Review – Page 5 of 7

17Feb

By Beth CarrNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Music

Coffee House Sessions: Mark Sullivan

Beth Carr chats to Mark Sullivan after the first Coffee House Session of the term. Mark Sullivan brought a mellow and mature feel to the first Coffee House after Christmas with what he deems “funky acoustic soul rock”. It has always been his dream to do music full time and I wanted to find out more about how this came about. In early life, Sullivan was surprisingly not into music at all but that all changed after seeing Oasis unplugged on MTV. He obtained a guitar at the age of 14 and soon was choosing to play it over the classic teenage pastime of computer games. He also started to sing but in his own opinion he was bad at it, giving up for a period of time to concentrate on his band. 7 years ago he started singing again properly and has been solo for 3-4 years. However the guitar a...

31Jan

By Emma HalahanNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

UnScene Festival: A Review

The 10 short pieces that made up Drama Socs UnScene Festival certainly packed a punch. Emma Halahan reviews a night of laughter, tears and tender moments. Ranging from spoken word to a brief improvisation by The Holloway Players, the 2016 UnScene Festival had something for everyone. Original writing at RHUL doesn’t have much of a platform: if you are a drama or creative writing student there are opportunities with the Student Workshop and Musical Theatre Society’s Variations offers the opportunity to write an original musical, although it’s first years only. UnScene plugs this gap in the market by allowing a plethora of original writing styles to gain stage time and I can attest, the results were simply magical. Guided by two wonderful co-hosts, Ellie Cozens and Azan Ahmed, the night pr...

22Dec

By Harry BrownNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Film & TV

Hail, Caesar! Review

The Coen Brothers’ Hail, Caesar! is one of their most hilarious, absurd and grand films yet. What the film lacks in emotional depth is more than made up for in laughs and often stunning spectacle. Taking place in 1950’s Hollywood, the film stars Josh Brolin as Eddie Mannix, the man who makes sure everything at fictional studio Capitol Pictures runs smoothly. His day to day work ranges from trying to rescue rumour-ridden star Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) from a kidnapping, to managing the pregnancy of starlet DeeAnna Moran (Scarlett Johansson). While the subject matter could treated as a biopic in other hands, the Coen Brothers inject these stories with a silliness often bordering on parody. It is actually this aspect of the historical period’s depiction which is one of the film’s str...

20Dec

By Beth CarrNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Literature

Diary of an Ordinary Woman Reviewed

Background reading for your course can equal enjoyment, writes Beth Carr. In the midst of a reading-heavy degree it can be a struggle to find time and energy to delve into books for leisure, but making an effort to do so can be captivating and refreshing. This is exactly how I felt reading Diary of an Ordinary Woman, a book retrieved from my bookshelf after years of sitting there, since my mum passed it on to me as something I might enjoy. She was certainly not wrong and this is a book I would thoroughly recommend to anyone. Charting one woman's life through the twentieth century, Margaret Forster's novel reproduces extracts from the diaries of Millicent King, dating from 1913 to 1990. At first it was an ideal choice to relate to my course on twentieth century women but my interest s...

5Dec

By Ruby_rogersNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Music

The Carnabys

Ruby Rogers chatted to indie rock band The Carnabys after their gig at the Students' Union. “Do we think that Jack could fit into your skinny tights?” asks Ben Gittins, guitar player of up and coming indie rock band The Carnabys. We never did find out the answer (maybe next time?) but I quickly realised that my pre-interview nerves were almost totally unwarranted. Chatting to Ben and lead singer Jack Mercer after the gig felt more like chatting to your significantly cooler mates at the pub, mates who’ve toured with Blondie (“Yeah, you’d just sit down and have a bit of soup with Debbie [Harry]”) and played gigs at the Roundhouse. Playing at the Students’ Union as part of the tour for their debut album ‘Too Much Never Enough’ on Saturday 5th November was the third time I had seen T...

21Nov

By Susanna clarkNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Never Swim Alone – Review

Image by Sophie Morgan Susanna Clark reviews The Student Workshop's production of Never Swim Alone. The Student Workshop’s production of Never Swim Alone is, simply put, a triumph. Frank (played by Jack Read) and Bill (played by Azan Ahmed) are two adult men who were once childhood friends and maintain a façade of the continuation of this friendship, despite their destructive rivalry. The play is structured as a competition with 13 rounds, each of which is judged by the referee (played by Tabatha Gregg). In each round the men attempt to prove their superiority over each other: whichever man argues his case best is awarded a point by the referee. The points are recorded on a whiteboard in a prime position for all to see: a reminder of the constant struggle amongst men to prove the...

‘Lady Be Good’ made this lady feel good!

19Nov

By Victoria BastableNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Music, Theatre & Performance

‘Lady Be Good’ made this lady feel good!

‘Lady Be Good’ made this lady feel good! Last night I was treated to the Savoy Opera Society’s main term show ‘Lady Be Good’, music and book by George and Ira Gershwin, directed by Monte Marché. It was the perfect start to my weekend. I was giggling and singing the songs all the way home! The plot follows the misadventures of brother and sister Dick Trevor (Tom Chippendale) and Susie Trevor (Jenny Collins) after becoming destitute on the streets of New York. Their struggle to turn their fortunes around leads to false marriage proposals to the rich and glamorous Josephine Vanderwater (Sarah Vanderplank), falling onto the wrong side of the law via the misguidance of the mischievous lawyer Watty Watkins (Will Davidson) and a run in with Mexican gangsters, lead by the serial murderess Ma...

3Nov

By Joanne ArcherNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Music

Interview with Quarterlights

Orbital’s Joanne Archer caught up with up and coming band, Quarterlights, a group who originated from Royal Holloway. Meeting and interviewing Quarterlights with my Deputy Editor, Beth Carr, has to be one of the highlights of being the Arts Editor for the Orbital thus far- it’s only been a few months but still! Although I was only able to meet three out of four of the group, I could get a real sense of what this band is all about. Quarterlights, made up of three RHUL alumni and one of their friends, got their start playing in the Forester’s Arms. The pub, which is situated in Egham, allowed them to build a small following which later lead to their success playing at Summer Ball in 2015. Originally the band went by the name Cardboard City, a name which they pointed out was also shared wi...

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...

Drama Society presents ‘No Sex Please, We’re British’

28Oct

By Rosalie FallaNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Drama Society presents ‘No Sex Please, We’re British’

Rosalie Falla reviews the first night of Drama Society's Week 5 Show. No Sex Please, We’re British by Anthony Marriot and Alistair Foot is a simply hilarious concept: when a newly-wed couple, Peter and Frances, receive a box of Scandinavian pornography in lieu of glassware, comedy ensues. Uninvited houseguests, a police investigation, a lost cheque, boxes and boxes of risqué material and many a mix-up make this a show worth seeing. Katie Dale’s and Niamh Dunne's directorial efforts succeed in bringing the British farce to the Jane Holloway stage in only five weeks, no mean feat considering the cast and crew balance intense rehearsals with their degrees- perfectly timed comedy is not an easy skill to master and yet Dale and Dunne's cast had the audience in fits. Speaking of the cast, ...