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The Green, Green Grass of Home: Mr Jones An Aberfan Story - Finborough Theatre

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A life of hope and promise, interrupted, lies at the heart of Mr Jones: an Aberfan Story. The play follows two young people in Aberfan before and after the disaster that killed 144 people, including 116 children. It’s an emotional coming-of-age tale of intersecting lives, family, love, and the shock of tragedy. With two vivid performances and strong characterisations, you feel immersed in 1960s Welsh small-town life. It’s now running at the Finborough Theatre , after performances at the Edinburgh Festival and across Wales.  The Aberfan disaster is well known in the UK but perhaps less so elsewhere. The facts of the tragedy are confined to the programme notes rather than in the piece. On 21 October 1966, the catastrophic collapse of a colliery spoil tip on a mountain above Aberfan engulfed a local school, killing many. The play avoids the causes and negligence, instead focusing on those working and building lives in the town.  Writer-performer Liam Holmes plays Stephen Jones, a...

Movies: Indiana Jones and something or other about a crystal skull


230520085774, originally uploaded by Paul-in-London.

Friday evening I went to the Odeon Leicester Square to see the latest Indiana Jones and the very long title movie... I am glad they have shortened it to just "Indy" on the posters as that saves a lot of time. Despite the price of the ticket, the Odeon Leicester Square is a great place to go to see a movie with die-hard groupies (and is less likely than most other London Odeon cinemas to smell like a toilet and have bad sound). People cheered and carried on as if it were a football match...

While my friend Adam is a fan of the series, he wasn't as hard core as half the crowd at the sold out Friday evening screening who came wearing brown leather jackets and hats. It was like a window into another world. All throughout London, seemingly normal and straight men had tucked away in their closets an Indiana Jones costume (complete with khaki trousers and shirt). They may have had whips too but I wasn't checking out what was below their belts... For a movie franchise that is all about fun and adventure these guys seem to be taking it very seriously.

As for the movie, it is just as good as the others, but that doesn't mean to say its a great picture. This one suffered from looking like it was shot on a sound stage a few too many times... But it is isn't the dud flick that the internet gossip was suggesting... Nice acting too by Cate Blanchett as the villainess and John Hurt as the crazy man (John Hurt playing John Hurt really)...

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