Herzl Reloaded, by Doron Rabinovici and Natan Sznaider, readings from their book, Schauspielhaus Zurich, 8* out of 10

In a three-way e-mail exchange, the Viennese author Doron Rabinovici, the Israeli sociologist Natan Sznaider and the spirit of the father of modern Zionism, Theodor Herzl, discuss the past, present and future of the State for the Jews. The authors presented readings followed by a moderated discussion at the Zurich Schauspielhaus on 5 March. 

A novelist, a sociologist and a dreamer-seer meet in cyberspace to engage in an e-mail exchange about the state of the “State for the Jews”, Israel viewed from the perspective of original dream, current reality and future potential.  The result is Herzl Reloaded, the book by Rabinovici and Sznaider. Despite its English title the book is currently only available in German.  

On Sunday 5 March 2017, the authors playing themselves and Klaus Brümmelmeyer, an actor playing Theodor Herzl, presented extensive readings of key passages from the book. This was followed by a discussion between them which was skilfully moderated by Yves Kugelmann, the editor of Switzerland’s largest circulation Jewish magazine. 

Doron Rabinovici, the novelist born in Israel to holocaust survivors, has lived in Vienna since early childhood. 

Natan Sznaider, Professor of Sociology at Tel Aviv University was born in Germany in 1954. He also is the son of holocaust survivors. Having emigrated to Israel at the age of 20, he now lives the reality of Zionism in 2017. 

The seer, Theodor Herzl (1860 – 1904), was born in Budapest and lived in Vienna where he worked as a novelist, playwright, journalist and public intellectual. Herzl's utopian dream:  a State for the Jews through which they would emancipate themselves among the nations and thus combat and overcome ubiquitous antisemitism. Herzl died in 1904, but lives on through his books, plays, letters and newspaper articles. Based on what he considered achievable at different times, Herzl experimented with several versions of his dream, such a state in Uganda or the conversion of all Jews of future generations to Christianity. Ultimately, he reached the conclusion that the one thing that made sense was the creation of a modern state for the Jewish people in the land of Israel. Through his ideas and tireless work, he became a protagonist of modern Israel’s creation, an almost mythical figure mentioned by name in Israel’s Declaration of Independence.

For Doron Rabinovici modern Israel’s legitimacy as a State is inextricably tied up with the Holocaust. Only by having their own state would Jews be able to ensure their survival. A position that was given international legitimacy by the community of nations through the decision by the UN General Assembly to recognize the State of Israel in 1948.  Rabinovici distinguishes the golden age of modern Israel from 1948 to 1967.  In his view Israel’s 1967 occupation had made the moderate Western socialist “city-on-a-hill” that was the State for the Jews go awry. The occupation of Palestinian land and people has changed Israel proper and in his view, not for the better. As Rabinovici sees it, assisting the creation of a peaceful democratic Palestinian state alongside a peaceful democratic and strong Israel would have been and still is an effective pragmatic step; moreover, it is a moral duty not only for all Israelis but also for all Jews.  The responsibility for lack of progress lies with both sides of the conflict and the occupation is becoming an ever more normal situation as far as Israeli society is concerned; but the longer the occupation lasts the more difficult it is for a fair two-state solution to be implemented and the further away Israel moves from its original ideals. Nevertheless, Doron Rabinovici, a feisty resilient social democrat and human rights activist, continues to defend Israel with persistence and wit, while strongly criticising what he sees as its excesses. 

Natan Sznaider, the sociology professor, speaks with the legitimacy of an Israeli citizen living in Israel. For him the bible is a more suitable and positive founding narrative for the state of Israel than the Holocaust. As Sznaider sees it, Israeli civil society today is a lively mix of diverse tribes and groups interacting among themselves and between each other, with a diversity and vibrancy often overlooked outside of Israel. 

He points out that the 1948 to 1967 period when Israel was led by an Ashkenazi elite wasn’t quite as golden as Rabinovici would like to believe it was.  And thus, the period of 1967 to 2017 does not represent as steep a decline as Rabinovici has made it out to be. Today's Israel is the result of perhaps inevitable adaptations of the state for the Jews to the realities of the internal and external changes in conditions which Israeli society and its body politic had to manage. 

In Sznaider’s view, simply returning to the 1967 borders would not solve much and is not a good idea, even if it were politically on the cards. So, while for Rabinovici ending the occupation is practical and healthy for Israel’s soul as well as for its position in the “family of nations”, Sznaider believes it would be a phenomenally risky act that could be misunderstood by Israel's enemies as a sign of weakness or even of hubris. In either case, it would likely put Israel in a position that would be much worse than the status quo. As Sznaider sees it, managing the status quo in the volatile new Middle Eastern and geopolitical environment is the least bad option available. 

Such realism sounds convincing at a time when the Christians of the Middle East who have lived peacefully in Muslim majority countries for millennia, are forced to flee the region in fear of their lives. Nevertheless, one cannot help but wish that sooner rather than later, voices like Rabinovici’s, to the extent that they also exist among Israel’s citizens, would get more traction in the Israeli political debate. Israeli political thought and leadership today suffers from an overdose of sarcastic realism which blinds it to creative ideas directed towards a moral aspiration for country and society. Enlightened self-interest may lie in tipping the balance more towards the latter. 

As far as Herzl’s dream is concerned Tel Aviv has not become the “Vienna-by-the-Yarkon” which he imagined and hoped for. But it is a young, passionate and vibrant modern city, beating heart of the “start-up nation”. Perhaps Israel today is not everything that the Jews of the diaspora could have wished for; but it is a country, warts and all, of which not only Jews in Israel can be proud.

Shortly before his death Herzl appealed to his designated successors: “Just don’t do anything stupid while I’m dead”. That was always too much to ask.

In any case on a Sunday evening in March 2017, in a well-filled Schauspielhaus in Zurich the mainly Swiss Jewish audience was stimulated and entertained, both by the readings and by the discussion that followed. For two people to enjoy discussing serious disagreements in a civilized, sincere, witty and entertaining manner is a considerable achievement these days, certainly when the topic is Israel and Zionism. The Swiss Jewish cultural society Omanut is to be congratulated for organising an especially interesting and stimulating event which was rewarded by a large attendance and warm applause for the protagonists of the evening.

The link below is an English page by the publishing house Suhrkamp:

http://www.suhrkamp.de/buecher/herzl_reloaded-doron_rabinovici_54276.html?d_view=english

This is the 3rd version of this blog entry (posted 20 March 2017 at 12:41 hours) correcting a number of spelling/grammatical errors from the earlier versions and incorporating small editorial changes.

Hidden Figures, Film 2016, co-written and directed by Theodore Melfi, 8* out of 10

This subversively entertaining comedy drama will get under your skin as it tells the little known story of three talented black women working in 1950s segregated Virginia, making the most of a unique opportunity offered by the space race between the Soviet Union and the United States for an important step towards emancipation at the workplace. 

In 1962, John Glenn in the Friendship 7 became the first American to travel into space and make it back to earth in one piece. Based on real people and events, Hidden Figures puts the spotlight on little-known aspect of National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) achievement, in catching up with and ultimately overtaking the Soviet Union in the space race between the two superpowers. It is the role that “computers” (in two senses of this word) played in making this possible. “Computers” was the job title of the mathematically gifted people who would perform the mathematics necessary to engineer the space rockets and send them into orbit (as well as denoting the digital machine that has revolutionized modern society). One section of the human computers at NASA consisted of black women. Three of them, Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer), Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae) and Katherine G. Johnson (Mary Jackson) are hitherto unsung heroes portrayed in this film. At the time, Virginia was a segregated State. This meant that black people were made to work in offices separate from their white colleagues, had to take their coffee from separate coffee machines and use separate toilets. Moreover, it was, “of-course” considered normal to not to see women as equal to men at work. But the national importance of the space race and the introduction of electronic computers provided a unique opportunity for minorities and women to make a quantum leap in emancipation at NASA through professional achievement. 

Hidden Figures (a title with two senses, both applying to this tale) tells the story of three talented black women took advantage of a unique window of opportunity. The screen writers made a risky choice by choosing to tell it as a comedy drama, but they succeed. Not least, because the comedic format makes the scenes that show the “banality of segregation” hit us in the gut even more effectively and memorably, than a purely dramatic treatment would have. The normality with which intelligent white men and women accepted that situation in the 1950s and 1960s serves as a reminder that existing social arrangements have a seductive power. Reasonable people manage to justify themselves what should evidently be unjustifiable. The main reason why the two white men, mission director John Harrison (Kevin Costner) and astronaut John Glenn (Glen Powell) break through the convention of their time is not a commitment to civil rights, but a recognition that it is for their own benefit to do so. For the first, his career and for the second his life depends on it. The important steps in the emancipation of the black women at the centre of this story were a by-product of the need of NASA to innovate and succeed. Enlightened self-interest aligned with the advancement of civil rights.

Based on the book by Margot Lee Shatterly, Allison Schroeder and Theodore Malfi have done an excellent job on their screenplay.  A fine ensemble cast competently directed by Theodore Malfi keeps the audience interested and entertained from beginning to end. Hidden Figures is exactly what a good comedy drama based on true events can and should be. As a bonus, you get a look at the charismatic Mahershala Ali (Academy Award for best supporting role in the film “Moonlight”).  This film gets under your skin. Highly recommended.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4846340/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt

Amadeus, Play by Peter Schaffer, National Theatre, London , 8* out of 10

The revival of this powerful drama by Peter Schaffer on the stage of the National Theatre in London successfully weaves the live music and the members of the orchestra into the action on stage. Lucian Msamati gives a strong performance as a black Salieri, who becomes angry and vengeful towards God. Director Michael Longhurst and his cast create a beautifully entertaining and thought provoking evening at the theatre. A production which thoroughly deserves its sell-out run.  

Vienna in the 1780s. Now in his 20s, and married to Constanze Weber (Karla Crome), the former travelling pianist-wunderkind Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Adam Gillen) comes to Vienna to launch, what he hopes will be a successful career as a freelance composer. Convinced of being the best (which indeed he is), he is a rather childish and uncouth figure, not adept at playing the politics in the Vienna cultural scene at the Court of the Austrian Emperor Joseph II. Here, Antonio Salieri (Lucian Msamate) is the celebrated composer carefully building his musical career and social status. Contrary to Mozart, he is a master at the political game and a paragon of morally irreproachable behaviour, faithful husband to his wife and member of charitable committees. He believes that his success is due to a promise he made to serve God faithfully in return for success in his art and profession. But, the appearance of the vulgar childish young Mozart, who despite of his silliness and immoral behaviour seems to have been chosen by God as the vessel for composing the most divine music with apparent ease, shakes the foundations of Salieri’s faith and thus an important part of his identity. Salieri’s love for God gradually turns into a deep and damaging feeling of anger at being undeservedly mocked by him with ever escalating consequences. 

Recounted by Salieri many years after the events, Amadeus tells the story of Mozart’s time in Vienna, through the memory (or phantasy) of Salieri as a clear sighted (or confused) old man, whose conscience is plagued but what he did (or what he imagined he might have done) to his rival Mozart. In short, while, according to the historians, the story told here, based on an actual rumour at the time, is not true at all, it is beautifully imagined and told. Also, Mozart was not as eccentric and socially dysfunctional as he is presented in this play. But divergences from history do not make Schaffer's play any less moving and powerful or it's main characters any less memorable. 

The story of Peter Schaffer’s brilliant theatre play is best known through Milos Forman’s excellent film adaptation; the National Theatre’s new production of the original play brings us back to the theatrical origins. Sadly, playwright Peter Schaffer died in June 2016. 

Amadeus, Mozart’s middle name, means loved by God and it is no accident that Schaffer chose it as the title for his play: Salieri cannot accept why God would endow the undeserving Mozart with such musical talent, rather than the god-fearing Salieri himself. He perceives this as a cruel and unfair joke that God is playing on him.    
Lucian Msamati is an excellent Salieri, a complex character overwhelmed by Mozart’s divine music and full of anger at God for giving such a gift to someone so undeserving. Having a black actor playing a character moving in the higher social circles of 1780’s Vienna is not as historically odd as it may seem: the very real black Angelo Soliman (see picture below), originally from today’s Nigeria or Northern Cameroon, played a prominent role in Vienna’s Freemasonry in the 1780’s and was an acquaintance of Mozart’s. However, the decision by director or the actor, to give Salieri an Italian accent when he speaks in English is a pity; the beautiful and powerful lines given to Salieri by Schaffer should be spoken in English free of any artificial foreign accent. Moreover, at times Msamati briefly seems to fall into another accent altogether. All this is unnecessarily distracting, but the brilliant physicality and sonorous voice of Msamati more than makes up for this slight flaw.

The other outstanding performance is Karla Crome’s as Mozart’s adored and loving wife Constanze. She is the smart and cunning adversary to Salieri. Constanze defends her Wolfgang’s interests with all she’s got, while taking advantage of the social and sexual freedom this period of the Enlightenment allows her, despite of an adoring jealous husband and a disapproving society. Mozart himself is of course not averse to trysts with his high society groupies and adoring sopranos but Constanze remains his one true love.  

The special feature of director Michael Longhurst’s production is that Mozart’s music, which is skilfully woven into the dramatic action on stage is played and sung live. This provides some challenges to dramaturgical choreography which are beautifully resolved by bringing the musicians into the action on stage and giving this production its unique character with a special energy and aura. The acceptable drawback is that when the music is background to dialogues or soliloquies on stage, hearing the important sometimes lyrical text can be difficult. 

The great creativity of the production and the high quality of the acting, singing and musicianship by the entire ensemble brought out the strengths of Schaffer’s powerful play. A beautifully entertaining and thought provoking evening at the theatre, for a production which thoroughly deserves its sell-out run. 

https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/amadeus


 

Angelo Suliman

"A cultured man, Soliman was highly respected in the intellectual circles of Vienna and counted as a valued friend by Austrian Emperor Joseph II and Count Franz Moritz von Lacy. In 1783, he joined the Masonic lodge "True Harmony", whose membership included many of Vienna's influential artists and scholars of the time, among them the musicians Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Joseph Haydn"

Wikipedia.

La La Land, Film 2016, written and directed by Damien Chazelle, 5* out of 10

This bitter-sweet romantic-drama-musical is only mildly enjoyable. There are relatively strong scenes at beginning and the end - the rest is rather weak. The main characters are emotionally immature and lack depth and chemistry. The music has some good syncopation but no memorable melodies. Much ado about very little. 

Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) and Mia (Emma Stone) meet in Los Angeles and immediately dislike each other; clearly they are heading for romance. Sebastian plays standard tunes in a Hollywood restaurant, Mia works as barista in a Hollywood-studio-lot coffee shop (the clean-cut American, not the Dutch weed-distributing kind). Sebastian thinks Jazz is great, Mia’s dream is to become a famous Hollywood actress. When romance strikes, Sebastian will persuade Mia that she can make it, if she persists. In return Mia persuades Sebastian that he will one day have the Jazz Club he dreams of, if he persists. Will their plans for romance and career be realized?

The first and last scenes of La La Land are good, set, special effects,  photography  and choreography come together here. As for the rest, this film is sadly lacking in what makes a romantic musical. The script has no edge and hardly any wit. The music has some good syncopation but lacks catchy melodies. This is a disappointing effort from writer/director Damien Chazelle, who managed to bring plenty of wit and edge to his excellent 2014-film Whiplash, which also included a brilliant Jazz-score. Moreover, as there is no real chemistry between Ms. Stone and Mr. Gosling - both capable of great acting performances in various genres, but mainly coasting here - the romance part on which this film turns, lacks the necessary spark to be credible. Sebastian and Mia seem to stay together because each can provide to the other the persistence they need to succeed professionally. Why cannot they summon enough motivation from within? The answer is given in a dialogue between them when Mia, disappointed that Sebastian appears to have given up on his dream (- or is it her dream for him?) says: “People like people who are passionate about something.” Really? Is the moral of this film: if you want to be liked by people (which people exactly?) you must be passionate about something (does it matter which something or can you just choose at random?).

In the face of a gut-wrenchingly brilliant film like Manchester-by-the-Sea being available for choice it is regrettable, though not surprising, that this year perhaps, in a communal attempt to escape political realities, a dreamy musical romance/drama would get a record equalling number of Oscar nominations. 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3783958/

Manchester by the Sea, Film USA 2016, written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan, 9* out of 10

Kenneth Lonergan’s Manchester-by-the-Sea is a beautifully written, directed and acted family drama. It is a deeply moving high quality film, with an outstanding performance by Casey Affleck in the main role surrounded by an excellent acting ensemble. Careful choice of music and the beautiful photography do the rest.     

Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck) works as a janitor in Boston where he lives by himself in modest circumstances, doing his work and trying to keep the demons of the past buried deep inside. His elder brother Joe (Kyle Chandler) has brought up a now sixteen-year-old son Patrick (Lucas Hedges) mostly as a single dad after a separation from his alcoholic wife Elise (Gretchen Moll). After a not unexpected but difficult loss, a task set him by his brother will severely test Lee and the relationship between uncle and nephew. 

Manchester-by-the-Sea is a beautifully written and directed family drama. One of its strength is that it eschews many of the easy answers and clichés. One instance of this is the portrayal of teenagers sometimes behaving more maturely and supportively than grown-ups is one example of this. The powerful performances by the entire acting ensemble are led by an outstanding pained, passive aggressive Casey Affleck and marvellous supporting performances notably by Michelle Williams (as Lee’s ex-wife Randi).  Flashbacks are built in to the flow of the story effectively without being disruptive or seeming contrived. 

The contrast between the calm serenity of the town of Manchester in Massachusetts (filmed on location Manchester-by-the –Sea, as well as the neighbouring towns of Rockport, Gloucester, Essex and Beverley) and the inner turmoil of the protagonists is underlined by the score which includes a beautiful original chorale by the Canadian composer Lesley Barber and classical pieces by Georg Friedrich Händel and Tomaso Albinoni. The photography is beautiful. 

The movie theatre in Paris, where I saw this film was packed; all of us left this film deeply moved. Highly recommended. 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4034228/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt  

United States of Love (Zjednoczone stany miłości) , Film, Poland 2015, written and directed by Tomasz Wasilewski, 8* out of 10

United States of Love masterfully presents a slow-moving, beautifully acted drama of women in pursuit of women’s sexual obsession, desire and love. Great direction and photography capture a personal sadness in an atmosphere of hopeful political departure. Be warned though: if you do not leave the cinema depressed after seeing this movie, you must have been ingesting something very special before you sat down to watch it.   

Poland in 1990, after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Politically, things seem possible, that no one had dared to dream of only a short time ago. While trust in existing institutions and conventions is collapsing, every day-life continues. Yet, for the four women who are protagonists in Tomasz Wasilewski’s film the political and social atmosphere of departure gives the impetus to follow desires that lay deep within them, perhaps dormant but certainly unpursued until now. Agata (Julia Kijowska) caught in a marriage that has become unhappy for her is obsessed with the young, attractive roman-catholic priest, who teaches her teenage daughter. The respected head-teacher Iza (Magdalena Cielecka) has a long-standing secret affair with a physician who is the father of one of her pupils. When his wife dies, she is sure that her love for him will turn into a happy marriage. But the ruthless doctor has other ideas. Iza’s sister, Marzena (Marta Niradkiewicz), a former beauty-queen, is waiting for the return of her husband from Germany - or to be called to join him. Marzena’s neighbour, Renata (Dorta Kolak), a teacher at Iza’s school, meanwhile finds the courage to pursue the crush she has had on Marzena ever since she laid eyes on her.

Against a bleak and hopeless architectural, meteorological background and faced by men that range from baffled (and tepid) via clueless (and cold) to brutal (and icy), the women in United States of Love, are made to suffer relentlessly. In all the scenes in which a priest appears he speaks of the centrality of love, its beauty its importance, its heavenliness. But in key-scene a student raises his hand and asks the priest: “And, have you ever had sex?”.  

At the heart of United States of Love there is a striking contrast between the idealized love praised by the men of the church and the abject failure of the attempts at the pursuit of earthly love with men by intelligent, practical women. It is this contrast and the tension between political optimism and personal misery which make this fittingly slow-moving drama both impactful and deeply depressing. 

Direction, photography and the understated form, in which the excellent acting performances, none of them stronger than Magdalena Ciliecka’s, are captured, all reinforce the tragedy of women’s disappointments when it comes to living their love, desires and obsessions. 

United States of Love won the prize for best screenplay at the Berlin Film Festival, but if you’re looking for any light relief in adversity, you won’t find it here. 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5333110/

Nice Fish, Play by Louis Jenkins and Mark Rylance, Harold Pinter Theatre, London 7.5* out of 10

Mark Rylance gives another brilliant performance, this time in a lighter register. Louis Jenkins’ play is a series of vignettes with folksy, homespun philosophy from the frozen lakes of Minnesota.  

Have you ever wondered whether the Minnesota of TV-Series “Fargo” would make an entertaining setting for a film or a play free of violence?  You need wander no further than the Harold Pinter Theatre to find the answer – and it is affirmative.

In “Nice Fish” Ron (Mark Rylance) and Eric (Jim Lichtscheidl), two middle-aged men of hardy Scandinavian stock have put up their tents or huts on the ice of a frozen Minnesota lake waiting for the end of the long winter while enjoying the great outdoors. Ice fishing (whereby a whole is drilled through the thick layer of ice and the angling rod planted above it) seems more of a justification for friends engaging in deep philosophical exchanges disguised as banter and in banter disguised as deep philosophical exchanges. 

Clare van Kampen directs Louis Jenkins’ play which is really a series of vignettes from a holiday-on-ice. Together they provide 90 minutes of amusingly enjoyable comedy drama in an inventive set by Todd Rosenthal performed by a competent cast, led by the brilliant Mark Rylance (recently of Bridge of Spies, Big Friendly Giant and Wolf Hall and sometimes referred to as the greatest stage actor of his generation). 

Like the packed audience, I was in the mood for the melancholic, homespun, folksy wisdom. Those who came to see Mr Rylance in a register a bit lighter than usual will also not have been disappointed. Good, light fun for the thinking person. 

http://www.nicefishtheplay.co.uk/?gclid=CjwKEAiAyanCBRDkiO6M_rDroH0SJAAfZ4KLnpDUleoRZFSJ6ZqLA7yBDJeccRSxQvcCT_9myCy3ChoCx4jw_wcB

Travesties, play by Tom Stoppard, Menier Chocolate Factory, London, 10* out of 10

Director Patrick Marber and his outstanding ensemble of actors perform Tom Stoppard’s hilariously funny rapid-fire succession of dialogue, movement, choreography and song to perfection.

In which tranquil European city could you have found the co-inventor of a modern art movement, the soon to be leader of superpower and the author of arguably the most influential, best known and most unread novel of 20th century world literature? The metropolis in question is no other than Zurich, the time period 1914 to 1919, not too long before the gnomes had replaced the radical thinkers and intellectuals with strong-rooms full of Krugerrands, Vreneli and all sorts of other valuables. 

In Tom Stoppard's comedy, Tristan Tzara (Freddy Fox), the Romanian-French avant-garde poet, cabaretier and co-founder of the Dadaism absurdist art-movement, James Augusta Joyce (Peter McDonald), the author of Ulysses and Vladimir Ulyanov (Forbes Masson) who would later be better known as Lenin, all possess a membership card to the Zurich municipal Library during and shortly after World War I. So does the lesser known Anthony Carr (Tom Hollander), a young British war veteran, and consular official, who, as the records of the Zurich courts show, will sue Joyce over the latter’s production of Oscar Wilde’s comedy The Importance of Being Earnest in the Kaufleuten Hall in the centre of Zurich, in which Carr was among the cast. 

Tom Stoppard has meticulously researched the facts on which his witty and hilarious play is based. Many years after the events, an aged Anthony Carr reminisces about this vignette in the European history of the 20th century, in which as a member of the British consulate he had a small (or perhaps not so small?) role to play. Ostensibly though it is Lenin, Joyce and Tzara who are the protagonists of the events on stage. Although their female companions and love interests, Cecily Carruthers (Clare Foster) and Gwendolen Carr (Amy Morgan), and Nadya (Sarah Quist) and the indispensable butler Bennett (Tim Wallers) have more than minor roles and energise the story with the prospect of romance and international class struggle. The latter in the elegantly understated and restrained manner that befits the archetypal English butler.

The plot of Travesties mirrors and self-references Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Ernest” and is a firework of witty allusions in English, Russian, Latin and Dada delivered rapidly by an outstanding cast led by Tom Hollander. It is almost impossible to get all the jokes and allusions on seeing Travesties once, as every dialogue is meticulously crafted to deliver in rapid succession gags, jokes and wit including the breaking out in song and dance. Originally written in 1974, Travesties has something of Monty Python about it and must also have inspired creators of such British cult TV series as “Fawlty Towers” and “Blackadder”.

Travesties is such a complex rapid-fire succession of dialogue movement choreography and song, that it is anything but easy to perform it to perfection. But director Patrick Marber has managed to harness his outstanding ensemble of actors do just that. The production design by Tim Hatley matches this high standard. 

The packed house at the Menier Chocolate Factory enjoyed the hilarious treat presented to them and gave it more than one round of fully deserved rapturous applause. Highly recommended, a wonderful treat. 

On the evening we had come from Zurich to see the play I was surprised a casually distinguished older gentleman next to me noisily unwrapping a candy during Act 1. It was none other than the author Tom Stoppard himself, who had come to check out the production of his play. When we told him we had come from Zurich to see it, he said “How ironic!”. 

https://www.menierchocolatefactory.com/Online/default.asp?doWork::WScontent::loadArticle=Load&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::article_id=73D803FA-C2C4-4FCA-878F-4C3785FAC636&sessionlanguage=&SessionSecurity::linkName=

The Arab of the Future (L’Arabe du Futur), Volumes 1 and 2 of a Graphic Memoir by Riad Satouff, 10* out of 10

The Arab of the Future tells of an unusual childhood in the Middle East of the 1980s told in the form of a graphic memoir. Riad Sattouf’s voice is original and unique; deceptively simple, his observations are deep, intelligent, often funny and at times very moving.  I read the first two volumes  in one sitting.

Riad Sattouf grows up in the 1970s and 80s, the son of a Syrian University professor and a French mother. His father has risen from very modest beginnings in a small village near Homs in Syria. He is a pan-Arabist, who fervently believes that Syrians are best, that Arabs on the whole will throw off the shackles of Imperialism and demonstrate their superiority to the West. If they haven’t done so already, it is of course due to a global conspiracy perpetrated by the Jews. Moreover, he is convinced that despite of his humble origins he will one day become respected, successful and very rich and that his son will be the epitome of the new Arab man, the eponymous “Arab of the Future”.

Riad’s mother is Breton, the daughter of French civil servants. She believes in the virtues of French values liberté, egalité, fraternité and laïcité. The last of these being the untranslatable concept of how the French think any civilised state should organise the place of religion in society. Unfortunately they are still struggling to find a single other country that might agree with them. At the grassroots level French values translate into the civil servant's right to job security, retirement around the age of 55 with a good pension, and generally enjoying a good life. All of these are accessible to Riad’s maternal grandmother, but Riad’s mother has none of these in prospect. She is waiting rather patiently for her husband to become as successful and wealthy as he always claims he will soon be. 

Riad born in France with an abundant mane of gorgeous blond hair, enjoys that adults find him cute and irresistible. At a very young age he moves with his family to Libya and then Syria and returns to France occasionally to visit his grandmother on vacation. Very early on his talent for drawing what he sees around him becomes evident. And while to his great chagrin sometime in later life his gorgeous blond hair will turn dark, his great sense of being able to represent in annotated drawings what he sees, feels and hears never leaves him. 

As a result, readers of volume 1 and 2 get a treat of learning about France, Libya and Syria in the early through the eyes of a child that sees what is going on around him and tries to interpret it with the help of his father's and mother's views as they were presented to a child. For instance, from the moment he hears his mother refer to France’s iconic chanson singer George Brassens as “a God, whenever, God is mentioned the grey-haired moustachioed face of Brassens appears in Riad’s imagination.

The first two volumes of Riad Sattouf’s autobiography are deceptively simple in drawings, dialogue and annotation. Riad's curiosity and acute observation get under the reader's shield of preconceptions. He "draws us in", literally,  to hear his story and allows us to take the perspective of a little child as we consider the complicated, confusing and sometimes downright crazy world full of contradictions in which he finds himself. Riad will somehow have to integrate all this into what we now refer to as his identity. Thanks to his talent and sense of observation, and mainly due to his being a small child he does this naturally and playfully. Imperceptibly he makes the reader adopt his perspective, and a highly rewarding experience this is, too. 

Now in his 40s, and acutely feeling the irretrievable loss of cute infantile blondness, Satouff’s graphic autobiography gives the reader a ringside seat to an extra-ordinary multicultural childhood. Perspective, simplicity and humour combine to give us the sounds, sights and feel of the places the young Riad lives at and the institutions he experiences and tries to make sense of. 

The deservedly multi-prize-winning "Arab of the Future" is in fact an “unputdownable” work of child psychology, sociology and human geography rolled into one -  without any jargon and absolutely no boring bits. I cannot wait to see the future volumes of the autobiography by this supremely talented observer of life, man and nature. Highly recommended!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Arab-Future-Childhood-1978-1984-Graphic-ebook/dp/B01ARXVW4W/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1475766303&sr=1-3&keywords=riad+sattouf

I Am Not Madame Bovary, Film, China, 2016, Zurich Film Festival, 9* out of 10

Liu Zheniun’s screenplay, adapted from his novel, is a brilliant satire of Chinese State, reminiscent of Kafka’s “The Trial” – but in reverse. Director Feng Xiaogang’s cinematography is inventive, beautiful and brilliant. Fan Bingbing's performance in the leading role is outstanding.

In order to obtain a second apartment Li Xeluian (Fan Bingbing) comes up with a plan to circumvent he Chinese legislation forbidding and begins to implement it with her husband. The plan involves that they will first divorce and then remarry after the second dwelling has been allocated to her. But her husband has other plans: after the divorce he implements the plan with another woman, leaving Li Xeluian with nothing. But the jilted young woman is nothing if not persistent and resourceful. She starts a battle through the Chinese judicial and political institutions to have her sham divorce reversed and she is not ready to give up no matter how long and difficult this is. What happens next is something that is reminiscent of Kafka’s “The Trial” – but in reverse: Li Xeluian is the grain of sand in the Chinese Judicial and administrative system that makes the institutions start to turn in on themselves and on their representatives.

Liu Zheniun’s screenplay, adapted from his novel, is a brilliant satire of Chinese State and political made poignant by his depiction of his characters as very real and feeling human being, whether they are ordinary people or functionaries of the People’s Republic of China who are trying to make its institutions work while protecting their positions. The acting is excellent with an outstanding performance by Fan Bingbing. Director Feng Xiaogang’s cinematography is inventive, beautiful and brilliant. The combination of screenplay, acting and cinematography makes this a highly original and spell binding film. I Am Not Madame Bovary is a pleasure to watch and very accessible to international audiences. Speculating about what is behind the film’s English title is one of the fringe benefits Western audiences are left with after seeing this memorable film. 

I Am Not Madame Bovary richly deserves the many prizes it has received, among them the nomination as Best Film at the prestigious San Sebastian Film Festival.

http://zff.com/en/archive/16589/

Café Society, Film 2016 written & directed by Woody Allen, 8* out of 10

Jesse Eisenberg's great performance in the lead role give this solid Woody Allen comedy/drama/romance additional appeal. 

Bobby Dorfman (Jesse Eisenberg) introvert, intelligent and unhappy with working in his hen-pecked father’s (Ben Stott) small business in New York City, arrives in Los Angeles where his mother (Jeannie Berlin) tries to get him a job with her brother the successful, dynamic and ubiquitous Hollywood-agent Phil Stern (Steve Carell). When he finally meets his uncle he proves to be a talented and effective networker whose “deer caught in the headlights look” not only helps him to build up a useful business network but also to woo his uncle’s secretary Vonnie (Kristen Stewart). 

What follows is romantic, darkish, philosophical comedy as vintage Woody Allen meets shades of The Great Gatsby and Casablanca. On the way, we see the protagonists of the drama, as well as the supporting characters from the Dorfman family, struggle with the day to day practical questions of life (noisy neighbours worsening your migraine) and the more philosophical ones (what about the after-life? They do so in a quintessentially pragmatic secular Jewish manner with the desire to requite true unrequited love between the Jewish New York boy and his Nebraska protestant girl takes the centre-stage of his inner-life.

Café Society is an undeniably Woody Allen comedy/drama with Jazz classics and narration adorning an outstanding 1930s set. The action moves inevitably between Hollywood mansions and New York City views. 

Within a competent ensemble cast, Steve Carell, Kirsten Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg give outstanding performances. The most interestingly written character is the one of the Jewish-neurotic lead played by Eisenberg, who, in contrast to Woody Allen's own "single-layer-cake" performances in this type of role over the past decades, manages to credibly show the development and complexity of a "multi-layer-cake" character.

Café Society is an enjoyable and entertaining film with an undeniable plus provided by Kirsten Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg’s Vonnie and Bobby, the handsome couple with the slow-burning will-they-won’t-they love-affair.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4513674/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt