Intrigue, Monkeys, Genies and Feminists
Sep. 12th, 2016 11:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alobearCurtsies and Conspiracies is the second book in the Finishing School series by Gail Carriger. Switching to audiobook format for this series turned out to be an excellent choice, as the narrator is very good, and the highly entertaining exploits of Sophronia and her classmates lend themselves very well to a fun listening experience. I love Miss Geraldine's Finishing School - the fact that it's on an airship, the fact that part of the girls' training is keeping the headmistress in the dark about the school's true purpose, the corresponding school for evil geniuses where all the boys go, the societal politics of including both vampire and werewolf factions in the government - it's all gloriously silly and masterfully woven together into a rip-roaring tale of high adventure. Great stuff - very much looking forward to listening to the rest.
Friday night saw us taking a trip to the cinema to see Kubo and the Two Strings, which proved good fun. The animation was really beautiful; I liked the fact that the story had a slow build, allowing the viewer to cultivate deep sympathy for Kubo before he was plunged into danger; the interactions between Monkey and Beetle were largely hilarious; and the conclusion had some nice unexpected touches to it, while avoiding slipping into mawkishness. There was something about it that felt a bit off-kilter to me, though, but I can't put my finger on what it was. Don't get me wrong - I really enjoyed the film, but it didn't quite cohere into a fully engaging whole for me. It may have been that we went to a 3D showing and, even wearing my awesome 2D glasses, it still gave me a headache. I'm not sure. Still, a good evening's entertainment, with lots to recommend about it.
Saturday was a theatre double-bill, with two excellent but very different shows.
We visited the West End for Disney's Aladdin, to celebrate my parents' birthdays, and everyone had a good time. There were new songs, very enthusiastic dance numbers, excellent staging, and lots of colour and dazzle. The best word I can think of to describe it would be - exuberant. I missed Abu and the character of the magic carpet from the film version, but Aladdin's three replacement friends were fun, and the whole thing tripped along very amusingly. It was a bit difficult to make out the words of some of the songs, and I felt Aladdin himself wasn't quite as committed to the role as the other cast members. Plus, apparently fat people still have to be funny, and can only pair off with other fat people at the end. Still, overall, it was a fun show, and I'm glad we got the opportunity to go.
Later in the evening, I visited the Arcola Theatre in Dalston to see How To Date A Feminist. I got the ticket free from a magazine editor who has asked me to be their regular theatre critic (woot!), so it's a play I wouldn't have seen otherwise. I really enjoyed it. It was a two-hander, with each cast member playing three different parts - very well, I might add. There were lots of quick costume changes, and it was all very well staged in a limited space. The story was about a couple where the man was a staunch feminist and the woman confessed to generally preferring 'bad men' - it followed them through various relationship trials, and it was very funny, whilst also asking some quite serious questions about gender equality. A very good production, and another one I'm glad I got the opportunity to see.
Friday night saw us taking a trip to the cinema to see Kubo and the Two Strings, which proved good fun. The animation was really beautiful; I liked the fact that the story had a slow build, allowing the viewer to cultivate deep sympathy for Kubo before he was plunged into danger; the interactions between Monkey and Beetle were largely hilarious; and the conclusion had some nice unexpected touches to it, while avoiding slipping into mawkishness. There was something about it that felt a bit off-kilter to me, though, but I can't put my finger on what it was. Don't get me wrong - I really enjoyed the film, but it didn't quite cohere into a fully engaging whole for me. It may have been that we went to a 3D showing and, even wearing my awesome 2D glasses, it still gave me a headache. I'm not sure. Still, a good evening's entertainment, with lots to recommend about it.
Saturday was a theatre double-bill, with two excellent but very different shows.
We visited the West End for Disney's Aladdin, to celebrate my parents' birthdays, and everyone had a good time. There were new songs, very enthusiastic dance numbers, excellent staging, and lots of colour and dazzle. The best word I can think of to describe it would be - exuberant. I missed Abu and the character of the magic carpet from the film version, but Aladdin's three replacement friends were fun, and the whole thing tripped along very amusingly. It was a bit difficult to make out the words of some of the songs, and I felt Aladdin himself wasn't quite as committed to the role as the other cast members. Plus, apparently fat people still have to be funny, and can only pair off with other fat people at the end. Still, overall, it was a fun show, and I'm glad we got the opportunity to go.
Later in the evening, I visited the Arcola Theatre in Dalston to see How To Date A Feminist. I got the ticket free from a magazine editor who has asked me to be their regular theatre critic (woot!), so it's a play I wouldn't have seen otherwise. I really enjoyed it. It was a two-hander, with each cast member playing three different parts - very well, I might add. There were lots of quick costume changes, and it was all very well staged in a limited space. The story was about a couple where the man was a staunch feminist and the woman confessed to generally preferring 'bad men' - it followed them through various relationship trials, and it was very funny, whilst also asking some quite serious questions about gender equality. A very good production, and another one I'm glad I got the opportunity to see.
