Tusk

I went to see Elephant at Bush Theatre. There are no content or trigger warnings. The performance is in the Studio space with seating on 3 sides of the static set. The character of Lylah comes on and plays the piano, but also climbs on it, sprawls on it, and crawls underneath it and the […]

Bad Places

I watched the new release of Tales Of Unease, which ran in 7 episodes in 1970, each presenting a completely different story. The opening credits have a minimalist electronic soundtrack giving a sense of mounting doom appropriate to the stories. First we see a plaster head revolving, at first doubled but then the singular head […]

The Colonel’s Anguish

Yesterday, for the 3rd time this year, I watched a special live announcement on the BBC News of a major political development. Today I went to have my 6th Covid vaccine dose. They didn’t have any more of the new Pfizer one so I got another dose of the Moderna. Anyone who might need a […]

Home Invasion

I watched the new release of The Intruder, first shown in 1972. The title sequence starts with the tranquil evening shore. But then the darkened face of the titular intruder rises up to obscure the view. As the intruder’s face pulls away it flickers and overlays the face of our putative hero, young Arnold Haithwaite. […]

Hollow Child

I watched the new disc release of Come Back Lucy, the children’s serial from 1978. In a similar vein to other 70s childrens dramas such as The Georgian House and The Clifton House Mystery this shows modern kids coming to terms with ghosts and time travel breaking through into the era of long hair, flared […]

Leaf Structures

I went to see the Gabriel Orozco exhibition Diario de Plantas at Masons Yard. In the upper gallery there is one large canvas and several smaller ones, which look as though they may have been studies for the larger work. The arrangement suggested a series, as the content of the smaller pictures was of increasing detail […]

Away And Back

I went for a quick day trip away from London. I was waiting for a bus at 6.30 when a police car stopped by to ask if anyone had heard an old lady’s scream, which had been reported. No one had heard it, and a few minutes later the car reappeared having circled round the […]

The Wild Palms

I went to the LSE to see the panel discussion Coping When Life Is Hard. The sad vacant space: Here is an account of the event based on my notes, which are as comprehensive as I was able to scribble down. Where they were a bit scrappy I have filled out with some extra commentary […]

Folk Horror Country House Party

I watched the new BFI Flipside release of The Ballad Of Tam Lin (1970). The story begins in London, in a well-furnished flat. We start by seeing a weird decorative display, behind it a staircase where a saxophonist is waiting. Under the stairs is the bedroom where Michaela Cazaret (Ava Gardner) is enjoying young Tom […]

New New Hollywood

I went to see the new film Vengeance. It is written by, directed and starring B.J.Novak. I wanted to see it because it is written by, directed and starring B.J.Novak. B.J.Novak’s biggest role so far was in the US adaptation of The Office. Before then he’d been a stand-up comic, like a lot of the […]