Murmurs @ Southbank

As a child I remember being told I was being taken to the circus. So psyching myself up to see elephants with tea cosys on their heads, ringleaders with handle bar moustaches and acrobats that could bend like rubber; I was as excitable as a 9 year old could be. However, at Cirque du Soleil I was pounced upon a ghastly clown that shoved a kit kat in my face and incomprehensibly made noises that my little imagination could not endure so I hid behind my father. Despite this minor encounter this show with all its glory was tantaslising visual fanfare with elaborate costumes of enlarged proportions and dynamic styling paired with atmospheric lighting and poised comedy, acrobatic and dancing routines.

So when I saw 'Murmurs' show at the Southbank Centre advertised in a little box on my facebook account I clicked on the link (of which hardly ever happens). Depicting a 'woman fleeing from reality' Charlie Chaplin's great grand-daughter actress Aurélia Thierrée plays the main protagonist who lives out of packed up boxes, encountering a variety of characters along the way in a world of illusion, theatre and dance.

In an age when I feel my imagination is failing me and magic seems extinguished with the looming double dip recession and the likes of the Littlewoods product endorsement or M&S' showcase of Xfactor contestants in the recent UK Christmas ads; the southbank show is very much welcomed in my eyes. Having watched a TED video with psychiatrist Iain MacGilchrist questioning the rationality of the left hemisphere of the brain over the suffering artist that is the silent right side of the brain; I think it is important to nurture interests that capture us no matter how superficial the experience may be or not constructive to our everyday working lives. Just the desire to see this show allowed me to type this post.

Active Child

The Pale Blue Door to The Double Club

Okay, so I would presume most of us would link the name Carsten Höller to those enormous steel slides that winded through the vacuous space that is the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern (entitled 'Test Site' and commisioned Unilever Series). However this kingpin of engineered, experiential installation art placed his eggs in some other baskets with the aid of funds from Fondazione Prada in November 2008, and opened a bar/restaurant/disco in warehouse by Angel tube station in London (known as Islington Metal Works, formerly Electrowerkz). This art project entitled 'The Double Club' was hoped to be an embodiment of Congelese and Western culture collide; showcasing various cultural dishes, acts and drinks contrasting each other; with 50% of the profits going to UNICEF. Having been closed since July 2009, how bloody bummed out was I that I missed a chance to go see it . . . however the idea was good enough to blog nostalgically about.

Yet there is still an opportunity to remedy this loss! Thank god for 'The Pale Blue Door' dinner parties held by Tony Hornecker in his art installated, East London home laced with fine cuisine and divine interior-vention. I would like to think a tasteful gypsy would reside in such abodes.

NRK: Nobody Really Knows

Quite allured by the sounds coming out of NRK (Nobody Really Knows) artists. Experimental Hip Hop.

Download Andre McCloud's album 'Therapeutic Vapors' from here.

Download Jay Cue's album 'Pyramid Life' here.