#alistair beaton

[ed-recoverry]

List of free audiobooks on YouTube for anyone interested

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

Alice in Wonderland

Animal Farm by George Orwell

The Shadow Over Innsmouth by H P Lovecraft

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

The Village by Caroline Mitchell

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (fuck JKR)

Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

Upside Down by Danielle Steel

The Fiancée by Kate White

The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Theif

Accidentally Married by Victoria E. Lieske

I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

The Collector (book one) by Nora Roberts

The Lies I Told by Mary Burton

Dead Man’s Mirror by Agatha Christie

The Hobbit

The Taken Ones by Jess Lourey

The Good Neighbour by R J Parker

The Island House by Elana Johnson

Desperation by Stephan King

The Healing Summer by Heather B. Moore

The Last Affair by Margot Hunt

To Be Claimed by Willow Winter

Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

The Inn by James Patterson

Wonder by R J Palacio

Faking It With The Billionaire by Willow Fox

The Lost Years by Mary Higgins Clark

Forrest Gump by Winston Groom

The Janson Directive by Robert Ludlum

The Catcher in the Rye

The Lottery Winner by Mary Higgins Clark

Where Eagles Dare by Alistair MacLean

Death of a Nurse by M C Beaton

Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

The Sonnets by William Shakespeare

Frozen Betrayal by Clive Cussler

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Line of Fire by R J Patterson

Don’t Believe Everything You Think by Joseph Nguyen

The Remnant by Tim LaHaye

The Magic of Reality by Richard Dawkins

The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie

Payment in Kind by J A Jance

The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

The Way of the Superior Man by David Deida

The Game of Life and How to Play It by Florence Scovel Shinn

The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

A Marriage of Anything but Convenience by Victorine E. Lieske

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

The Inheritance Game by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life

Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

The Kama Sutra by Mallanaga Vatsyayana

The Wisdom of Father Brown by G K Chesterton

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

Robin Hood by J Walker McSpadden

The Poor Traveller by Charles Dickens

Days on the Road: Crossing the Plains in 1865 by Sarah Raymond Herndon

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Atomic Habits by James Clear

I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream

Trading in the Zone by Mark Douglas

The Art of War by Sun Tzu

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

The Epic of Gilgamesh

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

Man After Man

Five on a Treasure Island by Enid Blyton

The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane

Charlotte’s Web

Midsummer Mysteries by Agatha Christie

Out of Silent Planet by C S Lewis

The Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle

Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton

The Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole

21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harai

Hamlet by Shakespeare

[aubreve-art]

Been a while since I fed my original fandom, how are you guys? :D

Quotes are from “The Little Book of Complete B*llocks” by Alistair Beaton. RV could use some self-help.

[laresearchette]

Tuesday, February 04, 2025 Canadian TV Listings (Times Eastern)

WHERE CAN I FIND THOSE PREMIERES? TREE ON A HILL (Pren ar y Bryn) (BritBox) MAGIC MIKE (Paramount + Canada) MAGIC MIKE XXL (Paramount + Canada) NEIGHBORHOOD WARS (A&E Canada) 9:00pm CUSTOMER WARS (A&E Canada) 10:00pm

NEW TO AMAZON PRIME CANADA/CBC GEM/CRAVE TV/DISNEY + STAR/NETFLIX CANADA:

AMAZON PRIME CANADA THE HULK IT’S COMPLICATED NINE

CBC GEM ESCAPE TO THE COUNTRY (Season 31)

CRAVE TV NEW YORK HOMICIDE (Season 3 premiere) THE VOICE (Season 27)

NHL HOCKEY (SNPacific) 7:00pm: Wild vs. Bruins (TSN5) 7:00pm: Sens vs. Lightning (SN1) 8:00pm: Oilers vs. Blues (TSN3) 8:00pm: Hurricanes vs. Jets (SNWest/TSN4) 9:00pm: Leafs vs. Flames (SNPacific) 10:00pm: Avalanche vs. Canucks (TSN2) 10:30pm: Habs vs. Sharks

NBA BASKETBALL (TSN) 7:30pm: Knicks vs. Raptors (SN360) 7:30pm: Celtics vs. Cavaliers (SN360) 10:00pm: Lakers vs. Clippers

ONE DISH, ONE SPOON (APTN) 7:00pm: Chef Tawnya teams up with Chef Rick Powless to re-indigenize their palates using pre-contact ingredients for a flavorful meal; knowing how picky kids can be, they head to the Earthship to prepare a delicious, family-friendly feast for Rick's family.

THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES (CBC) 8:00pm

HUDSON & REX (City TV) 8:00pm: A K9-in-training leads her partner to a real crime scene, she uses her personal connection to the case to help Major Crimes bring justice to the victim´s family.

COUNTRY HOUSE HUNTERS: CANADA (CTV Life) 8:00pm/8:30pm: Amanda and Chris are outdoor enthusiasts searching for a serene home in Sooke; they want a property that offers access to nature and cozy comfort. In Episode Two, Laura and Doug are drawn to Nestleton Station's rustic appeal; they hope to find a property with historic charm and modern functionality.

THE EDIFY SHOW: HEARTIES TUESDAY (Super Channel Heart & Home) 8:00pm

SON OF A CRITCH (CBC) 8:30pm: Mark stars in a PSA for young women and meets experienced child actor Steve, who inspires him; Mike Sr. relapses at Mr. Murphy's retirement event, leading to a confrontation.

NORTH OF THE NORTH (CBC/APTN) 9:00pm: Love is not in the air in Ice Cove as Siaja re-enters the dating world in epic style, Neevee and Alistair reach a turning point, and Kuuk has a surprise visitor.

TGL GOLF (SNOntario/SNEast) 9:00pm: Boston Common Golf vs. Los Angeles Golf Club

HIGHWAY THRU HELL (USA Network Canada) 9:00pm: Bob from Reliable Towing wrestles with a burning semi on the side of the Coquihalla; Jamie hauls a snowcat for a snowmobile club in the Rockies; Team MSA brings Gursharan's brother-in-law Kulji to his first recovery job on the busy Fraser Highway.

HALIFAX COMEDY FESTIVAL (CBC) 9:30pm: Performances by D.J. Demers, Debra DiGiovanni, Tim Nutt, Ophira Eisenberg, Arthur Simeon, Nick Beaton, Mike Wilmot, Courtney Gilmour, Ali Mehedi, Maddy Kelly and Kyle Brownrigg.

[invertedeidolon]

The Longest Library #7: The Little Book of Complete Bollocks by Alistair Beaton

This is a series in which I attempt to read and review all (or most of) my library of 297 books.

Rundown: I'm just going to quote part of the back here: In this witty hatchet job on the therapy culture, writer and broadcaster Alistair Beaton invites you to make friends with your anxiety, give your anger a hug, and have a good long satisfying shag with your negativity.

This is a small pocket book you'd probably gift to the drunk in your life if you share their views that therapy is too touchy feely, or if one of you have failed therapy before. I was wondering why these jokes were falling flat, and more importantly, why they were falling flat in a weird way instead of a mean-spirited way you'd expect. Then I read the back and realized that the author is british. (not sorry, british comedy is fine, bad british humor is just disappointing and feels like a small round man in his 30's trying to be clever at me in the pub)

I give this a 1/5. It'll waste a good thirty minutes, and there's like, five that made me exhale through my nose a little bit, but the rest of it was slightly exasperating.

So, this book reads like 12 year old me trying to be funny. It's a comment on therapy culture if all they've seen is TV gurus and overwritten self-discovery (not self-help) books. What I'm saying is that it could have been better. There's shitposts on tumblr that does a better job than about 89% of this book. Some of these do, in fact, read like tumblr shitposts that just barely miss the mark. There were times I felt like a lot of these were better off on a twitter account, or could be plugged into a bot that's attached to a twitter account.

However, I will share a few choice pieces with you.

IMPORTANT

Feelings of unimportance are often caused by a lack of importance. Banish your feelings of unimportance by becoming President of the United States.

Did the orange narcissist read this?

THE CHILD WITHIN

Finding the child within yourself can be harder than you think. Buy a cuddly toy and take it to bed with you. Use it to rediscover the child-self you thought you had lost forever. Keep in touch with this child-self wherever you go. Throw tantrums with people who won't let you have your way. Eat too much chocolate and be sick. Show your partner your anger by wetting the bed.

*ANGRILY PEES THE BED* YOU NEVER PUT THE FORKS BACK IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION!!!

URINE

Let urine be the mirror of your soul. Every Monday morning, use a chopstick* to whisk a little of your urine in a white porcelain bowl. If your urine turns frothy, you have a terminal illness and will be dead by the weekend. *if you have issues around chopsticks, it is better to use a fork.

Here's one that makes little if any sense and feels like it failed to set out what it wanted to do. Yes I'm complaining. Yes I'm implying I might know how to do it better. Yes I'm actually going to do it.

"Urine can be a good reflection of the state of your soul. Every Monday morning,( the day of new beginnings for each week,) you can best check your soul's status by whisking some of your urine in a white porcelain bowl with a chopstick. Almost clear urine reflects your clarity of mind and peacefulness, as you must live a balanced and peaceful life to be able to drink that much water on an almost constant basis. If you can see patterns or small particles forming in the liquid, now is the perfect time to pause and contemplate the state of your medical insurance, as you will soon be needing a doctor for that heinous infection."

There. A soft punchline that makes the laughing portion of your brain give a little squeeze without actually giving you the physical urge to giggle. Because that's what they were going for, right?

COLOUR THERAPY

Try painting your therapist a different colour.

This one works. I like this one.

YOUR BODY

Your body is a superb instrument. Why not invite it to join an orchestra?

This one doesn't. Where's the funny? What's the implication? An actual orchestra, despite the average reader not being a trained musician? A choir? An orgy?

MIRROR MEDITATION

Sit down in the lotus position, facing a full-length mirror. In complete silence, stare at your own face in the mirror, without blinking. For three or four hours, nothing will happen. Persist.After four to six hours, the eyes of the face in the mirror will start to roll its eyes and its tongue will flop out of its mouth. Do not be alarmed - this is perfectly normal. Persist. After seven to eight hours, the face in the mirror will suddenly become distorted and appear to be screaming. Do not be alarmed - this is perfectly normal. Persist. After eight to ten hours the face in the mirror will come to meet yours. It will feel as if you are bashing your head repeatedly into a glass object. You will now find yourself in an altered state of consciousness. This is known as unconsciousness.It is followed by another, higher state, known as hospital.

Are they going for a horror bent? This definitely isn't advanced enough to consciously make it about eye fatigue and hypnogogic hallucinations. I feel like the amount of hours doesn't justify the end goal. It's a meditation. Usually there's an end goal of some kind in mind. Be it a time limit or a specific state or some way to KNOW when it ends. This joke only works if someone would actually have a reason to continue the exercise even though the ending may land them in the hospital. Yes I'm nitpicking. Yes I'll admit that if the bulk of it were shorter and the ending bit came way sooner it would be funnier to my tiny pea brain with a fly's bladder sized attention span.

PAINFUL

Make space for pain in your life. If you feel just fine, seek out a counselor or therapist who will explore with you the reasons why you are denying your pain.

:)

:') This is good, it feels like a joke one of your friends would make at you.

DYSFUNCTIONAL

A dysfunctional family is not a family that fails to function; a dysfunctional family is a family that fails to function for you. Make your family function for you by asking family members to rub essential oils into your thighs. If anyone refuses, ask them why they feel threatened by your thighs.

Dril goes to therapy: the movie. This one's good.

ON THE PLANE

During long air journeys, endear yourself to crew and passengers alike by introducing those around you to the ancient power of group chant.

Theater kids, am I right?

SIMPLE PLEASURES

Get pleasure out of the little things in life. Stand on an ant.

This one is the best one. It's the absurdist and casual aggression. It's perfectly modernized and it would probably be considered the worst one back in the day.

BEYOND WORDS

Understand the importance of non-verbal messaging. Give people the sound cues which reveal your mood: If you are happy, ululate in people's ears. If you are anxious, make moaning noises. If you are depressed, fart loudly and persistently.

Ah, so mid-2000s anime fans? Got it.

So in conclusion, no need to waste time on this book. Unless wasting time is what you set out to do.

If you're truly curious, I'm selling this book. It's not on the inverted selections ebay page (where I'm putting all my stuff I don't want any more and these books will likely appear there as well) because ebay is weird and has itty bitty tiny selling limits, so I can only have 5 active listings at a time. However, if you want this before anybody else can get to it, you simply have to message me on any platform you can find me one, and we'll set something up. It's 2 US dollars for me, and about 3.50 for the postal system.

[terisrog]

Royal & Derngate, Atlantic Screen Music and Phantom Limb present a new charity compilation album: INCIDENTAL: Music For The Stage.

Over the past decade, Royal & Derngate Theatre has commissioned 12 of the most influential composers working today to write original music for the stage – including Number 1 selling musicians White Lies, Guy Chambers and These New Puritans; Oscar and Grammy award winning film composers Rachel Portman and Anne Dudley; leading opera composer Orlando Gough, British Bhangra pioneer Kuljit Bhamra and ground-breaking classical and electronic composers Isobel Waller-Bridge, James Johnston, Bedroom Community's Valgeir Sigurðsson and 2020 Ivor Novello Award winner Renell Shaw.

This charity compilation album presents their original compositions inspired by some of the most famous plays and novels in the English Language, featuring spoken performances by many of the stage’s most acclaimed actors. It raises vital funds to support Royal & Derngate Theatre’s reopening after the COVID-19 pandemic, helping the venue to recover from the devastating impact of a year of enforced closure and enabling the venue to continue to produce their ground-breaking Made in Northampton productions.

The album will be released on September 24, 2021 and Iain Glen will read a part of Alone in Berlin:

25. Hans Fallada’s Alone in Berlin - Orlando Gough, Alistair Beaton, Iain Glen, Jessica Walker, Charlotte Emmerson, Denis Conway

The album will be on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer and Tidal and will be available on digital & physical CD. More infos here.

[10blue10]

So. I have this book. By Alistair Beaton. 

And I thought I’d share some of my favourite advice from this book:

[sontagspdf]

From The Arsonist by Max Frisch (trans. Alistair Beaton)

[virtualrenfaire2020]

Virtual Ren Faire 2020 Calendar

We have activities and themed days, plus we’ve compiled a bunch of livestreams from some fantastic performers to enjoy during our Faire. The calendar is updated daily, so stay tuned for more events!

Saturday, March 28

Opening day!

Join us on Opening Day for a day of faire activities. Share photos, videos, and stories relating to your ren faire experience! 

Submissions will be open starting today for the Costume Contest!

O.W.L. Fest - 7:30 AM PDT

An all-day series of concerts with a wizardly theme. A new artist is live every half hour until 7:00 PM, so tune in anytime! Don’t forget to refresh the page between concerts to listen to the latest stream. The current lineup is: Tonks and the Aurors, Lauren Fairweather, Ashley Hamel, Hawthorn & Holly, Grace Kendall, Kalysta Flame, Pussycat Dolores, The Purebloods, Flitwick and the Charmers, Losing Lara, Muggle Snuggle, Percy and the Prefects, Ludo Bagman and the Trash, Draco and the Malfoys, The Mudbloods, The Lovegoods, Alas Earwax!, The Blibbering Humdingers, Abby Ritter, The Swedish Shortsnouts, Kirstyn Hippe, POTTÖRHEAD, The Arkadian, Karl-Johan, and Toucan Dubh.

Check out the Facebook livestream concerts here.

Ye Banished Privateers Virtual Release Party - 11:00 AM PDT.

“Let’s party like it’s 1720! Borders are closing, people are being forced to shut their doors. Our global world is growing smaller, but Ye Banished Privateers believes in staying connected through the crisis. On march 28th we were planning to throw a big release party for our new album Hostis Humani Generis in our home town Umeå, Sweden, which naturally had to be cancelled due to the corona pandemic. Instead we’ll be hosting a live streamed event, at 19.00 cet 28/3 that will be worthy of an official release concert. We want to try and make this something special and grand . . . let’s stand together in all safe ways possible.”

Check out the Youtube livestream concert here.

Pub Crawl - 1:30 PM PDT. 

We’ll be hosting a BYOB pub crawl. Keep an eye out for the tag vrf2020 pub crawl for more info. Please follow local drinking laws and drink responsibly!

Cyrus Pynn (The Swordsman) - 2:00 PM PDT.

“I am a self taught professional sword swallower who perfected the art at the Coney Island Sideshow School, where I learned to present it in an entertaining and classy manner. Since then I have pushed the limit with this dangerous feat as I have traveled across the United States performing with Carnivals, Festivals and Variety Shows . . . Demonstrating the world's most dangerous stunt in an entertaining, classy manner featuring comedy, audience interaction and, of course, death defiance! ‘Down the Hatch without a Scratch!’“

Check out the Facebook livestream show here.

Andrea Beaton - 4:30 PM PDT.

“Andrea grew up in a musical family in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.  Both the Beaton and MacMaster sides of her family are well known and respected as some of Cape Breton's finest musicians, dancers and composers. She has made 6 solo CDs, a duo album with her father Kinnon, and published 3 books of tunes.”

Check out the Zoom livestream concert here.

The CRAIC Show - 5:00 PM PDT.

“The CRAIC Show is an intense & wildly entertaining act, made up of five international travelers who, in 1541AD, were banded together on an ancient battlefield. This unique merging of music from far away lands brings a sound that is unlike any other . . .  Ever-changing and constantly blending styles, The CRAIC Show is always bringing a fresh, high energy blend of World Medieval Music to a modern audience.” 

Check out the Facebook livestream concert here.

Erin Rae - 7:00 PM PDT.

“Gifted with a unique ability to fuse musical genres and influences to craft songs that feel fresh and wholly her own, with her new album Putting On Airs, Erin Rae has thrown down a direct challenge to the stereotype of what a Southern singer should be. Both lyrically and sonically, she strikes a fiercely independent chord, proudly releasing a deeply personal record that reflects her own upbringing in Tennessee, including the prejudices and injustices that she witnessed as a child that continue to impact her life to this day. According to Rae, ‘this album was born out of a need to do some healing work in my personal life, in order to address some fears and patterns of mine to allow my true feelings to come to the surface.’”

Check out the Instagram livestream concert here.

Sunday, March 29

Submissions remain open for the Costume Contest!

Alistair McCulloch - 11:30 AM PDT.

“Alistair is one of Scotland's best known fiddle performers and teachers.  His trio features Aaron Jones of Old Blind Dogs, and former Capercaillie whistle wizard Marc Duff. Alistair has taught a generation of rising stars at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.”

Check out the Zoom livestream concert here.

Linda McRae - 1:00 PM PDT.

“Linda’s love of Canadian, American and British music early on in her career resulted in multiple band configurations from roots-rock to punk to folk . . . When Linda steps onto a concert stage, into a recording studio, workshop or mentoring session, there is an effortless passion, a love of what she does and a connection with fans and friendships built and treasured. A multi-instrumentalist Linda works tirelessly as a touring singing songwriter, performing at premiere venues across Canada, the US and Europe while turning out new works.”

Check out the Facebook livestream concert here.

The Glow Bubble Show (Meadow Perry) - 4:00 PM PDT.

“Meadow Perry is a Philadelphia based Magician, Bubble Artist and Actress. Known for her beloved children's character, Meadowlark the Faerie, Meadow has been performing in various genres from the stage to private events for over 15 years. The Bubble Magic of Meadow Perry is a show that takes the visual art of bubbles, theatrical storytelling, enchanting magic, thrilling music, & a touch of sophistication to create a unique and entertaining show that has been described as ‘A mesmerizing, spellbounding experience! Charming and interesting, Meadow takes the rules of bubbles outside the box!’”

Check out the Instagram livestream show here.

Monday, March 30

Submissions remain open for the Costume Contest!

Merchants’ Monday

Show our wonderful shops some extra love today!

Shannon Lay - 12:00 PM PDT.

“There is an entire sub-genre of poetry devoted to rivers and their persistent, meditative flow . . . For transcendent folk-pop artist Shannon Lay, the river is all of the above: It’s the metaphor driving her latest album, the exquisitely uplifting August (Sub Pop Records, out August, 23rd)—which doubles as an aural baptism renewing her purpose for making music. ‘I always picture music as this river. Everyone’s throwing things into this river, it’s a place you can go to and feed off of that energy,’ she says, ‘and feel nourished by the fact that so many people are feeling what you’re feeling. It’s this beautiful exchange.’”

Check out the Instagram livestream concert here.

Jesse Linder, Bard - 5:00 PM PDT.

“. . .'Singer of Songs, Teller of Tales.’ Jesse performs as a solo artist and as a member of 3 Pints Gone, and has been a member of Separated at Birth, CrossRogues, and Tippler's Way. Jesse sings at Renaisance faires, American reenactments, Irish pubs, and coffeehouses throughout the Midwest. He currently has three solo CDs and five group CDs in print.”

Check out the Facebook livestream concert here.

Steven Greenman - 6:00 PM PDT.

“Steven has worked with some of the world’s leading klezmer ensembles, is a founding member of Cleveland’s East European ensemble Harmonia, and has been a guest soloist with the Cleveland Pops Orchestra, performing his own arrangements of gypsy and klezmer music.”

Check out the Zoom livestream concert here.

Tuesday, March 31

Submissions remain open for the Costume Contest!

Time Travel Tuesday

Share your favorite photos and costumes from any time period, from Ancient Greece to 2265. After all, in quarantine, time all feels a little wibbly wobbly!

Jonathan Cannon - 5:30 PM PDT.

“Jonathan has studied klezmer, Romanian, Celtic, and American fiddling, performs regularly, with award-winning Boston klezmer band Ezekiel’s Wheels, and for contra dances.”

Check out the Zoom livestream concert here.

Wednesday, April 1

Submissions remain open for the Costume Contest!

Anne-Mari Kivimäki & Palomylly - 10:00 AM PDT.

“Anne-Mari Kivimäki & Palomylly is an impressive sound mix with stories, archive recordings, jouhikko, double bass, vocals and accordion. Kivimäki’s music has a hypnotic pulse and it’s made for the love of old stories. Kivimäki has gathered her Palomylly band from the musicians on her successful Lakkautettu Kylä (A Closed-Down Village) album.”

Check out the Facebook livestream concert here.

Troy MacGillivray with Sabra MacGillivray - 4:30 PM PDT.

“Troy is a brilliant fiddler, pianist and stepdancer from Nova Scotia.  He’s been featured at many festivals including Celtic Connections in Scotland, East Coast Music Awards, Celtic Colours Festival in Cape Breton, the Barbados Celtic Festival and the Edinburgh Fiddle Festival.”

Check out the Zoom livestream concert here.

Thursday, April 2

Submissions remain open for the Costume Contest!

Cookie Segelstein with Josh Horowitz - 10:00 AM PDT.

“Founder of Veretski Pass, and fiddler with many other top klezmer bands, Cookie has taught workshops round the world, and has been featured in an ABC documentary and a film starring Robert DeNiro.  Josh founded the band Budowitz and has played with Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Theodore Bikel, and accompanied Itzhak Perlman on PBS.”

Check out the Zoom livestream concert here.

Oshima Brothers - 3:00 PM PDT.

“Raised in a musical family in rural Maine, the brothers have honed a harmony-rich blend of contemporary folk and acoustic pop. On stage, Sean and Jamie create a surprisingly full sound with dynamic vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, octave bass, loops, and percussion. The brothers live in Maine but are often on the road performing, producing music videos, and dancing.”

Check out the Facebook livestream concert here.

Friday, April 3

Submissions remain open for the Costume Contest!

Furry Friends Friday

Ever dressed your pet up for the faire? Show us your photos and costume ideas! Or show us your faire-themed fursuit. You do you.

Let’s Get Traditional (The Minstrel Rav’n) - 4:00 PM PDT.

“The Minstrel Rav'n travels the lands Telling Songs and Singing Stories about Taverns, Pirates and Elven Lasses. Songs of Adventure, Drinking... and things a bit on the Naughty Side!”

Check out the Facebook livestream here.

HST (Ed, Lilly & Neil Pearlman) - 4:30 PM PDT.

“HST (Highland Soles Trio) is 3/5 of a family band, with dancer Laura Scott and Jesse on whistle. HST has toured the US and Scotland with new and old tunes in the Scottish tradition.”

Check out the Zoom livestream concert here.

Saturday, April 4

Gráinne Brady - 12:30 PM PDT.

“Gráinne is an Irish fiddle player from County Cavan in Ireland and currently based in Glasgow where she leads sessions and plays with Top Floor Taivers, string group The Routes Quartet, and Gaeilge/Gàidhlig supergroup LAS.”

Check out the Zoom livestream concert here.

Pub Crawl - 1:30 PM PDT.

We’ll be hosting a BYOB pub crawl. Keep an eye out for the tag vrf2020 pub crawl for more info. Please follow local drinking laws and drink responsibly!

Costume Contest Judging - 6:00 PM PDT.

Submissions remain open for the Costume Contest until 6:00. Winners will be chosen between 6:00 and 7:00 PDT.

Sunday, April 5

Jenna Reid - 11:30 AM PDT.

“Jenna is a member of the great fiddle bands Blazin' Fiddles, and RANT.  Born & bred in Shetland, she learned fiddle from the late Willie Hunter. Following her music degree, Jenna performed with Dóchas and Deaf Shepherd before joining her current bands.”

Check out the Zoom livestream concert here.

Closing Day

We’re sad to see you go, but we hope to catch you at an IRL faire next season!

[words-pics-flicks]

Alistair Beaton, the author and playwright, identifies four stages in the collapse of an author's self-esteem. They go roughly like this:

1) This is bloody difficult. I may be blocked.

2) Oh no, oh no. I can't manage this bit at all.

3) Gloom, gloom. Bloody hell. If I'm honest with myself I can't write any of it.

4) The truth is, I just can't write at all. I'm a fraud, and finally I have been found out.

(Above quoted in "Wish You Were Here", Nick Webb's biography of Douglas Adams.)

[stephaniejoanneus]

Boris the Cat: The Little Cat with Big Ideas by Erwin Moser

Boris the Cat: The Little Cat with Big Ideas by Erwin Moser

Boris the Cat: The Little Cat with Big Ideas by Erwin Moser. Translated by Alistair Beaton. NorthSouth, 2021. 9780735844544 Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 4 Format: Hardcover Genre:  Fiction/Short stories/Easy readers – I’m not really sure What did you like about the book? This 136 page book contains two-page stories featuring Boris the Cat. Each story is exactly six…

[winningthesweepstakes]

Boris the Cat: The Little Cat with Big Ideas by Erwin Moser

Boris the Cat: The Little Cat with Big Ideas by Erwin Moser

Boris the Cat: The Little Cat with Big Ideas by Erwin Moser. Translated by Alistair Beaton. NorthSouth, 2021. 9780735844544 Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 4 Format: Hardcover Genre:  Fiction/Short stories/Easy readers – I’m not really sure What did you like about the book? This 136 page book contains two-page stories featuring Boris the Cat. Each story is exactly six…

[londontheatre]

Alistair Beaton is a fine playwright. His excoriating demolition of New Labour, Feelgood, remains one of the funniest plays of the last twenty years and in his new play – Fracked! or Please don’t use the F-word, Beaton is clearly trying to channel some of the same magic. But, while the play is sporadically amusing, Fracked! is simply too preachy and there are too many similarities with Feelgood as well as echoes of Richard Bean’s excellent play about climate change The Heretic.

Like Feelgood, the focus of Fracked!, directed smoothly by Richard Wilson, is spin. Where Beaton’s earlier play gave us a slick and amoral political party and two spin doctors – one good and one very, very bad – Fracked! gives us the slick and amoral PR company Moxley Biggleswade and two ‘PR professionals’ Joe and Malik, charged with spinning the plans of Deerland Energy to begin hydraulic fracturing – fracking – and extract shale gas from beneath the village of Fenstock. Elizabeth, a retired incomer played by Anne Reid, decides to stop Deerland and, as the play starts, she begins her mission by emerging from the audience to interrupt a presentation that gives a straightforward but, as becomes clear, incomplete explanation of what fracking entails. An amateur recording of the protest is posted online and the warning not to “frack with your granny” becomes a rallying call for the anti-fracking movement locally and nationally. Reid is absolutely convincing as a reluctant hero, St George against the PR-fuelled dragon of Deerland. As Elizabeth’s husband, James Bolam is outstanding, adeptly showing some of the younger members of the cast how to grow old and steal scenes gracefully. Pitted against Elizabeth is Joe, superbly drawn and played with tremendous energy by Harry Hadden-Paton. Joe is a monster, hungry to defend the indefensible and more than happy to turn the mirror back on anyone who criticises how he does it, including the audience when he is highlighting routine hypocrisy about climate change. Like his counterpart in Feelgood, Joe is quite willing to do what has to be done and even if he does not go as far as the murderous press secretary in Beaton’s earlier play, you are quite certain that he would be capable of anything. It turns out that, like the Government in Feelgood, Deerland has done “a very bad thing”. The question is what it is that Deerland has done and how they will be caught and how, of course, Joe and Moxley Biggleswade will still come out on top.

As the key company director on the Fenstock project, Michael Simkins gives a nuanced performance, balancing a maidenly dislike of swearing – there is a lot of swearing – with a disdain for environmental regulation while making the case for fracking as the only way to cut reliance on foreign energy. And although there are some real weaknesses among the minor roles, there are also some good performances. Freddie Meredith – as a young protestor not unlike the teenage climate change campaigner in Bean’s Heretic – is funny and touching, especially in his scenes with James Bolam. While Andrea Hart, playing two roles, is hilarious as a local dignitary, struggling to retain her poise as she is undermined by technology in the play’s opening scene. And Steven Roberts has a brief but memorable cameo as a waiter in the scene that ends the first half of the play.

Beaton is a brilliantly funny writer, jarring in Fracked! only with an audience-repelling reference to a politician’s “historic sex offences” and one or two up-to-the-minute references that felt a little forced. He also clearly has strong views about fracking and an enviable ability to inform his audiences effectively, here highlighting exactly what it entails and the consequences, good and bad. But hundreds of shale gas drilling licences have already been issued and hundreds of applications are already in with more expected. And if slowing or stopping that tide was the aim, Fracked! falls short.

Review by Louis Mazzini

Following an acclaimed, sold-out run at Chichester Festival Theatre, Fracked! Or Please Don’t Use The F-Word now visits multiple venues as part of a major UK tour.

Alistair Beaton’s provocative new comedy takes us to an idyllic English village threatened by an energy company intent on drilling for shale gas. Anne Reid plays Elizabeth, a retired academic who finds herself transformed from obedient citizen to angry protestor. While her increasingly grumpy husband (James Bolam) longs for the quiet life, Elizabeth soars to fame via social media. Desperate to get planning permission, hard-nosed PR men team up with a corrupt local councillor to persuade the villagers that fracking is a good thing. Elizabeth’s having none of it, and mounts the barricades…..

This new razor-sharp black comedy by Alistair Beaton takes a timely look at the conflicted core of planetary energy and earthly power. A much-praised political satirist, Beaton’s television work includes the BAFTA-nominated The Trial of Tony Blair and Spitting Image, and plays such as the West End hit Feelgood.

The distinguished cast includes James Bolam as Elizabeth’s husband Jack, whose credits include New Tricks (BBC) and Glengarry Glen Ross (Donmar Warehouse, Olivier nomination). Anne Reid plays Elizabeth. She is acclaimed for her many award-winning roles including Hedda Gabler (Old Vic) and Last Tango in Halifax (BBC). They are joined by Michael Simkins, known for his many TV and West End roles, most recently Yes, Prime Minister and HayFever.

Booking to 13th May 2017 Richmond Theatre Book Tickets from ATG

http://ift.tt/2pFHWvV LondonTheatre1.com

[artsvark]

Caucasian Chalk Circle - land distribution issues

The Caucasian Chalk Circle

The Caucasian Chalk Circle begins with a prologue that introduces us to two groups of farmers in dispute over land.

The Caucasian Chalk Circle by Bertolt Brecht, translated by Alistair Beaton; directed by Lebohang Motaung with a stellar cast featuring Aubrey Poo, Izak Davel, Neka Da Costa, Jacques Wolmarans, Nyeleti Ndubane, Mimi Mahlasela, Koketso Motlhabane and Marcus Mabusela will be on The Fringe stage, at Joburg Theatre, from April 5 to 23.

The Caucasian Chalk Circle begins with a prologue that introduces us to two groups of farmers in dispute over land. The one group wants the land for commercial purposes, while the other group of goat herders are claiming the land because they were born on and have always lived on the land. The two groups decide to demonstrate their disputes by staging a play for a government expert.As its heart, The Caucasian Chalk Circle follows two stories, one is Grusha, a strong-willed, simpleton girl with a big heart and a soft spot for justice. The other is Adzak, a drunk, oddball judge who mocks the law.

The Caucasian Chalk Circle

In the play Bertolt Brecht deals with social economic issues that resonate with most societies, more in South Africa. The themes that we can witness in the play include government corruption, land disputes, the gap between the rich and the poor, child neglect and women abuse, which are all socio-economic issues seen in news headlines almost every day.

Although there are heavy topics presented throughout the story such as assassination, child neglect, and totalitarianism, the tones of the scenes are almost always meant to be humorous. New Cast Member:

Caucasian Chalk Circle – Marcus Mabusela. Photo credit: Mariola Biela

Actor Marcus Mabusela is the new cast member to join the production. He graduated at The Market Theatre Laboratory in 2013. He is best known for his role as Jackson Masiya on the television soap opera, 7de Laan. Marcus has worked in stage productions such as Ketekang the musical directed by James Ngcobo, Milk and Honey at The Market Theatre and Poet.O.Type.

Other credits include Multi-choice, Vodacom, Amstel Larger commercials and Coal Stove Productions’ Imali yegazi. Marcus has directed and produced ‘Connection to Home’ through his own production company, Metric Productions. The play has received an Award at The 2016 Goree Island International Festival in Senegal and was featured at The 2016 National Arts Festival.

Caucasian Chalk Circle – land distribution issues was originally published on Artsvark

[leannenicola]