Venue 397

ISSUE 397

ARTS | BOOKS | CREATIVE WRITING | FASHION | FILM | TV | MUSIC | WHAT’S ON

Earth as Alive at the Sainsbury Centre Rediscovering the Joy of Reading at University Bertha: A Creative Writing Piece Spotlight on Maria Grazia Chiuri Scorsese’s Harrowing New Masterpiece The Downfall of the Weekly Release The Beatles are Back And Many More...

editorials

arts

from Venue’s co-editors

Is it just me, or are you finding that this semester is absolutely flying by? I can’t believe we’re already settling into the middle of November!

Personally, I’m a bit of a sucker for living by the changing seasons, so have recently been loving listening to Hozier as I battle the rain with my dodgy umbrella (think frazzled English woman aesthetic), cooking every possible soup variation, baking copious amounts of crumble (which you can see a recipe of on the back page!), collecting chestnuts in the woods to roast, and decorating my room with a dried orange garland. On one hand these might all simply be forms of procrastination (they are), but on the other, I find through romanticising even the drabbest day, I make my life just that tiny bit nicer.

Anyways, Tee and I do hope that you enjoy this issue of Venue, and make sure to wrap up warm, be kind to yourself, and buy yourself a better umbrella than mine! x

- Millie Smith-Clare @millie.s.c | she/her

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Disco Dick at the Minotaur Theatre, Baby Queen at the Adrian Flux Waterfront, Earth as Alive at the Sainsbury Centre.

books

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Rediscovering the Joy of Reading at University, 100 Years of Judith Kerr: The Dark Side Behind Children’s Fiction, Book Review: Ridley Walker by Russell Hoban, Supporting Women’s Rights and Wrongs in ‘Divorce Literature’, What are our Editors Currently Reading?

creative writing

You and I, Progress, What Makes Me ‘Me’, Bertha, Brave, Bold and Funny.

(This issue’s Creative Writing prompt was to explain the world as you see it).

fashion

In her journals, Sylvia Plath wrote of November’s “crispy frosty” nights, “the lights dry and bright against the hard black edges of the dark” – I think it sums up this season quite perfectly.

As the leaves are now finally starting to turn brown, the days are cold enough to wrap up warm in big coats and scarves, and festive magic is beginning to seep into the air, this bridge between Autumn and Winter is the time of the year to allow yourself time to be kind to yourself, to be cosy, and to rest.

Just like the trees and the bears going into hibernation, it’s only natural to wind down and let life catch up with you a bit before the new year begins.

As Millie said – soups, crumbles and cosiness are the way to go! We hope you enjoy this issue, there’s so many amazing articles this issue, and the team have worked really hard to bring it all together x

- Tshequa Williams @lifeinateecup | she/her

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12

Fashion in the Film Industry, The Textile Industry of Old, Spotlight on Maria Grazia Chiuri, Fashion of the Forties.

film

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Five Nights at Freddy’s – Horror Film of the Year?, Scorsese’s Harrowing New Masterpiece, Cat Person Film Review, The Hunger Games Trilogy: The YA Adaptation that Got it Right.

tv

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A Love Letter for BBC’s Ghosts, The Downfall of the Weekly Release, FX’s The Bear, The One Where We Say Goodbye: Thank you Matthew Perry.

music

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Taf Royale: From UEA Graduate to a Rising Star in the Music Industry, easy life sued for copyright infringement, The Beatles are Back for One Last Time.

what’s on ISSUE 397 | TUESDAY 14TH NOVEMBER 2023 FRONT COVER CREDIT: The Met (Public Domain)

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Upcoming Christmas Markets for all your gift finding, Norwich Festive Lights Switch-On, and what’s on at the theatre. Plus a cosy fruit crumble recipe to help ease you into the winter months!

our section editors arts editor: Lily Glenn @lilyglenn1 | she/her

“Hi! I’m a second year English Literature Student.

You’ll also find me as the Social Sec for the Creative Writing Society! I’m looking forward to reading your submissions”

arts editor: Sara Budzinska @_sarabudzinska_ | she/her

“I am a second year English Literature and Creative Writing student. As well as books, art and musicals, I love volleyball and swimming. I’m tremendously excited to work with some great writers and publish some amazing articles this year :))”

books editor: Sophie Handyside @maysbooks | she/her/they

“I’m Sophie May, a third year Literature and History student from the Southwest countryside. You will never find me without a coffee and a book! Contact me via Instagram (above) for recommendations, reviews, or a chat.”

creative writing editor: Will Muncer @will_writes_stuff | they/them “Hi I’m Will. I’m a third year Creative Writing and English Literature student who loves film, comics and audio dramas.

After uni, I’d love to break into the comics industry!”

fashion editor: Caitlin Bennett she/her

“I’m Caitlin, a first year Natural Sciences student. I am very passionate about writing and enjoy conveying meaningful, creative stories. In a previous life, I delivered several babies, having began my journey at UEA on the midwifery course. I am excited to work with you on all the Fashion articles and news this year!”

film editor: Ore Adeyoola @ore.adeyoola | she/her

“Hi! I’m Ore, this year’s film editor :) I’m a third year Media Studies student who loves all things pop culture read more of my writing on my Instagram (above).”

tv editor: Lucy Potter @lucyclairepotter | she/her

“I’m Lucy, and I study Broadcast and Multimedia Journalism.

I am also Head of Tech for Livewire1350, and a Publicity Secretary for UEA Ballet. Personally, I love writing about theatre, and of course TV - my favourite shows are Our Flag Means Death and Taskmaster!!”

music editor: Lily Taylor @lilypt27 | she/her

“I’m Lily and I’m a third year English Literature with Creative Writing Student. I’m a big music fan who is an avid gig-goer and loves playing guitar.”

arts

3 arts editors: Sara Budzinska & Lily Glenn PHOTO CREDIT: MINOTAUR THEATRE

Disco Dick at the Minotaur Theatre

By Lily Glenn

T

he Minotaur Theatre returned in October with Disco Dick, a raucous play written and directed by third year undergrad Charlotte D’Angelo.

With a run time of about 90 minutes (interval inclusive), the comedy has a small company, with just five people making up the cast. The play is about the disastrous coming-out of Fran (Eloise Sladden) as a lesbian over family lunch with her parents and grandmother.

PHOTO CREDIT: MINOTAUR THEATRE

All of the casting decisions were great, each actor seem very comfortable with comedy. Lucy Matthes took on the difficult role of Grandma Jeanette, delivering her lines with a hilarious monotone that really brought out the dramatic irony of much of her dialogue. Sladden as Fran, and Harriet Pringle as mum Emma, captured a particularly turbulent mother-daughter dynamic that was integral to the play’s themes of growing-up and the independence needed to find who you are in life. The two actors who really shone throughout the performance, though, were Nehemiah Bekele as dad Simon, and Daisy Dolan as Fran’s girlfriend, Clara. Bekele was truly a scene stealer as the man-child father, attempting to stand on a chair despite his crippling fear of heights (it makes sense in context, I swear) with some spectacularly convincing sobbing, whilst a scene involving Simon having to do an interesting take on press ups had the whole audience roaring with laughter.

Meanwhile, Dolan gave an impressively convincing and emotionally varied performance, despite having fewer lines than the rest of the cast. Her physical comedy was very funny, while her portrayal of Clara’s feelings of betrayal after finding out Fran wasn’t planning on introducing her as her girlfriend to her parents at any point, were spot on.

I do think D’Angelo’s choice to have Clara in Fran’s room by herself for such a large part of the play under-utilised her as a character and Dolan as an actor, although the use of split staging allowed for a few good comedic moments where a spotlight shone on Clara after a particular line of

dialogue was spoken over family lunch -, for example, when Jeanette asks Fran what she had been ‘doing’ all year. The staging overall was a little hit or miss; having Clara crawl out red-faced and panting from under the duvet at the start of the show, revealing she had been there for a good 5-10 minutes whilst the audience was getting seated, was a great choice for beginning the play. On the other hand, some of the delivery at the start of the second act was slightly inaudible due to staging choices and there were multiple glaring inconsistencies with the layout of the house, with actors deciding the walls and doors were all in different places.

My biggest gripe with the play, though, has to do with its understanding of genre and farce; the main qualities of farcical comedy are absurdity, exaggeration, and often improbability, however, the crux of farce is that it is still portraying real people making more or less justifiably realistic choices. In my opinion, the second half of Disco Dick completely loses these elements that it retained throughout the whole of the first half.

The play spirals into a chaotic hysteria that becomes increasingly exhausting and overwhelmingly one-note, with the plot zigzagging endlessly between conflict and resolution and characters deciding to do things for seemingly no reason other than adding to the deliriousness. For me, the writing of the second half of the play seemed like it needed another draft, but the first half was very enjoyable and the standard of acting remained good throughout.

arts

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Baby Queen at the Adrian Flux Waterfront

By Eve Colabella

D

*cw – mentions of mental illness and eating disorders*

espite being a self-professed “Buzzkill,” Baby Queen’s performance at Norwich’s Waterfront was far from being a downer. Perhaps most associated with her heavy participation in the soundtrack of Netflix’s Heartstopper, the South African, alt-pop musician is touring her second album Quarter Life Crisis, released on the 10 November 2023. After pushing back her album’s release date, and Norwich being only the second night of her tour (before the album was out), we were treated to performances of her unreleased music, combined with her previous, well-known anthems creating a setlist that was as exciting as it was memorable.

The support-act set the tone for the evening: American indie sleaze artist Viji and her band. Viji’s grungy sound vibrated through the dark, intimate space of the venue, and was reminiscent of the alternative bands of the 90s.

The raw clamour of her music felt highly nostalgic to the local indie gigs of my teenage years, and this call-back to adolescence was a theme that persisted throughout the entire concert.

The tumultuous, emotional narrative of Baby Queen’s setlist began with the titular track of her album, ‘Quarter Life Crisis’. Its lyrics are riddled with self-doubt and pure terror at the process of growing older, whereas its sound is bright, poppy, and energetic.

This marriage between dark relatability and catchiness makes Baby Queen’s live experience incredibly cathartic for somebody blindly navigating the beginning years of their 20s. There is something very liberating about jumping around to songs about burnout and the fear of dying alone.

The smaller venue created a higher sense of connectivity throughout the crowd, and this comfort blanket of shared experiences was only made to feel more personal by Baby Queen’s interactive stage presence.

Whether it was singing directly into the phone camera of an audience member, climbing off of the stage to dance amongst the crowd, or leading a raucous rendition of Happy Birthday for her drummer, Max, (complete with a birthday cake and candles) it was impossible to feel disconnected from Baby Queen as a performer. It’s like we were watching a live-action screening of her adolescent diary, an insight into her inner world from the position of a close confidante.

This high level of emotional intimacy naturally brought about moments of heart-rending poignancy. One standout performance was an unreleased track from the new album, ‘a letter to myself at 17’, which was played solo by Baby Queen on an acoustic guitar under a fixed spotlight. She preceded the song by explaining its context: her struggles with depression, disordered eating, and unhealthy friendship in her later teenage years. Therefore, it was unsurprising that this track was deeply moving, and offered a change in tone from her other, more cynical, tongue-in-cheek songs in the set.

Her infectious, upbeat energy was revived with the encore at the end of the show. Baby Queen returned to the stage in a burst of pink flashing lights and thunderous guitar, which shifted into ‘Want Me’, recognisable for its feature as the opening song in Season 1 of Heartstopper. Again, only Baby Queen can make a room jump along in ecstasy to a song about the dark themes of delusion and unrequited love. Her final song offered a more optimistic note. The epitome of queer joy, Baby Queen ended her set with ‘We Can Be Anything’, another of her Heartstopper hits. The room was dancing in a glow of rainbow lights as Baby Queen led the crowd in a chant of

PHOTO CREDIT: UNSPLASH

PHOTO CREDIT: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

“We can be anything – That’s awesome, don’t you think?,” finishing her wild, emotional progression with a message of unwavering hope for the future.

PHOTO CREDIT: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

arts

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Earth as alive at the Sainsbury Centre

By Eve Attwood Sediment Spirit is on display at the Sainsbury Centre now until 31 March 2024.

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he Sainsbury Centre’s latest addition to its Planet For Our Future season, ‘Sediment Spirit: The Activation of Art in the Anthropocene’, is open, taking a modern, interactive approach to the conversation surrounding climate change.

With artworks spanning the 1960s to the present day, Sediment Spirit ‘urgently addresses the impacts of human-made climate change’ including ‘geological matter, from minerals, rocks, plants and animals (sediment), and the intangible spiritual quality of arts and material cultures (spirit)’. Curated by John Kenneth Paranada, the first Curator of Art and Climate Change at a UK museum, this exhibition combines local and international artworks which respond to the climate crisis and all its complexities.

The exhibition considers the effects of climate change from all angles, with the Planet For Our Future programme itself employing a low-carbon strategy to produce the least amount of waste possible from its exhibitions. The Sainsbury Centre have also pledged that all products made for Sediment Spirit are reused and recycled, a drive to help create a sustainable future.

Sediment Spirit focused a lot on making art as accessible and interactive as possible, using interactive works by artist Henry Driver in his ‘Secrets of Soil’ series. It uses multiple screens, as well as one linked to an Xbox controller to trace the life of microscopic beings and the microbiology of soil. Viewers are able to watch in real time the vital role ecosystems play in sustaining the earth, enabling vegetation to grow. I found myself absorbed in the interactive game, watching the cascade of bright colours across the screen which you could pan in and out of with the Xbox controller.

This addition will be great for children and is a perfect way of combining new technology with scientific research.

There are also a number of sculptures and paintings which explore the themes of human interference and consumption.

The first pieces that caught my eye were Salvador Arancio’s ceramic sculptures which explore ‘the unseen and the unknown’.

One of my favourites by Arancio, Leafy Hands, depicts two hands – one holding what looks to be a stack of leaves but could equally be a hand holding a stack of man-made rubbish which has moulded together to appear as leaves, and the other hand covered in leaves which have a marine-like quality to them, as if the hand was formed from the depths of the ocean.

Another which particularly stood out to me was Anj Smith’s Desert Epochs (2014), a painting depicting ‘the state of environmental deterioration in the natural world’ shaping ‘awareness of the transformation of landscapes’. I liked the idea of nature being ‘a character not to be conquered but to be seen, respected and conversed with’. This ties in with the Sainsbury Centre’s message about art being alive. In their Living Art - East End display, has the same concept, where visitors walk inside a glass display case and experience embodying the art.

There are also plenty of short films to watch, criticises the poisonous effects of capitalism on the environment and community, and discussing how capitalism and colonialism have been long term drivers of climate change, exploiting natural resources for personal gain.

These are some but not all of the incredible artworks on display, so if you’re on campus or in the Norwich area, I would thoroughly recommend visiting the exhibition yourself. If you’re keen to visit another exhibition which similarly discusses climate change and the role we play in our planet’s future, check out the Sainsbury Centre’s The Stuff of Life | The Life of Stuff.

PHOTO CREDITS: EVE ATTWOOD

books

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books editor: Sophie Handyside

Rediscovering the Joy of Reading at University

PHOTO CREDIT: Credit

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PHOTO CREDIT: UNSPLASH

By Michael Athey

or most students, spending our evenings reading doesn’t cross our minds. Why would I want to read for so-called ‘pleasure’, when picking up a book after a long stint in a seminar, the library, or lab, feels like the opposite of pleasurable? Netflix, iPlayer, and Disney+ instead rule the roost. It is an odd reality. A love of reading is why I picked literature to study in the first place. Yet, due to the workload and reading we already have to do at university, particularly for myself and other humanities students, odd or not, it is the reality.

However, this last year before starting my master’s here, I fell back in love with reading, and I have continued to read consistently despite returning to academia. It is largely down to a neat Japanese phenomenon known as tsundoku.

It refers to the collecting of a to-beread pile of books. Here in the UK, I think there’s a negative association with having a TBR pile - not least one that keeps on growing, seeming to indicate a waste of space, money, and a failure to read. In Japan, however, there is no shame associated with the action.

They embrace it as an acceptance of all the knowledge we are yet to learn and most importantly that owning books is a step closer to eventually reading them than owning none is.

Thinking about this Japanese phrase helped me begin to break down two of the biggest barriers that were preventing me from reading. Firstly was the notion I had to be reading high-brow literature, likely a consequence of academic studying. Ask anyone who has tried to read Ulysses, they will tell you that not all classics are page-turners. Tsundoku reminded me that life is too short to read books you don’t want to read. Don’t read books out of peer pressure of what you ‘should be’ reading; read what you want to read. Love all books, literary warts, and all. Even if that means reading a Jack Reacher now and then.

second-hand shops and libraries are a great alternative. Tsundoku has taken away some of the stigma of having a tobe-read pile and reminded me at the end of the day that picking up a book and reading might just be pleasurable after all.

Realising this also helped me combat the feeling that I couldn’t begin a new book until I’d finished the previous one. There would be books I wanted to read that would go neglected because I had sworn to slog my way through a cumbersome one.

Now I’m quick to toss books that don’t keep my attention. In actuality though, stopping to start another book that has taken my fancy has ultimately meant I’m not only reading more but reading wider. Whether it is fiction or nonfiction, literary or commercial, I follow my whims.

Ultimately, I am less daunted to begin reading, because I know I don’t have to finish it.

I’d encourage tsundoku for any current weary readers. It can be admittedly expensive, as my wallet has realised from repeated visits to the BookHive. However,

PHOTO CREDIT: UNSPLASH

books

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100 Years of Judith Kerr The Dark Side Behind Children’s Fiction

W

hen I recall the bedtimes of my early years, tucked in by a long-suffering parent who was often called upon to read Judith Kerr’s childhood classic The Tiger Who Came To Tea,

the Nazis are not what come to mind.

Especially not in connection with the mischievous, hungry tiger.

There has been persistent speculation over what exactly lies behind Kerr’s beloved tale. Both children’s authors, Michael Rosen, and Ruth Fielding, who produced the 2019 animation of Kerr’s story, have proposed potential darker readings. They have suggested the unexpected dinner guest, who turns young Sophie and her mother’s house upside down in his quest for food, is a symbol of the destructive threat of Nazism.

In March 1933, Kerr was nine years old, and federal elections were being held in Germany. In their pre-election campaign, the Nazi Party employed its Sturmabteilung against its foes to deadly effect. As the stormtroopers began violently disrupting trade unions, Social Democrat and Communist Party meetings, and breaking into members’ houses, the Kerr family got wind of rumours concerning Judith’s father, Alfred. A famous theatre critic and essayist, Alfred had not kept his criticisms of the Nazi Party quiet, and should the Nazis win, they had plans to confiscate his passport and arrest him.

By Amelie Rodger Joseph Goebbels himself had said Alfred Kerr would be one of the first shot.

The Kerr family wasted no time in making their escape. On the morning of the election, Judith left behind her family home for the safety of Switzerland, narrowly escaping the stormtroopers who raided their home the following morning.

Not unlike the tiger? He certainly does raid Sophie’s home. The house is left in havoc, the fridge and cupboards emptied, the water gone. There’s an unquestionable parallel with the life of a refugee: no food, no hot water; one’s home, and hearth violated.

I suppose this all boils down to growing up and the gradual discovery that life’s dark matter often lurks behind the sunniest of our childhood enjoyments. While Kerr herself insisted the tale was merely a means to entertain her daughter, inspired by their trips to the London Zoo, how are we supposed to reconcile the trauma of the author’s childhood with her work, as returning adult readers?

Honestly? I don’t have the answer. But what I can admire was Kerr’s ability to create a story affording comfort and joy for her daughter - along with generations of other children - despite the real-world darkness that may or may not have lurked behind its inspiration.

PHOTO CREDIT: SOPHIE HANDYSIDE

Book Review: Riddley Walker

by Russell Hoban

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hen I was put onto the Imaginary Endings: British Fiction and the Apocalypse Fiction module this semester, I was initially thrown off track by the reading list, not immediately recognising many of the titles. I asked around, and other people seemed to prick their ears at the mention of Russel Hoban’s 1980 novel Riddley Walker. Cross-generationally, it is adored.

Everyone, without fail, mentioned the writing style. It is, to give it one word, striking.

PHOTO: UNSPLASH PHOTO CREDIT: UNSPLASH

A stark departure from the majority of postapocalyptic literature, Riddley Walker is told entirely in a futuristic phonetic pidgin dialect. During my reading, I greatly enjoyed showing my friends a page of the book and watching the sudden burst of confusion take over as they scanned the text. I found it imperative to listen to an audiobook alongside my reading of it. It unveils how much it is something being told to you, directly, as an epic would be delivered around a fire. It’s perfect for fans of experimental or streamof-consciousness writing, or anyone with an interest in language.

By Harper Day Pope

The story centers around the eponymous Riddley Walker and his interactions with the religious sect that has formed around unearthed relics from an old world lost to nuclear war. My favourite element of this lies in the telling of the stories - puppet shows, in which the audiobook narrator excelled in his performance.

Its legacy can be seen throughout contemporary post-apocalyptic publication; the middle segment of David Mitchell’s epistolary novel Cloud Atlas for instance is written in much the same style (likely a homage to Riddley), and Emily St John Mandel’s Station Eleven contains hints of its performance-focus in the form of an acting company traveling through an post-apocalyptic world.

Riddley Walker is perfect for anyone looking for a classic post-apocalyptic novel, especially one with speculative fiction elements and a strong sense of worldbuilding based on reality.

books

8

Supporting Women’s Rights and Women’s Wrongs in ‘Divorce Literature’

By Sophie Handyside

T

he Gone Girl monologue. Amy Adams or Nicole Kidman as a nervous mother.

A looming figure in the neighbour’s window.

Reese Witherspoon’s production company, ‘Hello Sunshine’.

Wrapping a cardigan across your chest on the doorstep as the police report your husband’s ‘disappearance’.

Many will consider these images as the epitome of the domestic thriller genre; I call it ‘divorced women’s literature’.

Never heard of it? Neither had I, until a man went viral on TikTok with over 5 million views for wearing a hat with the slogan “I am a fan of Women’s Divorce Fiction”. Interviewed atop the Empire State Building in New York, Charles Hsu raves about books situated within the domestic sphere weaving narratives through infidelity, family secrets, mysterious disappearances, and financial trouble.

The question as to whether the genre is describing the readership or the easily parodied protagonist is unclear, yet I’d like to argue if it is the former, I must be a newly divorced woman.

Charles’ fame saw him interviewed on the ‘Brutally Honest Books’ podcast, curating a beginner’s guide to the genre.

“A troubled marriage and a murder is a good indicator”, he claims, to finding the best-divorced women’s text, and continues to recommend his top ten domestic, and psychological thrillers.

PHOTO CREDIT: UNSPLASH

Gone Girl and Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn are notable culprits for this genre and are widely regarded as the best. Now

both adapted into film and television, Flynn ticks all the boxes for ‘divorced women’s fiction’ with disappearances, unhappy marriages, and disturbing murders, all centered within the home and community.

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng and Big Little Lies by Lianne Moriarty, both produced by Hello Sunshine, concern the trials and tribulations of motherhood, while The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks, The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins and My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing do, essentially, what they say on the tin.

When asked where his love for ‘divorced women’s fiction’ came from, Charles quick-wittingly replies “I came out of the womb holding a copy of Dark Places.”

But where has this sudden rise in ‘divorce fiction’ come from? The domestic thriller genre is nothing new, with the premise of infidelity and mistrust appearing in texts like The Awakening by Kate Chopin (1899), Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier (1938), and Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth (1905).

The growing popularity of this genre is arguably grounded in our ever-changing social environment. Where The Awakening was censored and shunned in 1900 for a noncompliant protagonist who defied marital expectations, readers of the twenty-first century applaud Amy Dunne’s intricate plan to frame her husband as guilty for her ‘death’.

Despite it being a largely white author-dominated genre, praise for the psychologically disturbed women, capable of murdering husbands, has been cultivated online. As far as supporting women’s rights is concerned, to enjoy the ‘divorced women’s’ genre, you must simultaneously support women’s wrongs.

What Are Our Editors Currently Reading?

Millie is Currently Reading: Dracula by Bram Stoker After visiting Whitby Abbey over the summer, I picked up a copy of this spooky classic. Dracula is an epistolary novel opening with Jonathon Harker who has been invited on business to stay with Count Dracula. It’s an incredibly atmospheric read for these cold, dark days.

Tshequa is Currently Reading: Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors Cleopatra and Frankenstein is a witty story about Cleo, an artsy 24-year-old woman struggling for money and a visa after graduating from her graduate programme. She meets Frank, twenty years older, and the two embark on an impulsive marriage, changing their lives, and the lives of those close to them, forever.

creative writing

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creative writing editor: Will Muncer

You and I

J

PHOTO CREDIT: UPSPLASH PHOTO CREDIT: UNSPLASH

By Max Wrigley

ust after 6am, my phone lights up.

Even though I’ve barely woken up, I still answer it as I can’t let you go to voicemail again.

You’ve been there once already with my ‘do not disturb’ automation not finishing until 7am. A second call straight after the first from the same number cancels it for that contact. Despite being half asleep, I still manage to break a smile when I say ‘morning gorgeous/beautiful/ babe’ (which changes depending on what I feel like saying).

Realistically, you’re all those to me.

For years, people have said ‘there’s someone out there for everyone’ and ‘you’ll just know when you’ve found the right one’, and I didn’t believe them.

Now, I do. From the night I first saw you, despite it being pitch black, I knew you were the one for me. Why else would we have previously argued and somehow still carried on talking after a brief fall out if we weren’t meant to be together?

It’s irritating that we’ve been talking for just under ten months, and most would say that it’s too long for the talking stage. But would I want to swap you for someone who works days and rushes the talking stage for it to go pear-shaped in the space of a few months after we start dating? One word, two letters. As irritating as the length of time is, I know we both want this to work. And it will - because you do what my backstabbing ex-best mate didn’t communicate about

problems instead of opposite direction.

running

in

the

Thanks to him, when I came to uni, I couldn’t trust anyone. It was bad enough starting the foundation year in the pandemic and then moving into the city centre in 2021. Making friends was hard enough as it was without having PTSD, telling me that they’re gonna backstab me, like what my ex-best mate did. Thanks to you, that self-built brick wall is slowly being demolished. If I can trust you and eventually be as close to you as I was to him, I’ll realise that not everyone is like him.

“Thanks to you, that self-built brick wall is slowly being demolished”

Every morning you phone me, I wish we could live together so you wouldn’t need to phone me as much. I’d love to be downstairs when you come home so I can try and beat the dog in being the first one to see you. He might beat me to begin with, but I’ll beat him eventually. Just like I made it my mission to publish my first book by the time I graduate from uni, I’ll make it my new mission to beat him.

When I do see your contact appear on my phone or, better yet, see you, I smile knowing you definitely complete me. Who says they can’t have their first relationship in their twenties? If only there isn’t something in between us that is stopping me from having you in my arms. One day, baby, one day. You and I forever.

PHOTO CREDIT: UNSPLASH

creative writing

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Progress By Ellie Dharamraj

H

e was from what we know as The Otherworld. They don’t often come out here; in fact, he was the first one of them that I had ever seen.

My friends and family hid as he walked the path through my village; a glass bowl on his head and a suit of tubes, buttons and science like a twisted, contorted monster, or an octopus. He saw me, watching him from the window and approached me slowly, hesitantly as though I may scurry off like a rat into my hole. His skin was different than ours, thicker and more saturated. He regarded me with contempt.

The man continued forcefully and slowly, as though assuming I could not understand.

He announced that more of his people were following, crossing the border as he spoke. They intended to finally breach the gap between our lives, to educate us, to enrich us. They claimed to have an abundance of food, water, arts and music; all things he implied we did not.

Absentmindedly, I found myself reaching for a fruit bowl on the window ledge. One that my grandmother had carved for my mother, who in turn had passed it down to me.

This place was very different from The Haven; destitute and miserable. When the virus had hit, my ancestors had been amongst the lucky ones to afford a certain level of safety that many could not; amongst those many were her ancestors.

She was a pale girl, but they all were.

Their skin so thin you could see the veins. “Woot you wa-hnt?” she croaked as I neared, in their animalistic, uneducated dialect. I could not blame her for this.

They weren’t privy to the luxuries I had been granted. “I want to bring you my culture,” I responded loudly, my gesture to be known to the entire village.

I finished my speech. Nothing filled me with more pride than my accomplishment at uniting our two, very different, worlds.

I would be the one to save these creatures who, I believed, were not so different from my own.

“So,” I asked, “You want to take our lives away and replace them with your version?” I asked him. His shit-eating grin faltered for a moment. In our homes he saw mud huts, in our faces he saw savages, in our lives he saw ‘difference’.

I took the bowl and smashed it against his helmet. Air that gave us life, air he wasn’t evolved enough to breathe, filled his lungs and took his away.

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What Makes Me ‘Me’

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By Alya Lumnack

hat makes me ‘me’ you ask? I’ve been asked this question before.

So many times, in so many different ways. All with their own nuances, inflections on the words in the situations we find ourselves.

To those people my first answer is writer, author, novelist. ‘Published?’ they ask.

Not yet I say and that is the next thing that makes me ‘me’. I am a dreamer, reaching for things that I cannot even see. Cannot even fully comprehend. Too buried in my dreaming, so far down deep it’s become maladaptive. A crutch, a reliance to get me through each day, each hour, each minute. Somewhere for me to escape, to hide from reality. But my dreaming gives me my stories and so I write again, still hoping to get published. One day soon or the next.

The second thing I say is a student. At university, yes, I say, I am a student at thirty. Yes, I’m a university student and yes, I’m thirty. But that’s okay, it’s an oddity I know and while you think it’s a waste of time, psychology is an interesting topic. Why psychology?

You inevitably ask. I will point you to my first answer. But isn’t that selfish?

Psychology is about helping others. An actual reply I have had. They’d be correct

and I guess it tells you a bit more about what makes me ‘me’, but I have a question for you. How can I help when I need help?

I recognise my faults, my flaws and this is my way of working on them. You don’t see it that way, you say. Perhaps not, but then again you are not I and there are things you may door say that I don’t see your way. My path might not be the normal route. But really, who’s to say what’s normal?

A third thing about what makes me ‘me’, is my attachment to other people. Or lack thereof. It’s a tricky thing when it comes to dreaming, you lose track of reality, of the people around. Don’t get me wrong I wish for connection and somewhere inside I miss it. That’s why the second thing is so important. Because the first is what I was and the second is what I’m working on.

And finally, I hope all of the above will lead me to be okay with just being me.

“But really, who’s to say what’s normal?”

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creative writing

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Bertha By Fiona Hill

I

watch myself, another Ms. Mason, born in the confines, Of an attic drenched in the coy scent of an evening, Growing balmy like the sinking of my skin, A cut comb honey seeping in. I find it still, By sallow sticky patches upon my fingertips, I dream of madwomen owning mad lips, That cannot speak like the mouths of men, but kiss, In patterns marking ghosts upon the walls, In red, we look more like animals? If not ladies, If not waiting, if not pacing these floors, Ha! They only see hysteria through locked doors, Daylight brings the rectitude of windows, woods, The moors. I hardly hear a soul fromwas it then?

Those weeks before that year. I let all the eyes, I’d ever felt, Fall. But he gathered them in an honest spoken theft, Awake I count the times before I’ve been bereft, On stars that make their minds like spirits, The genesis of the unrest. I learn to spin, My way in darkness, escorted by that

bitter twang, Of memory that weaves its name in every yell, And I am not surprised that mankind fell, As between each beat of breath he missed, The catalyst of a hundred sorrows I caught, Hives of them. Wore them like I couldn’t feel, My morphing shape, my form another, a fiction, To muffled cackles, the fireplace snaps out my eviction, Glory be a new age. The old ways fade in and out, Of view like sleep. I start to speak, his face, Pales at the silhouette of sin, resting, Within his arms, coiled as a serpent, Mere minutes before my living verged on fervent, Desire, so misplaced, moving then I played with fire...

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Brave, Bold and Funny By Plum Bristow

I

see myself as a brave person who can take risks, and I know this because when I perform comedy, there are a few scary moments after telling a joke. It is about the tension and the risk that the joke might not work or be funny. Temporarily, I have no power, I am afraid vulnerable, and I cannot breathe. Then, one by one, I see faces change, and I know my words have landed and been understood. I am rewarded by the buzz that the laughter brings and the feeling of being a brave, bold, funny woman.

“...there are a few scary moments after telling a joke...”

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fashion editor: Caitlin Bennett

Fashion in the Film Industry

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By Lizzie Bray ashion in film can be just as telling as the dialogue of the characters themselves. Little Women (2019) for example, albeit critiqued for the wardrobe not being historically accurate, have costumes which are nothing short of stunning; embodying each sisters personality and wants in life.

Fashion in film is more than a physical insight into the world of the character.

Yes, we can tell social status, wealth, profession, and trends by the decade from clothing but there is always a ‘why’ behind that specific piece; the colour, the shape, whether a cardigan is of sheer material or chunky knit - it can psychologically shift the audiences experience of the film.

In Little Women, younger Jo would not want to share clothes with her sisters who adorn pastels and pinks but rather, share jackets and waistcoats of reds and blues with Laurie. Jo March in a floral, puff sleeve, tight waistline gown, is not Jo March. The clothes represent the intimacy of Jo’s friendship with Laurie, carrying a piece of each other even when they’re apart, sharing with him rather her sisters; arguably, a representation of kindred spirits.

The costume in Little Women, are also phenomenal easter eggs to the character psychology. We are reminded again and again that “women, they have minds…” and Jo March’s overpowering trait is

her carnal need to be more than what was expected from women in the 1800’s.

Hence, slipping in male pieces into Jo’s wardrobe shows her desire to be taken as seriously as a man would be.

The people behind these meticulous wardrobe choices are the artists behind the canvas.

People like Colleen Atwood who created the looks of Sweeney Todd and the 2010 remake of Alice in Wonderland, assimilated the dark yet eccentric world of Tim Burton beautifully.

Fashion in film could not happen without the mention of Edith Head, who dressed the likes of Ginger Rogers and Elizabeth Taylor. Less known is her influence on The Incredibles character, Edna Mode, she is without a doubt a cornerstone of fashion in the film industry.

Another character deviant of an iconic protagonist is captured in the essence of Miranda Priestly. The Devil does indeed Wear Prada in this shrine to the biggest fashion houses of New York City. The clothes covered everything from Manolo Blahnik to Calvin Klein, and for the record I did ‘sell my soul to the devil when I saw my first pair of Jimmy Choo’s’.

The hundred shades of almost worldshattering pink is the work of Jacqueline Durran in Barbie (notably, working on Little Women as well). The oversized jewellery and the coordinating outfit pieces are all an homage to Barbie’s defining characteristics. As Durran calls it, ‘you don’t treat Barbie like a regular character, the motivation for what she’s wearing isn’t from within; what she wears is where she’s going and what she’s doing’.

On this theme of pink, we cannot help but mention some rom-com hall-of-famers like Legally Blonde and her hundred shades of Dolce & Gabbana. One thing this hypothetical Harvard Law School graduate taught us, is that you really can wear pink any day of the week – not just Wednesdays.

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The Textile Industry of Old: Stepping into Norwich’s History

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By Caitlin Bennett

here is a reason why we love the ancient city we live in. Secret alleyways, flint lined and ages old; hidden streets below buildings, out of sight but still appreciated today; a castle on the hill from the 11th century, now a museum preserving history and telling the stories of our past to bring the past to life. Norwich is the most complete medieval city in England, leaving decades of history within the city.

The Norwich market, despite being moved in location, is around 900 years old, still a bustle of energy and trading today, home to around 200 stalls. It was also home to a booming textile industry, with a large manufacturer called Stannard & Taylor, according to author Dr Michael Nix. Norwich traded goods with Europe and

the Stannard & Taylor’s stocks were sent as far as Russia, Italy and Spain. This supply chain depended on a continental effort for communication with agents, traders and bankers spread far and wide.

One of the best ways to connect with Norwich’s history is through the Castle Museum, Stranger’s Hall and other museum spaces and showrooms across the city.

To put a well-deserved spotlight on one charity which celebrates the rich history of the city is The Shoebox Experience, who have sadly had to end their time at 21-23 Castle Meadow, but are still running tours for the short-term future.

Their experiences and tours come highly recommended, and they teach about a certain company who held a shop in Castle Meadow in the 1860’s.

Pond’s Shoe Shop was a beloved store in Norwich, who occupied 21-23, and opened in 1861 by James Pond, starting just with number 21, where the factory was built and then buying number 22 and 23 to expand.

In the early days there was no shop, but once opened by 1900, it was the largest shoe factory in the city. One of the most unique facts about the establishment is the X-ray mechanism they used to fit the shoes, prior to knowledge of the damage caused by the radiation; and the machine was used until the 70’s.

For more information on the history of Norwich, please visit the Shoebox Experience and enjoy one of the large selection of tours from ghosts, to monarchs, to fashion - Norwich, onceupon-a-time, was home to them all.

Spotlight on Maria Grazia Chiuri

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elebrating, showcasing, and understanding femininity has become one of the biggest inspirations for fashion designers since the 1990s, and one designer continuing to champion this is Maria Grazia Chiuri, the creative director of Dior.

In 1989, following her studies at the Istituto Europeo di Design in Rome, Chiuri started her career designing handbags for Fendi, in which she helped to develop the iconic baguette bag. The baguette bag is one of Fendi’s top products after being featured in HBO’s Sex in the City, and eventually led to the purchasing of Fendi

by Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) in 1999. Chiuri then went on to join fashion house Valentino in 1999 where she was responsible for accessory lines. After 9 years at the brand, Chiuri was appointed as the artistic co-director alongside Pierpaolo Piccioli, where they managed to redesign and grow the brand to $1 billion in revenue in 2015.

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In 2016, Chiuri was appointed as the artistic director for women’s collections at Christian Dior, which included both haute couture and ready-to-wear. The appointment of Chiuri as a full creative director following the departure of Raf Simons made her the first woman in the brand’s history to hold this title since its creation in 1946. This is one of the

By Jasmin Knock main reasons for Chiuri’s strong feministbased designs and collections, which have included feminist references, such as the title of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s essay ‘We Should All Be Feminists’ in her Spring 2017 collection at Paris Fashion Week.

Chiuri has worked with and invited many committed artists to help present her collections during her time at Dior, as she believes they represent an important part of feminism.

Chiuri’s main reason for using feminist inspiration within her designs also stems from her belief that as new generations continue to question issues surrounding gender, race, and the environment, this needs to be reflected within the fashion industry and more specifically within designs themselves.

However, Chiuri has not always been met with open arms surrounding her strong use of feminist inspiration, for Dior since its creation in 1946, had always been based on a traditional silhouette and romanticised version of womanhood.

Chiuri’s work in pioneering feminism in the fashion industry and her role in Dior is extremely inspiring for young female designers and I hope that we will see more women being promoted into powerful roles such as creative director in the future.

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Fashion of the Forties

By Caitlin Bennett

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n 1939, war broke out across Europe, and many people had to sacrifice the everyday luxuries and necessities to fuel the war efforts and conserve resources. For this reason, a year later the government in Britain enforced rationing, initially for staple foods such as meats and dairy, to curb food shortages and allow for equal distribution of supplies.

Following on from this in the summer of 1941, clothes and garments were also rationed, and this continued for four years after the war had ended. Despite this restriction on the fashion of the forties, retailers still reached out to the general public to purchase their clothes, and even tried harder to push sales than they did pre-war. As is expected, the fashion world changed to reflect the massive changes in society and the world. Despite the changes, individuality and style endured the forties, and people still found ways to express themselves through fashion.

The greatest impact the war had over fashion in the fourties’ is that practicality became essential to everyday pieces.

Even handbags were manufactured to be suitable to hold gas masks! An increase in white clothing was used to make nighttime ventures safer; with the rising need for blackouts across British cities, white clothes made people more visible at night without adequate lighting in cars and streets. The war even gave rise to one piece body suits which were the best solution to needing to evacuate homes quickly, without being amongst strangers in pyjamas.

There were also Austerity Regulations that enforced a non-wasteful approach to the production of clothes: with double breasted bans, double cuff bans, and pocket number restrictions.

At this time of the year, it is of great importance, in honour of Remembrance, to appreciate all sacrifices made during all war campaigns, and the ultimate sacrifice made by too many, for their country. It is also, prevalent this year is to think of those suffering in current conflicts. May we remember and think of them.

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film editor: Ore Adeyoola

Five Nights at Freddy’s - Horror Film of the Year?

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By Ellie Dean

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he cultural effect of Five Nights at Freddy’s is hard to put into words. Most people I spoke to before writing this article had vivid memories: freezing with fear playing it for the first time in the dark corner of a school canteen; peering over the arm of a gaming chair watching an older sibling battle their way through; arguing with parents about being allowed to play.

For most kids born in the 2000’s, FNAF was a first encounter with horror, and although it has since developed a certain reputation for ‘cringe’, something about it seems to endure.

Feeling doubtful? You might want to reconsider. Last week, nearly ten years after the first game was released, the long-awaited FNAF film hit theatres. It’s already returned around $152 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing horror opening of the year – more than triple the profits of new releases in franchises like Scream VI and Saw X. For those who’ve avoided learning about the premise until now, catching up won’t be difficult. The original game’s setup had players trying to survive a night as a security guard for a rundown family restaurant, Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria, where the former stars of the show (singing, dancing animatronics) come alive overnight and try to kill you, and the film mostly follows the same formula.

Here, our protagonist is Mike (Josh Hutcherson), a down-on-his-luck security guard with a mysterious past who takes the job as a last resort. Matthew Lilllard, always pleasurable to watch, gives a decent performance as dubious career advisor Steve Raglan, and the animatronic characters are a highlight (thanks to Jim Henson’s Creature Shop), but neither can help being overshadowed by the film’s plot holes and inconsistent tone. There’s been an effort to sandwich emotional depth into the narrative, but it doesn’t always work, and the film feels like it’s stuck lumbering underneath its weight. It’s a pity - earlier this year, another Blumhouse production, M3GAN, was remarkably self-aware, funny, and uninhibited.

nostalgia. On my way home, my friend and I saw groups of teens on their way to the cinema, many in elaborate homemade costumes that must have taken hours to make. It’s oddly comforting to see how enduring the most unexpected franchise can be – and anyway, Lillard signed a three-picture deal, so we’d all better get used to it.

The FNAF games were internet sensations when they came out. Whilst the premise sounds simple, the franchise has become massive, including multiple sequels, spinoff games, novel, and maintains an active fanbase that produces insane amounts of content. The film made problems for itself from the beginning: building tension around ‘if the animatronics are dangerous or not’, is futile if people already know the premise. It would be easy to say that it’s just come out a decade too late, but it’s obvious that the concept is clearly still drawing people in.

I wasn’t a FNAF kid, but I had friends who were, and I wanted to see it for the

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Killers of the Flower Moon Scorsese’s harrowing new masterpiece

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By Noah Martin

t’s important to know going into this that Killers of the Flower Moon is not only adapted from David Grann’s book, but it is in fact an adaptation of a real part of North American history following the murders of members of the Osage Nation. Scorsese’s previous works are known for their longer, more drawn-out style and 3 hours and 26 minutes are allocated to his latest – possibly proving too much for some given the studios recent battle to stop cinemas from introducing an interval in the middle of the screening! Personally, I believe this runtime to be more than justified as not a single scene is wasted.

It’s definitely a slow burn but one that is methodically gut-wrenching as we are left wondering if the movie will deliver any answers to the consistently occurring tragedies.

Yet if this is a movie about a Native American problem, then why is Leonardo DiCaprio front and centre on all of the posters? Putting his and Robert De Niro’s longstanding collaborations with Scorsese aside, their truly impressive performances highlight the manipulative greed that lies at the centre of these

very real events. However, actress Lily Gladstone makes a breakout performance that quite possibly stole the show for me, truly visceral and sobering in a way that only a select few can deliver.

Contrasting its solemn topic is how the film looks, and it may have to be the most visually appealing live action film this year with many standout shots still burned into my mind, each more potent than the last. The set production likewise is equally impressive, taking us right back to 1920s Oklahoma in both location and clothing. A high level of research on the Osage people has clearly been done as the film makes sure to show a deep amount of respect for their culture, not only in outfits but also for their traditions and ceremonies. It ends up being just as educational as well as captivating.

This is not a feel-good film, but it is a marvel to behold the passion that was put into it. It will leave you thinking on its conclusion for ages, delivering a message that becomes all the more poignant when hearing the news of the horrific events occurring in Gaza or Ukraine. I encourage any readers to go experience this for themselves.

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Cat Person Film Review

By Tshequa Williams

B 1.5/5

ack in 2017, Kristen Roupenian published the short story ‘Cat Person’ in The New Yorker, in the depths of #metoo. It follows a brief relationship between Margo, a 20-year-old student working in a cinema, and Robert, a 34-year-old man who’s a regular customer of the cinema. Their relationship develops over lots of texting, and explores the realities of uncomfortable relationships, modern dating and disappointing sex. The story went viral, and inevitably was adapted into the film Cat Person, released in October after premiering at the Sundance Film Festival back in January 2023. ** Slight spoilers ahead (mainly focused on the short story) ** With the original story’s focus on the quiet internal uncomfortableness Margot feels, I was surprised to see Cat Person

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categorised as a psychological thriller.

On watching the film, it felt like they added an unnecessary amount of violence in order to flesh out the story, shifting the tone to something entirely different from the original. Roupenian herself said in an interview with Literary Hub, that she thinks “the best way to read the story and watch the movie is to understand them as two very separate things”, although I feel it’s difficult to do this when the movie clumsily bolts on extra plotlines and scenes.

In the short story, as the pair get to know each other through texts, Margo cycles between viewing Robert as sweet and humble, or potentially harmful – a debate that runs through many women’s minds in a world so full of threats and violence against them. When they finally meet up, it is Margo’s feelings of exposure and vulnerability which make her feel threatened by Robert, but she still feels that she has to go through with it

in order to be polite at any cost.

Although the short story doesn’t give a direct insight into Robert’s personality, aside from numerous red flags, his awkward performance in bed and his saltiness when Margo’s roommate ends things with a short text, the film exaggerates Robert into an actual predatory, violent psychopath.

With this, it loses the original meaning completely, and frames it as if Margo was giving off the wrong signals and brought the violence on herself, rather than her underlying worries about the true nature of Robert. If the movie ending had coincided with the story’s ending, it might have been better, but the addition of the gratuitously gory horror scenes completely ruins the aura of unease and uncomfortableness which the story creates.

Cat Person is in theatres now. You can read the short story ‘Cat Person’ on The New Yorker’s website.

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The Hunger Games Trilogy: The YA Adaptation that Got it Right

By Vardan Pandey

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t’s been an age since we saw Katniss Everdeen get her happy ending at the end of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay.

But with a new adaptation around the corner, I couldn’t help but return to the original series – one which caused a chain reaction, which in my mind, is one of the best series of adaptations you are ever likely to see. Bold, but let me tell you why I think so.

Adaptation has been a calling card of cinema since the dawn of the talkies. From classics like Dracula and The Wizard of Oz to more modern adaptations like LOTR and Harry Potter, artists have relished in adapting published work for the big screen, giving the words the spectacle they deserve.

The Hunger Games was no different.

A series of novels about a rebel trying to remove the country from the tyrannical rule of the Capitol – it was lapped up by the public worldwide. Eventually becoming one of the bestselling young adult novels of all time, The Hunger Games outsold Harry Potter in some areas.

The first film came out in 2012, and its success launched a series of adaptations to take place. Part of why the film was so well received was the accuracy with which it was adapted.

Often, adaptations find themselves in hot water with the creative liberties they end up taking, causing fans to react negatively. Whether its characterisation or plot elements, they almost always end up causing some controversy. But that wasn’t

the case with The Hunger Games. With the series author Suzanne Collins penning the adaptation herself, the scope for mistakes reduced dramatically. And that was seen in the reviews, as people gushed about how the film had managed to nail the themes and the emotions that the original novel had conveyed. This continued with every adaptation that followed. The themes of resistance, unity, and fighting for what was right, echoed through the films.

“artists have relished in adapting published work for the big screen, giving the words the spectacle they deserve. “

The success of The Hunger Games spawned a series of adaptations of dystopian young adult novels, all of which, coincidentally, were released in 2014, two of them within a month of each other. These included The Giver, The Maze Runner and Divergent.

But where The Hunger Games managed to succeed, the others failed.

Divergent dismayed critics with its poor execution, The Giver managed to get itself compared unfavourably to the source material, and while the first Maze Runner film sat well with the critics, the sequels failed to replicate the charm.

The Hunger Games managed to maintain a level of accuracy to the source material that no other young adult adaptation had managed to do until then (except maybe Harry Potter, and even they messed it up towards the end). They perfected the characters as the series progressed and the creative liberties they did take paid off rather well.

And this is why I think the adaptation is one of the best, and I look forward to the prequel with bated breath, hoping for another good film.

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tv editor: Lucy Potter

A Love Letter for BBC’s Ghosts

By Millie Smith-Clare

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*Seasons 1-4 Spoilers Ahead!* fter five seasons, my comfort show is finally drawing to an end. Created by the same team who brought us Horrible Histories – the show that defined many of our childhoods, Ghosts is a show full of charmingly funny and dramatic moments.

For those of you who haven’t yet had the pleasure of watching Ghosts, imagine being stuck for eternity with the same nine people – how on earth would you pass the time? The 80s scout leader Pat (Jim Howick), whose death is pretty self-explanatory from the arrow sticking out of his neck, utilises his skills by organising group activities, such as food club for his fellow ghosts.

The series introduces us to the young couple Alison (Charlotte Ritchie) and

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Mike (Kiell Smith-Bynoe) who inherit the run-down Button House. After being pushed out of a window, Alison develops the ability, much to her dismay, to see ghosts.

At first the ghosts attempt to haunt Alison out of the house, but as the seasons go on, we get to watch this often dysfunctional yet heart-warming found-family develop.

Season Two opens with Alison’s daily routine of turning over pages of novels for the often uptight Lady Fanny Button (Martha Howe-Douglas), dealing with the enamoured romantic poet Thomas (Mathew Baynton), and sticking on Grease for the joyous Kitty (Lolly Adefope).

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character’s development. However, it also manages to incorporate moments of drama too. There’s an incredibly moving plotline told in flashbacks for the gay World War Two army captain (Ben Willbond). After Mary gets in her own words “sucked off” to the other side, the show beautifully deals with the topic of grief, as the ghosts mourn the loss of their friend.

As sad as I am that the Christmas Special will be the end for the ghosts at Button House, I have the joy of re-watching this special show over and over again.

Unlikely duos develop between the ghosts, such as Robin the caveman (Laurence Rickard), and 90s Tory MP Julian (Simon Farnaby) who has to spend eternity wandering around with no trousers on after dying in a sleaze scandal (you can fill in the gaps). The pair pass the time playing chess, as Julian has the ability to move things slightly with his finger, often causing mayhem for poor Mike.

A lot of the humour comes from the ghosts learning about modern culture, with 17th century witch trial victim Mary (Katy Wix) wanting to free the Loose Women of their sins, and Robin becoming a conspiracy theorist after Alison showing him a video about the 1969 moon landing.

The writing of the show is so incredibly witty and clever, tending to each

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The Downfall of the Weekly Release

By Lucy Potter

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n recent years, bingewatching has been on the rise and fewer people have been watching TV in the traditional way.

Even the big media companies prefer to release their content all at once now, rather than spacing it out.

For example, BBC tends to broadcast their shows weekly on television, but will have all episodes available to stream on iPlayer. Although this is perhaps more convenient for some viewers, I think it takes away from the anticipation of the weekly release schedule.

The rise in binge-watching can most likely be attributed to COVID lockdowns. With everyone staying inside, the number of streaming service subscriptions rose exponentially. The fact that people had hours of content available to them, combined with seemingly infinite free time, meant that we all got used to binge-watching as a regular habit. Most of us found ourselves continuously watching new content, and rewatching nostalgic shows.

Personally, I spent many days in lockdown watching up to 12 hours’ worth of Horrible Histories in one sitting – something I wish I still had the time to do.

Many TV series, especially more recent ones, are simply designed for watching episodes back-to-back on streaming services.

The classic cliffhanger ending has lost its power in recent years; previously you would have to wait until the next week to see how it was resolved.

Now, the next episode is freely available to watch straight after the last one. The format of streaming services makes it incredibly difficult to resist the urge to binge a series.

The addictive nature of the narratives makes you want to come back, and now you don’t have to wait anymore.

In some ways it makes for a more satisfying watching experience as you can take it all in in one go.

But I still think there’s something special about watching one episode each week. It gives you something to look forward to, and the wait makes it even better in my opinion. I love bingewatching shows when I’m rewatching them, but on the first watch I really enjoy spacing it out. I think it makes each episode feel more important, and the delayed gratification makes them worth waiting for. For some shows, the narrative just works so much better when you wait for each part.

One example of this kind of show is Ghosts. While a lot

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of fans binge-watched Series Five when it was released on iPlayer in October, I chose to watch it as it was released on regular television. For the majority of fans, they would have watched it all in one day, which adds up to only three hours of watch time. I would feel this is very underwhelming after a year-long wait since the last series. By watching one episode every Friday, it provides a comforting reward at the end of a long week. And it gives me the whole week to think about the previous episode, and try and piece together how it fits with the series narrative.

Obviously I love bingewatching some shows, especially when re-watching a series. But on the first time round, I really cherish the wait between episodes.

I enjoy the anticipation of a brand-new piece of content each week, and the traditional weekly release schedule is just so much more special to me. However, the industry is clearly moving towards this new culture of viewing TV. More and

more broadcasters are providing a series-worth of content at once, while showing the episodes oneby-one on television. No matter how new episodes of shows are made available to us, the magic of the weekly release can never be beaten.

“The classic cliffhanger ending has lost its power in recent years; previously you would have to wait until the next week to see how it was resolved. Now, the next episode is freely available to watch straight after the last one.”

FX’s The Bear: We’ve All Fallen For Carmy Berzatto, So Don’t Deny It.

By Lily Taylor

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*WARNING: SPOILERS*

kay, so I’m a bit late to the party. FX’s The Bear has been on Disney Plus for a while now and I’ve had friends and family telling me to watch it since the summer when Season Two was released. Well, I’ve finally watched it, and wow. The American comedy-drama follows Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto, (played by Shameless‘s Jeremy Allen White) an award-winning chef who

leaves his three-star Michelin restaurant to save his failing family restaurant, The Original Beef of Chicagoland. White is joined by rising star Ayo Edebiri who plays Sydney Adamu, a young, ambitious chef hired by Carmy. He is also joined by Ebon Moss-Bacharach as Richard “Richie” Jerimovich, an unofficial manager of the restaurant and Carmy’s late brother Michael’s best friend. As a creative writing student, I spend a lot of my time writing stories, and my favourite thing to do is create complex characters who have the ability to develop throughout a storyline. Christopher Storer’s The Bear

makes complex characterisation look easy as we follow the characters through the tumultuous world of catering and witness the turbulence within their personal lives too.

Despite being a highly talented chef, Season One hints at the frayed relationships within the Berzatto family. Carmy returns to The Original Beef of Chicagoland after the suicide of his brother Michael, (Jon Bernthal) the manager of the restaurant.

Although he was close with his brother, who kept him away from the restaurant due to unspoken family issues, he >

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20 > soon realises that Michael has left the restaurant in severe debt and the staff are stubborn and unwilling to change their dysfunctional working methods. His sister, Natalie “Sugar” Berzatto (Abby Elliott), attempts to help him, but their encounters are cold and awkward, as Sugar is still upset with Carmy for leaving the family for New York and failing to stay in touch. Yet, she continues to support him throughout the first season, and they

PHOTO CREDIT: UNSPLASH

begin to build their relationship back up

again as The Original Beef of Chicagoland is rebranded to become The Bear.

Season Two explores Carmy’s personal life in greater depth. Although it is hinted at in Season One that the Berzatto’s are not your average family, Season One confirms it, especially in Episode Six, “Fishes.” This episode is set five years before The Bear is set to open, and it follows Carmy coming home to celebrate Christmas with his family and friends.

His alcoholic mother Donna (brilliantly portrayed by Jamie Lee Curtis) has a martyr complex and prepares an overly complicated meal based on the Feast of the Seven Fishes, the stress of which results in her having an emotional outburst and blaming everyone else. At the same time, Michael is arguing with Donna’s partner Lee, who repeatedly tells him he is a good for nothing waste of space, which results in a fight that is only broken up when a drunk Donna crashes her car into the dining room. Carmy’s family

trauma perhaps explains his difficulties in committing to his love interest Claire (Molly Gordon), who he often pushes away.

We definitely see a more vulnerable side to Carmy in Season Two as he struggles to deal with his personal life impinging on his professional one.

Yet, it is not only Carmy we see this character development in within The Bear, and that is what is so great about it. We are invested in all the staff’s personal lives throughout the show. I certainly can’t finish this article without mentioning Richie, whose tough, abrasive exterior is eventually broken down to uncover a loving and caring individual. The scene in Season Two where he is driving home from work singing Taylor Swift’s Love Story at the top of his lungs absolutely broke me.

The Bear Seasons One and Two are available on Disney Plus now.

The One Where We Say Goodbye – Thank You, Matthew Perry

PHOTO CREDIT: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

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By Daisy Innes

hy has Matthew Perry’s death hit us so hard? Well, because we’ve all lost a friend. Perhaps the biggest TV show of all time, Friends, ran from 1994 to 2004 – 10 years. Whether you watched as it aired, collected the DVDs from charity shops, or binged on Netflix, for 10 years, these characters shared their lives with us.

From the first episode of Friends, it was immediately evident that these characters really were going to be ‘there for you’.

In the decade that it ran, fans of Friends would have gone through a lot in their lives. The opportunity to grow up alongside fictional characters for that long is not all that common in a time of constantly cancelled television and media – but these characters stuck with us, just as real friends do. Friends brought about a sense of stability throughout this time; whatever had happened that week, there was an episode to watch. Even now, when you’re feeling down you can watch these characters laugh, love and joke through their twenties and thirties and realise that they didn’t have everything figured out either – they had their bad days too.

That was the charm that Friends had, whatever was happening in our lives, it would have happened in theirs too guaranteed it might have been in a far more entertaining way, but there were reassuring similarities. A decade of milestones for characters and viewers: falling in love, having children, heartbreaks, losses, moving to new cities, getting new jobs, finding new passions. Over a decade, our personal lives change hugely, sometimes

for the better and sometimes for, what feels like, the worse. But for every single one of those personal milestones, there was an episode of Friends to give us some comfort along the way.

The chance to follow alongside these characters in their Central Perk coffee fuelled lives was, and still is, an honour.

Now, I know Matthew Perry did a lot of wonderful things in his life: acting, charity work, and having the strength to share his personal struggles just to name a few, but in these next few words, I want to recognise who he was most known for – Chandler Bing.

Chandler Bing brought an immense amount of humour, comfort, love and support to us – I don’t know if I can think of any other sitcom character who tells a joke quite so well. It took Chandler a charmingly long amount of time to figure things out, but we watched him precariously grow, be a constant comfort to his friends, escape to Yemen, fall in love with one of his best friends, work as a ‘transponster’, realise he was ready to have children, and flawlessly deliver the last words of the show. Perhaps the most significant of his ever-amusing storylines: his friendship with Joey Tribbiani, quite possibly one of the most heartwarming relationships to grace our screens. Chandler showed us what it was like to muddle through life whilst being exactly what we need in a friend. He was a character that could be relied on by his friends and his viewers alike.

Making people laugh at a time when they don’t think laughing is possible is something that Chandler Bing did for his friends countless times over those 236 episodes, and it’s something that Matthew Perry did for us. His line-delivery, improvisation and physical comedy was unparalleled. He brought Chandler Bing into our lives in a way that no one else could have done. The ever selfdeprecating, joke-making and sarcasticcomment-offering Chandler really was a hell of a friend. And ultimately, the only person I can think worthy of a comparison to a character as wonderful as Chandler Bing, is Matthew Perry.

Thank you, Matthew, for the laughter.

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21

music editor: Lily Taylor

Taf Royale: From UEA Graduate to a Rising Star in the Music Industry

PHOTO CREDIT: ANOUK JONES

By Lily Taylor

I

sat down with Tafari Golding, aka Taf Royale, a UEA graduate and rising star in the rap scene.

I was instantly impressed by how easy he was to talk to: despite it being our first time meeting each other, it felt like we had met before. It was his birthday the day of the interview, and although he was only turning 23, I was amazed at what the South London rapper had already achieved.

I began by asking him what he’d been up to recently, which proved to be an extensive list of projects.

“I’ve been performing and networking a lot. Earlier this summer, I did a studio session with some of my friends, and one of my friends is a Norwich promoter, he runs an events company that’s called NR4 Ninjas. He messaged me about 20 promoters.”

As a result of this, he’s worked with Illusion Entertainment in Norwich, performing at Mojo’s nightclub. He also performed at Mantra recently with NR4 Ninjas, describing it as an “incredible experience, because I’m meeting with a lot of people that I create with.”

Taf then went on to mention his friend Hawi, who has helped produce a Mantra remix of their song Push. Asking him about the difference between this remix and the original version he

said, “The difference is more subtle than anything else. With the original version, it was made just in his bedroom. We wanted it to be kind of seductive, something that makes you wanna turn the lights down low.

But the club edition – we started changing different elements like the drums, added a few more echoes in there, removing the adlibs to create more ambience. We played it in the Mantra club, and I thought it was the best sounding song of that set.”

It was obvious to me by now that Taf had a passion for playing sets around Norwich, so I asked him what he thought of the Norwich music scene and whether it had opened any doors for him in terms of breaking into the music industry and finding contacts.

“Absolutely,” he said. “I would give almost all of the flowers to the Norwich music scene.

I performed at Voodoo’s [Voodoo Daddy’s] and met this guy called Ben Street. After I had performed at Voodoo’s a few times, he said to me that he was running this hip-hop event called Bluetone at the Blues Kitchen in Brixton. Essentially, I had got my first show by networking. If it wasn’t for Voodoo Daddy’s and Ben Street, I wouldn’t have got that Blues Kitchen gig.”

We then went on to talk about Taf’s debut single, Soul Music which he recorded with his sister Tashay Makeda.

“My sister is an incredible roots soul singer, which is a blend of soul music,

R&B, and reggae. I love her to pieces, and she is my role model. She’s a mentor in the South London music scene and she invited me to this project they were putting on for musicians in the community who wanted to be more creative. I had all these lyrics on my phone, I’m scrolling through, all the other kids have recorded their songs and she said ‘Taf, do you have anything?’ and I said ‘Yeah, there was this song, and I forgot the melody, and I wrote a song about forgetting that.’”

I interjected at this point, realising that he was referring to the first line of Soul Music. Taf confirmed this and continued.

“I had a dream that I was the rapper Wiley, and I’d laid down these sixteen bars and it was crazy, but I could not remember it and that made me sad. I had the first verse already written before I went in that day. I went into the booth and recorded that, Tash wrote her verse, and the song was literally finished in about two or three hours.”

I concluded the interview by making Taf selfreflect, asking him what he thinks has been the most important thing that has helped him get to where he is now. I expected him to think for a second, but he knew his answer straight away.

“Me. My tenacity, my ambition, my drive, and my desire to help others, because I’m not just doing this for me, I’m doing this because once I get to a position where >

music

22 > I’m financially benefitting off of my music career, I’ll be able to help so many people in my life who have done so much for me.”

Taf Royale is currently working on an

album titled Supernatural comprised of many songs he worked on with his good friend Jacob Williamson. It will be split into two parts, All Things In Time and Sunshine State of Mind. Keep an eye out as singles will be dropping soon.

Push ft. H@wi (Mantra Remix) is available on streaming platforms now.

You can find Taf on Instagram @tafroyale with Linktree to his music in his bio.

It’s Not so Easy: easy life sued for copyright infringement by easyGroup

By Sankavi Naresh

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ritish alternative indie pop group, easy life, have been embroiled in a lawsuit with easyGroup over their name. easy life hail from Leicester and consist of frontman Murray Matravers, drummer Oliver Cassidy, saxophonist/bassist Sam Hewitt, percussionist Jordan Birtles and last not but least guitarist/ bassist Lewis Berry. The band was formed in 2017 whilst the members were still in school. They released their first single, Pockets in the November of 2017 under Chess Club Records before signing to Island Records. easy life’s debut album Life’s a Beach, released in May 2021 and peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart. Music critic for the Evening Standard, David Smyth, describes them as “oper[ating] in the unlikely nook where unassuming British indie lads meet woozy US hip hop.”

On the 2nd of October 2023, via Instagram and X(Twitter), the band released a statement saying that they were being sued for copyright infringement by easyJet for their name. easyGroup, the owner of the airline’s name, claimed that the band had used the imagery and branding of easyJet during their 2021 and 2022 Life’s a Beach tour.

The band will not defend themselves in the lawsuit quoting financial limitations and the excessive cost of it. In a statement released on the 10th of October, easy life stated, “We have realised that there are no good options available to us, and we need to change our name to move forward,”. They added, “We simply don’t have the funds to access a fair trial in the high court. Not to mention the fact that this would likely rattle on through to 2025, and with this hanging over us we wouldn’t be able to release any music in the meantime. Our careers, and indeed our lives, would be on hold.” and “Should we lose [the

case], the costs will be recouped from us personally. They could take everything; material possessions, our livelihoods, our homes.” easy life fans and MPs alike have taken to social media to express their frustration at easyJet and their support for easy life. Harriet Harman, MP of Camberwell and Peckham where the band reside, wrote on X/Twitter, “Hi @easyJet please confirm that you are withdrawing the legal action launched against my constituents’ band @easylife forthwith”. The band held two final concerts as easy life on the 12th and 13th of October in Leicester and London respectively.

They announced the concerts on social media platforms alongside another statement, “Sadly, we have realised that there are no good options available to us in the situation we find ourselves in. We have no power to fight this. I’ve written a more detailed letter which I’ll post on our site now that explains the legal side of what’s going on a bit more but essentially it’s David vs Goliath and our British legal system favours Goliath. Friday is to be our last day as easy life.

Best believe we want to go out in style…easy life, for the very last time. Tickets on sale now - only £15 each so come join us for a proper farewell.”

In a document issued by easyGroup, it was said that easy life was “riding on the coat tails of the valuable reputation” of the company’s brand and that it was “not presently able to estimate the financial value of this claim, but considers that it will be substantial.” easyGroup even went as far as calling frontman, Murray Matravers, a “brand thief”.

The band has not currently released any ideas for new names yet but have stopped using the name since their last concert as ‘easy life’ on Friday the 13th of October.

PHOTO CREDIT: UNSPLASH

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The Beatles are Back for One Last Time

PHOTO CREDIT: UNSPLASH

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By Tshequa Williams

ever did I expect to be hearing or writing about a new Beatles song – but with the power of technology, the fab four released Now and Then, The Beatles final song featuring recordings of the late John Lennon and George Harrison, mixed with new recordings from Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.

Back in 1994, Yoko Ono gifted McCartney a demo tape of songs written by Lennon, “For Paul” written on it. At the time, two new songs were created from the recordings by the remaining Beatles – Free As A Bird released in December 1995 and Real Love in March 1996. Fast forward to today, with only half of the original band remaining, the idea of a new Beatles song seems like a fever dream, however with a little help from… AI, the tape was able to be de-mixed, and reconstructed with new elements to create Now and Then. Vulture’s deep dive on the technology behind it explains how machine learning studied “fully mixed songs” and “compar[ed] them to their isolated vocal and instrument tracks”, allowing Peter Jackson to “teach his software what John, Paul, George, and Ringo each sounded like so it could break them up”. Jackson has also created a documentary – Get Back, a documentary series which uses unreleased audio

clips and videos, which looks at the makings of the 1970s album Let It Be. Now and Then itself is fairly stripped-back but expresses an underlying depth of emotion, apt for the band’s final farewell.

Although it is unlikely to be the original intention, it’s poignant to hear Lennon (with McCartney low in the background) singing Now and then, I miss you, Oh, now and then, I want you to be there for me, alongside a low drum beat from Starr, and the distant echoes of Harrison’s guitar – the four of them reunited once more. The music video drops Lennon and Harrison into the modern recordings – I’m not sure if it quite achieves the affect they were going for, but I guess it does show the balance of now and then.

The release of Now and Then also raises questions of whether its morally right to posthumously edit, alter and release someone’s work. While it seems most of the original objections of the song in the 90s were down to the quality issues, the heavy editing to combat this does slightly erase the imperfectly perfect charm of The Beatles music. Still, it’s a remarkable example of their everlasting impact on music, and the use of technology in the industry.

PHOTO CREDIT: UNSPLASH

w/c nov 20

w/c dec 4

Northern Ballet: Beauty and the Beast - 21st-25th November, NORWICH THEATRE ROYAL Set to a hand-picked score of classical music from the likes of Bizet and Debussy, Northern Ballet bring their own take on this classic tale.

Clutter City Winter Market - 9th December, NORWICH ARTS CENTRE Clutter City Night Market returns to NAC with over 25 carefully selected stalls featuring the best local makers, artists, illustrators and designers!

Fierce Babe Christmas Market 26th November, THE ASSEMBLY HOUSE Over 25 indie makers & creators who identify as women, trans, or part of the LGBTQ+ community, with stalls full of jewellery, prints, and homeware!

PHOTO CREDIT: MILLIE SMITH-CLARE

w/c nov 13

The King and I - 14th-18th November, NORWICH THEATRE ROYAL £5 off tickets for under 25’s (on certain performances only).

Festive Lights Switch-On - 16th November, NORWICH CITY CENTRE With live performances from The Garage and the Invidia Choir, gymnastics displays, a funfair in Gentleman’s Walk, the market open until 8pm, some foodie treats on offer and a stunning light display. The event will run from 5:30pm to 7:15pm, with the lights being switched on at 7pm!

w/c nov 27 Hanging Macrame Pot Holder Workshop - 28th November, BOOKABLE ROOM 6, UNION HOUSE Using recycled T-Shirt Yarn you will learn the basics of the creative knotting technique that is Macrame. Through the process of knotting, you will create a hanging plant pot holder that you will be able to take home with you. No experience necessary, suitable for beginners. (Book tickets on the SU website!)

Christmas Market at The Shoe Factory Social - 9th-10th December, ST. MARY’S WORKS 80 designer-makers each day of this weekend long market selling prints, jewellery, homewares, textiles, cakes and festive bakesall perfect Christmas gifts!

a cosy fruit crumble

Ingredients: for the filling: • 450g chopped fruit (personally I love an apple and blackberry crumble) • 75g sugar • a pinch of cinnamon (optional) for the crumble: • 100g plain flour • 50g butter (cold and cubed) • 75g sugar (ideally brown sugar, but whatever sugar you have laying about should be fine!)

• a handful of oats (optional) • a pinch of salt 1. Preheat your oven to 190ºC, fan 170º, gas mark 5.

2. Roughly chop your fruit (if you fancy, feel free to precook your fruit to speed up the process), mix with sugar and cinnamon, and evenly dispense into a cooking dish.

3. Rub the butter into the flour to make breadcrumbs, making sure not to overwork the mixture. Add in the the sugar, oats and salt.

4. Layer the crumble topping over the fruit filling.

5. Bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes, until it is golden brown and the fruit has softened.

A good crumble always needs a side of cream, custard or ice cream!

Make sure to keep your eyes out for this space in our next issue, as we’re going to be spilling all the best independent places both local and online for festive gifting!

what’s on

PHOTO CREDIT: INNES HENRY