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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 ...

Arguments: Britain is Indifferent to Beauty

Destined to be great fodder for the Sunday papers (and it was in both The Times and The Guardian today), I found myself at a debate on Thursday evening on the topic that Britain has become indifferent to beauty. It was a lively and entertaining debate with TV Historian pop star David Starkey and Roger Scruton arguing for the case, and Germaine Greer and Stephen Bayley against.

Greer and Bayley won the debate, and not necessarily on the strengths of their arguments, but probably because Starkey and Scruton came across as fussy old men. A pity really as not only did Greer and Bayley contradict themselves, there was an emerging argument that our busy hectic lives has bumped the pursuit of beauty (in terms of the environment in which we live), down the order of priorities. Starkey and Scruton started to touch upon this, but they lost it amongst their stuffiness. Still it is delightful to hear them all speak, especially Greer. She takes a contrary view so easily that you wouldn't want to engage her in anything other than a formal debate...

It was also an audience of mostly members of the National Trust so I suspect that for Starkey and Scruton, they were always going to have a harder time trying to win the debate. Those National Trust peeps sure love their environment, even if they are a bit detached from the real world. One of the comments from the floor went something like: "Oh yoo ohnly halve to look at what the young people are wearing on Kings Road to know that beauty is long gone in this country". What rubbish. Some people need to get out more. And thanks to Google's Street View launched this week, you can see for yourself. In terms of a street scene, it could be a lot worse. I should know. I was rehearsing in Haringey today. Now there's a part of London that is not only proof of indifference to Beauty, but proof there are some places that just make you want to slash up...

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Play ball: Damn Yankees @LandorTheatre

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