Close-Up Culture

Independent journalism on the things we love

RIOTOUS FARCE AT THE ORANGE TREE (THEATRE REVIEW)

GREAT plays stand the test of time, even if they need an occasional lick of paint to freshen them up. Such is the case with Le Jeu De L’Amour Et Du Hassard, a play written by Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux and first performed in 1730. Marivaux, a Frenchman from good Parisian stock, was…
FAMILY RUPTURE IN A HEALING BELFAST (THEATRE REVIEW)

NORTHERN Ireland is the backdrop to Everything Between Us, the award winning play by David Ireland that is now getting an airing at the Finborough Theatre in London’s Chelsea. Predictably, its theme is the troubles – and the painful journey to a near state of political and religious reconciliation (although more recent events suggest otherwise).…
Late Company – The Destructive After Shocks of School Bullying (Theatre Review)

SCHOOL bullying is a sad fact of life. Most of us experience it at some stage in our youth, even if only on a minor scale, and then move on none the worse for it. A minority are scarred by it, occasionally resulting in tragic outcomes. Such is the backdrop to Late Company, the latest…
James recommends: The Shallows (Film Review)

It has been 42 years since Steven Spielberg’s killer shark blockbuster Jaws splashed onto the big-screen, scaring audiences off the beaches and changing the movie industry forever. Inspired by the immense cultural – and financial – success of Jaws, many filmmakers were more than willing to jump in the water and try to emulate the…
Do Your Duty – and go to a Sarah Gillespie gig

THERE are few more versatile – and talented – musicians currently doing the live London circuit than Sarah Gillespie. With three albums (Stalking Juliet, In the Current Climate and Glory Days) and an EP (Roundhouse Bounty) under her belt, she brings a rich play list to the stage. Gillespie is difficult to pigeon hole. Her…
Weekend watching – Whiplash (Film Review)

SOME are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them. In Jazz, you have a cymbal thrown at you. So goes the story of Charlie Parker, who at 16 years old lost track of chord changes while playing the saxophone, evoking the anger of band member Jo Jones who threw a cymbal…
Rules Don’t Apply Q&A with Warren Beatty

Rules Don’t Apply, out in cinemas this Friday (April 21), sees Hollywood legend Warren Beatty play the role of eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes. Those present at a sell-out Picturehouse Central screening of the film in London may be forgiven for believing Beatty, who also wrote and directed the film, had forgotten to slip out of…
An Arthur Miller Gem – Incident at Vichy (Theatre Review)

THE Finborough Theatre in London’s Chelsea is in a rich vein of form judging by its latest production Incident at Vichy. This little known Arthur Miller play, which runs until April 22, is a sell-out although it is possible that the richness of the production will win it a follow-up billing closer to London’s West…
Director Mark Craig talks about the last man on the moon

EUGENE Cernan, the last man on the moon, passed away in January. The death of this American hero, Commander of the Apollo 17 mission, came as sad news to anyone aware of his incredible achievements, especially those with a passion for space history. So it is no wonder an audience packed into The British Interplanetary Society…
Sarah Jane Morris and Antonio Forcione – Musical Magic

PEOPLE of a certain age may remember Sarah Jane Morris for being the counterpoint to Jimmy Sommerville in the Communards. Jimmy’s falsetto, Sarah’s contralto. Many will not. More Jimmy, Jimmy (Undertones), not Sarah, Sarah. Yet since those hedonistic days in the 1980s, Sarah Jane has become a tour de force on the live music scene.…