The Nutcracker Review

Scottish Ballet’s ‘The Nutcracker’ is the perfect Christmas treat for all the family. Whether you are a fan of ballet or not, this spectacular show will undoubtedly work its magic on you. Using Peter Darrell’s original choreography, artistic director Christopher Hampson and renowned designer Lez Brotherston revive this festive classic with shimmering costumes, breath-taking set design and an engaging narrative.

Act One opens with the iconic Christmas party scene at the Colonel’s house with an array of glamorous Victorian guests, both old and young. The arrival of the Drosselmeyer causes a stir of excitement as he performs his magic tricks and presents Clara, the Colonel’s daughter with a toy nutcracker. As night falls and after the guests have all left Clara awakes to find her toy nutcracker has turned into a real life prince, performed by Andrew Peasgood. Clara’s imagination brings us on an adventure of fighting Mouse Kings, Dancing Snowflakes and into the Land of Sweets.

During the final scene of Act One the stage glows with the Waltz of the Snowflakes with an icy backdrop, sparkling costumes and Tchaikovsky’s iconic music performed by the Scottish Ballet Orchestra. Sophie Martin is spectacular as the Snow Queen and she commands the stage with elegance and grace.

In Act Two we are introduced to some more exotic characters in the Land of the Sweets. Clara is welcomed by the Sugar Plum Fairy, performed by the radiant Constance Devernay and is entertained by a Spanish trio, a Chinese duet and an Arabian soloist (Marge Hendrick). Andrew Peasgood and Constance Devernay’s pas de deux is nothing short of perfection and the iconic Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy is everything we could hope for and more. I found the use of dark costumes for the Waltz of the Flowers interesting as in other productions they are usually so bright and colourful. 
The imagination and detail in every costume is simply marvellous and it all starts to feel a bit psychedelic with the addition of monkeys and clowns amongst other creatures.

The company bring nothing but sheer skill and grace to each dance and it is obvious the joy each of them feel when they are performing. A special tribute must be paid to the children performing in this show as the level of professionalism and competence was outstanding in each of their performances.

This is the best production I have seen by Scottish Ballet to date and they have brought something new to this classic piece. So this Christmas treat yourself to this assault on the senses and let the magic wash over you. 

My Week in Dunkirk!

After arriving home to Ireland after a life changing week volunteering at the Dunkirk Children's Centre many thoughts, feelings and reflections are stirring in me. I feel more informed on the current refugee situation, I feel less afraid of putting myself out there and I also feel a responsibility and need to continue to do everything in my power to help raise awareness of this issue, hence writing this article.

The idea of volunteering at a refugee camp first came into my head when I had seen that an ex colleague of mine from the Edinburgh Fringe (the wonderful Kirstin Shirling) from many moons ago had been volunteering in Calais and I knew then that this was something I definitely wanted to do. In the build up to going I was very very nervous, scared and also worried about putting myself into a possibly dangerous and vulnerable situation. (There were many sleepless nights!) I had read many articles online about life at the camp and was aware before going that it wasn't the safest place to be. 

La Liniere Refugee Camp is situated in Dunkirk in Northern France and is run by the French Aid Organisation, AFEJI. There are around 1500 refugees living there and it is a male dominated site with only around 150 women and 200 children. The majority of the refugee population come from Kurdistan (the Kurdish region of Northern Iraq) and Afghanistan. Women are vulnerable at the camp and there have been unfortunate reports of women being abused and raped on site. The camp is a vast ground of cabins with not much stimulation or activity going on, hence I cannot emphasise enough the importance of the different voluntary organisations present at the camp. There is an Adult Learning Centre, a Women's Centre, the Children's Centre, a Medical Centre and a Community Kitchen. There are also a number of different organisations present including the Red Cross and Gynecologie Sans Frontieres. 

My job for the week was to help out at the Children's Centre. On arriving on the Monday morning it was quite a nerve wrecking experience as I had to have my passport checked by French security before entering through the gates. I walked silently through the camp as it was quite a shocking and sobering environment to get used to. As it was quite early many of the residents weren't up yet so it was very quiet. However when I reached the Children's Centre my spirits lifted and felt overjoyed by the positive and welcoming environment the volunteers had created.

This set the tone for me for the rest of the week and my nerves and fears were put to rest. All of the long term volunteers were positive, warm and passionate about their essential work. The Children's Centre is divided between two buildings-one for the older children aged 7-11 and the other for 3-7 year old's. As I am an early years teacher I was put to work in the infant building. This site is set up as a nursery where activities are set out but the children can choose what they want to do and play is the centre of all activity. The children are provided with regular snacks like in any nursery and they have lunch there every day. Lunch is such a beautiful time as all of the children sit around the table like a family with the volunteers and we all eat together. It is simple things like this that provide the children with escapism from life in their cabins where eating a meal around a large table is not a possibility for them . 

I have so many highlights from the week but I will list just a few. One included being invited to one of the mother's cabins for lunch on my first day. I felt honoured to be included along with the other long term volunteers. It was incredible to see how she had set up her cabin to make it as homely and as comfortable as possible for her and her four children (one who has cerebral palsy). She had managed to create a kitchen area, a sleeping area and a dining area in her cabin. We were invited to sit in a circle to enjoy a meal of rice with tomato and bean stew. I was overwhelmed by this woman's generosity and her complete lack of hesitance or reluctance to give us literally everything she had to offer despite having so little to give. 

Another highlight included enjoying a movie afternoon with the children. The volunteers blacked out all of the windows, we set up cushions and blankets and a projector in one room and gave each child some Nutella and bread and for an afternoon we all could have been anywhere in the world enjoying a film together.

I also had the opportunity to go to the local school with a few of the children one of the days. This was a very interesting and insightful experience for me as a teacher. The local government organised a free bus every day to take the children to and from school. I accompanied  two of the younger children in the reception class. It was a very interesting experience to be a learning assistant for the day and the french teacher was very grateful for my help as she was able to get on with teaching the class while I supported the two children I was with. It was a real shock for me to see the contrast between the children living on the camp and the clean, well presented children in the class. One of the little girls I was with didn't have a skirt on under her coat and got quite upset when the teacher asked her to take off her coat. It was upsetting for me to see that even at that young age the children from the camp were very aware that they were different from the other children and felt maybe a little self conscious even at that age that they were less well presented than the other children. I realised from this trip to the school the importance to have a strong link between the school and camp and if I didn't have a full time job and commitments I would love to be the person to take on this role!

Overall this experience made my heart glow, break and be filled with love for these children. Each and every one of them has their own story and has taken their own journey to get there and the Children's Centre is such an important place for them to come and leave their troubles behind, be with their peers. play and have fun!

I could go on and on about the camp but I will finish for now. Not everyone can pack up and go off to volunteer here so I thought I would share my story to give people an insight into what life is like in this sad, heartbreaking but also magical and wonderful place!

Moonlight Review

After seeing Moonlight last weekend I was left in a daze contemplating the events from the film and trying to piece together my feelings about it.

This film centres around and follows the journey of its main character Chiron a young African American boy growing up in a poor and dangerous neighbourhood in Miami. 'Who is you' is a question that repeats itself throughout the film when we see Chiron at three different stages of his life played by three different actors. The movie is divided into three parts-'Little', 'Chiron' and 'Black' to represent these different stages. Chiron is a quiet and timid boy who doesn't speak much- his timidness maybe come as a result of being brought up by his struggling, drug abusing mother who we often see humiliating and neglecting her son.

The film opens with Chiron or 'Little' being rescued from a derelict house by Juan (Mahersala Ali
who won Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars for this part).Juan although a tough drug dealer has a gentle and caring nature and becomes a pastoral carer to Chiron along with his nurturing partner Teresa (Janelle Monae). Their home is a place of shelter for Little when his mother (played by the outstanding Naomie Harris) decides to not let him into the house as she has company or when she is high on drugs and in an abusive mood. His mother very early on has suspicions that her son may be 'different' when she mocks him in front of Juan commenting on the way he walked. We later on learn that she has called him a faggot when Little asks Juan the meaning of this word.

On top of the struggles Chiron has at home he also faces difficulties at school. In part two of the movie 'Chiron' we see him being bullied by Terrel a menacing ring leader. It is in this part of the film that Chiron explores his feelings of homosexuality. In the first part of the movie we see him strike a friendship with Kevin and in this part their friendship grows closer when they meet one night at the beach under the 'Moonlight'!! However their bond is broken by Terrel who has Kevin humiliate and beat Chiron up at school which is heartbreaking to watch.

Chiron who has been coping with his addict mother and this abuse at school reaches his breaking point and finally decides to fight back by breaking a chair on Terrel's head which leads to an unjust turn of events where he; the victim, is incarcerated.

This leads us into part three of the film where we meet Black (Trevante Rhodes)- a new bulked up Chiron sporting a gold grill. He has lost his bullied status but not the sadness and longing in his eyes. He now lives in Atlanta, Georgia and has fallen into a life of crime. His character slightly mirrors his previous mentor Juan as he has the same tough exterior but a gentle and vulnerable side to him. When he gets a call from Kevin one night after many years something awakens in him again that he thought that he had maybe put to rest.

Moonlight is a beautiful and touching film about our need for connection with others and how easily we can feel alienated for being different. There are also so many beautiful shots in this film-my favourite one is when his mother who is hurling abuse at him is framed by a vibrant pink light. This film doesn't answer all of our questions and leaves the audience wondering about many things.  A really beautiful piece of work and one of a kind.

 

Iceland-Land of Fire and Ice and All Things Nice!

Returning from a holiday in Iceland evokes worse post holiday blues than any holiday I've ever been on. Whether it's the knowledge that you have just left behind the closest thing to Utopia on this planet, or that your daily schedule is not going to filled with waiting to be picked up to embark on a new adventure every day; I'm not sure. I decided though that it was very important for me to take a moment to reflect on my trip and compile a list of my top five experiences there.

1. Blue Lagoon at Night!

My friend Faye and I decided to pre-book as many things as possible before going on our trip which is something I would highly recommend to anyone going as it is definitely not a myth that Iceland is very expensive. When we went to book the Blue Lagoon we were at first a little disappointed that we could only get a booking for 7pm as my image of the Blue Lagoon was the serene turquoise waters in daylight so we were not sure what to expect! But we were in for a treat! The Blue Lagoon at night is like the quirkiest night out you will ever have!! There is a cool almost party vibe at night and there is a bar that you can swim up to to get drinks from while in the water! Faye and I were in our element!! Floating in the hot baths with the contrast of the cold outside was an experience I will never forget so our initial disappointment turned out to be a pleasant surprise that I would recommend to anyone!

2. Reykjavik Food Tour

Artisan dessert

On our first day in Reykjavik Faye booked us onto a food tour. I had never been on a tour like this before but am so glad that we went as it was a very culturally enriching and delicious experience. We were greeted at the Harpa concert hall by our very eccentric but pleasant tour guide who insisted on guiding our entire tour while walking backwards. On our journey from each cafe to each restaurant he gave us snippets of local history and pointed out different notable monuments etc. On our tour we had the pleasure of tasting a variety of dishes from the traditional Icelandic lamb soup to rye bread ice cream to a hearty lobster soup to a variety of cheeses and cured meats to an Icelandic hotdog from a street stand. Our tour finished off in a more high end restaurant with this beautifully presented and delicious dessert. The food tour was a great way to taste a variety of the cuisines and relieved the pressure of having to pay a fortune to sample some of these dishes in the more touristy spots.

3. Golden Circle Tour

This classic tour is a must for every tourist in Iceland as it covers so many of the main sights. We set off early on our day trip to discover some of planet earth's natural phenomena. For this tour we had an older and more seasoned tour guide which was nice. It was interesting to see the different approaches of the different tour guides. In this Golden Circle tour we started off at Pingvellir National Park where we could see the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the gap between two major tectonic plates-the North American and the Eurasian.-geography at its finest!!

Gap between two tectonic plates

We next headed off to the beautiful Gullfloss Waterfall-'gull' means gold in Icelandic hence the Golden Circle Tour. Gullfloss is one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Europe and it was breathtaking.

Gulfloss selfie!

After this we then headed to the famous geysers of Haukadalur which was just nature at its finest! With ice capped mountains in the background and the rising steam it made me quite emotional about how important it is to protect this beautiful planet we live on! Some of the rock and soil on the ground was of quite an interesting colour that it almost felt like we were on Mars or another planet. The main geyser Strokkur erupted every 6-9 minutes so everyone was waiting eagerly with their cameras trying to capture the moment the eruption occurred. 

Strokkur shortly after it erupted!

To finish our tour our tour guide took us to see a geothermal plant which was so interesting as most houses in Iceland are heated by geothermal energy and the hot water in the taps comes from a geothermal plant hence the smell of sulphur when you go wash your hands. It was so inspiring to see how progressive Iceland is in their approach to using renewable energy and sad at the same time seeing that their country is already hugely affected by global warming. A tour guide told us this has been the warmest February in history and the mountains that are usually completely snow capped at this time of year are only partially covered in ice which was alarming to see!

4. Reykjavik City Walk

I would highly recommend this free walking tour (just a donation at the end) of Reykjavik as not only was it very informative we also had a very nice tour guide who was full of fun and enthusiasm. We went to a lot of the main sights in Reykjavik and learned a lot about Iceland's history and progressive liberal politics. There were many American tourists visiting when we there and many were awe struck by how left wing and progressive Iceland is. With its social democratic welfare state there is free University education and health care for all and a huge focus on renewable energy. Our tour guide also told us there were less than 200 prisoners in the whole country which gives us all something to think about!

At the end of his tour he recommended us to go to the top of Hallgrimskirkja where we could get this superb view of the whole of Reykjavik!

5 Reykjavik Street Art

Reykjavik reminded me of a cross between being in a Wes Anderson film and like stepping into Christmas! In Reykjavik all of the buildings are colourful to help keep the locals cheerful during the dark winter months and in recent years the street art scene has popped up with beautiful murals on most of the walls making Reykjavik the artistic, quirky hub that it is!                                  

There is something for everyone in Iceland-whether its a cosy cafe, an outdoor adventure, a lesson in history and politics or a nerve wreckingly expensive beer or meal it is definitely worth a visit!!

It is definitely one of the best holidays I have ever been on and will certainly be back to see more of it's wonders!

Lion Review

Tonight I watched a truly beautiful film Lion by Garth Davis starring Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman and Rooney Mara. This film is based on the true story of Saroo Brierley an Indian native who was adopted by an Australian family after he became separated from his mother and brother in India. What fascinated me the most about this film was the theme of identity. During my undergraduate degree I wrote a sociology essay on the importance of primary and secondary socialisation in our development and this film is an excellent example of this. Our identities are not always determined by the environment we are born into.

Saroo grew up in a very deprived home, his single mother a labourer collecting rocks to keep food on the table unable to read and write. He and his brother went on missions to collect coal to try to provide milk for the family while looking enviously at the street food that they would never taste. After Saroo becomes separated from his brother he boards a train and finds himself alone in Calcutta miles from home and runs into many kinds of danger. After being sent to an orphanage he is adopted by a couple in Tasmania and is flown into a completely different world of comfort, privilege and opportunity. I found the image of the child arriving in his new home without a word of English wearing a Tasmania t-shirt very powerful. Saroo over the next twenty years is socialised in a completely different environment to the one he is born into. He grows into a fully fledged Australian with the world at his feet.

When he moves to Melbourne to complete a degree in hospitality management he begins to develop an identity crisis. Unsure of where he comes from, not feeling really Indian or really Australian he begins to track down the town from where he was brought up in a desperate attempt to track down his mother and brother. He is supported on this journey by his girlfriend Lucy played by Rooney Mara. On his search for his family he is also in search of himself. The fact that this film is based on a true story is fascinating and heartbreaking as hundreds of children go missing or become separated from their families in India every year and not all of them are as lucky or unlucky as Saroo was.

This film gave me such an interesting perspective on adoption, social mobility and identity. Would highly recommend seeing it!