#✦ — • aesthetic • verity williams •

[deathvisited]

aesthetics tag -- verity williams

rules: bold all the aesthetics that your muse relates to

side a - the city

glittering lights, yawning skyscrapers, broken glass shards, street gangs, hip hop music, late night strolls, blinking stars, sleek cars, flickering neonsigns, glittery earrings, small tattoos, empty subways, dark eyeshadow, snapping cameras, cozy apartments, fried churros, silver necklaces, dyed hair, ripped jeans, bright lipstick, dazzling smiles.

side b - the book nerd

large glasses, steaming hot chocolate, thick books, lofi music, hot pastries, soft smiles, large sweaters, quiet libraries, small flowers, melting candles, sweetened coffee, messy hair buns, soft pillows, fairy lights, vanilla scents.

side c - the stereotypical girl

soft pinks, mini skirts, crop tops, romantic fantasies, love songs, strawberry milkshakes, lipgloss, high ponytails, candy hearts, nail polish, starbucks coffee, clear skies, hoop earrings, excited ramblings, stuttering heartbeats, rose bouquets, soft blushes.

side d - the stereotypical boy

arcade games, graphic t-shirts, baseball caps, chocolate milkshakes, messy rooms, acoustic guitars, chocolate chip cookies, multi-colored bruises, rap music, nightly escapades, stolen glances, pencil-drumming, chocolate milk boxes, low hums.

side e - the nature hippie

mini plants, cloud-watching, stars, damp forests, sandy beaches, ocean waves, wildflowers, hiking, iced lemon tea, gardening, hippie music, buttered toast, birds chirping, multi-coloured leaves, evening sunlight, fruit cups, sundresses.

side f - the rebel

cherry lollipops, devil hand signs, grape flavoured bubble gum, rock music, killer boots, dark make-up, horror movies, denim jackets, switchblades, handguns, stargazing on rooftops, glowing cigarettes, large headphones, skull rings, converse shoes, graffiti murals, glowing moonlight, rose thorns, fishnet stockings.

side g - the winter

busy cafes, oversized hoodies, drizzling rain, small snowflakes, marshmallows in hot chocolate, loose hair, sad music, reading a book, blanket forts, frozen lakes, crackling fireplaces, old movies.

side h - the summer

tank tops, lemonade, sunny days, dripping popsicles, short haircuts, tinted sunglasses, cotton candy, amusement parks, traveling, blasting music on the car radio, wagging dog tails, large sunflowers, snow cones.

side i - the autumn

pumpkin lattes, warm bakeries, warm colours, hair braids, soft sweaters, colourful leaves, purring cats, dark chocolate bars, romance movies, soft music, zen tangling, vintage cameras.

side j - the spring

floral scents, peach tea, mint shampoo, tinkling laughter, video cassettes, colourful paintings, excited smiles, lollipop sticks, blooming flowers, melting snow, action movies, singing in the shower.

[romanrhodes]

relationships;

biography | wanted connections | wanted & ongoing plots | aesthetic | home - rhodes farm

FAMILY.

Eric Rhodes (npc); father

Ryan Rhodes (npc); older brother

[Wanted Connection]; younger sister

Waverly Erickson; distant cousin

PLATONIC. 

Aarin Duskin; professional peer, friendly acquaintance

Benjamin Jackson; brother to ex-boyfriend, professional peer, friend

Callum Jackson; brother to ex-boyfriend, friend

Chantel Bedford; close friend, neighbour

Charlie Davis; farm mentor, neighbour

Dean Walker; friend, best friend of ex-boyfriend

Logan Walker; a journalist who ran a story on him, friendly acquaintance

Elian Browne; drinking buddy

Evren Osman; fishing buddy

Haven Sinclair; friend, grief support group buddy

Johnny Wagner; former babysitter of Johnny, catered his wedding, friends

Julian Heywood; fishing buddy, celebrity friend

Lenny Clairmont; neighbour, the major's wife, friendly acquaintance

Logan Walker; a journalist who ran a story on him and the diner, friendly acquaintance

Marcus Reyes; friendly acquaintance

Nancy Lee; professional peer, friendly acquaintance

Nate Clairmont; the mayor, friendly acquaintances

Nora Sinclair; employer (private chef), friend

River Jackson; nephew to ex-boyfriend

Sarah Peterson-Ruiz; friend, best friend of ex-boyfriend

Stevie Wagner; catered her wedding, friends

Travis Jackson; brother to ex-boyfriend, friend

Wyatt Wheeler; friendly acquaintance, batting cage buddy

ROMANTIC | SEXUAL | EXES

Andrew Jackson; recent ex-boyfriend

Aindreis Blythe; former lover (Italy)

Aubrey Miller; childhood friend, one night stand

Jaslene Clairmont; ex-girlfriend (Paris, France)

Julieta Alvarez; former friend-with-benefits (New York), turned good friend

Viktor Pierce; high school sweetheart, ex-boyfriend

ANTAGONISTIC.

PROFESSIONAL.

Luciana Medina; weekday manager, friend

Joshua Pryce; former weekend manager, on good terms

Verity Wagner; former waitress, on good terms

Sunny Side Up Diner regular customers

Wyatt Wheeler

SOCIAL GROUPS / TOWN ACTIVITIES.

Aqua Avengers ( kayaking group, spring-summer )

Francisco Fontenelle, Apollo Williams, Andrew Jackson, Aindreis Blythe, Archie Morgan, Tyler Day, Fredrick Sullivan, Jeremy Lieberman

Lake Legion ( fishing, catch and release )

Julian Hawthorne, Aindreis Blythe, Josephine Spring, Fredrick Sullivan, Jeremy Lieberman

LGBTQIA+ ( casual, currently not attending to avoid his ex-boyfriend )

Apollo Williams, Andrew Jackson, Santiago Pierce, Aindreis Blythe, Riley Day, Keely Harper, River Jackson,Tyler Day, Grace Cheung, Luciana Bentley, Prue Cassidy, Donny Morgan

Ready Set Clean ( localised to Driftwood Haven )

Apollo Williams, Andrew Jackson, Santiago Pierce, Aindreis Blythe, Riley Day, Keely Harper, River Jackson, Tyler Day, Grace Cheung, Luciana Bentley, Prue Cassidy, Donny Morgan

Watchful Eyes ( localised to Hawthorne Hideaway & Driftwood Haven )

Noah Sinclair, Gale Peterson-Ruiz, Riley Day, Charlie Davis, Max Diaz, Diego Castro, Frederick Sullivan, Jeremy Lieberman, Stevie Wagner, Owen Bentley

[moreaujeans]

hey everyone! i recently unfollowed a lot of inactive blogs and my dash is p dead so please reblog if you post the following (and preferably tag which ones):

the raven cycle & dreamer trilogy

classic literature (particularly jane austen, william shakespeare, victor hugo, and mary shelley)

v.e. schwab (adsom, vicious, monsters of verity, tiloal)

strange the dreamer

one last stop

radio silence & loveless

six of crows

the infernal devices & last hours

like those... aesthetic themes... with the quotes & poetry snippets and occasional art?

thank you!

[themildestofwriters]

Writing Ask Game

Thanks to the magnificent @gottaenjoythelittlethingzz​ for tagging me in this wonderful little tag.

I don’t think I’m going to choose one WIP rather just the universe itself – The Divine Intervention universe. By that, I mean I’ll be doing it for these two novels I’m working on: Divine Intervention or: What Comes After Immortality? & The Trials and Tribulations of a Virgin Goddess.

1. Describe the plot in one sentence.

Divine Intervention or: What Comes After Immortality? 

A goddess and a girl meet at a bus stop and while things are a bit awkward at first, they soon begin hitting it off and begin regular correspondence, however, there’s something more lurking under the surface that neither of them wish to peruse and that one thing is forgiveness and love respectively.

The Trials and Tribulations of a Virgin Goddess

Sex and Babette go together as well as water and oil, yet it was not always this way and in this story she decides to heal herself, to improve herself, and to choose love over her almost selfish desire to dwell on the past and wallow in a pit of guilt and suffering.

2. Pick one sight, smell, sound, feel, and taste to describe the aesthetic of your novel.

Divine Intervention or: What Comes After Immortality?

Flashes of blood, death and gore in the small hours of the night. The smell of petrichor as rain descends. The sound of deathly silence. The feel of soft arms holding you tightly. The metallic taste of blackened blood coughed from the lungs.

The Trials and Tribulations of a Virgin Goddess

Bodies intertwined in a lover’s embrace. The smell of lust in the air. The sound of ceaseless screaming. The feel of suffocating pain and smooth stone. The bittersweet taste of lip balm.

3. Which 3+ songs would make up a playlist for the novel?

Because I’m not very knowledgeable on music myself, this list is filled only with songs I have on my phone.

Divine Intervention or: What Comes After Immortality?

“Viva La Vida” by Coldplay; “Accidentally In Love” by Counting Crows; “Superman (It’s Not Easy)” by Five for Fighting; “Stressed Out” by Twenty-One Pilots; “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran

The Trials and Tribulations of a Virgin Goddess

“Somewhere Over The Rainbow” by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole; “All of Me” by John Legend; “Let Her Go” by Passenger; “Like A Virgin” by Madonna; “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri

4. What’s the time period and location in which the novel takes place.

Both books take place in the modern era and mostly in Salisbury/Adelaide, South Australia. WCAI? takes place in 2016 and TTVG takes place in 2017. However, at least specifically in TTVG, it does take place in other countries with Babette visiting Japan, America and perhaps even England as either a part of her job (Street Performer) or as the plot demands.

5. Is this a standalone or a part in a series?

Well…

6. Are there any former titles you’ve considered but discarded?

For WCAI? I only had Divine Interruption and for TTVG there was “Babette Visits A Sex Shop” “Babette Visits An Adult Shop” and The Weird and Wonderful Sexual Awakening of Babette Mewlyn.

7. What’s the first line of your novel?

I have a tendency to only have a single line to begin a book.

Divine Intervention or: What Comes After Immortality?

“The sky was a dark crimson haze.”

or

“It was supposed to be a bright and sunny Saturday morning in suburban Adelaide.”

The Trials and Tribulations of a Virgin Goddess

“We had planned this for nearly an entire week now and today was the day.”

8. What’s a dialogue you’re particularly proud of?

“ “心配しないで,” she said, a devilish smirk twisting onto her lips. “少なくとも 見る かわいく 、ジョセフィーン様.” “ – Divine Intervention or: What Comes After Immortality? Chapter 2(draft)

If you’ve got a problem with my Japanese, please tell me because I’m winging it on Google Translate and outdated information.

“ “It—it hurts.” It took all my power to just say that and once I did, I was hit by a new wave of grief—of agony—of heart-rending guilt. ” – The Trials and Tribulations of Babette Melwyn Chapter 3(draft)

9. Which line from the novel most represents it as a whole?

“It—it hurts.”

10. Who are your character faceclaims?

Babette… well, I’m tossing up between these girls: Jaimie Alexander; Abbey Lee Kershaw; Amanda Seyfried; Astrid Berges-Frisbey; Zoey Deutch; and Willa Holland.

For Josephine, she’s a bit difficult to find a face claim for. If you’d like to help, that would be appreciated but so far, I’ve not found anything that fits her yet.

11. Sort your characters into Harry Potter houses!

Babette Melwyn – Slytherin

Josephine Williams – Hufflepuff

Henrietta Phillips – Ravenclaw

Maria Camhain-Schmidt – Gryffindor

Kurt Schmidt – Gryffindor

Flynn Camhain-Schmidt – Hufflepuff

Adrien Williams – Hufflepuff

Samuel Meric – Gryffindor

Sofía Meric – Hufflepuff

Harrison Williams – Ravenclaw

Alyssa Williams – Gryffindor

Samantha Bailey – Ravenclaw

12. Which character’s name do you like the most?

Respectfully, I love them all, specifically the girl’s names. Henrietta, Josephine, Babette, Alyssa, Maria, Sofía.

13. Describe each character’s daily outfit.

Babette Melwyn; Babette’s daily outfit could be summarised as well cared for rags with a history with radioactivity. By this I mean, Babette hasn’t changed out of the dress she wore when a group of revolutionaries decided to nuke her. While incredibly old, magic makes a great cleaner and preserver for the cloth and during the course of this novel, she’s usually seen wearing it often. It’s a plain black form fitting V-neck dress with long sleeves that reach up to her hands. The skirt used to be long and flowing, but since being nuked, it’s much shorter, ending around her calves—jagged and looking like some kind of tattered flower blooming from her waist down.

Aside from the dress, she wears leather strapped calf-high sandals and her ruby necklace—her ruby necklace is a constant with every single last outfit she wears.

After settling down on Earth, she finds herself wearing other bits and pieces. She feels comfortable outside her tattered remains and has a small wardrobe filled with a verity of clothing. Her aesthetic could best be described as gothic and Victorian gothic. Expect lots of lacy black dresses of varying lengths along with several sundresses and perhaps a few gowns. Hats are usually wide-brimmed and floppy, and she will not wear heels.

Josephine Williams; Josephine doesn’t have a daily outfit because she’s a normal person who doesn’t have a set outfit and often changes as the clothes she wore previously gets dirty. However, she has that kind of… art student vibe to her, befitting her artistic inclination, though she does were certain jewellery or outfits that have a certain Hellenic aesthetic. What you’ll mostly see her around in is either some kind of cardigan, perhaps a really large jumper while wearing a dress, whether short or long with some leggings underneath. She mixes it up, shirts and shorts, pants and with different colours as well. She keeps her options wide and varied but if you spent enough time with her and paid attention, you’d notice similarities.

Heels, like her girlfriend, is a no-no, but her outfits are certainly more colourful then Babette’s who prefers black and occasionally other colours.

14. Do any characters have distinctive birthmarks/scars?

Babette has a lot of scars but specifically there’s the scars across her heart—two, specifically, one on her back and on her chest, both from being impaled by a weapon that wiped out all life in a galaxy. It wasn’t fun getting that one.

Josephine once had a scar on her calf, but I think she might not have any major scars nor any tattoos—yet. I might give her a distinctive back tattoo that’s basically a string of astronomical symbols which relate to the Underworld in Greek Mythology.

15. Which character most fits a character trope?

I wouldn’t be able to say for sure but I’m sure that Babette and Josephine both fit into a character trope/archetype.

16. Which character is the best writer? Worst?

Babette, hands down. Babette’s not so good at writing songs and whatnot but she’s an academic and a Bard, having transcribed ancient texts, her own stories and a few she’s plagiarised from Earth because Earth Copyright doesn’t exist outside of Earth. Out of the main characters, I’d say that Josephine isn’t so good at the writing of things and prefers visual art. Like, she could write a story, but it’d read like a synopsis.

17. Which character is the best liar? Worst?

This entirely depends on when we take the characters. Before Babette was unceremoniously dethroned, she was a magnificent liar who would often use the skill in her youth on the run. However, at the same time, she’s spent literal aeons alone and her skills at lying have atrophied. She still does it, she’s just noticeably worse. I would say the worst liar would probably be Adrian because out of the children characters, he’s younger and got the biggest tells out of the lot of them. And yes, I have to pick children because everyone else are massive liars whether it’s lying to themselves, their parents, or others. In my experience, everyone lies at least once and their skill isn’t proportional to how much they

18. Which character swears the most? Least?

Henrietta swears like a fuckin’ sailor, Josephine can swear but only does it rarely—or at least where people can’t hear her.

19. Which character has the best handwriting? Worst?

Babette, again due to living for millions of years and the necessity she had to perfect her handwriting. So far, I’ve described her handwriting thusly:

‘…it was clear that it was one-hundred per cent handwritten, and it was a masterpiece. Each letter, each word was written in a way that made reading it clear and easy to read, but also incredibly pleasing to the eye. Cursive, almost like calligraphy but written in clear bull-point pen, as if someone managed to distil handwriting into an artform then decoded to perfect it because why not?’ – Divine Intervention or: What Comes After Immortality? Chapter 4(draft)

Unfortunately, she’s not so good at art unless it’s literally putting the image in her mind onto paper using magical means. Nevertheless, I could see her girlfriend asking Babette to do some calligraphy for her blog.

Flynn has the worst but honestly you can’t blame the kid… he’s a kid!

20. Which character is most like you? Least like you?

I’d probably have to say Babette, but it’s a close tie between her and Josephine because both of them contain facets of me but are also their own people with different desires and personalities.

Least like me are the other characters, pretty much. Henrietta, Maria, Kurt, Samuel, Sofía, Flynn, Harrison, Alyssa, I’m not really like these characters at all.

21. Which character would you most like to be?

Josephine. Hands down, Josephine. Listen, I like Babette and all and she’s an extension of myself in some ways, and, honestly, I’d feel a lot more comfortable in her skin then my own, but Josephine is just a quiet suburban girl with her own slice of the Earth doing her own thing. She’s an artist, she’s got a loving family, a healthy online presence, a healthy sleeping schedule, and… yeah.

To tag some folks, I think I’ll tag: @randomestfandoms-ocs; @rose-writes-and-drinks-tea; @ariellaskylark; @focusdumbass; @i-tried-and-i-loose; @undinisms; @alixismad; @sweet-scribes; @sunlight-melodies and literally anyone else who wants to try it!

[carefulboo]

verity williams body aesthetic.

[ephillipsresearch]

BLOC PROJETCS HARSH LIGHT- NOTES The concluding webinar of our December installment will welcome artists Verity Birt and Una Hamilton, and researcher Dr Edwin Coomasaru in conversation. Variously working on gender, British identity, folklore and the occult, the speakers will be reflecting on the “E” of ACE—Arts Council England—and that which constitutes “Englishness”. The conversation will self-reflexively think through these English textures and their adoption in sub cultural contexts, including white supremacist narratives of “blood and soil” nativism, as well as feminist and black metal re-inscriptions of a more ecologically entangled landscape.

Question – how the occult has shaped their respective ideas of myth landscape and English identity

Verity Birt - reading ridley walker- inspiration, novel written by russel hoborn, imagining post apocalyptic future in the dark ages, written in phonetic language, returning to an oral history- did a residency in Newcastle with newbridge project, running experimental workshops at prehistoric sites with a community choir – thinking about how features of the landscape impact improvisation – what can happen when you allow for more imaginative and experimental exchange with these sites installation at black tower projects mapped through memory, dream space, tracing the contour lines of the space, exploring the notion of giving/receiving from the landscape - ceramic offerings – recreated the channel in ceramic, vaginal shape references strong feminine energy- workshop not directly documented. – choreographed performances in space in the summer equinox 2019 performance looking at deep time/ fragments of lineages, evolution, how they are continued and transmitted, questioning enlightenment, theory of time as progress – battersea pleasure gardens – live improvised performance to text piece a mash of feminist theory, myth, fiction, archeology uncommon ground – attempt to confront dark side of mythology within the English psyche – white horse stone kent- during research came across white supremacist group that used to guard the site- 2 chanel video – follows icon of the white horse and its relation to alt white narratives and history in mythology – also included fragments of conversions with ethan d white about alt right pagan rituals and beliefs at these sites – anglo saxon mythology Una Hamilton helle - 2009/10 – makes work in landscape, place, nature and how we encode them with our own theories and experiences – the lay archive, ‘after math’ or ‘trauma’ photography- events can linger on in places and can you capture this through camera, looking at political troubles in Ireland. Attempt to explore what could be captured on camera, lay lines connecting places of worship etc, energy lines, ufo sightings, can you capture any of this in images? Short film   the return from Annwn, 2015, inspired by sci-fi and the English landscape. Sacred sites, mound burials, paces of energy, becoming the forest- long term art project interrogating sense of belonging what is heritage, connecting with the landscape - looked to black metal genre that uses landscapes/ Nordic aesthetics – looking at how topography and environments influence people – short stories about black metalists worshipping spruce trees - zine , becoming the forest to explore those ideas more critically, - commissioned essays about the topic from different political, cultural and scientific perspectives commissioned by waltham and epping forest to do installation that looked at epping forest as the peoples forest, and how human narratives have shaped the forest – workshops, performance

Dr Edwin coomasaru Complicated relationship to concept of Englishness 2018 – research driven by questions of ‘why has occult imagery become so importanct for feminist art and activism? What might this renewed interest in the supernatural from across the political spectrum tell us about the current crisis of British identity, shaped by colonial narratives, enlightened Europeans spreading rational modernity while committing oppression murder and theft 18/19 – courtold project on politics of gender and race in brexit visual culture – interested in the way artists responded to issue of irish border in eu negotiations – rita duffy collabed with women of both sides of irish border to create installation that straddled the border – knitted votive figures on the black line bridge – image above from derry 10 exhibition Kerry powell Williams on tarot, held supernatural performance on walker plinth, looked at history of somerset house – building once hq for royal navy and hmrc, all implicated in histories of empire increased interest in supernaturalism a response to corporate wellness culture, welfare state cutbacks and precarious employment – as feminist and anti racist activism surged in 2010, so did far right extremist, brexit articulated and exacerbate crisis of British identity, colonial/rational/modern narratives against those considered supernatural, other or primitive, created conceptual binary between magic and science 1876,eng traveler William h Dixon –‘ if we wish to see order and freedom , science and civilization preserved, we should give first thought to what improves the white mans growth and increase the white man’s strength - gina rippons gendered brain – challenged idea that science was ever neutral or objective, it s all implicated with power and projection feminist and anti racist artists are turning to the occult to reclaim/ challenge the myths that underpin patriarchal white supremacy

How do materials beings and sites become co-opted into story and myth? what stories and myths can artists today extract from the land that will forge a path for post Brexit Britain that is inclusive healing and open and how does this approach include a celebration of Englishness.

VB -Turned to the supernatural and tarot as a way of generating hope in a very hopeless situation- the 2008 recession – allows for mystery, imagination and nuance – using tarot to guide the work, relinquish control – don’t see it as a supernatural things, it’s a way of connecting with natural forces, seeing it in a post modern, materialist light

UH – mysticism as opposition to the narratives the nation tells themselves – also retaining a sense of imagination, not buying into protestant work ethic – productivity is everything – found this is in occult theories – trying to understand what we are actually listening to in occult stories and myths- who’s histories are these? DC- family interested in se Asian forms of spirituality , became interested aspects of activist that used the occult as an insult and those that were interested din magic –  bbc article ‘brexit leads to resurgence in tarot’ intense uncertainty about the future and finding ways to narrate a story to the self – there is nobody NOT engaging in magical thinking – storytelling and the ability of narratives to conceptually present the world to us in different ways Vb storytelling – critical awareness of the falsehood of truths, hierarchy of belief and value we assign to certain myths over other revisiting feminist myth making trajectory – how it has shifted between waves, changing ideas of gender, how gender and myth are intertwined, etc  how myths have sedimented in the body – whiteness embodiment  - how can we excavate that? Romanticism of neo paganism – grey areas between liberal left and alt white spaces  

Englishness, an important part of brexit is the tensions between Englishness and brutishness – England drove the vote but Wales also voted leave

VB- looking for line of flight from Englishness- stuck with facing own white Englishness – (not proud of heritage?) coming from rural working class land based peasantry – most family were brexiteers, ideas of people living in different worlds – respective the world view but navigating conversations of black lives matter. Huge disconnect between rural and urban landscape – trying to reconfigure clashes in own identity rural/urban recent work ‘crossings’ about encountering rural landscape after being urbanized

UH– myth of the nation state – disconnect with place? Disenfranchisement – enclosures, uprooting, urbanization, industries disappears – possibilities for community eroded at every corner for a hundred years – what does place/ local place mean? Nobody has that deep rooted relationship with the land anymore?

DC – anxiety about living off the land – spells about butter,- sense of powerlessness and feeling out of control  -the occult has very specific histories and its consciously appropriated

mass displacement in the industrial revolution -

are myths just replaced with others? Everything is myth – there is no objective reality

VB – counter myth making, everything is myth, these are imaginative worlds, capitalism is a shared belief – counter myths – opens up new potentials

the enlightenment was created to enable imperialism and capitalism - how can we generate new worlds that cater to non-conforming folk –modern myths have been generate to support the cis white able man

[eekhaut]

M. John Harrison on Agency (The Guardian):

Agency by William Gibson review – a world in an instant

This dazzling vision of politics and power across alternate timelines is both observation and warning

M John Harrison

Wed 22 Jan 2020 08.58 GMT. The Guardian

William Gibson has never believed that science fiction predicts the future: it only ever talks about the present. His most recent novel, 2014’s The Peripheral, introduced us to an ecopolitical disaster called “the jackpot” and a world subsequently run by the loose, shadowy group known as “the klept”. Thanks to the development of massive quantum computing, these oligarchs, the history of whose money is deeply implicated with the history of gangster capital, amuse themselves in 2136 by discovering – or perhaps it might be better described as creating – their own precursors, the broken remains of alternate timelines. These abandoned pasts, stubs of futures that might have been, are recognisable as versions of the world we live in now. They’re not exactly colonies – no money is made, no extractive capitalism takes place. Instead, members of the klept run them like computer games, or meddle like the old gods on Olympus, manipulating culture and geopolitics at will. They are a leisure space for multi-trillionaires: the reference to the political meddling of our own billionaires is clear and self-explanatory.

Agency, the second novel of the series, begins with the classic Gibsonian unboxing scene. Verity Jane, “app whisperer” by trade, and new recruit to a startup called Tulpagenics, takes home some of the company’s product, comprising a pair of mysterious glasses, a headset and a phone; and, trying it out, is instantly placed in communication with a sophisticated artificial intelligence called Eunice or UNISS. “Is it real?” she asks her new boss, surprised. That, he tells her, is exactly what she has been employed to determine. Instead, Eunice bustles into Verity’s life, fixing it and messing it up at the same time, employing everyone Verity knows, from ex-lovers to ex-employers, for what seems at first to be a project of self-understanding. The AI wants to know how she knows things, why she does things, why she’s been switched on. But nuclear war is looming in Verity’s stub, which in 2016 began to diverge in two important ways from our own, and we realise that there’s a lot more to Eunice than meets the eye (even her own). Soon she has vanished, leaving Verity caught up in a carefully assembled tangle of secret operators – including “trust networks” (those ramified interpersonal connections that in Gibson’s work often maintain and extend digital cottage industries and the communities based around them), tech barons, masters of the gig economy and algorithmic sub-Eunices – in service of a plan to which none of them is privy.

Meanwhile, officials of the klept look on from 2136, led by Lowbeer, the shadowy enforcer we remember from The Peripheral – who would be played in the film by a pleasantly acerbic Tilda Swinton lookalike, perhaps, or Suranne Jones at her most commanding – and Wilf Netherton, her mild and often puzzled sidekick. From the outset the information environment is hectic. This is William Gibson, after all: a world in an instant. Across the first two pages, names of brands, places and people we haven’t yet met swirl thick and unexplained. Retrospective material about the focal character’s life and world – her new job, her typical supper, the apartment where she crashes, why she isn’t in her own apartment, what brand of sleeping bag liner she prefers for sofa-surfing – is pumped into our virtual feed via parenthesis, inside sentences that are always about something else. Or if not something else then something uneasily parallel, as if the author is used to thinking on two levels and urgently needs us to be doing the same.

It’s a sensual, remarkably visual ride, vigorous with displays of conceptual imagination and humour. There’s a man wearing a “chocolate brown terrycloth tactical bathrobe”; there’s a bar called “3.7-sigma”; there’s a shopping bag that returns itself to the shop after you’ve used it, by origami-ing itself into a butterfly. Want to eat breakfast at “The Denisovan Embassy”? The name is only Gibson’s opening bid: before you’ve been there half a page, Lowbeer herself arrives in full-sail steampunk, wearing ���a Victorian lady’s riding habit, but reimagined as having been cut from nylon aviator jackets” and carrying a top hat. Almost all of the author’s interests, from the political aesthetics of technology to the technology of political fashion, are collected in this near-Moorcockian curation of images. Gibson’s ability to simultaneously destabilise and entertain is both celebrated and used to the full. But it’s also linked firmly to his signature themes, the prime one here, of course, being agency.

Along with trust, a sense of individual agency – heroic centrality in your own story, the ability to make and carry out choices of your own, the “capacity to act” – is the central offer of most Hollywood dreams, and the product sold to us by the majority of corporate ads; but it’s the least likely attribute most of us will ever possess. Like it or not – know it or not – we tend to do what nudge and soft power would prefer. From his beginnings in 1984’s Neuromancer, Gibson has offered the struggle for agency as an unacknowledged, quietly devastating war – fought by hackers, gig economy workers, off-gridders and their networks – against the algorithm, against the manipulation of our needs, our personal information and our appetites, by big data and gangster capital. If he was “prescient” back then, he’s right on the ball now, when it’s so much harder to believe in those loose human associations he imagined in the 1990s, whose combination of technical nous and cultural know-how enabled them to quickly distinguish the real from the sucker fantasy.

Agency’s author now finds himself referenced by prime-ministerial fixer Dominic Cummings

This is reflected in the novel’s narrative structures. We suspect that the kleptocracy must take final responsibility for what’s going on, but despite frank exposition in dialogue, its complex internal rivalries remain as distant and difficult to parse as they seemed in The Peripheral. In 2136, wise actors understand that you don’t have agency – you only work for one. And that one probably works, without knowing it, for another one, and that one for another. Motives, finance and goals are unclear at every scale. The text grants least apparent agency to Verity – whose name of course means “truth” and who, from the moment she meets Eunice, becomes a parcel in someone else’s delivery system, dispatched by chauffeured Harley D or Fiat 500, passed hand to hand, safely or otherwise, by algorithms derived from both military and white van logistics. (Although poor Wilf Netherton, whose positioning as a major fixer on Lowbeer’s team of digital nomads and black ops dropouts often seems ironical in the extreme, runs her close.) This is a timely, politically relevant story in which none of the central characters can fully understand what’s going on.

Hard to say whether such a gleeful act of predicting the present is observation or warning. Probably it’s both. You’re comforted by the feeling that Gibson would never write a word without at least trying to understand the primary forces, the shadow operators of our own world; but you’d be forgiven for wondering if that’s now worth the effort. And here’s where the divergence of Verity Jane’s continuum from ours becomes important: there, the UK picked remain in the referendum of 2016; the US elected Hillary Clinton. This can hardly be an accidental choice of turning points. Ironic, then, that Agency’s author now finds himself referenced by prime-ministerial fixer Dominic Cummings, who recently called publicly for “weirdos from William Gibson novels” to help him disrupt the UK civil service; and is thus caught up unexpectedly in multiple recursive real-life reflections of his own fiction.

[arizona1x1-a]

tag dump

[famousobservationbouquetme]

Wood Coatings Market 2017 – Challenges, Key Vendors and Trends by Forecast to 2022

Wood Coating Market – Overview

Apart from the aesthetic aspects, the wood needs to be protected against mechanical, physical and chemical attack is the reason why we coat the wood. There are verity of demands on wood coatings. The demand for materials for exterior application are different to those for products for furniture or floorings. To fulfil this demand, several types of binders and additives are available. Furthermore, the application technology used depends on both the binder and the market. Improvement in sustainability, reduction of harmful substances and reduction of volatile organic compounds (VOC) are some of the general trends all follows as per the requirement and regulations. The relative importance of the various trends depends on the governmental regulations and on consumer need.

The growth in Wood Coating Market will primarily be driven by a boom in residential construction activity in the world and increasing spending capacity of people which has stoked sales of furniture, which in turn benefits the major applications in which Wood Coatings and preservatives are used – namely furniture, decking and siding among others.

Industry/ Innovation/ Related News:

January 2017 – Conestoga Wood Specialties completed a 47,000-square-foot addition to its East Earl, Pennsylvania, and facility to consolidate and expand its finishing operation and streamline capabilities. The cabinet components manufacturer cited consistent market growth and a rising demand for painted kitchens among the reasons for the expansion. This expansion has significantly increased the finishing capabilities, enabling Conestoga to meet the customers’ demands for the highest quality finishes and on-time delivery they’ve come to expect for many years to come.

March 2017 – Nippon Paint announces strategic alliance with IVM Chemicals from Italy. The paint and coating maker is expanding its portfolio by launching ‘wood art by Nippon Paint’. As part of the strategic alliance with Italian Wood Coating Manufacturer IVM Chemicals, The Company will promote Wood Coatings in India.

February 2017 – BASF introduced new light stabilizers for wood and metal coatings. The five products from the Tinuvin® DW (N) range as well as Tinuvin® 249 will meet the increasing demand for high-performance light stabilizers to formulate durable coatings for exterior use. The trends in the field of light stabilizers are cost efficiency, increased performance and sustainability. With the new Tinuvin products, BASF offer the customers innovative solutions to meet these key challenges in wood coating market.

Request a Sample Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/1619  

May 2017 – Axalta Coating Systems, a leading global supplier of liquid and powder coatings, has completed its previously announced acquisition of The Valspar Corporation’s North American Industrial Wood Coatings business. Valspar divested the business in connection with the antitrust approval of its acquisition by The Sherwin-Williams Company. The acquisition strategy by Axalta Coating Systems would help the organization to increase its market share in North America region.

May 2017 – Teknos has entered into an agreement with Looser Holding AG, an industrial holding company recently acquired by Arbonia AG, to acquire its global wood coatings division, Feyco Treffert, operating in Switzerland, Germany, Malaysia, China, the USA and Liechtenstein. The acquisition strengthens Teknos’ position in the wood segment globally, provides access to new markets in Europe, Asia Pacific and North America, and opens up new business opportunities in the wood and construction industry.

Wood Coating Market   – Regional Analysis

Asia Pacific region accounted largest market share in the Global Wood Coating Market and expected to dominate during the forecast period due to rising population and growing residential and non-residential activities in the region. China being largest consumer, manufacturer and exporter of Wood Coating. Chinese manufacturers are mostly small manufacturers and some of the prominent manufacturers. In addition to this, North America & Europe have witnessed healthy growth in Wood Coating Market owing to a growing non-residential repair, renovation and new construction activities in the region.

Competitive Landscape

The report analyses the degree of competition among the industry players as well as industry growth and market scenario. The Global Wood Coating Market is at a growing stage, which represents moderate stats in terms of market value and overall volume. Over the past few years, Wood Coating Market has witnessed healthy demand due to increasing spending capacity of people which has stoked sales of furniture. Nevertheless, the degree of competition among the market players is still less owing to limited major key market players across the globe. Globally market for Wood Coating is fragmented and it is moving towards growth expansion by specifically adopting partnership, expansion and joint-venture strategies and product launch strategies.

Browse Full Report Details @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/wood-coatings-market-1619

About Market Research Future: At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.

MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by Components, Application, Logistics and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.

Contact: Market Research Future +1 646 845 9312 Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com

[deathvisited]

tag dump

[tannertoctoo-blog]

July 19, 2017

Environmental Ethics, Vol. 38, #4, 2016 Erkenntnis, Vol. 82, #4, 2017 FPQ: Feminist Philosophy Quarterly, Vol. 3, #2, 2017 Journal of Nietzsche Studies, Vol. 48, #2, 2017 Journal of Philosophical Logic, Vol. 46, #4, 2017 Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 113, #12, 2016 Journal of Practical Ethics, Vol. 5, #1, 2017 Journal of the History of Philosophy, Vol. 55, #3, 2017 Mind, Vol. 126, #502, 2017 Oxford Studies in Normative Ethics, Vol. 6, 2016 Philosophy Compass, Vol. 12, #7, 2017 Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, Vol. 95, #1, 2017

Environmental Ethics, Vol. 38, #4, 2016 News and Notes Features Tom Dedeurwaerdere, Benjamin Six. Toward a Broadened Ethical Pluralism in Environmental Ethics: From Bryan Norton’s Discursive Ethics to William James’ Experiential Pluralism. Lantz Fleming Miller. Individual Responsibility for Environmental Degradation: The Moral and Practical Route to Change. Discussion Papers Lawrence E. Cahoone. Is Stellar Nucleosynthesis a Good Thing? Vincent Blok. Thinking the Earth: Critical Reflections on Quentin Meillassoux’s and Heidegger’s Concept of the Earth. Brendan Mahoney. Engaging the Sublime without Distance: Environmental Ethics and Aesthetic Experience. Neall Pogue. The Religious Right’s Compassionate Steward and Conservationist: The Lost Philosophies of Pat Robertson. Book Reviews Steven Fesmire reviews Bryan G. Norton's Sustainable Values, Sustainable Change: A Guide to Environmental Decision Making. Bernard Daley Zaleha reviews Lucas F. Johnston's Religion and Sustainability: Social Movements and the Politics of the Environment. Jeremy Bendik-Keymer reviews Steven Vogel's Thinking like a Mall: Environmental Philosophy after the End of Nature. Referees 2016 and Index. Back to top

Erkenntnis, Vol. 82, #4, 2017 Original Research Daniel Enrique Kalpokas. Experience and Justification: Revisiting McDowell’s Empiricism. Colin R. Caret. The Collapse of Logical Pluralism has been Greatly Exaggerated. Christian Lowe. Boltzmannian Immortality. Jesse R. Steinberg, Alan M. Steinberg. A Multiply Qualified Conditional Analysis of Disposition Ascription: Mapping the Conceptual Topography of Ceteris Paribus. James DiFrisco. Time Scales and Levels of Organization. Jan Almäng. An Argument for Shape Internalism. Gregg D. Caruso, Stephen G. Morris. Compatibilism and Retributivist Desert Moral Responsibility: On What is of Central Philosophical and Practical Importance. Joshua Spencer. Counting on Strong Composition as Identity to Settle the Special Composition Question. Sander Verhaegh. Blurring Boundaries: Carnap, Quine, and the Internal–External Distinction. David Alexander. Unjustified Defeaters. Gil Sagi. Contextualism, Relativism and the Liar. Lorraine Juliano Keller. Against Naturalized Cognitive Propositions. Back to top  

FPQ: Feminist Philosophy Quarterly, Vol. 3, #2, 2017 Symposium on Catharine A. MacKinnon's Toward a Feminist Theory of the State Articles Lori Watson. Introduction: Symposium on Toward a Feminist Theory of the State, Twenty-Five Years Later Catharine MacKinnon. Feminism, and Continental Philosophy: Comments on Toward a Feminist Theory of the State—Twenty-Five Years Later. Natalie Nenadic. 'We Must Find Words or Burn': Speaking Out against Disciplinary Silencing. Susan J. Brison. On the Politics of Coalition. Elena Ruíz and Kristie Dotson. Judging Women: Twenty-Five Years Further Toward a Feminist Theory of the State. Clare Chambers. Response to Five Philosophers: Toward a Feminist Theory of the State Some Decades Later. Catharine A. MacKinnon. Response to Five Philosophers: Toward a Feminist Theory of the State Some Decades Later. Back to top  

Journal of the History of Philosophy, Vol. 55, #3, 2017 Books That Shaped the Historiography of Philosophy Paul Guyer. The Bounds of Sense and the Limits of Analysis. Articles Carlo Davia. Aristotle and the Endoxic Method. Ruth Boeker. Locke on Personal Identity: A Response to the Problems of His Predecessors. Lawrnece Pasternack. Restoring Kant’s Conception of the Highest Good. Christopher Yeomans. Perspectives without Privileges: The Estates in Hegel’s Political Philosophy. Colin Koopman. The Will, the will to Believe, and William James: An Ethics of Freedom as Self-Transformation. Fabio Gironi. A Kantian Disagreement between Father and Son: Roy Wood Sellars and Wilfrid Sellars on the Categories. Book Reviews David Ebrey reviews The Possibility of Inquiry: Meno's Paradox from Socrates to Sextus by Gail Fine. Jakob Leth Fink reviews Levels of Argument: A Comparative Study of Plato's Republic and Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics by Dominic Scott. Stephen D. Dumont reviews On Being and Cognition: Ordinatio by John Duns Scotus. Mary Sirridge reviews Nicholas of Amsterdam: Commentary on the Old Logic by Egbert P. Bos. Erik De Bom reviews Truth and Irony: Philosophical Meditations on Erasmus by Terence J. Martin. Andreas Blank reviews Julius Caesar Scaliger, Renaissance Reformer of Aristotelianism: A Study of His Exotericae Exercitationes by Kuni Sakamoto. Yitzhak Y. Melamed reviews The Influence of Abraham Cohen de Herrera's Kabbalah on Spinoza's Metaphysics by Miquel Beltràn. Michael A. Rosenthal reviews The Collected Works of Spinoza by Benedictus de Spinoza. Kristen Irwin reviews Bayle, Jurieu, and the Dictionnaire Historique et Critique by Mara van der Lugt. F. Scott Scribner reviews Fichte's Addresses to the German Nation Reconsidered ed. by Daniel Breazeale and Tom Rockmore. Lawrence J. Hatab reviews Nietzsche's Earth: Great Events, Great Politics by Gary Shapiro. Andrew Bowie reviews Adorno and Existence by Peter E. Gordon. Books Received Back to top  

Journal of Nietzsche Studies, Vol. 48, #2, 2017 Abbreviations and Citations of Friedrich Nietzsche’s Works Proceedings from The North American Nietzsche Society Paul Katsafanas. NANS Editorial Note. Christopher Janaway. On the Very Idea of “Justifying Suffering”. Beatrix Himmelmann. Nietzsche’s Ethics of Power and the Ideas of Right, Justice, and Dignity Matt Dill. On Parasitism and Overflow in Nietzsche’s Doctrine of Will to Power. Akshay Ganesh. Nietzsche on Honor and Empathy. Daniel I. Harris. Nietzsche and Aristotle on Friendship and Self-Knowledge. Patrick Hassan. Does Rarity Confer Value?: Nietzsche on the Exceptional Individual. Book Reviews Interanimations: Receiving Modern German Philosophy by Robert B. Pippin, and: Nietzsche, Psychology, and First Philosophy by Robert B. Pippin. Review by Christopher Fowles. Nietzsche and The Birth of Tragedy by Paul Raimond Daniels. Review by Vinod Acharya. Nietzsche, Tension, and the Tragic Disposition by Matthew Tones Review by Elisabeth Flucher. Nietzsche nella Rivoluzione conservatrice ed. by Francesco Cattaneo, Carlo Gentili, and Stefano Marino. Review by Selena Pastorino. Nietzsche and Dostoevsky: On the Verge of Nihilism by Paolo Stellino. Review by Christoph Schuringa.  Back to top

Journal of Philosophical Logic, Vol. 46, #4, 2017 Original Papers Nicholas Asher, Soumya Paul, Antoine Venant. Message Exchange Games in Strategic Contexts. Richard Booth, Jake Chandler. The Irreducibility of Iterated to Single Revision. Ken Akiba. A Unification of Two Approaches to Vagueness: The Boolean Many-Valued Approach and the Modal-Precisificational Approach. Andrew Tedder. On Structural Features of the Implication Fragment of Frege’s Grundgesetze. Elisa Paganini. Vague Objects within Classical Logic and Standard Mereology, and without Indeterminate Identity. Back to top

Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 113, #12, 2016 Articles Wade Munroe. Words on Psycholinguistics. Andrea Iacona. Two Notions of Logical Form. New Books Back to top  

Journal of Practical Ethics, Vol. 5, #1, 2017 Articles Lea Ypi. Structural Injustice and the Place of Attachment. Stephen M. Gardiner. Accepting Collective Responsibility for the Future. Masaki Ichinose. The Death Penalty Debate: Four Problems and New Philosophical Perspectives. Back to top

Mind, Vol. 126, #502, 2017 Articles Donovan Wishon. Russellian acquainatace and Frege’s Puzzle. Luca Incurvati; Julien Murzi. Maximally Consistent Sets of Instances of Naive Comprehension. Igor Douven; Lieven Decock. What Verities May Be. Daniel Waxman. Deflationism, Arithmetic, and the Argument from Conservativeness. Jack Spencer. Able to Do the Impossible. Stephan Krämer. Everything, and Then Some. Anil Gomes. Naïve Realism In Kantian Phrase. Discussions Jake Chandler. Preservation, Commutativity and Modus Ponens: Two Recent Triviality Results. Richard Bradley. Supporters and Underminers: Reply to Chandler. Hans Rott. Preservation and Postulation: Lessons from the New Debate on the Ramsey Test. Book Reviews The Logical Structure of Kinds, by Eric Funkhouser. Review by Joseph Laporte. The Possibility of Inquiry: Meno’s Paradox from Socrates to Sextus, by Gail Fine. Review by David Bronstein. Aesthetics as Philosophy of Perception, by Bence Nanay. Review by Ophelia Deroy. Persons, Interests, and Justice, by Nils Holtug. Review by Tim Campbell. Between Probability and Certainty: What Justifies Belief, by Martin Smith. Review by Kelly Becker. Back to top

Oxford Studies in Normative Ethics, Vol. 6, 2016 (located on Tanner New Journal shelf) Acknowledgments // List of Contributors Introduction by Mark Timmons Articles Stephen Darwall: Taking Account of Character and Being an Accountable Person. Claudia Card: Taking Pride in Being Bad. Kate Abramson: Character as a Mode of Evaluation. Jack Woods: The Normative Force of Promising. Hallie Liberto: Promissory Obligation: Against a Unified Account. Susan Wolf: Two Concepts of Rule Utilitarianism. David Schmitz: After Solipsism. Barry Maguire: Extrinsic Value and the Separability of Reasons. Kenneth Walden: The Relativity of Ethical Explanation. Paul Hurley: Two Senses of Moral Verdict and Moral Overridingness. Erich Hatala Matthes: Love in Spite of. Gilbert Harman: Moral Reasoning. Index Back to top

Philosophy Compass, Vol. 12, #7, 2017 Naturalistic Philosophy John Turri. Experimental work on the norms of assertion. Marco J. Nathan and Guillermo Del Pinal. The Future of Cognitive Neuroscience? Reverse Inference in Focus. Philosophy of Religion Michael Almeida. Theistic Modal Realism I: The Challenge of Theistic Actualism. Michael Almeida. Theistic Modal Realism II: Theoretical Benefits. Bronwyn Finnigan. Buddhism and animal ethics. Back to top

Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, Vol. 95, #1, 2017 Articles Peter Millican. Hume’s Fork, and his Theory of Relations. Ryan Wasserman. Vagueness and the Laws of Metaphysics. Simon M. Huttegger. Inductive Learning in Small and Large Worlds. Jonas Åkerman. Indexicals and Reference-Shifting: Towards a Pragmatic Approach. Weng Hong Tang. Transparency and Partial Beliefs. Una Stojnić. One's Modus Ponens: Modality, Coherence and Logic. Book Symposium : Outside Color Mazviita Chirimuuta. Précis of Outside Color. Joshua Gert. Outside Color from Just Outside. Anil Gupta. M. Chirimuuta's Adverbialism about Color. Mohan Matthen. Realism, Relativism, Adverbialism: How Different are they? Comments on Mazviita Chirimuuta's Outside Color. Mazviita Chirimuuta. Replies. Back to top

[pubtheatres1]

CARNIVAL OF CROWS Writer/Performer: Molly Beth Morossa The Cavern – Vault Festival 13th-17th February 2019 ‘Morossa is undoubtedly a captivating and talented artist’ ★★★ Carnival of Crows takes as its foundation the weird, the strange, the macabre world of Victorian era Carnivals. The show could not have asked for a better set up than the Cavern in the Vaults; arched ceilings, old brickwork, and a dark, damp coolness that really drags the audience right into the sinister underworld of the carnival life, whether we like it or not. We are introduced to our nervous, gregarious narrator for the night, Poppy (Molly Beth Morossa) who inducts us into her world, setting the scene and introducing us to the characters who will play an important part in the events to come, including Virginia the fortune teller, a sister figure to Poppy, and Edward B. Friday, ring leader and unfortunate father figure (it seems). As a one-person show Morossa plays pretty much every character herself. Morossa is undoubtedly a captivating and talented artist. Her greatest performance is as Poppy; resilient, likeable, and full of wonder for the carnival and the possibilities she thinks it presents for her. Although we are sorry for the circumstances, she finds herself in, she is not a pitiable character and praise must be given to Morossa for walking that fine line with skill. Morossa also has great proficiency as a physical performer, particularly in her hands, and it is lovely to watch. The whole show benefits from a well thought out and consistent aesthetic, almost monochromatic, except for a few notable moments of exception (the Tim-Burton-esque puppet being one of them). Rags combined with feathers, black satin, white wire bird cages, black sequins and the occasional red spotlight, it really was visually a treat. Despite its many merits however, there were aspects of the show that I think haven’t reached their fullest potential and left me wanting for more. As stated Morossa has great physicality, as Poppy particularly, but for me I needed even more of a change when she adopted other characters. A more emphasised physicality and more specific movements, as a show that is based around concepts of Carnival, I would love to have seen some of that hyper exaggeration other worldly-ness come through even stronger, especially as Edward B. Friday, a character that can only be said to be certifiably a psychopath. I think one of the reasons that the physicality felt slightly under-pitched to me is that the writing is highly poetic, taking direct from the gothic tradition, the writing moves between prose and Edgar Allen Poe-esque poetics. To match the intensity of the words, the physicality needs to be at Bahktin’s Body Grotesque level. The biggest issue I had with the show was the way the plot was structured. Nothing very much happens, and then all of a sudden everything seems to happen at once. It did sometimes end up feeling a bit bitty, and I would be watching scenes, that were lovely and well done, but I couldn’t figure out why they were there. For me Carnival of Crows is on the cusp of being a truly extraordinary show; at the moment it feels like a good show, with some exceptional moments. There was one scene involving Edward B. Friday stalking Virginia the fortune teller, set to the rhythm of Virginia’s heels on the pavement, Morossa tapping out a separate rhythm herself on stage, it was one of the finest scenes I’ve seen in theatre in over a year. But these fantastical captivating moments, of which there were more, do not hold up the rest of the show. Morossa should be extremely proud of this show, and I do hope she continues to work on it and takes it elsewhere, I’ve no doubt that it will only become better and better. Photo Credit: Steve Edwin Keep up with Morossa here – https://twitter.com/MBethMorossa Verity Williams is a poet, actor, playwright, dog enthusiast and committed gin drinker (not necessarily in that order). Born and raised in Dorset, Verity has a BA in English and Drama from Royal Holloway, an MA in Creative Writing from Bath Spa and an MA in Acting from East 15. @Verity_W_

[pubtheatres1]

Shakespeare’s THE TEMPEST The Brockley Jack Theatre 13 February – 3 March 2018 ‘an enchanting and immersive quality’ The Tempest, believed to be written in 1610-11, is said to be one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragicomedies; a play that examines life, death, the soul, and even the theatrical tradition itself. Controlled Chaos presents a streamlined, all-female production and defines itself as a ‘comedy’. The company’s ethos of redressing ‘the balance of British theatre, by encouraging more people from diverse backgrounds to engage in theatre world’, notably by giving women a chance to take centre stage in the male dominated classics is as exciting as it is important. And women certainly take centre stage here, bravely and committedly performing as some of the most well-known male characters from Shakespeare. There’s much to enjoy in this production: the music that frequently scores and underscores scenes is well-used, and certainly gives the play an enchanting and immersive quality. Also, the earthy aesthetic helps bring to life the world of the island. The use of colour was interesting; Ariel flits around the stage like a whimsical blue butterfly, and the king and his company, all in black apart from some coloured sashes which seem to denote allegiances among the group. The cast are a dedicated ensemble and all work hard to bring comedy and weight in the quick succession of scenes. Particularly enjoyable was Ceri Ashe’s work as the intoxicated Welshman Stephano; great physical comedy and endearingly silly, her scenes with Trinculo, played by Kimberley Capero were some of the highlights of the show. Carmella Brown as Ariel and Kate Sketchley were wonderful opposites as the two island servants of Prospero. Praise must also go to Alma Reising as the goodly old Gonzalo, a thoroughly likeable portrayal of the character and a clear enjoyment and of her words made her very watchable. There were however some things that I think could do with some work. Director Dylan Lincoln was angling for the comedy side of this play, and while there were some moments of humour, I think there were a lot of missed moments. Moments between Prospero and Miranda, and also among the King’s party. Jo Bartlett as Prospero had a natural authority and was unafraid to show the colder side of the character, but some more moments of levity would have made Prospero more sympathetic. The thing that I think most affected me was the pace. The Tempest can certainly be played as a comedy but it does still have some of the most beautiful and moving speech ever written by Shakespeare. For example, Caliban’s speech about the music of the island, and Prospero’s speech after the wedding with the famous line ‘We are such stuff as dreams are made on’. These weren’t done badly but with the quickness of their delivery, the weight and beauty of them was slightly lost. Without the change in pace between these moments and the rest of the play, it could sometimes feel slightly one note. All the ingredients are here for a moving, funny and exciting production. I’m not sure the company has quite hit on the golden ratio yet, but there is no doubt this is a talented group of women, doing something important with a brilliant classical text. I’m sure these problems will resolve themselves as they settle into their run and I’m excited to see how they grow and evolve into this show. Photography: Kevin Kamara The Tempest Directed by Dylan Lincoln Presented by Controlled Chaos Theatre Company The Brockley Jack Theatre 13th February – 3rd March Get your tickets here: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/brockleyjackstudio/events Verity Williams is a poet, actor, playwright, dog enthusiast and committed gin drinker (not necessarily in that order). Born and raised in Dorset, Verity has a BA in English and Drama from Royal Holloway, an MA in Creative Writing from Bath Spa and an MA in Acting from East 15. @Verity_W_

[pubtheatres1]

FIND YOUR WAY HOME by John Hopkins Presented by Cordial Productions Etcetera Theatre 13 February – 4 March 2018 ‘unafraid to tackle the troubled and troubling side of human nature’ ★★★ Having never heard of him or his work before I have now seen two John Hopkins plays in London in as many months. First, there was ‘This Story of Yours’ at the white bear at the beginning of the year and now, a revival of his 1970 play Find Your Way Home. He seems to be rather in vogue at the moment and it’s not hard to understand why, his writing is bold and fierce; unafraid to tackle the troubled and troubling side of human nature. Find Your Way Home, revolves around the clandestine affair between a middle-aged husband and father and his young male lover and the collateral damage the relationship causes to both themselves and those close to them. One of the strengths of the show lies in its setting. The action takes place in Julie’s London flat; the commitment to the decade results in a complete and wholly realised aesthetic. Donna Summer and 10cc play in the background and tacked up on the wall are various posters and pictures, like the now iconic Tennis Girl poster. But most telling is the inclusion of Francis Bacon’s seminal ‘Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion’, Bacon was a man who did not work to hide his sexuality, but still suffered in his romantic relationships. The script is a dazzling dissection of lust, sex, marriage, and loyalty (to ones’ self and others). However, it does feel that the play lacks in love. There’s sex, betrayal, lust, hatred, loss, sorrow, but I didn’t really feel any ‘love’ between characters, which make it’s hard to understand why Alan wants to leave his wife, why Julie would want him, and why Alan’s wife Jackie would bother fighting to get him back. After the first act in which Alan tells Julie he’s left his wife and children for him, we are introduced to his wife Jackie as she bursts in on them having followed her husband, assuming this was another one of his normal affairs, one with a woman. They hit the second act hard, at a high intensity, which unfortunately I think resulted in some pitching problems. They gave themselves almost nowhere to go, and so held the same shrill note for the rest of the play. Julian Bailey-Jones as Julie, Alan’s young lover, flip flops between vulnerable and wounded, to emotionally cold, depending on Alan’s response. It would’ve been nice to see a little more playfulness in him. This is not a comedy play by any stretch of the imagination, but without some levity in the character, he loses his endearing depth. One of the smaller, but in my opinion no less vital roles was Julie’s love interest, played brilliantly by George Turner. He has a hardness and edge to him that Julie doesn’t have and his deliberately provocative behavior towards both Julie and Alan serves as an interesting and at times disturbing point of contrast. Anthony Cord as Alan has a tough part to play. Present for the majority of the play, but with very few lines for long stretches of time, he has to remain present and reactive to the situation as it plays out in front of him. Cord has the gift of a good voice, so when he does speak, one listens. However, I think Cord misses a trick with Alan; brimful of guilt and self-loathing, he is a haunted figure, and so involved in his own self that I did not believe that he had any love for Julie, or for his wife Jackie either. Julia Faulkner gives an impassioned performance as Alan’s wife Jackie, as they battle it out ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf’ style in the second act. Flighty and hysterical, her histrionics sometimes felt a bit much and ‘one note’. However, come the conclusion of her talk with Alan, it is painful to see her broken down and defeated, the intensity here works to highlight what the stakes really are and how deeply this is going to affect her and the lives of her children. It is easy to forget that in 1970, homosexuality had only been legal for 3 years, so Alan’s decision to live openly as a gay man carried with it so much greater risk and scandal than it would today. It seems that there was an angle and a mood that this production was aiming for, and it stuck to its guns throughout: anger, bitterness, self-loathing and self-pity. That is not to say these things are present in the script, but there is so much more too, so much love and gentleness that could’ve been shown. I think the cast are very focused on their own characters and delivering their interpretation of them, which I understand, but this play’s success lies in the relationships between them. If the actors can find those subtler connections, and alternatives to fury and spite, then there’s so much more that could be explored. Get your tickets here: https://www.ticketea.co.uk/tickets-theatre-find-your-way-home-by-john-hopkins/ Verity Williams is a poet, actor, playwright, dog enthusiast and committed gin drinker (not necessarily in that order). Born and raised in Dorset, Verity has a BA in English and Drama from Royal Holloway, an MA in Creative Writing from Bath Spa and an MA in Acting from East 15. @Verity_W_

[pubtheatres1]

I KNOW YOU OF OLD by David Fairs (after Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing) Directed by Anna Marsland The Hope Theatre 13th June – 1st July ‘menacing, sexy and surprising’ It’s the night before Hero’s funeral. All is quiet in the small chapel where her coffin lies, until Claudio, Beatrice and Benedick arrive to thrash out the circumstances of her death. Using only the original text Fairs (also playing Benedick) cuts and pastes one of Shakespeare’s comedies to create a new and original play, that revels in the darker aspects of the story and shakes our preconceptions of these well-known characters to the core. The production’s polish and professionalism is immediately apparent. The set is simple but perfectly balanced and always washed with somber-yet sultry lighting (by Simon Gethin Thomas). Although I personally was unsure about the sinister Jazz music playing in the pre-set, it conformed to the play’s vision. The fashionable costumes added further to the aesthetic, and almost felt a little à la Baz Luhrman’s Romeo and Juliet. The performances are dedicated and all three of the actors are eminently capable with the new text. Fair’s as Benedick is racy and borders on the neurotic in a really exciting way, which works well with Sarah Lambie’s trenchant Beatrice. Lambie’s performance must also be commended for showing the acute grief that Beatrice feels about Hero’s death. Conor O’Kane as Claudio is charming and vulnerable, though I wished he had slowed down on his lines, as racing through them highlighted his skill, it made the audience have to work harder than we should’ve to keep up. The play is very clever. It is a clever thing to do. To take a Shakespeare and rearrange it into a new show. However, the thought that kept going through my head in the show was ‘This is clever…But Shakespeare was cleverer.’ By taking the play and all its characters and rearranging it, I found that the arc of the story and the characters themselves suffered. There were often times when conversations were repeated and I felt there was a lack of drive moving the play forward. The structure felt messy and seemed it still needed refining. For me, having the three characters take lines from all the characters in the play, I felt that they then lacked wholeness. It was hard for me to buy into the idea that they really would say and do these things. Having said this, the play is well worth a watch and delivers a challenge to the audience to reconsider this classic play. It was menacing, sexy and surprising. The actors are compelling and intelligent, and the show is satisfyingly realized as a whole. Get your tickets here – https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/event/169594 Verity Williams is a poet, actor, playwright, dog enthusiast and committed gin drinker (not necessarily in that order). Born and raised in Dorset, Verity has a BA in English and Drama from Royal Holloway, an MA in Creative Writing from Bath Spa and an MA in Acting from East 15. @Verity_W_

[pubtheatres1]

The Magic Flute The Kings Head Theatre 3rd May – 4th June Director – John Savournin Musical Director – David Eaton Presented by The Charles Court Opera ‘will delight opera veterans and convert new comers alike’ ★★★★★ Mozart’s ‘The Magic Flute’ is one of the best known and well-loved operas there is. An intimidating project to say the least. The Charles Court Opera present their interpretation of this famous show setting it in the heart of the South American jungle. The story follows intrepid explorer Tamino as he embarks on a journey filled with fantastical, magical creatures, where nothing is as it appears to be. Sung in a new, refreshing, and accessible version by John Savournin and David Eaton, this show lives up to the ‘magic’ and then some. The staging immediately plunges the audience into the depths of the tropical rainforest: vines and foliage cover the ceiling and most of the walls, brick walls and tall imposing stone doorways mark the entrances and exits. Designer Simon Berjer obviously had a clear vision for this production and has executed it with impressive totality and flair. The costumes are treated to the same level of detail and creativity, from the shamanistic Queen of the Night to the grotesque over-sized old woman puppet, operated by three people, who’s sent to test Papageno. The colour and richness of the production’s aesthetic extends into the vocal talent of the cast. Beautifully articulated and tuned, there is not a weak note in the show. Matthew Kellett plays Papageno with bags of charm and is comic and endearing in equal measure. And Julian Debreuil lends his sonorous, euphonic voice to the kind and wise Sarastro. Of course, because it’s The Magic Flute, everyone’s always anticipating the "Der Hölle Rache" Aria from the Queen of the Night, which Hannah Sawle accomplished with impressive ease and was deliciously sinister with it too. I could wax lyrical about any and all of the cast. A stronger ensemble I have not seen in a long time, nor do I anticipate seeing one again any time soon. The first production of ‘The Magic Flute’ was in 1791, which begs the question, why do a production of it now? This show is totally enjoyable and provides the kind of escapism that a lot of people go to the theatre specifically for. However, more than the comedy and the entertainment factor, the opera contains messages that are painfully relevant to the world we live in today. Tamino’s trials in the second half of the show is where these themes are the most profound. Sarastro wants to teach Tamino that anger and pride never win, that one must think critically and not just blindly believe what one is told. These lessons resonant acutely in this ‘post-truth’ era, and we could all learn from the final message in this show: ‘When humans are truthful, the battle is won, for knowledge and wisdom unite us as one.’ It would be all too easy for this production to veer into the pantomimic if it were for the distinct skill and talent of the cast and the wholeness of the concept; you are always aware that you are watching something incredibly accomplished. The cast spend the best part of two hours vibrating the air and filling the room with epic sound, after an evening of breathing that in you can’t help but leave feeling buoyed and slightly dazed in the best possible way. This production is a triumph and will delight opera veterans and convert new comers alike. Get yourself a ticket! Get your tickets here – http://www.charlescourtopera.com/the-magic-flute1.html Verity Williams is a poet, actor, playwright, dog enthusiast and committed gin drinker (not necessarily in that order). Born and raised in Dorset, Verity has a BA in English and Drama from Royal Holloway, an MA in Creative Writing from Bath Spa and an MA in Acting from East 15. @Verity_W_