#Laurie Blundell

[utterrandomnesswithlulu]

Midnight Binge: The Nevers (Mid-Season Final)

Beautifully crafted, witty, magical, and filled with secrets, The Nevers, an HBO show created by Joss Whedon (who stepped down as director/executive producer in November 2020), is an epic tale that follows a growing group of Victorian women and minorities (as well as those living on the fringes of London society) who find themselves in the possession of special powers. On today’s midnight binge, we’re taking a look at the world, people, politics, and the production of The Nevers.

Obviously, spoilers!

THE TOUCHED

After an unprecedented event in London gives women and minorities remarkable abilities, the Touched, as they are called, or at other times, the afflicted. They resort to living at an orphanage because of their turns (or powers) called St. Romaulda’s Orphanage, which becomes a home and sanctuary for the Touched. This sanctuary is sponsored by Lavinia Bidlow, the wealthy benefactor who has ulterior motives behind keeping a close eye on the touched. The sanctuary is run by Amalia True, who not only can see the future but tries to keep her charges safe while harboring her own secrets that she keeps very tight to her chest.

The Touched are typically women, or individuals, who live on the fringes of society. Their turns differ from one person to another. There is healing, premonition, molecular alterations and manipulation, and the ability to see and manipulate electricity. There is uncertainty surrounding how a turn is chosen for a person, i.e. why does one person see electricity over causing something to explode? Is it similar to the way Inhumans from the Marvel Universe (shows like S.H.E.I.L.D and Inhumans), in which the power is created because the world needs it, as in fixing a lack of balance? Or is it genetics or even personality-based? Or somehow wholly random? Because we sort of know-how, the turns were giving out and even a bit of why.

The manifestation of the Touched flips the hierarchy or more specifically the patriarchy, on its head, and unfortunately because of the kinds of people that ended up getting turns, women, immigrants, and other types of people who live at the fringes of society basically those who are seen as less than or inconsequential in society. This splits people into factions and even radicals, including Lavinia, and the ins and outs of London politics, which is being spearheaded by an ex-military and high government official, Lord Gilbert Massen.

THE GALANTHI

The Galanthi are an alien race who flew over London causing the Touched. Their mission was to give humans the means to save a ravaged Earth. Like how London is split into fractions, so were the military organizations that were against or for the Galanthi doing what they were doing, the Planetary Defense Coalition (PDC) who were for, and FreeLife Army who were against. The FreeLife Army attacked the Galanthi and killed 19 after bombing their project stations. The last station was run by a woman named Zephyr who committed suicide which allowed her soul to be placed on the last ship. Amalia, then Mary, was Touched just as she committed suicide which allowed Zephyr to enter her body and they changed their name to Amalia True.

PRODUCTION

HBO’s The Nevers was announced for a series in July 2018. Whedon became the creator, director, executive producer, and showrunner of the series. A bidding war started between a number of stations, including Netflix, before being picked up by HBO. Executive producers and writers included Bernie Caulfield, Jane Espenson, and Doug Petrie and later Laurie Penny, Melissa Iqbal, Madhuri Shekar, Kevin Lau, Daniel S. Kaminsky, and Hennah Sekandary. In November, Whedon stepped down as showrunner, director, and executive director, stating “unprecedented challenges” and exhaustion as his reason for stepping back. However, he was “deeply proud of the work” on The Nevers. Whedon was replaced by Philippa Goslett as the new series showrunner. Gemma Jackson would serve as a production designer and Christine Blundell as a make-up designer.

CAST

Laura Donnelly (Claudia Black), Ann Skelly, Olivia Williams, James Norton, Tom Riley, Pip Torrens, Denis O’Hare, Amy Manson, Rochelle Neil, Zackary Momoh, Eleanor Tomlinson, Nick Frost, Elizabeth Berrington, Viola Prettejohn, Anna Devlin, Kiran Sonia Sawar, Ben Chaplin, Ella Smith, and Vinnie Heaven were billed as the main cast as The Nevers.

FILMING

Filming, production, and principal photography started in 2019. Locations varied in London, such as Trinity Church Square, Southwark Borough, New Wimbledon Theatre, Charterhouse Square, The Mall, Lincoln’s Inn Fields, Historic Dockyard Chatham, and more. In January 2020, filming took place at the Joyce Grove country house estate; January also saw production and filming temporarily cease because of COVID-19. Scenes had to be reworked to accommodate new rules and regulations because of COVID restrictions, such as the Maladies execution scene, which utilized CGI effects and green screen methods to make it seem like more people within the given space. It also saw the set be rebuilt entirely on a soundstage because they couldn’t film on location. Production and filming were picked up again around September and wrapped up for its mid-season final.

Originally, season one was meant to have ten episodes. However, that was scarped for a two-part season, allowing for a mid-season final at episode six. As of June 11, 2021, The Nevers has not been picked up for a second season, nor has it been canceled.

CONCLUSIONS

I’ve enjoyed The Nevers so far and it was just getting good with its mid-season final. However, the first few episodes were a bit bumpy, and the foundation is built, but it’s taking some time to stitch everything together cohesively. I have hopes for the later episodes and do wish for a second season. I rate the show thus far a 3.9/5, I always give a bit of leniency when it comes to the first season of any show because nothing is really fleshed out. There are very few first seasons of the series I thoroughly enjoyed with little complaint, but I have high ambitions for this show and desire to see it do better.

What are your thoughts on The Nevers? Do you like it, or do you have some issues with the show?

UPDATE

As of December 16th, 2022, The Nevers has been canceled and subsequently pulled from its streaming platform (HBO Max).

#the nevers #hbo #hbo max #midnight binge #binge watching #hbo the nevers #canceled #cancelled #cancelled shows #canceled shows #2022

[my-chaos-radio]

Release: January 26, 2024

Lyrics:

I wanna go party, I wanna have fun

I wanna be happy, could you show me how it's done?

You look so pretty, pretty like the sun

I could watch forever while you shine on everyone

It's Black Friday, we're in a black taxi

You take my hand and hold it gently on the middle seat

It's all in my head, it's all in my mind

I'm so selfish, you're so kind

It's all in my head, baby, I can't breathe

I look in the mirror, what has happened to me?

I wanna better body, I want better skin

I wanna be perfect like all your other friends

You look so pretty, pretty like the wind

Every time you touch me, I feel adrenaline

It's Black Friday, the end of the week

You take my hand and hold it gently up against your cheek

It's all in my head, it's all in my mind

I see the darkness where you see the light

It's all in my head, who do I trust?

I thought that you loved me, what has happened to me?

Songwriter:

What has happened to us?

What has happened to me?

Laurie Blundell / Max Clilverd / Tom Odell

SongFacts:

👉📖

Homepage:

Tom Odell

#new #new music #my chaos radio #Tom Odell #Black friday #music #spotify #youtube #music video #youtube video #good music #hit of the day #video of the day #2020s #2020s music #2020s video #2020s charts #2024 #pop #alternative indie #folk pop #pop rock #ballad #indie rock #lyrics #songfacts #1307

[charleston-matilda]

Students and teachers from Eidsvold during their school trip to Redcliffe, Queensland, Australia (1921)

Back row: Mr B. Haupt, Mrs Janet Sinclair, J. L. Pickering, Ella O'Connor (teacher), Mrs W. Blundell, Miss May Robinson (teacher). Third row: Os Hallam, Charlie Birchley, Willie Birchley, Percy Reiser, Kathy Jeynes, B. G. Cutler (teacher), Mag Pickering, Tom Wedimeyer, Mick Blundell, George Horn, Dick Blundell. Second Row: Phil Roth, Bert Chapman, Ivy Pickering, Lucy Sinclair, May Spencer, Addie Bannah, Marcia Hallam, Jessie Walker, Agnes Sinclair, Jessie Guozler, Winnie Joynes, Aub Birchley. Front row: Nellie Schafer, Eileen Sinclair, Jack Rashleigh, Ray Williams, Burnie Walker, Laurie Perry, Fred Squire, Mabel Guozler.

#1921 #redcliffe #queensland #australia #photography #people #schooling #education

[newyorktheater]

Those for whom theater is their religion are more likely to appreciate “Why?,” a 70-minute theater piece about theater that, aptly, begins with a whimsically modified Biblical tale, in which God proclaims “There shall be theater” on the seventh day, because the humans had gotten bored on the day of rest. This segues into a series of questions that one might ask as part of a Seder for Theater:

Why do we do theater ?

Why do we give our lives to the theatre?

Do we give  our lives to theatre ?

Isn’t the theater that gives us our life ?

Written and directed by Peter Brook and Marie-Hélène Estienne, and running through October 6 at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center in Brooklyn,

“Why?” is less a play than a kind of elliptical lecture-demonstration of, and paean to, the beauty and danger of the theatrical arts. It is the inaugural event of Peter Brook/NY , a celebration of the 94-year-old theater artist and his long-time collaborator in “theater, opera, film, television, literature and the development of the next generation of theater artists in New York City, 1953 to the present.”

“Why?” is split precisely in half. In the first 35 minutes, occasionally accompanied by pianist Laurie Blundell, the trio of veteran theater artists — Hayley Carmichael, Kathryn Hunter and Marcello Magni – dressed all in black on a nearly blank stage, offer  nuggets of theatrical wisdom of the sort that you might hear in an acting class.

“Art is to reality as wine is to grapes.”

“The real work of an actor begins after the first performance,” because acting “finds its true nature only with an audience.”

of how one can create a role simply by studying physical movement.

They talk about their experiences on stage (though it’s unclear whether the experiences are of the performers or the writers)   “I’ve probably died about 500 hundred times. I’ve been stabbed, I’ve been hung, I’ve died of a broken heart. Dying is relatively easy, but how do you make your soul leave your body?”

Magni hilariously acts drunk, with the help of audience members in the first row. It is one of several  demonstrations of the use of movement rather than internal psychology to present an emotion and create a character.

“When we study a role, we should not dive into its psychological substance but  we should reach it by studying its movements.”

The quote is from Vsevolod Meyerhold, a Russian director and student of Stanislavsky whose acting theories diverged from the master (and who is said to have influenced Brook’s work.)  The second half of “Why?” focuses on Meyerhold. His story begins in inspiration, with the three performers explaining his approach, and its reception. They quote one contemporary critic (to continue with the religious analogy): “My attention was drawn toward the stage the way a believer in a cathedral is drawn towards the choir.” The trio even performs a brief excerpt from Meyerhold’s 1926 production of Gogol’s “The Government Inspector.”

But Meyerhold’s story ends in horror, with the trio reading letters and other documents that relate how the Stalinist regime accused him of being anti-Soviet, his theater was shut down, and he was thrown into prison. From notes taken during his trial: “He doesn’t believe in God, he believes In truth. And he is sure that truth will win at the end.” But at the end, he was executed, never learning that not long before, his wife, the famed actress Zinaida Reich,  had been brutally murdered in their home.

Suddenly the “Why?” took on a different meaning — a cry to the Heavens.

    Why? Review: Peter Brook’s Paean to Theater and a Theater Martyr Those for whom theater is their religion are more likely to appreciate “Why?,” a 70-minute theater piece about theater that, aptly, begins with a whimsically modified Biblical tale, in which God proclaims “There shall be theater” on the seventh day, because the humans had gotten bored on the day of rest.

[jenniekessinger]

Urban sketching in San Francisco with Liz Steel & Jane Blundell

I've been so derelict in keeping up with blogging. So, I'm trying to make up for it today with several posts on what I've been up to lately. At the end of last month, I finally made it to an Urban Sketching meet up that was very well attended. I think there were over 80 sketchers at Grace Cathedral due in no small part to the visiting sketchers in attendance, Liz Steel and Jane Blundell!

I have taken Liz's online Sketchbook Skool klass as well as her in-person workshop at the Urban Sketcher's Symposium in Chicago in July - so I was happy and excited to see Liz again. Also, I've scoured Jane's website for her in-depth watercolor knowledge and saw her in Chicago as well at the Symposium. Other bonuses were seeing Suhita Shirodkhar, an urban sketcher from the South Bay, from whom I've also taken a Craftsy online course and an in-person workshop in San Francisco with in the past - and Laurie Wigham , who organizes the San Francisco Urban Sketchers group and got a bunch of us Bay Area sketchers together in Chicago.

We met at Grace Cathedral and sketched for several hours in and around the church. I arrived a bit late due to traffic, so I missed the interior tour and met up with the group in the park across the street. Here are my sketches from the day. 

At the end of the meet up, we all displayed our sketches on the nearby bushes. There were so many sketchers, it was hard to see them all!

Probably the best part of the day, though, was meeting a whittled down group of sketchers for an early picnic dinner at Lafayette Park, which had amazing views.

Here are my sketches - I made a conscious effort to try some thumbnail landscapes and also to sketch the sketchers with my brush pen. 

#urban sketching

[newyorktheater]

JoAnne Akalaitis

Mac Wellman

Jack Thorne

Mfoniso Udofia

Jessica Hagedorn

  Tom Hiddleston in Pinter’s “Betrayal”

In this eclectic opening month of the New York Fall theater season laid out below, legendary theater artists Mac Wellman (74),JoAnne Akalaitis (82), and Peter Brook (94) each get showcases for their work; Wellman a whole festival.  Three shows are opening on Broadway, including a Harold Pinter revival that marks the Broadway debut of Tom Hiddleston (best-known to movie fans as Loki), and a new play by Florian Zeller starring Jonathan Pryce and Eileen Atkins.  Off-Broadway, there’s a new play by “Harry Potter” playwright Jack Thorne as well as the latest installments in  Mfoniso Udofia nine-play cycle about  Nigerian-American immigrants, and a new musical by Filipino-born novelist Jessica Hagedorn.  .

The shows described below — on mothers, wives, or infidelity; on AIDS, anxiety or immigration; or on no other subject than theater itself — are organized chronologically by opening night, except the festivals and those shows that don’t have official opening nights.  Each title is linked to a relevant website for more information

Color key: Broadway: Red. Off Broadway: Purple, blue or black. Off Off Broadway: Green.Theater festival: Orange.Puppetry: Brown. Immersive: Magenta.

September 1

  Dream Up Festival (Theater for the New City)

The tenth annual Dream Up Festival continues,  presenting 25 shows through September 15.  One of its shows premiere today: Shirley Chisholm, Robert E. Lee & Me

  September 3

Felix Starro (Ma-Yi at Theatre Row)

A musical with book and lyrics written by Filipino-born novelist Jessica Hagedorn (“Dogeaters”) about a Filipino faith healer peddling hope to sick people in San Francisco’s Tenderloin Distric

September 4

Tech Support (59E59)

In this time travel comedy by Debra Whitfield, Pam’s world is soon turned upside down when, instead of providing assistance with her printer, the tech support guy offers her choices for different centuries

  September 5

Betrayal (Bernard Jacobs Theater)

The fourth Broadway production of Harold Pinter’s enigmatic play that tells the story of an extra-marital affair in reverse order.  It stars Tom Hiddleston, Zawe Ashton, and Charlie Cox, all of whom are making their Broadway debuts.

Boogieban (13th Street Rep)

The lasting effect of war on two soldiers of different eras, who go on parallel journeys.

September 6

Performance For One (Untitled Theater Co #61)

Edward Einhorn’s Untitled Theater Company #61, celebrating its 25th anniversary, presents this one-on-one theater performance (one performer, one audience member) in 10 minute slots at various venues across Manhattan. (See schedule at link)

The Ringdove (Mettachee at St. John’s)

Puppet artist Ralph Lee’s Mettachee River Theatre Company presents this show at Cathedral of St. John’s the Divine drawn from THE PANCHATANTRA, a collection of allegorical tales whose origins reach back over 2,000 years, to ancient India. The central characters are a crow, a rat, a turtle and a gazelle, whose adventures, behavior and relationships reflect many aspects of human nature.

Bad News: I Was There (Skirball Center)

JoAnne Akalaitis creates a site-specific processional performance exploring the monumental impact of the messenger character from classic drama.

  September 7

Sincerity, Forever and Bad Penny (The Flea)

Two of the five plays from The Flea’s “Mac Wellman: Perfect Catastrophes “festival.” In Bad Penny, “ “a man and a woman sit in a park. They appear to be a couple, but aren’t. The man is clutching a car tire. The woman has picked up a penny and put it in her pocket.” It gets crazier from there.  “Sincerity, Forever” is a comedy about a group of young residents from the fictional southern town with a prominent community of KKK members. Part of ”

  September 8

American Moor (Red Bull at Cherry Lane)

In this two-character play written and performed by Keith Hamilton Cobb,  an African-American actor in an audition room responds to the demands of a white director presuming to have a better understanding of Shakespeare’s iconic black character, Othello.

L.O.V.E.R. (Signature)

Lois Robbins’ solo show explores what goes on behind closed doors and between the sheets.

Play! and Theatre in the Dark: Carpe Diem (TINATC at Theater Lab)

The theater company that calls itself This Is Not A Theatre Company presents two plays in repertory — “Play!” an interactive homage to the importance of radical play for a healthy society, and “Theatre in the Dark: Carpe Diem,”  which takes place in the dark: Hear, smell, taste, and touch your way through this nourishing ode to joy

En El Ojo De La Aguja (The Tank)

The Spanish-language version (with English supertitles) of In The Eye of the Needle, a personal, social, and political exploration of conflict resolution (or the lack of it).

September 12

As Much As I Can (Joe’s Pub)

hundreds of gay and bisexual men from Jackson, MS, and Baltimore, MD contributed their stories to this piece about the AIDS epidemic now, which has a five-day run.

  September 14

The Talmud (Target Margin Theater)

Drawing from a century of kung fu films and a single chapter of The Talmud–a 5th century text of Rabbinic Judaism — the show explores “sacred wisdom and how ancient traditions survive the dangerous journey across generations.”

September 15

Darren Brown: Secret (Cort)

British mentalist and illusionist Derren Brown brings his mind reading, persuasion, and psychological illusion to Broadway for the first time.

  September 16

Wives (Playwrights Horizons)

From the brawny castles of 16th Century France, to the rugged plains of 1960s Idaho, to the strapping fortresses of 1920s India, all hail the remarkable stories of Great Men! — and their whiny, witchy, vapid, vengeful, jealous wives. Playwright Playwright Jaclyn Backhaus untethers history, and language itself, from the visions made by men.

All The Rage (The Barrow Group)

A revival of Michael Moran’s solo show about a crime he experienced as a child that made him set out on a quest around the globe to answer the question:How is it that one moment we might reach out in compassion and the next…kill?

Who Killed Edgar Alan Poe? ( RPM Underground.)

Subtitled “The Cooping Theory 1969,” the immersive show has the audience join   a new generation of the Poe Society at a cocktail party to commemorate the anniversary of the mysterious death of Edgar Allan Poe. Then a cc seance goes awry.

  September 17

Fern Hill (59E59)

Three couples in their golden years who are close friends gather at Sunny and Jer’s farmhouse to celebrate milestone birthdays that span three decades. Their companionship is put to the test, however, when a marital betrayal is discovered.

September 19

Novenas for A Lost Hospital  (Rattlestick)

A communal experience to remember, honor, re-imagine, and celebrate St Vincent’s Hospital. a medical facility founded in Greenwich Village in 1849 and shut down in 2010.

18 Stanzas Sung to a Tatar Reed Whistle (FiveMyles)

The dramatization through puppetry of a Chinese epic poem written by the woman poet Ts’ai Yen 2,000 years ago. It tells the story of a young Han woman who returns home 12 years after being abducted  by the victorious Tatars. The show is free, but reservations are required.

September 21

Why? (TFANA)

This piece written by Peter Brook and Marie-Hélène Estienne features actors Hayley Carmichael, Kathryn Hunter, and Marcello Magni, and pianist Laurie Blundell in a combination performance, lecture and bioplay about experimental Russian director Vsevolod Meyerhold, who was executed in 1940. The play asks: “Why theater? What is it for? What is it about?”

  September 22

Kingfishers Catch Fire (Irish Rep)

In this play by Robin Glendinning, Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty pays a visit in 1948 to the man who was his adversary during World War II, the infamous Nazi Herbert Kappler, in the Italian prison where Kappler is serving a life sentence for crimes against humanity.

September 23

Sunday (Atlantic)

In this play written by Jack Thorne (“Harry Potter…”), friends gather for a book group, anxious to prove their intellectual worth, but that anxiety gets the better of any actual discussion as emotional truths come pouring out

Runboyrun and In Old Age (NYTW)

Two new plays from Mfoniso Udofia’s nine part The Ufot Cycle,” which follows a Nigerian family who immigrated to the US.

  September 24

The Height of The Storm (MTC’s Samuel J. Friedman)

Jonathan Pryce and Eileen Atkins star in a play by Florian Zeller (The Father, The Mother) about a couple who for 50 years have been filled with the everyday pleasures and unfathomable mysteries of an enduring marriage, until suddenly their life together begins to unravel,

 Caesar and Cleopatra (Gingold at Theatre Row)

A rare revival of George Bernard Shaw’s comedy about these two historic figures who did indeed meet. “An early draft of the Eliza/Higgins relationship in Shaw’s Pygmalion.”

  September 25

Mothers (Playwrights Realm at the Duke)

In this play by Anna Moench, the moms at Mommy-Baby Meetup are used to competing — whoever’s the most devoted to her family, has the best-behaved child, and the most satisfied husband wins. But as the chaos of the outside world encroaches on their turf, passive-aggression falls by the wayside, and each mom will have to decide just how much she loves her child.

September 27

The Green Room (Sargent Theater)

A backstage musical illustrating the journey of four best friends in college determined to make it out of the Green Room and on to the Off-Broadway Stage.

September 28

Basic Principles of Incantation (Sinking Ship @ Greenwich House Music School)

A performance-based interactive theater game about linguistics and magic. Players take on the role of students of the Esoteric Arts at their first lesson conducted by Professor A. Sibly.

  September 2019 New York Theater Openings In this eclectic opening month of the New York Fall theater season laid out below, legendary theater artists Mac Wellman (74),JoAnne Akalaitis (82), and Peter Brook (94) each get showcases for their work; Wellman a whole festival.