Theatre Review- Thrill Me: The Leopold and Loeb Story

Title: Thrill Me: The Leopold and Loeb Story

Writer: Stephen Dolginoff

Director: Guy Retallack

Performers: Ellis Dackombe, Harry Downes, and Kris Rawlinson

Seen at: C Too Edinburgh

Review: Nathan Leopold stands before a parole board for the fifth time, having been in prison for 33 years for murdering a fourteen year old boy. The parole board wants to know: why? Flashbacks detail the story of how Leopold and his lover Richard Loeb, progress from petty crime to murder, and where they went from there.

The musical is based upon the true story, with some changes to details. It is very effectively the story of Leopold and Loeb; nobody else appears on stage, not even their victim, Bobby Franklin. The parole board are disembodied voices.   The characterisation is more simple than what I have inferred from a little research after watching the play; rather than both men participating in the crime equally, this Loeb is the ringmaster, continually manipulating Leopold and suggesting a victim and method, and Leopold is a lovestruck accomplice, who will do anything to keep Loeb in in his life.  Sometimes the writing is odd -  Leopold comes out with simple statements that seem out of place considering the more elevated language in other parts, and the high intelligence of his real-life counterpart- but overall it creates characters that are interesting, and compelling to watch.

The writing of the book and lyrics is nothing compared to the writing of the music, which is incredibly  rich and complex, and reminds me of Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd. Kris Rawlinson on the piano creates the perfect atmosphere, heavy and intense, in both the songs and scene transitions.

The two other performers, Ellis Dackombe playing Loeb and Harry Downes playing Leopold,  both make an incredibly strong professional debut. If I had to choose, I’d say Dackombe was stronger, just because I still have the chills remembering his performance of “Roadster”, already creepy considering it sounds like a seduction and we know what  is going to follow it, and made even more disturbing by Dacombe's delivery. However, Downes'

performance is also captivating, especially his pleading in “Thrill Me” and the way he performs Leopold’s revelation at the end. Together, they have great chemistry, both physically and vocally, and they clearly reflect dynamics of the relationship.

Just as the music and the focus on the characters is stripped back, the staging is equally minimalist. All black furniture, a few props on shelves, and very effective lighting work to create a variety of scenes, such as a burning warehouse, a police interrogation, and a car sitting in the dark on night of the murder. The venue is relatively small; the five rows means everyone is close, heightening the intimacy.

This show is definitely one to see if you want to see a show about manipulation and motivation, with three brilliant performers and an atmosphere that is thrilling and intense.  

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Links: Website | Twitter

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Book Review-A Little in Love by Susan Fletcher

 

Title:  A Little in Love

Author:  Susan Fletcher

Series:   N/A

Published:  October 2014 by Chicken House Books

Length:  288  pages

Source:  Cheezyfeet Books

Summary :  As a young child Eponine never knew kindness, except once from her family's kitchen slave, Cosette. When at sixteen the girls' paths cross again and their circumstances are reversed, Eponine must decide what that friendship is worth, even though they've both fallen for the same boy. In the end, Eponine will sacrifice everything to keep true love alive.

Review: Eponine Thenadier lies in a Parisian street, seventeen years old, dying.  As she does so, she remembers how her life progressed in such a way from a spoilt childhood and years of cheating and stealing to taking a bullet for the boy she loves.

I wanted to read this because I have a love for the musical  of Les Miserables and an appreciation for the book (see here for my review). Eponine is one of my favourite characters because she has to stand up for herself and no one fights for her, and I was looking forwards to seeing a backstory for her.

It's interesting seeing the formative years through the eyes of Eponine. We know that her parents were abusive towards Cosette, but the extent they are to Eponine and sister Azelma in their treatment isn't one you think about when seeing or reading Les Mis.

I liked the fact that in little ways, Eponine attempts to redeem herself. Her development is very thorough and wonderful to watch. Sadly, I don't think any of the other characters got the same treatment, which would have been interesting to see.

I didn't like the fact that it randomly slips into French for a couple of words at a time. I don't mean where we need words like sou or Les Halles for nouns or specifically French things. it's just occasional phrases.  Oui. Excuzez-moi, mon pere. C'est un joli matin. It's just one of my little pet hates, if it's not a language that is foreign to the focaliser and the thing that is being said has a perfectly good English equivalent (yes, excuse me, father, it’s a pretty morning). We understand that Eponine is speaking and thinking in French, and the little random changes are noticable and get on my nerves.

The plot progresses gently.  It fills in the gaps of Hugo’s novel where the focus is on Cosette and Les Amis. At times, it drags, but my interest levels did stay up enough for me to not give up.

However,  my heart for Eponine. Fletcher does very well in making you empathise with her, and  Especially with the little quote from The Brick at the start, in both French and English- j'etais un peu amoureuse de vous . Please excuse me while I go cry.

Overall:  Stregth 3 tea. I really liked the idea and Eponine's development, but it lacked depth in other areas.

Links: Amazon | Goodreads | Author website |

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Mini-reviews- Reaper's Novice and Peregrine Harker

Title: Reaper’s Novice

 Author: Cecelia Roberts

 Series:  N/A

Warnings: non consensual kissing

Source: netgalley

Review: Anna is normal. she’s got a boyfriend, she’s doing well at school and  she’s looking forwards to a brilliant musical education. Then her family dies in a car crash, but she makes a deal with Ernst, aka Grim, aka Death. Her family gets to live, he gets her soul, and she gets to work, collecting souls for eternity. She gets used to this, but then she finds out other things about where Ernst comes from...and where she does.

I read this because I saw it on Netgalley and a book like that, with that title, pretty colours, and a girl with a violin, I couldn’t resist.

It starts off quickly. the car crash and meeting Ernst happens within the first few chapters. There’s a bit of mystery that comes up. Other things like the story to Ana’s background and the mythology of the world, which comes in later.

I really liked Ana. She’s cool. She’s a really good violinist (musical  talent always makes me love characters) and then it becomes plot relavent and this is where audiobooks come in handy. She also seems like a really good friend.

I didn’t like Zig. He’s creepy and full of himself. Ernst was cool. Rolf was kind of mediocre until about halfway through, then we get a big reveal and he becomes a lot more interesting.

The plot was good, but near the second half, the plot became quite confusing.  The writing was ok in places, good in others. The more descriptive parts were better written, such as the end bit with the violin, and  Ana seeing her first reaping of an old woman in a hospital, which was the most beautiful part in the book.

Overall:  Strength 3.5, just more a 3, tea to a fantasy novel with good writing.

Links:  Goodreads | Author website |

Title: Peregrine Harker and the Black Death

 Author: Luke Hollands

Series:  N/A

Published:  3 June 2013 by Sparkling Books

Warnings: non consensual kissing

Source: netgalley

Review: Ever since Peregrine’s parents died, he’s worked for the Evening Enquirer. As a result of his behaviour and habit of writing stories of spies and thieves and espionage into his work which is meant to be factual, he is told to write a story about rising tea prices. Begrudgingly, he sets out to do this, and unexpectedly finds himself in amongst secret organisations, smuggling, and assassinations.

The first chapter takes place on a train, the epic conclusions of a match between Doctor Crick and Peregrine. The second chapter reveals that this was just a daydream of Peregrine’s, and that he is actually being told off by his editor and commissioned to write the tea article.

The plot moves along quickly, the investigation taking us many places, such as docks, posh hotels, backstreets of London and to France.

I liked Peregrine. He’s a great investigator, likable, and smart- like a less sad version of Gavroche (from Les Mis). I really like his enthusiasm for his job-and the fact it picks up when a dead body turns up.

I quite like Louisa too-the first time we meet her, she’s got a pistol and her governess is telling her not to fire that infernal thing indoors. Fun!

The pacing is good. There’s always something new happening and you’re kept intrigued throughout. The atmosphere of adventure is ever present-through London and Paris.

 arker. The

Overall:  Strength 3.5, just more a 3, tea to a younger historical mystery that’s a lot of fun.

Links: Amazon | Goodreads | Author website |

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Theatre Review- The Collected by Dominic Bray

This will be on at the Oxford Firestation on Thursday 6 March. You should totally go and see it.

Title: The Collected

Writer: Dominic Bray

Performed by: Timeless Theatre Productions
Directed by: Hannah Phillips

Major cast:Rebecca Bujeda, Alex Hudson, Declan Kitchener, David Cox

Seen at: Bucks New Uni

Warnings: abuse

Review: Lily, after growing up with an abusive father, lives with neighbours Tom and his aunt Maggie. Tom and Lily's friendship grows, as does Tom's love for Lily. But then everything goes wrong. War breaks out and young men are called to the front line. There, Tom becomes best friends with Eddie. Meanwhile, Lily leaves for London and trains as a nurse. Later, Eddie is injured and is sent back to Lily’s hospital. Love and life tangle as death watches over them all.

I went because one of my friends is a cast member (Eddie) and it was advertised as something inspired my Marcus Zusak (I loved The Book Thief with all my heart) so of course I had to go.

The first act is mostly character and relationship exposition, with comedy, and a little seriousness. It was nice to watch, and but felt a little dragged out in some places. The second act was where the major conflict happens, and this was really intriguing to watch as relationships change with simple actions.

Maggie, the nurses, and Eddie provide comedic relief in the first act, with words, actions, and, in Eddies case, getting Tommy to make out passionately with his helmet. In the second act, we see completely different sides to them, which I liked.

I really like the fact that Death is ALWAYS  on stage, in the shadows, observing, and narrating as scenes change. I also find it interesting that he always has a drink with him. He does however have a tendency to spoil things, which takes away from the emotional impact of certain things happening.

The girl who plays Lily is a really good actress-emotion pours off her, and you really feel for Lily. I also liked Tom and Eddie, and Maggie. Tom, I feel bad for in the way his character developed after the war takes its toll on him.  The ending isn’t particularly happy, and is satisfying when it does end (towards the end, there’s Death interrupting to make little speeches more and more which made me think that it was going to end when the story wasn’t done yet, but luckily that didn’t happen.

Overall: Strength 4 tea to a small production that pulls you in from the start and doesn't let you go.

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Book Review-Fall of Giants by Ken Follett

Title: Fall of Giants 

 Author: Ken Follett

Series:  The Century Trilogy #1

Published:  3 June 2011 by Macmillan

Length:850 pages

Warnings: : Graphic war and otherwise realistic violence, past attempted rape,

Source: Library

Other info: Ken Follett has written many many things.
Summary : This is an epic of love, hatred, war and revolution. This is a huge novel that follows five families through the world-shaking dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for votes for women. It is 1911. The Coronation Day of King George V. The Williams, a Welsh coal-mining family, is linked by romance and enmity to the Fitzherberts, aristocratic coal-mine owners. Lady Maud Fitzherbert falls in love with Walter von Ulrich, a spy at the German Embassy in London. Their destiny is entangled with that of an ambitious young aide to U.S. President Woodrow Wilson and to two orphaned Russian brothers, whose plans to emigrate to America fall foul of war, conscription and revolution. In a plot of unfolding drama and intriguing complexity, "Fall Of Gaints" moves seamlessly from Washington to St Petersburg, from the dirt and danger of a coal mine to the glittering chandeliers of a palace, from the corridors of power to the bedrooms of the mighty.

Review: 1911- Billy Williams, age 13, starts his job as a coal miner. His sister, Ethel, works for the Fitzwilliams, the owners of the mine-the earl, and his sister, Maud. Maud falls in love with German embassy worker, Walter von Ulrich. Meanwhile, brothers Lev and Grigori Peshkov dream of  a better life in America, where young Gus Dewar is trying to get through in politics. But with war on the horizon, will any of their plans really work out?

Having loved the Pillars of the Earth series, I was open to reading more Ken Follett. Then I got told to read Fall of Giants, so I did (eventurally).

Follett's talent for writing awesome, and also real, women, shines through in Ethel and Maud, and nearer the end, Rosie. They're all talented, and Ethel's work  for the womens' rights movement is amazing. Fitz is such a disappointing character. He's really nice to start with and then turns into a giant ass and I know it's good (if backwards) character development but still having to flal out of love with a character is not bad. The characters I felt most for were Grigori and Lev, probably more Grigori because he gets a really bad deal out of all of it really.  

It's told over a much tighter time period to the other Folletts i've read, which I quite liked because it meant we could get closer to the characters and not have to fill in the gaps quite as much.

I like the fact that as well as the First World War and women's suffrage movement, we get the Russian Revolution in detail. In history lessons, most of it's Western based, or at least involves them, and it's nice to learn something completely different.  The facts are weaved in seamlessly, made part of the story, and there's a nice author's note at the end about his authenticity of facts.

The atmosphere is built really well, especially the more negative ones built around places like starving Germany, starving Russia and the battlefields. Some of them, the Somme scene especially was very emotional  indeed.

What didnt I like about this? Some of the characteers I disliked. Also, it's quite predictable, especially Grigori and Lev's stories, and some of the mionr characters felt a bit stereotypical, like the Vylovs.

Overall:  Strength 4.5, just more a 4 tea to a detailed, emotional historical epic.

Links: Amazon | Goodreads | Author website | 

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Book Review-The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

Title: The Pillars of the Earth

 Author: Ken Follett

Series:   The Pillars of the Earth #1

Published:   2002, 2007 by Pan in the UK.

Length: 1088 pages

Warnings: graphic violence, graphic rape, graphic sex

Source: library

Other info: There is a sequel, World Without End. There was a miniseries of this. Ken has written lots of books.

Summary :  The spellbinding epic set in twelfth-century England, The Pillars of the Earth tells the story of the lives entwined in the building of the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has ever known—and a struggle between good and evil that will turn church against state, and brother against brother

Review:  The 1000 page book, overall, tells of the building of a cathedral. Included in that we have romance across all generations, tensions among family, church corruption, and drama every step of the way.

I read this book because one of my friends gets excited by it. Really excited. As in fangirling to everyone without pause for breath excited. I had to see what this was all about, especially seeing as it concerns the medieval period, which I loved studying in year 7.

You’re instantly pulled n with a hanging. You soon meet Tom and family. His wife dies after childbirth, leaving starving Alfred and Martha and Tom to carry on looking for work, leaving the child at the roadside. He gets taken in by a monk who is brother to Philip, one who has been at the church for most of his life and despairs at badly run priories (like his). Meanwhile, Tom meets Ellen, her son Jack, and travels with them. Years later, the civil war over the throne of England leads to Aliena and her brother getting kicked out of their earldom by Wililam of Hamleigh, and they travel. All these characters meet at Kingsbridge, where a cathedral is being built.

It’s all set up quickly, and the world, the setting of Medieval England is put across so well via the language and atmosphere and tone, you really feel like you’re there.

All the characters are really well developed. My favourite is Aliena, despite the fact that she is thrown out of her home and she suffers rape and torment from William, she stands up for herself, becomes a successful woll merchant, and is generally awesome. I also really liked Philip, who is a sane churchman, amongst the corrupted ones, who does the best he can for families and his church. Also Ellen, who just did what she wanted, never mind the consequences. Overall, I liked all the characters apart from William, for whom asshole just doesn’t cover it. His treatment of women, well actually everybody, was downright awful. You are warned.

Despite its length, I got through Pillars of the Earth in a week. It’s such a compelling book that you just have to keep reading-the backstory, the lack of unbearable waffling and the pace meant I got on really well with this book.

There’s a lot of timeskips, which work plotwise, but are annoying because I’m not good at mentally aging people. One character starts age 30 and ends 50. Vision issues.

Overall: Strength 5 tea to an epic historical. Must read book 2 soon. (edit:: I did.)  

Links: Amazon| Goodreads| Author website | 

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Last Song by Eva Wiseman

225 pgs.
Target audience: Young adult
Rating: Wizard

It is the late 1400’s in Toledo, Spain during the Spanish Inquisition. Torquemada, the Grand Inquisitor, is intent on ridding the city of all but devout Christians, his main target are those practicing the Jewish faith. Isobel, whose father is a respected physician in the court of King Ferdinand and Queen Isobella, thinks her family immune to the persecution afflicting the city. When she becomes betrothed to an arrogant and abusive man, she fears for her future. She befriends Yonah, the son of a Jewish silversmith, and learns the terrifying truth behind the Torquemada’s agenda. When her parents reveal to her their secret Jewish roots, the family becomes a target and her father is arrested and tortured. Desperate to save her father and family, Isobel seeks help from  Yonah and the underground Jewish community. This story is well told with a strong, believable heroine. The plot is gripping and builds toward the end as Isobel learns whom to trust and about her heritage. The main theme of solidarity against adversity is expressed primarily through Isobel and Yonah’s growing friendship. It is a refreshing take on Jewish persecution setting it during the Spanish Inquisition rather than the more familiar Hitler’s Third Reich landscape. (This book provided for review by Children's lit  - www.childrenslit.com)

 

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Transcendence by C. J. Omololu

325 pgs.
Target audience: Young adult
Rating: Wizard

On a visit to London with her dad and sister, Cole, a gifted cellist, gets a very up close and personal view of Britain’s history. Objects and places keep triggering intense visions of places and times from the past she doesn’t know. She thinks she’s going mad. When she passes out after a particularly gruesome vision of her own execution on a visit to the Tower of London, a handsome young stranger named Griffon Hall helps her. She feels a strong connection to this boy and upon returning home to San Francisco discovers he lives nearby. Her disturbing visions become more frequent the more time she spends with Griffon. He tells her that like him she is an “Akhet,” a person who can remember past lives and use this knowledge for good. Of course not all “Akhet” uphold this philosophy. Her visions now seem to focus on a Italian cello player involved in a murder. The book builds slowly centering around Cole’s thoughts about her visions which are depicted in italics. Once she and Griffon discover that a rogue “Akhet” is after her, the pace picks up dramatically as they race to find out what exactly happened all those years ago and how to fix it. The closer she grows to Griffon, the more she withdraws from friends and family. Her love for classical music is a constant underlying theme. Cole is a realistically drawn character with whom teens can easily identify. This romantic mystery hints at a sequel and will be sure to appeal to teens who enjoy paranormal romance. Recommend to fans of Die for me by Amy Plum.

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Keeping the Castle by Patrice Kindl

201 pgs.
Target audience: Young adult
Rating: Dragon

Crawley castle, a fool designed structure perched on a cliff edge, is in desperate need of maintenance. In addition to keeping the home repairs at bay, seventeen-yr.-old Althea must support her widowed mother and two stepsisters who claim to have no money. Her only solution is to marry rich and to do it quickly. She sets her sights on Lord Boring who has newly arrived to stay with relatives. Unfortunately Lord Boring never seems to be without the company of his cousin and business manager, Frederics, who derails Althea’s well-laid plans at every turn. Her stepsister, Charity, also aspires to become Lady Boring and unlike the impoverished Althea, she has a healthy dowry. This is a delightful read perfect for fans of Jane Austen. Althea is strong, clever, courageous and brazenly bold. Her fierce devotion and love for her family and ancestral home captures the heart and doesn’t let go. The author effortlessly transforms the relationship between Althea and Fredericks from annoyed acceptance to respectful alliance and finally to love. The humor is witty and light, especially Althea’s constant inner monologues. Although this book is targeted for a young adult audience, adult readers will find much to like, particularly those familiar with Georgette Heyer’s regency romances.

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