A popular saying fits the early weeks of a new year like an exhortation to act after the excitement of the festive period fades. Variety is the spice of life.
Ingredients can include books, films, night classes, visits to theatres to see shows. Positive diversions help us make the most of life and, come to think of it, to cope with loss.
About a year ago, I wrote about attending entertainment and arts events, using the Observer newspaper's column "On my Radar" as the template (1). Its aim - to present examples from the worlds of cinema, reading, music and elsewhere to illustrate what's on and worth checking.
If only as an escape from "the bleak mid-winter" not to mention the daily diet of shocking stories that emerge from news reporting, allowing ourselves some time to be diverted is important. It reminds us that the world's a better place as we focus on cultural events. It's also a good strategy to get a new year off to a lively and productive start.
Cinema
Having seen Cate Blanchett's brilliant portrayal of the Dublin investigative journalist "Veronica Guerin" in 2003 against the villainous John Gilligan played by Gerard McSorley, and read a preview (2) of her latest role - "Blanchett is simply the best she's been" - as a fictitious orchestral conductor in "Tár," this made a first visit in 2023 to the Queens Film Theatre compulsory.
A few days after I watched her, she won the prize for Best Actress at the Golden Globes. If she repeats the success at the Oscars in March, I won't be surprised. Naturally it is music like Mahler's fifth symphony, Elgar's cello concerto and a special film score composed by Iceland's Hildur Guðnadóttir which are at the front, centre and backdrop to Tár. But it is Cate Blanchett's commanding performance that dominates the soundtrack, as the conductor's life changes.
A propos Oscars, the observation by BBC news that 25% of the 2023 Oscar nominations feature Irish-made films brings cheer and huge pride to many on both sides of the border. An Cailín Ciúin, Aftersun, An Irish Goodbye and the Banshees of Inisherin (the most insightful piece about the Banshees film - see 3) are there on merit. Where we live there is quiet anticipation about the big event in Los Angeles on 12 March.
Cathedral Arts Festival
Since 2005, Belfast has been fortunate to have had the Out to Lunch festival (4) take place in January. It provides an eclectic range of short lunchtime shows in the aptly-named and atmospheric Black Box, with a wholesome lunch included in the ticket price. A perfect tonic to dismantle any blues, more so in 2023 after its being stalled by Covid19. The latter's impact is evident from the enthusiastic public response and the 18th's rapid sell-out of several events.
I attended three music gigs. Special Consensus are from Chicago and play bluegrass with a virtuosic 4-piece line-up of mandolin, banjo, double bass and guitar; the Skallions are a high-octane group from Belfast and, as hinted at in their pun (spring onions) title, play reggae with consistent applomb; and a trio of harmonious Irish musicians (Dónal O'Connor, Harry Bradley, Libby McCrohan - fiddle, flute, bouzouki) played "Trad for lunch."
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| The Skallions |
Excellent musicianship and vocals all round presenting completely different styles of music and song. Selecting three music events out of a festival programme with over 60 gigs exemplifies variety with quality. And not bad value with the added attraction of professionally-catered food like lasagne or vegetarian stew before heading out into the fresh afternoon air.
Books
I have two recommendations for reading to start the year, one novel and the other non-fiction. The former is the debut by Irish writer Audrey Magee, "The Undertaking." It was long-listed for the Booker Prize last year. It tells what is essentially a love story set firmly in the context of World War 2, told through German eyes and their battle against Russia.
Normally I would avoid war dramas. Not so on this occasion, however, with a gripping tale narrated from the aggressor's perspective. My attention had recently be drawn to the author by rave reviews of her new novel, The Colony which will soon be winging its way to me. Audrey appears soon for interview at the Seamus Heaney Homeplace in Bellaghy.
The author, journalist and presenter Manchán Magan caught my attention with his informative and funny factual book "Thirty-two Words for Field." He is not only an accomplished linguist and travel writer but he is also an expert on the sagas of Ireland. And likewise, as his book illustrates, knowledgeable of the folklore of several other countries. His book, "Listen to the Land Speak: a journey into the wisdom of what lies beneath us" tantalisingly fuses our island's pre-Christian fairy stories with archaeological evidence. His efforts to match them up and even to place some examples of sagas geographically are so well constructed as to be convincing.
Visual Art
It is encouraging to witness an example of north-south co-operation given the political pressure on cross-border trade arising from Brexit. In November, to explain and set the scene for the loan by the National Gallery of Ireland to the Ulster Museum of a Goya masterpiece (5), a lecture was given in Belfast by the Dublin Gallery's keeper of Spanish and Italian art.
For starters the history and importance of the portrait, Doña Antonia Zárate, was clearly explained. The exposition reminded the audience of a spectacular art theft during the Troubles. More generally, the detail of the Gallery's collections was summarised in impressive depth. Whereas this Goya returns to Dublin at the end of January, the success of the loan seems likely to lead to further similar exchanges.
Apart from free entry to the museum, the venue is a welcoming refuge from wintry days.
Television drama
By chance I discovered a new drama series broadcast on ITV, rather than the much-hyped and allegedly excellent equivalents available on platforms like Netflix. Rather than appealing to my normal diet of Nordic Noir, "Maternal" is a medical drama, set somewhere in the U.K.
It tells the contemporary stories of three senior doctors, each one having just returned from maternity leave, juggling the demands of child-rearing and of working in a hectic NHS hospital with all the well-documented current issues present. Brilliant scripts, realistic plot-lines, impressive acting - very dramatic and definitely worth watching.
I also watched the Holywood movie "Green Book" on television recently. I recall seeing it in a cinema on its release in 2018 and loving its message. Based on a real-life story, it deals with a tour of the southern States in 1962 by an black American classically-trained pianist, having to play jazz after being denied any opportunity to perform classical music, chauffeured by an white Italian, and encountering problems of racial and policing intolerance. A message whose relevance lingers today (6). It's available on the i-player (7).
To end
In a way, there is no conclusion. There are always more superb events to see.
That begins next week in the Grand Opera House in Belfast. The traditional (and experimantal) music ensemble Common Ground will perfom live, presenting a postponed Belfast International Festival concert. The group's founder, the fiddle-player Martin Hayes, has collaborated with everyone from Yo-Yo Ma to Sting and Paul Simon.
The upcoming gig will feature musicians including pianist Cormac McCarthy, cellist Kate Ellis, and bouzouki/harmonium player Brian Donnellan. We are promised beautiful traditional music with each artist exploring jazz, avant-garde and contemporary classical.
But before that another film beckons. This afternoon my daughter and I will go to watch Steven Spielberg's "The Fabelmans" which, I'm told, is a favourite to win best film at the Oscars.
©Michael McSorley 2023
References
1. https://michaelmcsorleyculture.blogspot.com/2022/02/something-for-weekend.html
2. The Times Saturday Review 14 January 2023 Kevin Maher preview
3. The Times Saturday Review 28 January 2023 Kevin Maher interview with Martin McDonagh, playwright & director Banshees of Inisherin
4. The Out to Lunch Festival 7-29 January 2023 https://cqaf.com/
5. https://www.ulstermuseum.org/whats-on/goya
6. BBC News 28 January 2023 "Video shows police beating Tyre Nichols in Memphis" https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-64435109
7. https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000yxc4/green-book
