MAWFACE

She ain't heaver, she's my mutha

The bold John Wallace has had his fair share of menchies on this here blog but with Mother's Day looming (round my neck like a bloody albatross) I thought it was about time Renée"boomboom" Wallace got a shout out.

Similar in manner and temperament (although not always humour, thanks for the WACKY genes pop) I thought a fitting Mawday treat would be a spot of Sunday brunch and a trip to the GFT - what do you mean self-gratifying? *smirks*

That Lynx range of "EXTREME" deodorant really has a lot to answer for

Sharing a keen interest in film, particularly of the French & Italiano variety (by "sharing" I of course mean insisting she watches too) perhaps the only instance in which she'll accompany me to the cinema is if it's for something unusual that won't eventually appear on cooncil telly.

So I assumed the God's of fate were shining down when I realised the GFT were showing further screenings of Danny Boyle's stage production of Frankenstein , a theatrical and cinematic experience I'd been bangin' on about for so long I managed to convince everyone in my house it was a "must see" - including Coco, my labradoodle (yeah, we're one of THOSE families...)

That was until I realised they've scrapped the extra screenings.

NAE JOY IRENE!

Luckily I have a plan B:

Oranges and Sunshine



This place clearly carries the same pungent odours of Glasgow Uni Library - mmmmmusty

 Director Jim Loach, son of the mighty Ken, makes his feature-length debut with Oranges and Sunshine, tells the heart-breaking true story of Margaret Humphreys, a social working from Nottingham, as she endeavours to repair some of the attrocities committed by the British government in migrating thousands of British children to Commonwealth countries between the Victorian era to the 1970s.

With Loach at the helm, Scots screenwriter Rona Munro expertly adapting Margaret Humphreys’s 1994 book Empty Cradles and acclaimed British actress Emily Watson in the lead role of Humphreys, this looks set to be one grizzly and emotional ride.

Nothing says "I LOVE YOU" like a harrowing cinema trip.

Perfect!

Be my Frankenstein!

"I followed nature into her lair, and stripped her of her secrets! I brought torrents of light to a darkening world! Is that wrong?"

The flattery of shade hides a multitude of sins. 

Life-long friends, a wealth of relatively pointless literary knowledge and an over-whelming sense of mediocrity: these are the things I took away from my undergrad in English Literature.

"Waste of time?" you may ask. Not at all, I mean it may not have set me in any stead to actually gain employment or enter the work-force and grow up, but by GOD have I read some amazing books.

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is without doubt one of my favourite texts of all time. (Yip, I'm one of "those" that get's unreasonably galled by those who mistakenly call the monster Frankenstein - FOR SHAME)

This masterful gothic tale of creation and rejection horrifies and captivates the reader. Shelley's ability to evoke sympathy for the the helpless creature, horrifying as he may be, and address a multitude of issues still current, instantly affirmed this as a classic.

So you can only imagine my absolute delight in discovering that Danny Boyle is bringing it to the stage in but a week. Boyle's production of Nick Lear's play version of the timeless story hits the Royal National Theatre on Febuary 5, and it looks set to be ruddy good. With Benedict Cumberbatch and Johnny Lee Miller alternating in the roles of Victor Frankenstein and the creature, and musical accompaniment from Underworld - I'd frankly sell a kidney to go and see this.
Any takers?

Cumberbatch (easy for you to say) and Miller

Couple a showponies - Underworld

The man, the myth, the legend : Boyle