Thursday 22nd October 2015
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INDIGO
3 FOOD & D RINK Indigo takes a closer look at the classic Jack O’Lantern 4 FA S H I O N Indigo chats back, legs and cleavage with Clare Lichfield 5 BOOKS A literary Halloween: scary twists on classic novels
Creativity is very important. You might think of the word creativity and instantly picture a typical artsy person: sporting gonad crushing skinny jeans and with half a rainbow in their hair, armed with a paintbrush, a cup of herbal tea and an acoustic guitar; eager to ramble on about Monet or muse over Radiohead.
6 & 7 V I S UA L ARTS We review Ai WeiWei’s latest exhibition and take a look at the best art in the North East
But creativity goes far beyond the disciplines lumped under the term ‘art’. It can’t be pigeonholed into the sections of a magazine. Creativity is a state of mind.
8 C R E AT I V E WRITING Our writers ruminate on coming back to Durham
When it comes to industry, business, healthcare etc, it can be very tempting to take a method that works and keep on doing that. ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ and all that. But this is often very short sighted: always taking the most immediately convenient route for each stage of a journey often makes the whole thing longer and more difficult. This is known as a ‘greedy algorithm’ in decision mathematics, and doesn’t lead to optimal outcomes. It always helps to take a step back and look at the problem as a whole.
9 F E AT U R E S An interview with Victoria Brignell, producer of BBC4’s ‘In Our Time’ 1 0 & 1 1 F I L M & TV Wildlife cameraman and diver Doug Allan talks to Indigo 1 2 & 1 3 T R AVEL An account of a magical trip to Bucharest 14 MUSIC Indigo reviews The Libertines’ latest effort, and presents a guide to what to see in the north east 1 5 S TAG E Casting in theatre: the gender divide PHOTOGRAPHY / ILLUSTRATION Mariam Hayat Alex Bennett Clare Lichfield Hannah Griffiths Bruno Martin Jane Simpkiss Venus Loi Celeste Yeo John McCafferty Andrei Sandu Samuel Kirkman
For more arts and lifestyle articles please visit www.palatinate.org.uk www.facebook.com/palindigo @palatindigo
Cover: ‘Arctic Front’, by our enormously talented illustrations editor, Mariam Hayat
This is where creativity pays dividends. Creativity is the ability to take a step back from any situation or problem and think of novel, effective ways of tackling it; using skills you learn in one field to fashion new ways of doing something in another. Creativity isn’t just something for feeling wholesome and staying happy, but for actual, economical and scientific things. You know, things that matter. Here at Indigo, we’re big fans of all things creative. This week alone we have epic accounts of faraway travels, interviews with movers and shakers from across the globe and beautiful works from our crack team of illustrators and photographers. And you can get involved too! Write for us, draw for us, photograph for us, dance for us, act for us, wear clothes for us, and most importantly of all, enjoy our content. We are Durham’s premiere arts and lifestyle platform, for anyone to break their mould, expand their palette and show off their creative potential. Welcome aboard. PB
I N D I G O E D I TO R S Patrick Brennan Sraddha Venkataraman B O O K S E D I TO R S Hannah Griffiths Ellie Scorah CREATIVE WRITING EDITOR Celeste Yeo FA S H I O N E D I TO R S Sally Hargrave F E AT U R E S E D I TO R S Ellen Finch Cristina Cusenza (deputy) F I L M & T V E D I TO R S Rory McInnes-Gibbons Hugo Camps-Harris (deputy) F O O D & D R I N K E D I TO R S Adrian Chew Charlotte Payne M U S I C E D I TO R S Jacqueline Duan Will Throp S TAG E E D I TO R Isabelle Culkin T R AV E L E D I TO R S Megan Thorpe Laura Glenister(deputy) V I S UA L A RT S E D I TO R Jane Simpkiss
WRITERS
Mariam Hayat Sally Hargrave Hannah Griffiths Ellie Scorah Hannah Griffiths Helen Bowell Rachael Smith Francesca Dale Emma Thomson Celeste Yeo Sofi Ruiz Patrick Brennan Andrei Sandu Chirag Karia
Laura Santos-Ayllon Roy Manuell
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Thursday 22nd October 2015
FOOD & DRINK
Pumped-Up-Kins This Halloween, Mariam Hayat delves deep into the craft of pumpkin carving
Britain in the late 19th century; in 1899 the British author Sir Quiller-Couch recounts in the Cornish Magazine how a group of mischievous youngsters lowered a carved pumpkin into a chimney. When the residents started to be irritated by the trapped smoke; one woman looked up the chimney, beheld the ghoulish face above and promptly “shrieked and went into hysterics”. Clearly, they were simpler times. Indiscriminately causing cardiac arrests may have gone out of fashion but carving macabre pumpkins hasn’t. Follow the tips below for your very own Pinterest-perfect pumpkin. Happy carving!
Easy-Peasy-Pumpkin-Squeezy
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he annual tradition of haphazardly stabbing unsuspecting pumpkins is nearly upon us- indeed a staggering 9.5 million pumpkins will be sold throughout the UK for this very purpose. Clearly we Brits take our squash-based emoticons rather seriously. Not as seriously though, as the ancient Celts; who believed spirits and faeries were active and the veil between this world and the next became paper-thin during the festival of Samhain (now known as Halloween thanks to some enterprising Christians). Gourds were hollowed out and candles placed inside to create lanterns that guided or deflected the returning spirits depending on how much you wanted to see your dead gran. This practice occurred all over Britain; the Irish used turnips and the Scots used the delightfully Harry Potter sounding ‘mangelwurzels’. When the Irish emigrated to America they took their carving obsession with them and discovered that the New World had the perfect fruit to satisfy their spirit scarecrow needs: the pumpkin. The completed lanterns were called ‘Jack-O-Lanterns’; named after a particularly roguish, permanently drunk blacksmith of Irish folklore: Stingy Jack. The legend goes that after spending the day lazing around under an apple tree, the Devil suddenly appeared to Jack, intent on taking his soul down to Hell. Jack managed to convince a very obliging
Satan to climb up and get him an apple and then quickly carved a cross into the trunk of the tree so that the Devil (who must have been cursing his angelic re- lapse) could not climb down unless he promised that he would not take Jack’s soul. This was done, but upon Jack’s death he was rejected from Heaven by Saint Peter and he
• To prepare the pumpkin, cut a hole at the top of the pumpkin (large enough to fit your hand through). Make sure that the knife is angled at 45 degrees to the lid; this will become the ‘lid’ of your pumpkin. • Use a large metal spoon to remove its innards, scraping the inside clean so there are no ‘stringy bits’. • Draw or print a pattern on to a piece of paper, cut slits on the top and bottom (so you can fit it around the spherical pumpkin more easily) and tape the design on. Use a screwdriver or compass to mark out the design. • Take the paper off and cut the pieces out. • Place a tealight inside. Set light to one end of a dry spaghetti, you can use this to light the tealight inside of your pumpkin. • Place the lid on to the pumpkin, turn off the lights and enjoy your fiendish creation!
Jack-it-up
c o u l d not go to Hell , so the Devilstill not getting the whole ‘heartlessly evil’ thing, tossed him an ever-burning ember which Jack placed inside a hollowed out turnip with which he restlessly wonders the world, looking for a final resting place. The pumpkin carving craze transferred over to
• Prepare the pumpkin as above; you can use dry-wipe markers to draw a pattern directly on to the pumpkin- simply erase and start again if you’re not happy with the design. • Use a vegetable peeler to remove skin, use lino cutters and craft knifes to have finer control over your sculpting. • The flesh of the pumpkin is thin in ‘highlighted’ areas and thick in shadow areas. Carefully scrape away flesh to create ‘gradients’ of thicker to thinner flesh which will create realistic shading. • You can also add variations e.g. I stuck some pipeliners into my pumpkin to make ‘eyelashes’. Photographs by Mariam Hayat and Tambako the Jaguar
@palatinatefood #palatinatefood
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Thursday 22nd October 2015
FASHION
Up and coming: Belmont Designs
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Sally Hargrave talks to Clare Lichfield, the brains behind Durham-based label Belmont Designs.
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ndigo’s Sally Hargrave recently spoke to Clare Lichfield, the up-andcoming Durham based designer behind Belmont Designs. Clare, who is half English and half Irish, but grew up in Paris, first got into fashion through the influence of her neighbour in the Normandy countryside, “She taught me to sew, embroider and cook – all the very traditionally French things - which was lucky as my mother cant sew to save her life!” Despite the early influence of fashion on her life, the pressures of the French schooling system meant that Clare was not able to fully commit to starting a fashion line until she joined Durham. “I made my first dresses for Freshers’ week and turned up wearing them and everyone seemed quite surprised by it. I did quite a lot of it in Paris as well; I made most of my party dresses. People started asking where they were from and I noticed that a lot of other girls always wore the same dresses that they’d bought from Topshop for example. I realised how awkward that could be.” “Anyway, everything was quite simple until my second term of first year when I got involved with Durham opera – The Merry Widow. I auditioned as a singer and got in as a singer, but then realised that they were extremely low on budget, so I offered to help out with costumes. I ended up making Edwardian ball gowns – just a silly Fresher that took on too much! I was in a massive panic, I didn’t sleep for ages, but I got them done. And that is genuinely how I started – trial and error in
first year, screwed from having to make the costumes! But once I saw that I could do it I pushed myself further.” Clare describes her style as a mixture of classic French style and London quirkiness, “because that’s who I am, a mixture of the two!” Her collections are inspired by the different places she has travelled to – Paris, Durham and, most recently, Hangzhou. The Durham collection features gowns perfect for a formal or ball as well as pieces printed with vintage style images, harking back to Durham’s deeply rooted historical past. In contrast, the Hangzhou collection is light and breezy, using Hangzhou crafted silk (Hangzhou is well known as the Chinese capital of silk). She developed the collection last year while on her year abroad. “I tried to bring in Western cuts and Chinese fabrics and tie them together. I wanted it to reflect my year abroad – obviously I met a lot of Chinese people, but I was based on a foreign campus. I used friends from all over the world that I met on campus to model for me.” Clare plans to make the most of her student status now that she has returned to Durham by taking part in the charity fashion shows around Durham as well as further afield. She also rents out her creations for around ten pounds per evening. “It means that girls don’t have to go out and buy a dress that they wont ever wear again – they can wear a nice, silk gown for ten pounds and then just give it back.” She spent the
summer interning with Orla Kiely, the London based Irish designer famed for her use of prints, working in her studio pattern drafting and even helping backstage at her London Fashion Week show in September. Clare’s advice for anyone thinking of getting into fashion design? “Don’t be afraid to wear your own designs – it’s the best way for people to get to know your brand.” She also assured us that it is possible to get into fashion design without a fashion-specific degree. “Being at university is actually what encouraged me to pursue fashion design. In some ways I’m like a big fish in a small pond here, which gives me more confidence to take it further.” Quickfire Questions: Why the name Belmont Designs? The label is named after Clare’s grandparents’ house in Ireland. “My grandparents were very stylish people. Growing up I always saw pictures of them and thought they were really cool.” It’s also here that Clare stayed when she did her summer courses at Dublin’s fashion school, the Grafton Academy. Favourite fashion designers? Ellie Saab, Alexander McQueen and Chloé. Style tip you live by? Pick one: back, cleavage or legs.
Photographs: Alex Bennett and Clare Lichfield
Thursday 22nd October 2015
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BOOKS
A literary halloween Ellie Scorah and Hannah Griffiths talk monsters and literary fancy dress
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Photographs: Scholastic and Penguin Random House
here are monsters throughout literature: from the gorgons of the classical world to the brooding vampires of modern fiction. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a monster is ‘A large, ugly, and frightening imaginary creature’, but this definition is not always enough. Often a monster is a reaction to the everyday human world, and has a greater function than to frighten. Frankenstein’s monster is a Halloween classic, but the green man with bolts in his neck is far from Mary Shelley’s original creation. Shelley uses the experiences of the monster to react to the increased scientific advancement of her time. She questions what responsibility Victor has for his creation; the god-like power of scientists; and whether one is a monster by nature or circumstance. While Jane Eyre is often read as a romance, prompting Rochester-related swooning, Bronte consciously used features of the same gothic tradition as Shelley – think dark mansions, isolation, creepy goings on, and, most importantly, an attic. However Bertha Mason, the ‘madwoman in the attic’, is clearly more than just a gothic trope or monster. In the last century, she has become a symbol of racial prejudice; a victim of patriarchal control; Jane’s own alter-ego; and a character in a book of her own (Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys). Just as Frankenstein’s monster is not just a monster, the madwoman is not just a mad woman. Of course, there are books in which monsters exist solely for their ugliness and scariness, but perhaps the most interesting and most frightening monsters are those that use their monstrosity to question humanity.
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alloween is nearly upon us, and there’s no better way to celebrate than to don your best fancy dress costume and head out into Durham. For the bookish among you, we’ve come up with some of our favourite literary Halloween costume ideas.
Harry Potter
No term at Durham would be complete without a bit of Harry Potter fancy dress! Gowns make perfect substitutes for Hogwarts robes – all you need is an old school tie and a makeshift eyeliner lightning bolt scar. Alternatively, if you’re looking for a more obscure Harry Potter fancy dress costume, why not try ripping up an old pillowcase and go as Dobby, or draw a Dark Mark on your arm and go as a Death Eater.
Witches
If you’re looking for a magical costume, but Harry Potter isn’t your thing, why not look for inspiration elsewhere? The witches in Shakespeare’s Macbeth could help you to put together a more traditional Halloween costume. Think cauldrons, broomsticks and maybe an eye of newt or toe of frog.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Maybe you’re a Jane Austen fan, but you can’t think of a suitably scary costume? Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is an adaptation of Jane Austen’s famous novel, Pride and Prejudice, and is soon to be released in cinemas. Try wearing a long dress or a suit with zombie make-up to recreate the period zombie look.
Classical Literature
Greek and Roman mythology can be a great source of inspiration for fancy dress, though this is only for the ambitious! Medusa or Cyclops costumes would certainly be terrifying costumes for Halloween, so if you’re keen to try papier mâché or give some painting a go, this is the literary costume for you.
Vampires
This may be quite a common Halloween costume, but why not give it your own literary touch by going as Dracula? Alternatively, you could look at more modern vampire novels for inspiration and go as a vegetarian vampire à la Twilight. Photographs: Hannah Griffiths and Bruno Martin
Durham book festival highlights
wo highlights of the Durham Book Festival included Philip Pullman and Bill Bryson. Pullman’s novel Northern Lights celebrates its twentieth anniversary and has been selected as this year’s Durham Big Read. Former Durham chancellor Bryson introduced his new book, The Road to Little Dribbling.
Helen Bowell discusses her performance at the Durham Book Festival
Rachael Smith shares her experience as a Durham Book Festival volunteer
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hen you think about volunteering at an event, you probably don’t expect to meet the lead singer of Maximo Park, but that’s exactly what we did. I volunteered at the Gordon Burn Award ceremony, an experience which ranged from a hectic ten minutes making 100 gin and tonics to enjoying the serene acoustic set of Paul Smith. I was also introduced to authors, editors and journalists. As a volunteer, you not only facilitate the event, you’re part of it, and that really is something special.
eople were turned away from the door of the popular Dead [Women] Poets Society event. Katie Byford, Jasmine Simms, Sarah Fletcher, and I were the four Durham University poets to resurrect these women. They discussed the life and writing of Sappho, Charlotte Turner Smith, Stevie Smith, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Sylvia Plath. The enormous audience applauded the poems of the dead and living poets alike, set in the eerily seance-like front room of Empty Shop.
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Thursday 22nd October 2015
V I S UA L A RT S
One in a billion
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Francesca Dale explores this new exhibition by China’s most controversial artist
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he most anticipated exhibition of the year has finally arrived as the prolific and extremely influential artist Ai Weiwei displays his artwork at the Royal Academy. Arguably the most talked about modern artist of the twenty first century in China and now the world, Ai Weiwei has overcome extreme social and political barriers to bring his work to these beautiful exhibition halls this autumn. The exhibit displays not only his recent work from his new studio in Berlin but also his past decade’s portfolio of work since he returned from New York to China. Weiwei has not been back to England since his last ground breaking installation ‘Sunflower Seeds’ (2010) at the Tate Modern which saw thousands of hand painted porcelain seeds flood the floors of the Turbine Hall and thousands of people rush to see his mesmerizing work. Upon entry to the courtyard of the Royal Academy, large towering trees immediately welcome you with branches reaching out in every direction and at different angles. ‘Tree’ (2015) is a collection of structures made from sections of dead trees and steel; the wooden components have been collected on the mountains of southern China.
The eight grand and strong standing trees reflect Weiwei’s commentary on the way in which groups of people from different backgrounds, in terms of race and culture, have congregated together to form ‘One China’, and in doing so references the state-sponsored ‘One China’ policy intended to defend China’s territorial honour. The One China policy was created to insist that there is only one state named ‘China’ despite two governments (the second being Taiwan) claiming to be ‘China’.
This highlights a recurrent theme in Weiwei’s work as he uses art as a mechanism to comment on the social constructs that
constitute the political formation of his country. Ai is notorious for producing artworks with his teams that are on an enormous and mind-blowing scale impossible to ignore at his exhibitions. ‘Straight’ (200812) is the centrepiece of the exhibition, and one of his most recent works that responds to the tragedies that accompanied the 2008 Sichuan province earthquake. The earthquake saw thousands of young people dying in schools, as governmentbuilt buildings were not strong enough to cope with the pressures of the natural disaster. The schools were made out of weak and flimsy materials, chosen by corrupt local officials. Ai’s installation is made from bent and twisted steel bars from the aftermath of the earthquake; the materials were transported to his Beijing studio where they were straightened by hand and returned to their original state. The piece serves as a memorial to the tragic series of events. Ai Weiwei works with a variety of media but is well known for his ambitious wooden structures and sculptures. ‘Fragments’ is a consolidation of his ‘Furniture and Map’ series, which was formed using architectural salvage from four temples and items of furniture from the Ming and Qing Dynasties. When first approached it appears to be randomly assembled but when seen from above you realise that it is an exact replica of the map of China. The structure allows one to weave in and out between the wooden posts just as a visitor or traveller would traverse across the different state borders within China. The stark reality is that although foreign-
ers may be allowed to freely cross Chinese states, Chinese citizens are not. The piece is skeletal and feels empty; China is not a whole but instead made up of many parts – thus this piece threatens the ‘One China’ policy being instituted by state powers. Ai Weiwei has expanded his artistic range by creating ‘Finger’ (2014), a wallpaper piece that features a raised middle finger in a geometric and visually appealing pattern. The connection between his photographs in ‘Study of Perspective’ (1995-) and this wallpaper is apparent as the middle finger emblem is repeated. Ai uses this socially recognised defiant body language as a way to reject the people who are trying to force their views upon him. Weiwei is an activist for human rights not only through his art but also through social media. He will continue to reach
out and inspire people through his talents. Weiwei portrays his thoughts and feelings about the pursuit of human rights worldwide through his art and will continue to do so until he sees the change that is justly needed in society. The exhibition is absolutely mind blowing as you are taken on a journey through both the artist’s personal development and the social development of China. It is a testament to the perceptive powers Ai has to acknowledge China’s environmental and social issues and translate them into something visual and communicative. Photo credit: Jane Simpkiss
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Thursday 22nd October 2015
V I S UA L A RT S
What’s on in the North East?
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Visual Arts’ Emma Thomson has you covered with what exhibitions, galleries and shows you must see this season Whether you’re new to the area or returning to the region, Visual Arts has you covered with what exhibitions, galleries and shows you must see this season. -Durham Lumiere – Durham City – 12th to 15th November Durham’s biennial Lumiere returns lighting up the city each evening with a variety of light installations ranging from a ghostly fog mirroring St Cuthbert’s Mist, an enormous whale and the story of the birth of the Universe. Alongside the installations there will be a conference at the Gala Theatre entitled ‘Light, Art, the Universe and Everything’. -The McDowall Collection of British Neo-Romantic Art – Durham Light Infantry Art Gallery – on now until 10th January 2016 The McDowall collection explores the Romantic Movement, beginning with William Blake and gradually proceeding to the post-war period featuring work from Michael Rothenstein and Keith Vaughan and ending with work from the 1990s. -Hannah Collins –The Baltic, Gateshead – on now until 10th January 2016 A collection of Hannah Collins’ unframed photographic prints, stretching across her career, is on display. The exhibition features prints of interior environments, which explore concepts of time, change, and loss, and also Amazonian plants alongside written accounts of her journeys, both physical and otherwise, through the Amazon. - Lyn Hagan: The Mexican Mafia and Me - The Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle – on now until the 31st January 2016 This exhibition consists of a combination of film, textiles, and drawings, based upon the life of a Mexican hit man who is currently on Death Row in the USA. Featuring interviews and a dress embroidered with quotes, Lyn Hagan’s exhibition discusses important social issues, including the mafia and relationships between men and women. -2015 Northern Design Festival – The Assembly House, Newcastle-upon-Tyne – 21st October to 25th October The festival will include a wide variety of exhibitions, showcases, and talks by Northern artists, ranging from rugs intended to create a network between designers and Nepalese carpet makers, to a showcase of RIBA’s design competition entries dis-
playing architectural processes from inspiration to final designs. -Robert Map– The Bowes C o u n t y 28th Noto 24th 2016. t h e
plethorpe Museum, Durham – ve m b e r April From
28th November onwards, famous photographer Robert Mapplethorpe’s work will be displayed at the Bowes Museum. Featuring black and white images of influential figures from the music and art industry, the exhibition discusses the power of imagery in publicity and our growing interest in celebrity culture. -Earth Charcoal Paper – The Stables Gallery, Cheeseburn, Newcastle-upon-Tyne – from 10th October 2015 Featuring a new collection from Colin Rose, including a new installation entitled ‘Rain’ alongside the premiere of some large scale charcoal drawings, this exhibition will compliment the four other sculptural works installed in Cheeseburn’s gardens. -Silvas Capitalis – Kielder Water, Northumberland Installed in 2009, Silvas Capitalis, a wooden sculpture of a head found on the accessible walking route of the Lakeside Way near Kielder Water, was designed by the collective SIMPARCH. The sculpture acts as an observer of the forest, and allows the public to climb inside the installation to see the forest from its point of view. -Centre of Ceramic Art (CoCA) - York Art Gallery, York The newly opened CoCA holds the largest UK collection of British studio ceramics, featuring ceramics that reach from the Roman Period to the 21st century, and an exhibition featuring work throughout the history of the British Studio ceramics movement, as well as changing exhibitions in the future. -Bill Viola Yo r k s h i r e Sculpture Park, Wakefield – 10th October 2015 – 10th April 2016 Displaying installations from Viola’s career over the past two decades, the exhibition will include his most recent work ‘The Trial’, within an 18th century chapel. Exp l o ring ideas and experiences, which are fundamental to human existence, the exhibition is Viola’s largest in the UK for over a decade.
@visualarts_palatinate Illustration by Mariam Hayat
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Thursday 22nd October 2015
C R EAT IV E W R IT I N G
OCTOBER CALLS Some thoughts on the start of a new academic year
October Calls By Sofi Ruiz
Photograph by Venus Loi
Today is October 3rd. This is what millions of people are quoting on social media reminding us once again of the power of communication. Every year we celebrate anniversaries of movies we watched when we were only kids. Small memories shared by the whole world. A simple phrase stating a fact, a group of mean girls, a girl with a crush… A movie… In exactly eight days thousands of us will submerge in the deepest ocean we have faced so far, an ocean full of lectures and hours of frustration. Some of us will be lost, others will not, but what we have ahead is the most exciting year of our lives yet. It’s the beginning of a final scene. The ending of our first movie, our first best seller, our first platinum album… When we look at our siblings, our cousins, or even the freshers, we notice how much we have changed over the years and, oh boy, it frightens me. Remember the dress you wore at your prom? Remember those crop tops from 2005? The first time you went out without your parents? The first time you got drunk? Remember your friends from school and think about where they are right now. Then, slyly turn your head and face the other way, face the highway you have never taken before. Turn right, behold and start rising. Today is October 3rd and Durham is foggy. This morning at exactly 7.30 am there was a girl running through the forest, with only a billion thoughts going through her mind like shooting stars illuminating the sky. She is a little scared of what lies ahead because she is unsure. She has no plans, nothing secure and yet she has decided to stay calm. In a few months she will get on a plane to head back home, to the place she fears the most. The place she has been running away for three years looking for success. She has learned to feed from her fears, to love the uncertainty of life and to embrace the fact that most things in life occur when we do not expect them. That, even if life is just a short span, the key to success is to enjoy every little detail pushing away fears and rush. This is an absolute mess, a mayhem of thoughts and ideas that may be hard to understand. This is my way of telling everyone how I feel about October, the start of my last year of university, the last year living with my friends…In a way, I think it’s a way of saying that the world keeps spinning no matter how many tough moments we may live. I want to tell the world that it’s okay to despair and be confused but just knowing that it is always darkest before the dawn gives me the courage to go on. This is my moment, my year to finish what I started. This is my movie.
Photograph by Celeste Yeo
En Route to Durham By Celeste Yeo October calls, The majestic cathedral exudes its endearing charm Once more. The cobblestones greet my feet The way the skies touch the sea Where they meet at the horizon. I remember why I write – As the river glistens with the bridges and clouds, Reflecting the calm and chaos of a heart. October calls, Another month with its timely refrain Ask not for whom the bell tolls. I remember where to put my poetry – Not in the mirage of waters, not in the myriad of conversations, October calls. Not in the infinity of stars, or their brilliant constellations. But the ripple that cascades into transparent brushstrokes – A measured rhythm that resists celebrated compositions. I remember to ask why – The instrumental organ supporting majestic halls A cabinet of curiosities Governing my organic system. Why bridges echo and clouds wink, why October calls.
“... the thing with October is, I think, it somehow gets in your very blood. Unapologetically. Almost ruthlessly.” - Anne Sexton
Illustrations by Polly Stefanova
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Thursday 22nd October 2015
F EAT U R E S
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A platform for academic dialogue Ellen Finch talks to ‘In Our Time’ producer Victoria Brignell about the studentfriendly radio seminars that tackle issues across the scholarly spectrum
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hree academics, Melvyn Bragg and a single idea: Radio 4’s In Our Time has returned to broadcast just in time for the start of the academic year. Tackling an impressive variety of subjects ranging from history, science, and philosophy to classics, culture, and religion, the programme is invaluable to university students of all disciplines. To welcome in the new series, Palatinate speaks to producer Victoria Brignell about the programme’s history, its guests, and the neverending knowledge of Melvyn Bragg. In Our Time started out in 1998 as the brainchild of Bragg and the BBC. Following Bragg’s departure from political programme Start the Week, the idea was conceived as an attempt to liven up the Thursday ‘death slot’ he’d been given. The show wasn’t expected to last the year. Seventeen years and over 600 episodes later, however, In Our Time remains an essential and popular programme for listeners interested in lively academic debate. Consequently, although the programme isn’t aimed specifically at students, In Our Time has quickly gained appreciation from universities around the UK. Brignell mentions that the programme’s episodes have often been compared to ‘radio seminars’. Indeed, the show has increasingly expanded its repertoire of subjects, and in 2000 the programme was changed from a half-hour slot to 45 minutes, making it more reflective of a lecture or seminar at most universities. The show also moved from hosting two guest speakers to three around this time, subsequently increasing the range of voices contributing to each week’s discussion. The programme presents itself as an ideas show, discussing theories, topics, and concepts. Guests do not choose to appear on the programme to promote new books to listeners; they are chosen because they bring a distinctive voice to each episode’s topical debate. Brignell is keen to emphasise the diversity of topics chosen as a result of this. “We choose topics we think are interesting,” she says. The programme does not deliberately follow developments in academia, but its topics are often very relevant to university courses across the UK. “The production team doesn’t have time to be across all the current trends in academia, but we do receive many ideas from listeners and guests,” Brignell explains. “A large number of our programmes are based on topics suggested by academics and members of the public.” The programme is refreshing for the range of guests it hosts, especially when one might be expecting to see it dominated by Oxford and Cambridge academics. Brignell reassures me that In Our Time is “not an Oxbridge programme.” Indeed, a number of Durham’s own academics have appeared on the programme, including
sode. “I enjoy what was called swotting in my day,” he explains to the paper. “I get the notes late Friday afternoon for the following Thursday morning. I find all the spare time I can for reading, get up very early on a Thursday morning, have a final two hours of nervousness, and away we go.”
Melvyn Bragg, presenter of BBC Radio 4’s In Our Time
Carlos Frenk, Richard Gameson, and Mark Woolmer. Guest diversity is a key reason for the show’s success. “For each programme, we aim to book the leading experts in their field. Thanks to the internet, it is possible to find out academics’ research interests and publications relatively easily, and that means we can find guests from a range of institutions.” She stresses, too, that the guests are chosen for their skills in radio as well as their research fields. “We look for experts in their field, but they also need to be engaging communicators. We need them to be able to display passion for the topic.” Guest speakers commit a significant amount of time to the programme. They are involved in the research and planning processes of each episode, as well as travelling to London for the show’s recording. Academics’ commitment to the programme is important and highly valued by the production team. When asked about the academics’ behaviour, Brignell can’t think of a time where a guest has been uncooperative or difficult. “I’ve never come across any academics who are unhelpful,” says Brignell. “Fortunately, the programme has a strong reputation in the academic world and guests are keen to support it.” With the vast number of subjects and guests appearing on the show, it is Melvyn Bragg who provides constancy. Bragg is well-known by listeners for being impressively, almost impossibly, knowledgeable on each episode’s topic. Brignell explains that there is a long research process before the show airs, aided in part by the guest academics. She and her colleague carry out hour-long telephone conversations with the guests, before they come on the programme, to gain a more in-depth understanding of the topic. Then, each week, they send Bragg about 30 pages of briefing notes. In an interview with The Scotsman in 2009, Bragg reveals the extent of the work he undertakes for each epi-
With more than 600 programmes made so far, and more coming up every week until summer, there is no sign of the programme’s end any time soon. Episodes are often directly related to university courses, and the production team is keen to emphasise the benefits In Our Time offers to students. The show offers in-depth discussions and debates on an extensive variety of topics; each episode is a useful starting point for further exploration into a specific academic talking-point. With so much preparation, and the invaluable input of three specialised academics, it’s no surprise that In Our Time is gaining popularity amongst students. In Our Time airs at 9am every Thursday on Radio 4. Past programmes can be downloaded from the website at bbc.co.uk/radio4/inourtime.
Victoria Brignell, producer of the programme
Photographs: John McCafferty and In Our Time
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Thursday 22nd October 2015
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FILM & TV
An interview with Mr Freeze Indigo Editor, Patrick Brennan talks to acclaimed wildlife cameraman Doug Allan. Best known for his work on David Attenborough’s Planet Earth, Life and The Blue Planet, his is the face you never see…until November 4th when he appears at the Gala in Doug Allan: Life Behind the Lens. A must for any nature-lover.
H
i Doug, It’s fantastic to meet you. Would you tell us how you got into the film and camera business?
Well it was actually a chance meeting with David Attenborough… What luck! He bumps into a lot of people. I was working in the Antarctic as a scientist for the British Antarctic Survey at the time, and I got a real feel for how they worked – prior to that I hadn’t even picked up a film camera! I’d written a few articles with the idea of approaching National Geographic, but when I met David it took me off into different directions. As I was going to be in the Antarctic over the winter anyway, I suggested I might do some emperor penguin footage, and that’s where it kicked off. So it was a bit opportunistic really! What was it like being so cold all the time? How did you cope physically? You’re not actually cold all the time – a lot of places in the Antarctic in the summer are similar to Scotland in February or March. But, it is bitterly cold in the winter: down to -30oC and below. You learn the capabilities and limits of your own body. You have to walk that narrow boundary between your fingers being okay and the first nips of frostbite. But when you talk about being cold, it’s a little bit like, say, if you and I broke our legs and we were lying in hospital together, who’s to say whose injury is the more painful? It might just come down to how much pain you feel.
Do you feel like you get to know that animal quite personally, in that respect- their habits and how they behave? That’s what I like really, is to be given the time to spend with the animal in their environment, particularly if you’re dealing with a big mammal like a polar bear or an artic fox, or even a seal or a whale - if that animal is recognised because of its features, and bears and whales often are because of their scars and things like that, it’s wonderful to be given several days with that animal. Every day you get to know that animal a bit better and the animal gets to know you a bit better and it will settle down and start behaving naturally in front of you, which is what we’re all looking for. It’s a
great privilege to be paid to be patient. Whales are one of my favourite animals. What species have you been in the water with? I’ve been in the water with belugas and bowheads,
“Its a privilege to be paid to be patient” a tiny little bit with narwhals and then humpbacks, minkes, sperm whales and some of the dolphin species. A blue whale, too, briefly. You were in the sea with a blue whale?! Yeah. We did some filming in Sri Lanka – we dived down and there was a blue whale right in front of us. I don’t think there are any other shots of blue whale with a person in them. I have to say that blue whales, they may be the biggest, but they are not the most friendly. They’re shy? They’re not so much shy as totally disinterested, and they hardly ever swim slowly. You’ll get a swim by or maybe you’ll put yourself in front of them and they’ll dive and you can dive with them. They don’t seem to be as curious as humpbacks or dolphins – they just get on with their business. My favourite whales are probably humpbacks – they can be very friendly; they spend a lot of time near the surface and they take a really big interest in you.
A lot of your job must be spent waiting for that right moment, what’s it like just having to stay in the same place? If you’re the kind of person who gets impatient waiting don’t go into wildlife filming!
I’ve also had some great times with belugas. Generally, toothed whales are more intelligent than baleen whales and when you get surrounded by a pod of belugas in the water,
No! There is a lot of waiting around where nothing will happen and the animal won’t appear. I once spent several weeks in a hide, waiting for snow leopards to appear and they appeared only once. That was pretty tedious but you have to recognise that it’s part of the job and that wherever you do it, there is invariably
tain degree of discomfort – be it mosquitos eating your sweat beads or your fingers chilling up.
a cer-
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that’s really something else; it’s like diving in the middle of a flock of birds. One of my favourite of your scenes from The Blue Planet was a pod of belugas in the Arctic with the sea-ice forming over their heads – they had to keep swimming up to a hole to keep it open. It had all of us on the edge of our seats! Yeah, that was pretty special. We heard about that scenario from some friends we had in the arctic and it was very exciting to watch. There were some polar bears trying to catch them, and in the area around the hole there were about nine dead belugas. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived this event was about four weeks old – when the belugas were first discovered the hole was only a couple of metres long, so the polar bears were finding it really easy to catch the belugas. But the hole was melting by the time we got there. The hole was just too big; the belugas could stay in the middle and the polar bears were finding it hard. We did at least get a jump in by a polar bear. It may have been quite gruesome to watch a beluga getting hauled above the surface and finished off, so maybe that was the best result in the end. But I was certainly hoping it would catch one! Turning to a completely different topic: you’ve talked before about environmental issues, like plastics in the oceans. Wildlife presenter Chris Packham has given views that we shouldn’t direct funding for wildlife issues towards saving particular species like pandas and tigers, ones that don’t have a huge ecological impact. We should direct that funding towards other conservation efforts. They are the flagship species that the public supports and might end up bringing in more funding than if you didn’t fund them. I just wondered where do you lie on this? I’ve heard Chris before. He reckons that pandas are the biggest waste of time because they are at an ecological dead end.
Thursday 22nd October 2015
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FILM & TV
“It used to be that you could make people care about the planet by showing them how beautiful the world is. I think what happens now is that we show people beautiful places and they want to go there! “ They don’t seem to have much drive to continue their own species. They live very quietly in the bamboo forest and do nothing else. So why are they recognised and loved? They are like cute, cuddly bears. My feelings are that Chris has a point, but if you start out with people caring about individual animals, then you are more likely to have people look at the bigger picture. It’s like when people say ‘why do you make these big glossy films that don’t say a word about the pressures to the environment?’ I think they have a point, too. It used to be that you could make people care about the planet by showing them how beautiful the world is. Now I’m not so sure that’s true anymore, because I’ve tried that for thirty years and we still have serious degradation of the environment. I think what happens now is that we show people beautiful places and they want to go there! I think, a little bit like Chris – if glossy wildlife films are the equivalent of the pandas and the tigers – that there’s a crying need for films to address some of the issues around climate change.
I think it’s disappointing that the BBC doesn’t have more documentaries about climate change in their schedule for the next four months. I believe climate change is a massive issue facing the planet; it’s getting harder and more expensive to cope with every year. It’s only a matter of time before we reach tipping point and lose control. Do you think it’s one of those things that people are reluctant to come to terms with because we know that it might not affect our own generation, but a generation or two down the line instead? Yes, people are very good at hiding their heads in the sand. We need to get new criteria as to what we call successful businesses: we want to reach a steady state rather than keep on wanting more from companies, more from the Earth. We are going to reach a crunch point sooner or later and it’s likely to be sooner if we carry on the way we are. Would you recommend any advice for budding photographers at university? I am entirely self-taught. I never had a lesson in my life. However, for those who want to go into the business, you have to be passionate and you have to be good at your craft. I would recommend that you study the kind of photographs and movies you like, take them apart and read about the techniques that allow camera people and producers to produce this piece of art you see. But bear in mind that it’s not an easy way to make a living and there are an awful lot of people trying to get into it! Doug Allan, yhank you. Doug Allan: Life Behind The Lens takes place at The Gala Theatre on Wednesday the 4th of November. Tel: 03000 266600 www.galadurham.co.uk See the back page of Indigo for details on how you can win tickets to see Doug! Images: Hob Publicity
12 “T
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Thursday 22nd October 2015
T RAV E L
Old Streets
Andrei Sandu reflects on the transition of Bucharest
his isn’t little Paris, this is Big Bucharest”. I have lost count of how many of these stickers I’ve seen as I walk around the city. I am not surprised that the comparison is widely recognised; the similarities between the French capital’s belle époque style and the neoclassical elegance of those older Romanian buildings that survived collectivisation are hard to miss. Until now, though, I thought it was something in which all Romanians took pride. After all, to be mentioned in the same sentence as the global centre of chic is no mean feat. But as Romania takes its last steps towards leaving its Communist past behind, hoping to regain the significance it held in the early 20th Century, many are keen for the capital to do so with its own identity.
emigrated as a toddler, my relationship with the city is an unusual one. It has been but a holiday destination for as long as I can remember, but an emotional bond with one’s birthplace seems to overrule memory (or lack thereof). I was not there for the hardship, or the transition, but I cannot disguise my pride as I notice the city’s rapid progress. Huge international brands have stores between the pubs and restaurants. Looking side to side, I see a vibrant commercial centre like any other. And then I look up. Beyond the ground floor, the 19th century buildings that these modern, recently renovated businesses inhabit are untouched.
“It’s like being introduced as someone’s friend or partner at a party,” a young man named Alin tells me. “You shouldn’t get to know me because I’m dating a beautiful blonde, you should get to know me because I’m a great guy!” Bucharest may have its own Arc du Triomphe, but it also has a unique and unparalleled charm. Romanians are proud of their often-inexplainable idiosyncrasies, whether it is their militant refusal to enter someone else’s home without taking their shoes off or the common practice of accepting a chewing gum instead of small change, because anything less than a 1 Leu note (about an American quarter) is deemed negligible – at least by the shopkeeper.
the bars and clubs of Centrul Vechi (Old Town), I can’t help but notice one named Prohibition. An attempt to piggyback on the trendy reputation of roaring twenties speakeasies or not-so-subtle satire? Many Romanians still have an uneasy relationship with the past, as outraged by recent political corruption as by Communist nepotism, but time is healing old wounds and Bucharest is moving on. The Old Town is buzzing with life, its pedestrian streets lined with trendy clubs and cafés that wouldn’t look out of place in London or New York. Having been born in Bucharest but
It doesn’t take Raluca’s credentials to understand that Communist urban planning was as narrow minded as their ideology, but her knowledge is astounding. “They couldn’t grasp the simple fact that straight-line roads do not fit a city which - like Berlin - developed and expanded organically”, she tells me, increasingly irritated and animated. The demolitions to make way for of Unification Boulevard (then known as Victory of Socialism Boulevard) were rampant. “The road was conceived as Bucharest’s answer to the ChampsÉlysées, but the drab socialist-realist concrete rectangles that line it do not compare to the elegance of its French inspiration”. Destruction of the very buildings that first earned Bucharest its comparison to Paris to create space for this artificial imitation is illogical to say the least, and it is perhaps paradoxes like these that have left some Romanians fed up of comparisons. That said, systemisation was sarcastically known by some as Ceaushisma, associating Communist general secretary Ceausescu with the bombing of Hiroshima. He did four times more damage to the capital than the Allied bombings and the 1977 earthquake combined: the greatest peacetime devastation of any European city.
“If in the last few years, you’ve ever joined a queue without any idea what you’re queuing for, you know you’re Romanian” quips an old friend, referring of course to the shortages endured under Communism. As I wander amongst
“I was not there for the hardship, or the transition, but I cannot disguise my pride as I notice the city’s rapid progress’’
chitects’ Union is less appreciative of the commercialised, “architecturally dead” Old Town or developers’ disregard for the true value of its buildings. We meet instead at Carturesti, Raluca’s “true” centre of Bucharest: a bookshop and café housed in the majestic former home of ninteteenth-century statesman and four-term Prime Minister Dimitrie Sturdza. Given to a small bookshop by Sturdza’s family to prevent its demolition, the house was restored room by room and has become a cultural hub, particularly for creative industries.
Perhaps not touching them is the safest thing to do – a few sport red “seismic caution” signs, warning of their questionable ability to withstand an earthquake. On many the paint is peeling and the windows are missing, but some have been restored to their former beauty, their white facades standing nobly between the two dilapidated shells either side. With intricate patterns sculpted into the tall columns and busts of famous figures tucked into alcoves, they could pass as Roman to the uninitiated. Some of the flat sides have been beautifully painted with summer scenes of birds crossing a blue sky above lush green woodland, showing some messy name-tag graffiti what street art should really be about. Cheap real estate attracting hip new establishments to a once run-down area is by no means a Romanian phenomenon, but the extent of this contrast here is extraordinary. Unsurprisingly, Raluca Munteanu of the Ar-
About a quarter of historic Bucharest was lost to the systemization of urban centres, inspired by the Juche ideology that so impressed Ceausescu during his visits to North Korea in the early seventies. The Romanian Communist leader feared assassination with such paranoia that the apartment blocks around the Palace of Parliament on Unification Boulevard were not inhabited, with state officials turning lights on and off in a ridiculous attempt to conceal this. With 1,100 ornately decorated rooms, the huge Palace is still the world’s largest administrative building, and is still used by the government today. Raluca believes that little has changed. The post-Communist government rejected a widely endorsed German plan for the redevelopment of the Boulevard in favour of its own, poorly-executed alternative, and the short notice evictions that characterized systemization continued long into the 2000s. As we finish our teas, she is keen to reassure me that she does greatly appreciate Bucharest, just not what has been done to it, as much in the years following the revolution as during Communist rule.
i The next morning, with our conversation still fresh in my mind, I hop into a taxi after breakfast. “It might take a while, Kiseleff Road is closed today, you know,” the driver tells me when I ask about crossing the city. Having heard bizarre stories about infrastructure projects through which
“Perhaps enough has changed since the hardships of Communism for people to feel that Bucharest is reinvigorated; something worth cherishing again.” one team of builders laid tarmac before another, less than a hundred meters behind, dug it up again to lay cables and water pipes, I fear the most absurd reason for the closure. I could not be more wrong. Since last year, this historic dual carriageway is inaccessible to cars on Saturday afternoons so that its length can be used for outdoor sports activities from table tennis to badminton and basketball, with equipment provided by the local mayorship. I have visited Bucharest several times and I am always impressed by the frequent additions to the skyline, but modern constructions are easy, with the right funding. To me, outdoor schemes like this one represent a deeper change. Perhaps enough has changed since the hardships of Communism for people to feel that Bucharest is reinvigorated, something worth cherishing again. Half a decade may only be a blink in the city’s long history, but few remain for whom the grandeur before the shortages and suffering is still within living memory. Reminders still exist. Many neoclassical theatres have been converted into independent cinemas. The magnificent domed Athenaeum concert hall, built in 1888 with public funding, hosts the internationally acclaimed annual George Enescu music festival. In buildings like these, it is difficult not to imagine the splendour of Romanian high society before the Second World War, but the average outsider’s image of Bucharest is probably the precise opposite, and there is a strong desire to change that.
Thursday 22nd October 2015
T RAV E L
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The menu of the chocolate boutique at which I stop for dessert that evening is further proof that Romania has left behind the drab and undifferentiated for good. It is 130 pages long. While much is indeed made up of various cakes and cookies, I am surprised by the incredibly varied selection of tea. Unlike much of mainland Europe, where coffee is the uncontested hot beverage of choice, many of Bucharest’s young professionals prefer fruit tea, and the city’s oncesuppressed entrepreneurial spirit has since produced many unique ways of experiencing it.
before. Satisfied with my reaction, they return to their duties, not before thanking me for letting them watch. I soon realize that the staff here is even more special than the surroundings. Santhé hires exclusively from disadvantaged backgrounds, including infamously abusive children’s homes. I err on the side of caution and decide not to inquire into my server’s story, but his beaming positivity is truly heartwarming. Appreciating every common courtesy as though it were a neatly wrapped Christmas present, his smile is beaming and his passion for his work is astounding.
Beyond the bookshop-teashop at Carturesti, Infinitea offers live jazz, soul and classical music in a large, ornately decorated house and garden. At Seneca Anticafe, customers pay by the hour to use the space, which offers books, internet access and unlimited tea and snacks. “It’s a space for value time, valued by time”, the hostess tells me as I take a seat. She hands me a small brown card with the time and the name of prolific Romanian poet and novelist Mihai Eminescu elaborately handwritten on it in. Lost, if not slightly enchanted, she recognizes the confusion on my face. “This is yours. When you want to leave, hand it back and we’ll charge for how long you’ve been.”
From Anticafé to Fitocafé, Bucharest’s individuality (or perhaps individualitea) seems boundless, and I have now seen it in too many contexts to still feel like I am superimposing it onto anything and everything that catches my eye. Of course, these concepts are probably not unique to the Romanian capital, but here they feel particularly new.
Just when I thought I had discovered every way in which the drinking of tea could be made more exciting, a childhood friend invites me to Santhé, a play on the French words for health and tea. He holds this fitocafé (or social enterprise) in high esteem, and my expectations are exceeded as soon as we step into its fairytale setting. It is like entering a Wes Anderson film sponsored by Cath Kidson; immaculately decorated and somehow maintaining tastefulness despite the floral prints that covers everything from curtains to coasters. The concept? Customers are encouraged to pay for an additional drink or snack, leaving it “waiting” to be enjoyed by someone who may not be able to afford it themselves. I opt for an intriguing tea flavored by a bulb which blooms to produce seven flowers, and the three waiters gather around my table, murmuring in giddy anticipation of the magical moment, as though they had never served one
Drowned in advertising after the revolution released a flood of consumerism, many want something else. Gone are the days of the 90s when,
“Bucharest’s individuality seems boundless” as pensioner Magda tells me, it was the norm to collect plastic bags from trips abroad to show friends and relatives where you had shopped. When the Romanian markets first opened to the world, brands had no previous success off which to launch new products, and promotion was intensive. Many of central Bucharest’s apartment buildings still look like a budget attempt at the famous screens of London’s Piccadilly Lights. “Most households own at least some Coca Cola glasses, if not also a few branded t-shirts, from countless merchandise competitions”, Magda continues. The Romanian word for trainers or sneakers is “adidasi”, while to photocopy is to “xerox”. Bucharest is by no means on the brink of some sort of post-consumerist uprising, but when foreign brands invade even your language, can you be blamed for wanting a modern identity of your own? I can’t help but smile at some messily scrawled graffiti. “Spit here if you think life is beautiful.” The wall is dry, but I am enjoying Bucharest too much not to blame this on the hot weather.
Photographs: Andrei Sandu Instagram: @palatinatetravel Interested in writing for us? Email travel@palatinate.org.uk
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Thursday 22nd October 2015
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MUSIC
Ones to Watch
Chirag Karia and Laura Santos-Ayllon give you the lowdown on the upcoming gigs this term Foals, O2 Academy Newcastle 11/11/15
After the August release of their fourth stu-
dio EP since 2013’s Mercury-nominated Holy
live chemistry and relentless energy, dedicated fans that managed to get a ticket to the soldout tour can expect to hear a mix of both old favourites and new hits from the Oxford FivePiece’s daring new record, ‘What Went Down’. If the band’s secret set at Reading 2015 is anything to go by, expect to see wild mosh pits, anxious security guards, and a roaring crowd as front man Yannis Philippakis stage dives into a sea of screaming fans. by Chirag Karia
The Courteeners, O2 Academy Newcastle, 30/11/15
Hailing from suburban Manchester, The Fire, Foals are back with a string of live shows in November, including a gig at Newcastle’s O2 Academy. With a reputation for chaotic
Courteeners typify indie’s northern heartland with catchy hooks and scattered traces of pop. In August 2014 they released their fourth album, Concrete Love, and are now touring the
UK during November and December. Since their inception in 2006 they have played at festivals such as Reading, Glastonbury, and Ibiza Rocks (to name only a few), as well as touring Europe in recent years. With static, rhythmic sounds that somehow take us back to pure ‘rock n’ roll’ the band turn a gig into an intense, emotional experience for all rock lovers. Expect big things, considering they rocketed to top in the charts with singles such as ‘Not Nineteen Forever’. Liam Fray, acting as frontman, guitarist and lyrical spearhead, is the creative powerhouse behind the band - and it tells: here is a band with character if ever there was one. If you are an indie-rock maniac, (and are lucky enough to find tickets!) do not hesitate to add more spontaneity to your Durham routine, and make your way towards The Courteeners’ electrifying sound. by Laura Santos-Ayllon Image by WBR Press
The good ship albion sails again
Roy Manuell reviews The Libertines’ latest effort, ‘Anthems for Doomed Youth’ A lot has happened on the good ship Albion over the past 12 years. The perennially misunderstood, headline-maker Pete Doherty suffered prison and survived rehab amongst other exploits. Lead guitarist and probable frontman Carl Barat’s spent his time releasing a handful of genuinely terrible solo records. Silent bassist John Hassall turned to Buddhism. Yet here we are in 2015 and The Libertines are back. To say Anthems for Doomed Youth is overdue would be an understatement but the band clearly haven’t forgotten the reason why they meant so much to so many. Their unapologetic vision of an imagined, idealised England remains at the fore on album no. 3: “to Camden we will crawl, one and all” Barat urges on ‘Fame and Fortune’ like a charming call to arms to fix a broken Britain. Rerecorded old Libertines track ‘You’re My Waterloo’ becomes an early standout and vindication for their production choice as Doherty delivers a beautiful love song. Perhaps it’s about his tumultuous relationship with Barat, but shrouded in backing vocals and strings it reads equally well as a eulogy to the London Underground. What vitally separates Anthems for Doomed Youth from the band’s earlier work is the
detached distance that now divides Barat and Doherty from the substance abuse documented on ‘Up The Bracket’ and their sophomore record. Songs such as ‘Iceman’ and reggaeinspired ‘Gunga Din’ lament such past excess, Doherty panting “I’m sick and tired of feeling sick and tired again” on the latter. Written and recorded in Thailand during his time in rehab alog with the rest of the record, it is a cleaner Doherty here, and it shows.
Ultimately, Anthems for Doomed Youth is far from a perfect album, but The Libertines never really did perfect. Inward-gazing, they can now offer up the kind of closure that the past 12 years demanded. Will it pave the way for a potential musical future for one of the most relevant, influential and above all, loved British bands of the post-punk era? Only time will tell.
In spite of this, the album is not without its misfires. Barat’s snarling use of expletives on the second verse of ‘Gunga…’ feels forged and unnecessary while the directionless and undeveloped track ‘Belly of the Beast’ feels like foreplay to the second half of the album. Saying that, there is an undoubtable reflective tenderness to Anthems for Doomed Youth. The album’s title track proves that despite all the complexities surrounding the Barat/Doherty relationship, they remain largely unrivalled in the realm of modern guitar music songwriting. Single ‘Heart of the Matter’ marks the turning point in the album, introducing its considerably stronger second half, as it urgently leads onto the Clash-inspired, two-minute forty, riffheavy ‘Fury of Chonburi’, its title explicit in its reference to the record’s Asian birthplace.
Image by Rough Trade Records
Thursday 22nd October 2015
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STA G E
15
Casting in theatre: the gender divide I
Simon Fearn considers whether Durham is doing enough to address the gender imbalance in casting, which is so vastly present in theatre as a whole
t’s the start of a new year for Durham student theatre, and an exciting time to try out new approaches and build upon the successes of last year. As we speak, a new raft of theatrical first years are preparing to take to the stage, champing at the bit to be unleashed upon The Assembly Rooms. But for many new Durham actresses, frustrating times lie ahead. They will, rather unjustly, be forced to compete for a limited number of multi-dimensional female parts, compared with much richer pickings for their male counterparts. The problem is a national one, recently brought to attention by actress and ex-Labour MP Glenda Jackson. In an impassioned plea, Jackson asks “where have been the remarkable new plays which have women as the driving engine?” She has called for modern playwrights to address the gender imbalance and provide actresses with complex and fulfilling roles: “It can’t be that they [playwrights] haven’t heard these cries of anguish rolling around for decades.” Jackson’s sense of injustice is strongly supported by the figures. A 2012 report by Elizabeth Freestone in partnership with The Guardian revealed that, in the top ten subsidised theatres in the UK, only 38% of the actors employed were female. This is both deeply unfair, and baffling considering that 68% of theatregoers are women (according to a 2010 Ipsos Mori survey). How is it that this largely female audience is still presented with a world skewed towards male experience, with women relegated to the sidelines?
Abigail Weinstock in Ooook! Productions’ Yes, Prime Minister, Weinstock was cast gender blind, and was critically well recieved as being very effective in her portrayal of her Bernard.
I spoke to three second year actresses who shared their experience of the Durham theatre scene. “There are so many good female actresses for comparatively few female roles,” explained one of the actresses, “especially leads”. Even the female roles available leave something to be desired. “What can often occur in plays and musicals is that the lead female role is reduced to just that - the female role,” lamented another second year. “The character is there only to support the male lead; to simply be the love interest, or used as a device to show another level to the male role.” It’s easy to see why these women are frustrated. Durham Student Theatre (DST) admittedly can’t do much about the historic shortage of female characters in British theatre, but sometimes Durham theatre companies could be more sensitive in their choice of plays. For example, Death of a Salesman was a questionable choice for the Freshers’ Play last year. The production was meant to be showcasing the talent of first year actors, so it seems highly unfair that there were three meaty roles for men (Willy, Biff and Happy) and only one similarly complex female character (Linda). The production team even had to hold a second round of male only auditions to fill Miller’s male-heavy supporting roles. Then there was last year’s Durham Drama Festival, which also attracted criticism for a scarcity of female parts. One of the actresses I spoke to remarked that although the vast majority of the writers involved were women, the plays either had an equal male/female split or a male lead, overall resulting in actresses losing out to male students. Of course, this is hardly the fault of the writers involved, but saying this it would be nice to see some plays with women as the driving force in this year’s competition. Despite all of this, it’s important to give credit where it’s due. One of the actresses interviewed was largely positive about Durham’s efforts to correct theatre’s gender imbalance. “Durham has recognised the fact there are a greater number of females interested in acting than males,” she told me, “hence we have seen a lot of gender-blind roles, such as in Ooook!’s Yes Prime Minister, and also plays like Lion Theatre Company’s The Children’s Hour, which was a completely female cast, bar two men”. There is a similarly positive outlook for the coming year, with plays such as Woman in Mind, Miss Julie and That Face offering central female roles. A lot of theatre companies in Durham are admirably sensitive about the need to counter theatre’s bias towards male roles, but there is still much that needs to be done before we can be confident that all our actors have equal opportunities. Durham can’t do much to alter the fact that the accepted theatrical canon primarily consists of men writing about men: for example, only 13% of Shakespearean roles with 500 lines or more are female. But what we can do is to think more carefully about the plays we choose to produce, and provide new takes on established classics like Shakespeare via
Lydia Feerick and Serena Gosling in Fourth Wall’s Our Country’s Good, in which many actors played two parts, with gender blind casting for many of the roles.
gender blind casting. We can also bring an awareness of the gender imbalance to our original plays in the 2016 Drama Festival, and provide opportunities for more of our extremely talented actresses to establish themselves in the Durham theatre scene. Early signs show that DST is making a concerted effort to remedy the gender imbalance in the coming year. DST president Tyler Rainford spoke proudly of a new inclusivity action plan at the ‘DST Spotlight’ event, whilst DULOG president Jennifer Bullock told me that a more even balance of male and female leads was a key reason for choosing their Michaelmas play, The Addams Family. This year’s Freshers’ Play is also set to be more inclusive, with DST asking for directors to bring forward plays with 10 or more parts, and be open to gender blind casting. It is clear then, that we are making steps towards solving this gross unfairness in Durham. But we must always remember the historic bias towards men in theatre, and never allow ourselves to become complacent. I leave the last word to actor, writer and director Stella Duffy, who wrote an impassioned blogpost condemning the treatment of women in theatre. “We have a responsibility to make the world a fairer place,’” she writes, “and sometimes you have to do a little social engineering to make that happen.” This is a message that anyone involved in Durham theatre ought to take to heart. Photographs: Samuel Kirkman
Photography Competition Would you like to see your photograph here? Send us your best ‘Durham in Autumn’ photo by the 31st of October, and you could win a pair of tickets to see Doug Allan: Life behind the Lens at the Gala Theatre on the 4th of November! Turn to page 10 to see Indigo’s interview with Doug and for more details on his upcoming talk. Send your photos to indigo@palatinate.org.uk
Photograph: Venus Loi
Down 1. A place for marine hipsters (8) 3. Former Palatinate editor whose dad dancing does Durham proud (6,4) 4. Durham’s favourite person (4,6) 5. A regular building was attacked with wrecking balls and this was the result (6,5) 6. If it doesn’t star this guy, does it even count as theatre? (5,8) 7. There’s a high chance one of your housemates has got with him (10) 9. Durham’s latest architectural feat is halfway complete (4,9) 13. Our esteemed leader (6,6) 16. “My shoes are sticky!” (5) 17. “Mate, do you even ___?”
Across 2. Does anyone ever actually play ping pong here? (4,4) 4. Trevs looks a bit like one of these (7) 8. Durham alumnus on X Factor (5,5) 10. “Oooh look, shiny things!” (7) 11. Tatler says this is Durham’s doss subject (12) 12. Overpriced lunch? It’s got to be ___. (3) 14. Cheap Italian food (5) 15. Watching this made our eyes bleed (4,7,5) 18. We’re still waiting on the next issue (11) 19. The perfect place for people watching (8)
Comic by Mariam Hayat