Fair is foul, and foul is fair

Appearances can be deceiving in 11^th century Scotland, as we see the transformation of a loyal, trustworthy servant of the king into a usurper and regicide. 

 Emma Kenny-Levick and John Lowry play Lady Macbeth and Macbeth

Macbeth, a successful and decorated general, has just returned from battle when he is greeted by the Three Witches, who plant the seed of ambition in his mind, telling him that he will one day be King.

The temptation of evil becomes too great and Macbeth’s obsession soon spirals out of control.

Can we blame the intervention of a trio of prophetic witches for Macbeth’s downward spiral, or can the encouragement of a cunning and ambitious wife take the blame?

Or is it just simply that time fighting another man’s battles fuels the beast within the man until he can no longer distinguish between good and evil?

How long can this tyranny continue before madness leads to downfall?

Join The Company this week as they perform this classic Shakespearean tragedy in the University Drama Studio. Performances are Wednesday 13^th-Saturday 16^th October and begin at 7.30pm.

Tickets cost £7 (£5 concessions) and are available from the box office on (0114) 201 0090, by email or via the website. 

LISTEN TO AN INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR TONY KENNICK HERE.

To read or not to read...

Off the Shelf, Sheffield’s festival of reading and writing started at the weekend, kicking off with a whole day of readings and poetry in the city centre. 

Non-stop reading and music in the Word Tent

In the Word Tent, which was set up outside the Town Hall there was non-stop spoken word and music throughout the day, including open mic and read a poem slots, as well talks and readings from guest poets, storytellers and musicians.

The festival continues until 30^th October, so there is plenty of time to attend and get involved with the whole host of events, talks and workshops which will be held throughout the city.

Highlights in the next week include an evening with Labour veteran Tony Benn tomorrow night at the Octagon Centre, a poetry show from rap poet and reggae artist Donavan Christopher on Friday at Longley Park Sixth Form College, and a talk from Fatima Bhutto next Monday where she will discuss her book Songs of Blood and Sword which deals with her life in Pakistan, from a personal and political perspective.

For a full list of all the Off the Shelf events and to book tickets click HERE. 

Barclays paints the town blue

Barclays Bank led a huge publicity campaign today in Sheffield city centre, which even included a 4-piece band on stilts. Desperate times call for desperate measures...

Who knew Barclays also specialised in street entertainment?

The rally took over Barker's Pool and some of Fargate with a huge white and blue Barclays bus, live music and bizarrely-dressed street entertainers.

They definitely managed to attract attention from the Saturday shoppers, and many members of the public were stopping to take photographs. Some even spoke to the Barclays employees about their banking services.

I wonder what else the banks will try in order to get our custom...

Stooping too low? We think not!

You may or may not have heard of Sheffield band 'The Stoops'. If not, be ashamed. Not knowing about this funky Sheffield group is like not knowing that Sheffield has ridiculous hills...they literally come with the territory.

We had a sneaky chat on Communities Live! 93.2fm today with two members of the band, Dale Staniland  (vocals and guitar), and Phil Corker (keys), and got to the know the people behind the music...



Emma questions Stoops boys Dale and Phil on today's
Communities Live! radio show



The Stoops originally formed at a local Sheffield school, where after watching an episode of 'Hey Arnold', Dale noticed that the 'step' that they normally hung out on outside school was actually called a 'stoop' on the programme. So the name stuck, and 'The Stoops' have been gigging around Sheffield ever since.

For the past year and a half, the band has also featured band members Ricki Staniland on bass and vocals and Scott Wainwright on drums and vocals. 


So where does their unique sound come from? The boys told us that they drew most of the their influence from the Beatles but decided on a more commercial, pop sound in recent years, which reached out to people of all ages, Grandmas included. 


One of our favourite tunes was 'Talk to Me', which we played on the show and which was written by Dale after he got home from a night out when his girlfriend wouldn't speak to him. Yes, we had hoped for a more interesting story behind that one too, but as a result the band have produced a catchy mix of Kooks-style indie and upbeat pop coupled with some nice harmonies. Have a listen here!


The boys are back in Sheffield to take part in a night called 'Have You Heard?' which is the first in a series of events supported by Sheffield Live! 93.2FM.


They play this Friday at Penelope's, next to the Odeon on Arundel Gate. Doors are at 8pm, and The Stoops will be playing at around 9.30pm. Tickets are £3 from wegottickets.com or £4 on the door. 


We'll see you there!


To listen to our full interview with The Stoops, click here.

Check out their MySpace page here.


By Jess Parsons

¡Viva Cuba!

Last week we had a taste of Cuba in Sheffield with the arrival of Havana Rakatan, a spectacular dance show straight from Cuba. Having completed four successful West End seasons and toured around the world, Havana Rakatan has now embarked on a new UK tour, performing last week at the Sheffield Lyceum. 

Havana Rakatan at the Lyceum last week

Music is quite simply a way of life in Cuba, which was clear from the outset of the show. Through dance we are taken on a journey through Cuba’s history, from the Spain-Africa clash 500 years ago to the salsa of Cuban youth culture today.

Along the way we learn about 1940s Cuba, an era called “Golden Havana” when many new types of dance were developed, including the mambo and the bolero. We are also shown the glitz and glamour of the 50s’ dance halls along with the attitude and vanity that came with it.

The 70s of course was all about the rumba, a dance form of African origin synonymous with Cuba, a unique story of interaction between the sexes. This form of Cuban dance is far from the dance halls, danced in the chaos of Havana’s slums. 

As a member of the audience I felt each bead of sweat and smiled and laughed together with the dancers and band. I was completely captivated by the passion and energy on stage. I couldn’t take my eyes off the dancers - they all had beautiful smiles and their joy was infectious. The dancing was incredible yet so natural – in a completely different league to Strictly Come Dancing.

With live music performed by Cuba’s well-known Son band Turquino, the whole show had everyone dancing in their seats, with everyone on their feet by the final dance.

I couldn’t stop smiling throughout and was itching to jump up on stage and dance with them. It also made me even more eager to visit Cuba and learn more about the culture and people.

The show was an absolute delight - moving, passionate, sexy and uplifting - I couldn’t recommend it enough. ¡Viva Havana Rakatan!

SEE A VIDEO HERE ON THE HAVANA RAKATAN WEBSITE

By Emma Wass

Baking Cakes....on Harcourt Road

Last month at Harcourt Book Group we read Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin, an uplifting novel set in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. As the novel is centred on the activity of a small cake business, our hostess Hope made beautifully decorated cupcakes to get us in the mood.

 Harcourt Road Book Group

The cake business is run by Tanzanian Angel Tungaraza. At the beginning of the story Angel had recently moved to Kigali from Tanzania with her husband Pius and their five orphaned grandchildren. It soon becomes clear that she has already made a name for herself in Kigali, and it isn’t long before she becomes a central member of the community.

Angel quickly becomes famous for her delicious, brightly coloured and elaborate cakes, which she bakes for the special occasions of her friends and neighbours, locals and foreigners alike. Through her customers’ visits we are introduced to new characters and get to know their background stories. Angel very much takes on an Agony Aunt role, gaining the confidence of all her clients.

The novel is set in the present day, after the horrific Genocide of 1994 when an estimated 800,000 people were murdered due to conflict between the Tutsis and the Hutus. In a subtle way, the reader is exposed to the devastating after-effects of these events, and we see how people have managed to rebuild their lives.

For a full review, as well as a discussion with the book group about some of the main issues in Baking Cakes in Kigali, please click on the audio link below.

Do you have a neighbourhood book group? Perhaps you would like to join one or even create one? Please let us know your ideas and experiences.

TO LISTEN TO THE FULL REVIEW AND INTERVIEW WITH THE HARCOURT BOOK GROUP PLEASE CLICK HERE.

By Emma Wass

Desirable Sheffield

It's official - Sheffield is one of the best places to live in Britain, according to an article in Saturday's Daily Telegraph. In the piece Telegraph reporter Max Davidson presented his selection of the country's six most desirable locations when it comes to nature and natural beauty. 

 Weston Park - more trees than students?

Davidson rated Sheffield an admirable sixth, behind St Osyth in Essex and St Mary's in the Isles of Scilly.

His reasons for his choice included the proximity of the Peak District and the general greenness of the city. He tells us that Sheffield has the highest number of trees per head of population of any city in Europe. He gives Broomhill as an example of a desirable area, saying that it has a "rus in urbe charm that few British cities can match".

He also mentions the anti-pollution measures in place in Sheffield, stating that the air quality here is high "for a conurbation of this size".

Hopefully the article will change many Briton's perceptions of Sheffield, especially those who only know our Steel City from watching The Full Monty, which certainly doesn't paint the prettiest picture of the city.

According to Davidson, the top-three places to live in the country are Shaftesbury in Dorset, Llandudno in North Wales and Eastbourne.

By Emma Wass