#soleil feat. rhiannon

[thursdaygrl]

closed starter for @persephonyed

soleil's discomfort was inevitable, the fine garment hanging off of her form completely impractical for the sword that still hung at her side. there was no reason for her to be dressed so lavishly for this event, but it had been pressed upon her expectantly and who was she to not oblige? a week of being rhiannon wynne's protector and every single minute of it seemed to challenge her in new ways, most evident of which the girl herself. thinking of her seemed to bring her into soleil's vision, prompting her to step forward, clenching her jaw before she spoke. "how much longer are you intending to stick around, this evening? if we're to leave at first light, you may want to lay off the libations and get an early night."

[thursdaygrl]

the instinct to deny overcame soleil for a moment, guilty in a want to insist that she wasn't enjoying herself. this event was meant to be a celebration, but it felt as if the difference between them was clearly becoming soleil's awareness of her duty and rhiannon's inability to think of hers. her position, her magic, it afforded her that privledge. "my benefit?" she echoed with clear skepticism. "i fail to see where my benefit lies in potentially placing us on the backfoot before an important journey." it wasn't like soleil liked sounding so stuffy and boring, but it didn't mean she was wrong about her assertion. as the other took her arm, her brows lifted, eyes narrowing at the pout she began to pout. of course, instead of simply being frustrating, rhiannon took her aback entirely with mention of being invited to bed. pursing her lips, she forced herself not to overreact, instead peering away before her gaze settled back on the other. "i hate to inform you of this, but i wasn't having any fun in the first place." there was a touch of humour to her words, surprising even herself with it, but she relented even despite them. "but if you insist. one more thing, within reason. what is it?" she demanded, curious even despite her apparent irritation.

cont. from here for @thursdaygrl. ☺

 “yeah, it shouldn’t imply that absence…but are you having fun?” she knew the two weren’t mutually exclusive, but every way soleil had behaved tonight seemed to make the assumption quite clear. there was no doubt in rhiannon’s mind that her companion had been avidly avoiding anything that resembled fun throughout the night despite the celebration being entirely in their shared honour. “the ulterior motive was in your benefit — i didn’t lie about the properties it would endow upon us, i just knew you would decline the concoction if you were privy to it’s true contents. and we do call them frog tears!” she wasn’t one to create falsities just for her own amusement, though it might be hard to convince soleil of that entirely if she continued on tricking her, so rhi made a silent vow to put a pin in any such action. for now. taking the other’s arm gently, she composed herself rightfully though her bottom lip jutted outward, forming an obvious pout. “i know you’re not inviting me to bed, soleil, so this must mean you’re attempting to put an end to the party. are you truly that desperate to deny yourself a little more fun? i just wanted to do one more thing, if you can spare yourself the few minutes of rest. i’ll even beg if i have to.” she would, but she also knew soleil would rather perish than be privy to it.

[ofbvtterflies]

𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝟎𝟎𝟏: the playlist feat. soleil i. choi

TRACK 1: TO ME, ALINA BARAZ

“ here's to good people, good nights good highs, good health some tears, some stress but I count my blessings ”

soleil tends to be very onetrack-minded– she gives her full attention, or none at all. in all of that she can lose herself sometimes, but she is grateful for her small circle of friends who help her enjoy the smaller things in life.

TRACK 2: CONFIDENTLY LOST, SABRINA CLAUDIO

“ baby, it's amazing all the days i'm facing nothing seems to phase me'

cause i am confidently lost i don't need you to find me 'cause i'm not hiding anything ”

within this past year fo her life, soleil has faced a lot of decisions– decisions that left her feeling very lost. instead of folding in the face of adversity, she did not let the feeling of being lost manifest into actually being lost. this past year was full of growth for her and she’s proud of all her new roots and flowers she’s sprouted.

TRACK 3: CAPTAIN HOOK, MEGAN THEE STALLION

“ i know you know me, i ain't gotta introduce shit, same crew, i ain't hanging with no new bitch, i'ma buy it when i land, i rock new shit, i ain't fucking with that man, i got new dick ”

of course she had to have a hype song in her playlist, and megan is the right one to make her feel all types of good about herself. this comes on in the club and no one will be able to convince her that she doesn’t have the fattest ass in the room (even though we know baby, we know). this is also one of the songs she listens to before she goes into the courthouse.

TRACK 4: RHIANNON, FLEETWOOD MAC

“ she rules her life like a bird in flight and who will be her lover? all your life you've never seen woman taken by the wind would you stay if she promised you heaven? will you ever win? ”

soleil can be very flighty when it comes to love, she wanders in and out of everyone’s meadows and sometimes all you can do is pray she liked your flowers and comes back. 

TRACK 5: CHERRY WINE, HOZIER

“  her fight and fury is fiery oh but she loves like sleep to the freezing sweet and right and merciful ”

when soleil does love– she loves entirely. she is fiercely loyal, and generally a protective lover. she just has what feels like thousands of walls pitched up around her heart. 

TRACK 6: MAKE YOU FEEL MY LOVE, ADELE

“ i could make you happy, make your dreams come true nothing that i wouldn't do go to the ends of the earth for you to make you feel my love ”

this song is specifically for her griffin. the boy she met by chance, but somehow stuck around– her truest soulmate. there is not a thing in the world that would be too much when it came to him– she would see him through it all. this song played when he gently brought her out of the hole that was the aftermath of burying her mother. this song plays when she counts the beauty marks on his face as he laughs at something she said. this song plays when he looks at her like that, when he calls her pretty, when she meets him at a bar and already has her favorite drink and a basket of fries waiting for her. this song plays as she wonders, doe-eyed, if this is all they’ll ever be.

[thewidowstanton]

The Widow’s Best of 2018

In what has been another miserable year in many respects, the arts have been more important than ever in keeping spirits high. Here are some of the things we’ve liked. They lean a little, but – suffering as we are from ‘circus fatigue’ – certainly not all the way, towards that art form. But first we have something to say. Last year when we posted our ‘Best of’ round-up, one of our favourite cabaret acts had a fit of pique and unfollowed us and blocked us because she hadn’t made the cut. So this time, before offending anyone else of a similarly delicate disposition, we’d like to point out that to be considered for our list, we have to have seen your show – even if it’s an old one – during the year. So, now that’s clear, let’s proceed. All shows are in London unless otherwise stated.

BEST SHOW: Knot by the hand-to-hand duo of Nikki and JD – American Nikki Rummer and Frenchman Jean-Daniel Broussé – seen (again) at The Place. This show has it all: skill, emotion, humour, dance, music. We simply loved it! Don’t miss it on tour again in 2019.

MALE CIRCUS ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Laci Simet, whose 40-year career has encompassed appearances on high wire, Wheel of Death, motorbike on the wire, skywalks and more recently The Semaphore – a recreation of the Koch Sisters revolving act – during which he balances on a knife edge that is constantly falling away from him. His was also the MOST READ WIDOW INTERVIEW.

FEMALE CIRCUS ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Rhiannon Cave-Walker from Fauna, not just for her stunning skills but because she’s such lovely person. Fauna ran at Flora Herberich’s Battersea Circus Garden during Wandsworth Arts Fringe.

BEST ACT: The flying Russian cradle in Cirque du Soleil’s OVO at the Royal Albert Hall, Barcode’s Russian bar with flyer Alexandra Royer and bases Eric Bates and Tristan Nielsen, seen at Cirque de Demain in Paris, and anything Lewie West did in Gravity & Other Myth’s Backbone, which ran at the Queen Elizabeth Hall.

BEST SURPRISE APPEARANCE: The stupendous Rowan Heydon-White, who popped up unannounced in Circa’s Peepshow during the Underbelly Festival.

MOST INNOVATIVE CIRCUS SHOW: The holograms used in Circus Roncalli.

BEST THEATRE SHOW: Mother by Peeping Tom Dance at the Barbican during the London International Mime Festival.

MOST WELCOME RETURN FROM INJURY: Lydia Harper, who returned to Cirque du Soleil’s TORUK after four months off following hip surgery. And Andrew Adams of The Silhouette. Having fallen 30ft from the Wallendas’ high wire and being badly hurt, he recovered and appeared with Sasha Harrington at Cirque de Demain.

BEST CIRCUS 250 SHOW: Chris Barltrop’s self-penned one-man show, Audacious Mr Astley – seen at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe – tops the year celebrating the birth of circus in the UK. Chris also gets BEST COSTUME for Astley’s beautiful and authentic red coat.

BEST MC: The inimitable Calixte de Nigremont, whom we met at last at Cirque de Demain.

BEST MAGIC TRICK: Yann Frisch appearing a pack of cards from nowhere during Le Paradoxe de Georges in his spectacular movable theatre Le Camion-Chapiteau – which gets BEST VENUE – in Paris, and Eric Chien’s Ribbon act to become 2018 FISM close-up champion.

MOST ARRESTING IMAGES: Phia Menard’s show about suicide, Les Os Noirs, at the Montfort Theatre in Paris.

BEST ONGOING NIGHT: Rose Thorne and Benjamin Louche’s Double R Club at Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club.

MOMENT OF WONDER: Cai Guo-Qiang’s exquisite daytime powder fireworks. Plus Lewie West skidding on this hands in Backbone, and Daniel Cave-Walker balancing on his head in Fauna. Look, no hands!

BEST CIRCUS CABARET: Black Cat Bohemia at the Underbelly Festival at Southbank Centre. A simply wonderful show! It transcended the format, which can often look tired, and its line-up included our interviewees Lj Marles, Katharine Arnold and Nicolas Jelmoni, as well as others knock-out acts such as the lovely Jo Moss.

MOST UNIQUE SHOW: Crème de la Dregs by Dina Martina at Soho Theatre.

BEST ‘IN CONVERSATION’: Performance artist Rose English and Stine Hebert during Crying Out Loud’s Circus Sampler at Somerset House.

BEST DANCE: B-boy Elihu Vazquez in Barely Methodical Troupe’s SHIFT, seen at the Norfolk & Norwich Festival, and German Cornejo and Gisela Galeassi’s thrilling duets in Tango After Dark at the Peacock Theatre. 

BEST DANCE CIRCUS: Motionhouse’s Charge also at the Peacock. BEST CIRCUS FILM: Psycho-Circus with Christopher Lee from 1966, in which a circus becomes the location for stolen loot and murder!

MOST FABULOUS: Régis Marvin Merveille N'Kissi Moggzi in the joyous French teen movie/documentary Swagger, which is set in one of the country’s most under-privileged neighbourhoods.

BEST INTERVIEW: Gaylord Fields speaking to the tireless Petula Clark on WFMU. Hoping for some UK concerts in 2019.

BEST MUSIC IN A CIRCUS SHOW: Elliot Zoerner and Shenton Gregory’s soundtrack for Backbone, played live onstage.

MOST SHOWBIZ: Mr Murray Hill. Nobody cared when his show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe drifted off course and never came back. It was enough to be in the New York icon’s presence. 

BEST SHOWBIZ BOOK: Spun Into Gold: The Secret Life of a Female Magician by Romany, Diva of Magic.

BEST BURLESQUE: Dita Von Teese, naturally, plus the stunning Zelia Rose, but certainly not the rest of the cast in The Art of the Teese at the Carré in Amsterdam.

BEST TV CHARACTER: Ciro di Marzio from Gomorra and Joséphine ‘Maître’ Karlsson from Engrenages/Spiral.

MOST IMPRESSIVE MEMORY FEAT: Laura Linney in I Am Lucy Barton at the Bridge Theatre, who was word perfect in this 90-minute monologue.

BEST GIG: Winter Kills (Piano Magic) at Antenna Studios, Barry Adamson at Union Chapel, and Sevdaliza at The Barbican.

BEST SOLO SHOW: Songs for Nobodies, Bernadette Robinson’s astonishing portrayal of five divas: Garland, Cline, Piaf, Holiday and Callas, at Wilton’s Music Hall.

MOST UPSETTING: The news that the spectacular French variety show Le Plus Grand Cabaret du Monde, hosted by Patrick Sébastien, is ending in June 2019. Sob!

MOST CHARISMATIC: Isabella Rossellini in her theatrical lecture, Link Link Circus, at the Queen Elizabeth Hall; a sort of follow-up to her wonderful Green Porno.

ONE TO WATCH: Mieke Lizotte, currently with Gravity & Other Myths.

MOST ANTICIPATED IN 2019: Aurélia Thiérée’s Bells and Spells at the Theatre Royal during the Norfolk & Norwich Festival, and Isabelle Huppert in the film Greta!

MOST MISSED: Circus artist/actor Raphael Cruz, who died at just 32, and our lovely friend Merian Ganjou of the fabulous Dior Dancers, who died aged 79. Keep on flying, Merian!

Look out for the first of our interviews in the new year, which will be with one (or more) of the artists from Cirque Eloize show Hotel, which is coming to the Peacock Theatre in February.

Pic credits: Fabio Affuso; Nicholas Brittain

Follow @TheWidowStanton on Twitter

[thursdaygrl]

soleil's head whipped towards rhiannon, taken aback by her enthralled reaction. it said a lot that quite immediately she began to fear she'd been tricked into something more nefarious despite the fact that she'd witnessed the witch down a capful of what looked to be the exact same thing. her gaze lifted towards the stars sarcastically, eyes rolling. "being hyperaware of my duty on the eve of us embarking on a quest shouldn't imply the absence of the ability to have fun..." she scowled, hating that somehow in their dynamic she'd been reduced to this. she supposed that was the thing, though, if rhiannon wasn't going to use the head on her shoulders, then soleil needed to think clearly for the both of them, something she'd just risked with an unfamiliar drink. "secretion?" she repeated the word, hating its use, though she supposed it was better than the concept of poor little frogs being bullied for the purpose of adding a little more to a libation. "you've got me drinking frog secretion. i knew there was some ulterior motive behind this." admittedly, she actually felt the tiniest bit more at ease than she had a moment prior. pursing her lips, she offered her arm. "shall we journey off to slumber, now that we've reached a level of fun where your decibels threatened my very important ear drums? surely you can't want to do anything else tonight."

the gleeful squeal that erupted from within rhiannon was otherworldly, and she knew soleil wouldn’t appreciate the noise — she just simply couldn’t hold it back. “you did it! you actually did it!” her shock was palpable as she took soleil’s hands in her own and jumped around a few times, though she knew her companion wouldn’t take part. “i knew there was a bit of fun somewhere deep inside of you, it just had to be coaxed out.” all rhiannon really wanted was to know that this quest wouldn’t be a complete disaster, and if soleil didn’t know how to make light out of it and enjoy the easy parts, they’d be doomed before they set off. there had to be a balance between everything, even on this ultimately trivial journey in the grand scheme of the world and her workings. and now rhiannon had a bit of hope to cling tight to. “they’re not really tears, they just call them tears for some reason unknown to me. probably sounds a lot nicer. it’s actually just whatever liquid secretion is left on the leaves and lily pads they rest upon. it gets collected and bottled whenever the frogs hop along to their next destination, only to continue again and again.” pursing her lips, she rocked back and forth, fidgeting. “and no, i simply couldn’t tell you that before you drank the infused brandy. you would have denied it!” though rhiannon didn’t regret it much after that dismissive witch’s spell comment soleil let slip from her lips.

[thursdaygrl]

reluctance was written all over her face as she looked between the capful of brandy and rhiannon's face, now flashing with an amusement she immediately found suspicious. "how d'you suppose they milk a frog's tears?" soleil hadn't meant to ask that question, but it just came out. "probably some witch's spell... or they verbally denigrate the little thing. poor frog." she was still reluctant, even as her hand lifted, holding it near her mouth but not close to her nose this time. "if this will bring us closer to the night's end, consider it done." she tilted her head back, her mouth opening wide so she could quickly swallow it down her throat and not taste too much. of course, distaste was quickly written all over her face as she swallowed. "that was... as disgusting as i thought it would be."

the way soleil corrected her, erasing her name from the banner of celebration, caused rhiannon to hesitate. “for us.” the witch corrected her companion, adamant on the fact. she might not adore the other completely, or even a little, but rhiannon was not about to be the sole person being toasted to for their upcoming journey when there’s no way she could make it without soleil by her side. it was ridiculous. “emberlain brandy,” her frustration quickly twisted into amusement as the corners of her mouth lifted into a smirk, “with a few drops of frog’s tears.” the latter was for wisdom and knowledge — something they’d both need to cling to once they left tomorrow — but it was the pungent brandy that wafted around soleil. “it won’t taste great, but it’ll make for one hell of a night.”

[thursdaygrl]

no one could say that soleil hadn't attempted to be polite. well, for her, anyway. she'd barely had one drink on her own, finding herself disinterested in joining in on the merriment when there was a long, arduous journey ahead. or maybe it was just because of the person being celebrated. somehow she didn't see herself as fully part of it, just there was her companion, assigned to her but on the outskirts, not noble, not powerful like the other witches who drank and danced in the near distance. she watched, pursing her lips as she threw back her glass. "for you." she corrected, not harsh, but not wrong either. pursing her lips, she looked down at the liquor, eyes narrowing. "what is it?" she wanted to say no, but she took it, lifting it to her nose and regretting that immediately. "...smells dreadful."

it was everything she’d imagined and more, an entire party in her honour — and, she supposes, soleil is there too, also being honoured. though rhiannon was entirely focused on her success and celebration up until the moment her partner attempted to ruin all the fun in a matter of heartbeats. pouting as she glanced at the two capfuls of liquor she’d brought for them, thinking it might’ve been proper gallant to toast to their nearing journey just between the two of them, rhiannon decided against such a notion the moment soleil opened her mouth. tossing her own back, the burn down her throat made her feel alive. “it’s an entire event just for us, soleil, you’d think you’d try to enjoy it rather than be such a wet blanket for its entirety.” extending the other hand towards her, rhiannon’s brow head cocked to the side, awaiting the other’s decision. “what harm will one drink do?”