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Brief awakenings: White Rose The Musical @MaryleboneTHLDN

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A fascinating and daring act of defiance in Nazi Germany by a group of university students in Munich is given a slightly perplexing rock musical treatment in White Rose, the musical. Something seems amiss in this earnest and occasionally tuneful show. It lags more than it inspires, which is surprising given the tragic and compelling history of the real-life characters the show depicts. Given that young people are increasingly likely to vote for far-right parties across Europe, it’s an opportunity to look at a time when they had a different perspective on the future. Perhaps something has been lost in the translation or the larger space of the Marylebone Theatre where it plays.  The White Rose were a group of university students in Munich who sought to undermine the Third Reich through publication of a series of pamphlets urging passive resistance to the Nazi regime. Over a brief period between June 1942 and February 1943, they distributed their pamphlets across campus using ...

Scenes from Hammersmith and City Line Monday 21:41 - Listening to iPOD between Farringdon and Kings Cross St Pancras. Have just downloaded Ute Lemper's latest album Blood and Feathers. Its recorded live and is what some people I know would describe as her "head up her arse album" given the self-indulgent asides into screeching and germanic-jazz-scat that sounds like scheisse. Ute is a bit like that though. I'll keep buying her albums anyway as listening to Ute is always an experience... Posted by Picasa

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