Culture Diary w/c 05-11-12
Monday - Nosferatu with live score by Minima 6.30pm @ FACT
FW Murnau’s 1922 interpretation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula was the first time anybody saw a Vampyre on screen – one can only surmise it must have scared the bejesus out of any and all who saw it. That the image of lead Max Schreck’s silhouette is so enduring is testament to the impact on those early (and subsequent) audiences. Subject to pastiche and homage ever since, that Nosferatu is accompanied here with a live score from Minima makes it all the more alluring.
Tuesday – Steptoe and Son 7.30pm @ the Liverpool Playhouse
Adapted from the original legendary scripts of writers Galton and Simpson, this new production of Steptoe and Son is a darkly tender tribute to the father and son who argued, bickered and cajoled their way through life as if a married couple. Brought to us by well-thought-of company Knee High, the Guardian described it as packing “a devastatingly melancholic punch”. Expect it to do what it says on the tin, and then some.
Wednesday – Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti 8pm @ The Kazimier
When Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti unleashed Mature Themes onto an unsuspecting public earlier this year, it was followed by almost universally strong reviews (with a score of 74% on metacritic), but as the Guardian’s Michael Hann pointed out, “It will likely infuriate as many as it delights”. A clash of pop sensibilities with Ariel Pink’s undoubtedly odd persona and personality, whatever he is, he’s certainly an artist for our times.
Thursday – Unhappy Birthday 7.30pm @ the Unity Theatre
The meat in the sandwich of a trio of Homotopia events this evening (along with Queering Family Values at the Bluecoat and followed by Blackouts: Twilight of the idols also at the Unity), Amy Lamé’s Unhappy Birthday is “a culture clash of party, performance and poncing about… Waiting for Godot for the pop generation”.
Friday – Sefton Celebrates Writing Festival 2012 – Carys Bray Book Launch 5.30pm @ Broadhursts Bookshop Southport, FREE
Winner of the 2012 Scott Prize, Carys Bray’s book of short stories “delves under the surface of ordinary lives to explore loss, disappointment, frustrated expectations and regret.” Meet Bray as she reads from and signs copies of Sweet Home, as part of Sefton’s month long Writing Festival (in association with Writing on the Wall). More events can be seen here.
Saturday – The Production Line: Clinic 8pm @ Static Gallery £9
This Saturday sees the triumphant return of Clinic, who will be performing live the premiere of new album Free Reign. Their first long player in a couple of years, as if that wasn’t enough, they will be playing alongside a ‘factory style production line installation’ by Static’s own Paul Sullivan and artists Dave Hand and Sam Wiehl. Though details are still a little fuzzy, this promises to be a night to remember.
Sunday – Eugene McGuinness 7pm @ O2 Academy £8
Eugene McGuinness released Shotgun, the best Bond theme that never was, earlier this year and packed out The Kazimier in his stint at Sound City in May. This weekend sees the bequiffed one return to Liverpool, this time at the Academy, in support of the foot-tappingly immediate fourth album, The Invitation to the Voyage.
Biennial Picks
Wednesday – The Creator 6.30pm @ FACT
When Alan Turing died in 1954, it was to the eternal shame of the country he helped save through his work which led to the breaking of the German’s Enigma Code. Only recently has he come to be properly remembered for his legacy, and a new film, The Creator, from filmmakers Al and Al, screens this Wednesday followed by a Q&A. Full Preview…
Saturday – Symposium: Reconstruction Work 2-5pm @ the Bluecoat, FREE
“The best work in the Biennial is undoubtedly John Akomfrah’s The Unfinished Conversation, a three-screen video based on the life, work and talk of the incomparable Jamaican-born thinker Stuart Hall.” So says Adrian Searle at The Guardian, along with many other Biennial visitors. It is with glad hearts, then, that we see the Bluecoat holding a afternoon dedicated to Stuart Hall and his impact on cultural studies and media theory. Speakers include the aforementioned artist, John Akomfrah; Mark Sealy, director of photography charity, Autograph ABP that addresses issues of cultural identity and human rights; writer, researcher and lecturer in Critical Studies at Goldsmiths, Ros Gray; and David Scott, editor and director of Small Axe, a Caribbean platform for criticism.
