Review: Fred and Alice at Bewley's Café Theatre

With Bewley's upstairs Café Theatre filling on a warm Saturday lunchtime to the background music of  sixties soul and the smooth groove of Billy Paul singing Me and Mrs Jones all the right pointers were set for us to enjoy CallBack Theatre's production of Fred and Alice; Love in the Time of OCD. Callback Theatre was co-founded in 2001 by Cora Fenton who plays the role of Alice and John Sheehy who wrote and directed it. Fred is played by Ciaran Bermingham.

 

As the soups were finished the chatter stopped as the curtains were pulled and the lights dimmed. Fred bundles onto the stage- plump and awkward limbed, wiggling his fingers and with a stilted monotone voice starts reciting facts about music showing the characters' love of lists. Alice comes on in pigtails wearing a 50s style blouse and skirt, docs and ankle socks, looking a bit like Olive Oyl and all the more disturbing as she is not a young woman. She almost has the look of a girl string puppet about her.


Alice's father died in childbirth (!) and was brought up by her mother alone, never attending school. Going into care sometimes to 'give her mother a break' this is where she meets Fred. The characters perform various aspects of their disorders/skills- Alice has the ability to instantly state the number of letters in a phrase. But the play has its darker moments- Fred and Alice are aware of their own madness and this is the sadder element.

It is a tight fast-paced script which in no way ridicules the characters' conditions but rather shows another story behind those we may categorise as 'special needs' or label in some other way. There is some very creative use of minimal props and music in this both sad and comic play. As an aside, Fred's list skills reminded me of some of the interminable lists in Joyce's Ulysses - genius or OCD?!

Fred and Alice; Love in the Time of OCD runs at Bewley's Café Theatre until Saturday October 12th, Monday-Saturday at 1.10pm.
Booking 086-8784001 www.bewleyscafetheatre.com

The play will also tour in 2014- over seven weeks to venues and festivals in Ireland and abroad including the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Royal Society Winton Prize for Science 2013- Shortlist

The Royal Society has announced the shortlist for its 2013 Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books. The shortlisted books are accessible, interesting and compelling accounts about us and the world around us.

The winning book will be announced at a public event on 25 November 2013. The winning author will receive £25,000, while shortlisted authors receive £2,500.

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Bird Sense by Tim Birkhead (Bloomsbury)
“A wonderful glimpse into an alien world. Imagine how birds hear, taste and feel.”

The Particle at the End of the Universe by Sean Carroll (Oneworld Publications)
“Fizzing with enthusiasm. Makes you realize what the fuss with the Higgs Boson is all about.” 

Cells to Civilizations: The Principles of Change that Shape Life by Enrico Coen (Princeton University Press)
“Daring and ambitious. Succeeds in making transparent the mechanisms of evolution and development.”

Pieces of Light: The New Science of Memory by Charles Fernyhough (Profile Books)
“Illuminating. This book is not only about how memory works but what memory means to us.”

The Book of Barely Imagined Beings by Caspar Henderson (Granta)
“This is a treasure. Encapsulates the pure wonder of discovery and the strangeness of the world around us.” 

Ocean of Life by Callum Roberts (Allen Lane)
“A celebration and a wake-up call. The changing state of our oceans has never been made clearer.”

The judging panel:

• Jon Culshaw, Impressionist and comedian
• Dr Emily Flashman, Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellow, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford
• Professor Uta Frith DBE FBA FRS, Emeritus Professor of Cognitive Development, University College London
• Joanne Harris, Novelist and author of Chocolat
• Lucy Siegle, Journalist and writer on environmental issues

Source: TheGuardian.com and http://royalsociety.org/awards/science-books/

Review: Mutton by India Knight

'Laugh-out-loud funny' is bandied around in book reviews about a lot of not-so-funny books. In India Knight's case it is the absolute truth. Giggling throatily on the train, in bed and on the sofa as I raced through Mutton in two days I have finished the book thinking that she may be one of the people you list as 'celeb you would most like to have dinner with.'
      

India Knight's writing is pacy but full of feeling. Her journalism lends itself to the no-nonsense style of story telling whilst her philosophical asides are real thoughts on subjects that go through everyone's minds as concepts are considered.

There is no getting away from the fact that this book is going to appeal to 'women-of-a-certain-age', that age being mid-40s+teenage kids+clothing crisis+am I really old? At a certain age everything becomes a question; is this dress too young for me? vs is this dress going to make me look old and frumpy?, should I try to maintain a youthful image vs should I accept the inevitability of ageing and just try to age gracefully and the pitfalls surrounding mature dating. The list is endless and the teenagers won't be backward at coming forward if you get any of these decisions wrong. The heroine of India Knight's book is Clara; forty-six, feeling to be in her prime, divorced with three kids with a happy supportive family. That is until her old school friend moves in, returned from ten years in LA with an LA yoga body, LA food philosophy (don't eat basically) and in complete denial that she is nearly fifty. Extolling the virtues of the nip and tuck along with the botox and all that goes with it, Clara starts to question her satisfied existence which is not helped by her son's seventeen year old girlfriend wafting around the house radiating youth and firmness.

With a wilting faded rose attached to the collar of the book jacket cover picture of Clara and the statement "Age before beauty. Maybe." this book brings up every question about ageing gracefully, addressing the whole subject with humour, candour and ultimately a big dollop of warmth that will make this one of those books you'll be telling all those 'women-of -a-certain-age' that they will just have to read.

Mutton by India Knight is published  by Fig Tree/Penguin www.penguin.co.uk

FRED & ALICE; Love in the time of OCD

I love Bewley's Cafe Theatre. There's always something thrilling about the way the curtain is pulled across the window overlooking Grafton Street and as the rest of the shoppers and office workers on their lunch hour carry on with their day you are transported to another place through the story told on the small stage. There's also something special about the way you are gathered casually around tables often sharing with a second or third stranger, soup and brown bread is eaten, the play lasts between 45 minutes and an hour and then "hey presto", you are back on Grafton Street joining the crowds again who are oblivious to your lunchtime experience.


Cora Fenton has been in touch recently to promote her soon to be performed show at Bewley's Cafe Theatre. Showing from Monday 23rd September through to Saturday 12th October at 1pm, tickets priced between €10 and €12 can be booked on http://www.bewleyscafetheatre.com/events/fred-and-alice-1 or at 086 878 4001.

• 'Due to Sold Out Dublin performances they are Back!!
• BEWLEY’S CAFÉ THEATRE in association with CallBack theatre is proud to welcome back...

  “Whirling Comedy” – The Irish Times ****

  FRED & ALICE Love in the time of OCD

  

  Written and directed by John Sheehy Performed by Ciaran Bermingham and Cora Fenton

  **** - The Irish Times **** - Examiner **** - Playstosee.com ***** - tripadvisor

  

  Check Out the Fred & Alice Promo Video: http://youtu.be/vTRoe-SDge0

  

  
  

  Fred & Alice - Love in the time of OCD

  www.youtube.com
  

  Bewley's Cafe Theatre in association with CallBack theatre proudly presents Fred & Alice - Love in the time of OCD. Sept. 23rd to Oct12th Mon-Sat - 

  
  

  
  

Poetry Launch - Strange Familiar by Catherine Ann Cullen

If you are around town on Thursday night and fancy attending a poetry book launch, why not pop into Trinity at 6.30 for a literary evening.


The launch of Strange Familiar , Catherine Ann Cullen's second poetry collection is to be held in the Neill/ Hoey Lecture Theatre in the Trinity Long Room Hub which is the new building by the Nassau Street gate, between the Arts block and the 'Book of Kells' building. The launch speech is to be given by esteemed poet Theo Dorgan.

Sample piece from Strange Familiar

Johnny Cash Sings Hurt

You creak out this last confession
walking a sound between prayer and sob,
eyes looking death in the face,
heart on its last throb.

You've always known these bars
you're breaking through, these blues,
the man in black depression,
nothing easy now, all blood and bruise,
mouth twisted into a wound
from which the dark words ooze.

An old train whistles past.
A finger flares on a string.
You trawl the heart's tracks for a last line,
crawl through a burning ring.

Published by Doghouse books in Tralee, Co. Kerry www.doghousebooks.ie