Volunteer with Beanstalk to help a child read, grow and succeed

Friday, 03 May 2013

‘I feel valued and useful. It’s a great way to spend spare time. I’m amazed at what can be achieved in a few hours.’ Beanstalk reading helper

Beanstalk is a national children’s literacy charity, formerly known as Volunteer Reading Help, that provides one-to-one literacy support to children in primary schools across England. Our vision is a nation of confident children who can read and grow up to lead successful lives.

We recruit, vet, train and support volunteers from the local community to work with children who have fallen behind with their reading. Beanstalk's support makes a lasting difference to children’s lives.

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Robert Tanitch reviews Bare at Union Theatre, London SE1

Friday, 03 May 2013

Bare a soul or hide it. Sex and religion are no strangers. This miniature rock musical by Jon Hartmere and Damon Intrabartolo is set in an American co-Ed Catholic boarding school.

Two teenagers have a lot of angst about being gay; one of them dreads coming out, whilst the other makes a tearful telephone call to mum to make a confession about his orientation but she doesn’t want to know.

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Robert Tanitch reviews Othello at National Theatre/Olivier

Friday, 03 May 2013

Adrian Lester’s most recent stage performance was in a play about the 19^th century African-American actor, Ira Aldridge, a famous Shakespearian actor, who came to England and performed in Europe and Russia. The play allowed Lester to act brief extracts from Othello in an imagined 19^th century manner.

Now he is playing the full text in a modern dress production by Nicholas Hytner, who had directed him so successfully in a modern dress Henry V. The production is one of the hottest tickets in town.

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Free official film resources for discussion groups

Wednesday, 01 May 2013

A few months ago Damaris Trust was pleased to provide free official resources for the cinema release of the film Quartet - starring Maggie Smith, Billy Connolly, Tom Courtenay and Pauline Collins.  

Now, in readiness for its release on DVD, Blu-ray and Download (available from 6^th May 2013) we have created some more – together with three new downloadable video features.

They are all available from the 6th May, completely free here.

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Eileen Caiger-Gray reviews Yes, Prime Minister

Wednesday, 01 May 2013

YES, PRIME MINISTER      
SHEFFIELD LYCEUM      
APRIL 29th 2013

Each witty, perceptive, well-rounded episode of the 1980's sitcom, Yes Minister, brought thirty minutes of beautifully crafted delight. Writers Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn didn't just make us laugh, they provided thought-provoking, cynical comment on our political systems and politicians via their hilarious, incisive satire. Coupled with brilliant writing came outstanding acting from Paul Eddington, Nigel Hawthorne and Derek Fowlds, whose characters were perfect comic creations, subtly nuanced, believable and loveable. It's a pretty tall order, then, to achieve the same in a two hour stage show with different actors in those same roles.

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Joyce Glasser reviews Bernie

Tuesday, 30 April 2013

Richard Linklater’s varied filmography can be divided into two halves: the brilliant ‘Before’ films: Before Sunset, Before Sunrise and (soon to be released) Before Midnight; and everything else.  Within that Everything Else category are some failures and some gems.  Bernie, the true story of a small town that unites around their saintly undertaker accused of murdering a wealthy widow, is a gemlike black comedy featuring the winning pairing of comic actor Jack Black with screen icon Shirley MacLaine.

Newly arrived undertaker Bernie Tiede (Black) not only adapts quickly to life in Carthage, Texas, but becomes the most popular man in it, with his lovely singing voice, thoughtful gestures and Christian spirit. Even rumours about his sexuality have little impact on the good citizens of Carthage, most of whom are of the age when funerals are not a distant prospect.

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Joyce Glasser reviews In The Fog

Tuesday, 30 April 2013

Like Romanian Director Christian Mungiu, Writer/Director Sergei Loznitsa, born in Soviet Belarus in 1964, has the ability to draw tension, drama and character out of films paced so slowly that, in less skilful hands, they could be tedious. There is plenty of action in Loznitsa’s powerful film In the Fog, based on the novel by Vasil Bykov, but it’s the antithesis of a US or UK action movie.

The story, set in 1942 Belarus, focuses on the skirmishes in the villages, back roads and forests of a people under German occupation, and on the uneasy relationship between three Belarusian Resistance fighters.

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Robert Tanitch reviews the latest DVDs

Monday, 29 April 2013

THE LIFE OF PI (20^th Century Fox). The adaptation of Yann Martel’s novel: an Indian teenager is shipwrecked and forced to share a boat with an adult Bengal tiger. It’s a water battle for survival, a test of faith embracing Hinduism, Christianity and Islam, a spiritual journey, a story with the intention to make you believe in God. Ang Lee’s versatility as a director is amazing. Technically and emotionally challenging, the special effects are stunning and the tiger is awesome.

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Robert Tanitch at The Duke in Darkness at Tabard Theatre, Chiswick, London

Monday, 29 April 2013

Patrick Hamilton (1904-1962), the English novelist and playwright, is best known for the novel, Hangover Square, and two psychological murder plays, Rope and Gaslight, which are still regular revived by professionals and amateurs. You will almost certainly have seen film versions.

The Duke in Darkness, which premiered in 1942 and starred Michael Redgrave and Leslie Banks, was much admired at the time; especially Redgrave’s performance as a neurotic servant tipping into madness. But it was not a commercial success, being too sombre for wartime audiences in search of escapist entertainment.

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