Review: Bare - The Rock Musical

A cult classic in its own right, Bare - The Rock Musical has a huge following of fans who have never see the show performed live - this run at the Union theatre in Southwark is the production's European premiere.

With music by Damon Intrabartolo, book and lyrics by Jon Hartmete and directed by Paul Taylor-Mills, Bare  explores the story of American high schoolers in a co-ed Catholic boarding school who are anything but the epitome of good religious angels.

Reminiscent of Spring Awakening, from the teen rebellion througout right down to the first act closing sex scene, Bare focuses on how what's wrong isn't always wrong and the exploration young adults are going to make as they move through the transition of teen to adult.

Well staged with a minimum of space,  this production definitely defied my expectations. A pulsating rock score helps the show move along at a quick pace.

The two leads were throughly believable as teens struggling with their sexuality, with Michael Vinsen as the naively optimistic Peter a joy to watch as he realises that perhaps the world isn't quite ready for him and his open sexuality.

Lilly-Jane Young was strong as Ivy, hopelessly in love with school stud Jason, a closeted homosexual. The scene in which Ivy must confront her unwanted pregnancy allows the actress to shine.

Bare is not the most original telling of teen rebellion but the cast's vigour and vitality throughout the show made up for that.

Bare - The Rock Musical runs until May 25th at the Union Theatre, Southwark. Remaining performances are sold out but check returns availability daily.

Review: The Last Letter from Your Lover by Jojo Moyes

Moyes’ latest offering brings a thrilling and genuinely poignant love story asking the reader to ponder the sanctity of the written word and immerse themselves in a tale of love, loss and passion.

Set in 1960’s London and transitioning to the present day, The Last Letter from Your Lover begins with a woman waking up in the hospital with no memory of her life following a car crash. As she gradually remembers fragments of her existence we learn, at the same time Jennifer does, that her previous life may not have been as simplistic and happy as her family and friends want her to believe.  On discovering hidden love letters addressed to herself she has no choice but to admit that all is not what it seems and she sets about trying to discover what her life was really like before her accident.   

Fast forward to 2003 where journalist Ellie discovers a stash of love letters in old library archives that speak to her as she draws parallels to her own situation.  Determined to uncover a great story, discover the identity of the letter writer and perhaps create her own happy ending Ellie searches for answers the letters can bring.

If happy endings were that simple Moyes would have wrapped up the story in a few short chapters.  What unfolds is a beautiful and at times heart-breaking tale of two lovers who face circumstances that they strive to control but continuously fall short, sometimes by the slimmest of margins.

Grievances on this genre of novel usually centre on the contrived nature of the plot, leading to a somewhat inevitable ending.   The Last Letter from Your Lover held none of the stereotypes associated with that, at no point did I feel the plot was being advanced for the sake of it.  The story was allowed to progress at more of a natural pace and the novel shines because of it.

Moyes has created an authentic and absorbing love story that will undoubtedly move you to ponder the exquisite beauty that lies in a penned revelation of adoration.  You’ll want all correspondence to occur this way once you’ve finished!

Sundance London: Festival Insider

April 25^th – 28^th 2013 saw the O2 host the 2^nd Sundance London Film Festival; four days of live music, the UK premieres of American independent films fresh from the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, plus panel discussions, filmmaker Q&As and special events.  I volunteered at the festival and here's my take on the whole thing.


The Sundance Institute is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the discovery and development of independent artists and audiences which helped the careers of film makers such as Christopher Nolan and Quentin Tarantino. When they announced that they were bringing the Sundance festival to London in 2012 I bought a ticket and went along to watch a screening.  This year when they announced it was coming back for a second year I wanted to be involved in a more active way so I decided to volunteer. I’m not new to volunteering, I also worked at the London 2012 Olympics, but I love film and wanted to be a part of Sundance London. I registered for the volunteer programme back in September and I was then sent an application when it opened in early 2013.  It wasn’t until the beginning of April that I found out I had been successful!

I was assigned to the ‘Festival Insiders’ team which meant meeting and greeting visitors and providing information on the festival and what was showing, but also more general information like travel and entertainment in the venue.  Being on your feet for long hours is no easy feat especially when the O2 is basically a big tent; even with the sun shining it is bitterly cold inside!

The other volunteers were a range of ages and skill sets; many were film students who were looking to meet other film makers and share knowledge but also many people who just wanted to be a part of the festival as they love film!

Being a volunteer tested me in several ways; you have a lot of information at your disposal and the public want that information quickly so you do have to be able to think on your feet (even if you can’t feel them anymore!) and be as friendly and courteous to the first person you see in the day to the last one before you go home. You need to have patience, tact and a good sense of humour to survive some of the more difficult people you may encounter.

The greatest thing about being part of the festival, aside from talking about films all day long, was getting to see several film screenings.  I was lucky enough to see four of the feature films, each with a Q&A with the film maker afterwards, as well as sitting in on a panel discussion.  Of the films I managed to see I would definitely recommend ‘The Kings of Summer’ – a coming of age story reminiscent of ‘Stand By Me’ in which three teenagers take off into the woods for the summer in the hope of leaving their childhoods behind and becoming men.  It’s a funny and truthful portrayal of a summer they will never forget!

The director of ‘The Kings of Summer’, Jordan Vogt-Roberts, in his Q&A

Picture courtesy of Sundance London 2013

I strongly recommend volunteering, whether you want to improve your CV or just because you are passionate about something.  It’s a great way to meet other people interested in the same things as you and gain some useful skills at the same time.  I will definitely be volunteering my time again at Sundance London next year – I’m holding out on meeting the next Quentin Tarantino!

Review - Iron Man 3: Missing his sidekicks?

The latest instalment of the Iron Man franchise was released this week, much to the excitement of Marvel fans who had their first glimpse of an Avengers hero post the juggernaut that was "Avengers Assemble".

Robert Downey Jr. reprised his role as Tony Stark, the former playboy billionaire bachelor turned all round good guy who is looking for ways to enhance the technology he possesses following the devastation that shook NY and the Avengers.  In "Iron Man 3", he faces a new, unknown, enemy in The Mandarin – an adversary who seems intent on personally destroying the world Stark knows.

The elephant in the room of Iron Man 3 is of course Avengers Assemble, and the impact that Loki had on Stark is clear early on. During one part of the movie, a child befriends Starks and continuously asks, “can we talk about New York?” and such mentions are wholly necessary; I make no qualms about that.

Director Shane Black, who also co-wrote the screenplay  with Drew Pearce, could have not gone through the movie without referencing past events; in fact they give us an insight into Stark’s mindset as he ponders if he can really fight off another attack of that magnitude. The downfall is the continued mention and allusions to what I consider a stronger movie.  By highlighting the fact that Iron Man is in fact now alone, away from his comrades, the film is only emphasizing the somewhat bereft feeling that instead of having 5 main characters we have to make do with Downey Junior and his lesser counterparts.  Even Gwyneth Paltrow, a mainstay of the first 2 movies as Stark’s love interest Pepper Potts, felt like a damsel in distress in contrast to say Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow in the hero-laden Avengers.

The strongest moments of the movie were those in which Downey Junior found himself alone, without his technology, merely having to rely on wit and quick thinking to get himself out of the tight spots.  Downey Jr. is by far the best thing about the franchise, so immersed in the character that you have to wonder where Tony Stark ends and Junior begins.  The wit, humour and self belief brought to the screen is a joy to watch.

Iron Man 3 is an enjoyable romp and fans of the franchise will revel in the lengths Stark takes to protect himself and those around him. Whilst not the best Marvel offering to  date, it will certainly satisfy appetites in the long wait for the next instalment in the saga.

The 100 movie challenge

New years resolutions are the damndest things; every January we think up things we can do to make ourselves better people. Gym membership swells, enrolment in online courses surges and pubs are empty.  For 2013 I decided on a resolution that not only would I enjoy completing but I could experience with others and share my progress along the way – The 100 movie challenge.  I challenged myself to watch 100 movies I had never seen before in 12 months.  Any genre, any era, the only rule was I couldn’t have seen it before.

My usual choice of movies is a trashy rom com or a feel good 80’s teen movie so I also wanted to use the list as a chance to branch out, seek out classic movies I had never seen and experience some genres I wouldn’t usually try.  I choose 100 as it seemed like an acceptable and, more importantly, achievable, target.

So how am I doing?

With 4 months of the year gone  I have watched a total of 54 new movies – in other words I am smashing it! So much so in fact that I have decided to increase my target to 150 movies by December 31^st 2013!!

I have posted the list of movies watched so far below so you can see how I am getting on.

I would point out two things – firstly you’ll often see patterns i.e during award season I watched a lot of the nominated films and if I attended a festival (e.g Sundance London) then many of the screenings are on the list.  I’ll admit the classics aren’t getting much of a look in at present- but that’s something to work on!  Some films were a disappointment (Silver Linings Playbook anyone? Just me?) and some I utterly adored (Kings of Summer – catch it if you can!) but I enjoy adding an entry to my list after each movie regardless of what I thought of it.

So here’s the list so far:

1.  Struck by Lightning

2.  Skyfall

3.    Now is Good

4.    Hello, I Must Be Going

5.   Zero Dark Thirty

6.   Jeff, Who Lives at Home

7.    Moonrise Kingdom

8.     Waiting for Forever

9.    Little Birds

10.   Half Nelson

11.   Les Miserables

12.   Silver Linings Playbook

13.   So Undercover

14.   Take This Waltz

15.   Lincoln

16.   Anna Karenina

17.   Argo

18.   The Impossible

19.   The Sessions

20.   The Imposter

21.   Love and Honor

22.   I Give it a Year

23.   Django Unchained

24.   The Master

25.   Amour

26.   In Time

27.   Footloose (2011)

28.   The Ghost

29.   All Good Things

30.   Dan, In Real Life

31.   Four Lions

32.   The First Time

33.   The Brass Teapot

34.   The Knot

35.   West of Memphis

36.   Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial

37.   Breaking Away

38.   Fun Size

39.   Ginger and Rosa

40.   This is 40

41.   What Richard Did

42.   Compliance

43.   Unstoppable

44.   The Giant Mechanical Man

45.   Sightseers

46.   Prosecuting Casey Anthony

47.   Shadow Dancer

48.   People Like Us

49.   Touchy Feely

50.   The Kings of Summer

51.   In Fear

52.   A.C.O.D

53.   Upstream Color

54.   Iron Man 3

I’m looking forward to growing the list even further in the next few months and hope I can keep the same pace throughout the year – for now though I’m off to watch number 55! I’ll let you know what I think.

Welcome to I Want to Know What Pop is

Hello and welcome to I Want to Know What Pop is - a place where I plan to share my thoughts, opinions and general musings on that wonderful entity; popular culture.  I'm pretty new to blogging so please keep the heckling light hearted.  All constructive feedback is entirely welcome; please feel free to leave me a comment, contact me via twitter @chafferty or email me on vickybull225@gmail.com

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