John Shand Posts

August 15, 2014 / Theatre Reviews - Archive

Eternity Playhouse, August 12 Improvising musicians do it routinely: take a short motif and investigate all its possible convolutions, like looking at a gemstone from all angles. Playwright Nick Payne applies this device to his dazzling writing of Constellations. The one-act two-hander explores the relationship between Marianne (Emma Palmer) and…

August 13, 2014 / Album Reviews - Archive

9 Dead Alive (Rubyworks)  Rodrigo and Gabriela are back to just using two acoustic guitars. They have sought to extend their palette by compositional ideas, instead, the nine pieces being homages to assorted pioneers, geniuses and philanthropists. The Soundmaker is for Antonio de Torres Jurado, the nineteenth-century Spaniard who reinvented…

August 6, 2014 / Album Reviews - Archive

The Phoenix And The Turtle (Les Cousins/Planet) Beverly Martyn’s first album in 14 years is often so achingly raw it is like being given a tool for excavating her soul. The recording quality makes it seem that she is seated right beside you, wishing, lamenting and confessing in your ear.…