Arts – Page 5 of 8 – The Orbital

Curtain Call: The Expense Of The West End

14Mar

By Georgia BeithNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Curtain Call: The Expense Of The West End

Georgia Beith discusses the inflating prices of the West End theatre scene and how that negatively impacts upon students. Theatre has long since been a favourite pastime of British society. From the playhouses of Elizabethan England, to the grand music halls of the Victorian era, theatres have been landmarks of London for centuries. Yet with soaring ticket prices, it’s becoming an art form that is increasingly inaccessible for people without mountains of disposable income, people like students and young people. Despite sales of tickets stagnating, the prices for West End tickets have continued to rise, alienating much of the British public from enjoying London’s top plays and musicals. A quick Google search show that if you want to book tickets to see a West End show this weekend, yo...

13Mar

By Beth CarrNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Music

Coffee House Sessions: April Keen

Beth Carr catches up with April Keen after her Coffee House Session on 6 February. April Keen brought superbly moving music to Tommy’s Kitchen alongside her guitarist Jesse on the first Monday of February, performing a range of original songs and covers. Her cover of Hey Soul Sister blew me away with its stripped back nature and a melancholy feel. The set was incredibly well crafted and there was a real sense of passion in the movement and energy shown by April on stage. She doesn’t always know what genre her music fits into but it is best described as folk, pop and indie. Her Coffee House set is naturally stripped back but in studio recordings there’s more electronic production, although her chilled vibe remains. Her lyrics are more in the style of Gabrielle Aplin but her melodi...

6Mar

By Georgia BeithNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Film & TV, Literature

Historical Fact or Fiction?

Georgia Beith discusses whether historical fiction should be more accurate. A piece of historical fiction, whether that be in the form of a book or a period drama, is one of life’s ultimate guilty pleasures. And as a student, especially a history student like myself, it’s not the most respectable thing in the world to admit that you like them. They’re riddled with anachronisms and inaccuracies that make a lot of people look down on them but that doesn’t diminish their entertainment factor. Perhaps as someone who studies the past it should bother me that Anne Boleyn probably didn’t consider sleeping with her brother in order to produce a child, or that Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You’ wasn’t likely to be heard at medieval jousting tournaments. But it doesn’t, though there are a number of p...

14Dec

By Georgia BeithNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Film & TV

Netflix & Diversity

Orbital's Georgia Beith gets to grips with an issue bigger than Netflix and Chill: the topic of Netflix and Diversity. Netflix is widely recognised as the future of the entertainment industry - it’s not news to anyone. It’s a way of watching film and TV that has rapidly increased in popularity. But it isn’t just its quickly garnered success that sets Netflix apart; it also far outstrips traditional forms of media in terms of representation. TV and film’s lack of diversity is not a new issue by any means but, more recently people have finally been taking notice of this problem. The #OscarsSoWhite controversy, a response to the lack of diverse acting nominees at last year’s Oscars, highlights the limited opportunities and recognition given to actors of ethnic minorities. The lack o...

Carlos Acosta: from Poverty to Ballet Stardom

2Dec

By Victoria BastableNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Carlos Acosta: from Poverty to Ballet Stardom

“Passion meets power and precision”: Victoria Bastable explores the career of Carlos Acosta In October I was honoured to see Carlos Acosta perform in ‘Carlos Acosta: A Classical Farewell’ at The Royal Albert Hall. His ovation lasted for at least 20 minutes, and the whole audience was on their feet, not just for the performance that evening, but for his career. Acosta has brought passion and charisma to dance in Britain and throughout the world. There is no adjective to describe watching Carlos dance, because the sensation is visceral. Passion meets power and precision. His incredible jumps and charismatic stage presence combined with technical skill and athleticism acquired over 17 years as a principal dancer at the Royal Ballet and as a Guest Principal Artist in all leading Ball...

A Triumphant Team Effort at the ‘Winter Concert’.

26Nov

By Georgia BeithNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Music

A Triumphant Team Effort at the ‘Winter Concert’.

This year’s Winter Concert was a lovely collaborative effort between two of Royal Holloway’s many choirs: the Gospel Choir and the resident A capella choir, Absolute Harmony. Set against the simply stunning backdrop of the Chapel in Founder’s Hall, the two choirs treated the audience to a selection of songs, both new and old, traditional and contemporary, to create a special evening of live music. Topped off with a traditional Christmas carol, performed by both choirs together, it was a great way to get into the festive spirit. Perhaps some questions could be raised over whether some of the song choices were quite appropriate, considering the particularly religious venue, but I’m sure no one would have changed the setting for the world. Besides from being visually beautiful, the high ec...

Shakespeare Society Presents ‘Much Ado About Nothing’

24Nov

By Georgia BeithNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Shakespeare Society Presents ‘Much Ado About Nothing’

For their first term production, Royal Holloway’s Shakespeare Society are tackling one of Shakespeare’s best loved comedies: Much Ado About Nothing. It’s no small feat taking on such a well known play, but it’s a challenge they rise to wonderfully. It’s the age old tale of a love/hate relationship as we watch Beatrice (Olivia Dutson) and Benedick (Dan Scott) bicker their way through the marriage of Claudio (Will Maidment) and Hero (Samantha Van Den Esschert) and the troublesome scheming of Don John (Tom Knight), the bastard half brother of the honourable Don Pedro (Momin Ahmad). No production of Much Ado would be complete without the iconic overhearing scenes, which are staged hilariously, and this time there’s even the appearance of a small dance number – because, why not? The s...

MTS Presents ‘Bring It On’: From the Perspective of a Sideline Cheerleader.

15Nov

By Joanne ArcherNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

MTS Presents ‘Bring It On’: From the Perspective of a Sideline Cheerleader.

Orbital's Joanne Archer reviews Musical Theatre Society's performance of Bring It On. Every time I watch MTS perform I laugh, I smile, and deep down I am envious of their superhuman talents. Bring It On was no exception to the rule. Walking through the SU main hall doors, I realised that this show was unconventional, I became aware I was entering from “backstage”; the hall layout having been rotated to allow for a basketball court to be taped down to the SU flooring. With lockers, banners and photo collages, I immediately felt like I was in an American movie. The show itself was certainly not the “glorified High School Musical” that one might have assumed it to be. We follow in the footsteps of Campbell, the relatively down-to-earth and newly elected cheer captain of Truman High Sch...

4Nov

By Laura LawrenceNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Stage School Trouble

E4's new structured reality TV drama 'Stage School' has caused a lot of controversy recently. So much so that after its very first episode a petition to have the show taken off air arose online. The argument is that the show is an utter misrepresentation of what stage school is actually like. Orbital spoke to Roho’s very own MTS president Stephen Johnson who felt that, 'E4's Stage School is a false representation of studying at drama school. Not only does it make for appalling TV, but is frankly dangerous to prospective drama school applicants who may be put off applying and for the entertainment industry in general. Performing arts can provide a stage for current important societal and political events. Stage school however, empresses the stereotypical vindictive and venomous behavi...

31Oct

By Beth CarrNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Music

Stranger Stranger Review

Beth Carr reviews Stranger Stranger’s recent set at the Students’ Union. The third Coffee House Session of the year welcomed duo Stranger Stranger to Tommy’s Kitchen, an ethereal and mesmerising performance. As with all the artists so far this was the second show in the tour and of the day, but firmly their first (and probably only!) performed on the landing of a staircase. Our quirky setting was a great accompaniment to their quirky set, and its unearthly quality resonated across the SU. Stranger Stranger’s style of music is hard to pinpoint. Full of dissonance and harmonies, it’s a concept that doesn’t sound like it would work but, in fact, it brings a unique tone to the saturated world of music. It was clear that the duo were incredibly immersed in the music and performance and ge...