Issue 72 - Christian Friedel by The Essential Journal

NOVEMBER 2023 ISSUE 72

FA S H I O N - L I F E S T Y L E - C U LT U R E MIRROR MIRROR!

ON ARTISTIC RESPONSIBILITY, SELF-REFLECTION, AND THE ZONE OF INTEREST PAGE 44

THOM BROWNE’S 20TH ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION PAGE 30 ESSENTIALJOURNAL.CO.UK

67TH BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL PAGE 56

CHARLOTTE RITCHIE PAGE 68

C R E AT E D & P U B L I S H E D B Y

E S S E N T I A L S T U D I O.C O. U K

CONTENTS ISSUE SEVENTY TWO 7 THE EDITOR'S NOTE // 12-19 THE PRIMER 20 ON THE SHELF // 22-23 COLUMN: ROHIN JOHAL 24-25 ESSENTIAL TRAVELS: BOSNIA // 28-29 COLUMN: LOUIS BENEVENTI // 30-35 THOM BROWNE’S 20TH YEAR COLLECTION // 36-39 KLEMAN // 40-41 DMR: THE LUNA COLLECTION // 44-55 CHRISTIAN FRIEDEL // 56-67 LONDON FILM FESTIVAL 2023 // 68-75 CHARLOTTE RITCHIE 77-79 THE WONDER YEARS // 80-85 ANJLI MOHINDRA 86-87 COLUMN: EMMY HALLAHAN // 88-89 ESSENTIAL 94-95 GRAMME 11 // 96-97 ONE MORE DRINK 98 CONTRIBUTORS

THE ESSENTIAL JOURNAL STAFF editor-in-chief

BETH BENNETT

b.bennett@essentialstudio.co.uk

creative director

lead designer

THOMAS SUMNER

EVIE FRIAR

t.sumner@essentialstudio.co.uk

web and social media manager

JULIA AUCHEY

evie.friar@essentialstudio.co.uk

j.auchey@essentialstudio.co.uk

business partnerships

director

JAMES DOUGLAS

RICHARD SINGLETON

THOMAS SINGLETON

j.douglas@essentialstudio.co.uk

r.singleton@essentialstudio.co.uk

tom@essentialstudio.co.uk

ESSENTIALJOURNAL.CO.UK // @ESSENTIALJOURNAL published by ESSENTIAL STUDIO // ESSENTIALSTUDIO.CO.UK

WRITERS Rosie Barker, Holly Bate, Louis Beneventi, Robin Clementson, Emmy Hallahan, Rohin Johal, Katie Langford, Katie Marshall, Aster Sage, Cal Smith

PANTRY // 90-92 LA MARZOCCO: BARISTA HEROES

interview

BETH BENNETT

THE COVER IMAGE

THE EDITOR'S NOTE

"HOPE IS A THING WITH FEATHERS.” Emily Dickinson

THE EDITOR'S NOTE

pictured

CHRISTIAN FRIEDEL photographed by

BETH BENNETT location

THE SOHO HOTEL

JENNIE ROBERTS interview

BETH BENNETT

THE COVER IMAGE

I visited Sylvia Plath’s grave a few months ago. A point of contention for a lot of people who’ve endeavoured over the years to scrape away the engraved ‘Hughes’ tacked onto the poet’s name on the stone. It was well-kept enough. Fans had littered the dirt with pens to homage her impact on their own writing, their own lives. Surrounding Plath’s grave though, in the large churchyard of Hepstonhall, were so many forgotten lives. Stones weatherfaded. Knocked down and cracked under winds. 1900s. 1800s. 1700s. People who were loved, cherished, probably hated at some points too, and people who had eulogies spoken when they were laid to rest. Where are those words now? Plath had fame, infamy to some, and her own words are still out there to be shared with so many. But the others? This issue comes at a difficult time, both personally for myself and for the world at large. Bereavement is a terrible beast and loss is something that you never really stop feeling. I know I’m fortunate, even when the grief sometimes feels too much to bear, that my loss is only at 1. There are thousands, millions, across the world who are losing everyone they love each sunrise. For that reason, the theme of this issue is ‘Memory’. It’s legacy and it’s eulogies and honouring those who’ve gone by learning from what took them, and how we can prevent it happening again. But there is also a hope to it, an optimism, that I think we all need right now.

BETH BENNETT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

pictured

CHRISTIAN FRIEDEL photographed by

BETH BENNETT

hair and makeup

I think eulogies are shit. How do you sum up a life in a few short paragraphs that portrays the role of that very person to everyone perched on the pews that terrible day? You can’t, I suppose, that’s the point of grief – it’s the lack of that wholeness of which that person brought to you. Yet, it’s at the eulogy, I think so anyway, that it begins, that steady minimising of a life once so full and expansive. First, it’s down to those few short paragraphs. Then a memory spoke over one too many at Christmas. Then, eventually, as those immediate relatives fall victim to their own minimising, a life becomes a few words. A name and a date. Then—

THE IMAGE

THE HARBOR (1943) JOSEF PRESSER, POLISH-AMERICAN ARTIST. Location: The Met, Fifth Avenue. New York, New York.

THE PRIMER

WHAT WE'RE WEARING

A.P.C X JW ANDERSON MANTEAU COLIN DUFFLE COAT The collaborative collection by JW Anderson and A.P.C. draws its creative spark from Joseph Beuys's iconic performance art piece, "I Like America and America Likes Me." This evocative historical context serves as the foundation for a collection that artfully translates Beuys's symbolic journey into fashion through subtle design elements. The rough texture of the duffle coat subtly recalls the felt from this performance. An oversized fit, designed to be worn loose, the coat is the perfect finishing touch to any winter wear outfit, easily covering thick sweaters and shirts. The closing system of rope and brandebourg (with the first being a whistle) adds a unique, nautical look to the late-year wardrobe while the muted tones perfectly compliment the shades of November and December.

£865

THE PRIMER

WHAT WE'RE READING

GOD LOVES A FRETTER BY SAM BATLEY God Loves A Fretter is the self-published photo-biography of Sam Batley that invites readers into his own anxiety, into his own worries, as it charts not only his relationship with his family but his evolving relationship to himself and his struggles with addiction. A personal, evocative, and emotive collection, the images and brief text of the book grip you with a true sense of the person who created them. Nothing is left behind. It’s all out in the open. God love ya.

sambatley.bigcartel.com @sambatley

THE PRIMER

WHAT WE'RE LISTENING TO

WE'RE HERE TO HELP - JAKE JOHNSON & GARETH REYNOLDS Celebrity podcasts are everywhere these days. It seems like everyone who's anyone is taking the mic to air their thoughts, express their feelings and discuss their experiences. Jake Johnson and Gareth Reynolds, however, are putting the listener first. We're Here to Help combines both comedy and counsel to offer their advice on being caught on petcam, gaining nerd clout with your Dungeons and Dragons character and what to do when you meet a "Fake Jake". Episodes are quick, quippy and well worth your time. Check it out. We're Here to Help is available now wherever you get your podcasts. @heretohelppod

THE PRIMER

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

ANATOMY OF A FALL

Sandra Hüller shines as a woman accused of murdering her husband in this ambitious thriller from Justine Triet. Having taken the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes festival, this murder mystery meets courtroom drama will grab you by the neck and squeeze until you’re left breathless at the end. Confined to a glossy courtroom or the mountainous French Alps, Anatomy Of A Fall is as claustrophobic as it is isolating, and the acting of Hüller and the supporting cast (including one exceptional dog) demonstrates this through exceptionally textured performances. An unmissable watch. In cinemas now.

THE PRIMER

WHAT WE'RE DRINKING

BUNNAHABHAIN 1990 WHISKY A rich, bold Bunnahabhain single malt that was specially selected for The Whisky Exchange and bottled in 2023 after more than three decades in a single oloroso sherry butt. Over the years it has developed layers of sweet spices, sticky caramel and nutty chocolate that mingle with Bunnahabhain’s fruity and malty character. This whisky offers a rich backdrop of rich coffee, well-worn leather, rancio and dried fruit that complements the distillery’s character, without overpowering it. thewhiskyexchange.com

THE PRIMER

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO

CHANEL’S METIERS D’ART

Each year, Chanel introduces a collection that pays homage to the small specialist workshops the fashion house began buying in the mid 80s. It’s an effort, by them, to help preserve the expertise and craftsmanship associated with French luxury and, since it began, has become an integral date in the calendar for all fashion professionals. Last year, the métiers d’art show took place in Dakar, Senegal, yet Chanel is bringing its 2023/2023 show to Manchester, UK. Unveiling on December 7th, the collection is expected to be a celebration of the savoir-faire of Chanel’s métiers d’art show and we can’t help but feel the buzz as the Rainy City prepares for the festivities.

A really great debut album is a rare thing. It's something often appreciated in retrospect, following years of success by the band or artist, who now have a fan base that likes to praise their earlier work in the hopes of scoring points in the imaginary game of cultural capital. It's less common, however, when the world is gifted an album that immediately puts someone on the map. Pony by Orville Peck is one such album that managed to find its way onto playlists and record players everywhere without anybody knowing who the masked singer was beforehand. At first listen, its a sleek and understated album, expertly carried by Peck's Elvis-like vocals. But the deeper you dive into each track, the more pieces you can uncover of the man behind the mask. It's the perfect introduction to the world for an artist favouring anonymity but not held prisoner by it. Stand out tracks include Dead of Night and the lesser appreciated closing number Nothing Fades Like the Light.

ON THE SHELF

Pony by Orville Peck

WORDS EVIE FRIAR

PEOPLE. COMMUNITY. COFFEE. IN THAT ORDER. We are an independently owned coffee brand focused on bringing 92 Degrees to communities across the UK so that our mission of providing awesome coffee, for everyone, everywhere continues to grow.

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COLUMN

WHAT'S IN A SCARF?

WORDS

ROHIN JOHAL

@___daskaran___ Rohin is a DJ based in Staines. Often found travelling the world and meeting new cultures, when Rohin finally gets a minute to themselves, they'll be engaged in Japanese media or watching Bollywood films with their Grandma. Oh, and they're wickedly good at limbo.

COLUMN

As we move into the coldest period of the year, it’s winter essentials that come to the forefront of our minds, and what greater essential is there, than an opulent scarf? An accessory that can be crafted from cotton to silk, patterned simply or vibrantly, a single scarf can be the perfect accoutrement to any outfit.

Yet, as time progressed, the fundamentality of the scarf would splinter. In the early Roman Empire, it was a practical item, used by men working in construction to wipe away sweat as they crafted the modern road whilst also protecting their necks from overheating

In Victorian England, Queen Victoria herself was fond of the silk scarf. Not only because of the stature associated with the item but because it enforced the promise of the Empire’s trading with India and China, of which were both known for their silk production at the time. Victoria, often remembered for her views on fashion and dress, made the item an essential for all well-to-do women in English High Society, whilst the more practical cotton scarves were associated with the cold, un-affording working class. However, as the clocks ticked over into World War I, the humble cotton or yarn scarf abolished its classist connotations as it became an essential piece for front line soldiers during the harsh weather conditions of the trenches. Subsequently, once the first World War came to an end, a surplus of silk was found and transported back to the Allied nations and though it became prominent in fashion trends once more, with the emergence of the Middle Class, the classist implications steadily began to decline.

But, how did the scarf become such an intrinsic piece to the fashionista’s wardrobe? Was it always for this wintery function or was it, like most things admittedly, for a display of stature? The answer lies, quite simply, in 1350 BC which experts agree is the first recorded use of a scarf in the context that we know it. Worn by Queen Nerfetiti of Ancient Egypt, the scarf was a separate piece worn in conjunction with an extravagant jewelled headdress that promoted the wealth of the Pharaoh. (It is important to note here that this was not considered a headscarf as the piece was entirely separate.) To protect the ruler’s neck and promote the extravagance of her power, the piece was in fact a demonstration of fashion and function.

in the sweltering sun. But then, by the 17th Century, scarves had been adopted by regency and the garment was shrouded in classism particularly around the material used. In Croatia, during the reign of the Ottoman Empire, it was ruled that the higher ranking officers would wear silk scarves whilst the lower ranks would wear cotton.

ESSENTIAL TRAVELS

WORDS KATIE MARSHALL

PHOTOGRAPHY KATIE MARSHALL

Our good pal and globetrotter Katie Marshall is on a mission to visit every European city before she turns thirty. With a passion for making travel both financially and physically accessible for everyone, we invited her to share her adventures with us and pass her hacks on to you. Her next stop? The bridges and bakeries of Bosnia.

Like many Bosnian cities, Mostar is still rebuilding itself from the fall of Yugoslavia and the Bosnian War in the early- to mid1990s. As you walk from the bus stop, you still see empty buildings, half-destroyed structures, cracked bricks, and I began to wonder if I’d made a bit of a mistake in dedicating two days to stopping there. Spoiler alert: I hadn’t. It’s one of my favourite places in the world. I stayed at Hostel Nina, splashing out for a private room (though one can hardly describe £20 for a three-bed room to myself as ‘splashing out’); it was clean, comfortable, centrally-located, and with the friendliest staff I could have hoped for. The famous Stari Most was my first stop, and believe me, if I wasn’t disabled I’d have been running to the diving club to sign up to jump off it; sadly nobody made the leap while I was there, but it’s a surprisingly common sight throughout the summer months, a strange, entertaining tradition that - as of the time of writing approximately 750 tourists have taken part in.

Bakeries are by far your best lunch spot, whether you’re on a budget or not; I had my first ever cheese burek from the Pekara near Stari Most and I thought about it genuinely for the rest of the trip. You’ll often find a street cat or two hanging around the area too - for me, they’re an attraction in themselves. Bosnia as a whole is generally very cheap for Western visitors, and Mostar in particular is incredibly affordable; if you’re looking for a short hop from nearby Dubrovnik or Split, it’s a nice balm to soothe the expenses of Croatia. Remnants of Bosnia’s turbulent past are everywhere; in cracked brick, in abandoned buildings, in the Museum of War and Genocide victims, singlehandedly the most harrowing museum I’ve been to at the time of writing. It can be easy to forget just how recent the horrors of Srebrenica and the wider Bosnian genocide really are; half of the people you walk past lived through it, perhaps served in the military, lost family members or friends in the massacres. Walking through

the Museum and seeing images and videos of concentration camp victims wearing ‘90s Nike trainers I could still find on Depop was harrowing in a way I can’t describe. It may sound odd, but I would recommend visiting the Museum as your first stop. It truly sets up how you see Mostar and its inhabitants for the rest of your trip. Everything I saw and everything I did became so much more meaningful when I had that contextual knowledge in the back of my mind. It adds a layer of somber beauty to the whole city, a beauty I have yet to find elsewhere. I despise the idea that something has to suffer in order to become beautiful, there’s nothing romantic or idealistic about war; nothing can ever compensate for the horrors faced by Bosnians at the hands of the Serbian Army, and I don’t want to suggest otherwise. It is not the false beauty of war that settles across the river, it is the true beauty of resistance, of perseverance, of remembrance of those lost.

@katiec2210

COLUMN

FOOTBALL’S ETERNAL GENTLEMAN: A TRIBUTE TO BOBBY CHARLTON

WORDS

LOUIS BENEVENTI

@louisbeneventi Louis is a content creator based in London. Along with being a master barber, Louis also finds time to drink excessively large glasses of wine – apt, considering he, unfortunately, happens to be a Chelsea fan.

COLUMN

I’m not sure I can find the right words for Sir Bobby Charlton. Growing up, he was an ever-present figure in the world of football. A man I saw give medals and accolades to players that made me cry in Moscow after John Terry missed a penalty, and players who constantly pipped us to Premier League trophies. But he was far more than that. A few days after he died, I was back in my hometown seeing my family. I was sat on the sofa with my dad, the fire roaring and the dogs lying in front of it, bellies in the air and enjoying a life without taxes. He was very focussed trying to get the telly to work, with his fatherly technical illiteracy on full display. The usual mumblings about it being easier to buy a gun and such. I took the remote and asked what he was after, and he told me there was a documentary about Bobby Charlton on BBC iPlayer. I worked my Gen Z magic as the designated family wi-fi switcher-on-er-off-er and miraculously got BBC iPlayer up on the TV and sat down to watch the documentary. It’s fair to say, Bobby Charlton was so much more than the old fella a lot of my pals thought he was.

A survivor of the 1958 Munich air disaster, Sir Bobby was one of the legendary “Busby Babes”, a side made up of young and gifted players who had risen through the Manchester United ranks, and with an average age of 22, were tipped to dominate European football for the next decade. Amongst that group of players tipped for greatness, his best friend, Duncan Edwards, was tipped to be the greatest. Sadly, Duncan was amongst the 23 people that lost their lives including 7 other Busby Babes and 3 members of the Manchester United staff. He was just 21 years old. At the time of the crash, Sir Bobby was 20 and was just finding his feet in the side, after moving from Northumberland and leaving his family behind to chase his dream of becoming one of the world’s best. After the crash, he stayed at Manchester United, and himself, his team-mates and manager Sir Matt Busby went on to re-build Manchester United and the Busby Babes, finally achieving European Glory in 1968 as part of “The Holy Trinity” with himself, Denis Law and George Best combining to lead United to a period

But Sir Bobby Charlton wasn’t just a Manchester United great. He is one of England’s greatest. The talisman in the side which clinched England’s only World Cup triumph, and he was also England’s top goalscorer until 2015. But for me, this wasn’t the greatest achievement that day. Alongside his brother, Jack, they’d become the only brothers to ever win the trophy together. A moment which not only united a country, but showed the true strength of a family to rise from a NorthEastern mining village, and summarised by the pair of them: “What do you think of that kidda?” “Jackie, our lives will never be the same again…” And they’d be right, the Charlton’s stature, alongside their team mates have cut a figure above England sides since, and also onto the public. I’ve been very fortunate to breathe the same air as a World-Cup winner in George Cohen. He was my friend’s grandad, and he captivated a room with his stories about the triumph over West-Germany, including watching Sir Bobby’s battle with Franz Beckenbauer, where both were remarkably quiet before a rather loud and busy few days parading that trophy wherever they could. Sir Bobby’s life on the pitch was just as elegant and graceful as his life on it. A man that dedicated himself to the betterment and enrichment of others, where he may have been shy, he was a shining light for Manchester United and England, with his talking being done by his actions. A man who transcended generations, who led United through sheer presence, and England through his ability, Sir Bobby will always be one of the greatest, and Football’s Eternal Gentleman. But before all of that, to his family and friends, a loving and gentle, amazing human being. Rest easy, Sir Bobby, you made the footballing world proud.

For a start, Sir Bobby was, and remains England’s greatest ever player. Now, the debates always start amongst generations. In term of gifted players, England have had, there’s a fair amount. Well, we did invent the game of football. Some say Paul Gascoigne, some say Glenn Hoddle, I looked at my dad and said “Is it fair to say that it might be Wayne Rooney?” He just looked at me in shock and burst out laughing. “Not even close! Just sit and watch this…”

of unparalleled triumph, and the foundations of the club’s DNA for years to come, as credited by Sir Alex Ferguson, and many United players since. He won the trophy himself and his team-mates had set out 10 years prior to win before that fateful night in Munich, but had done it with the new crop of Busby Babes, being the shining light in the side. He also went on to win the Ballon D’Or in 1966 for being the best player in the world, and not to forget, became Manchester United’s all-time top goalscorer, before Wayne Rooney took the title from him in 2017.

THOM BROWNE’S 20TH YEAR COLLECTION WORDS ROSIE BARKER

It was a crisp, Autumnal September. A time before Summers extended beyond the equinox to seize the year’s cooling season in waves of unseasonable heat. I remember how the brakes screamed as the double-decker edged cautiously through an endless stream of pedestrian traffic, how my heartbeat quickened in antithesis to the slowing bus. On the ride in I had been an individual, but upon stepping out, I became just one tiny droplet in a sea of green blazers. It was 2003, and I had just arrived for my first day in high school. Two decades later, it takes only the distant ring of a school bell to recall that feeling of anticipation somewhere between excitement and dread. As sharply as that biting September air, I can remember the feeling of being encased in my school uniform. The way the top button held the shirt collar too close around my throat. The light tug on my shoulders

from the tie looped around my neck. The shirt constricting around my chest as it bunched up into uncomfortable lumps beneath the cheap, forest-green, polyester blazer. In my home town, the blazer indicated which educational faction you belonged to, but on a grander scale, it also served the purpose of a costume during dress rehearsal. The blazer foreshadowed the corporate uniform destined for many of those students in that sea of green, once exams were passed, internships completed or perhaps degrees acquired. It was a soft introduction to ‘the suit’, and a lesson in workplace formality to be carried into future offices and board rooms. I hadn’t known at the time, the long-lasting impact my prescribed adolescent attire would have on my adult attitude to similar fits and fabrics. In fact, until reflecting

on my school uniform in order to write this article, I had never consciously recognised that there’s probably a connection between my dramatic feelings of discomfort in my old uniform, my instinctual aversion to formal, academicstyle outfits and my penchant for baggy, loose fits and natural fabrics. Perhaps I wouldn’t have developed such damning attitudes towards formal wear, had I known that not all suits are built the same. In the same year that I was formulating my understanding of what ‘uniform’ meant, across the Atlantic, American fashion designer Thom Browne was on a path to breaking down, reimagining and redesigning the entire concept. Browne’s illustrious career started out in men’s tailoring. Gradually, he garnered attention for “quality craftsmanship and precise tailoring” before taking the tape

measure and fabric scissors to women’s and children’s wear. The Thom Browne brand became known as a vision of “true American sensibility”, and over the years, Browne’s designs have made stand-out impressions at a wild array of classically American events.

Styling celebrity names, such as Cardi B, Lizzo and Kourtney Kardashian, for the Met Gala, First Lady Michelle Obama for the presidential inauguration, and basketball star Lebron James, Browne has showcased just how diverse, exciting and creative formal wear can be. On the runway, Browne has achieved global acclaim for his “jaw-dropping”, “surreal”, and “outlandish” presentations, reconceptualising the conventional suit into abstract art.

This year, Thom Browne is celebrating his brand’s 20th birthday in style, exploring his incredible legacy in a photography book which captures the philosophy and evolution of Thom Browne over the last two decades. The book has been published alongside the release of a 20th-anniversary capsule collection that combines eccentric concepts from the runway with the classic corporate silhouette. The new line blends corporate and athletic aesthetics and challenges conventional tailoring proportions in Browne’s signature style, bringing an element of elegance to the looks but retaining the sharpness and sophistication of traditional formal wear. ‘2003’ is detailed across the entire range like a badge of

honour to commemorate the start of the brand’s journey. Cashmere features prominently throughout the collection, in the form of a calf-length Chesterfield coat with whiterimmed lapels, a complementing, shorter ‘sport jacket’ and a low-buttoned v-neck cardigan. Other key pieces include the cashmere, waffle sweatshirt, sweat pants, and hoodie, the classic pique polo, and the jersey tee, all of which are adorned with a 4-bar Thom Browne trademark. Part of the collection, ‘The Uniform; Then and Now’, is highly reminiscent of a classic British school uniform - the archetypal grey shorts and grey pleated skirt, with grey blazer and patent black shoes. However, the Thom Browne

unisex Bermuda shorts and pleated skirt (with a dropped back) break the restrictive, gender-based conventions of this traditional scholastic style, elevating the look into the category of modern, genderless high-fashion. In reality, high-end fashion and the classic school uniform exist worlds apart from each other. Yet, in the fantastical universe of Thom Browne, they are fused together in a way that completely contradicts my own preconceptions, formed many years ago, about what a uniform is or can be. Browne is known for thought-provoking displays, and this collection really got me thinking. I’m under no illusion that the average school borough in the UK could ever afford a cashmere blazer for every student, nor do I think it would be the

most valuable use of a school’s resources. I do wonder, however, whether my own school experience would have felt more enlightening if only this conventionbreaking philosophy of Thom Browne’s had been afforded to styling my own uniform. If that sea of green-clothed pupils had been taught to believe that there’s more than one way to wear a suit, how could that have nurtured our creativity? If I’d been allowed to opt for a looser fitting shirt and blazer, rather than being boxed into the ‘female’ fit, would that have boosted my confidence? If we’d had autonomy over the decision to wear shorts or a skirt, could we have learned a valuable lesson in self-identity? Rather than being moulded to fit into the world, maybe we could have learned how to belong.

@thombrowne

French shoe brand Kleman channels rich heritage into workwear must have.

With a history dating back to the Second World War, Cléon Manufacture de Chaussures is a family business based in La Romagne, 54km east from the city of Nantes and home to the rising-inpopularity unisex shoe brand Kleman. This year, Kleman has opened the doors to its first ever store on Rue Du Temple in Paris, within the popular Le Marais District, marking the next chapter in its emergence as a fashionable go-to for footwear option.

WORDS ROBIN CLEMENTSON IMAGERY COURTESY OF KLEMAN

A brand born from the Cléon business in 1988 and with its formative years solidly sitting industry side with the French Military, Rail and Postal workers to name a few, Kleman has, in recent years become recognised as an admired option within the workwear/fashion sector.

A DNA set in the quality and ruggedness of the shoe, namely the rubber, anti-slip, shock absorbing sole and minimalist raw aesthetic upper, Kleman made the initial transition from B2B to consumer lifestyle around 13 years ago. This leading to the Japanese market becoming the first to order Kleman for the fashion conscious consumer. Recognised widely for their Padror design, Kleman today is a much richer offer. The Padror has undergone more than 50 iterations and sits alongside a healthy collection of other models including Frodan, Major and Oxal as well as the newly launched Accore and Marechal shoes and Alpin boot. In recent years the brand has also introduced sandals for the summer season, which has seen the emergence in popularity of the Ballast model.

38 “Since we began in the late 1980s, we were supplying industry. Everyone from the police to firefighters and we still do that,” says Alexandre Cleon, head of sales for Kleman and grandson of founder René. “The move into lifestyle was thanks to our Japanese partner who found a pair in a Parisian vintage store and loved them. He then imported into Japan as a lifestyle shoe.” Led by the vision of the Japanese partners who had a sensitiveness and vision for the brand, the Kleman team came to the conclusion that they could operate in both the lifestyle and industry workwear sectors, so started to develop and add different leathers and models. “As shoemakers we understand why Kleman is loved. That lies in the DNA of being robust and durable,” adds Alex. “This also benefits us when looking for new materials to evolve the shoes, as we know where to go and where to look. We wanted new models and in new leathers without diverting from our core values.”

With an eco-friendly stance using short supply chains and only European responsible leathers, Kleman construct all their shoes in La Romagne on-site. However, certain elements, such as the rubber sole is outsourced for specialist making. Mathieu Cleon, creative director of the premium collection, and the elder brother of Alex adds. “The sole is mostly made in Portugal now and not many people realise but for each size (European 35-46) there needs to be a separate mould, which can cost between Euros 2500-3000 each, so there’s a lot of investment needed to get the desired result.”

initiative with our key territories being Japan, France, UK and then Canada.”

Today, kleman has a retail strategy of not only selling via its flagship, but also selling into independent and department stores in cities globally, appealing to a younger workwear inspired market, that find the shoes the perfect finish to their utilitarian aesthetic. “The plan was to sell the product via clothing stores that are generally cooler and know how to present the product,” adds Alex. “This is a global

Alex concludes. “We are always looking at new ways to adapt to remain relevant in the fashion world through colours, new leathers and of course models, we just have to be mindful of staying real and authentic."

With a guarantee that the sole is so hardwearing it’s almost impossible to be worn down through everyday wear and tear, Kleman also sits firmly into the 'buy better, buy less' market, but with a price point that consumers feel very at ease with. “The value for money is fundamental for us ” says Alex “but the price point additionally makes our product more of a draw. Where some expect to be paying near £350 for well made shoes, we are between £150-£250 depending on the model."

kleman-france.com @kleman_france

DAVID M. ROBINSON:

THE LUNAR COLLECTION WORDS HEIDI GARDNER

An iconic collection by David M. Robinson, featuring oval cut diamonds with a fine bezel set through flowing strands of yellow and white gold. Since 2007, the Lunar collection has become one of the most iconic collections of jewellery at David M Robinson, due the timeless nature of its shapes and personality. The new Lunar collection features five unique pieces inspired by the lunar planets; from small and large pendants to drop earrings, a statement cocktail ring and unique stacking rings. Each piece stands true to DMR’s values of creating innovative pieces of jewellery, suitable for all occasions, and is perfect to mark those special milestones in life. Discover the new Lunar collection, available exclusively across our four showrooms in Liverpool, Manchester, Altrincham, Canary Wharf and online.

@davidmrobinson davidmrobinson.com

WORDS & INTERVIEW BETH BENNETT & HOLLY BATE PHOTOGRAPHY BETH BENNETT

Between a flurry of red carpets and press junkets, Jonathan Glazer’s latest leading lad invites me to join him for breakfast at The Soho Hotel. Over tea and toast, Christian Friedel and I delve into questions of honour, compassion, and The Zone of Interest as he reflects on his most haunting role yet. 45

Christian wears: JW Anderson t-shirt and Georgio Armani shoes.

IT WAS A VERY INTENSE PIECE OF WORK AND I KNEW I HAD TO APPROACH IT IN A WAY THAT WAS DIFFERENT TO HOW I USUALLY WOULD. 49

EJ Now, I feel like I’ve been following The Zone of Interest for almost the whole year since its outrageous reception at Cannes, and now it’s finally reached the UK – here at the London Film Festival, and all I can say is…wow. CF You enjoyed it? EJ I was rendered completely speechless. I still am, frankly. It’s a very intensely atmospheric film. You feel as though you’re living it with them which is a horrible state of mind to find yourself in, but at the same time, assumedly, this is exactly what [director] Jonathan Glazer wanted? CF Yes, exactly. Jonathan’s vision was one that addressed the normality of evil. There’s a line that exists between good and bad but it isn’t black and white like that. It’s a spectrum, almost. What was really important whilst shooting this film was that we do feel the love that this character has for his wife and his children, we see joy, and we see laughter but…But then he’s leaving and going to work and committing

some of the worst atrocities in history. The uncomfort comes from the recognition that these evil people were just that: people. They’d been fooled, somewhat, or taught terrible things that made them choose to act in this way to other groups of people, but they had homelives that were almost warm, that were similar to our own. EJ It’s a risk, isn’t it, to make a film like this? One that really provokes these questions about humanity and evil but without humanising the Nazis as well or looking to absolve them of any responsibility for their crimes. But what Jonathan and yourself – and, of course Sandra Hüller who plays your wife in the film – are able to do is show that domesticity but keep it at just enough of a distance that Rudolf and Hedwig aren’t given any redemption. CF Jonathan was very insistent on this. He said to me when we started preparing for the film, that he didn’t want me to share myself with this character. It was a very intense piece of work and I knew I had to approach it in a way that was

different to how I usually would. Jonathan didn’t want my wariness, my humour, or my weaknesses to come across in this character; where I would usually find myself allowing fragments of myself to come through, instead I focused on the sense of responsibility I felt for the victims of Rudolf, and sat with that. So when Jonathan asked me to turn the light off in my eyes, to keep them cold, it was all the negativity I have towards this man that allowed me to do that. However, it was also important to remember the thesis of this film too. We had to create a sense of normality between Rudolf, Hedwig, the children, so that the audience can see themselves in them and recognise the potential of us all to become them. EJ Touching on that, this film really is a film of opposites, isn’t it? There’s the dichotomy of love and hatred which I think is almost perfectly realised in the bedroom sequence with Rudolf and Hedwig sharing a lightness, there’s laughter; but then there’s the rumbling of the gas chambers permeating the moment. Yet,

Christian wears: Boglioli suit and sweater, with Officine Creative shoes

I THINK HUMAN BEINGS ARE MASTERS OF SELF-DECEPTION, WHICH IS THEN, IF WE LOOK AT THE WORLD TODAY, REINFORCED BY MOMENTS OF UNIFIED IGNORANCE. there’s moments when you see the scales begin to really tip towards the darker side: for example, when Rudolf is sort of stood looking out at his own garden and smoking the cigar and a turret of smoke appears from the chambers on the other side of the wall, we really see a sense of pride in him as he has become, essentially, the master of flame. CF Thank you for that great picture, control of the flame, yeah. You know, when I went to the Auschwitz Museum for the first time, I was really impressed by the dimensions of it. When you’re standing in the camp too, it’s…it’s so large. And I think, in that regard, it’s very easy to see how Rudolf would have this sense of grandeur about himself. He was very fond of riding his horse around the site, he would go to work on horseback, and I think that maybe it’s because he’s riding into it like he’s a king. EJ Like Napoleon? CF Yes, just like Napoleon. He has a sense that he’s created his own paradise. Hedwig even refers to herself as ‘The Queen of Auschwitz.’ But there’s such a level of ignorance happening within them - a war between their bodies and their minds, there’s moments in the film when it seems their bodies are almost reacting to the evil of it but their minds have deceived themselves and, awfully, now find joy in it. I think human beings are masters of self-deception, which is then, if we look at the world today, reinforced by moments of unified ignorance on the matter so we’re

never capable of learning from our history. EJ Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it. CF Yeah. EJ I often find it’s because people don’t like to be uncomfortable. They won’t read about history, they won’t watch a film like this that acknowledges the domesticity of the Nazis because the thought that it could happen again, that they could be complicit in something so terrible, that they could even get power from it, is uncomfortable. It’s why I suppose, in the extreme way, it took so long for those children who were raised under Hitler Youth to let go of their beliefs. It’s uncomfortable to address that your perspective may not be correct. CF My first movie was The White Ribbon which was about strange events in a little village before WWI. I played a teacher in this film and you have to consider that, the children who my character was teaching, well they could be a future perpetrator in WWII. But at that time, in their childhoods, you can’t imagine that. However, when the political system begins to change, and you have the decision to protect yourself in your family or be a resistance fighter, what are most of us going to choose? I’m not sure I could say that I would be a resistance fighter and that’s frightening to realise, but once we have accepted that darkness in ourselves and are aware of it, we can then address it and, hopefully, this guides us to the right decision, not the easy one. At one

screening of The Zone of Interest, we had a Q+A afterwards and this man talked to me and he said he was so shocked because he realised that he could be in that house and it encouraged him to address his own complicit behaviours which was what Jonathan had intended. EJ Did you and Sandra ever discuss how that question transcends to Rudolf and Hedwig? To what point it, perhaps, started as survival and then shifted towards enjoyment? CF Absolutely. Everything changes when people have power. Sandra and I, we hate these people, but when we would have to try to understand little parts of them to make them believable, we really looked at this. I believe Rudolf enjoyed his power, he wants to be bigger than other people – as we said just now, he wants to be seen like a king. Rudolf was very much an ordinary, boring man but, and it’s terrible to say, he was very organised; he had a talent for organisation, and when he started to be praised for that, achieve power from it, it didn’t matter about the suffering because he was someone strong. He was to be admired by his peers. Similarly, Hedwig as Queen, relishes in her place. There’s a line where Hedwig says, "We’re doing better than we ever thought we could," - it really drives home that they’ve used this oppressive system to their advantage. It’s difficult for my brain to really comprehend because their stature was given to them by the crimes they committed, but it’s obvious that there was joy to be found in what they

CHRISTIAN FRIEDEL

were doing, not just the results of it. EJ Forgive me, I assume you’re asked this a lot, but do you ever feel, as a German actor, as though you’re typecasted to be in a war movie? CF [laughing] Yes, I’ve had a lot of them but every time takes on a different perspective and I’m really grateful that I’ve been able to experience that. With The White Ribbon, I played this teacher before WWI, and then in Closed Season I played a Jewish character who fled the Nazis. I’ve also played a resistance fighter who tried to assassinate Hitler in Munich in 1939, and now I’m playing the orchestrator of Auschwitz. It’s so important to tell all of these stories from these different perspectives because we cannot forget that this happened, we cannot forget our responsibility as humans to learn from this history, and what I love about film is that it gives us that human insight into what you learn as fact. When I was younger, I lived in East Germany until the iron curtain fell and

the wall with it, which gave me the unique perspective of having lived in two different political systems and am able to see fault in both, be more critical than those brought up under one system, which is what I try to bring to my art. I am German and I believe it’s my responsibility to acknowledge my country’s history and help audiences learn from it. I don’t… I don’t want to play a Nazi again because of how the role has affected me but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to continue to tell these stories. Us Germans talk a lot about this but not all listen, we can see it now with rising fascism in little pockets over the country, but those who want to learn from our past can put the work in to fight that rise. I do it through art, film, music. So I don’t think of it as typecasting, per se, I think of it as being selected through my ambition to help us not forget our past.

human beings. This is not a holocaust movie in the traditional sense. We’re not directly witnessing the violence though our senses feel it through the sounds of gunfire and the sight of smoke. We are seeing human beings who became entranced by a moment of power that they gleefully committed atrocious crimes to other human beings. It’s my hope that people see the ease to which they themselves could become Rudolf and Hedwig and be frightened by that so much that they strive for a better world, and fight for such crimes to never happen again. I’m an optimist at heart and I think that there is a future in which we don’t have to worry about this happening again but we can’t do without people taking time to evaluate themselves and what their role in the fight would be then doing their best to defy that.

EJ And finally, before you hop on your plane home, I have to ask what is it that you hope for people to take away from this film?

The Zone of Interest is out in UK theatres on 2nd February.

CF I hope they see this as a movie about

@christian_friedel_official

FEB RUA RY 2

LONDON FILM FESTIVAL 2023 WORDS BETH BENNETT

The 67th iteration of the BFI's world-renowned London Film Festival arrived onto the brutalist home of the UK's cinema industry at Southbank this October. Royal Festival Hall and The National Film Theatre, along with a handful of other cinemas across the city, welcomed in a record number of guests vying for the chance to see the highly anticipated, fiercely varied, and wonderfully worldly pieces of film on show. The collection of films at this years festival felt like a descent into something...madness for most, truth for others. In all, the festival schedule boasted a contemplative experience that showcased the breadth of artistry within this industry. There's films about adventure, love, risk, and great sadness. The lengths that people will go for their loved ones, for themselves, and for the world in its entirety. So, settle down, grab a brew, and I'll catch you up on our thoughts of some of the highlights of LFF...

Photography: Millie Turner, BFI.

ALL OF US STRANGERS director writers starring

where to watch

Andrew Haigh Andrew Haigh, based on the novel by Taichi Yamada Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Jamie Bell, Claire Foy Coming to UK Cinemas 26th January

A meditation on the consequences of grief, All Of Us Strangers is a time-slipping, supernatural drama like you’ve never seen before. Adapted from the 1987 Japanese novel by Taichi Yamada, Andrew Haigh transposes the Tokyo-set story into contemporary London, using the concept to explore the sanctity of childhood love, loss, and desperation over the more dark excavations that the novel takes. In All Of Us Strangers, we meet Adam (Andrew Scott), a gay man on the precipice of middle age, as he procrastinates through his work as a scriptwriter and seeks solace in sentimentalities of his childhood. He listens to Frankie Goes To Hollywood, moving around his new apartment — a new build tower block probably somewhere around Nine Elms — and he struggles to reckon with the profound consequences of his parents’ deaths when he was twelve years old. He’s brooding, lonely, and when a roguish man, Harry (Paul Mescal) approaches him, the two enter into a turbulent and tricky relationship. Buoyed by Harry’s new presence in his life, Adam returns to his old neighbourhood, somewhere near Croydon, that he grew up in. As he arrives, however, he discovers that his mum (Claire Foy) and dad (Jamie Bell) are still alive and living in this old, childhood home of his. The home is as gauche as it was in the mid-80s and his

parents have not aged since the day they died; they greet him with a charming bemusement, as though he’d come back a little late from a drink with a few mates. It’s this magic-realism that allows Haigh and his stellar cast to truly excavate the turmoil of young grief as it matures into adulthood whilst also evoking the experience of queer children and their relationship with their parents. Adam all at once seeks out their comfort whilst navigating the distance between them; he cuddles up in their bed but they’re not given names. Their homophobia isn’t hatred, no, rather a sense of ignorance that feels reflexive of parents of this period — similarities to Georgia Oakley’s debut Blue Jean earlier this year are easy to spot, though both tackle Thatcherite era homophobia through different lenses. There is a hopefulness in All Of Us Strangers that permeates beyond the supernatural scope. Childlike, naive, and dreamy, it may be quashed as reality sets in, but for the brief, unfiltered moments of it, we can truly believe, as Adam tells his mother, that “everything is different now.”

"There is a hopefulness in All Of Us Strangers that permeates beyond the supernatural scope."

FINGERNAILS Christos Nikou writer Christos Nikou, Sam Steiner, Stavros Raptis starring Jessie Buckley, Riz Ahmed, Jeremy Allen White where to watch Now streaming on Apple TV+ director

Where is our technological evolution taking us? As the industry defrosts from a two-fold strike with the threat of artificial intelligence at the heart of the contention, Christos Nikous’ Fingernails appears, almost, to come out at the perfect time. The premise of the film feels drawn from the early days of Brooker’s Black Mirror: what if an algorithm could define love? In the near future, where people dress in familiar clothes, listen to familiar songs, and order familiar terrible takeaway soup, a machine has been developed that uses this algorithm to state with biological certainty whether a couple are romantically compatible for life, or whether it’ll fizzle out as life moves on. This test, as the title would suggest, involves the removal of a fingernail (usually the pinky) from both partners and then, once the machine whirs away, a percentage on screen will give you your heart in black and white. It causes an upset for lab-worker Anna (Jessie Buckley) who feels inexplicably drawn to her new coworker Amir (Riz Ahmed) as her romantic feelings for her love-test approved lock-in Ryan (Jeremy Allen White) dwindle.

With such an absurdly intriguing premise and a voraciously talented cast Fingernails should be an entertaining watch. However, Nikous' film lacks any sense of the deeper questions spurred by such an invention. Instead, we’re presented with a relatively twee two hours in the company of people who love love and accept that this impossibly-sprawling concept — which has been philosophised over for centuries — has been mastered by science and functions not at all that different to a pregnancy test. There is little defiance, only upset, and Fingernails depends too much on the subtle dedication of Buckley’s talent to sell even the suggestion of disappointment in the algorithm. Coupled with the blandness of Allen White’s Ryan (he isn’t afforded enough to shine like we know him too), and the unwavering earnestness of Amir (he isn’t afforded the words to say anything of particular note about the situation), what has the opportunity to be a tale of rebellion against this technointervention in our hearts, Fingernails instead, well, it doesn’t really say anything at all.

THE BOY AND THE HERON Hayao Miyazaki Hayao Miyazaki starring Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda, Talya Kimura, Kô Shibasaki, Yoshino Kimura. english dub Luca Padovan, Robert Pattinson, Christian Bale, Florence Pugh, Gemma Chan where to watch Coming to UK Cinemas 26th December director

writer

Miyazaki is something of a legend in the film industry. No, as a matter of fact he is a legend. So when he announced that The Boy And The Heron (Japanese title: How Do You Live?) would be his final film, anticipation ballooned beyond the usual fanfare that an upcoming Studio Ghibli release ignites. However, this is Miyazaki. Anyone familiar with the hilariously dry, somewhat world-weary filmmaker will know that this is not the first time he’s proposed retirement; in fact, Miyazaki announced plans to retire following the release of his cult classic Spirited Away all the way back in 2001. So, it came as little shock when putting The Boy And The Heron out into the world, at 82 years old, Miyazaki rescinded his statement and, as of now, is continuing to work on yet another film. Yet this did not quell any of the anticipation for The Boy And The Heron and with little in the way of plot released before arriving at LFF, the film had to shoulder the weight of these expectations. Oh, and how it soars despite it. The Boy And The Heron tells the story of Mahito Maki (Soma Santoki) who, during the

Pacific War, is moved to a new town by his father and stumbles upon an abandoned tower which leads to a magical world, chaperoned, of course, by the titular heron. On his adventure, Mahito battles with grief and responsibility, and the film delicately and, in that traditional Studio Ghibli way, artfully demonstrates his reconciliation with coming of age in a world marked by tragedy and conflict. It’s a film that paints maturation into empathy when the world is pushing you to grow selfish, and it does so with an earnest hopefulness and optimism that rings eternally true. Miyazaki has been outspoken about his faith in children to challenge the call to conflict of previous generations and their power to create a world without it and this film sings as the culmination of his belief. Though perhaps not the most accessible of Miyazaki’s oeuvre, The Boy And The Heron is an essential testament from one of the greatest filmmakers the world has had the fortune to experience.

"The artistry of the film is in the restraint of it... Though the story is tinged with melodrama, the plot does not go for the dramatic"

MAY DECEMBER director

writer starring

where to watch

Todd Haynes Samy Burch Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, Charles Melton, Gabriel Chung, Elizabeth Yu In select cinemas now / A Sky Cinema release

May December marks a pleasant return by Haynes to an excavation of the relationship between two women, his most prolific work of the last decade being the queer cult phenomena Carol in which Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara star in this The Price of

Salt adaptation. With less majesty than Carol, May December makes up for it in unease. The relationship between Elizabeth and Gracie has all the faux friendliness of a typical suburban drama, judgement swings between them like a Newton’s Cradle, an infernal tap-tap-tap that keeps metronomic pace the ramping tension without overture. The artistry of the film is in the restraint of it — like the effervescent Charles Melton’s George has been attempting to master the past two decades. Though the story is tinged with melodrama, the plot does not go for the dramatic, instead opting for the quiet, reserved discussion. When there are outbursts, they come from the teenagers, and George himself, and they’re taken as a signifier of immaturity, something to be grown out of, as though speaking truth isn’t for grown-ups. This film is unsettling but addictive, anchored with a stand out performance from Melton who wrestles with the notion of victimhood and consent with brutal nuance, which allows this young actor to stand beside the established powerhouses of Portman and Moore with confidence. He is the heart of this story, and with the guidance of Haynes, May December tells this insidious tale of grooming and exploitation with genuine care but with a restrained melodramatic flair.

Todd Haynes brings to life Samy Burch’s acerbic tale of an actress preparing for — what she hopes to be — the role of a lifetime in a scandalous biopic about an illicit romance that gripped the tabloids decades earlier. Natalie Portman plays the enigmatic and venomous Elizabeth who arrives in Savannah Georgia to begin her research into the true life of the infamous local celebrity, wife, and mother Gracie Atherton-Yoo (Julianne Moore). However, as the politely tactful melodrama unfurls, we soon come to understand exactly why this romance was a media marvel as we learn Gracie began her affair with secondhusband George (the scintillating Charles Melton) when he was just thirteen years old, becoming pregnant with his child, and serving time in prison. Now, around twenty years later, Gracie and Charles live the white picket fence life, happy and content. Or so they want Elizabeth to think. Yet it’s clear that discontentment has been simmering between the husband and wife for some time and as the past is reignited by Elizabeth’s presence, soon everything begins to boil over.

SALTBURN Emerald Fennell writer Emerald Fennell starring Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, Carey Mulligan, Richard E. Grant where to watch In cinemas now director

Emerald Fennell’s sophomore showing draws us into the beautiful, violent privilege of mid00s Oxford alongside the terrifically enchanted Oliver, portrayed by the bountiful, though slightly miscast, Barry Keoghan (he’s much too old for this and his so-called Merseyside accent leaves a lot to be desired). Oliver is quickly entranced by the circle of old money freshers at his college, drawn into it by their charming ringleader (and most privileged of all), Felix (Jacob Elordi). Felix is the heir to the stately home of Saltburn and, after personal tragedy strikes Oliver, he earnestly invites his new friend to spend the summer holidays in the company of him and his family at this quasimansion. Whatever your opinions may be on Fennell’s Oscar-winning debut Promising Young Woman, it’s not entirely out of reach to assume the writer/director would have taken into account some of the criticism that the film’s polarising ending brought about as she crafted the followup. However, with Saltburn, it feels as though Fennell has doubled down on her divisive label and strived to come up with something that gets the people outraged. Whilst I admit, I found the film outrageous, it wasn’t due to the contrived ‘scandalous’ moments which you’ve

no doubt heard about already in discourse around this film — the oral sex, the bathtub, and the grave, of course. The film is outrageous in its mindless self-indulgence. The film posits itself as something of a critical take on British class relations, yet it seems Fennell didn’t have quite enough story to fill the feature length and stuffed it with twists and turns that undo any opportunity this film had to say something about the topic. Instead, Saltburn reeks of a certain smarminess, as though it’s trying to be smarter but without any logic, pacing, or coherence to deserve such a label. By the third act, it has lost any sense of fullness that the first thirty minutes fooled us with (bolstered by a wonderful outing from Rosamund Pike that seems to just…dissipate). It’s empty and rhythmless, culminating in a malicious twist that attempts to be some Anglicised take on Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite — only it seems that Fennell has dated to ask: what if we made the working/middle class people just purely psychotic? It’s unsurprising, given her pedigree, that Fennell assumes this choice as a radical dramatic twist instead of what it actually reads as to us plebs, a perverse representation that feels as damaging as it does offensive.

HOW TO HAVE SEX Molly Manning Walker Molly Manning Walker starring Mia McKenna-Bruce, Shaun Thomas, Lara Peake, Enva Lewis, Samuel Bottomley where to watch Coming soon to MUBI director

writer

Molly Manning Walker’s evocative, neon-clad debut no doubt treads familiar ground for countless adults in the United Kingdom as it brings to life the post-exam mates holiday many adventured on as a somewhat rite of passage as teenagers. Beaches, booze, and blazing hormones, these holidays are made up of the kind of stories you’ll never forget. However, what Manning Walker’s How To Have Sex demonstrates is, alongside that unforgettable party, how these teenagers exist in a curious limbo between their childhood and approaching adulthood. This last hurrah spirals for the trio and Manning Walker’s smooth script excavates the intricacies of girlhood at this particular age, in the embattled friendships, the naivety, the hopeless romances. The film lavishes in the youthful rebellion of the lead three — fronted by a particularly shimmering performance from Mia McKenna-Bruce as sex-shy Taz — and never feels inclined to take itself too seriously even when Taz’s holiday takes a harrowing turn; it retains a brevity that feels familiar, that feels exactly like your mate recounting their own adventures over a beer some years later.

"Lanthimos’ direction is unpredictable, loud, and bewilderingly present, yet comes together in a charming, hysterical, and perfect way."

POOR THINGS director

writer starring

where to watch

Yorgos Lanthimos Tony McNamara, based on the novel by Alasdair Gray. Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, Margaret Qualley Coming to UK Cinemas 12th January

Like his protagonist, Bella, Lanthimos’ direction is unpredictable, loud, and bewilderingly present, yet comes together in a charming, hysterical, and perfect way. Over the years, the director has often alienated or polarised audiences with his sensibilities, however Poor Things proves to be the ideal playground for his inherent absurdity and dream-like curiosity, and the eyes of his heroine, Bella, are the exacting lens for which to appreciate the haunting beauty and wonderful terrors of our terrible little world. It feels impossible not to be as unwittingly curious as Bella is when watching Poor Things. Every frame is stuffed with eccentric, inventive, and dada-

esque details that you hungrily devour alongside Bella. Set in a reality that isn’t quite this one, in an era that isn’t quite our history, Poor Things is bulging with vivid colour, wide and tight framing, vignettes, and that token fisheye that set each scene like a painting from the very vestiges of Lanthimos’ imagination, brought to life by DP Robbie Ryan. Electric seas, tangible cities, a shocking sky, the landscape of the film is as real as it is constructed, a wonderful likeness to the parable’s honest hero. And what a hero she is. This is a comingof-age story beyond the likes of anything laid down before. It’s a physical unveiling of the world before Bella’s inquisitive eyes, as she not only discovers the wonders and horrors of human beings, but learns of how her own body and her own soul functions within it. Emma Stone plays with her with remarkable awareness, exact in her tracking of Bella’s development, and engaging with a deep empathy that runs through the veins of this complex creature. Even when Bella’s unawareness flashes in moments of cruelty and impropriety we stay understanding of her, remarkably so. Stone goes beyond the physicality of her previous work, and imbues herself so readily with Bella that any remnants of the Emma Stone we know ceases to exist at all. Framed by outstanding supporting performances from Dafoe, Ruffalo, Ramy Yousef, and Jarrod Carmichael, Stone succumbs to the absurdity to create, with the wield of Lanthimos’ brush, a spectacle of true film art.

Yorgos Lanthimos unveils a whole new world in this luxurious, horny, and hedonistic telling of Alasdair’s Gray’s 1992 novel. Adapted by frequent collaborator Tony McNamara (who also penned Lanthimos’ previous outing The Favourite which saw Olivia Colman clinch an Academy Award), Poor Things is Lanthimos at his most lurid and maximalist. Poor Things is a pseudo-Frankenstein tale of troubled anatomist Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe) who crafts Bella Baxter (Emma Stone) in his lab, charting her mental development, and consistently being wary of the influence that the outside world could have on his experiment. As Bella’s curiosity blossoms, and with the unwarranted assistance of charming swindler Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), soon she’s free from Godwin’s manor and out exploring the good, the bad, and the ugly that the world has to offer.

WORDS & INTERVIEW BETH BENNETT & KATIE LANGFORD PHOTOGRAPHY BETH BENNETT

for their latest stint in the off-thecuff supernatural sitcom Ghosts. But sitting next to her in a vintage band shirt whilst sipping an English breakfast tea, the breadth of her fame doesn’t appear to touch her. Though it’s talk of her latest work, the final chapter of Ghosts, that brings us together, what unites us is an impassioned conversation about the state of the world, the state of the people in it, and…well, what kind of spectre she’d like to be.

Charlotte Ritchie could very easily be anyone’s best friend. You probably know her face from her breakout role in Fresh Meat as the exceptionally annoying Oregon; or her sophomore series stint on Call The Midwife as the enthusiastically lovable, and conclusively tragic, Nurse Barbara; or maybe from her the last few years seeing her as the complicated love in Mae Martin’s Feel Good, Penn Badgeley’s latest obsession in You, and, of course, joining the Horrible Histories troupe

CR You know, being asked to self-style for a photoshoot has actually given me a good opportunity to work out what I actually like from my own wardrobe. It turns out a lot of them are from costume departments from previous jobs, like my trousers are from Ghosts. EJ I always thought your character, Alison, dressed very…how I imagined you’d dress. CR They are! I genuinely love Alison’s costumes, probably more than any other character I’ve played. EJ You mean you didn’t love Oregon’s costumes?

EJ Whenever I think of Fresh Meat, what really does come to mind is Vod and Oregon’s outfits specifically. The comedy and everything else is great, but I just think of the looks. It’s very much of the time. Very 2012. I’d love to have dressed like that if I was at uni then. CR I would have loved to have dressed like that at any point in my life, but I think I’ve always been a trainers-jeans-t-shirt person. I don’t think I’ve ever deviated. Deep down, I’ve probably been that since I was seven years old. I think really, I ideally would like to dress how I dressed when I was seven for my whole life. I find fashion a total mindfuck. I feel like it shouldn’t matter, because it's bound up in this image-obsessed monetary thing, and it so inextricably links to consumerism, but at the same time… you wanna look good! EJ And feel good.

EJ I find myself making a mental note of a style I’ve seen in the street or on social media and thinking I could build it and pull it off, but then I get to my own wardrobe and it’s just jeans, t-shirts, and trainers. And you know what… It's comfortable. CR For me, that’s the main thing, so you can bomb around. I think at some point, it’s important to acknowledge whether there’s a good or a bad reason for it, if it’s a thing you care about, wanting to look nice, or present yourself in a certain way, and you’ve just got to embrace that and make the most of it. EJ To be fair, with your job, you do get the fun of getting to put on other peoples’ clothes. CR That’s what I love the most about it. I think it allows me to occupy a headspace. Firstly, it’s someone else’s vision a lot of the time. I might personally have a bit of a say but ultimately, it’s the costume designer, because that’s their whole department, and that ties so much into the character. It’s really nice to relinquish that responsibility from myself, because I don’t think of my characters as representative of me. I get to enter into that and enjoy it. Fresh Meat was a great example of getting to wear things that I would never have tried, and I think I got a bit more adventurous in my own wardrobe after that. It’s funny, after each job I do, I start to dress a little bit like that character. Say I wore a lot of high heels in a show suddenly there’ll be a high heeled pair of

CR Oh my god! [laughs] Actually no, I loved Oregon’s costumes. There was one scene where I come and talk to Vod (Zawe Ashton), and I’m wearing this full length, green…I look like the Lady of the Lake from the Legend of King Arthur. Then I’ve got a headdress that’s dripping down my face and it’s unreal. I remember thinking, "Does this girl spend any time on her essays?!". No, she spends all her time in the shops. But they were epic looks. I really loved them.

CR Yeah! I always say to myself that it doesn’t matter, but then I think, "Why didn't I put the effort in?". I see people who find such joy in it, who aren’t necessarily just doing it for the designer brands - not that there’s anything wrong with that - but these people are purely doing it as an expression of themselves, but then I circle back to thinking, "Well that’s the best way to get people to spend money, making them think it’s on expressing themselves, and then we’re back to consumerism!" and it’s such a vicious cycle. I find myself sitting on the floor getting ready for something, thinking, "Why?".

72 boots in my own wardrobe which would never have been there before. But I’ve worn these for six months [on set] and I can now see a version of myself where I can wear them. EJ I hear a lot about actors putting a little bit of themselves into their characters, but it sounds like you’re doing the opposite? CR Definitely. And it’s so nice! A lot of the characters I’ve played have been really unlikeable… [laughs] EJ Oregon never did anything wrong! CR It’s funny, increasingly I’ve noticed that some people seem to think I don’t realise that the character isn’t likeable. The only issue I’ve had recently is that I worry that I’ve judged that character too harshly myself, and a really good actor gets inside that person and empathises, without external judgement, which is something I’m really interested in doing. Someone like Oregon, I decided that she was so insecure and awful, but in some ways I might have had a bit more sympathy for her.

EJ In Raging Bull, Robert De Niro played an absolute dick: a real-life boxer who was abusive, cheated on his wife with a fifteenyear-old. Martin Scorsese was asked why he was making a film about such a terrible person, and Scorsese justified it by saying that even when you can’t personally explain why a person acts awfully, it's still worth understanding that there are bad people in the world. De Niro plays him with so much truth – he knows he’s awful but towards the end of the film you do just feel sorry for him. CR Totally. I think Red Rocket has another great depiction of a character who is just such an arsehole, but there was something about his childlike fever. The way he was pursuing his own desire, but from a complete place of myopic, total inability to see anyone else. He was awful, and the ending is so grim, but some part of you still feels for this guy. And that’s something I think I’m learning, although it's a little different with comedy. Oregon for example was, not quite a caricature, but certainly leaning that way, quite a ridiculous person.

EJ I think everyone knows someone like Oregon. CR I think I was like Oregon! I just don’t think I realised it at the time. Sixth form, leaving school, thinking that you know shit. But now, I’m only just understanding how young nineteen is. EJ The older you get, the more you realise you don’t know anything. CR It’s the worst thing isn’t it. Although, I was listening to Mike Skinner being interviewed this morning on the radio, and he did The Streets’ first album when he was twenty-one and he thought it was the best they’d done. I think your critical mindset grows as you get older because you know more, and you know more of what other people do. EJ It’s easy to descend into that thinking, of what good do I have, what bad do I have, am I part of a machine, and you just descend into a spiral.

CR And then you think, "How many coffees have I had…?" EJ If we look at Fresh Meat, Call the Midwife, Feel Good, Ghosts, and then You, your characters do vary. It’s not just sweet nice people, or terrible awful people. CR That’s true. People have different interpretations. I met a girl recently who told me she can’t watch Feel Good because she just hated me in it and… fair enough! People definitely speak to me differently depending on what show they know me from. If they know me from Ghosts, they tend to immediately be very friendly, and don’t feel any hesitation saying hello or chatting about the show. With You, people are clearly wondering what I’m going to be like in real life, and I find that really interesting. EJ Do you think there’s something in that? In how people are understanding the role of the actor? Especially with the current concerns about AI in industry?

CR I just watched Joan Is Awful, the Black Mirror episode. I don’t know the legalities of it, but I have on my to do list, to have someone sweep the internet for my face being used. I think it’s on some porn sites, as deep fakes. The way I first found out that my face was being put on naked bodies was when I was laughing at another friend's face that had been put on a naked body. Me and her were sat around the table laughing about it, and I thought I’d Google my name just for fun, and it had, and it suddenly wasn’t funny once it was me. It’s something I never, ever thought would have thought about ten or fifteen years ago when I first started being filmed in things. But it’s not just people who choose to be on film, it’s anyone with an Instagram account, just days and days of potential footage. I find that now I sometimes get selfconscious because if I’m at a festival or something, I’ll notice people are filming me, and it does mean that I can’t dance like I want to, or let loose a bit, or be drunk. I guess that’s actually a bit of insight into what it’s like to be a teenager now. It’s not just me. It’s no longer just people on TV

who get filmed now and again, it seems like anyone and everyone. I can’t get my head around it. The one thing I feel grateful for is being older, experiencing this stuff. It’s been a real baptism of fire being talked about online, or analysed or taken pictures of, and you kind of come out the other side thinking, "Well, there’s not much I can do about this". It’s kind of crazy I ever thought there was something I could do about what people think of me? It’s like suddenly seeing through the other side and realising that I’ve never been able to control how other people see me, and now it's on a scale that I can’t comprehend. I kind of have to just go, "Oh well!". EJ Do you think the work you do gives you a kind of toolbox that enables you to be more self aware? CR I have found that I rarely talk to people face to face who don’t share the same ideas about nuance, and the understanding that everyone has bad days. It’s very rare that you meet someone in person who thinks, "That person said x and therefore they’re a cunt".

There’s still a big thing about how you solve the concept of change in a person, whether someone comes out of the other side of something as an acceptable person again. I guess the difficulty is that that always rubs up alongside public figures and groups of people who don't take any responsibility, and don’t own their shit. EJ And knowing whether you’re the right person to accept their change, if you aren’t within the minority they may have affected.

CR I guess it depends on where the conversations are happening. I think I find it difficult because we’re speaking in such broad terms, and they’re such big concepts. And people behave in a certain way en masse, but individually they have such nuanced and varied views. There’s a power in group thinking, but it can also be reductive. EJ We’re waxing philosophical today. Watching Ghosts this morning I was thinking: Robin didn’t have to care about what was going on with Paris’ bed bugs. France didn’t exist. And when Kitty has pineapple for the first time and she’s twenty. And you just think - she didn’t know about the politics of Australia. CR There’s something lost there too. There’s just no such thing as one thing that’s just ‘good’. Everything has its.. it’s bloody yin and yang! Our interconnectedness is really really stressful and we know way too much, but equally we can have family and friends across the world, and empathy for people we’ve never met. Each individual holds a bit of responsibility about how they engage and how much they engage. You can’t expect anyone to man it for you, you are fully responsible for your engagement with the world and how much or little you ingest it, especially as you get older. And to be aware of that does to you when it happens. I think self image is very interesting. The main thing I’ve been taught in the last few years is letting go of this idea of… you’ve ideally got to try and work out who you are for yourself, and that ultimately people are just going to interpret you as they want to. I used to get really stressed about people who I thought thought I was

an idiot, because my character was an idiot. Not idiots, but… people will say, "Oh Oregon’s such a dickhead," and I wonder why I needed so badly for one person to think that I’m not. But then I realised I can’t [worry about it or convince them] - you cannot ever do anything about it. You’ve got your good friends, and then you’ve got people who you work with or interact with where you’ve got to try and be as kind and as nice as possible, try and be openminded, try to give people the time of day. My friend's mum always says, "Meet people as if they’ve just had bad news," that’s a really good tip. And then beyond that, there’s not really much you can do about how people interpret you. When you find yourself on a Reddit subthread and people are analysing your body type, and saying how bad you look and xyz, I had this sudden moment where I realised it will never go, I will never be able to solve this, and I simply have to let this go. What’s that saying? All I know is that I don’t know anything? EJ Is that Socrates or something? CR Someone like that. They know what they’re talking about. Who’s the modern day philosophers? Therapists? EJ I thought you were just gonna say actors. CR Sadly not. Although, I do think actors are a good bunch, broadly. EJ After working on Ghosts for so many years, how does it feel for the experience to be over? CR Ah, I feel totally gutted. It’s just the dream job. I had a front row seat to the funniest, nicest people, and it's going to be pretty hellish getting to January when we usually film and not bringing in the spring with everyone at West Horley place. But the show is about death, endings, how you cope, and it’s inevitable it has to end at some point. It’s a rare example of when you can choose to finish something on your own terms, and I think the writers have done the right thing. Even if I am secretly fuming about it. I have laughed so much over these last 5 years. Oh god, What if I never laugh again?

EJ So what was it like acting against such funny people? How did you even keep a straight face? CR It’s impossible. Someone’s kid did a tally chart from the bloopers, a chart measuring who corpses the most, and I think it was me… I definitely think I'm one of the worst for laughing. It’s just too joyful. EJ Starting in 2019, Ghosts came out just before, and carried on, through a period when we all needed a bit of lightness - how do you feel about the audience who found solace in your show? CR I'm so so grateful to them all. Every time anyone stops me and talks about how much it makes them feel jolly, I feel connected to them because it made me feel that way too. Working on this show helped me through all sorts of different and difficult times, and I feel grateful to be apart of something that brought to light to so many people. EJ What do you hope people take from the show? CR I think that Ghosts sets a pretty amazing example of living alongside people you don’t agree with but finding enough middle ground to start conversations, learn from each other, and develop their perspectives. It’s very loving and it’s core. And it’s hopeful. It’s an optimistic show and my hope is that it continues to make people laugh right until the very end – and even afterwards! EJ You know, I’m really not sure what I’m going to write for your headline. CR Charlotte Ritchie: pretty cool chick. Radical dude. EJ Does not live in a haunted house? CR Does not live in a haunted house.

The final season of Ghosts is streaming exclusively on BBC iPlayer.

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THE GREATEST GENERATION THE WONDER YEARS

WORDS EVIE FRIAR PHOTOGRAPHY EVIE FRIAR

Pop-punk veterans, The Wonder Years, celebrate 10 years of their fourth studio album, The Greatest Generation, with a UK tour and a sold out show in Manchester.

THE GREATEST GENERATION

Way back in 2013, The Wonder Years released an album that rounded out a trilogy of coming-of-age records, detailing a suburban upbringing from the sleepy streets of Lansdale, Pennsylvania. The Greatest Generation (2013) trod the middle ground of the previous two albums; where The Upsides (2010) felt oddly optimistic and Suburbia, I’ve Given You All and Now I’m Nothing (2011) fell back on more grittier depictions of modern life, the third instalment permeates with a raw honesty that feels even more authentic through a retrospective gaze. It also feels like an album that was carefully constructed for a live performance. The slow build of opening

want to call it – there is a very optimistic community behind such depressingly relatable lyrics, and there is perhaps no better illustration of this fact than a venue full of fans that still connect so deeply with these songs 10 years on. Without giving myself away in a room full of 30+ year olds, I’m closer to the age that lead singer Dan Campbell was when writing this record, than he is now. Yet only having listened to The Wonder Years in the past 5 years or so didn’t put me at any disadvantage in enjoying the show as much as their veteran listeners. The album paints such a clear picture of a time and place

ruminates on the time that’s passed and looks briefly to the future, ultimately settling on quite a drastic statement: “We’re a lot closer to the end of The Wonder Years than the beginning.” “That’s not me saying that, that’s just how time works!” he laughs, after his initial declaration was met with boos from the crowd. He is also quick to reassure by stating that it is within their latest album, The Hum Goes on Forever, where The Wonder Years are at their best, before diving into their more recent hits for their second set of the evening. The night concludes with their most popular hit – and fan favourite – Came

"WE'RE A LOT CLOSER TO THE END OF THE WONDER YEARS THAN THE BEGINNING." track, There, There, captivates before plunging us straight into the album’s first single Passing Through A Screen Door; a sight to behold in a sold out O2 Ritz, with 1,500 fans screaming along about a past life. It’s an effortless feat for The Wonder Years to delve straight into playing a 13 track album from 10 years ago. The six-piece ensemble look comfortable in each of their own corners of the stage, with grins plastered across their faces in response to such an enthusiastic crowd. It’s something I’ve always loved about the genre – poppunk, alternative rock, whatever you

that it’s hard for anyone not to want to step into its mise-en-scène for an evening or more. As Campbell points out, when making this album, they took chances to ensure that it was varied, even adding in an acoustic ballad – the 11th track, Madelyn – to offset the album’s punchier moments. This was welcomed warmly by a crowd looking for a break to catch their breath, as lighters went up and arms were placed around shoulders, firmly embracing the softer moments from the setlist. It’s these moments, with Campbell’s commentary on the album, that really round out the evening. At one point, he

Out Swinging, which sees Ryland Heagy of support act Origami Angel join the band onstage to sing a chorus. It's a fitting end to a career-spanning, double bill of a set. It's a song that pinpoints life's undulating moments of hardship and optimisim, with a reflective tone that's underpinned with a sense of forward-thinking. It's a song that encapsulates everything that could be felt during this evening as The Wonder Years look back at an impressively relentless career with no signs of stopping just yet.

@thewonderyearsband

ANJLI MOHINDRA EJ So just last week, the first series of The Lazarus Project won Best TV Drama at the BAFTA Cymru Awards, and now you’re launched into the press circuit for the second series out later this month. How’s that working out for you? AM It was such a lovely, genuinely pleasant surprise. I think people go into a job with the intention of making something that’ll be well-received and hope that leads to a sense of critical acclaim but it’s really all about making something that you enjoy and that other people will enjoy. The awards praise is always a bit of a bonus especially this time around because the show came out almost a year and a half ago, so I felt that our awards potential had passed. But no, it hadn’t! It’s been lovely going to a screening, doing a bit of press, and chatting about a show hot off the heels of having a nice, shiny gold face. EJ Oh no, you’re going to be stealing it from Marco [Kreuzpainter] and Joe [Barton] now, aren’t you? AM No, no. They can keep that one but if we win one for the second season, I’ll be having it. Once you’ve got more than two, the second one should go out on a loan. EJ Like a class hamster? Paapa [Essiedu] gets him one month, you get him the next.

WORDS & INTERVIEW BETH BENNETT & ASTER SAGE PHOTOGRAPHY DAN LI

AM Exactly! Or anyone who needs to borrow it for a Zoom interview, bit of background decor. EJ Rosamund Pike said once that she buried her Emmy Award in her back garden so that when she sold her house the new person who moved in would find it

As time-travel epic The Lazarus Project explodes back onto our screens with a brutally action-packed second season, we caught up with leading lass Anjli Mohindra to find out more about stepping back into Archie’s prolific stomping boots, winning the prestigious golden face of BAFTA Cymru, and what goes on in the ‘Laz-R-Us’ groupchat…

like some sort of long lost treasure. AM That’s quite cool. I sometimes think if the world is on the brink of extinction, we should all start doing things like that. EJ [laughs] Do you have any paraphernalia from your many, many, many years of acting that you could just start hiding around London? AM I do have a clapper board I got for the last project I worked on but that’s too recent to really be leaving around. EJ So no K-9 cutting about your room from The Sarah Jane Adventures?

AM No! But I do have some Rani figurines, they could be fun. EJ You need some Archie figures that you can hide around Newport to memorialise Lazarus. AM Yeah! Yeah! Pop them around where we shot in Europe too. EJ I know in the first season there were quite a few sequences shot all over Europe. Can we expect any of that in this one? AM Well. Everything was kept quite a mystery up until a couple of weeks before we were supposed to start shooting when my agent asked me to send in my passport. I got very excited, of course, because last time I went to Prague which was amazing and this time there were murmurs of Morocco, The Alps, Strausberg. We were all chatting like ‘oh I wonder which one we’ll get’. Now, in Episode 1, Joe [Barton] had written this incredible fight sequence, set abroad, that went from moving vehicles to a restaurant… EJ A classic, blockbuster fight sequence? AM Yes! Like a Tom Cruise sequence all the way through. And this was something that I’d petitioned for; whilst he was writing this season, I was texting Joe and campaigning for Archie to have this big fight scene. I’d done an episode of this

show called The Peripheral during the break and I made sure Joe saw it so he knew that I could do these fight scenes, not just that I liked them. I was so excited for it, to be to go to Europe, do this epic sequence, so I sent over my passport. Then, three days later, I broke my foot. EJ Oh my god.

need to get this sorted’. AM Oh pretty much. That’s how we work. EJ Joe had mentioned to me during filming, I think, that it was quite a bad injury, wasn’t it? You had to spend pretty much the first half of the season sitting down?

AM I was so upset about it but whilst it was happening, I was a bit…I didn’t take it as seriously as I should. I’m definitely a humour as a coping mechanism kind of person so I was like it’s fine, it’s fine. I messaged Paapa when I got back from A&E and I was just trying to laugh it off but he was like ‘have you told production?’ And so I had to blow up all of their scheduling they’d finally just cracked. Scripts were changed.

AM Yeah, exactly that. I had a wheely chair for my leg to be propped onto so a lot of camera trickery to make it look like I’m completely as strong as my torso and face are trying to say.

EJ I’m loving this image of you being like ‘everything will be fine’ while Paapa’s being, sort of like an older brother, ‘no you

AM Yup. I was constantly working on ways for me to be sat down and still look like a badass. It ended up working for

EJ I picture it like when you’re watching a long-running drama and someone gets pregnant or injured like yourself and suddenly there’s an increase in artfully placed lamps, lots of handbags.

out of the chaos that George ends up leaving in his wake. When she discovers this, when she finds out that George has betrayed her and lied to her to use the organisation’s time travel ability to bring his girlfriend back, she’d livid. But I think that rage is almost like a mask for her own internal plates shifting? Because what George has done by saving his girlfriend has acted as a catalyst in a fuck-tonne of internal processing that Archie now has to do. Maybe she could have fought harder to keep her own love alive and if she didn’t then…well, maybe she didn’t love him as much as she thought she did. So I think her internal devotion to the project is really being challenged. Meanwhile, she also has to put her less than friendly feelings towards George to the side because they need to unite to stop the world ending as a result of this infinite time loop. EJ So quite low stakes then, really?

AM Yeah. Very mundane. Not at all bigger in every possible way. EJ Every way?

the character, to be honest, as Archie’s stepping into this more authoritative role. Inside though, I was getting slightly frustrated by not being able to move as much. EJ Personally, I think they should have written the wheelchair in. You could have been Newport’s own Professor X. AM Oh I’d have been so great at that. EJ So I feel like I’ve seen you in something pretty much every year of my conscious telly watching life. Obviously, there was The Sarah Jane Adventures several years ago, but more recently you’ve done a lot of standalone series’, or standalone roles, in the likes of Bodyguard and Vigil. What was it like to finally be able to come back to a series again? Get that go at a second season?

AM Oh my god, it was pure joy. I was so happy. We have a little WhatsApp group called ‘Laz-R-Us’ and we were messaging each other all the time like ‘any news? Anyone heard anything?’. We kept in touch quite a lot after shooting the first series because we just all really got on as a cast and crew. There’s also just something so epic about the show itself, like it feels like a blockbuster film, so as someone who’s mainly acted in TV, it really allowed me to stretch myself and my skill set outside of what I’d done so far. Getting to fill those iconic Archie boots again…it was just like winning the lottery. EJ So where is Archie at going into this season? AM Season 1, Archie really acted as the key to introducing George (Paapa Essiedu) into the fold of The Lazarus Project and then dealing with the fall

AM It’s funnier. Bolder. Even more of a mind-fuck. There’s some brilliant new characters coming in this season that I know people are going to love. It’s ten times more epic. Bigger guns. More action. EJ Unfortunately, not for you personally. AM Maybe in the next one! EJ Are you hoping for a third season? AM Definitely. Season two, much like season one, ends on such a cliffhanger that I feel like we need to see how the next chapter is going to play out. I need to see it. I need to see what Joe comes up with next. I’m not quite ready to take off Archie’s boots yet.

Season 2 of The Lazarus Project is now available on Sky and Now TV. @anjlimohindra

COLUMN

[STATUS: IN PROGRESS]

WORDS

EMMY HALLAHAN

@emmyhallahan Emmy is a writer - if you ask her on a good day. Mostly, this writing just consists of devouring books like they’re about to be rationed, and the only writing that gets done is tweets. She’s currently based in Liverpool - moved for the promise of a cheaper night out.

COLUMN

I set a really stupid task for myself at the start of this year, and I’m nowhere near clearing it. I wanted to read a book a day - which is easy territory for me (I could probably go through half a shelf if I really had nothing else to do). However, I forgot the relentless ongoing torture that consists of things like having a job, doing the dishes, laundry, cooking, buying groceries, cleaning the flat, washing your hair, eating, sleeping, etc. It goes on. I also forgot how tired all of that makes me. Seriously, as I write this I’m leaning to one side feeling as if I’m about to drop down at any moment. It’s not even five yet.

This gamification of everything I do is a bit of a nightmare, but I’m not the only one doing it. I don’t even participate in these communities that do (because they are chock full of absolute freaks) but the idea itself is pervasive. It’s never enough to read

I know that if I asked a single other person what they thought of any of these things, they’d say that they don’t care. Nobody else is paying enough attention to give a shit. I am, though. It’s not just competitive reading though. Learning a language has a competitive edge to it these days. Something that you’re doing to communicate with people, exercise your brain, expand your knowledge, or whatever reason you’re doing it for - all boiled down to if you can have an impressive enough Duolingo streak that it’s worth sharing on Twitter. When did this even happen? When did we stop doing things because we wanted to, because we enjoyed them, and start doing them to prove something? Why can’t I ever just relax and enjoy a good book without thinking of if I’m going fast enough, and what the best method is to move through my ever growing list? Whatever it is, I need to stop it, and, chances are, you probably do too. Anyway, I’ll be lucky to end on one hundred at this rate. Doesn’t mean it will stop me from doing the same mistake again next year.

I’ve had a fair amount of time to get it done. Even when I fell behind on the ‘one a day’ ideal, there was still plenty of time to reach my goal. Approaching ‘two a day’ territory, I started getting mad at myself. It was still doable, and honestly would be fine if I carved out some time for it, but it now felt more out of reach. Then, I blinked. It was September, October, November. And where was I? Astronomically behind where I was meant to be. But what did I mean by meant to be?

a bunch of books and enjoy them, you have to read more than everyone else. It’s never enough that you’re proud of your own work, it has to be better than everyone else. It’s never enough!

ES SENT IAL PANTRY Welcome to the Essential Pantry, a place for some of the very best chefs to place their favourite ingredients and a recipe around them.

MASAKI SUGISAKI

NASU

NASU DENGAKU Double cooked aubergine with caramelised sweet miso.

WORDS BY MASAKI SUGISAKI PHOTOGRAPHY DININGS SW3

INGREDIENTS 1 large aubergine Vegetable oil for deep frying ½ teaspoon white sesame seeds or poppy seeds Aka-dengaku Miso (easy quantity to prepare) 150g Sakura miso (dark rice and soya bean miso available online) 150g Saikyo miso (white rice miso available online) 100g Mirin (Japanese Sweet Sake available in large supermarket or online) 100g cooking sake (available in large supermarket or online Shiro-Dengaku Miso (easy quantity to prepare) 200g Saikyo miso (White rice miso available online) 300g cooking sake 100g Shiro miso (White soya bean miso available in large supermarket or online) 100g Mirin (Japanese Sweet Sake available in large supermarket or online) 50g sugar METHOD Prepare aubergine. Cut aubergine into 3cm cylinder and peel skin.

Soak in water for 30mins. Use plate to make sure whole part of aubergine to be submerged. This process is help preventing aubergine to become greasy. Prepare Aka-dengaku miso. In a saucepan, bring sake to boil. Once it starts boiling, set the fire to sake and remove all alcohol. Turn the heat off once the flame is died out. In the pan, add all remaining ingredients and mix well over medium heat. Once boiled and all sugar is dissolved, set aside until use. Prepare Shiro dengaku miso. Follow exactly the same process with Aka dengaku miso. Preheat vegetable oil to 180c. Pat dry aubergine and deep fly for 3 minutes each side or until soften. Cooking time is vary depends on the thickness of aubergine. Once aubergines are cooked, take it on kitchen paper to remove excess oil. Apply 2 kind of miso and caramelise miso by baking it in oven until golden or you can use blow torch. Remember, all you need is to caramelise the miso. It will take 3-4mins in the oven. Once caramelised, place it on plate and sprinkle some sesame seeds on top and serve.

@masaki_sugisaki @dinings_sw3

WORDS BETH BENNETT IMAGERY COURTESY OF GRAMME CUISINE PARISIENNE

Caught in the thick of Paris’ food-frenzied 11th arrondissement stands a homely little bistro that you’ll be remiss not to explore… Created by Romain Tellier, Alexis Tellier, and Marine Gora, Gramme 11 is the older sibling of their debut cafe Gramme 3. Whereas Gramme 3 is tucked away in the Marias, a snug coffee shop elevating the day-to-day of the bustling workers around them, Gramme 11 is the matured vision of a fully-fledged neo-bistro. Headed up by chef Marine Gora, Gramme 11 showcases an array of gourmet cuisines adapted to the seasons. The food appeals to both the French national and the international consumer with a more-ish selection of familiar, homely cuisines across both their lunch menu and evening menu. It’s in these important dishes, however, that Gramme 11 truly shines. The type of food you’d find right at home in London, New York, or even the far east, Gramme 11 is sure to add a Parisian twist to it, introducing flavours that elevate these cultural dishes to a more distinguished serve whilst practising a certain restraint in honouring the familiar. Though the dishes may come from all over the world, the bistro is masterful in making you still feel as though you’re in France, eating French food, and drinking French wine. A feat often stumbled by other restaurants who aim to appeal to the revolving door of tourists, Gramme 11 stands firm in its action. The ambience of Paris outside helps, for sure, but the trick of Gramme is in its own execution, in understanding the importance of its own national identity against these international dishes. @grammeparis11

ONE MORE DRINK

WORDS CAL SMITH @calsmiff Based in London, Cal is a connoisseur of the finer things in life; in particular, good grub and good drinks. With an optimistic, but realistic outlook, Cal's here to close us out with an insightful coda. Until next time...

...AND AN ACCOMPANYING TWO CENTS I’ll be excited to be writing one of these pieces with a nicer way to kick this off one of these days, but for now, we wait. It’s wet now. Very wet. Very wet, windy and cold, and not yet Christmas. Ciaran, Erin, Debi, Fergus, Gerrit and whomever else is named after a horrendous storm is to blame. Tell your friends. No faint smells of merriment or joy here, just rain. I am overjoyed, clearly. It’s getting to me, I’d be lying if it wasn’t. However, looking up, England being fantastic in the cricket has really got me through this tough time. That, and the cost of living, politics, arrests at protests, Banksy’s identity being exposed and the Caramac being discontinued. However, the minimum wage has gone up and Boris has been caught in his own lies and incompetence. There may well be a God, who’d have thought it? The news and public service announcements have certainly been dower of late but never fear, alcohol is here. One more drink of the night, one last hurrah. Stay with it.

You may think my allegory, for it is an allegory, to be overwritten, futile and ridiculous. My point is, I knowingly put off doing a very simple task for over eight months full well in the knowledge it would be to the detriment of my personal finances and ability to navigate my surroundings. For some reason, I believed this to be logical. Maybe not logical but further down the pecking order in my priorities than other tasks. Tasks such as… going to the pub, doing my washing, spending money on other bikes, looking out the window and watching paint dry. I don’t think (hope) I am alone in this way of sauntering through life constantly tripping myself up. It’s commonplace, at least among my friends. I believe very few people could truly say they prioritise the tasks and events which would benefit them in the long run all the time. That would be unhealthy. There are certainly people who prioritise fun, the constant twentya-summer festival goer for one. Conversely,

there are people who prioritise work for the sake of their future and the belief that a rainy day must be saved for. However, there are those ‘others’. The people who seem to get it right all the god fucking time and end up successful whilst having had a good time. I would advise to steer clear of these people at all costs. It's not healthy for you, it’s not healthy for me and it’s certainly not healthy for them to be hanging around with the final type of person. The worst kind of person, this person has prioritised everything wrong at all the wrong moments. Not taken the chances when they should’ve and had too much fun when they shouldn’t have. These are dangerous people, those who can take you off course and change those precious priorities. If you are less linear in your view of the world than I am, then I applaud you. You would be the type of person we all should be. Take the leap whilst valuing what’s important. Go big, leave the job, take the trip, money comes and goes…or go small, have the croissant in the morning on the way to work when you’re trying to lose weight, just because it feels good and you’ll run it off later. If you don’t know who you are, then you are the luckiest of all. You do not have to sit in a lane choosing one over the other. For you, there is a pint at the end of the now admittedly hazy rainbow. Amazing the thoughts you have when not fixing your bicycle tyre…

WHAT YOU SHOULD BE DRINKING Ki No Bi Kyoto Dry Gin Produced at Japan's Kyoto Distillery, Ki No Bi is the first gin to be made in the city. Made with a rice spirit and botanicals including yellow yuzu, Japanese cypress, green tea, bamboo and sanso berries (Japanese peppercorn), this has classic juniper notes which complement the Japanese botanicals. With a warming and spicy finish, this will make a delicious G&T. kyotodistillery.jp

Not to be overzealous, but I can top all the positivity of the above-stated happy happenings of the world. My bicycle has a flat tyre. Not a flat, I need a new inner tube flat tyre. A burst took me over the handlebars flat tyre. It rather ruined my day, when it happened in April, eight months ago. So much so that I am yet to fix it. I look at it daily, wanting to be fixed and loved. I did however, in the words of Michael Jordan, take it personally. Never quite forgave that bastard bike for doing that to me, hurting my

ego, staining my pride. Never mind that I was fine, unscathed and bruise-less. I put my trust in that object, take me anywhere I thought. So no love and affection you’ll get from me. I’ve been paying to cycle electric Lime bikes (other brands available) around London for eight long months. That’ll show my free, perfectly useable, bar tyre bike. I’m the boss. I am admittedly now a poorer and less fit boss but still made my point. Alas, point made, forgiveness is in order. I am giving another chance to the old boy, a trip to Halfords this weekend will solve all issues and a chance for us to mend our fractious relationship.

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