PWU Proving Grounds at Malone Rugby Club

It was about this time last month (29th July to be precise) that my brother and I were sat in Malone Rugby Club getting ready to watch PWU’s “Proving Grounds” event.  It had been a few years since I last caught any of the PWU shows, back when they were held in the Wellington Hotel, and I was ready to get stuck back in. 

I’ve been a wrestling fan myself for as long as I can remember - bar a few years at secondary school when it dropped off my radar - I’ve always enjoyed it. From sitting in the Kings Hall chanting for Big Boss Man and the Undertaker, to proposing to my wife at Wrestlemania 21 in Los Angeles (yes this is a true story), the big time wrestling of WWE and not TNA is a great spectacle for all. But let’s not forget the smaller organisations, the local ones. Well this is where PWU comes in. All tickets were priced at £5, a bar and screaming and shouting welcome. 

The Massive Giant "Tron"

“Proving Grounds” is a yearly show that is used to showcase new and emerging talent alongside the existing stars of Pro Wrestling Ulster and what a great show it truly was.  We’re sat in the Rugby club and before us is a 20”x20” ring squeezed in the corner, it’s the same size as the WWE use and it’s huge! There’s a crowd of between 70-90 people, a mix of couples, kids, parents and groups of friends.  It’s a good atmosphere with the majority really getting into it.

The Battle Royal under way!

Tonight we’re getting 6 matches and a battle royal. We begin with the biggest guy on the roster, standing somewhere over 7 feet and having spent a while in WWE development, it is easy to see that the guy has come on leaps since the last time I saw him years ago. He has a look, he can talk and by god he can wrestle! He has a lovely opening match verses Bonesaw with the crowd and especially the kids really enjoying this classic good versus bad match-up (or in wrestling speak – Face vs Heel).  Then just before the 20 minute break is my favourite match of the night - Darren 'Blue Guy' Andrews vs 'All Ulster Champion' Christopher Tiberious Banks III. A really quick, crisp and (as much as the low ceiling will allow) high flying affair.  These two really put on a show and I would thoroughly look forward to seeing them again.

Throughout the night we get a triple threat with some wrestlers from south of the border, a tag team bout with Vampires and Mexicans and then we round it all off with all the competitors in the Terry Thompson invitational Battle Royal.  For those not familiar, Terry Thompson is the Vince McMahon of PWU, he’s the money, he’s nefarious and he’s the man in charge. So it was only right that at the end of the battle royal as he went to hold the “winners” hand aloft, he quickly revealed that he was in the battle royal too and threw him over the top rope to declare himself the true winner!

 

The timing of the show was spot on, 2 hours with an interval. It held my attention the whole time and it brought me into the storylines as well as the action.

PWU have an upcoming show on Sunday 26th August at the Balmoral Hotel. It will have the re-match between Darren 'Blue Guy' Andrews vs 'All Ulster Champion' Christopher Tiberious Banks III. This time for the belt and my money is on it stealing the show once again!  Unfortunately we’ll not be in attendance due to previous commitments but we’ll be doing our best to catch all the shows going forward.  It’s a great way to spend a Sunday night regardless of your age and at £5 it is a bargain for live home grown entertainment, oh and there’s a bar so there really is no excuse!

Skrillex Launches Belsonic

Wednesday 15th August saw the first night of the 10 day musical extravaganza that is Belsonic and we at PastieBap were very excited to be seeing Skrillex for the third time.

Arriving at 6.30pm, the time that Dillon Francis started, we thought that we’d miss most of the queues, and that Custom House Square would be full to bursting with dub-step fans. Yet, as we walked towards the Square, the queue was around the block – people of all ages snaked their way around the Albert Clock, swigging on vodka and goldschläger (my personal drink of choice, but since when did drinking cinnamon schnapps become cool?). Perhaps a result of the on and off torrential rain throughout the day, which undoubtedly would have delayed a few people’s plans.

After a brief frisk search we were allowed into Custom House Square and were confronted with Belsonic’s trademark domed stage, which would later make a striking silhouette as the sun set. On-site facilities included a bar, which sold Absolut cocktails alongside the usual suspects, a sweetie van, and a fancy philly cheesesteak slash chippy van. Not bad, Belsonic, not bad at all.

Around 7pm the Square was about a quarter full - with the hard-core fans pushed all the way up to the front, and the more laid-back music-lovers strewn around the middle. The resulting view from the back was merely a sea of arms as Dillon Francis got the crowd onside.

Next up was Kill The Noise, who kept the crowd going until Knife Party got underway. Then, just as the dusk set in, a timer counted down and at around 9.30pm the skies darkened, the lights went up and Skrillex came at us with everything he’s got.  If you thought that Knife Party was well received, that was nothing compared to the reception that Sonny Moore and his space ship-esque stage got. You could feel the bass in your toes as Skrillex played his hour and a half long set, complete with lasers, smoke and even some fire. On more than one occasion, the heavens opened, but everyone was either to absorbed in the music, or simply too drunk to care. In the end the rain just added to the drama of the music and it certainly didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits.

For such a tiny human-being, Skrillex dominated the massive Belsonic stage with ease, however he did have a little help from two screens on either side of the stage, which displayed an array of images from videos for the songs to lyrics, and even at one point an Irish flag (suffice to say, a near riot ensued, with the crowd boo-ing heavily until the image was removed from the screen). Rookie mistake when you’re in Northern Ireland Skrilly.

There was something for everyone, and highlights were Bangarang, Ruffneck and even a few old favourites: Rock 'n' Roll and my Name Is Skrillex. It was also nice to hear a few nods to Dub's Jamaican roots with a few reggae tunes mixed in.

As a 19-year old, I felt either extremely old or extremely young to be at this concert, with the typical clientele seeming to be either 15 – 17 or 25 – 30, but saying this everyone who attended got into the festival atmosphere and seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves. Skrillex gave it stacks and with a cigarette in hand, he certainly opened this years Belsonic with a bang. We look forward to seeing what the rest of Belsonic will bring. 

The line-up looks a little like this:

By Laura Caldwell

Film Devour 8 at the Black Box

Two short film festivals in two days, what a great time to be a film fan in Belfast! Having to decide between this and Joe Lindsay's "Shower of Cults" film night across town at the Hudson Bar showing Grind House Star Wars was a tough choice. So, having promised myself I'd go to the last Few "Film Devour Short Film Festival" and not quite making it I finally made it to number 8. As I arrived at the Black Box I noticed a huge crowd gathered before the doors, this is always a good sign. Soon we filed in paid our £4 and were ready to see some of Northern Irelands finest shirt films.

With 20 films in all covering many Genres - Horror, Drama, Thriller, Comedy, Sci-Fi...I could go on-it's safe to say there was something for every one. We started off with a film I'd heard a lot about but never seen "Looking for Al" essentially a documentary about 4 lads from Northern Ireland travelling down to Dublin trying to meet Al Pacino at the premiere of his latest film. An absolute geg with much banter included it's a great way to kick off the fast and a welcome opening 15 mins it's worth saying at this point that these films area lot longer short films than the ones shown last night. Where the longest film shown there was 3 mins 30secs these films range from 5 mins to 15.

"The Beach" is a wonderfully shot black white horror film about a man finding himself on a lonely island where he encounters a not so friendly apparition. The Portrush backdrop makes this a beautiful film to watch and the black and white adds a touch of gravitas. We have a few technical difficulties as Intermission is called after 7 films but after we're all refuelled were back for the long haul an date last 13
McKeever and Jones have 2 films shown here tonight. Both filled with classic Belfast humour and the 2 extremely likeable characters. The shorter of then2 was my favourite "McKeever and Jones Dreams Come True" filmed outside Victoria Square in the Cornmarket it features a chucklesome almost dance sequence about a man whose every wish comes true as he walks by the world, from nicking a chicken burger to swooping in for a snog with his dream girl and with a fun ending that everyone creasing with laughter.

Other mentions would be "Nuts and Robbers" by Aiden Gault and Marty Stalker. A very black comedy about bungling robbers that's worth a watch. Special effects mention of the night goes to Chris Thompsons "Skyhawk". With SFX that would look at home in any Hollywood Bloackbuster it's really surprising what the guys working in their bedrooms can come up with. "Spiderland" ended off the night with an usual ode to the muppets via the festive imagination of Paul Currie. A tale of spices in Belfast and their camp Rottweiler this was a dark slice of twisted comedy that finished off the night perfectly.

The main thing if notice tonight was the quality of all the films shown and the sell out crowd that came to pay in, while the Olympics are on, on a sunny day, to come and support these films. As I left the black box having been in there for over 4 hours I did quip that it was the longest Short film festival I'd ever been too, but long may it continue. Vive la Film Devour!

By Chris Caldwell

Hansel of Film at The Black Box

Last night as part of the Olympic Festival and the Belfast Film Festival, 'Hansel of Film' came to the Black Box. Basically a bunch of short films are going on a relay, being carried by real people from Shetland to Southampton and back again, making 24 stops along the way. One of those stops was Belfast. Being curated by film critic Mark Kermode and film historian Prof. Linda Ruth Williams, who were both present last night, you knew you were in good hands (however large and flappy they may be).

We started with seven short films made by people living in the Shetland Islands and they had some brilliant (and bonkers) films! There was a four minute documentary about the UK's northern most bus shelter "Unst Bus Shelter" (which never showed a bus), one about a female polish murderer "Vycky" and a great one from a bunch of kids that featured a physical battle between two opposing armies that represented the decision process that goes on when one has to decide between juice and cola "Battle of the Juices". The films were all great quality and thoroughly entertaining, showing that creativity can come from anywhere and isn't restricted to the big thinkers in capital cities.

Next up we had seven films from Wotton-Under-Edge. These were screened in Belfast because their own local screening encountered difficulties and couldn't proceed, so we got to see them instead. Featuring a lot of films made by youngsters and with Olympic and other funding, these also were a joy to watch. My highlight being the laugh out loud history of the stick figure we see in warning signs, "Remembering Formby" was beautifully animated by Susan Elliot and her team. It was a great twist on something we see on a daily basis but never really think about. Also thrilling, was a film made by 13-17 year olds about how the Olympics is represented in their small village: "Olympic Village" was well shot, edited and wonderfully executed.

The last segment was devoted to short films from Belfast. They cited a lack of response to their call for submissions for the comp, so they had to pad it out with other quality shorts to make up the allotted half an hour. However, some great animation from students at the University of Ulster represented Belfast fully and showed what great things are being taught in our own city. The best of these being "Labyrinth of Language" a rich, funny and meticulously animated short about a boy lost in a maze. The highlight of this section was from London and the This is it collective. "Don't Hug Me, I'm Scared" was the perfect way to finish off the evening.

Original, hilarious and a little bit  twisted, it had the whole audience laughing and gob-smacked in equal measure. As we all sat there with our jaws a little bit open at the end and trying to get the song used out of our heads (green is not a creative colour) Mark and Linda thanked us for coming. They then welcomed some of the local film makers on stage for a round of applause before handing over the film canister to the next runner to be taken to Bo'Ness just outside of Edinburgh. The runner was actually going to cycle and having been born in Belfast and now living in Bo'Ness seemed the perfect choice to do it, until he revealed that he hadn't cycled more than 1 mile in the last 5 years! Good luck Bo'Nes and enjoy the Hansel of Film.

Glasgowbury 2012 - Massive but Massive

“Small But Massive” has been the tag line of Glasgowbury for many years now, but if it expands any further they are going to have to change it to just plain massive.  By 12 pm on Saturday 21^st July 2012 we had tents pitched, beers opened and were merrily dancing along to a carnival style multi-coloured drum circle.  As the drummers marched away, the crowd followed them as if they were the Pied Pipers of Hamelin only instead of leading rats out of town they led the people from the campsite to the Glasgowbury arena.

With a tweeked layout this year allowing them to accommodate six different stages the festival really did look bigger than ever.  As ever the main stage was flanked in the background by the scenic Sperrins.  The addition this year of the Red Bull Generator Stage - helmed by DJs throughout the day - gave relief to anyone seeking escape from live music.  Judging by the size of the crowds that danced around the DJ booth/bar it was a massive success.  The weather stayed dry throughout with the sun even making a few regular appearances. 

This year the G Session stage was moved to a giant circus style tent.  This allowed for much improved acoustics and an end to the sound bleeding which the winds on the site had contributed to the year before.  It was on this stage that we saw The Wonder Villains play for the second year running.  Ripping through their catalogue of sing-a-long favourites and trying out some new material. The year has been kind to The Wonder Villains and much improvement could be seen from this time last year.  The extensive touring and gig paying has certainly helped them hone their craft. 

It's recently been announced that Triggerman are supporting Sepultura later this year, and rightly so. They roared through their unique brand of heavy rock with the ease of a bulldozer thorugh a mountain of butter.  the were the bulldozer we were the butter. A sizable crowd had gathered and so the moshing and head banging was inevitable.  A great band to see live and definately a high light for me.

Silhouette was up next and as Shauna Tohill’s haunting voice filled our ears the crowd was captivated.  A genuine rising star whose unique sound is catchy and memorable - definitely one to watch.

As the afternoon well and truly set in,  Pocket Billiards hit the stage in order to wake us up, and as usual the crowd was on their feet. The nine-piece ska kings did what they do best and tore through their set of punchy classics, even being joined by Eimear Coyle from The Wonder Villains at one point.

We took a wander round the site and eventually found ourselves in the middle of another drum circle.  Just one of the many sideshows that could be found in and around the festival arena.  As we left the drum circle and headed towards the main stage we were accosted by seven-foot high silver faced devils.  Luckily we made it out in time to see the tail end of Axis Of. The sound was good, the pace frantic and we're sure we saw  Pocket Billiards join in the final track so this is definatley a band we'd like to catch a whole set of in the coming months.

 I’m not usually a huge fan of dance music but I defy anyone not to be swept along by the amazing stage show and the bombastic tunes that The Japanese Popstars produce.  As we looked around there wasn’t a single person standing still and Northern Ireland’s answer to the Chemical Brothers were a welcome support act for the headliners.

At about 11.05pm Paddy Glasgow, the legend himself appeared before us. The crowd roared as Paddy introduced the headlining act, Therapy?

Therapy? are without a doubt one of the most  anticipated Glasgowbury headliners ever and despite this year being one of the quietest - crowd-wise - the amount of people left standing for the final act was impressive.  Therapy? looked the part in well-fitted suits and they certainly quashed all rumours that they’re too old for this game as they played for well over an hour, rocking the Sperrins to its very core.

Andy Cairns was on fire, he kept the crowds’ spirits up as the rain set in and was constantly talking to the audience (a trait I love to see in a band, it males you feel a part of something and not just a spectator). Unfortunately drummer Neil Cooper couldn’t be at Glasgowbury this year as his wife had just given birth to a baby, but seeing as Andy recorded a message for him on his phone, he would still get a glimpse of the ‘Small But Massive’ madness. Luckily the drummer from LaFaro was on hand to cover and he didn’t miss a beat. As a massive fan of Troublegum, Knives and Screamager were personal highlights and the entire crowd, both young and old, was singing every word – proving once and for all that Northern Ireland was definitely in need of some Therapy?

I've been saying it for a few years now, but as Glasgowbury grows and grows the next step is definately to split this into a 2 day festival. With many more going on the first night, even without entertainment, we need that final push to put this up there amongst the Latitude festivals and the Download festivals of the world.  A niche festival but on a massive scale, it just so happens that the niche of this festival is local music.

Until next year Paddy Glasgow, Keep her lit and Keep her "Small but massive"

Glasgowbury 2012 - The Cartoon

So our good buddies over at Theskeletonblog gave us this exclusive cartoon of Glasgowbury 2012! Check out their facebook and website for new funnies going up every monday.

A Fabulous Day at the Dalriada Festival

It was with suspicious eyes that I opened the curtains on Fri 13^th July; it looked like the sun was shining, but with this being Northern Ireland, one can never be too sure.  Sure enough though, there it was!  But would it stay? That was the main concern. We were headed to the Dalriada festival in Glenarm later that day, and with the festival being 90% outdoors, the weather was pretty crucial to its success.  We had my mother in law and my niece over staying with us from Scotland and were trying to show them the best of what NI had to offer, so after a morning at Titanic Belfast we headed out towards Larne, the North Coast and eventually Glenarm. We arrived at the grounds to Glenarm Castle with the sun still shining and as we quickly discovered a lot of other people had the same idea.

We navigated to the carpark easily as the grounds were well signposted and a short walk later we were paying in. With under 12s free and discount for seniors it was priced very competitively. My wife and I paid £10 each. The next few hours were spent having an amazing time, but first we scurried over to the Fine Food zone for some hog roast and coffee while the Broken Strings bluegrass band played in the background, which later made way to a display of Irish dancing.

We then moved round to see the cooking display from Channel 4s Fabulous Baker Brothers.  The guys were on great form as they took us through cooking a salmon en croute using all local produce, which we managed to grab a piece of to taste once they had finished. It was delicious (even though I don’t really like salmon)!  The guys were super nice and stayed behind for a good 20mins taking pictures and chatting with everyone.  They were handing out stickers for their website and as they stuck one on me I thought it only fair to stick some of the new pastiebap.com stickers on them. 

After the cookery we saw Willie Drennan’s Ulster Scots Band playing in the beautiful walled gardens. We had some ice cream while we attempted to watch the world’s first sheep fashion show. This was absolutely mobbed but we managed to glimpse Lady Baba and Super Lamb walking the catwalk with ease.

We caught the tail end of the massive muscle men taking part in the 'Clash of the Celtic Giants', tossing the massive caber in the air. We had a quick go on the Segways on the way round and to finish the day off, there was the amazing dancing acrobatic display that is the AFRIKAN WARRIORS.

The Dalriada festival has some solid sponsors in the shape of P&O ferries, UTV, Calor and Audi and it’s great to see these companies getting behind what is a different kind of festival that is truly for the whole family.  In an over saturated market of music festivals, Dalriada truly is something different and long may it continue!

Glasgowbury 2012 preview

I went to my first Glasgowbury in 2008. That year the event was headlined by ASH.  It was the first small festival I’d been to, upto that point I’d only been to larger fests, Leeds weekender and Download.  I was blown away by the intimacy, the atmosphere and the commitment to local music. 

Since that time Glasgowbury has grown every year, but their commitment has remained the same, the atmosphere has stayed the same and it’s still a heck of a day out. To get to Glasgowbury you have to drive out of the city, into the countryside, to the foot of a mountain, get on a bus, drive further up the mountain and then hop into a field. But it’s worth the effort. You get to see the cream of Irish music in an amazing setting, mountains in the background, sun shining (hopefully) beer in hand with the volume turned all the way up.  So here’s our wee preview of the bands to see, what to bring, useful links and some sage advice that I’ve garnered over the years.

At a glance

Website: http://www.glasgowbury.com/

Ticket: £45

Parking: £5

Bus: £3

Pint: £3.50

Food: £4-5
Postcode for the Sat-Nav: BT45 7EN

What to pack

How it goes

As you get near to Draperstown you'll start seeing signs directing you to the site, the first one usually appears at the roundabout in Draperstown. Follow these and you can't go far wrong.  You'll eventually see some guys in fluorescent jackets directing you to the car park.  It costs £5 to park the car and I've never heard of anyone having issues with security in the car park, but make sure to hide any valuables out of plain site and lock the car.  You 'll then walk over to the ticketing area, where you collect your tickets, or if you already have them show them to the staff. They'll give you a wrist band. Do not lose this! It's your proof that you've paid to be there.  After tickets there's a security check.  They're mostly checking for glass and cooking or fire making stuff and should only take a minute or 2.  After this there's a wee hut where you pay £3 for a return coach ticket.  The walk to the campsite takes about 25-30 mins and it's all uphill, with all your stuff. So this really is the best option. The coaches come about every 10 mins and one is never far away.  The bus then takes you and your stuff up the hill and leaves you at the campsite.  There's usually 2 main ones: family and camper-vans and there's loads of staff around to direct you to the right one.  Once in, set up your tent and get your sleeping bag out. Basically take 15 mins to set your area up first.  You'll be thankful later!

Next open a beer and have a well deserved drink!  Take a look around and note where your tent is, this will come in handy when you're staggering back later that night.  When you head over the Arena you'll be checked for booze and have your wrist band checked.  You can nip back and forth to the campsite as much as you like but make sure to keep any valuables on you.  Have a walk around and note where the stages are, so you know where to go to see the bands you want.  Be sure once you're there that you soak it all in, join in a drum circle, make a poster, get your face painted, check out some new bands! Make sure and eat and drink some water through out the day, it's a good 12 hours and you want to make sure you see it all. 

Trying to decide what bands to see and when, use the clash finder.
Put in your choices, colour code them and then print it out!

Clashfinder

Glasgowbury sent out this wee notice of information. A must read if you're going.

Checklist link

Our Recommendations

Intermission


A 3 piece Alt-Rock group from Derry who have been around making noise (in one band or another) for quite a wee while now.  The noise is starting to be heard and it's getting louder. Great anthemic choruses and crunchy guitars makes us look forward to finally seeing these guys live.

Silhouette

You know the song off that NI 2012 Our Time, Our Place ads? Well that's Sillhouette; catchy huh? Fronted by Shauna Tohill it's "high energy alternative pop laced with flavours of darkness, hope and desire."  Having finally seen them live at Pigstock we're pretty excited about catching them again.

Pocket Billiards


9 Piece Ska bastards from Belfast.  Coming with a new album under one arm and a ready made party under the other.  The most fun you can have with your clothes on.


Triggerman


If you like your riffs chunky and your rock hard, then these are the guys for you. Bringing a sound thats familiar, catchy but strangley unique.  Rock up on the day, let your hair down and perhaps even join in a mosh pit.

Tucan
Beautiful music played beautifully.  Known for thier amazing instrumental re-workings of modern pop songs, These guys play the most amazing and precise guitars you'll hear all day.

We'll be heading up early on saturday morning and have a full write up ASAP.  We hope to see you up the mountain! #smallbutmassive

Merry Quizmas! The Quarterly Pub Quz at the MAC

Manic is one word to describe the first 'Quarterly Quiz' at the MAC. Fun is another. As you walk in you are greeted by the sight of a roaring fire being projected on to a screen that occupies most of the reception desk - an electric guitar, pedals and amp are there too. Also there are fairy lights, a small table, a chair, a pint of Guinness and local comedian Paul Currie. It's at this point you feel under dressed. Starting at the floor he is wearing a pair of perfect white cuban heels and a Ron Burgundy style suit (only in blue). He has teamed all this with shoulder length hair and a wonderful beard. Standing at least 6 feet tall, he is, quite literally, a feast for the eyes.

The Quarterly Quiz happens every 3 months (hence quarterly) and is £5 for a team of 5. It started about 8:30pm on Sunday night, finishing about 3 hours later (for a full nights entertainment it was certainly value for money). As the Quiz started, Paul revealed that he had a different prop for each round.  He had a snow hat and goggles for the Geography round (as he made wind noises into the mic and quoted Captain Scott) and a visor and sunglasses for the film round - oh and a rubber hand on a ten foot pole for the "draw a horse" round. Yes thats right, there was a draw a horse round and the results were quite surprising, in a good way. Our team won this round with help from our friends over at The Skeleton Blog, as the rubber hand of fate picked our flying horse to be the best.

Guitar Intros

The other rounds consisted of film, Geography, culture, general knowledge, picture rounds, guitar intros and sport.  The picture round, rather ingeniously, consisted of pictures of various bar staff behind their respective bars and you had to guess what bar it was. Extra points if you knew the bar person's name.  The usual "guess the intro" round was replaced by the intros being played on an electric guitar.  It's always great to bring a bit of live music in when possible and this was a fun round.

Currie also conducted the sports round in a "spide" accent the whole way through, like. Because who loves sport more than spide.

Wall of Horse

We didn't win the overall quiz, but the awarding of the prizes was no less frenzied than the previous 3 hours. The first place winners were disqualified from winning prizes because they had sneaked more than 5 onto their team.  The second place winners were also exempt from winning prizes because they were made up of MAC staff. So the 3rd place winners won the 1st place prize and 4th place won the second place prize. Stop me if any of this is making sense...

The prizes consisted of jotters, Lowry prints and colouring in books, tickets to shows at the MAC and vouchers for meals at the MAC restaurant.

The winning Horse

All in all it was a brilliant evening. I was designated driver so ne'er a drop passed my lips all evening and even stone cold sober it was a brilliant time.  We'll be back in 3 months, you should probably get a team together and do the same.

Theatre at the Cinema! Frankenstein at the QFT

Recently Cinema has been in decline, so they say. So the cinemas are trying all manner of new ways to get us back into their darkened little rooms. 3D, digital projections, £3 Tuesdays (Or £3 Mondays at the QFT) better food, comfier seats the list goes on...  The recent trend of showing live events in cinemas for me however, is the most intriguing and sustainable.  I think this is a brilliant use of cinemas.  They are, after all, Public auditoriums and should be used as such.  The act of watching an event with fellow spectators always makes it better, grander and a lot more fun.

So this past Sunday as treat to my dad (it was father’s day after all) we took him to see a showing of the stage version of Frankenstein at the QFT. 

The QFT (Queens Film Theatre) is a marvellous place to while away a couple of hours. Situated to beside Queens University, right in the hub of the Botanic area is the film theatre for the film department of Queens and a great place to catch indie films and cult classics. The recent refurbishment, the beer garden and the addition of the Jameson’s bar have all been greatly received.  You can catch all the movies here that you don’t get in the multiplexes.  We recently went to see Iron Sky here and as usual the cinema was full to the brim. Also be sure to have a cup of their coffee, which I highly recommend!  On Mondays all films are £3 as well, so there are bargains to be had.

The play was originally performed in the National Theatre in London (this was a pre-recorded version). Directed by Danny Boyle (who rather topically is directing London's opening ceremony for the Olympics 2012) and starring the UK and US versions of Sherlock Holmes: Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Millar as Dr Frankenstein and 'the monster'. Each night this play was performed, Cumberbatch and Millar switched roles, and the earlier showing at the QFT that day was the alternate version to the one we saw. We saw the version with Cumberbatch as Frankenstein and Millar as the Monster. Tickets for this show were £10 a pop - dear for a film, cheap for a play - and seeing as this nestled somewhere comfortably between the two, I thought this was a perfectly acceptable price.  The screen was full; I saw 2 empty seats in the whole place. As we sat down on our really comfy seats with a cup of coffee we were first treated to a “DVD extra” in the format of some interviews with the stars, writer and director of the film as well as some footage of rehearsals.  This was a nice touch and it really whet our appetite for the next 2 hours.

As the play starts off we see the size and grandeur of The National Theatre, the rotating stage and a pulsing skin tent.  The monster is born and he writhes around the stage for about 10 minutes, trying to stand - he held the audience's attention effortlessly. At this point I realised what a brilliant actor Benedict Cumberbatch truly is, (and throughout the night, this wasn’t the last time I thought this) with a lesser talent this would’ve been quite tiresome. One of the main differences with this stage play to other versions of Frankenstein I’ve seen is that the monster talks, this works brilliantly and makes the monster feel like more of a character - a man scorned by society - rather than a pawn for the action to unfold around.  It made me realise that I’m not truly sure of the original story of Frankenstein as penned by Mary Shelley. This in part may be due to the various different re-enactments that we've seen on screen.

The rotating stage was used to great effect and to ensure smooth transitions between scenes, a massive lighting rig overhead (basically consisting of several hundred lightbulbs dangling from the ceiling) buzzed and faded in and out when the monster was being born, this also helped add atmosphere throughout the play.  A few set pieces were welcome also, such as the huge train that came in along the train tracks in the floor, and the massive windows and rooms inside the grand house in Geneva. Jonny Lee Miller was also excellent as Doctor Frankenstein, a man torn between what science can do and what is perceived as “the right thing”. In the “DVD extra” we saw at the start, Millar and Cumberbatch both stated that as rehearsals and shows progressed they could feel certain parts of the character they played in the monster, manifesting themselves when they played Frankenstein. Watching this play it was easy to imagine the two reversing roles, as the central two characters they were very much in this together.

I really enjoyed this trip to the QFT and will be looking out for more live events at the cinema.  Being part of a crowd, laughing and gasping at the same time definitely adds to and enhances the experience of watching a show. This is one experience I’d been keen to repeat!

QFT has a season of shows from The National Theatre coming up, including an adaptation of the amazing book “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time”.


Check their website for regular updates.

By Chris Caldwell