Total Pageviews

Bebop Spoken There

Abbie Finn: "Even though there's a lot of great work being done to promote women in jazz, I still come up against some attitudes! I pulled up at a recording session with my drums in the car and the studio owner said, 'I'm sorry, this space is reserved for the drummer!'" - (Jazzwise April 2023).

The Things They Say!

Hudson Music: Lance's "Bebop Spoken Here" is one of the heaviest and most influential jazz blogs in the UK.

Rupert Burley (Dynamic Agency): "BSH just goes from strength to strength".

'606' Club: "A toast to Lance Liddle of the terrific jazz blog 'Bebop Spoken Here'"

The Strictly Smokin' Big Band included Be Bop Spoken Here (sic) in their 5 Favourite Jazz Blogs.

Ann Braithwaite (Braithwaite & Katz Communications) You’re the BEST!

Holly Cooper, Mouthpiece Music: "Lance writes pull quotes like no one else!"

Postage

15260 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 279 of them this year alone and, so far, 92 this month (March 29).

From This Moment On ...

March

Thu 30: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library. 2:30-4:30pm. £2.00. All welcome.
Thu 30: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. Back to 1:00pm stomp off. Free.
Thu 30: Castillo Nuevo @ Revolución de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30-8:30pm.
Thu 30: '58 Jazz Collective @ Hops & Cheese, Hartlepool. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 30: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm.
Thu 30: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 31: Lewis Watson Quartet @ Bishop Auckland Town Hall. 1:00pm. Due to phenomenal demand, extra tickets released - gig now in the theatre. Book at: www.bishopaucklandtownhall.org.uk
Fri 31: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 31: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 31: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm. CANCELLED! Back next week (April 7).
Fri 31: Castillo Nuevo @ Revolución de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30-8:30pm.
Fri 31: Jasmine Myra + Waclaw Zimpel @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Fri 31: The Revolutionaires @ The Shack, Boldon Colliery. 7:30pm. £10.00. The Revolutionaires' big band (horn section) line-up.
Fri 31: Andrew McCormack @ Maltings, Berwick. 8:00pm. £20.00.

April
Sat 01: The Big Easy @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm.
Sat 01: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. Tutor: Steve Glendinning - In a Minor Key. £25.00. Enrol at: www.jazz.coop.
Sat 01: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington Covered Market, Darlington DL1 5PN. 6:00pm. New venue, live jazz!
Sat 01: Jambone @ Sage Gateshead. 7:00pm. Free (book online). A YMP! event in the Northern Rock Foundation Hall.
Sat 01: Jude Murphy & Dan Stanley @ Prohibtion Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.
Sat 01: Boys of Brass @ Stack, Seaburn. 7:00-9:00pm.
Sat 01: Hot Club du Nord @ Pleased to Meet You, Bridge St., Morpeth. 8:00pm. £79.00. A charity fundraising event.
Sat 01: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00. RESCHEDULED to next week (Sat 08).

Sun 02: Smokin' Spitfires @ The Cluny. 12:45pm.
Sun 02: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.

Mon 03: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 04: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 04: Jam session @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. House trio: Bradley Johnston (guitar); Paul Grainger (double bass); Abbie Finn (drums).

Wed 05: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 05: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 05: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 05: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Friday, February 14, 2020

Review: The Strange Tale of Charlie Chaplin & Stan Laurel @ Northern Stage - Feb 13

(Review by Russell)

The house lights went down to the sound of King Oliver and the legendary call Oh, play that thing! The year is 1910, Fred Karno is soon to set sail for America. The impresario is to be joined on the Atlantic crossing by two characters who will find world-wide fame. For the next ninety minutes the Northern Stage audience would be taken on an anything-but-chronological, rollercoaster, not to mention scarcely truthful, ride telling the story of two of Hollywood's greatest ever stars. 


Told by an Idiot theatre company's four-strong cast didn't say much, in fact, the quartet said virtually nothing (other than for an occasional song) for the duration. This was a physical theatre production communicating with its audience through the medium of mime - make that slapstick mime. Karno (Nick Haverson), Chaplin (Amalia Vitale), Laurel (Jerone Marsh-Reid) and Hannah Chaplin, Chaplins' mother (Sara Alexander) were at the heart of the action, moving on and off stage as one scene ended and another began (at one point Chaplin wielded a movie director's megaphone to shout or rather mime 'cut'). The on-stage actors' silent physicalilty mirrored that of the actors of the silent movie era (Karno would soon lose his stage actors - Chaplin and Laurel - to Hollywood). 

Two pianos were pressed into action - one featured a recorded performance by pianist and composer Zoe Rahman playing brilliant barrelhouse blues to ragtime to Harlem stride, the other, on-stage piano was played by Sara Armstrong. Ms Armstrong is a pianist! Captions, as if in a movie theatre, hurried the action along. At one point the call (a caption) went out for a member of the audience to join the cast and occupy the piano stool. One brave/foolish soul volunteered. It was little more than melodramatic chopsticks but, hey, the man survived the ordeal. Cue applause!   

As a caption reminded us Charlie Chaplin would become the most famous man in the world. As for Stan Laurel, hooking up with Oliver Hardy (Nick Haverson) would see Stan and Ollie become the silver screen's greatest comic duo of all time.   
                
The Strange Tale of Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel proudly ignores the historical facts and will continue to do so for the remainder of its nationwide tour.  

Cast:

Sara Armstrong: Hannah Chaplin (Charlie's mother), pianist 

Nick Haverson: Fred Karno, Arthur Chaplin (Charlie's father), Savoy Hotel guest, Oliver Hardy, Charlie's butler

Jerone Marsh-Reid: Stan Laurel, bell boy, doctor, landlord

Amalia Vitale: Charlie Chaplin

Paul Hunter: writer & director

Zoe Rahman: composer

No comments :

Blog Archive