton · Joe Mlnlhane · Marc Peachey · Owen Roberts · Sally Roe Markland Starkie · Tom Sutton • Proof Reading · Astrld Goldsmith · Richard Stoter

The Event is published fortnightly by Concrete: Post: PO Box 41 0, Norwich, NR4 7TB Tel: 01603 250558 · Fax: 01603 506822 · E-ma il: su.concrete@uea.ac.uk Printed by: Archant Newspapers, St Andrew's Business Park, Norwich

Essential Soaps; What Jade Did Next; The League of Gentlemen; Radio 2 Funk factory

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Web Conspiracy news site; www .hatsofmeat.com; and the best of the rest

Listings: 22 Film I Music Listings Important Phone numbers for entertainments in Norwich

23 Arts Listings 24 Directory I Livewire Wednesday, October 2, 2002

the 8V

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Laughing a 11 Text: Toby_ Lewis and Joe Minihane

For years people have laughed at Norwich; the butt of jokes Comedy Store brought four of its finest funny men up the A 11 Club begining last week, the City is, at last laughing back ...

ith the co ntinued growth of the art s scene in Norw ich over the past few yea rs, comedy has been an area which has been dist inct ly lack ing . Whil st the Playhouse does put on sporadic comedy nights, and Norw ic h City FC have reg ular Red Card Com edy Nights - whi c h t hey c laim are "the most fun you can have without a Norwich City shirt on" - the scene has been crying out for fresh talent.

Thankfully, things look set to change, with the introduction of Bahana Splitz, a monthly comedy night here at UEA, and The Comedy Store in tow n. Th e latter is a bi t of a co up for Norw ich, as The Comedy Store has provided a launch pad for major ta lent over the years from its Cent ra l London club. That they have chosen Norw ic h for provincial gigs simply serves to show how im portant t he arts scene is becoming here . With the ci ty aiming for European Capital of Culture 2008, the arrival of comedy g ives strength to the bid .

The Forum in the ci t y ce ntre provided the venue for The Comedy Store night which saw Daniel Kitson and Junior Simpson perform to a sell-out crowd. However, both com ics had deep re servations about The Forum itself, its cavernous recesses not particularly cond ucive to stand-up . 路路 1s anyone else just slightly pretrubed at this?" asked headliner, and Perrier Award Winner , Kitson, as he shuffl ed on stage giggling. "This is just simply the shittest venue for comedy," he went on. Most of the 25 year-old's set th en focused around his dismay at the multi-million pound library. This pleased the crowd but it can on ly have left t11e Forum bosses a little embarassed.

Junior Sim pson commented that, "lt felt so co ld . lt was like playing an aircraft hangar and although the audience were really responsive. it was harder for them and the performers. " A first yea r SOC student also ex pressed reservat ions, but of a different nature; " I am sure it would be great, but not real ly for students as it would involve having to go into town. "

"This is just simply the shittest venue for c omedy," - Daniel Kitson on the Forum

FREE ROOM. HIRE OFFERED TO ALL STUDENTS, WHATEVE~ THE OCCASION, FROM BIRTH DAY CELEBRATIONS THROUGH TO SOCIETY OR SPORT CLUB SOCIALS!!

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Caroline Richardson, General Manager of the Playhouse, was almost as scath ing as Kit son in her c riti c ism ; " Th e Forum is not a theatre . I cannot understand why they wou ld try to hold comedy events there.

Its acoustics would not com pare t o our theatre." She added that the Playhou se. "do not need to publicise comedy as the majority of our nights sell out." This view however. does not seem to reflect the opinions of the audience, a third year WAM student remarked that, "Better publicity is needed for comedy nights in Norwich. as I wou ld love to go to some nights but am often unaware of when and where it is on." This opinion was backed up by a second year EAS student who c laimed that , "Aisle 19 (sic) are the only bunch of jokers in Norwich that I know of. " In contrast. Banana Splitz. with its intim ate setting in The Hive. allowed the com ics to perform in their favoured surroundings. Men In Coats, fresh from their success at the Edinburgh Festival, gave a refresh ing performance working only in mime. Regarded as the future of slapstick they argued that they provided, "Universal entertain-

ment, but noth ing to do with Universal studios, mind. " The ir act has led to comparisons with characters as diverse as Charlie Chaplin and Rowan Atkinson , yet they were derisive of any attempts to intellectualise the ir act si mply aski ng to be defined as non-verbal.

Hal Cruttend on, a self-c onfessed posh-boy Londoner with Woody Alien-sized insecurities, managed to invoke the wrath of one audi ence member due t o his c ritical stance on the US administration.

Despi t e this criticism, Cruttendon felt that touc hing on political issues did not al ienate him from the audien ce. He remarked that, "it's al mo st actively encouraged to be anti-Bush in a Brit ish c lub, because people with any co ncerns about the world , be they environmental or ant hropological, have real ised he is a menace. " In contrast , Junior Simpson who performed at The Comedy Store and headlined Banana Splitz, perceives that comedians' forays into politics do run the risk of alienating the audi ence. He commented t hat " I have t aken the safer stance of shouting out my opinions in a smoky room rather than going actively into polit ics. " Sadly it w as Simpson ' s posturing on other co ntenti ous issues in a smokey room , wh ich did give the nig ht a sour t w ist. M aking some risque jokes about both homosexual s and women , Simpson narrowly dodged doing exactly what he warned against: alienating the audience . His attempts at handling serious issues bad ly backfired and lac ked the strength of other co medians such as Chris Morris w ho deal w it h diffic ul t issues more graceful ly. In spite of these rather major reservations, t he night itsel f was quite a success, a first year EAS student believi ng , " Jun ior Simpson and Men in Coats we re both at Edinburgh so the fact that they could come to Norwich is impressive. "

"Simpson's posturing on other contentious issuesdid give the night a sour twist making some risque jokes about both homosexuals and women " Comments about Th e Hive as a venue were also positive. Simpson remarked that , " lt is an intimate room and a tidy bar. No matter where yo u are in the room you c an fee l part of th e show ." From the audience 's perspective however, the venue did not offer as much. A second year SOC student said, " Th ere wasn't really enough seating but it was an intimate atmosphere." However, it is fair to assume that The Hive was far preferable to The Forum , for both audience and performers alike. here is a belief in some quarters of the media that the future of stand-up is precarious. Despite getting enthusiastic audiences com ing to live shows, culminating in the big comedy party that is the Edinburgh festival . big name stand-up has all but disappeared off the television networks. Graham Norton may still kick around , but he seems more preoccupied with prank ca ll s to perverts than act ually doing a stand-up routine these days, whilst ot her comedians languish as C-list

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the way to Norfolk: concerning incest, farmers, and incestual farmers. But last monthlondon's prestigious for the first in a series of monthly show at the Forum, and with UEA's own Bannana Splitz

Pictures: (opposite, from left to right) Banana Splltz logo; The Comedy Store logo. (this page,

clockwise from left to right) Men in Coats; Daniel Kitson; Junior Simpson

celebrities, flitting from panel show to panel show. On the other hand, Hal Cruttendon is more enthusiastic about the future of his art, believing "it could explode". He sees diversity within comedy: "There are far more different approaches coming in. Different audiences react better to certain types of comedy. For instance, whilst generally having an ecstatic crowd in London, I did really shit in Truro, Cornwall the other day ." lt is likely that Hal may have struggles at the Red Card Comedy .

Club as well. But if Bannna Splitz and The Comedy Store at the Forum continue to sell-out and be successful then it seems that Norwich will cover all angles, and the future of comedy will at least look rosy in this region.

As audience member and New York beat poet Ainsley Burrows complained after the performance, far too rt;~any of the audience, ¡Scored jokes out of ten before laughing. That sort of chin stroking kills the comedy. • Perhaps he's right, yet it is dangerous not to be reflective about some of the more insidious ideas that subliminally creep through in comedy and the attitudes that they reflect in performers. Hopefully, the comedy in Norwich will continue to improve and despite the shortcomings of some of the venues and performers, we will be provided with some rollicking entertainment.

If you want to win two tickets to the Banana Splitz Club on Tuesday 15th October to see Danny Bhoy and Valentine Flyguy, all you have to do is answer one very simple question: Q:

Who won last year's (200 1) Perrier Award?

Was it:

a) Garth Meringue b) Daniel Kitson c) Eddie lzzard

E-mail your answers to su.concrete@uea.ac.uk All entries must be received by ll /l 0/02

06

An Emotional Time: Text: Sally Roe

In his first collection of poetry since becoming Laureate, UEA's Andrew Motion finally gives us something concrete to critique him with, but with Public Property it's not that simple. ince his appointment as Poet Laureate, Andrew Mot ion has had a fair few accusat ions levelled at him , ranging from t he predi ctab le tabloid frenzy surround ing an alleged extra-mari ta l affair to being denounced as an imperialist lapdog by one of his own students in t he ever-popular (and ex treme ly cat chy) Everybody 's doing the Andrewmotion. At times it must have seemed to Mot ion that the golden t icket may not have been quite so shiny after all.

Public Property is his first collection since his royal summons and as the title suggests th is is his answer to t he critics.

The inc lusion of Mythologies in th is collection was therefore brave if not rather foolhardy, as this is exactly the sort of thing that the young pups snapping at Motion 's heels love to get their teeth into. lt revolves around the convenient fact that the late HRH The Princess of Wales just happened to be named after the Greek goddess of hunting, whi c h enables Motion to deliver the pun chline - " Diana, breathless. hunted by your own quick hounds ".

However, the inc lusion of this and the other (pretty tiresome) written-to-o rder poems in the co llection is to some extent a foregone conclusion. Let 's not forget that who le point of having a Laureate is to convey the voi ce not just of a poet but also the patron . However, these poems make up only a small proportion of the collection- and to dismiss it because of them would be a mistake .

Motion is almost universally feted by the literary fogies. However his reputati on amongst the disaffected yoof is that of a pretty dry , inaccessible poet . Contrary to this notoriety. some of these poems are filled with an emotive honesty that yo u might find difficult to reconcile with the hunched, corduroy-clad fig ure t hat occasionally skitters through our hallowed halls. He writes about things whi ch many other poets may mean to but then forget before they find themselves with paper in their hands - the fleeting moments which make up a life, the mundane details that are transformed by death into the most personal of monuments. In an elegy to his father-in-law he writes "what / had been the plain page of a newspaper.; an absolutely ordinary gin ... became the final proof of everything; you were and

"Lers not forget that the whole point of having a Laureate is to convey the voice not just of the poet but also the patron" off".

now could never be again - 1 reli cs which stayed as you were carried Some of his poems about death , so far removed from the tricksiness and false sentiment of Mythology and Pic ture Th is, are direct. and touching - " I rang your number1 and heard your voice/ on the answerphone ... you we re well / when you set it dow n/ and never knew 1 how it might endure./ outliving you". These, not the poems Motion writes in his ca pac ity as Laureate. are the poems that make public property of him . everal of the poems are about childhood, the narrator realising as his child-self did not, that the separation of time means that some steps cannot be retraced"the thing I co uld not see ... was how; it would still be going on years later, still going on now . in the long aftermath since I have tried to reach there again ".

These are some of the most interesting of his poems focusi ng (as child ren do) on the seemingly inconsequential and retel ling stories whi lst avoiding an excess of sent iment.

When I was Fishing , a short story that serves as something of a bridge midway through the c ollection , explores many of the same ideas as A Midnight Walk and A Long Story, but annoyingly the chi ld 's voice is inconsistent . lt is accurately recreated in some phrases but overdone in others. especially in the desc ription of a track which runs down • ... over a brick bridge and -woah! - ended in a gate .. . • . Although a child might use 'woah' as a spontaneous exclamation , it seems unlikely that he 'd use it in description. As the story relies on the transitio n from a c hild 's narrative to an adult's, details like this matter. And surely the description of a tickled fish being drawn up through the air with a 'trashing hoist' is a typo?

That isn' t Motion 's fau lt but this use of 'a stream- three/ four feet ac ross ' jars j ust as much: the cu rsory abbreviation sitting strangely in a story full of otherwise lush description .

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"These poems are filled with an honesty that is difficult to reconcile with the hunched figure that occasionally skitters through our hallowed halls" Some of the poems. assuming that they are indeed autobiographical, are almost uncomfortably intimate . The Game tells the story of a brutal beating suffered by the narrator in the guise of a game. depicti ng the c ruelty of children that sometimes threatens to overwhelm " having stepped so far out; ( I mean in) to their work , they were not about; to make it seem like a mistake" . From such cruelty there is no protection - the teacher who "c alled out 'Everyone there fine?' j and made do with 'Right as rain ./ Sir. Right as rain' ... mak ing hay; with the grass he trampled as he went " refuses to intervene , leaving the narrator to his te rrible humi li ation -"dumb- 1 struck. my voice whipped down the scale/ from speech to whisper , to whimper , to wail. .. When they eventually let me go; I st ill did not know I what to say except 'Thank you.' " it's hard to believe that these are poems written by the sort of arrogant , monarchist snob that Motion's detractors love to portray. And does it really matter if they are or not? Public Property is a very mixed bag. There are some poems that should invite criticism - but for their own flaws , and not for their c reator' s perce ived failings or political stance. The majority of t he poem s deserve to be read with an open mind, and co nsidered on thei r own merit .

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07

Hangin' with Mr Bronson

There aren't that many career paths open to elderly ex-Grange Hill cast members, particularly when they're lacking in talent. But university bar tours? The Event catchs up with Michael Sheard to ask the crucial question - why?

Text: Katie Hind hey say first impressions say a lot about a person and Michael Sheard, best known as Grange Hill's Mr Bronson, was no exception to this. As soon as he approached me and asked if I wanted to go to the bar with him, I knew he was going to be one of those 1980's 'celebrities', who, due to them never having much talent in the first place, has nowhere left to go in life apart on a few tours around university campuses.

Mr Bronson - along with that good old wig that the whole of the Grange Hill cast knew and loved to take the piss out of, began boring me with his rather coarse explanation of the night before. Something to do with a couple of blonde students and very little clothing, I believe.

Sheard shot to fame in the mid-eighties, despite acting for many years previously. After studying Drama at RADA, he spent his younger days working on numerous television shows. But he made a name for himself as the strict French teacher in Grange Hill. .

But still, this man should not be disregarded as a complete idiot straight away. After all, he has worked alongside most of our childhood heroes during the five years he worked on the show.

We can all remember our favourite characters, and indeed our best moments, from what was, until recently , a must for all kids under the age of 14. He worked with Ziggy, Gonch and Ant to name but a few.

Despite his character being a bit of a nasty man - he was number five in TV 's top ten baddies - he did have a nice side to him.

"I was told that the reason Mr Bronson only got rated at number five was because of the final scene he filmed with Danny Kendall dying in his car. He did have a heart and it was discovered in the end.

After leaving the hit show, he went on to appear on other British TV shows- but his roles were anything other than highprofile. Anyone remember Arthur Dabner in Coronation Street?

Or a film called Another Life? Thought not.

But his publishing career was slightly more successful. Since leaving Grange Hill, he has written three books, the first - and most famous- being 'Yes Mr Bronson' .

But like so many other talentless fools whom we feel nostalgic about from our childhood days, Sheard actually thinks he is something really special. He was rather insulted when I did not know that he had appeared in Indiana Jones films. He uttered those sad words, only ever used by Z-listers: "But darling, I'm a star.· eing one of the older members of the Grange Hill cast meant that he was in the perfect position to watch the younger actors grow up. While some were lucky enough to go onto get other TV jobs, many just cou ldn't cut in the world of showbiz one t hey grew up.

"The transition from a child to an adult actor is terribly difficult because the job is so different. A classic example is Elizabeth Taylor in Lassy Come Home. She had to leave the industry and

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she didn't return until she was much older. I also know that the boy who played Oliver is now a chiropodist."

An example of this is the actor who played Gonch . After a spell in the series, he came to study at UEA . After completing his degree, he was a Union Officer for two years. But one who is closer to Richard's heart is Jonathan Lambert, who played Danny Kendall. The pair have kept in touch since they parted j ust over ten years ago.

"We just got on really well. He now works in finance, but we share a passion for walking. Once we decided to walk across the Pennines together, so Jonathon sorted out all of the youth

hostels and we did it. lt nearly killed me though ."

So what brought Michael , who obviously thinks rather a lot of himself, to the LCR stage to embarrass himself in front of hundreds of UEA students?

"In March of this year, I received a phone call asking if I had heard about these school discos. He told me that girls fall out of their school uniforms and I've had a few enquiries about Mr Bronsan doing them, so here I am. I have been around most of the main universities now and I love it.· Well, no surprises there then. lt must be an ideal job for a dirty old man on the wrong side of fifty .

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Wednesday, October 2,

2001

the event

08

Cinefile:

no. 18

Glen or Glenda

Identity

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CriSIS

Text: Ph il Colvin a nd Ed Purkis

Tom Hanks being a hitman and Robin Williams being a stalker are the latest examples of stars messing with their image. Why can't they be happy with who they are? t used to be that stars were dependable. lt didn 't matter which film the likes of John Wayne or Humphrey Bogart starred in , they were always exactly the same ( in Wayne 's case he even made Gengis Kahn into a cowboy ). But today it seems stars can 't make two pi ctures in a row without feeling the need to reinvent themselves in the public 's perception . Mr. Nice , Tom Hanks, has suddenly decided that he wants to be bad , ki lling dozens in Sam Mendes' Road to Perdition.

Happy. zany Robin Will iams has had a similar change of heart, going from schmalzy to creepy in One Hour Photo. And then there's news that queen of the Brat Pac k, Demi Moore has signed on to play the villain in Charlie 's Angels 2 : Halo. Is nothing sacred?

In recent years numerous stars have attempted similar tricks, often with mixed results . Here ' s The Event ' s guide to some of the best and the worst...

I Okay, don't tell me. I think I've heard of this one ...

You may know it as any one of I Changed My Sex , I Led Two Lives, The Transvestite or He or She. This film has a lot of names. But, more likely , you know it and its infamous direc· tor Edward D. Wood Jr. from Tim Burton 's Ed Wood.

Ah yes , he was that deeply misunderstood Orson Welles wannabe ...

Yes, yes. it 's pretty clear Burton loved the man , but although Ed Wood c aptures his obvious love for film it does gloss over the fact that Wood 's films are truly some of the worst ever made . Plan 9 From Outer Space may be the most notorious, but Glen and Glenda is the more telling as its subject matter, transvestism , was deeply personal to Wood .

So if it' s so bad why are you writing this column about it?

Bec ause it's such a remarkable hour or so of film.

Essentially, Glen or Glenda is Wood ' s heartfelt plea for tolerance towards transvestism but is presented in the most bizarre way imaginable . Wood (c redited as Daniel Davis) plays Glen who enjoys a fondness for angora sweaters and who wants to be able to ex plain his lifestyle choice to his fiancee. Absurd dialogue exc hanges between the lovers are intercut with clinically narrated explanations of tranvestism and transsex uality . Horror legend Bel a Lugosi also stars in the film. His role is to sit in an armchai r in a castle , shouting dialogue towards c amera whi c h is so far detached from the film (and anything else for that matter) that it borders on the surreal.

Helena Bonham Carter

Surreal?

Lugosi 's opening narration is delivered over stock footage of charging buffalo. For no reason . By having no sense of conti nuity or pacing, Wood manages to create a film that has more in common with the work of Salvador Dali than Orson Welles. The final fifteen minutes of the film , for example , consists of a dream sequence in whi c h Glen wanders around the sc reen as a zombie, groaning for a full minute or so , then witnesses women tying eac h other up in a bizarrel y sanitised 1950s attempt at S&M before finally witnessing hi s own wedding being administered by Satan.

So Burton' s telling of the film is over affectionate?

Certainly you can 't doubt Wood 's bravery in approaching suc h a personal subject matter at a time when film censorship was heavy. But you have t o wonder how anyone wanting to be genuinely taken seriou sly c an produce all the aforementioned sce nes, plu s others as varied and inexpli c able as steel workers discussing transexuali sm and a truly bizarre scene involving c heesec ake . Either Wood was trying very hard to make a statement about the ridi c ulous nature of censorship in 1950s Hollyw ood. or he just had no idea how to make a serious film .

Can it really be that bad?

Well , judge for yourself with thi s, Lugosi 's c losing speech from the film. Best delivered whilst sitting in a house in a thunderstorm and with a Romanian accent : 'Beware! Beware the big green dragon which sits on your doorstep. He eats little boy s! Puppy dog tails. Big fat snails.

Beware . Take care . Beware! ' Phi/ Colvin

the event

Arnold Schwarzenegger Ten years of doing the same thing would be enough t o bore anyone. And after putting in dozens of gun/ broadsword wielding performances through the eight ies, even Arnie felt it was time for a change . But where would the talents of a muscleman with a questionable grasp of the Engl ish language best be served? In comedy , of course! After all , Arnie reasoned, he'd been doing one-liners before c hopping the limbs off his enemies for years.

He'd be doing the same thing , except now kids could see it too! Arnie's performances in Twins and Kindergarten Cop were met with universal confusion. Not bec ause they were bad , but because it turned out that Arnie was c apable of generating laughs. The reasoning was quite simple , Arnie had realised earlier than most action heroes that the biggest j oke in any fil m was himself, and he humiliated himself with considerable c harisma.

But the problem was that the joke was so effective . nobody could take Arnie seriously anymore. He went back to his most brutal role in Terminator If to rec laim his ac tion crown to find he was now the wise-c racking ·good ' Terminator who didn 't even kill people. Through Last Ac tion Hero, True Lies and Batman and Robin he was playing little more than a parody of his former self and now the joke was wearing thin . Arnie tried to recapture his former glory in End of Days, The Six th Day and Collateral Damage. And before you c an say "Va it ? Vasn 't I being a real act-or now?" he was back where he started and acc epting the title role in the James Cameron-less Terminator 3. Arnie will , apparently , play a Term inator who is both good . and bad. Depending on whi ch get s t he bigger laugh , I ex pect.

We 're not going to diss a girl who wants to dress up in a monkey costume, in fact, we 'd positively enc ourage it , but Planet of the Apes should have been left well alone , even though it was not a re-make but a 're-imaging · acc ording to director Tim Burton . Isn't 're-i maging · a euphemism for 'c ash-in ' here? At least we got to see monkeys fighting , but Helena was a lot c ooler in Fight Club as a femme fatale style bitch than she was as a politi c all y co rrec t primate who wore lipstic k. She hates being seen " as a prim Edwardian " and want s " to shock everyone." After c onventional period pi eces such as 'Lady Jane' , E.M . Forster adaptation s and a version of Hamlet, her desire t o change her screen persona before being trapped forever is understand able. Thankfull y, she hasn't compromi sed good roles for her want to sh oc k, and sti ll tak es the t ime t o ac t in non cash-magnets movies. In Football, she was the mot her of a gi fted player in a British short , and in Wom en Talk ing Dirty (another Brit ish short) her admirably out spoken characte r was al so we ll received Prospec ts are good .

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09 John Travolta "Why this car is automatic! lt's hydromaticl lt's GREASED LIGHTNING!" This Is a bit different from "we should have f•ckin' shotguns! " isn 't it? But that's the great thing with Travolta's change from Saturday Night Fever and Grease to Pulp Fiction.

In all three films he is the Lord of the Dancefloor, a nice touch, which although in Pulp Fiction is mainly attributable to Tarantino, is still a credit to John's silky moves. After Vincent Vega, Travolta continued roles of in-charge macho characters with Broken Arrow and Face/ Off, although a year earlier was frolicking with talking dogs in Look Who's Talking Now. He doesn't typecast himself too much, probably because the role change in Pulp Fiction caused something of a renaissance of the streetwise image he showed in Saturday Night Fever. If you haven't seen it, he's not just a lover; he's a fighter too.

Displaying an ease for changing from nice guy to bad-ass and back again is something actors like to show, including Travolta.

He even managed to have magic powers and fall in love both at the same time in Phenomenon. And that's pretty fly.

Sylvester Stallone Even my Grandad loved Rambo, and it seems like a faux pas to knock down (excuse the pun) his performances in either Rocky or Rambo. Still, is it the actor that makes the film or the contentment that watching mindless action scenes brings? Who cares; it 's all good, although it might have been nice to see an alternatlve.ending to Rocky Ill where Mr. T is the victor. That aside, Stallone did create legendary icons with these films, but Hollywood seems to be handing him substandard trash now and where Travolta changed routes, Stallone kept true to his roots.

Fool. Well into the nineties he continued to churn out the same garbage, Cliffhanger, Demolition Man, The Specialist, Judge Dredd and Daylight followed each other in rapid succession, each more tired and predictable than the last. Then, in 1997, the Italian Stallion decided enough was enough: he was going to be an actor. The result was Cop Land, a decent enough little movie that didn't do particularly well. Oh well. His confidence shattered, Stallone went back to kicking arse. This year's D:Tox concerned the murdering of traumatized policemen at the hands of a dark and dingy rehab clinic. Driven was about a racer who got a bit rubbish at racing and then got good again. Stallone has tried to go ·a bit serious' but has just gone a bit stale.

Geena Davis · Now here's a cautionary tale for any serious actor who thinks they can cut it in the heady world of the Hollywood blockbuster.

Ex fashion model Geena Davis made a name for herself in the late eighties by winning an Oscar for The Accidental Tourist.

And she followed that up tbree years later with a nomination for her work in Ridley Scott's seminal Thelma and Louise. Yes, things were looking rosy for the woman tipped to be one of the great film icons of the nineties. That was until she got married.

Davis' husband was Die Hard /1 and Cliffhanger director Renny Harlin, who promised to give her screen immortality via the tried and tested route of action heroism. He had a script for a pirate film which he convinced himself would be a perfect starring vehicle for his wife alongside one of Hollywood's hottest actors ... Except all Hollywood's hottest actors (including Michael Douglas) paid a lot more attention to the script than Davis or Harlin and passed on the project.

The film was Cutthroat Island, and it limped into cinemas in 1995 following a shoot almost as traumatic and expensive as that of Waterworld. And Davis proudly starred alongside ... uh ...

Matthew Modine. Needless to say, the film bombed. As did Davis' next attempt at action glory, The Long Kiss Goodnight.

Another limp script translated into a merely passable film. And directed by, you guessed it, Renny Harlin.

Finally Davis got the hint and a divorce quickly followed. But the damage was done and now, five years later, you can catch Davis in her latest cinematic triumph, Stuart Little 2. So that second Oscar is just around the corner, I'd imagine.

Denzel Washington

Robert De Niro Who can really fault the infamous De Niro, whose cries of "whassa madda wid you?" and pissed off trademark face have been satisfying audiences since the seventies. Watching him almost always draws a nod of respect and rarely makes the video hire/cinema ticket feel like wasted pennies.

He was launched into the 'no bullshit or I'll kick your teeth in and enjoy it' persona when directed by the busny eye-browed Scorsese in Mean Streets ('73) with whom he continued to work with significantly over the years. Whether it was an insecure heavy with something to prove (Raging Bull) or a control freak kingpin (The Last Tycoon, Casino, The Untouchables) his bold presence is always felt around surrounding characters.

More recently he has swapped hard-line toughness with a more balanced populist style (not to say his previous performances weren't lapped up at the box offices.) He has recently played the Fearless Leader in Rocky and Bul/winkle and the ex-CIA interrogator confused for retired flower dealer by bumbling Ben Stlller in Meet the Parents. But does this mean he has sold out? Not necessarily: he was still the professional gangster In The Score and who wants to see him repeating the same role with age?

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Of course, not all career turnarounds are doomed to failure·. In fact , some of them yield the sort of success which actors have dreamt about for years. Take Denzel Washington. Having won a best supporting Oscar for Glory in 1989, Washington spent most of the nineties finding cast as tough characters who often, nauseatingly so, turned out to be righteous and decent all along. Not necessarily a bad career to end up in, but through Philadelphia, Crimson Tide and The Hurricane it began to look like Washington really did only have one type of character in him. The guy who Gene Hackman argued with but came to respect, or whom Tom Hanks cried upon. Something even his children began jibing him about.

So it surprised quite a few people when Washington turned up in the lead role of Antoine Fuqua's Training Day as a cop so hard he could give Shaft a run for his money. Suddenly everyone who seemed to have stopped noticing Washington was reminded of his existence, and Oscar glory was just a short trip away. lt's debatable, though, whether the Oscar nod was given in response to Washington's performance itself, or simply because it was so far removed from his usual work that the Academy figured he had to have been acting either there or at some point in his career. it's a little too early to see the effect Training Day will have on Washington's career in the long term. Some felt that, with his preoccupation in wanting to win the best actor award out of the way, Washington would return to his usual role as support man to the stars. But Washington has suggested otherwise in recent weeks by already dismissing this year's success. "I don't think about it," he says of the Oscar. "lt's just a fifteen pound statue.· Sounds like there's a bit more rebellion in ol' Denzel yet...

Wednesday, October 2, 2002

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AI m 0 s t Famous Looking beyond the Top 40 ...

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Scruffy Trous Text: Owen Roberts

Mr Scruff recently rocked the Waterfront on the · Norwich leg of his UK tour. The Event caught up with the DJ before the show to gain on insight into his way of thinking and his eclectic tastes in music ...

Acoustic solo artist, Ed Ling, is the latest addition to the Norwich music scene. The Event went to meet him to find out what he has to offer...

What does your music sound like?

Well, it's a real mixture of everything I love. it ' s really hard to define ... l 'd probably say melodic -acoustic-indie-pop. Just classically crafted pop songs; I don 't really hear much of it around at the minute. it seems to me there's a lot of style over content and the industry is very image driven. I just like to do something that 's, as corny as it sounds, just about the music ; to write little four minute gems.

How did you start getting Into music?

I started off playing electric guitar, as most people do, after hearing the usual bands like Oasis, Bl ur and R.E.M. I got into a band, who I wrote some songs for, and we played a few local gigs. Although it was your classic-sixth form band, it acted as a stepping-stone onto other things. From about '98-'99 I decided to record on my own as a solo artist. As well as my original influences, I slowly got into other things and now I'd say my rea l idols are Burt Bacharach, Brian Wilson and certainly, with guitar playing, Johnny Marr and The Smiths.

So what's the feedback been like from your recordings?

Most of them I just give out to friends and one got passed on to someone who worked for EM I, so I got some good links from that . The best response was when I sent a recording to the Evening Session about 3 months ago and Steve Lamacq played it on the Session Unsigned slot. Since it was played on Radio 1, people have got in contact with me and have requested the demo. You always wonder whether friends only say they like it because they know you, so knowing that other people do gave me more confidence. I'm currently working on a new recording that I' ll be sending off, which will hopefully be finished by late November time.

You're new to Norwich, so what can we expect from you live?

Well, the gigs I've done around my hometown of Ipswich have gone down rea lly well and peopl e have been incredibly receptive. They were small gigs and open-mic sessions with just me sitting on a stool with an acoustic guitar. I wouldn 't mind doing some more in Norwich . However, I am a bit reluctant to do solo, acoustic th ings, just because I think that format of music is a little bit dull and the songs don't really come into their own. I'd really like somebody to accompany me on bass and drums, maybe keyboards, just to make it sound more like my recordings on those, I've got almost the full band . Ultimately, it ' s that sound I'd like to rec reate in a live environment .

lbum tours with some artists can involve ted iously short, half-hearted appearances by the headlining act, where entertainment is given over to shameless plugging. Lucki ly, this is not the case with Mr Scruff, real name Andy earthy , who ensures that the crowds who come to see him get their money's worth, often by playing five hour sets or longer. His determination to continue doing this sometimes leads to him refusing to play venues that try to shorten his sets or force the use of a warm-up DJ . Control over gigs is something that is very important to Scruff, and he even has a say in the design and wording of the fliers and posters advertising his concerts: "I don't want to put on fliers that I play this or that kind of music". He does not, he says, want to be restric t ed by people who pay to go and hear a particular style or genre of music, preferring instead to surprise the crowd with a wide and varied range of music . One of his desires seems to be to introduce people to music that they would not otherwise listen to.

He tells the story of a night when a hip-hop fan came up to him at t he beginni ng of the set eagerly requesti ng specialist hip-hop tracks. By the end of the night , however, Scruff had him going crazy to house.

"I listen to everything . If it's a good tune, then I like it ... even if it's R 'n' B." This wide interest in musical tastes is probably due. partially at any rate , to his own obsession with vinyl. Unlike some artists, he continues to visit different record stores and search for new stuff. He claims that he does not pre-judge or make decisions on a t une based on the genre or artist, but is totally open-minded: " I listen to everything. If it's a good tune, then I like it...even if it is R 'n ' B! " He seems to leave no stone unturned looking for good tracks and rummaging around for new and unusual samples to use.

"I do like to have regular things to fall back on " he explains, but it is evi dent that the surprise element is a big part of his act . People love this quirky, unexpected, chilled-out side to his music, and as a result , his fans do not really demand anything of him, especially at g igs. He even believes that he could get away with just spinning cheesy music all night, not that he does, or would. Those who went to see him at the Waterfront are aware that t his is not the case at all. The night was full of a wide-range of interesting , often obscure, music, mixed in with the occasional well-known tune , suc h as Jung le Boogie by Kool and the Gang, teasing the crowd and pulling t hem along to the end of his long and inspired set.

Scruff's relaxed vibe runs t hrough everythi ng t hat he does, even to the extent of having a tea and coffee stall at the side for the crowd to refresh themselves. Incidentally, he uses the stalls to raise money fo r charity · the money gained from t he c urrent tour will be going to the Big Issue in the North . The money from the last tour was given to the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society .

If you want to get your hands on some of Ed Ling's material, or if you feel you could add to his songs and live performances, come up to the Concrete offic es and ask for Claire or Mischa.

Clafre Burwe/1

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Wednesday, Oc tober 2, 2002

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Not only is he charitable, but he also has a very light-hearted at titude towa rds life . " it's my whole sense of humour," he exclaims when questioned about the characteristic line drawings so associated with him . His drawings feature on the front of new album Trouser Jazz, and dominate his website (www.mrscruff.com) . They are also very much in evidence at his gigs. For example, posters are sold at the gigs with cartoon strips giving tips on what to do as a DJ if various animals invade the club. What to do if an elephant invaded the club and nudged the decks? " Do not shout at them · instead give t hem a biscuit and ask them politely to move away ."

As a 30 year old who has been involved in the music business for so many years he has mai ntained his sense of humour and originality remarkably well. Andy actually studied fine art at the University of Sheffield, and while this was something he enjoyed, he points to music as his real love. " I studied art because I didn 't wanna get a proper job, · he explains.

Apparently, though , his success came as no surprise to university friends, partly because it was an ext remely gradual process, but also because he was always known for being well into his music. Part of this must be the happiness that he still feels at being able t o do a j ob he clearly loves and enjoys so muc h, and which he has put so much energy into. This enthusiasm carries through from his live appearances into hisrecordings, as does his sense of humour, and a curious fetish for fish t hat is evident in some of his other albums. rouser Jazz carries on thi s fish-rel at ed t heme wit h a track named Shrimp and the hilarious Ahoy There! , a song about a whale (which, as we are told , is not a fi sh but a mammal, but sti ll · it lives in the water) . The album is much more than just amusing , however, and is entirely worth the two years it has been in the making .

Immediat ely noticeable is how much more vocal and jazzy it is than the last album, something which should greatly increase its appeal. "I tried to make sure it's accessible without watering it down," says Andy . Clearly, he is somebody who isn't will· ing to com promise his musical integrity in exchange for commercial success, and this is very evident when listening to Trouser Jazz. Espec iall y not able tracks are Come A live, wh ich features the soulful female singer Niko; Ug , already famous from com pilation album X en Cuts; and Vibrate , which featu res the rappi ng of Braintax . all of w hich are definite highlights of the album.

Scruff himself seems pleased with it too, especially because everybody he has spoken to about it · has a different favourite tune " , something which shows he has managed to appeal to various musical tastes and successfully realised t he eclectic sound of the album. lt is certainly an album which grows on you , and even tunes such as Sweet Smoke- which perhaps sounds just a little too happy at fi rst · are enjoyable and great to listen to . When I asked Mr Scruff why there was not another collaboration with Roots Manuva, he points out that they were extremely busy, and he thoug ht it would be better to w ork with peopl e who had the time to devote themselves fully to the project , rather than those who couldn 't give it their full love and attention. Quite clearly , his love for music, both his own and

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Burn Out, Fade Away whatever happened to...

The Bangles?

Who? Starting off as 'The Colours', then becoming 'The Bangs' and finally 'The Bangles', this all female quartet were undoubtedly the sound of feminine force and fe.rocity throughout the 80s. Founded in 1981. Susanna Hoffs (lead vocals, guitar). Debbi Peterson (drums, vocals), Vicki Peterson (guitar, vocals) and Micheal Steele (bass, vocals) emerged from the "paisley underground" scene - known to be riddled with trippy folk bands - that also spawned the likes of Rain Parade and Dream Syndicate. The Bangles, after an early comparison to the Go-Go' s, swiftly created their own energetic and harmonious style, becoming the unchallenged female sound of The Beatles and The Byrds.

What?

that of others, is very genuine and real, something which is good to know, as that kind of passion seems to be lacking a lot at the moment.

We then move onto the subject of record companies and I ask how he came to become involved with Ninja Tune. He remarks that it is really just a case of people who are on the same wavelength coming t ogether and doing what they want and love to do. For those who are not familiar with the label, it has included Roots Manuva, Ty, DJ Food, Amon Tobin and Dj Vadim (who

"I studied art .because . didn't want to get a proper job" will be performing at the Waterfront on the 19th of November), to name but a few. Scruff is very keen to avoid anything that he views to be associated with the " major label nonsense. • In keeping with his usual busy manner Scruff has also produced another album and released a compilation on Unfold records called Heavyweight Rib Ticklers. This he describes as "a cheeky collection of ska, disco dub, reggae, ragga and breaks" .

Those of you new to the Ninja Tunes sound should check out the aforement ioned Xen Cuts, which catalogues ten years of Xen. In the end, the gig was a great success. As somebody at the Waterfront said, it was "the most happening event Norwich has seen for a long time! · The gig itself was run by the Norwich based '2bittv', who will soon be bringing the likes of Daddy G from Massive Attack and Freelance Hellraiser to Norwich. If they 're anywhere near as good as Mr Scruff, we should all be in for a treat.

Although their debut from the first album, All over the Place, failed to chart and their following single, Going down to Liverpool, just scraped the UK listings, The Bangles soon proved themselves an influential chart-breaking success.

Manic Monday, written by The Artist Formerly Known as Prince, hit the number 2 spot in both the UK and US. Walk Like an Egyptian was released soon afterward and granted them their first ever number 1. US hit . No time later, Eternal Flame (taken from their third album, Everythinff) became the girls' first transatlantic number 1 . The Bangles had indisputably mastered the art of melodic West Coast guitarbased pop and paved the road for all-female outfits in the latter half of the 1980s.

Why? Ironically, Eternal Flame became their last gasp of famethe media had swiftly noticed the photogenic nat ure of lead singer Susannah Hoffs. Following her on-off mysterious relationship with Prince, and the numerous headlines she was providing, the remaining band members were left well on the sidelines. Corroded with jealousy and resentment at Hoffs' media attention, internal conflict intensified and working conditions became unbearable: by the spring of 1989 The Bangles split, paradoxically, at the height of their popularity.

So where are they now?

Reunited, and doing the odd appearance or two. Following the split, Susannah Hoffs pursued a luke-warm solo career, while some of the other members opted for the whole 'rock star turns mother' option. However, in the winter of 2000the group returned to the recording studio to do what they did best ·write and perform music. They've spent most of this summer conducting a mini US summer tour with gigs in their home towns of Los Angeles and New York. Their new album, Doll Revolution, is expected in stores in early 2003: only then will we be able to judge if they are now what they were then.

Janlne Azzam

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Hollywood A quick look at the least uninteresting news emanating from LA.

As Norwich launches tts bid to become capital of culture, the fringe festival unleashes a whole host of events from punk golf to bmx tounaments guaranteed to place our city firmly on the map repare to embrace all things cultural. The Norwich Fringe Festival exploded in the City on 27th September. The festival, now in it's fourth year, will run for 17 days until 13th October.

This year the Fringe is specifically celebrating Norfolk talent, sport and 25 years of Punk by showcasing a vast range of contemporary culture with an East Anglian bias at various locations around the city. Local artists perform alongside national performers such as festival patroness and stand-up comedienne Jenny Eclair who opened the whole thing with her show Middle Aged Bimbo. it's the innovative format and content that really makes the Fringe stand out with organisers using the city itself as both venue and Inspiration. "Norfolk is a unique area which gives us physical space to think", says Festival eo-Director I an Johnson, "local art is inspired by the landscape which makes it distinctive." The Festival's ethos fiercely challenges the old attitude that Norwich is 'a graveyard of ambition' with nothing going on.

"That really pisses me off", fumes Art Director Fiona Roberts, "the only reason things don't happen is because people aren't making them happenl"

"That really p isses me off, the o nly rea son things don 't happen is b ecause people aren ' t making the m ha p pen! "- Fio na Ro berts Designed to 'Give power to the people', the Fringe coordinators encourage groups to organise and produce their own work, which the Festival markets for free. "This format works well to encourage young people and those who aren't ordinarily involved with the arts to just have a go. If people want to show their work, we simply provides a non-traditional exhibiting space• explains Fiona. "We'd like people to see the Festival as belonging to them" adds I an. This year, there's a chance for absolutely everyone to get Involved through drama and poetry workshops and the especially innovative "Neighbourhood Watch ". This sees the good people of Norfolk opening up their houses to exhibit their own work .

Those involved in non-mainstream activities like BMXing and skateboarding also find a home at the festival. ·we discovered a lot of people involved in these sports had unrecognised artistic talents such as DJ·ing and graffiti and we wanted to encour· age this. The Council have given us the subway on Grapes Hill for our Graffiti Jam so that's brilliant, • explains I an, •we're hoping to do the one on St Stephens Street next year•. This year also sees the launch of The Fringe's own record label. In order to represent the many talented local groups they receive demos from every year. Their first release, by the band Knee-High, will be out shortly.

As Johnson explains: "culture means people and their place, and art is often seen as separate from this: that's wrong, isn't it? Art is no good If it 's not part of the culture and culture means people like you and me.· By placing events where we

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least expect them, the Fringe aims to integrate the arts into Norwich. With exhibitions in Habitat and the Expresso Caf~. sculpture in Gedge's Coffee Shop, paintings in shop windows all over the city and on the Internet, and performance artists taking to the streets to smash pianos and create drama in telephone boxes, we'll be stumbling across the arts wherever we go. Fiona admits that there'll always be some people who resist change and artistic divers!· ty but on the whole feels that Norwich is •opening up to culture•. A good job as Ruth Scott's street performance piece involves her analogical examination of the geologf. cal and political landmass movements using only balloons...

UEA makes its own contribution to the festival with Aisle 16 and The Poetry Cubicle (15th October, Norwich Arts Centre, 8pm) and the launch of Paper, Scissors, Stone by the M .A. Creative Writing course (October 8th, Drama Studio, 7:30pm). There's sculpture by Kate Parrott (Sainsbury Centre), the Kerrangl club tour and JJ72 (both LCR).

Music-wise, there's also virtuoso trumpeter Guy Barker who brings a sound in the st)le of Miles Davis to the festival (26th September, Norwich Arts Centre, 8pm), 80s Matchbox B-line Disaster who describe themselves as a "five headed garage punk record monster,· England's best answer to American bands like The Strokes, [28th September, same time, same place), and folk soul singer Helen Watson (4th September, York Tavern, 8pm).

The coordinators have taken inspiration from the mother-of-all Fringes: Edinburgh, but have also made it Norwich's own. The Norwich Fringe has no funding to speak of, there is some support from local authorities, but organisers declined grants say· ing: •we did not want to use lottery money on an event other venues and promoters do all year round without help. • This year's festival was produced on a budget of just £1000. "it's hard work", grins lan, "tut we enjoy it. it's a challenge and you have to be clever.· "lt's like a full-time job w!th no wages• adds Fiona, "the day I came cut of hospital after having my son there were 13 emails marked 'urgent', all requiring immediate responses.•

Wednesday, October 2, 2002

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"With performance artists ta king to the streets t o smash pianos and create drama in t e le pho ne b oxes, we' ll be stumbling a c ross the arts wherever we go."

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" I was a t a Council bash in May 1998, I enquired why we didn't have a Fringe.

The guy asked what I would do if there was one, so I made him a list. The next thing I knew I had £500 and a d eadline of October." - lan Johnson

orwich's version evolved in. a similar way to its colossal counterpart: largely by accident. Whilst Edinburgh's began in a leaky-roofed pub when eight theatre groups gatecrashed the International Festival, Norwich's began at a party. "I was at a Council bash in May 1998", explains I an, "I enquired why we didn't have a Fringe. The guy asked what I would do if there was one, so I made him a list. The next thing I knew I had £500 and a deadline of October. We put on 107 events that year.· Many performances are free and unlike Edinburgh, artists do not have to pay to take part. Although they have their differences, the two festivals are united by the Fringe ethos: freedom of expression for the arts, uncensored and unvetted. Both also provide real forums for artists, providing genuine public exposure. Edinburgh has famously launched the careers of a diverse array of actors, artists, writers, and comedians from Peter Cook to Puppetry of the Penis. lt now sells over 800,000 tickets a

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year. The Norwich Fringe has also continued to grow and next year they hint at a possible collaboration with the annual comedy festival. They are also considering pushing the date back so Union societies such as Drama Soc will have time to prepare pieces and get inyolved.

The Norwich Fringe Festival contributes strongly to the City's bid for Capital of Culture 2008 in wh"ch it must compete against such cities as Brighton, Newcastle and even Edinburgh to gain increased profile and arts funding. lan and Fiona think Norwich "certainly stands a chance" but needs to develop more suitable venues. Local celebrated comedian, national best· selling author and UEA regular Stephen Fry however is adamant that, contrary to popular opinion, "Norwich is not now, nor ever has been, a twee provincial backwater. lt has an adventurism and openness to the new. Whether o· not it earns the official recognition. lt is a great and enduring capital of culture.· Unmissable events include: a special late-night screening of "Scratch", a history of turntablism (Dj·ing to you and me), (11th October, Cinema City, 11:15pm), the Jackass-inspired "Mousehold Downhill" (12th October. Mousehold Heath, noon onwards) which promises "downhill madness featuring scooters, shopping trolleys and cages among others•, and the Iron-only Punk Golf tournament (13th October, City Centre, 9am).

So, from the innovative to the musical to the hilarious to the just damn strange-sounding, there's something for everyone.

For full listings and more information. pick up a brochure at the Tourist Information Centre in the Forum or at the Norwich Arts Centre on St. Benedict Street.

Pictures: (opposite, from left t o ri&Jit) BMX riding ; The Fringe Programme, designed by graphics man JPJ. ( Above, clockwise from left t o right) Fringe enthuiast, Stephen Fry; Metal stars, Pitehshitter; and J<nn Otway.

The late 1990s were a great time for Nicolas Cage. First came the Oscar for Leaving Las Vegas, then he became an A·list action star with The Rock, Con Air and Face/Off. Even when he made rubbish like Gone in 60 Seconds and Snake Eyes they made a lot of money. However, the opening couple of years of the new millenium haven't been quite as kind.

Captain Corelli's Mandolin was a disaster and his most recent effort, Windta/kers has proven to be one of the biggest flops in the history of MGM. Unfortunately, news of his next project doesn't look any more promising. Back Up, a sci·fi thriller, tells the story of a murdered cqp who is brought back to life in order to track down his own killer.

Who thinks of these ideas? Do they throw darts at a board, on this occasion landing on the squares labeled ·cop', •zombie' and 'Muristic'? Luckily for Cage, he has already filmed a brace of movies now waiting for release that may repair the damage Back Up-will undoubtedly cause. In Adaptation, Spike Jonze and Charlie Kautman's follow-up to Being John Malkovich, he plays both Kaufrnan and Kaufrnan's ficticious brother Donald (the plot gets quite complicated). In Matchstick Men (directed by Ridley Scott) he's going to be a con artist struggling to control his daughter. Even if those two bomb Cage now has a directing career to fall back on.

His first attempt, Sonny, opens in America in the next couple of weeks.

Speaking of really, really stupid decisions. a sequel to Easy Rider is in the works. While initially this might not sound too bad, consider that none of the three major characters, played by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper and Jack Nicholson, actually survived the events of the first film. The premise behind the second installment is that, amazingly, Fonda's character, Wyatt Earp, did make it out of Easy Rider's cli· mactic bike crash. But rather than immediately continue his quest to find the real America, he is.arrested and charged with the murder of Nicholson's character. No word on casting yet, though it's highly suspicious that, of the three, it was decided that Earp should be the one to bring back.

Fonda is currently the least well paid of the three by some distance. Hopefully he will turn the movie down. lt is being produced by Lauren Uoyd, whose previous film, Freddle Got Fingered, doesn't inspire confidence.

More promising is word that Kevin Smith's long-held plans to re-film the Fletch books may still be on track. The first two novels in the series, Fletch and Fletch Lives were originally made with Chevie Chase back in the mid-eighties. Smith's choice of star, Jason Lee, claims that all they need is to convince a major studio that it'll make money · perhaps they should talk to the producers of Back Up, they appear to have the power to make anything.

Wednesday, October 2, 2002

the event

14 Albums

Supergrass: Life on Other Planets Steve Martin said that talking about music is like dancing about archi· tecture, and if there's one impending release that's had floppy-haired sometime Britpoppers boogying with anticipation it's this latest offering from Supergrass. A lot of water has passed under the bridge since the lo-fi lout-rock test that was I Should Coco exploded onto the scene, and it's hard to say it, but the Oxford boys are all grown up. Sniff. Where does the time go? Leaving wanky journospeak to one side for a second, it's tempting to feel that a few of the tracks on this album are a touch too 'knowing'. Has the trip from teen heroes of Dad' s garage to soulless corporate prostitutes left the band feeling jaded?

Even on their first album, the 'Grass revealed an ability to transcend their rough and ready sound with Sofa (of my lethargy), its chilled out keyboard-driven verses recalling trendy continental jazz bars, albeit with Coombes' tongue always firmly in his CK cover model cheek. it's this side of the band that comes out most strongly in Life on Other Planets, . although growling guitars still underpin the whole ensemble. Can't Get Up, with its it's Not Me-alike acoustic opening and textbook Gaz and Mickey harmonised vocals on the chorus is a track that immediately jumps out, as does the garage rock-inspired Never Dol)e Nothing Like That Before, which nudges into your consciousness through sheer volume. Evening of the Day is a grower, with faded influences from the tail-end of the NAM movement and a surprisingly un-'Grass-like shouty chorus to boot, admirably supplied by uber-talented Renaissance Man Mickey. Get your tambourines out.

Tight? They can do tight. Tighter than a gnat's chuff? They can do that too. Supergrass have plenty of stage experience and it shows. Za, the opener, plays up the drum machine and threads warbling e-bow licks over, under and around the harmony. Without an obvious hook line it falls a bit flat on a first listen, but wins you over eventually. That said, Supergrass are quite capable of producing forgettable album tracks, and Rush Hour Soul and Seen the Light repeat the tendency. Neither are dreadful exactly; they're just frustrating because after classics like Moving, Late in the Day, Sitting Up Straight, and indeed the first single of this album, Grace, you know Supergrass can pull rocking hits out of their asses when the muse stirs them. Both tracks feel like the band are going through the motions. V poor Coombes. Must try harder.

Still, there's plenty on this album to applaud, and far be it from me to castigate them for tossing in a couple of duffers with what is basically a solid performance. Anyone who's been following the 'Grass since the old days knows the boys can be a bit hit and miss, but that's all part of their insouciant charm. Have they become jaded? Oh shut up. In it for the Money was '96 mate. Life on Other Planets proves that a band that, on the strength of Alright, could have so easily been confined to jaunty karaoke purgatory, have still got some tricks up their sleeves.

Tlm Clarfl

8/1 0

Leaves:

The Libertines:

Nightmares on Wax:

Breathe

Up The Bracket

Mind Elevation

Leaves are four lads from Iceland who got together in 2000 and were signed last year. Breathe is their debut album. They live together in Reykjavik and play in a third-division football team in their spare time. In an interview with BBC Online they named The Flaming Lips, Air and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club amongst their recent influences. Leaves, however, actually sound like a cross between Doves and Coldplay with more than a hint of Mansun, if you can imagine that. While they do slot neat ly in the middle of the acoustic rock genre, Leaves are anything but bland. At first listen it was difficult to appreciate the subtleties of their songs, but if you listen again, their unique sound comes through. The songs on Breathe have been described as glacial rock anthems and upon listening, it is easy to understand this analogy; nonetheless there is still a lot of variation here. Breathe satisfyingly shifts between simple yet dramatic acoustic songs, such as the soaring Suppose, through slow-burning orchestrated numbers, such as Epitaph and surprisingly even rocks out on the brilliant, Mansun-esque Alone in the Sun. What really holds this endeavour together is the powerful yet fragile voice of lead vocalist Arnar Gudjonsson.

Reminiscent of Matt Bellamy and Thorn Yorke, his voice is particularly beautiful on Suppose and I Go Down. He adds to the sense of drama and angst on the album but it remains a strangely relaxing, dare I say chilled-out, experience. Bad points? As with all music you have to be in the mood. Breathe will not energise you for a wild night out, but it will gently lull you off to sleep after one! Depending on your musical opinion it could be described as depressing but I'd say it was quietly uplifting. Overall, this is a very accomplished offering from such a young band. If you're in the mood and you've got some spare time to relax , I guarantee a thoroughly rewarding experience.

Those of you expecting a spiteful, crushing review of this album may well be surprised. Personal experience doesn't come into this. lt doesn't matter what Carlos and Pete were like to inter· view, or that the band were awful live · all that matters is this album's twelve tracks and its 36-and-a-half minute running time. Quite simply, this is a great debut album.

Recorded live with Mick Jones (formerly of the Clash), Up the Bracket sounds and feels how a true and proper rock and rofl record should. it's very 1960s, very 1970s and most definitely very 2000s. If you're craving ·something terrifically original, this probably isn't for you, but if you want good old-fashioned rock and roll that overflows with decadence and heartache, you can 't go wrong with t his. And although debut single What a Waster is noticeable by its absence, those present are very, very good.

Time for Heroes, the fourth track, is everything a song of its sort should be · full of nervous energy and passion, with vocals that sound like the singer (Carlos or Pete • hard to tell) is about to break down, crack up and pass out. New single and title track Up the Bracket sounds more polished than most of the other songs, but it still maintains the sense of spontaneity that is so fundamental to t he visceral and genuine emotional feel of the album. The Libertines somehow · and quite brilliantly · manage to combine nonchalance with sentimentality, something nowhere more evident than in the last few lines of Tell the King: "He drinks and smokes his cares away 1 His heart is in a lonely way I Living in the ruins of a castle built on sand. • Up the Bracket, then, reaffirms the myth that the Libertines failed to live up to in reality. Raw, edgy, unabashedly English and thoroughly enjoyable, this album is exactly what the band should be, and certainly suggests that it is the music which makes the band, not the other way around.

Picture the scene. You've just moved into your Norfolk Terrace room with that really cool view of the lake and you've already moved your mattress onto the floor. You've got your dream catcher up, but can't decide whether to cover your right wall with your 'Take me to your dealer' poster or the one with Bob Marley. You've got your incense going and only a few hours ago you've invited your flat-mates round for 'a bit of a smoke.'

Panic strikes, however, when you realise that you haven't got any new tunes for the night because, to be honest, your copy of Mezzanine is sounding a bit old. Have no fear, help is at hand.

Stand up Nightmares on Wax. This is the.fourth album from NOW; the project of George Evelyn who wrote, produced, mixed and "spiritualized" the whole thing.

With its eclectic style and its various guest vocalists and lyri· cists, it initially sounds like something by Death in Vegas. though not as good. "it's music to sort your day out, • Evelyn says of his music and this is true. Mind Eye sets the tone for the album. fading through your stereo with cool beats, funky bass and a cheeky smile. If only the whole album could be as good as this. Sadly, every time Evelyn hands over to a guest vocalist the music just isn't as good. Date with Destiny is just the wrong side of cheesy, whilst Environment and Know My Name contain some truly trite lyrics: "Let me go and see me fly, Testify, Testify, Who am I? I'm pretty fly. " That said, the tracks without lyrics are terrific. Thinking of Omara and Bleu My Mind, for example, are exactly the sort of tunes you want on your disc man to schmooze around campus to. This is positive music and, if you can ignore, or even try to like, the album's weaker moments, there is a lot of fun to be had.

Mlscha Pearlman

Tom Sutton

Mike Cranny

81

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th event

Wednesday, October 2, 2002

Singles 15

Nelly:

Competition Time

Dilemma Once there was a time when pop stars were content to sing about the easy parts of being in lurve, like holding hands, riding around 10 cars, staying up late and generally being sweet. Nowadays it's a little bit more complicated and infidelity and temptation are getting more of a look in.

Even Gareth Gates can make a stupid mistake but, hey, it can happen to anyone.

Nelly tackl es a similar moral dilemma with his new si ngle, err, Dilemma.

His dilemma is that he's met this chick who moved up the block from him, she's got the hots for him, the finest thing he 's ever seen , but oh no no, she gott a man . What ca n a guy do? The 'chick' in question is Destiny's Child's Kelly Rowland, who gets to do the sweet singing bit, whilst Nelly does the rap/singing thing and the occasional whoop (you know what I mean). One gets the feeling, however, th at Nelly 's dilemma will not remain a di lemma for much longer once he has successfully wooed Ms. Rowland with his own selections of raw porn groove, a handful of rhymes, a grunt or two for good measure and (if I can imagine the video) some spect acul ar groin th rusts.

This is, however, a fun little song. Not quite as fun as Hot in Here, but as well produced and as annoyingly catchy as you'd expect it to be. Similar t o Ron se al Quic k Dryi ng Wood St ai n, it does everyt hing you ex pect it t o do, and w ith any luck should be enormously successful in an LC R near you soon .

Last month, Goldrush released their debut album, Don 't Bring Me Down. and are current ly showcasing its emotive, maudlin songs around the country. They play Norwich, at the Waterfront, on October 24, and the lovely people at Upshot Communications have donated three pairs of tickets for us to give to you. But first, you'll need to answer the following question: What was the name of the band's first mini-album?

The first three correct answers will win the t ickets. And if yo u're find ing t his unusually difficult to answer, it might be worth checking out www .goldrushinfo.com and searching around for the answer. it's well worth it.

Email your answers t o: su.concrete@uea.ac.uk

Tom Sutton

DJ Shadow:

Go! Kommando EP

Six Days

My recommendation for this single as a song is unequivocal.

However, it is already one of the tastiest tomatoes in a beautiful sandwich, The Private Press, and it is more pleasurable listened to with in the context of that album . So, unless you have the yearning to hear the remix featuring M os Def (which to my ear is inferior) and 100 Metre Dash (the frivolous and groovy bside that would have me dancing like a crazed buffoon in a night club) ; rush out and buy the album instead. The central sample chosen for Six Days is Colonel Bagshot's Six Day War. His music will soon be entering my record collect ion , for the song is an excellent examination of the outbreak of war within the metaphorical constraints of the grind of the working week .

DJ Shadow certainly knows wh ic h people to work with on his revolut ionary dance tunes - Japanese wunderk ind director Wong Kar Wai directs the video.

Toby Lewls

This is a limited edition release EP from dance-dub duo Bent which showcases two new offerings from the ir sec ond album , The Everlasting Blink. The problem here lies in the fact that the two tracks lifted from said album , Beautiful Otherness and Exercise 3, are largely awful. The former enlists the vocal services of Jon Marsh, frontman with The Beloved, whose contribution consists of little more than adding the suffix 'ness' to every line for ease of rhyme scheme , and granting a mention for 1950's Ealing Studio comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets. Though redeemed to a degree by Ashley Beedle 's hypnotic minlmalist reading of Always, the only thing here that achieves the beat-backed lushness it sets out to, Go! Kommando remains frustrat ingly banal at best . Bent have seemingly found themselves stoned in a studio sniffing out left-over loops from the last Skinny session .

Marc Peachey

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The Strokes:

Someday

Shamelessly riding criticism of their rather slight 45 minute live set and brazenly humouring those who suspect new material might be in short supply ; The Strokes see fit to release a further track from their all-con quering Is This lt LP . Though not necessarily an obvious choice as a single, Someday is short, sharp, and undeniably punchy , though perhaps not quite as rousing as its predecessors.

Julian Casablanca 's frothy vocal swaggers around the economic verse melody , mimics the guitar slashes over the bridge, and finally shifts attitude, volume and tempo up a gear for the chorus. However, Someday' s greatest asset is arguably a comical promo video that includes not only a guest appearance from Slash, but also the band themselves pitting their wits against their muiscal idols, Guided By Voices, in an unlikely bout of Family Fortunes.

Marc Peachey

Puressence:

Walking Dead

it 's been three years since Puressence's second album Only Forever, three years in wh ich lesser bands would have faded into obscurity . Having hung onto the fringes of the music scene without any major success, Puressence are back with what is being hailed as their "finest album to date ".

While Walking Dead, the lead single from the album, follows the same formula as earlier Puressence, it also moves in other, more experimental, directions. Ultimately , it is a soaring three minutes of epic rock guitars, grinding bass hooks and distinctive vocals from singer James Mudriczk i, with an underlying groove that is deeply infectious. No doubt it will barely dent the pop-ridden top 40, but this is probably more of a testament to the song's quality than anything else .

James has said that the over-riding theme of the new album is hope and this seems fitting for a band who have "been discovering stuff" and, more importantly, di sc overing themselves.

Gavin Bates

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16 Film

One Hour Photo: Directed by David Romanek Starring: Robin Williams, Connie Nielson, Michael Yartan

With Patch Adams, Popeye and Bicentennial Man, Robin Williams has been terrifying movie-goers for years. Now, for the first time, he does it intentionally.

2002 has seen a strange t ransformation occur in Robin Williams. The man w ho, over the past five ye ars, has delivered to ou r screens c haract ers and fi lms so inoffensive it sets ones teeth on edge (Fiubber, Patch Adams, Bicentennial Man, to name a few). has suddenly side-stepped int o roles that are challenging, fai ntly psyc hotic and , we ll, interesti ng. Insomnia, fo r exam ple, sees Wi ll iams chil lingly (sic) execute the role of a troubled Alaskan writ er; w hilst in Death To Smoochy Wil liams plays a fired TV presenter bent on revenge. And the n there's One Hour Photo, possibly Williams' finest performance to date.

The film revolves around the life of Sy Parrish , an aging photographic developer who works in a supermarket . He has thinning peroxide blonde hair, a perma-smile and takes a great deal of pride over his work and his customers. Sy especially likes the Torvin family, whose pictures Sy has been developi ng fo r nearly ten years. He's been round their house for dinner; he was there with Nina (Nielson) during her pregnancy; and he ' s watched Jake (Dylan Smith), who calls him Uncle Sy, grow up. Of course , the Torvin family don 't actually know this. For, Sy Parrish is a man consumed by loneliness - no friends , no family , nada whose perma-smile occasionally cracks to reveal hideous desperation , and who lives his life in a fantasy world created by the smiling faces in the pictures taken by Nina , Will and Jake Yorkin. Of course , the Yorkins won't remain oblivious to Sy Parrish for long ... (Cue psyc hotic behaviour.)

Williams is outstanding in his depiction of a man descending into the distortions of his own mind and the desperation he has for a 'normal' life. The perfectly pleasant , slightly effeminate way he interacts with the people around him c reates a creepiness remin iscent of Norman Bates in Psycho, especially when the crac ks start to show in his 'perfect employee ' persona.

the event

Va rt an and Nielsen are perfectly adequat e in t heir roles as the husband and wife who perhaps aren't as perfect as thei r photos lead Sy to believe, alt hough the ir com parative lack of screen time prevent s their c haract ers from developing fully . However, it is not just the actors t hat make this film so absorbing. From the aggressive st erili ty in the SavM art w here Parr ish works (you can actual ly hear the fluorescent lights humm ing) and the dark eeriness of Parrish's flat to the gorgeous colours and warm tones of t he Yorkin's fam ily home (both depic t ed in the film itself and on the photographs) , Jeff Cronenweth ' s ( Fight Club) cinematography creates a powerfu l psychological separation between Sy ' s wor ld and the wo rl d inhabi t ed by the York in family , making the barrier between what Parrish has and what he wishes he had even more severe.

There are only a couple of problems wi t h this movie. The first is that One Hour Photo is billed as a tense thriller, but if you were to go see it with this in mind you wi ll be disappointed . lt is a slow paced fi lm more interested in delivering a focused character study than creating shocks and thrills. The second is that the last few scenes smack of Hollywood interference , producing a 'happy' ending that does not suit the rest of the film. Lucki ly these scenes do not overshadow the majority of One Hour Photo, which, overall, is arresting and thought-provoking. Let's hope Mr. Williams has left the likes of Patch A dams behind him for good.

Mark/and Starkie

9/10

Wednesday, October 2, 2002

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Film 17

Road to Perdition:

Directed by Sam Mendes Starring: Tom Hanks, Paul Newman

Tom Hanks mercilessly guns down Paul Newman's enemies in 1930s Chicago, but feels ever so bad about the effect it's having on his son.

How do you distinguish a film which should be taken seriously?

Established character actors giving each other meaningful looks? Every other scene played in silence with a camera aimed at a single hand, object or part of a face? Or because it rains and snows an awful lot?

Road to Perdition does all three. The long awaited second film from American Beauty director Sam Mendes certainly looks classy, and boasts some of the most beautiful cinematography and thoughtful performances of the year. But under the gloss, the world of Perdition is found lacking in all important substance. And, more disturbingly, it would seem Mendes himself

is showing signs of primadona syndrome. lt's easy to imagine the frequent silences filled with the director shouting: 'Isn't my new film great? I'm a genius! Give me another Oscar!'

Tom Hanks is a hitman working for Paul Newman whom, after the murder of his family, must flee his home with his surviving son to try and become a good father, avenge his loss and escape the attentions of creepy killer-for-hire Jude Law. Hanks' rain and snow drenched world is a cinematographer's dream, and veteran technician Conrad Hall does not disappoint in giving every shadowy interior a sense of waterlogged decay. Mendes does an excellent job working within the scenes, marking

Lilo and Stitch:

Hanks' solitary figure out through cracks within doors and over crowded cityscapes with equal verve whilst visually referencing everything from Hitchcock's Vertigo to Warren Beatty's Dick Tracy along the way.

But after two dozen interesting camera zooms and an hour or so of ponderous dialogue exchanges about the relationship between fathers and sons, it becomes clear that Perdition is that most disappointing of films: the shiny costume drama which talks an awful lot but signifies absolutely nothing .

Perdition simply has very little to say about its theme of fathers and sons beyond the blindingly obvious, and does nothing at all to admonish the actions of Hanks either in our eyes or those of his son. Hanks is a stone cold killer whose only solution to his life's problems is to keep killing until everyone is dead, and yet we're expected to sympathise with him because we know he's that nice man who played Forrest Gump. lt's a great weakness that the director who allowed Kevin Spacey to descend so brilliantly into the guise of Lester Burnham should rely on the star personas of both Hanks and the woefully underused New man to carry the emotion of the film, rather than the characters they are supposed to be playing.

Make no mistake, Perdition is a truly beautiful film. lt's clear that Mendes has made many advancements in his cinematic craft over the past two years. But his fault is that they've come at the cost of betraying the theatrical roots of storytelling and well rounded characters which made his first film such an event. There 's not a lot going on at the heart of Perdition.

Whereas American Beauty taught us that remarkable events do happen in suburbia and it is possible to escape mediocrity, all that Road to Perdition teaches us is that killing people for a living isn't a very nice thing to do. And that it rains a lot in Chicago.

Ph/1 Colvln

7/10

Directed by Dean Deblois, Chris Sanders Voices: Tia Carrere, Jason Scott Lee

Aliens and Elvis Presley are no match for Disney's patented brand of family values in their latest, highly uneven, animated release.

Traditionally, politicians have always been slow to look for the answers to global crises in cartoons. Take Iraq, for example. If Bush and Blair were to free up just 85 minutes and watch Lilo and Stitch, they'd immediately see that the only way to stop a figure of pure evil from causing destruction on a planetary scale is by introducing them to a dysfunctional, unorthodox , though essentially loving, American family. In the case of Disney's latest offering the evil in question is a six -limbed alien killing machine rather than an exuberantly mustached dictator, but the principle remains the same. Once they lay eyes on a loveable, slightly absent-minded - yet headstrong - child chaperoned by an exasperated guardian their ruthless killer's heart melts.

Problem solved.

The one point of contention, and the UN may want to consider this, is that as the threat gradually subsides, the world becomes increasingly sentimental, moralistic and, frankly, plain dull. While Stitch the alien is violent and unpredictable, the film that bares his name is .equally surprising and extremely good fun. Stitch is a genetic experiment on the run from the galactic police. Created by a mad scientist to cause boundless chaos, he begins the film in a glass jar, slavering impassively as he learns of plans for his termination. However, he is designed with devious intelligence and disproportionate strength, traits he uses to escape and steal a spaceship, which he promptly crashes on Earth.

Luckily for us Stitch lands on Hawaii, where he is trapped by an incompatibility with water. He can't even do the Hawaiians much harm, as the galactic police dispatch a pair of undercover operatives to capture him. To avoid them, Stitch disguises himself as a dog and attaches himself to the aforementioned loveable child, Lilo, effectively using her as a human shield. lt's during this period when Lilo and Stitch is at its best . Stitch has little control over his destructive impulses. And, in her own way, Lilo is just as bad. Both of Lilo's parents were recently killed in an accident, leaving her to be raised by her older sister (who, inexplicably, is drawn with abnormally large thighs, like a Robert Crumb creation). Perhaps because of her recent bereavement, Lilo doesn 't make life easy, screaming and yelling

and punching kids at hula school. lt isn't long before the sister is dealing with social services as well as their newly acquired, demonic looking pet.

Lilo and Stitch provides the clearest evidence yet, after the too adult Emperor's New Groove and the too serious Atlantis, that Disney is going through something of an audience crisis.

Families have been abandoning the Mouse House in droves, wooed by the three-dimensional sophistication offered by Pixar and Dreamworks. Here they get the formula partly right. When the film 's anarchic concept is allowed to run unchecked, the consequence is slapstick genius that anyone can enjoy. But

then someone in the script department chickened out and grafted on a heavy handed message about the healing powers of family that alienates all bar the youngest and least discerning viewers. Hopefully, eventually, Disney will get the balance right; until then, don't be too shocked if their next offering, Treasure Planet, solves international poverty by suggesting we all have a good hug.

Jlm Wha/ley

7/10 ent

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18 Video/DVD

Blade 11:

Directed by Guillermo Del Toro Starring: Wesley Snipes, Luke Goss, Kris Kristofferson

Does Luke Goss' appearance in vampire killing sequel Blade 11 mean he's finally going to be famous? We can't answer that.

"There are worse things out tonight than vampires." "Like what?" Lik e Lu ke Goss!. .. Yes, one of the prett y boy pop idols of eighties heart throbs Bras is the new nemesis for Wesley Snipes' muscle charged, vampire slaying, half-human , half-vampire (and probably rather confused) Blade.

Fans of the first film may be, at first, forgiven for their horror and pure amazement at the casting of this new pretender to the throne that Stephen Dorff made so coolly his own in 1998's Blade. Whi le those who have not yet been introduced to the Marvel comics franchise simply must be thinking that this match up seems a tiny bit unfair. Thankfully, this could not be further from the truth. In Blade 11 Goss is utterly transformed, almost beyond recognition . He plays Nomak, the head of a mutated strain of vampi res, known as Reapers, who threaten not only t he normal world but, this ti me , t he vampire underworld as wel l. All that stands in their way is Blade and a group of vampire assassins, appropriately known as the Bloodpack, whom our hero must, reluctantly, team up with and who were originally trained to kill (yes you've g uessed it) none other than Blade. Almost seems ironic doesn't it?

Cue the kick-ass action.

At this poi nt you realise you cannot ask too many quest ions of this fi lm and it is for this reason that you will probably either love or loathe Blade 11, for it is certainly not for those of you who want a night of intellec t ual stimu lation. There is, for example , the issue that somehow Whistler, who were dead certain had bitten off more than he could chew in the last film (no pun intended) and for whom we had all shed a li tt le tear is somehow, miracu lously back alive and very muc h kicking. Also there's a rathe r confusing section where the intrepid heroes appear to run faster than the speed of light.

Th is is not to say that the plot or the script are at al l bad, far from it. In fact, there is much in this film which is often lacking in other fi lms of this genre. Yet this is not really what Blade 11 is about.

Although there is a certain wit to the film, it is ultimately the

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furiously paced vio lence and th e supe rbly c horeographed comic book action that wi ll have you gri pping the edge of your seat.

Director Del Toro, of Devil's Backbone fame, expertly combines cutting-edge CGI with his usual dripping goo. There is even a little humour, created largely through the interaction between Blade and the Bloodpack , which , although not an original twist, real ly brings out the film 's charm. lt is this introduction of new cha racte rs mixing wi th the old, that makes the movie far more entertaining than its predecessor.

Zoolander:

If you are frust rated by t he predictability and unsubtle nature of Blade 11 then you have failed to notice what the appeal of a film like this really is. lt may not be the greatest piece of cinematic genius to have ever graced the screen but then it is not meant to be. lt is simply meant to be fun, but fun of an extremely violent and gory nature.

Gavln Bates

7/10

Directed by Ben Stiller Starring: Ben Stiller, Will Ferre/1, Christine Toy/or

Ripping the piss out of the fashion industry is a family affair for Ben Stillet look out for his mum, his dad, his wife, his dog, his cot ... into a feature length film on his screenwriting debut are unfounded. Zoolander can be called many t hings but not tiring.

To watch this film and expect a clever storyline or a surprising plot twist is like going to watch Philadelphia and waiting to hear the punch line. it 's not that kind of movie. However, if you happen to have a couple of hours spare in your life and don't mind spending them trying to control fits of laughter developing into bladder control problems then this film will probably be the only recent comedy release you will enjoy .

The Extras

The Film Derek Zoolander (Ben Still er) is as thick as they come but luckily he's " rea lly, really, rea ll y good looking. " The clueless male model becomes an unwitting pawn in an assassination plot masterminded by ridiculously camp fashion dictator Jacobim Mugatu (Will Ferrell), finding himself having to deal with rival model Hansel (Owen Wilson) and Matilda Jeffries (Christine Taylor), an inquisitive reporter.

Stiller directs in this stupid comedy that mocks the fashion industry while allowing him to showcase his quirky humour

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Wednesday, October 2, 2002

(whic h hasn 't been used to any great effect since The Ben Stiller Show). He casts his real-life family in this film: wife Christine Taylor, sister Amy Stiller, father Jerry Stiller, and mother Anne Meara as well as hordes of celebrity cameos ranging from David Duchovny to David Bowie. Stiller wrote the screenplay and based it upon two original skits he created for the VH1/ Vogue fashion awards in 96/ 97.

Putting all this aside, the film is actually very well shot and, as you can expect from Stiller (just watch Cable Guy}, he has paid an enormous attention to the details of the costumes and locations used. All worries of Stiller not being able to convert a skit

The special features available on this disk are even better than the film . The two original skits on which the film is based are ava il able t o watch (and it is a pleasure to do so), I suggest watching them both before you jump head first into the movie.

Commentary by Ben Stiller and eo-writers Drake Sather and John Hamburg is available as an accompaniment to the film and adds a very interesting perspective as to how the film ideas came about and, as always, Stiller is there with his one-liners.

As with pretty much any other DVD the standard deleted/ex tended scenes index is there , although how some of them didn't make it into the final cut is beyond me. Alongside this you can find some marvellously average outtakes and a music video by the Wiseguys .

Oh yes. The best part of any DVD: the Easter Egg. If you're clever and now your way around most interactive menus you come across a lovely little secret- home video style footage of Stiller and Wilson making fools of themselves. learning how to dance and pose while walking down the catwalk. Anyway, I'm off to perfect my new look and to wax my hair, enjoy.

Wissam Asfaham

8/10

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Arts . 19

Theatre Review: Sitting amidst hundreds of overexcited seventeen-year-old drama students in the empty brick space of the Playhouse, I don't know quite what I was expecting - but it certainly wasn't this.

Director Neil Sheppeck, who also played I ago, had decided to use the old chestnut of popping up from the audience and leaping straight into character. Unfortunately, the character he was playing bore little resemblance to the smooth-talking evil genius everybody loves to hate. He spoke in a rushed, flat-cap-northern mutter that was virtually incomprehensible - and I'm from Manchester.

The actors rattled around the empty space like peas, doors banging behind every entrance and exit . By the time yet another cast member had stomped up and down the aisle next to me, making it impossible to hear what was going on onstage, I was beginning to regret my first outing as a theatre critic. lt was only once things had calmed down a bit that we were able to hear exactly how badly the cast knew their lines. Considering the company has just returned from a run at the Edinburgh Fringe, there was no first-night nerves to excuse this. The lines they did remember were delivered as if they had been learnt phonetically, with no sense that they actually meant anything.

Othello frequently ran out of puff, resulting in a high-pitched squeak and audible gasps between speeches- and he was not the only member of the cast guilty of this. I have to admit that if I'd paid for my ticket I would probably have left halfway through.

However out of a perverse sense of duty I did stick it out, helped by a swift double gin during the interval. Unfortunately most of the actors seemed to have done the same. Even in a space as empty as the Playhouse a few of them still managed to trip over things, walk into walls (not a very effective way of making a dramatic exit, I'm afraid) and slur like lecherous uncles on the Christmas sherry . Callum O'Neill was the only exception. In a production that most of the audience could have bettered, he shone as Cassio. Not only had he learnt his lines, he delivered them to us rather than the back wall, and even paused for breath in the right places - something that constantly eluded the rest of the cast.

Costume and set pose a problem to any touring company, there being not much room in the suitcase for the full-on wigs, feathers and flying trapeze, but Love & Madness had decided to solve the problem by using just a few bits of unadorned scaffolding and setting their production in the Falklands. I say 'set ' -what th is really meant was that instead of doublet and hose (a bugger to wash in hotel sinks) the cast were wearing charity-shop corn-

Othello Norwich Playhouse

edy 80's costumes and the Duke was ... yes, you've guessed it, a woman who bore a vague resemblance to dear old Maggie.

Neil Sheppeck- believes that 路 a modern context helps young people, seeing Shakespeare for the first time, relate to what they see before them .路 Nice sentiments, but they ignored the fact that to most 'young people seeing Shakespeare for the first time'; the Falklands War might as well be Elizabethan. As far as

Event Preview:

Books Re-Viewed: Book Review: Student's favourite novels Catch 22, Joseph Helier r----------....

If war, by definition, is insane then in theory any man involved can be discharged by claiming insanity .

But there's a catch. Catch-22.

What exactly is Catch-22? Well , to give a straight answer, it's Catch22.

The main theme of this book is, not surprisingly, the madness of war and the black comic effect it has on the characters. The story revolves around Captain Yossarian , and his _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __. increasingly desperate attempts to get himself discharged. His methods of escape range from planning the assassination of commanding officers to turning up at drill inspections naked.

And it's not just Yossarian, every character is bizarrely idiosyncratic and suffers from the same dementia of war. They include Major Major Major Major, the soldier who saw everything twice, and Mile Minderbinder whose syndic;ate includes everyone (even the Germans) and not forgetting Nately 's whore who keeps trying to murder Yossarian. Nothing is left unaffected, even the dialogue between characters descends into its own rhetoric hysteria and scenes erratically switch from bomb runs to whore houses. Catch-22's author, Joseph Helier, was a bombardier during world war two, and despite the mass of surreal humour, (think Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy set in a war zone) Helier's real strength comes from his ability to show the true horror of war. There are several gruesome and yet heart breaking moments as characters seem to be savagely killed off almost at random. Helier spends time building up characters only to uncompromisingly have them sent to their death. The world Yossarian exists in is an apocalypse in waiting where the only way to escape is to complete up to 70 flight missions or be killed in the process. However, Yossarian 's determination and perseverance to obtain freedom is the key to Helier's spirit . it's a unique defiance thatCatch-22 inspires. More importantly, Catch-22 is in essence an unglorify ing and bold statement against war.

Peter Courrldge

Literary Festival UEA

Koba the Dread MartinAmis Never an author to be accused of lacking ambition, Martin Amis' lat路 est book catalogues the wrongs of communist Russia 's early leaders.

The wrongs are considerable. In his first chapter Amis quotes Robert Conquest, famed historian and family friend, who claims that for every letter of every word of his four hundred and eleven page work, The Harvest of Sorrow , twenty Russians died. The numbers are astonishing , yet, as Koba the Dread repeatedly states, the plight of the Soviets has received neither the attention nor the llniversal condemnation of the century 's other great massacre performed by the Nazis.

The book is not, however, a straightforward history, acting as it does as a companion piece to Amis' recently published memoir, Experience. His approach to the material is intensely personal.

Why is it, he asks, that otherwise rational people such as his father, Kingsley, and best friend Christopher Hitchens, allowed themselves to be blinded by the ideology of communism, oblivious to the atrocities Lenin and Stalin committed in its name?

But as well as curiosity there is genuine anger; the book 's middle section is a tirade against Stalin with only the faintest nod towards objectivity. During the writing of Koba, Amis ' sister, Sally- a central and clearly beloved figure in Experience- died of cancer. The writer's despair at the loss of one life magnifies his disgust at those able to orchestrate the demise of twenty million.

Indeed, the book is often so personal that Amis' motives for its publication must be questioned. With its basis on extensive quotes from other readily available authors, it lacks authority as a reference work, yet, because of its highly specific subject matter, will fail to satisfy casual fans of Experience.

Ultimately , Koba the Dread was written for three people: Hitchens, Kingsley and Sally ; perhaps it should have remained that way .

Jlm Whalley )

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set was concerned, using a hammock on scaffolding for the strangling scene certainly had the audience enthralled - although most of us were too busy laying bets on whether it was going to collapse or not, to actually pay attention to the words.

Thoroughly shambolic .

Sally Roe

Two Booker Prize winners, a Life Peer, a Companion of Honour, a Nobel Prize winner, a Knight, a U.S. bestseller and Britain's most fearsome journalist. This year The Arthur Miller International Literary Festival boasts it's most impressive lineup yet .. .

Aimed at anyone with even a vague interest in things literary, the festival is comprised of a series of evenings with visiting authors discussing and reading from their work and answering audience questions.

The first guest speaker on October 9th is Robert Winston; moustachioed Professor, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, probably more widely known for his television series Making Babies, The Human Body and Superhuman.

The 16th October brings author Arundhati Roy to UEA who became the first non-expatriate Indian author to win the Booker Prize for fiction in 1997 with The God of Small Things.

There 's unlikely to be A Chorus of Disapproval when Alan Ayckbourn takes centre stage on October 21st. Famous for his farcical dramas such as The Norman Conquests, Ayckbourn is the most widely performed of all living playwrights.

As a writer of fictional and non-fictional prose, best-selling American author Donna Tartt provides an interesting comparison as she discusses The Secret History and her new book The Little Friend on October 28th.

Get ready to ask your questions for once when Newsnight and Panorama's formidable frontman Jeremy Pax man has his say on November 4th.

On November 11th celebrated Irish poet and critic Seamus Heaney comes to town. This two-time winner of the Whit bread Award, recently for Beowulf, also has a Nobel Prize under his belt.

Australian writer Thomas Keneally was nominated four times for the Booker Prize, finally winning it for Schindler's Ark in 1982.

Hear all about this and his other works, Homebush Boy and The Office of Innocence , on November 14th.

Finally on November 18th Harold Pinter. This world famous playwright, actor, and screenplay writer pays us a visit.

Clare Butler

Wednesctoyr O~tooer-2, 2002 .. lflQ..event

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20 N/Radio Essential TV: Th LeaoL e o G'"'~r lerTCTl BBC2, Thurs October 3, 1Opm

Essential Radio: Th R lrliO 2 FuniL Fr-'"'+--~ ' Radio 2, Wednesday October 2

Miss This: Wt J P ""i,.J le ~ C4, Weds October 3, 1Opm

Every once in a while, a TV show comes along wh ich pushes the boundaries of com edy further over t he fuzzy line between laughter and perversity . When The League of Gentlemen first appeared on TV over three yea rs ago, having already spent time on Radio Four, no-one seemed to be sure what to make of c haracters such as Tubbs and Edward, or Barbara t he t ranssexual c abbie . Th ey we re outl andish characters, yet they were so memorable and freaky that they managed to split the audience between those who laughed and those who turned off the box in tears. Their phrases became inst ant ly recognisable, especially the wonderfu l " Are you local?" And the muc h loved, " You 're my wife now, Dave ."

For the third series, the writers have taken the bold step of drafti ng in a number of new characters and phasi ng out old favourite s. The most notable of these is the Loc al Shop, which was burnt down at the end of the last series, Tubbs and Edward perishi ng in the flames (Tubbs fi nal quest ion , " Wi ll heaven be like Swansea?") . They are also opting for a new form at , foc using generally on one c haracter per episode. lt will be interesting to see if doing aw ay w ith t he old sketch style show wi ll work to their advantage. Amongst the series· new faces is Dr Carlton, a monstrously unsympathetic GP wh o prides himself on his ' personal contact ' with patient s. and Paul ine is now serving time at HMP Clitcl ink gathering herself a posse of bi t c hes in t he process! We also mustn 't forget that Babs is now pregnant!

Yet along with the new cha racters and settings, there is also roo m fo r some old fami li ars. Lance King , the Joke Shop Proprietor, has got himself an under the counter arm transplant , and mortician Owen Fallowfield , is lecturing on the fine art of modern body embalming. Thi s is not co medy for the fai nt hearted . Those who have a nervous disposit ion are best advised not to even think about turning on t he TV .

Not conte nt with present ing us w ith th e likes of Beverl y Knight in concert during their time in Belfa st last wee k , Radio 2 decide to take inspiration from 6Music' s Craig Charles and illustrate th e power of some 'dee p-down ·n· dirty' funk grooves. Norman Jay MBE , one of the fou nding fat hers of t he Brit ish dance music underground , hosts the first in a series of one-hour specia ls unc overi ng t he best -loved and lesser-k nown fu nk gems of the past four decades. Tunes dug up from the archives include classics from Ray Charles, James Brown and Little Richard. For t hose who prefer thei r mu sic written wit hin thei r lifet ime however, do not fear; tunes from Outkast and Beyonce Knowles snatch their bit of airtime too .

Joining the ·godfather,' Jay , wi ll be tro mbonist Fred Wes ley, probably James Brown ' s most infl uent ial brass arranger, who' ll be delivering a slice of the funk family history books. From the secrets of eating ·grits ' (you'll have to tune in to find what that one ' s about ) t o the sheer import ance of hot pant s in t he funk movement , his stories are bound to bewilder the listener, but you never know , such info might well be handy the next time yo u venture into t he inevitable student pub qui z, or tac kl e Chris Tarranl on your Play station .

But if the lifesty le behind the funk factory is more your thing and you fancy getting to grips with some groovy ideas for your next Retro outfit, then Take lt To the Drive In . one of the regular features over the whole six weeks , might wel l set you in the right direction and get you in the mood . Celebrating the link bet wee n fu nk and the classic period of Blaxploitation cinema , with c lassic moments from the movies unearthed and highlighted along with their accompanying , need I even say it , " funky ", soundtrac ks, it ' s sure to have you reac hing for a co py of 'Shaft ' , and strutting your stuff Richard Roundtree style.

So all that really remains to be asked is, Can Yo u Dig lt???

Ally Barnard

Four months on , and the Big Brother st ars are beginning to fade. Whilst we prepare ourselves for next year's hapless group of wannabes , Channel 4 seems to have other plans.

Not co ntent to allow Jade Goody. the big ass of Bermondsey to disappear int o dayti me TV oblivion with the other BB minions , they have dec ided to dedicate an entire show to what Jade has been doing , say ing , and, 't hinking .' For someone who recently bit c hed at photographers outside a London night c lub to leave her alone because she didn 't want the public ity th is show provides an all-to-easy platform for Jade t o show how ·great ' she looks now she's left the house. However, it is probably wise to point out to her that with the notable exception of Brian Dowl ing , all the other housemates have eit her returned to t heir run of mill lives, or entered the vicious circ le that is the world of E-list celebrity hell.

The show follow s Jade on her t rip to ' East Angular ,' and her brazen at tempt s to promote herself as the not so stu pid girl next door. Cue various dodgy remarks and that 'wit ' that we all 'loved' when BB 3 was on our screens this summer. Her visit to Cambridge , a town we are told by the adorable Miss Goody, that is " near Tunisia," sees her climb aboard a punt and remark that she is worried that she might get the pole stuck inside her. How , we don't know . Perhaps if we ask PJ he might be able to tel l us.

We also hear of romantic links with a guy we've never seen before from th ird rate and not particularly ' rear TV show Shipwrecked, and how Jade work s out really hard every day with her personal trainer (so what?)

Channel four and Heat magazine real ly do have a lot to answer fo r in kee pi ng her in the public eye. Avert you r vision. this may leave you wanting to put yoo foot through the TV screen.

Joe M inihane

Essential Soaps: There are a number of unwritten rules in our society t hat we all know · will lead towards a more trouble free existenc e if we follow them. For instance, never cheat on your si gnific ant other wit h his or her best mate. Avoi d we aring w hit e ankle socks w ith black shoes at all cost s (and never, ever t eam th is combinat ion with any form of ank le swingers). And if Phil Mitchell ever comes charging after you with an industrial sized shovel and a face like a slapped arse , then whip out your best pair of traine rs and run like the clappers. Alt ern at ive ly, if your name's unfortunate enough to be Lisa Fowler, you should probably hotfoot it to the airport quicker than you can say "skid marks" and hop right on the first flight to Portugal. And surprise, surprise, that ' s exactly what she does do, mak ing for another scorcher of a week in Eastenders. Yep, in a last desperate bid to stop Pinky and the brain getting thei r grubby paws on Louise and t ransforming her into a part of the Mit e hell dynast y, Li sa does a runn er, hurtling out of Albert Square (and Eastenders) for good , like a bad c ase of diarrhoea . But not , however, before getting caught in a swift bit of Wacky Races in Gus's van , nearly being discovered packing by Phil , and doodling a tacky message with lipstick on the Queen Vie mirror, Labyrinth style. Ah well , it wouldn 't be a proper exit if there weren 't a few close shaves thrown in fo r good measure now would it? Yet wh ile Lisa ' s bogged off to Portugal , poor Sonia' s left to face up to a rather livid Phil , who threatens to knock her into several shades of blue while himself turning several shades of beetroot. Elsewhere in the Square , unsavoury things are going on between Trevor and Sam , and I an Beale gets the all-clear from the vasectomy clinic , which (hurrah!) means no more ferret-faced Beale rug-rats scampering about . Our hearts bl eed.

In Ho/lyoaks however, Adam and Mandy are after the exact opposite when Adam fails to rise to the occasion during a fumble at Mr Cunningham ' s 50th birthday bash . Maybe the birthday boy has a secret stash of birthday Viagra which he would be kind enough to sell for a small price - anything ' s worth a shot. Aside from this , Jodie and Becca learn a shock ing truth about Eve, whatever that might be, and Tony and Julie enjoy a cold spell smuggling peanuts in the freezer.

Down under in Ram sey Street , Mic helle Scully 's accidentally (on purpose , I can 't help thinking) poisoned by t he il literate Connor, who apparently mistakes Lyn ' s corrosive floor cleaner for a potential ingredient in a non-alcoholic banana cocktail which he offers to make her. Ten out of ten for effort and originalit y, but he really should try harder next ti me, since the only thing She' ll gets close to is a stomach pump. We also watch with great anticipation as those two 'ole lovebirds Karl and Susan go out on a date, awwww .

Ka te Herrlngton

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the event

Wednesday, October 2, 2002

Joe Minihane

Web 21

Essential Web 0 1:

www.them moryho e.org

Launched in July of this year, The Memory Hole is a real source for eye-opening stories that have been whitewashed or forgotten by newspapers. The site aims to expose the things 路we're not supposed to know" by an emphasis on primary material and factual data. Evidence is presented in the form of easily accessible written articles, transcripts, unseen government reports and audio and video files. Its subject area is a wide spectrum of news stories, from little known witness accounts of the 9/11 terrorist attacks to disturbing insights into American police brutality, this site has something to wet the appetites of all news aficionados who want to go beneath the surface of conventional media stories.

The Memory Hole manages to stay relevant by providing information that is of immediate importance now, as well as containing articles related to events that occupy the deeper recesses of our memories. So you will find plenty of revealing information concerning the War Against Terrorism and the Iraq Crisis. The Memory Hole tends to read between the lines when it comes to analysing evidence, but its effectiveness lies in the posing of questions for the reader so that individual conclusions can be made.

Refreshingly free of internet banners and commercials, the site keeps a tight focus throughout its many pages. Its 'no frills' approach is extremely effective, since it makes navigation throughout the site much easier. As you would expect, the site is constantly updated and it also has a comprehensive index that enables you to search for a news story by topic. Currently the focus is heavily on the US, with some international stories, but its scope is expected to grow as the site becomes more established.

01/ver Papps

Essential Web 02: eat.com Something that you probably will not see at the next Ascot meeting is the headwear promoted by hatsofmeat.com. The site celebrates the ancient tradition of wearing headwear made of animal flesh. A comprehensive picture gallery displays a variety of different styles, including the American Classic 'Cow-Boy Hat', made of the best cuts of beef. The site also provides a useful FAQ, which answers such pressing questions as "How do I discourage flies and dogs from pestering me when I am wearing a hat of meat?" and 路 How can I combat the foul smell that sometimes comes with older hats of meat?" Basting with BBQ sauce is suggested to combat this, and eating your hat of meat is, surprisingly, not recommended.

Check out How to Impress Your Date on zefrank.com to see a series of hilarious videos showing you what not to do on a date .

And www .i.amjcunted is an irreverent collection of photos depicting people experiencing higher or lower states of unconsciousness. The site offers you the opportunity to contribute.

Otlver Papps

Pictures: From -.hatsofmeat.com (from left to right) The Base-Bull Cap (oh, the hilarity); The Canadian (obviouSly)

Writers, photographers, designers and proofreaders urgently required for an award-winning student newspaper. Anyone interested should attend a meeting on Mondays at 12pm and 2pm in room 1.33 or come into our office upstairs in Union House

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Film:

Ill Nino and Raging SpcP ~ orn

Campus

Waterfront Sunday 6th Oct £11 adv

Thursdays r r

+ Vanilla Pod + Two Fold Waterfront Monday 7th Oct £7 adv

Thursday 3/ 10 All G Friday 4/ 10 Grease

Thursday 10/ 10 Spiderman

Boat Trip UCI all week Ster Century al l week

Seven Samurai Cinema City · Sun - 2.00

Sweet Sixteen UCI all week

Buffalo Soldiers Ster Century all week

Tuesday 1 5/ 10 Monsoon Wedding

Dogtown and i:-Boys Cinema City - Wed - 6.30, Thu - 1.45, 6 .30 My Little Eye UCI Sat , Sun

The Hidden Fortress Cinema City· Sat- 2.00

From the 18/10 XXX

Friday 18/ 10 Blade 2

Little Buddha Cinema City - Sun only - 3 .00

Tuesday 22/ 10 Black History Month: Cry Freedom

Juwanna Mann UCI al l week Ster Century all week

Thursday 24/10 Gosford Park Friday 25/ 10 Count of Mont Crlsto

City From the 4/1 0 Lilo and Stlch UCI all week cabaret Cinema City - Monj Tue - 6 .30 Wed - 1.45

Advanced Screenings of Red Dragon UCI Sat 5th - Thurs 10th One Hour Photo UCI all week Once Upon a Time In the Midlands Cinema City · Fri to Thur 4.00, 8.45, Sun 5/10 - 8 .30 Rlflfl Cinema City Fri to Sun - 6 .30 A Guy Thing Ster Century all Week

Previews UCI on 17/ 10 then all week Ster Century all week The Tuxedo UCI all week Ster Century al l week The Powerpuff Girls UCI all week Ster Century all week

Clockstoppers UCI all week Ster Century all week

Heaven Cinema City - Fri . Sat, Mon .

Tue and Thu - 6.30 - Sun 8.45 - Wed · 4.00, 8.45 Red Dragon UCI all week Ster Century all week

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This Girl Waterfront Thursday 1oth Oct £10 adv

Bowling For Soup Waterfront Monday 14th Oct £5

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The Bank 5th Oct COSTUME ESSENTIAL

11 l tjv\-"

Comerclal Pop and Chart Time £2 before 11 £3 after Ikon £5 b411pm 9.30 tll2.00

Bar Metro Chart, dance, garage

Robe rt Pla nt LCR Monday 14th Oct £20 adv

Slap Her She's French St er Cent ury all week

Beth Orton + Ed Harcourt LCR Wednesday 16th Oct £15 adv

C' o ~drush + Longview + The Black Family Band Waterfront Thursday 24th Oct £6 adv

Music:

Clubs

Gigs

We 'nesdays

Featuring Pauline Black (The Selecter) + Rhoda Dakar (The Bodysnatchers) + Jennie Bellestar ( Bellestars) Waterfront Thursday 3rd Oct £10 (£8 NUS) adv

RI ...

LCR £3.

The Loft Gay night

+ Skinlab + Sugarcoma Waterfront Tuesday 15th Oct £10 adv

Sko- Divo

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+ Jesse James

All or Nothing UCI all week

Asterlx and Obellx: Mission Cleopatra Ster Century all week

LCR 5th Oct £5

F· t

+ The Ken nedy Soundtrack +

Soil

The Rookie UCI all week

Super Troopers UC I all week Ster Century all week

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Upstairs: In The Bag (Madchester hits) 5th Oct, Rawkus (Nu-Metal, Punk, Ska, Rock) 12th, Britpoppln' (90's Guitar bands) 19th, Wraith (Goth, Rock, Metal, Cyber) 26th.

Waterfront £4.50j £3.50(NUS)

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Bar Metro R'n'B and hip hop

Waterfront Wednesday 9th Oct £9 adv

Kaante UCI all week

From the l 1/ l 0

Minor Shapes Cinema City - Fri - 4 .00, 8.45 Sat - 4.30, 8.45 - Sun , Tue, Wed and Thu - 6 .30 - Mon 4.00, 8.45

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Kafe Da Progressive t rance and house Free

R1 1 Pictures: (bottom left) Robert Plant ; (above) Lilo and Stich; (opposite) The Forum, playing host to a number of Fringe events

Friday 11/ 10 Bend lt Like Beckham

Thursday 17 I 10 The Panic Room

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Ikon £2 b411pm 10 tll200

All films st art at 8 .30 pm and are shown in Lecture Theatre One unless otherwise stated

Tuesday 8/ 10 Black History Month: Men of Honour

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Live up to the student stereotype and dance like a fool to the cheesey styllngs of Chrls Alexander.

Liquid 9.30 tll2.00 £2 students

The Concept House, garage and R n B.

,jr·s u nd Dance

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Mondays Funky Jam Carwash

( hart H1ts CHl d C lasssr

Liquid 9 .30 tll2.00 £2 students

Ant hem::, Ikon £4 b411pm 9 .30 tll2.00

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Po Na Na Disco, funk Free

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Tue sdays I •

Time Commercial dance £2 (NUS)

Lock Stock Funk and hip-hop £3

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Liquid 9.30 tll2.00 £2 students

Liquid 9.30 tll2.00 £2 students

The Loft Hip hop, funk £3 b4 11pm, £4 after.

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Sunday Service Manhattans £2.50

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Fndays

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Sunday.:;

JPI

Po Na Na Funky drum'n'bass I house Free b4 10pm, £2 after

Catch the movie beforehand In LT1 LCR 4th Oct £3.50 9pm

Time 8th Oct £2 (NUS)

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Arts: Norwich Fringe Festival v4.0 27th Sept - 13th Oct Jazz Funk and Blues Jam A free jamming session for musicans with the regions finest rhythm section.

Norwich Arts Centre 2 Oct 8pm Free for musicians and £2 to everybody else

Stacy Kent

East Folk.

Norwich Arts Centre 1pm Free Oct 5

Jazz is on offer tonight at the Maddermarket Theatre. Jim Tomlinson also plays tenor sax .

10th Oct £12.00 7.30pm

Aspects South West Special The west country's best hiphop artists hit the turntables.

Norwich Arts Centre 5th Oct £6.00 8.00pm til midnight

The Beggars Opera The Norfolk Opera present John Gay's 18th century opera on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 of October. £8 concessions £6.

Maddermarket Theatre 10 Oct. 7.30pm

Jetplane Landing +support "The Anglo-lrish At The DriveIn" Norwich Arts Centre 7th Oct . 8 .30pm £5.00

Half 'n' Half Collaborative work combining projection and sculpture. open 10am - 11pm Playhouse Theatre

The Listening Place Tram, Little Japanese Toy and Luma Lane The emotional music of Tram is on offer tonight at the Arts Centre 4th Oct 8pm £4.50 in advance Norwich Arts Centre.

Helen Watson +Support The folk/blues/ jazz legend comes to the fringe.

Upstairs at The York Tavern 4th Oct £6.00 6pm

Acostic Showcase Folk acoustic singer Dan Foden, Mike Hone, Palu Gillings, I an Alexander and contempory folk rock from

One Night Stand

88 Minutes to Save the NHS

International digital video and performanc~ art by Martin Sercombe.

October 5 The Queen of Hungary Yard

Dr Phil Hammond takes a satirical look at the state of the NHS. Norwich Arts Centre 11th Oct £8.00 ~ £7 concessions 8.30pm

Andy Sheppard Nocturnal Tourist Mr Sheppards improvisational sax clashes with Electronic sounds and samples from the streets.

Norwich Arts Centre £12.50 £11 concessions 9th Oct 8 .30pm

Alan Titmuss Photographs of performing artists and jazz musicians spanning several decades.

Norwich Arts Centre 9am - 10pm Monday- Saturday

Millennium Book Project

An artisitc co-operative have organised a interactive project for one night only. All will be revealed on the night at the warehouse Artists' studios.

4 Oct 8.00pm

Kate Parrott Thought provoking sculpture dealing with the accepted ideas of good taste comes to the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts.

11.00pm til 5pm Tuesday - Sunday

The Ballroom Dancers

Women share their thoughts and stories using the written word, pictures, collages and stichwork in hand made books.

Millenium Libary , The Forum

Photographic portraits of international dance competitors.

Waterstones Window, The Royal Arcade

The Cubicle Presents ...

A night of beats, poetry and bass. Performances by Glasto 2002 champion Luke Wright, Aisle 16, Dj's playing

laidback tunes and more.

15th Oct £3 - £2 concessions Norwich Arts Centre 8.00pm

VIrtual Orchard Installation art dealing with the inspiration from artefacts of medieval museums.

Strangers' Hall Museum window

Entirely Guilty Wall-based art dealing with gender politics from a male perspective.

Take 5 Cafe Open 11- 11 Monday to Saturday

Scratch Late night screening of a his~ tory of turntableism .

Featuring Mixmaster Mike, Bambaataa adn Shadow.

11.15pm 11th Oct Cinema City

Heafspin As the festival comes to a close there's still time for one more great evening.

With bands, Dj's, films and poetry as well as "Bootleg Bastard" , where if you want · to bring your own remixs they 'l l play them . For more info email fringepromo@another.com .

Norwich Arts Centre 12 Oct £3 8 .00pm

Something fishy going on? ..... or wish it was?

The Little Fish Bar Only 10 minutes from university

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Fish

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Cod Plaice haddock

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Rock* Skate* Plaice on the_ bone* Scampi Fishcake Cod Roe

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•

•••••

• • •• •• Meat •• • •• Chicken portion •• • Sausages ••• Steak •• & Kidney • • • Chicken &PieMushroom • •• Minced Beef Pie • • • • Beef Burgers •• Chicken Nuggets • •• ••• • • •• • • •• •• • • •••••

Extras 'Spring Rolls (SavouryNeg)\ Vegetable Burger Pineapple Fritters Battered Mushrooms Mushy Peas \ Roll & Butter Chips

I

306 Bowthorpe Rd, Norwich, NR5 8AB 01603 623934

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Opening Times: Wednesday: 12:00-1 :30, 4:30-10:00 Thursday: ...................... .4:30-1 0:00 Friday: 12:00-1:30, 4:30-10:00 Saturday: ....................... .4:30-1 0:00

;)~.._

Final Into: ~

UV wire ~ 1350am

Schedule:

Monday 8-10: Far From Home, Far From Talented 10-12: Mi lk and Cookies 12-2: Frontier Psyc hiatry 2-4: The Afternoon 4-6: Mark Wheeler 6-8: B.E.A.T.S. 8-10: Chris D 10-12: Ibiza Reminiscence

Friday 8-10: Far From Home, Far From Talented 10-12: Mil k and Cookies 12-2: Frontier Psychiatry 2-4: The Afternoon 4-6: M ark Wheeler 6-8: M ark Boutros 8-10: Chris D 10-12: Ibiza Reminiscence

Tuesday 8-10: Anna Muir 10-12: Illegally Blonde 12-2: Barbie P* rn Rocks 2-4: The Afternoon 4-6: Mark Boutros 6-8: Will Canny 8-10: Daydream Nation 10-12: We the Funky Foo

Saturday

Wednesday 8-10: Far From Home , Far From Talented 10-12: Tighten that Noose 12-2: Frontier Psychiatry 2-4: The Afternoon 4-6: The Tom and Joe Show 6-8: Mark Wheeler 8-10: Mental Institute 10-12: T with the Vicar

Thursday 8-10 : Anna Muir

10-12: illegally Blonde 12-2: Barbie Porn Rocks 2-4: The Afternoon 4-6: Mark Boutos 6-8: Daydream Nation 8-10: Raw Roots Reggae 10-12: Underground Sessions

9-11: The Radio 11-1 : Dancing Round the Borders of the Curfew 1-3: Right Hand of Jam 3-5: Groove Bus 5-7: Sports Frenzy 7-9: Funky House 9-12: TSN Drum 路n 路 Bass

Sunday 9-11: Sunday Lay-In 11-1: Norfolk 'n ' Good 1-3: Sunday Review 3-5: Magical Mystery Tour 5-7: New Music Show 7-9 : SBN Chart 9-12: Smooved Out!

The Directory: ABCTaxis All Star Taxis Beeline Taxis Bettacar Taxis Five Star Taxis loyal Taxis

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Canary Cue Club Cinema City Ikon liquid Maddermarket Theatre The light Bar lock Stock Norwich Arts Centre Norwich Playhouse Po Na No's Ster Century Theatre Royal The loft The Waterfront Tourist Information Time UEA Studio UCI UEA Union Ents

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