Here’s your chance to cringe to such cult classics as ‘Santo vs. Los Vampiro’, ‘Blue Demon vs. El Poder Satanico’ and ‘Ladron de Cadaveres’, during a week’s worth of laughably sick Mexican horror and El Santo wrestling films, the camp cream of the underrated B-movie crop.
Archive for January, 2009
Opera: The Pearl Fishers
Bizet’s exotic romance is as much a visual experience as an aural one, full of striking images of a ruined eastern temple at sunset, an unknown veiled woman approaching in a canoe and a mysterious assignation on a steep cliff. This new production is conducted by Richard Bonynge – internationally recognised as a master of 19th-century French repertoire – and stars Lisa Russell as the young temple maiden and David Miller and Michael Lewis as the two men in conflict for her love.
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Rugby Union: NSW Waratahs v South African Sharks
The Waratahs underachieved last year but the new coach – the hard-bitten former homicide detective Ian Kennedy – is expected to put some more resolve in the team’s collective spine. Their star fullback, Matthew Burke, is back on deck- which is a good start. And with some of their younger players benefiting from their World Cup run, the team should make the playoffs this year. The aging Sharks, however, start their season with a month on the road in New Zealand and Australia and look like cannon fodder at this stage.
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Camden Town
Just in case you left your party suit back home, this tiny shop just off the Ramblas specialises in ‘erotic fashions’, primarily ultra-slick PVC clothes for men and women. Skirts, tops, slacks and dresses are all available in various shapes, sizes and colours. A sister shop of similarly sleek apparel exists on the other side of the Ramblas in the Centro Comercial Gralla Hall at C/Portaferrissa 25. What the shop says about Spanish conceptions of the London market that inspires its name can only be guesssed at.
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Dogstar
There are doubtless many household pets who can play the guitar and sing backing vocals better than heart-throb Keanu Reeves, but as long as he keeps turning up, then tickets for his sub-garage hobby band will continue to sell by the shed load. If you brave either of these two gigs, go for the one at Blitz, which at least has the virtue of being a genuine rock venue. Shibuya’s Kokaido is a down-at-heel public hall with acoustics guaranteed to amplify the screams of the inevitable hordes of lovelorn screaming teens.
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Sibenik – say that fast!
Sibenik is on the coast between Zadar and Split. The cathedral there, which is considered one of Juraj Dalmatinac’s masterpieces, was constructed in the 15 & 16th centuries. Among its unique features are the stone sculpted heads bordering the outside, and the baptistery in a small room in the interior. A walk through Sibenik’s old town really takes you back 1000 years. While accommodation may be available in town, a better choice would be in the hotels of nearby Solaris. Although some of these are still occupied by refugees, others have been renovated to serve the increasing number of tourists. We also enjoyed the beaches of Primosten, just south of Sibenik. There we stayed in a private home, but hotels were also open to tourists. In the nearby Marina Kremik both motor and sail boats were available to rent.
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Pierre Bonnard
It’s time to reappraise the output of Pierre Bonnard, thanks to this show culled largely from private collections. Alongside recurring bath scenes, window views and self-portraits, lively Paris scenes and charming oils of children from his early Nabis period already show his distinctive use of colour. Relatively muted early tones give way to brighter colours and an increasingly abstract chromatic approach, as in the lovely late view from Le Cannet, where the scene becomes a shimmering patchwork of hot colours.
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