Page 6 - Abingdon News
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News
6
January 2013
ARTS
Theatre Studies in Japan
The group of theatre studies students who
went to Japan last summer enjoyed one of
the richest cultural experiences of their lives.
They had training in Bunraken puppetry,
which involved learning the shamisen – a
three stringed Japanese guitar – the koto –
a Japanese harp – and chanting.
Calligraphy, flower arranging and the
Japanese tea ceremony gave them still more
experiences of old Japan but their visits
to karaoke establishments and pachinko
parlours – amusement arcades – ensured
they didn’t miss out on the new.
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Candide
Warp Cops scoops
Best Animation Award
The epic, animated, all-action spoof movieWarp Cops won the Best Animation
Award at the Bradford Animation Festival in November. Like the Oscars, it’s
prestigious enough to be nominated – to win is a triumph! Made by AFU
members Michael Bicarregui, Chris Mears and Oliver Sayeed, Warp Cops
also won the Best Animation Award at the Wheatley Park Film Festival where
another AFU film, Under My Skin – made by James Gordon with Kia Little and
Isabel Kynoch from St Helen’s – won the best documentary award.
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Both films can be seen on the AFU website:
Cast, choreography, set and staging – not to mention the composer Leonard
Bernstein, the original author Voltaire and the director Jeremy Taylor –
combined to produce a fantastic evening in the Amey Theatre at the end of last
term when actors from Abingdon and St Helen’s put on the operetta Candide.
By turns humorous and profound,
tragic and lyrical, the production
accurately captured the essence
of this enlightenment novel.
Christopher Young was
extremely professional in the
pivotal role of Voltaire /
Dr Pangloss, switching
effortlessly between
the two and never leaving
any doubt as to which
character he was.
He was wonderfully
supported by Toby
Marlow as Candide
and Heather Condor
as Cunegonde and by
the rest of the talented
and versatile cast.
Tate Modern
Success at GCSE Art depends on
evidence of independent learning, which is
why fourth-year artists visited Tate Modern
on 22 November. Having designed their
own personal tours of the gallery, they
were free to complete first-hand research
into artists who stimulated their interest.
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