Exhibitions - Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair

Star rating – 7/10

I’ve never actually been to a craft fair before – at least not one where you are expected to pay for the privilege of going to part with hard earned cash to purchase things – but as I got my hands on a couple of free tickets to this one I gave it a go. The fourth Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair is set in the newly anonymised and depersonalised glass and steel temple to Mammon that is Spinningfields; maybe better than a marquee, but not a setting to make the soul soar or to artistically inspire I would have thought.

And the first thing that struck me was how very expensive everything was. I appreciate the value of a hand crafted object as much as the next person, but to pay £15 for a single place mat, for example, is a bit wide of the mark in these hard pressed times. There were a few stalls that had some jewellery for under £40, but not very many it has to be said – most of the others had at least one nought, and maybe more, added onto that. So not for the faint hearted or financially stretched then.

But having had a little moan, the next thing I noticed was just how relaxed and happy all the stall holders were. There is obviously a lot to be said for making your living, or at least trying to do so, by using your hands and talents to create objects of beauty that other people appreciate enough to buy to install in their homes or about their persons. And some artists in particular I feel deserve a mention:

Clare Lane is a textile artist from Leeds whose pictures are one of the first things you see when entering the exhibition rooms. They are vividly coloured part textile pieces showing the decaying industrial heritage of beautiful cities like Manchester and Leeds, set against their more recent development in the shape of cranes, building sites and new gleaming towers. And her work is absolutely stunning. There are large canvasses, which can also be reproduced as prints. Clare’s website is www.urban-fabric.co.uk, and in a week or so it will be updated with all the pieces on display at the craft fair. Please take a look – they are fabulous.

Jen Scott-Russell is a wonderful milliner based in Manchester’s Northern Quarter. She creates beautiful head ware, and nearly tempted me to buy a sumptuous Louise Brooks 1920’s style purple number – but £150 seemed a tad extravagant at the time – see comments above – and whilst I would love to spend my days pretending to be in Brideshead or some other period lavish drama – I am not sure how well it would fit in at a football match or in the local park. However Jen is a lovely woman and a hat ambassador extraordinaire. Her website is www.hatelier.co.uk .

Lastly, Emilie Taylor is a young artist from Sheffield whose pottery fuses chintz with tower blocks in a very original way. She is interested in high rise living as an object of art, and has attracted famous clients such as the Duke of Devonshire no less. You can see her work at www.emilietaylor.co.uk .

So I met three very talented, charming and interesting women whose work is beautiful, and who are all passionate about what they do. I wouldn’t say I am completely won over to the idea of a craft fair as a destination event to pay for, but I did come out more uplifted by the experience of seeing their wares, and talking to them about their individual passions, which can’t be a bad thing.

Theatre - Good - Royal Exchange

Star rating – 5/10

Brecht famously said that for evil to prosper, good men must do nothing. It is this central idea that forms the basis for ‘Good’, the new play at the Royal Exchange, which is based on the novel by C.P. Taylor. It follows the terrible path taken by ‘good’ music- loving university professor Halder, in a series of small steps towards denial, toleration and finally acceptance of the Nazi regime, until finally he ends up working at Auschwitz.

Not having read the book, it is difficult to pin point if my main problem with it was with the source material, the play, or with this particular production of it. Certainly it was produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1981 and has been much dramatised since. It is a truly terrible subject, which is just as much relevant today as it was in the 1930’s. And for the Nazis, and any other regime of terror for that matter, to prosper and dominate as they did obviously required lots of nice liberal people to turn a blind eye until it was too late, even people like Halder whose one and only friend was Jewish.

But I found this play difficult to get into, and trivial in all the wrong places, as music came out of desk drawers and coffee pots. I guess I like my drama to be either comic or tragic, and was uncomfortable with this mixture. The scenes seemed to drift in and out of each other, with no clear definition between them. And the same actors played different characters with little signposting, which was sometimes a tad confusing.

The central performance by Adrian Rawlins as Halder was a big ask, being ever present throughout, and there were quite a few fluffs in the first half, although as this was a preview night maybe it’s a bit churlish to mention them. One small but impressive part of a Nazi officer was played by Pieter Lawman, but his gusto and energy just made the other players pale by comparison.

I didn’t quite get why director Polly Findlay required the auditorium to be covered up with red velvet curtains at the start and end of the drama. That sort of negates the point of theatre in the round. So after a great run of quality productions, the Royal Exchange has hit a fallow patch for me with this play. Pardon the pun - but not quite good enough.

Events - Claire Tomalin - Manchester Literature Festival

Star rating – 8/10

Claire Tomalin is very much in vogue at the moment, owing to the publication of her latest biography, that of Charles Dickens. I haven’t read my copy yet, but am certainly looking forward to getting stuck into it even more after hearing the author herself.

At this Manchester Literature Festival event she was modest, charming, witty, intelligent, fascinating, and so enthusiastic about her subjects that it’s truly infectious. In fact – just like her books. She told great anecdotes and gems about the great author, and is not wearing rose tinted glasses about him either. She is very upfront about his bad behaviour towards his wife and mother of his many children, Catherine, whom he deserted and told lies about to be with his new young love Nelly Ternan.

Her 1991 book about Dickens’ relationship with Nelly, ‘The Invisible Woman’ is revelatory and honest, but does not condemn the man totally for his most obvious failing as he took to lies and deceit to hide his relationship and preserve his all important reputation.

Her biography of Samuel Pepys is also a classic, and in addition to reminding the world about this most skilled of diarists, gives a fascinating history lesson about the times that he lived through, which included the execution of Charles I, and the Great Fire of London, to name but two.

She is generous about her subjects, and has that rare ability to get right under their skin, leading her readers to a rich and informed understanding of their lives and times. And she could have talked all night with such captivating authority about Dickens that I am sure the audience would not have noticed the hour. Just a minor moan – the setting of the Banqueting Hall in Manchester’s fantastic Town Hall was a treat, but the loud pumping music from Albert Square during most of this talk was definitely not.

I can safely predict that after I have devoured her book on the whole of Dickens’ life, I will be turning pretty sharpish to her other biographies of Thomas Hardy, Mary Wollstonecraft, Jane Austin et al – what a rich literary pleasure awaits.

Exhibitions - Ford Maddox Brown:Pre-Raphaelite Pioneer - Manchester Art Gallery

Star rating – 8/10

You can visit Manchester Art Gallery at any time and be treated to some of the best of Pre-Raphaelite art. You can also wander into the magnificent Town Hall a few minutes’ walk away and look at the Manchester Murals of Ford Madox Brown. We are a bit spoilt here, and the danger is that you can take these treasures for granted, as I myself was inevitably guilty of doing when I worked at the Town Hall many moons ago.

So this great new exhibition at the Art Gallery about the life and work of Madox Brown pulls it all together and gives a context that is not usually evident about this fascinating and original artist’s work. He was, as the name of the exhibition suggests, a great influence on, and a lifelong friend of, the later Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood of Rossetti, Holman Hunt, and Millais, although he never actually joined them.

Many of the pictures here contain the trademark attention to detail and vivid colour that the Pre-Raphaelites are known for. But there is also a great array of pencil drawings and sketches from throughout his career that show off his skill and exacting standards to great effect. There are very touching pictures of his children, including two who died in infancy, and of his two wives. Family obviously meant a great deal to him, although as with many great artists, he never really benefited significantly from the great wealth that his works would later generate.

There are some lovely landscapes of scenery from London and the south of England, where he and his family lived. ‘The Hayfield’ shows an unusual night time scene from Hendon with beautiful colours, where the fields are moon lit and the harvest preparations stopped for the night.

And one of his most famous paintings, ‘Work’, which was one of the first to explore contemporary Victorian subjects and lay bare some of the more controversial social and political questions of the day, is dissected by also showing around it the careful drawings that Madox Brown made of its component parts, including some beautiful sketches of the dogs in the final piece.

In ‘The Last of England’ he shows a young family in a desperate attempt to escape the poverty of their life in this country, as emigrants on a boat to a bright new future, He captures their desperation very well. And in ‘Stages of Cruelty’ he depicts a woman carelessly disregarding her lover’s attentions, whilst her daughter is in the process of beating a defenceless dog. The two tone colour he achieves on the woman’s full velvet skirt is spectacular.

Although an agnostic, Madox Brown painted many beautiful biblical scenes, including one of Christ washing the feet of Peter. This can be seen as a sort of companion piece to ‘Work’, as Madox Brown makes his views known about the dignity of what was often viewed as menial labour. It’s amusing to note that he was forced to cover up the torso of the kneeling Lord with a tasteful green garment, as the sight of his bare chest was a step too far for Victorian sensibilities.

Madox Brown was an original and great artist, and also a principled man who used his talents to fight what he viewed as the injustices of his day, and his contribution to the city of Manchester is deservedly rewarded by this fascinating exhibition. Even if you don’t make it to this excellent collection, just have a peek at the Manchester Murals next time you are passing our Town Hall, and be glad that we live in a city with such a proud and rich cultural heritage.

Gigs - John Bramwell - Nantwich Words and Music Festival

Star rating – 9/10

John Bramwell cut a dashing figure at the Nantwich Words & Music Festival this afternoon (yes I do mean afternoon!) sporting a beard and an unusual touch of colour in the shape of a red shirt. He performed a beautiful solo acoustic set which, as always, showed off his talents as a wordsmith to great effect.

The set included stripped down versions of some I Am Kloot gems such as From Your Favourite Sky, I Believe, Proof, The Brink, 86 TVs, Storm Warning, Gods and Monsters, This House is Haunted , and The Moon is a Blind Eye. John also gave us a sneak preview of a couple of tracks from the new album that IAK are currently recording, one of which is provisionally titles ‘Shoeless’. And on first listening it’s safe to say that when the new release comes it will not disappoint.

It was nice to see him in such great humour, despite the hour, as he treated the small but perfectly formed crowd to jokes about biscuits (you had to be there), his missing front teeth, and an anecdote involving John Cooper Clarke, his mum June, and a cheap microphone.

Until IAK tour with their new material, these great intimate offerings from one of the finest singer songwriters around will do perfectly well as a reminder of how brilliant songs about drinking, disaster, death and romance really can be. Here’s to more of them.